November 17: The government has spent only 20.27 percent of the total budget in the first four months of the current fiscal year (FY) 2023/24. According to the Financial Comptroller General's Office, the agency that keeps records of government’s income and expenditure, the government has spent Rs 355 billion from mid-July to mid-November. Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat had announced a budget of Rs 1751.31 billion on May 29.

The budget spent this year is slightly higher compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Last year, the budget expenditure was 19.99 percent by mid-November.

The government has allocated Rs 1141 billion this year under the heading of current expenditure and has spent Rs 271 billion so far under this heading. Compared to the allocated amount, this expenditure is 23.75 percent. A large amount allocated by the government under current expenditure is usually spent on administrative expenses. The government’s administrative expenses have increased this year compared to the previous year.

The capital budget has not been spent in a very encouraging manner. The government has allocated Rs 302 billion under this heading for the current fiscal year and has spent only Rs 29 billion so far, which is just 9.93 percent of the total allocation.

The government has spent more on financial management than the development budget during this period. Under the heading of financial management, the government has spent Rs 54.46 billion in 4 months. The government has allocated Rs 307 billion for fiscal management this year. The expenditure under this heading is 17.72 percent of the allocated budget.

The government had announced to achieve 6 percent economic growth while announcing the budget for the current fiscal year. However, there has not been any encouraging results in the first four months. So far this year, the government has not even been able to collect revenue as per the target.

The government says that it has not been able to collect the revenue due to the festivals like Dashain and Tihar.

According to the data of the FCGO, the government has collected revenue worth Rs 295 billion as of mid-November. This is 20 percent of the annual target. Calculating the income and expenses of the government, the budget deficit in the first four months has reached Rs 60.12 billion.

The government has announced to collect domestic debt of Rs 240 billion this year. With more liquidity in banks and financial institutions, the government has raised domestic debt more than the target since the short-term interest rate has come down.