February 11: There has been an improvement in the implementation of programmes related to the private sector and the economy in the budget of the current fiscal year.

The semi-annual review of the implementation of 73 points related to the economy announced in the current year's budget statement showed that 74 percent of the policies and programmes have been partially implemented.

The semi-annual status of the budget implementation prepared by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries in collaboration with the Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal was released on Friday. The confederation, which has been undertaking the 'Budget Watch' initiative, mentioned that there has been some improvement in the implementation of programmes and policies in the current year's budget compared to last year.

Rajesh Kumar Agarwal, president of the confederation, said that out of 73 points related to the economy, 54 points prioritized by the confederation have been partially implemented. He emphasized that the policies and programs that have been partially implemented should be fully implemented within the remaining six months.

"Last year, only 47 percent of the items prioritized by the CNI during the entire fiscal year reached the implementation stage," Agarwal said, "The current state of budget implementation is encouraging."

The private sector is hopeful that the government will improve the poor implementation of the budget during the remaining half of the fiscal year.

The Budget Watch published by the CNI has shown that about 11 percent of the items prioritized by the private sector have been fully implemented. The CNI analyzed the implementation status of 17 different areas of the current year's budget.

The confederation made public the progress report of the implementation states of areas related to forest and environment, public procurement, development projects, Make in Nepal scheme, innovation, company registration and liquidation, foreign direct investment, energy, agriculture, land, industrial development, export promotion and trade facilitation, supply system and consumer protection, culture, tourism and civil aviation, communication technology, capital market and taxation.

The CNI also mentioned that the government has implemented the issue of forming a high-level committee for reforming the tax system. The provision of tax registration in the Value Added Tax Act, 2052 that can be submitted in 4 months interval as demanded by the private sector has also ben addressed. The Confederation has urged the government to pay special attention to complete the partial implementation of other priority points.