May 7: The Make in Nepal-Swadheshi Summit-2024' concluded on Tuesday with a 35-point declaration.    
The summit was organized by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) with the goals of empowering local industries and increasing domestic production and encouraging consumption.    
The declaration was handed over to Minister for Finance Barshaman Pun during the closure of the summit. Minister Pun pledged to make utmost efforts to incorporate the important recommendations collected from the panel discussions in the conference in the upcoming budget.    
Minister Pun assured that the government would adopt the policy to increase domestic production and to promote home-grown products. He added that the government will procure domestic products for public offices.    
Stating that the prime minister had instructed him to move ahead by adopting flexible policy for the private sector, Pun reaffirmed to introduce upcoming budget that would encourage the private sector.    
The declaration includes issues ranging from taking initiatives for reforming the existing laws and devising industry-friendly laws to address the policy, legal, procedural and practical difficulties seen in creating favorable industrial environment to holding dialogues to create enabling environment for investment.    
Furthermore, CNI pledged to take initiative towards making domestic products and services the first choice among Nepali consumer.    
Likewise, the declaration demanded an easy and smooth supply of raw materials and the customs rates of the finished goods and raw materials should be differentiated to promote domestic industries.    
Furthermore, the declaration called for establishment for a specialized financial institution to invest in industrial sector, putting a provision that the government and government agencies should use locally made products while gifting. It also demanded establishing a 'Domestic Product Identification Portal' to identify domestic products among others.    
Moreover, the declaration drew the attention of the government towards implementing separate Terms of Reference to effectively operate One-Stop Service Centre, implementing Integrated Industrial Development Strategy for development and promotion of industrial areas and taking forward the construction of industrial infrastructures in public and private partnership.    
The declaration also pressed for positive intervention by the government while importing goods or products in which Nepal has gained self-sufficiency. The declaration pointed out the need to encourage production and import of domestic products by identifying comparative advantage and competitive areas.    
Similarly, the declaration suggested that fine should be imposed on the erring or accused industrialists rather than lodging criminal charges against them as detention and misbehaving with the alleged industrialists in financial offence cases.    
The CNI has demanded that until the accused industrialists are proven guilty, they should not be detained.

A separate Act is needed to regulate the industrial sector, the declaration mentioned, adding that the industrial and investment environment tend to deteriorate while taking action as per the criminal law against the erring industrialists.    
The declaration also called for timely review of the bilateral and multilateral agreements and treaties Nepal inked in regard to trade and investment. It also drew attention towards forging a common viewpoint among the major political parties on the agenda of economic prosperity and industrial development for stability at policy level to effectively implement the budget. -- RSS