Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has said that remittances from Nepali migrant workers have helped improve the rural economy.
Addressing the 22nd anniversary of IME Limited on Sunday, Finance Minister Sharma said that the role of remittance companies in earning foreign exchange was important.
“Remittances have increased the spending capacity of the people in the rural areas. It has also helped a lot in the government’s initiative to alleviate poverty,” he said. “Remittance companies are becoming a means to send the earnings of Nepalis living abroad safely to Nepal.”
He said that a large amount of remittance was being spent on consumption and there was a need to focus on investment in large infrastructure projects in the coming days.
He hailed the contribution made by the remittance company in reducing the Hundi transaction by bringing remittance through legal channels.
Finance Minister Sharma informed that the budget of FY 2022/23 has also aimed at addressing many issues by bringing in foreign currency through remittances.
“The budget has focused not just on bringing the remittances. It is a step ahead in fetching foreign exchange, which is now coming under the general system. This means increasing the production and processing of the resources we have, exporting them to the international market and earning foreign exchange.”
He assured that the current economic situation of the country would be resolved gradually as the focus of budget of the FY 2022/23 had shifted from import to production, from risk to macroeconomic stability and from deprivation to inclusion.
He said that the budget had come to start export of industrial goods and agricultural products as well as service sector.
On the occasion, Chief Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi stressed on the need of taking initiative by all to bring remittance through formal channel.
“The remittance is a source of our foreign currency earning. It is necessary to use it in productive sector of the country,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini said that IME Limited had transformed into a culture of bringing in foreign currency.
He said that remittances were being used for food, shelter and clothes adding the money needed to be used for capital formation in the coming days.
‘Remittance money seems to be used more for personal consumption. First of all, we have to manage food, shelter and clothes,” he said.
“In the coming days, remittance money needs to be used for nation building.”
He said that next year’s budget aims to earn foreign exchange by selling products so as to change the situation of earning money by selling labour.
Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security Eaknarayan Aryal stressed on the need of increasing awareness among the migrant workers to send money earned there through the formal channel.
Chandra Prasad Dhakal, founder of IME Group, said that the IME Group, which started from one room, had reached the position of providing direct and indirect employment to 40,000 people.
Dhakal, who is also senior vice-president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), suggested that the economic activities of the country would increase if the issues in the budget were implemented.
On the occasion, President of Confederation of Nepalese Industries Vishnu Agrawal, and former president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Rajesh Kazi Shrestha stressed on the need of playing significant role from all sectors to bring remittance through the banking channel.
Source : TRN,
