Ministry of Industry Proposes Budget Programs Exceeding Assigned Limit by Rs 1.81 Billion

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies has formally tabled a program portfolio for the fiscal year 2083/84 that substantially exceeds its mandated budgetary envelope. Speaking at a meeting of the Development, Economic Affairs, and Good Governance Committee, Industry Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut revealed that despite receiving an initial fiscal ceiling of Rs 8.31 billion, the ministry has engineered and proposed development plans valued at Rs 10.13 billion. Out of the total proposed outlays, Rs 5.78 billion is earmarked for recurrent expenditure, Rs 3.89 billion is directed toward capital spending, and Rs 469 million is channeled under financial management for equity investments into state-owned enterprises and public enterprises. A granular breakdown of the expenditure framework highlights major resource allocations toward economic promotion and infrastructure. The ministry has set aside Rs 3.03 billion for industrial investment promotion programs, alongside Rs 1.32 billion for industrial infrastructure development. Additionally, Rs 2.23 billion has been outlined for the Strategic Road Network and Trade Improvement Project. At the departmental level, the Department of Industries is slated to receive Rs 1.36 billion, the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI) is allocated Rs 1.65 billion to execute startup credit lines and entrepreneurial development programs, and the Department of Mines and Geology is assigned Rs 150 million. Smaller exploratory undertakings include Rs 41.1 million for the Mineral Exploration and Development Project and Rs 22.9 million for the Petroleum Exploration Project. Furthermore, a sum of Rs 469 million has been explicitly proposed for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Dhaubadi Iron Company. On the supply and logistics side, the ministry has structured several public-facing subsidy programs. This includes Rs 580 million allocated to the Food Management and Trading Company for subsidized food transportation, and Rs 170 million funneled through the Salt Trading Corporation for iodized salt logistics and goiter control initiatives. Defense production also features in the draft, with Rs 225 million proposed for the Directorate of Military Hardware and a minor Rs 17 million for the Central Jail Factory. Trade facilitation measures include Rs 38 million for trade information, export support, and multilateral trade strengthening, alongside Rs 35.7 million for the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) across various ministries. Secretary Raut added that outside this core framework, approximately Rs 1 billion will be directly funneled to local tiers of government under the Micro-Enterprise Development Programme (MEDPA) focused on poverty alleviation.