National Assembly approves ‘National Debt Recovery Bill, 2083’

Kathmandu: The National Assembly has approved the ‘National Debt Recovery Bill, 2083’ in its meeting held today.

The bill, received from the House of Representatives with a message, was presented for decision after clause-by-clause discussion and was approved by a majority.

During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle presented a proposal to pass the bill without suggestions and send it back to the House of Representatives. Earlier, he had presented a proposal for clause-by-clause discussion on the bill.

Responding to the questions raised during the discussion, Minister Dr. Wagle expressed confidence that the suggestions received would be implemented, stating that the government is clear that loans should be invested in productive sectors.

He said that the country’s debt burden has increased over the past eight years, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. He clarified that loans should be taken only for necessary works and used to achieve government-set goals and repay previous debts.

Stating that the government currently has a debt burden of around Rs. 300 trillion, Finance Minister Dr. Wagle said that the Public Debt Management Office is managing the overall debt.

National Assembly members Meena Singh Rakhal, Samjhana Devkota, Rukmini Koirala and Somnath Portel participated in the discussion. They said that merely collecting loans cannot be considered an achievement and emphasized the need for transparent distribution and visible returns from investments in sectors including agriculture and energy.