Government expenditure exceeds income, development spending only at 23 percent

Kathmandu: The government’s expenditure has surpassed the income till the second quarter of the current fiscal year 2024/25. According to the data from the Office of the Financial Comptroller General, the government’s income stood at Rs 738 billion 821 million and 300 thousand while the expenditure was Rs 839 billion and 356 million till March 13. This means that the expenditure is Rs 153.47 billion more than the government’s income in the second quarter.

Similarly, the government’s development expenditure has also been very weak during this period. According to the data of the Financial Comptroller General, the capital expenditure till March 13 is only 23.37 percent of the annual allocation. The government has allocated Rs 352 billion and 354 million under the capital head for the current fiscal year and out of this only Rs 82 billion and 336 million has been spent so far. The government had presented a budget of Rs 1 trillion 860 billion and 303 million for the current fiscal year. Till mid-March, 45.12 percent of the annual allocation or Rs 839 billion and 356 million has been spent. Of the Rs 1 trillion 140 billion 664 million and 500 thousand allocated under the current head, 51.21 percent—ie Rs 584 billion 127 million and 800 thousand—has been spent. Of the Rs 367.28 billion allocated for financial management, 47.07 percent—Rs 172.89 billion—has been spent. The government has so far collected 50.2 percent or Rs 738.82 billion as revenue against the target of Rs 1,471.62 billion for the current fiscal year. Out of this, Rs 1,284.20 billion has been allocated towards tax revenue, of which 49.74 percent—Rs 638.79 billion has been collected so far. Similarly, 60.36 percent—Rs 81.54 billion—has been collected so far against the target of Rs 135.93 billion towards the non-tax revenue.

The government’s foreign grant mobilization is also very weak. Out of the target of collecting Rs 52.32 billion in foreign grants for the current fiscal year, 17.51 percent of the annual target—Rs 9.16 billion has been received so far.