KATHMANDU, March 17: The Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI) said it will take initiatives to increase the use of the locally produced goods in government offices.

The government introduced the Directive to Increase Consumption of Domestic Goods in 2013. The policy talks about making state entities use at least 50 percent Nepali products for office use even if they are up to 10 percent costlier than similar foreign goods.

The directive has listed 14 Nepali products to be used in state entities, including uniforms, furniture, medicines, electronic items, paper, woolen and cotton products, carpets, handicraft products, construction materials and dairy products, among others. Similarly, the directive maintains a provision that Nepali textiles should be given top preference for the outfits of bureaucrats.

Such domestic products however should have acquired the Nepal Standard (NS) recognition. But the policy has been limited to paper so far.

Issuing a press statement, the umbrella organization, has said it will push the government bodies for the effective implementation of the existing policy. “Provided effective implementation of the policy, it will help promote industrialization in the country that is now relying mostly on traditional agriculture, excessive imports and remittance,” said Umesh Prasad Singh, the newly-elected president of the FNCSI.

 
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