KATHMANDU, June 10: Four industries in Nepal have produced goods and services worth Rs 1.2 trillion over one year. According to the data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the four industries generated goods and services worth Rs. 1.2 trillion while incurring costs of Rs. 846 billion in the fiscal year 2018/19. 

The CBS, making public the results of the National Census of Manufacturing Establishments 2019 on Friday, said that the four industries in the country — manufacturing; mining and quarrying; electricity, gas, steam industry and air-conditioning supply; water supply and sewerage, and waste management  — have added Rs 354 billion to Nepal’s economy. 

Binod Sharan Acharya, Director of the Central Bureau of Statistics, said that the department had surveyed about 500,000 people working in the four industries for the survey. “There are 491,000 employees in the industries,” he said. “The number of salaried workers in the industries, however, is only 381,000.”

According to the survey, there are 346,000 people employed in the manufacturing sector, 17,200 in the electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply sector, 5700 in the mining and quarrying sector, and 12,500 in the water supply, sewerage and waste management sector. 

According to the department, 60,185 industrial establishments were in operation in the country in the fiscal year 2018/19. There were 5.6 million industrial establishments in manufacturing, 2224 in water supply, sewerage, and waste management, 994 in electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, and 356 in mining and quarrying.

Production of 63 percent of industries stopped during lockdown

The survey found that 63 percent of the industrial establishments had to completely shut down during the four-month lockdown imposed by the government as a response to curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, 24 percent of the industries were partially in operation while only 13 percent of industrial establishments were fully operational. The survey found that about 17 percent of the workers had to permanently quit their jobs without receiving any severance package or other benefits. As much as 60 percent of the workers were temporarily laid off without pay, 11 percent had their salaries/benefits partially cut, while the remaining 12 percent received their salaries/benefits later than the stipulated date. 

The survey also reported that the industrial establishments had produced industrial goods worth Rs 861.05 billion at the cost of Rs 625.72 billion. It was also derived that the cost of producing industrial goods had increased compared to the previous year. 

The results of the National Census of Manufacturing Establishments 2011/12 revealed that the large industrial establishments in the country had produced industrial goods worth Rs 322.55 billion while incurring the cost of Rs 241.77 billion. According to the department, such establishments had added Rs 80.78 billion to the country’s economy in 2012.  

As per the survey, about 76 percent of the industrial establishments have been in operation for 270 days or more during the reference period. Likewise, 19 percent of the industrial establishments were in operation for 180 to 269 days. Four percent of industrial establishments came into operation for only 90 to 179 days and the remaining 1 percent were in operation for less than 90 days.

 
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