KATHMANDU, June 30: Nepal’s public debt has reached 42.08 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Sunday, Finance Minister Barshaman Pun claimed that there is an improvement in the government's capacity to pay back the borrowed amounts. According to him, the government has been taking domestic borrowing as guided by the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission.   

The country’s debt burden has increased to Rs 2.434 trillion as of mid-June 2024, up from Rs 2.299 trillion in mid-July 2023. The National Statistics Office has projected the country’s GDP at Rs 5.748 trillion by this fiscal year end.

Of the total debt amount, Rs 1.207 trillion (50.3 percent) is the liabilities of external loans, while Rs 1.192 trillion (49.7 percent) is for domestic borrowing. Compared to the public debt to GDP ratio of 24.8 percent a decade ago, it has increased by around 18 percent.

Pun said the 16th periodic plan has aimed to tame the ratio of public debt to GDP at 39 percent by mid-July 2029. He claimed that the government has adopted a policy to mobilize public debt as per the target set by the periodic plan.   

 
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