WHAT NEPAL BUDGET 2073/74 HAS IN FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY?
What does Nepal Budget 2073/74 contain in for Technology & Science of Nepal? Are there any ICT specialist tasks or generalist deeds that the Nepal’s latest budget addresses? No, no, not any QnA sessions in here. Of the total 2 hours 20 minutes budget speech, thankfully technopreneurs could hear budget addressing on technology for few couple of minutes.
We have some points pulled in here from the Budget speech of Nepal’s latest Budget 2073/74 (2016/17), you can help us expand context and explanations by commenting below.
Nepal budget 2073/74 have provisions or addressing for ICT’s massive usage in the country, the list of ICT and more goes…
Electric vehicles:
Reduced rates for Electric vehicles in Nepal (सरकारले निजी प्रयोगका विद्युतीय सवारी साधनको पैठारीमा अन्त शुल्क पुरै छुट दिई १० प्रतिशत भन्सार शुल्क लाग्ने व्यवस्था गरेको छ । सार्वजनिक सवारी साधनमा भने अन्त शुल्क पुरै छुट दिई १ प्रतिशत मात्र भन्सार शुल्क लाग्ने व्यवस्था सरकारले गरेको छ। via )
Electric Rickshaw:
No VAT for companies importing raw materials to produce/manufacture electric rickshaws in Nepal. Such VAT discount applies both to electric rickshaw and electric tempos.
Mobile phones:
Previously given 50% VAT discount in mobile phones now provisioned for just 40% VAT discount. Nepalese should now expected hiked price in smartphones in Nepal.
Television sets:
Increased taxation both in assembled and imported ready-made television sets. Expect price hike in Smart TVs or even traditional flatrons.
Budget specific to Information and Communication
4G in Nepal:
Kathmandu and regions around, plus sub-metropolitan cities are expected to see 4G deployment in FY 2073/74.
Optical Fiber network in Nepal:
72 district headquarters to be connected with high speed internet connectivity using optical fiber deployed via highways. (सरकारले आगामी आर्थिक वर्षमा ७२ जिल्ला सदरमुकाममा तीव्र गतिको इन्टरनेट सुविधा पुर्याइने घोषणा गरेको छ। मध्यपहाडी राजमार्ग र हुलाकी राजमार्गमा अप्टिकल फाइबर सञ्चालन विस्तार गरी ७२ जिल्ला सदरमुकाममा तीव्र गतिको इन्टरनेट सुविधा पुर्याउने घोषण गरिएको हो। via )
Microwave transmissions:
Districts and rural areas where optical fiber deployment is limited or challenging will be served via microwave transmissions for high speed internet connectivity.
RTDF:
Microwave transmissions to serve community schools and colleges with free Internet access deploying Rural Telecommunications Development Fund (RTDF.)
TVs & Radios:
Nepal Television, Radio Nepal, Gorakhapatra to be addressed for professionalism and independency. Radio Nepal and NTV to broadcast in local Terai languages.
National Information Commission (NIC) to evaluate and monitor implementation of right to information (RTI) and other published information. Increase capacity of National Information Center.
Post Offices:
Nepal government plans to restructure the operation of post offices via local government bodies (LBs). Provisioning for payment options of public services and postal office saving services.
Printing services:
Government to work on printing bank cheques, ID cards, citizenship cards, passports, certificates etc within Nepal rather than foreign countries.
Science and scientists:
Nepal government to motivate talented scientists for research in the country. Provision of fellowship to motivate young scientists. Providing awards to new inventions and discoveries. Budget speech also includes the FY 2073/74 to organize National Scientists Conference.
Documents to be prepared to address nuclear materials and information technology policies.
Data Center Provision:
Study of possibility of low cost and less power consuming data center establishment and operation in the upper hilly regions (himalayas?) Budget invites foreign investments for the establishment of data servers in Nepal.
National Security using ICT:
Using CCTV in main cities to monitor activities.
Establishing Vehicle digital check point in boarders and entry to major cities.
Completely computerized citizenship card distribution. The same to be applied to passport and national ID card as well.
IT for modernization of taxation:
Focus on electronic taxation and revenue system.
Every business entities and departmental stores to compulsorily use electronic invoicing.
Development of Nepal’s national one-door system/infrastructure and operation by 2077 BS. This is to ease international business. (But doesn’t mention anything about digital/electronic business. … but can we expect credit cards or PayPal in Nepal by 2020?)
Holy grail, Nepal’s budget! We expect a lot from our government (but the e-Governance!)
We believe most of these are policy level intervention and like previous years there are just generalization for ICT in the government’s budget provisioning. It is most likely that Government will spend money on either purchasing or developing distributed information systems (IS) rather than unified – and government level enterprise resource planning (ERPs) will once again be limited or never heard of.
There are hundreds of unheard ICT activities that should have been included for a digital transformation and electronic business, entrepreneurship and overall upliftment of ICT in the country, but after all it’s Nepal’s budget (hey, did you still remember last year 2072/73’s Nepal budget which mentioned Nepal will have it’s own cloud server or something? Well, we didn’t after that!)
