SANEM arranged a session on “Managing the Current Macroeconomic and Fiscal Challenges: Nepal’s Options” on 21 September 2022 from 10:30 am- 12:00 pm Nepal Standard Time (GMT+5:45). Dr Biswash Gauchan, Executive Director, Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), Kathmandu, delivered a presentation in the session and Dr Gunakar Bhatta, Executive Director, Nepal Rastra Bank, addressed the session as a discussant. Dr Puspa Sharma, Economist, Nepal, moderated the session.

The session is a part of the “Bay of Bengal Regional Trade and Connectivity Capacity Building Program“. South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), in collaboration with the USAID and U.S. Department of State-funded Cross-Border Infrastructure and Connectivity project (CBIC), has been conducting this program since October 2021.

The session will be conducted over Zoom. SANEM invites government officials, academics, researchers, officials of business associations, development workers, journalists and interested professionals to join the program. To join the program, please fill up the google form: https://forms.gle/qxCTPAK7RLbPkQ8w8

Context of the session:

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Nepal’s negative economic growth of 2.1 percent in 2019-20. The economy has been recovering since then but the major macroeconomic indicators are not encouraging. The country’s trade deficit has widened considerably, and there has been a rise in current account and balance of payment (BoP) deficits. There was also a decrease in remittances, although this has shown an increasing trend in the past few months. Similarly, the country’s public debt at around 40 percent of GDP appears manageable, but compared to the public debt of only 23 percent in 2016-17, the rapid increase in public debt without commensurate returns is worrying. Adding to these challenges is the massive rise in inflation mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine war. These global events and ensuing challenges have particularly hurt the poor and the vulnerable. In this context, this session will discuss the current macroeconomic and fiscal challenges that Nepal is facing and their socio-economic impacts, and suggest appropriate measures to address them.

Please check the presentation of the session here