The three-year Interim Plan to be implemented from the coming fiscal year aims to spend 587.7 billion Nepali rupees on development activities in Nepal, local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported Saturday.

The investment is expected to achieve an average 5.5 percent economic growth and lower incidence of poverty by 7 percentage points to 24 percent.

The plan also aims to increase per capita income by 3.3 percent on annual average and set a target of limiting inflation to 5.6 percent during the plan period.

According to a copy of draft concept paper of the plan, the plan also targets to achieve average annual growth of 3.6 percent for the agriculture sector and 6.5 percent for non-agriculture sector.

Of the total government's development expenditure, 87.68 percent will be spent on non-agriculture sector. With an estimated expenditure of 26.07 percent of the total, transportation and communication sector is expected to be the largest absorber of government investment.

The government's total expenditure, including recurrent expenditure, is estimated to remain 493.38 billion rupees during the plan period. The recurrent expenditure, which mainly finances salaries of government employees, security expenditure and interest of loans, among others, is expected to absorb 55.28 percent (272.72 billion rupees) of the total expenditure.

Capital expenditure that mainly deals with the expenditure related to development activities is likely to be second largest absorber (175.28 billion rupees or 35.53 percent of the total) followed by the principal repayment of loans (9.20 percent).

Of the expected sources of financing, revenue will be financing 63 percent while foreign assistance 27 percent and internal loan near 10 percent.

The new fiscal year starts from mid-July. (One U.S. dollar equals about 65 Nepali rupees.)

Source: Xinhua