Kathmandu, November 17
The government has set a target of receiving Rs 59.92 billion in foreign grants in the current fiscal year. However, it did not receive a penny in the first quarter of the year.
Ritesh Shakya, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, says the government, nonetheless, received commitments for Rs 5.81 billion in this period. Green Climate Fund, Asian Development Bank and the Swiss government have expressed their commitments for grants in this period.
Shakya says the amount of foreign grants the government receives in a certain period depends on the progress made in the projects run with such assistance in the past.
Meanwhile, economist Govinda Raj Pokharel says the Covid-19 crisis might be the reason for the decrease in the grant amount. Nonetheless, the amount of foreign grants that Nepal receives is on the decline for the past five years.
