Concerns Raised Over Public Debt Burden Approaching Half of GDP, Foreign Debt Regarded as Costly

In Nepal, experts have raised challenges as the public debt burden is expected to reach almost half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, according to some economists. Officials from the Public Debt Management Office under the Ministry of Finance estimate a debt-to-GDP ratio of 47% in the current fiscal year, suggesting that the debt ratio may not decrease from the current level. As of Chaitra, Nepal's public debt stood at NPR 2.933 trillion, revealed Gopikrishna Koirala, the head of the Public Debt Management Office, compared to NPR 2.674 trillion in the previous fiscal year. The revised estimate for the size of the economy in the fiscal year 2081/82 was NPR 6.199 trillion, while the government's initial projection for the fiscal year 2082/83 is to reach NPR 6.6 trillion. Economist Chandramani Adhikari highlighted the increasing ratio of debt compared to GDP as a significant challenge. He mentioned that even the International Monetary Fund suggests that our country's debt ratio should not exceed 50% of the GDP. Ram Prasad Ghimire, the head of the Economics Department at Tribhuvan University, pointed out a continuous rise in the debt situation compared to GDP in Nepal. He noted that the ratio has almost doubled from around 22% a decade ago to the current level.