July 10: A survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics has found that 746 large industries have been opened in Nepal in a span of 27 years from 1992 to 2019.

According to the survey, there were 4,281 large industrial establishments in Nepal in 1992, which increased to 5,017 by 2019. According to the survey, the number of people involved in large industrial establishments increased by 64,707 in the same period from 223,000 in 1992 to 288,000 in 2019.

Meanwhile, Anjaan Neupane, an expert on foreign investment, says the number of industries added during this period is unsatisfactory. He stated that if there had been an investment-friendly environment, more number of big industries would have been established by now. According to Neupane, the state is to blame for the lack of adequate industrialization in Nepal. He said that different rules and multiple taxation imposed on companies after the country went into federalism discouraged investors.

Former Industry and Commerce Secretary, Chandra Kumar Ghimire also says that the environment is still not investment friendly in the country. According to him, the state is failing to attract investment even though there are countless possibilities within the country. He said that despite some increase in investment in hydropower, manufacturing, tourism and service sectors, investment in agriculture, physical infrastructure, information technology, mining and minerals on the other hand is weak. Ghimire said that Nepal is still unable to convince investors.

“We have not been able to create an environment of trust for investment. Introduction of laws related to startups has also been delayed,” he said.

The industrial survey revealed that the country's industrial sector is completely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the survey, 63 percent of industries completely shut down due to the prohibitory order imposed for the prevention and control of the pandemic. The report mentions that 24 percent of the industrial establishments are partially operational and the remaining 13 percent are fully operational. According to the survey, about 17 percent of the workers had to quit their jobs permanently without any facilities during the restriction period.

It is also mentioned in the report that 60 percent of the workers were temporarily jobless without pay due to the impact of Covid-19. Similarly, the survey shows that the salary of 11 percent workers was partially reduced and the remaining 12 percent received the salary later than the stipulated time.

According to the survey, 60,185 industries operating in Nepal have assets worth Rs 619 billion. These industries provide employment to 381,687 people. According to the department, this figure is based on the data of the fiscal year 2075/76.

According to the survey, the above mentioned industries paid a salary of Rs 107.89 billion in 2019. A total of 76 percent of the industrial establishments operate for 270 days, 19 percent for 180 to 269 days, 4 percent for 90 to 179 days and 1 percent for less than 90 days. The industries operate at 25 to 99 percent of their total production capacity.

The main reasons for not operating at full capacity lack of market or lack of demand (46 percent), lack of raw materials (10 percent), lack of resources (8 percent) and lack of skilled workers (8 percent). The number of industries operating for more than 18 hours a day is 1 percent.  Similarly, 77 percent of industries operate for 6 to 11 hours a day.

The survey revealed that the tendency to take loans among small manufacturing industries involving less than 10 people is low. Only 34 percent of such industries took loans from financial institutions. According to the department, 5 percent of small scale industries are in the process of getting loan and 60 percent are not in the process of getting a loan.

Large industries involving more than 10 people are ahead in terms of loans. The report showed that 45 percent of the large industries took loans from banks and financial institutions.

Among the industries operating in the country, 356 are related to mining and quarrying, 56,000 are involved in production, 994 in electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioned services and 2,224 in water supply, sewerage and waste management.

The survey has shown that the number of employees in the mining and quarrying sector is 5,700. Similarly, 346,000 employees are involved in industrial production, 17,000 in electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioned services and 12,500 employees in water supply, sewerage and waste management sectors.