May 8: The federal parliament has started deliberation on the principles and priorities of the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year, 2023/24 presented by the government in the House of Representatives.    
Lawmakers on Monday put forth their views on the proposal during the deliberation on the principles and priorities of the bill (except taxes) put forward by Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat in the first meeting of the Budget Session of the federal parliament on Sunday.    
The deliberation will run for three days. On the occasion, former finance ministers Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and Bishnu Prasad Paudel put their views on the existing situation of the country's economy, possible challenges and next strategies.    
They stressed the need for prioritising the programmes that would create job opportunities and contribute to sustainable economic development by taking the economy on the road to improvement.    
Karki, who is also a Nepali Congress lawmaker, suggested that the next budget should mainly focus on production and employment. "We do not have the luxury of making the budget excitedly due to a shrinkage of income sources. In this present situation, a realistic budget is needed, but not a populist one," he said.    
He welcomed and supported Minister Dr Mahat for his commitments to get economic growths, increments in job opportunities and development of sustainable economy through the principles and priorities of the Bill.    
Similarly, Paudel, a CPN (UML) lawmaker, suggested that the budget should prioritises the goals of taking the country on the path to economic prosperity.    
He also warned of possible economic recession in case of failure to take effective initiatives to improve the negative indicators of the country's economy.

“The budget should also accommodate the things keeping in view of the current economic challenges,” he said. -- RSS