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Kathmandu Tuesday August 07, 2001 Shrawan 23, 2058.
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Overdraft exceeds Rs 5b
NRB to reduce Indian currency reserve
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - Governor of Nepal Rastra
Bank (NRB) Dr Tilak Rawal has said that the government has drawn an overdraft of Rs 5
billion plus in the previous fiscal year and the NRB has sent a letter to the Finance
Ministry to reduce it.
It is agreed upon that the government should
not draw an overdraft exceeding Rs 1 billion in order to maintain fiscal discipline.
However, the government was forced to draw an overdraft of that amount due to poor revenue
mobilization in the last fiscal year.
At a formal program organized on Monday in
the Capital Finance Minister Mahat said that he had already directed the Ministry not to
draw an overdraft exceeding the generally agreed upon practice. Meanwhile, Governor Rawal
has said that the central bank is making efforts to reduce Indian currency reserve.
Currently the NRB has an Indian currency
reserve worth Rs 24 billion and the nation requires a reserve of about 12-13 billion
rupees Indian currency at present.
Talking to economic journalists on Monday
Governor Rawal said that NRB has been making preparation to issue debenture and has also
initiated talks with the Reserve Bank of India to utilize Indian currency worth Rs 6
billion.
He also informed that the Indian currency
reserve swelled as Nepal imported goods worth Rs 7 billion from India on convertible
currency. Besides, the remittance that comes to Nepal from Gulf countries is routed
through India and enters Nepal in Indian currency, he said.
In order to reduce the Indian currency
reserve, NRB is making necessary arrangements to remove the ceiling on drawing draft in
Indian currency, he said.
The governor also said that the central bank
is making plans to facilitate the process of remittance. If this can be done even only to
the remittance from Japan, NRB will get about an additional US $ 3 to 4 million per month,
he said.
Talking about the management contract hand
over of the Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) and Nepal Bank Limited (NBL) to private sector, he
said the financial evaluation of RBB is being done and decision will be made within two
months. So far as the NBL is concerned, it will take some time as the evaluation committee
is being reconstituted, he said.
New regulations pertaining to the finance
companies will also be introduced soon, he added.
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