Nepali economy in sound condition: minister

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KATHMANDU, March 14 (Xinhua): Nepali Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai said all the economic indictors in Nepal were positive despite an economic crisis in the world. local newspaper The Rising Nepal reported today.

Speaking at a press conference on mid-term evaluation, the minister, however, expressed his concern that the country failed to see an expected economic growth and contain inflation.

The government projected a growth rate of 7.0 per cent and an inflation rate of 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal year's budget, implemented since mid-July, 2008.

According to the figures complied by the Central Bureau of Statistics during the last six months, economic growth in this fiscal year would stand at 3.8 per cent while the inflation this year, according to the central bank Nepal Rastra Bank, would be at 12.5 per cent.

Minister Bhattarai said that the Koshi floods in southeastern Nepal, bird flu, energy crisis, strikes and other obstructions hampered the economic growth.

Bhattarai said that the government would adopt different measures to control the price hike in the country. The government would go for additional market interference to control the inflation, he said.

He further said that the government would use government's mechanism for supply management and punish those who were involved in black marketing to minimise inflation.

Bhattarai said that the government had exceeded its revenue targets due to good governance. According to the report, the revenue collection increased by more than 36 percent till mid- February compared to the last fiscal year.