KATHMANDU, May 29: The government has announced that all Nepali will get health insurance coverage within three years.
The ambitious target is aimed at ensuring that no citizen will have to be deprived of basic health treatment in the lack of economic resources.
Though the government has not made any specific allocation in the budget to meet the ambitious target, it is expanding the government-subsidized health insurance services as part of intensifying the implementation of National Health Insurance Scheme.
Similarly, the government has said that it would encourage insurance companies to expand their services across the country and increase insurance awareness.
The government has also given continuity to its insurance premium subsidy program for agri and cattle insurance in the upcoming fiscal year 2017/18. So far, the subsidized agro and cattle insurance program is currently available from insurance companies only. But Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara, presenting the budget for the new fiscal year, said that such facility will be made available from agro cooperatives also.
CONTRIBUTION-BASED PENSION FOR FARMER
The government has announced that it will conduct a study to provide contribution-based pension to farmers as per their classification based on land area and ownership.
Similarly, the government has said that it would open a dairy industry in partnership with agro cooperatives to become self-reliant on dairy products.
The government has allocated a total of Rs 30.40 billion for the agriculture and livestock sector that contribute nearly 30 percent to the total GDP. Likewise, the government has also said that necessary infrastructures will be built for agriculture market near Mid-hills Highway and North-South Corridor Highway in order to increase market access for farmers.
The government has also allocated budget to carry out feasibility study of Kerung-Pokhara-Lumbini railway that connects Lumbini – the birthplace of Lord Buddha -- with China. Similarly, the government has unveiled a plan to dig a tunnel for existing Koteshwar-Suryabinayak road section for expanding the runway and building a new parking bay to reduce air traffic at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Similarly, the government has put tourism infrastructure development and promotion as one of the 13 priorities in the new fiscal year.
“Along with taking needful initiative for implementing existing master plans of different tourism destinations, the government will prepare master plan of new tourism destinations to bring more tourists to the country,” Mahara said in his speech.