Four years, side by side

How the budgets compare

The budget has grown by more than a fifth in four years, but the structural story (recurrent spending near 60%, capital near 20%) has barely shifted. Here is the full picture.

Total budget size

Rs billion

Total budget (Rs bn)

Recurrent vs capital share

% of total

Capital %Recurrent %

Growth vs inflation targets

% per year

Growth target %Inflation target %

The one chart that matters

In every budget from FY 2080/81 to FY 2083/84, capital spending stayed near 20% while recurrent spending hovered around 60%. Despite four different finance ministers and repeated promises of “reform”, the fundamental shape of the budget has changed only at the margins.

2080/81

17%

capital

2081/82

19%

capital

2082/83

21%

capital

Year on year, in depth

FY 2082/83 vs FY 2083/84, line by line

FY 2082/83 was a coalition continuity budget focused on maintaining programs and modest reform. FY 2083/84 is a structural-reform budget that introduces instruments which did not exist a year earlier and makes the boldest tax and pay moves in years.

FY 2082/83

Bishnu Prasad Paudel (Deputy PM)

Presented 15 Jestha 2082

FY 2083/84

Dr. Swarnim Wagle

Presented 15 Jestha 2083

Key macroeconomic figures

Item	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	Change
Total budget size	Rs 1,964.11 bn	Rs 2,124.34 bn	+8.2%
GDP growth target	6%	7%	+1 pp
Inflation target	Up to 5.5%	Up to 6%	+0.5 pp
Tax revenue target	Rs 1,315.00 bn	Rs 1,405.32 bn	+6.9%
Foreign grants	Rs 53.45 bn	Rs 61.74 bn	+15.5%
Foreign loans	Rs 233.66 bn	Rs 247.28 bn	+5.8%
Internal borrowing (net)	Rs 362.00 bn	Rs 164.11 bn	down 55%
Sub-national transfer	Rs 582.83 bn	Over Rs 600 bn	+3%

Budget composition

Item	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	Change
Current expenditure	60.1%	59.8%	down 0.3 pp
Capital expenditure	20.8%	20.3%	down 0.5 pp
Financial provision	19.1%	19.9%	+0.8 pp

Significantly increased allocations (Rs bn)

Item	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	Change
Roads & Urban infrastructure	~253	286.48	+13%
Energy	~70	85.54	+22%
Agriculture	~40	46.92	+17%
Water & Sanitation	30.20	37.17	+23%
Sports	3.20	4.03	+26%
Social Security	~110	120.00	+9%
Health insurance budget	10.19	15.00	up
Chemical fertilizer	28.82	32.46	up

FY 2082/83 figures marked approximate are as published.

Tax and revenue policy changes

Item	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	Status
Personal income tax exemption	Rs 5 lakh	Rs 10 lakh	doubled
Top marginal income tax rate	39%	29%	cut 10 pp
Customs tariff slabs	11 tiers	7 tiers	simplified
Raw-material customs cut	Selected items	273 types reduced	expanded
Excise duties abolished	None	360 items	new
Digital-payment VAT discount	None	10% discount	new
Capital gains tax (listed stocks)	Separate filing	Final withholding	simplified
Tax audit period	4 years	3 years	reduced
Advance tax on food imports	Applied	Abolished	removed
Revenue research dept (ICTD)	Active	Abolished	removed
IT-sector export income tax	Standard rate	50% exemption	new
Cigarette excise	Standard	About 10% higher	increased
Alcohol and beer excise	Standard	Increased	increased

Energy sector targets

Item	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	Status
New capacity to be added	~800 MW	1,040 MW	up
Total installed capacity	~4,495 MW	5,535 MW	up
Energy allocation	~Rs 69.5 bn	Rs 85.54 bn	+22%
NEA restructuring	Mentioned	Split into 3 companies	legislated
Green hydrogen	None	2.5 MW pilot, Hetauda	new
Battery storage	None	100 MW, Kathmandu Valley	new

Key social targets

Item	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	Status
Health insurance coverage	50%	45%, rising to 90% in 3 yrs	rebased
Foreign tourist arrivals	15 lakh	13 lakh	lowered
Per tourist daily spend	USD 60	USD 45	lowered
Safe drinking water (5-yr)	Not stated	100% of population	new
Dalit child nutrition allowance	Rs 500/month	Rs 1,000/month	doubled
Civil servants' salary	Frozen 4 yrs	About 21% net rise	increased
Children's cancer treatment	Not stated	Free in govt hospitals	new

Governance and institutional changes

Item	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	Status
Federal ministries	22	18 (already done)	reduced
Agencies	None announced	31 abolished, 6 merged, 18 restructured	new
Estimated savings	None	About Rs 20 bn	new
Embassies closed	None	Denmark, Brazil, S. Africa + 2 consulates	new
LDC graduation	Active process	Deferred 2 more years	deferred
AML grey-list exit	Mentioned	Active goal, exit ASAP	prioritized
Sovereign AI Computing Center	None	At Syuchatar, Kathmandu	new
Sovereign Wealth Fund	None	Matrubhumi Kosh	new
Offshore bonds	None	Offshore, clean-energy, diaspora	new
Capital market reforms	Basic	Intraday, derivatives, GDRs, P2P	expanded

Financial transfers to provinces and local governments

Transfer type	Province		Local
Transfer type	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84	FY 2082/83	FY 2083/84
Equalisation grant	Rs 60.66 bn	Rs 61.50 bn	Rs 88.97 bn	Rs 90.20 bn
Conditional grant	Rs 30.35 bn	Rs 39.72 bn	Rs 211.46 bn	Rs 206.08 bn
Complementary grant	Rs 3.28 bn	Rs 4.60 bn	Rs 10.06 bn	Rs 8.93 bn
Special grant	Rs 3.27 bn	Rs 3.82 bn	Rs 9.78 bn	Rs 9.40 bn
Revenue sharing (total)	Rs 165 bn		Rs 175 bn
Total sub-national transfer	Rs 582.83 bn		Over Rs 600 bn

Major new initiatives

Nepal's first Sovereign AI Computing Center (Syuchatar, Kathmandu)
Sovereign Wealth Fund, Matrubhumi Kosh
NEA split into 3 companies (generation, transmission, distribution)
Four regional growth quadrangles (Madhesh, Karnali, Gandaki, Far-West)
Vision Kathmandu 2040 urban plan launch
Offshore bonds in international markets
National Asset Management Company
Labour Registry, mandatory registration for workers
Green hydrogen pilot plant (Hetauda, 2.5 MW)
100 MW battery storage system (Kathmandu Valley)
Investment Express, an automated approval route for investors
Food and Drug Administration establishment

Dropped or reduced

Foreign tourist arrival target lowered: 15 lakh to 13 lakh
Per tourist spend target reduced: USD 60 to USD 45 per day
Net internal borrowing cut by about 55%
LDC graduation deferred by 2 more years
Revenue Research Department abolished
360 excise duties abolished (revenue loss offset by a wider base)
Five embassies and consulates closed
Forest ministry merged into the Agriculture ministry

Structural shifts

Focus shifts from continuity and consolidation to structural reform
Finance minister changes from Paudel (party coalition) to Dr. Wagle (technocrat)
Growth target raised from 6% to an ambitious 7%
Income tax threshold doubled, the largest personal tax relief in decades
Civil servants got zero rise in 4 years; 2083/84 gives about a 21% net raise
NEA reforms move from mentioned to actual unbundling legislated
Private sector given international electricity trading rights
AI explicitly budgeted for the first time, with sovereign compute infrastructure

Public debt trajectory

Total public debt grows from about Rs 2,864.58 bn to Rs 3,368.77 bn, a 17.6% increase. External debt rises faster (+22.9%) than internal debt (+11.9%).

The full table

Every metric, every year

Metric	2080/812023/24	2081/822024/25	2082/832025/26	2083/84new2026/27
Total outlay	Rs 1.75 trillion	Rs 1.86 trillion	Rs 1.96 trillion	Rs 2.12 trillion
Recurrent	Rs 1.14 trillion (65.2%)	Rs 1.14 trillion (61.3%)	Rs 1.18 trillion (60.1%)	Rs 1.27 trillion (59.8%)
Capital	Rs 302.07 bn (17.3%)	Rs 352.35 bn (18.9%)	Rs 407.89 bn (20.8%)	Rs 431.1 bn (20.3%)
Financing	Rs 307.45 bn (17.6%)	Rs 367.28 bn (19.7%)	Rs 376.02 bn (19.1%)	Rs 422.64 bn (19.9%)
Revenue target	Rs 1.25 trillion	Rs 1.26 trillion	Rs 1.31 trillion	Rs 1.41 trillion
Growth target	6%	6%	6%	7%
Inflation target	6.5%	5.5%	5.5%	6%
Finance Minister	Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat	Barshaman Pun 'Ananta'	Bishnu Prasad Paudel	Dr. Swarnim Wagle
Presented	29 May 2023	28 May 2024	29 May 2025	29 May 2026

Note: FY 2083/84 ministries were merged/restructured, so per-ministry allocations are not directly comparable line-for-line with earlier years. All figures in NPR.

Sources & data note

Combined sources across all four fiscal years. Headline figures originate from the Ministry of Finance budget speeches and are cross-checked against the publications listed.