Except for a few episodes of growth spurts, economic growth has largely been low yet volatile in Nepal, mostly stagnating below 5%.
Achieving a higher growth rate in FY2018 would require stronger factors than in FY2017. However, this is an unlikely scenario.
The time has come to stabilize the recurrent budget at this level and then start culling unproductive, repetitive and zombie projects.
Achieving and sustaining a high growth rate is critical to attain the vision of becoming a prosperous middle-income country by 2030.
The generation that will lead Nepal in 2030 will be driven by pragmatism rather than ideologies of the bygone era that consumed their parents and grandparents.
The prime focus of the government at this stage is to develop competitiveness of smallholder farmers to enter into markets, generation of skilled labor in agriculture and to some extent establish effective value chains.