The most expansive budget in Nepali history is simultaneously steeped in austerity, as Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle juggles the RSP’s expansionist, high-tech promises with the rigid financial discipline demanded by international monitors.

Introduction Nepal cultivates many high-value, unique ecological products. Large cardamom, cultivated in the eastern hills of Taplejung and Ilam, accounts for 55–68% of global large-cardamom output. Ilam orthodox tea shares the same Himalayan ridgeline, altitude, and Camellia sinensis varietals as Darjeeling. Timur pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum) is wild-harvested from the Himalayan foothills and is phytochemically distinct […]