Per capita debt of Nepalis surges to Rs 31,750

Per capita debt of Nepalis has increased by Rs 7,043 in the fiscal year 2017-18 to Rs 31,750.
According to the Office of Auditor General's report, the debt burden of a Nepali citizen has gone up to Rs 31,750 from Rs 24,707 in the last fiscal year. "The total debt of the government was Rs 915.31 billion till 2017-18, an increase from Rs 217.62 billion."
Of the total debt, the internal debt and the external debt of the government stands at Rs 391.16 billion and Rs 524.15 billion, respectively. However the increasing debt in not as bad as it is claimed to be due to  low spending capacity and return on the debt that could have created employment and helped capital formation.

How much loan do Nepalis carry on their heads?

How much is too much when it comes to per capita debt?
The state’s indebtedness in terms of per capita has increased by over 60 per cent in the last six year, thanks to the government’s inefficiency.
Nepal’s per capita debt – that is per head – touched Rs 19,748 in the last fiscal year 2011-12, according to the Auditor General’s report. The per capita debt in the fiscal year 2005-06 stood at Rs 12,000 only.
“The increasing per capita debt will not only erode fixed income people’s spending capacity but also country’s capacity to spend on human capital,” said senior economist Prof Dr Bishwhambher Pyakuryal. The government’s capacity to spend on social safety net like primary education and health will be hit hard due to rising burden of debt, he said, adding that debt servicing and borrowing capacity will also take a beating.
Had the government been efficient on its spending the resources, half of the debt would have been reduced as the total debt stood at Rs 523.20 billion and the cumulative questionable expenses have increased to Rs 204.26 billion till the last fiscal year since 2002-03,” the report said.
The country’s total loan till the last fiscal year 2011-12 stood Rs 523.20 billion — including foreign loan of Rs 309.28 billion and domestic loan of Rs 213.92 billion — according to the 50th report of the Auditor General.
The total loan stood at Rs 443.62 billion — including Rs 259.50 billion external loan and Rs 184.12 billion internal loan — till fiscal year 2010-11, which was Rs 403.9 billion, including Rs 256.24 billion external loan and Rs 147.66 billion domestic loan, in the previous fiscal year 2009-10.
The alarming debt has, however, not shown its impact on either capital formation or productive output that has raised doubts of misuse of resources, as around 23 per cent of the foreign assistance is out of the government’s sight, according to the Development Cooperation Report (DCR) 2013.
“A lack of information with the government has made it difficult for it to check how much of the loan has been used in capital formation,” the senior economist added.
“Apart from some 20 per cent of the technical assistance that has been spent on donors themselves on average, there is no harmonisation of the systems among the government agencies on exchange rate calculation,” he said, adding that some agencies calculate exchange rate on the basis of the date of borrowing, whereas others calculate on the date of payment.
Likewise, the internal resources are also grossly misused, the Auditor General’s report said, asking the government agencies to take serious action against the responsible employees.

The increasing burden
Fiscal Year — Outstanding Loan
2007-08 — Rs 366.57 billion
2008-09 — Rs 399.84 billion
2009-10 — Rs 403.90 billion
2010-11 — Rs 443.62 billion
2011-12 —Rs 523.20 billion
(Source: Office of the Auditor General)