The newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, has said the budget brought by the previous government would not be a hindrance to implementing the vision and mission of the newly-formed government.

Taking charge of his office after reaching the Ministry of Finance at Singha Durbar following the oath-taking ceremony at the Office of the President today, Minister Paudel believed that the budget for the upcoming fiscal year will not hamper the course of action to be charted by the newly-formed government.

He opined that any problems encountered in budget implementation could be revised in a procedural manner. “The budget will not be an obstacle to implementing the government’s objectives and vision. If any obstacles are encountered, there are legal and constitutional provisions to sort them out. We will go for an amendment process accordingly,” the Finance Minister added.

Stating that the formation of a joint government of the two largest parties in parliament has given a message of political stability, he expressed confidence that the problems seen in the country’s economy would gradually be resolved with the formation of a’stable government’. “The government moves ahead, pulling apart the existing despondency and creating hope. We will focus on production and employment. I expect all sectors will extend their support for the same in the changed context,” Finance Minister Paudel said, adding, “I wish that the share market proceeds ahead in a balanced manner as the share market is considered to be the mirror of the economy.” Finance Minister Paudel, in assuming his office, made his first decision related to carrying out a study on identifying areas of development finance.

This is Pudel’s third stint as Deputy Prime Minister and the fourth as Finance Minister. He was elected Member of the House of Representatives from Rupandehi electoral constituency number 2 in the general election held on November 20, 2022. He was elected an MP for the first time in 2051 BS and a member of the Constituent Assembly in 2064 BS and 2070 BS. He worked with the Constitution Archives Study and Determination Committee as its chair in 2070 BS.

Before this, Paudel had already served as the Minister for Youth, Sports, and Culture in 2053 BS, as the Minister for Water Resources in 2065 BS, and as the Minister for Defense in 2067 BS. He lived underground from 2035 BS to 2046 BS. He was jailed for three years and fined Rs 3,000 by the then regime in 2037 BS on charge of acting against the government. He waged a jail revolt on the 45th day of his incarceration. Known as an influential leader of the CPN (UML), DPM Paudel has been active in politics for four decades. He is currently the vice chairman of the UML. He was born on December 1, 1959, in Syangja. He is a permanent resident of Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City-8, Rupandehi district. He currently lives in Lalitpur.