Kathmandu. Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has said that the government has not interfered with the autonomy of the bank and the governor }. Finance Minister Wagle said this while responding to the questions raised by the lawmakers on the bill to amend the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058 in the meeting of the Finance Committee.

He clarified that the government would not unnecessarily interfere in the monetary policy, circulars and decisions to be made by the bank .

Finance Minister Wagle also urged the government not to have the illusion that through the Finance Secretary will put the bank under pressure . Stating that the post of Governor of Nepal Rashtra Bank is powerful, he said that the Finance Secretary will only serve as a bridge to coordinate between fiscal and monetary policy.

Stating that it is an established practice that the monetary policy should be brought in line with the spirit of the government’s budget, Finance Minister Wagle said that the provision for this would be made in the budget.

Similarly, the Finance Minister said that there could be interference if there is a situation to bring a monetary policy that is completely contrary to the government’s policy.

lawmakers had said in the meeting that the government should not interfere unnecessarily with the Rastra Bank. They said were trying to make unnecessary interference in the bill designed to amend the proposed Nepal Rastra Bank Bank Act, 2058. Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) lawmaker Parshuram Tamang said that the Rastra should not be made like the Department of the Ministry of Finance. He said that the autonomy of the bank will be lost if the government interferes unnecessarily in the jurisdiction of the bank . He has alleged that the government is trying to make the Act so that the Rastra Bank will take the decision only after asking the government everything.

He suggested that the government should make arrangements to submit the report of the bank to the parliament .On the other hand, Tamang has also demanded the formation of a high-level mechanism to review the monetary policy {{}}. He suggested that the mechanism should be provided in the Act itself.

CPN-UML MP Prof. Dr. Pushparaj Kandel has said that the authority of the Rastra Bank should not be narrowed down by saying autonomy. He has also expressed dissatisfaction with the 3-year term of the Governor.

Clause-wise discussion on the bill designed to amend the Nepal Rashtra Bank Act, 2058 has concluded in the Committee. The committee has directed the committee secretariat to prepare a report after the conclusion of the discussion .