Setback To Growth

Nepal’s persistent aspiration to achieve prosperity has often met unintended yet damaging obstacles. In the last decade, natural disasters and the pandemic proved catastrophic. The 2015 earthquake, the COVID-19 pandemic and ruinous floods and landslides, including the recent Bhotekoshi mayhem, have buffeted the nation in succession. They caused huge losses of life and property. The psychological trauma can’t be measured in monetary terms, though it also entails unseen economic costs.   As the country attempts to pick up the pieces, it faces another tragedy. This cycle of devastations have detrimental impact on recovery, economic growth and job creation. In many cases, reconstruction costs are not borne by the national budget. Seeking foreign aid becomes imperative for speedy recovery and brings the economy back on track. Our fragile ecology, political instability and weak manufacturing and dependent economy have also posed structural barriers to the overall development process.