Kathmandu, Aug 8: The government says its efforts to revive loss-making and long-defunct state-owned industries and institutions are beginning to produce results, with some reporting higher sales, improved finances and renewed production.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the government has prioritised facilitation, incentives and coordination to revive national industries and make them competitive.
According to government data, Nepal Drugs Limited sold medicines worth Rs 23.8 million in the past four months. After obtaining the World Health Organization’s Good Manufacturing Practices certification, sales increased, while the company posted a profit of Rs 30 million in the last fiscal year. It aims to sell medicines worth Rs 300 million this fiscal year.
The company also plans to produce 98 types of free medicines within three years. It is currently producing 11 types, with preparations for producing 25 of the 37 types targeted for this fiscal year in the final stage.
The long-closed Hetauda Textile Industry is also moving towards reopening. The Nepal Army has been assigned responsibility for test production after the factory’s looms were repaired. The government plans to take over operations after the testing phase.
Nepal Airlines Corporation has also reported financial improvement. It earned Rs 6.276 billion from Chaitra to Asar last fiscal year, Rs 1.102 billion more than during the same period a year earlier. Seat occupancy rose to 86 per cent, up six percentage points. The corporation also paid Rs 106.19 million towards loans taken to purchase aircraft.
Dairy Development Corporation has reduced the payment cycle for farmers’ milk from eight months to two or three months, while outstanding payments fell from Rs 720 million to Rs 350 million. Farmers are also receiving an additional Rs 1 per litre incentive.
The corporation says daily sales rose 35 per cent, pushing average daily revenue from Rs 6 million to Rs 9 million. It has also cut an unlawful employee benefit involving free ghee and milk, saving around Rs 30 million annually.
Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana has also increased production and sales. It produced and marketed Ayurvedic medicines worth Rs 111.6 million after the government was formed, while annual sales reached nearly Rs 130 million last fiscal year, four times the previous year.
The government says it will continue efforts to revive other struggling state enterprises and boost domestic production.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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