Planning and Budgeting in the Provinces of Federal Nepal
In its 2015 Constitution, Nepal adopted a federal system of governance. The constitution prescribes a three-tier governance system with federal, provincial, and local levels, and lists the exclusive and concurrent powers of all tiers of government, which authorize them to exercise their rights by making laws, policies, plans, and annual budgets within their jurisdiction. Since formation in 2017, provincial governments have been successful in laying the basic minimum policies, legislation, and institutional framework to manage their public finances. However, there is limited information about the provincial institutional structures, budgeting and planning processes, types of programs selected, fiscal transfer, expenditures, etc. To fill this knowledge gap, The Asia Foundation commenced this study reviewing legal and institutional arrangements, practices of fiscal federalism principles, and annual budgeting and planning processes, in all seven provinces in Nepal. The study is desk-based with necessary information collected from email, telephone, and virtual discussions with relevant agencies of the federal and province governments.
