Govt cuts labour ministry budget by 47.17 pc, allocates Rs 109bn for social security

KATHMANDU: The government has heavily reduced the budget for the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS). The budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26 allocates nearly half the amount granted to the ministry compared with the previous allocation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel presented the budget in the joint session of the Federal Parliament today. He informed that MoLESS has been allocated Rs 4.28 billion, while all sorts of social security have been allocated Rs 109 billion.

In the last fiscal year, the government allocated Rs 8.10 billion to MoLESS, meaning the present allocation is a reduction of 47.17%.

Unveiling the budget, the Finance Minister said that youths will be capacitated as per the needs of the labour market in order to sustainably resolve employment problems. He shared that the government allocated Rs 1.99 billion to run the national employment promotion programme for the upcoming fiscal year, that an employment portal will be launched and that every province will have an employment fair.

Similarly, bilateral labour agreements will be made with various countries through diplomatic channels for the diversification of labour destinations.