The debate over size of Nepalese Army: Balancing Development and Expenses!
The recurrent expenditure of the country is rising. As the burden of recurrent expenses and financial management continues to grow, the recently introduced budget for the fiscal year 2081/82 (2024/25) shows that the share of capital expenditure is less than 19%. With time, the demand for larger and more ambitious development projects is increasing, raising concerns about their funding sources. Given that the government’s expected revenue collection barely covers recurrent expenditures, managing the development budget has become a major challenge. Several efforts have been made to control recurrent expenditure. The government has announced mergers and dissolutions of various governmental bodies at different times, but their implementation has not been effective. One of the widely discussed topics is the size of the Nepalese Army. There are ongoing discussions and debates at different levels about whether to reduce or increase the number of army personnel. Strong opinions exist on both s...