“The bill has already been finalized. We are planning to forward it to parliament for endorsement soon,” said Paratap Kumar Pathak, secretary at the Ministry of Industry (DOI).[break]
Speaking at a training organized by the Department of Small and Cottage Industries in Pokhara, Pathak said the new bill focuses on promoting small and cottage industries.
The new Act, once it comes into effect, will give due protection to domestic industries as well, Pathak said, adding that such a provision has been incorporated in the bill as per the Industrial Policy that the government endorsed last year.
Joint secretary of DOI Birendra Raj Sharma said increasing power cuts and labor unrest have largely added to the cost of production, eating away the capacity of domestic companies to compete with imported goods.
“The country direly needs to work out ways to end power cuts soon. There is a pressing need to build good industrial relations as well,” Sharma said, adding that without addressing these bottlenecks, Nepali industries will not to grow no matter what the government promises in policy documents.
Dr Lakshman Pun, coordinator of National Small Enterprise Development Program laid emphasis on balanced regional industrial growth. He said the government should run different programs in rural areas, so that more industries could be established there.
The training was attended by 45 entrepreneurs from various districts, including Kaski, Chitwan and Kavre. According to a survey of the department, there are 4,627 small and cottage industries in operation in Pokhara as of mid-November, 2010. They have employed 39,674 people.
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