Govt waives Rs 4 billion loans

The Ministry of Finance has said that the government has waived Rs 4 billion in loans of small farmers and small entrepreneurs.

The decision to this effect was taken in accordance with the Debt Relief Programme announced in this year's budget.

It is also informed that the government has so far provided loan relief to 181,209 small borrowers.

Out of the total waived amount, Rs 2.55 billion was in form of principal while the remaining Rs 1.50 billion was outstanding interests and penalties, it is learnt.

The government in its budget presented for this fiscal year had announced a loan waiver of up to Rs 30,000 in principal amount for those small farmers and entrepreneurs who were affected by conflicts. Likewise, the budget had also announced exemption of interest due and all penalties on the loan amount exceeding Rs 30,000 and up to Rs 100,000. nepalnews.com nd Feb 16 09