24 May, Kathmandu:

Various economists have said that the salary of civil servants should be increased to encourage them with their job to serve general public devotedly.

The speakers at an interaction on ‘upcoming budget’ at Reporter’s Club in the Capital on Monday stressed the need for hiking the remuneration of civil servants to keep bureaucracy intact and help with career development.

Some speakers advocated fixing minimum salaries of each government employee at Rs 25,000, while others opted for doubling the existing salary.

On a different note, speaking at the event, advisor at the Finance Ministry Prof Dr Gobinda Nepal said that the government was preparing to bring ‘popular’ budget instead of ‘populist’.

He said that the size of the budget would be bigger than that brought during ruling of the government that run for nine months under the leadership of CPN-UML as aspiration and necessity of people have increased comparatively. He also shared that the budget would accommodate various plans to increase agricultural produces.

Saying that budget should prioritise economic growth and employment creation, former Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr Gobinda Pokharel said that the budget should increase investment in post-quake reconstructions and infrastructure development. RSS