Kathmandu. The draft of the ‘National Commitment’ released with the goal of making the country a respectable middle-income nation within five years has also given priority to the issues of insurance and social protection. The 18-point commitment paper has been prepared by incorporating the manifestos of six different political parties and has put forward concrete plans for the economic security of the citizens and risk mitigation.
Contribution based pension for farmers:
The government has promised to bring a major reform in the agriculture sector, provide ‘Kisan Credit Card’ and start a contribution-based farmer pension program.TAG_OPEN_p_33 It aims to provide old age financial security or pension facility to millions of farmers dependent on agriculture. Likewise, a policy has been adopted to make agricultural insurance more effective to reduce agricultural losses. Apart from this, the government’s commitment to provide insurance and concessional loan facilities has also been mentioned in the draft.
Landless and small farmers will be protected and small farmers will be given necessary subsidies for agricultural produce. In addition to the contribution-based farmer pension, only genuine farmers will be provided with subsidies, loans, facilities and social security on the basis of farmers’ identity cards.
Depositor Protection and Co-operative Regulation:
The government is to take stern steps to protect the savings of the general public by resolving the problems seen in the cooperative and microfinance sectors.TAG_OPEN_p_32 According to the draft, the government has announced to give priority to the return of money to the depositors of the troubled cooperatives and to establish an ‘Integrated Savings Security Fund’ for the safety of depositors. Apart from this, the government has also pledged to give powerful powers to the Nepal Rastra Bank to directly regulate cooperatives and microfinance, and to define meter interest as a financial offense and take action against them.
Social Security for Workers and Poor Groups:
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Point No. 3 of the commitment letter includes the issues of social security and guarantee of workers’ occupational rights.TAG_OPEN_p_31 The aim is to bring workers working in the informal sector under the ambit of social security and protect their income.
Health Insurance and Universal Access:
The plan is to provide an opportunity to the health insurance program in a more robust model and accessible to every citizen. In addition to implementing ‘One Citizen One Digital’ health profile, scattered health facilities and subsidies will be integrated into social security programs.
} The draft has mentioned that the health insurance program will be effectively expanded across the country by announcing the ‘National Health Year 2027’.
Good Governance and Corruption Control:
The digital economy and the digitalization of government services have been emphasized to make insurance and protection programs transparent.TAG_OPEN_p_28
} The government has sought feedback on this draft by April 23. The implementation of this commitment is expected to bring a big change in the insurance market and social security sector of Nepal.
