Nepal Living Standards Survey III: Common Nepalis’ access to basic facilities rising
Nepal has made significant progress in social sectors, mainly education and health, in the last seven years. Also, the income gap between the poor and the rich is shrinking, according to findings of the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS) III whose preliminary report was unveiled by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Monday.
The NLSS said common Nepalis’ access to basic facilities has improved in the years. As per the survey, 94.7 percent of the household has access to primary schools within 30 minutes, while 73.8 percent households can reach health centres within half an hour. It says access to other services from banking, market centre, paved road to safe drinking water also improved considerably.
The improvement in the social sector, as shown by the survey, is the outcome of huge investment made by the government over the period. Each year, the annual budget has allocated substantial resources to the health and education sectors.
The social sector also benefited from donors’ high priority in the post-conflict period, with their funding in the sector doubling to 68 percent in FY 2008-09 compared to FY 2001-02, according to the third progress report on Millennium Development Goals.
“The progress achieved in the social sector is due to the investment made by the government in health and education,” said Rameshwor Khanal, former finance secretary. “Remittance also has an important contribution, as a significant portion of the remittance is used in health and education.”
The NLSS shows the same facts that have been documented in the 20th Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP report had termed Nepal as one of the fastest movers in Human Development Index with impressive progress in health and education.
However, Pitambar Sharma, the former vice-chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC), cautioned that the survey also gave a dangerous message that remittance is enough to decrease poverty and deliver facilities. “Reliance on remittance without economic growth in the country may be counterproductive in case the remittance income comes down or stops,” he warned.
The report throws some interesting and encouraging facts. It says the income of poor Nepalis is increasing at a faster rate than that of the rich. It shows the income of the poorest 20 percent of the population increased almost four times than the last living standard survey. According to the survey, the income of the poorest 20 percent of the population increased to Rs 15,888 from Rs 4,003 over the period.
Khanal attributes this rise to the conflict shifting to urban areas. “Post-2005-06, the conflict has shifted to urban areas which is visible in the form of bandas and strikes,” said Khanal. “This means urban economic activities are contracting, while economic activities in rural areas that had suffered from the decade-long conflict are increasing.”
However, Sharma’s understanding is different. “The rise is due to remittance because people of all income levels have gone abroad for employment and have sent remittance,” he said.
However, the richest 20 percent consumes 47 percent of the total consumption, while the poorest 20 percent consumes just 8 percent, according to the survey.
The survey shows that household income from the farm sector has decreased significantly, while the income from the non-farm sector has seen a marked increase. People’s employment in the agriculture sector has also shrunk, while employment in non-agriculture sector has risen. The number of households having their own enterprises has also gone up in the last seven years.
“This trend shows a shift in people’s reliance from agriculture to other sectors,” said former NPC vice-chairman Jagadish Chandra Pokharel. The number of people living in their own homes has come down, while those living in rented houses have gone up. “This is a reflection of growing urbanisation and people’s tendency to live in urban areas,” said Pokharel.
However, the remittance income has made this shift possible, according to them. The survey says a total of 55.8 percent households receive remittance. Each household receives Rs 80,436 per year. Given the growing trend of going to third countries for employment, remittance from India has come down significantly.
However, the worrying factor is that despite receiving remittance as high as Rs 259 billion in the fiscal year 2010-11, the money is not being used in the productive sector. A significant portion (78.9 percent) of the remittance is being used in daily consumption followed by loan repayment. Then come property purchases and investment in education. Only 2.4 percent of the total remittance is used for capital formation, according to the NLSS.
“Now, the challenge is how to mobilise the vast resources received as remittance in the productive sector,” said Pokharel. “Its use in production growth will help neutralise the loss on production due to migration.”
Despite all these progresses, the survey shows that the agriculture sector is most neglected. The percentage of irrigated land has remained stagnant at 54 percent over the last seven years. The number of small farmers holding less than 0.5 hectares of lands has gone up.
Shrinking income gap between rich and poor
Income 1995-96 2003-04 2010-11
Poorest 20% of population Rs 2,020 Rs 4,003 Rs 15,888
Richest 20% of population Rs 19,325 Rs 40,486 Rs 94,149
Posted on: 2011-08-09 08:35
Post Your Comment
Today's Paper
The Kantipur in Print
FROM THE PAST 7 DAYS
ENTER KEYWORD OR DATE
FROM THE PAST 7 DAYS
ENTER KEYWORD OR DATE
Abin
All of them discussed the issue. The result was the same...and we have committed to continue discussions on the issue till midnight.
ADVERTISEMENTS
OUR PUBLICATION :
