Responding With Policy To COVID-19 Crisis

Responding With Policy To COVID-19 Crisis

              

 

The coronavirus pandemic has become a global phenomenon. No country regardless of its size or economic vitality has been able to aloof itself from this. Very few countries which implemented early precautionary measures have been able to minimize insurmountable loss of wealth and human casualties. In this connection, it was indeed a quick maneuver by our state mechanism to realize its possible intensity which forged a timely lockdown. This has been by far the most effective measure to protect the country from possible human casualties. Though on one hand, it has caused some difficulties to the general public, on the other it has saved the country from possible severity of the mass engulfing of the virus. However, prolonged lockdown has put the economy on the verge of recession. The virus will stay with us for a long time until the vaccine arrives, which is no anytime sooner. In this situation, the best thing to do is to continue contemporary preventive measures while also taking precautionary measures to control the damage on the economic front.

 

The IMF predicts the global economy to contract by 3% in 2020 making the current crisis the worst recession since the great depression of the 1930s. The IMF has named this crisis as "The Great Lockdown", because of the global nature of the crisis whose speed and scale of impact is unparallel to any other crisis before and has forced the countries to opt for withdrawing of all social activities through the lockdown. 

 

In response to the crisis, central banks and governments across the globe have introduced various policy measures. Such policy measures are aimed to facilitate the economy to have a V-shaped recovery. In the US the Federal Reserve has approved a $2.2 trillion stimulus package. Similarly, Japan has introduced the largest ever stimulus package worth more than $550 billion of about 10% of its Gross Domestic Product. Many other countries have followed the suit. 

 

Following the pandemic, the IMF, the World Bank, Center Bureau of Statistics, Nepal, etc have estimated the growth rate of Nepal for the current fiscal year to range within 1.5 to 2.5 percent. Though such projection might change depending upon the duration of the crisis, it is obvious that the economy will be hit hard. Given the composition of our GDP, various sectors that contribute to the GDP will be affected in varying intensity. 

 

Sectoral Impact

The structure of the Nepalese economy is primitive akin to that of the developing countries. Nearly more than one-fourth of the GDP is contributed by the primary sector. According to the Economic Survey 2018/19, the contribution to GDP of the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary sectors account for 27.6%, 14.6%, and 57.9% respectively. 

 

Amongst all the sectors, the agriculture sector is least affected and with some arrangements, the government can control the damage. A major contributor to the agriculture sector is paddy, which will sustain its contribution to a large extent. Further, improvement in the supply chain will ensure the marketability of other Agro-products even in a difficult period. In the secondary sector, the manufacturing is disturbed severely on account of the paucity of workers, disturbances of the supply chain, etc. The construction sector is likely to be moderately affected. Continuing the construction activities of large scale projects will ensure that this sector will help to control the damage.  

 

The contribution of the service sector in the economy of the country is paramount. Here the wholesale and retail trade sector with 14.4% of GDP has the highest share. On account of disruption of the supply chain, diminished purchasing power of self-employed, huge layoff of employees and contract workers this sector will also be moderately affected. Another sector that has been hit hard is the hotel and restaurant sector. It was because of the corona crisis that Visit Nepal 2020 was canceled. The downfall in this sector will also negatively affect other sectors like transportation and communication, earnings of the financial intermediaries, agriculture, aviation, etc. As the COVID crisis prolongs, this area will be affected for a longer period. Even after the lockdown, it will take time for this sector to revive.  

 

Another factor that has a vital role in the functioning of our economy, i.e Remittance will also be severely hit. The total inflow of remittance for last fiscal year was NPR 879 billion which for this year is estimated to be limited within NPR 800 billion. With the major destination country's economy forecasted to be in recession, the fall in remittance will continue in days to come. As such new job opportunities abroad will diminish increasing the return of the workers, escalating the unemployment problem in the country. Dive in remittance and number of outgoing migrant workers will lead to multifold repercussions on the economy of the country; liquidity problems in the banking sector, pressure on forex earning, decrease the overall economic activities, and increase the poverty level and inequality in the country. 

 

 

 

Policy measures adopted

Amidst this crisis, Nepal Rastra Bank has announced policy measures to facilitate the economy. The measures aim to lubricate the functioning of the economy via ensuring liquidity ease, reducing the cost of borrowing, flexible provisioning of the loans and its servicing, enhancement of the refinance package, allowing easy access to supplemental capital, and so on.  

 

Furthermore, the government has the responsibility to manage multifold challenges and prioritize its actions. For this, it has introduced various measures in the recently announced fiscal policy for the upcoming fiscal year. For eg, the budget of the health care sector has been increased by Rs 20 billion reaching Rs 90.69 billion aiming to  strengthen the overall health care infrastructure and support our fight against the pandemic.

 

The policy also emphasizes the agricultural sector with the introduction of some novel ideas. Policies aiming to enhance the infrastructure in the agro sector for robust supply chain management, linking products to the market, storage of products, agro-insurance, land bank, irrigation plants, etc when implemented will modernize our agricultural sector, enhance the level of food security in the country and save our expenses on imports. 

 

Furthermore, the policy aims to absorb the unemployed workforce in the agriculture sector and other sectors by creating employment opportunities, addressing those who have been laid off from their job, including the returnee migrant workers. Touted as labor-friendly, the policy also aims to create employment opportunities via the PM Employment Program, has focused on skill-based training, emphasized on subsidized loan via banks and financial institutions, stringent management of the foreign employees working in Nepal, etc. 

 

Consideration has also been taken in line with the frugality measures, for eg withholding all the additional perks and benefits going to the employees, downsizing the Member of Parliament's fund, etc. The policy looks like one to be adhered to during times of crisis.  Along with all these provisions the recently announced fiscal policy looks promising and optimistic.

 

In a nutshell, the overall policy measures recommended are sound and aim to address the dynamics of the current crisis. However, its real excellence will be reflected in its proper implementation. Similarly, the duration of the crisis will also be another limiting factor that might demand some flexibility in due course of time. As such it is pertinent to ensure that the stated policies are timely implemented in a coordinated and transparent manner so that the damage emanating from the corona pandemic can be contained.

Embracing Digital Finance System Need Of Hour

Embracing Digital Finance System Need Of Hour

Financial inclusion can be defined as a state whereby Individuals and businesses have access to meaningful and affordable financial products and services. It means that customers regardless of their geographical location, ethnic, social-cultural, educational, or economic background have access to suitable financial products while ensuring fairness in service delivery at a reasonable cost.

The popularity of financial inclusion is because of the role it plays in reducing poverty and bringing prosperity. Financial inclusion is generally measured in terms of access of people and business to a bank account. Having a bank account means that people can save, send and receive payments as such people are connected with one of the important parts of life-- banking. Such an account serves as a starting point for the users to facilitate day to day living, make immediate and long-term financial plans, and make use of a wide variety of financial services.

Access to finance at present is not only limited to having a bank account in physical banks. With the use of modern technology in the field of banking and finance, financial services are offered through mobile phones, personal computers, the internet, or via linkage of the card to a digital payment platform known as digital financial services (DFS). For any product offerings to be called DFS, it should enable the users to perform basic banking functions like payments, savings, borrowings, etc making use of the internet, and without having to go to the physical branch location. DFS is a broad terminology and also includes Mobile Financial Services (MFS) which means the use of a mobile phone to access financial service and execute financial transactions.

Financial inclusiveness throughout the globe has been low. The World Bank estimates that around 1.7 billion adults worldwide do not have a basic transaction account. In Nepal, around 60 percent of the population is still said to be outside the coverage of the formal banking channel. Low financial literacy, complex KYC requirement, unequal access to infrastructure, convenience in using informal market tools, lack of trust, and inadequate financial awareness are the reasons for staying outside banking services.

Government of Nepal (GoN) has introduced measures to increase the access of people to financial services. It has planned to open a physical branch of commercial banks in all local levels of the government. With about 81 percent of Nepal's population living in rural areas, the increase in number of banks in local level will increase bankable population. Banking at doorsteps will create convenience for the users which were a matter of privilege some years back.  Similarly, the government has launched an opening bank accounts campaign targeting every citizen. To ensure its effectiveness the process of opening bank accounts has been simplified. Opening the bank account earlier required a copy of citizenship but now can be done just by presenting a copy of the driving license, national identity card. Similarly, such accounts will receive a deposit of Rs. 100 from the bank’s side.

The government has also introduced the 'Digital Nepal' campaign which highlights the role of digital financial services to promote digitization of financial transactions. It recommends increasing the limit of digital transactions, reduce the cost of digital financial transactions, issue of national biometric cards, and introduce telecommunication companies into the payment industry. The government, together with other stakeholders can create an enabling environment to promote digital financial services. For instance, recently Bangladesh introduced the 'Digital Bangladesh' campaign which largely increased financial inclusion. Bangladesh, in 2018 had 47 percent of adults in the financial channel, a 10 percent increase from 2017. Such progress was due to a larger portion of the population having access to MFS. Such stories can also be found in countries like Kenya (mPesa), China( Alipay, Wechat), etc. Our own homegrown MFS providers include e-Sewa, IME pay, sparrow pay, etc. that have been gaining momentum.  

A large unbanked population together with a predominantly cash-based economy has been a constant problem to the Nepali financial system for long. A solution can be the extension of digital financial services throughout the country. With mobile penetration rate greater than 100 percent, declining cost per unit of data, high-speed internet solutions, expansion of physical infrastructure, 50 percent internet penetration rate, the environment is conducive for the expansion of digital financial services. This context is more suitable to popularise mobile financial services. The population base with wide access to mobile and internet can be tapped to open digital wallets which would be game-changing to enhance financial inclusion in Nepal. Licensed mobile financial services providers from Nepal Rastra Bank in the form of PSP’s and PSO’s can tap the unbanked population across the country.

Digital finance is instrumental to ensure broader financial inclusion. Similarly, in contrast to the traditional brick and mortar banking, digital finance is more affordable and convenient.  The major advantage of digital finance comes from its ability to offer product offerings at an affordable price, ensuring interoperability across various service providers. It also enables regulators to easily check the flow of black money or undue financial transactions. Another advantage would be the efficiency factor. The use of innovative digital financial services can have a long-lasting positive impact on banking performance.  

Access to digital finance is likely to boost the gross domestic product of the economy by providing service users with a wide range of digital finance products and services. Under banked groups like SME’s, women, and the population on the bottom of the pyramid will have access to financial services. This will boost aggregate expenditure leading to a positive contribution to GDP and will also contribute to the reduction of the poverty level.

The government should build coordination with concerned stakeholders and create an enabling legal and physical infrastructure to promote digital finance in the country. Making use of the technology to offer existing banking solutions and leveraging the benefit of technology to offer mobile financial services across the country will significantly enhance financial inclusion in the country. Such measures will significantly add to the government’s mission of ‘Digital Nepal’.

(The author is an Assistant Director at Nepal Rastra Bank.)