Govt letting private sector trade salt to serve a tycoon who is also PM’s advisor

With the new budget of the fiscal year 2021/22 , the government has decided to allow the private sector to import and distribute the salt. The 221st point of the budget announcement states that salt production and distribution will be made competitive with the participation of the private sector to make the supply of iodised salt available at a reasonable price.

The budget announcement has posed a threat to the business of Salt Trading Corporation Limited, a state-owned company that has been importing and selling salt in Nepal since 1963. The decision is said to be in the interest of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s economic advisor Moti Lal Dugar, former state minister for industry, commerce and supplies.