General Evaluation of Immediate Past Plan (15th Plan)

Fifteenth Plan (2019/20–2023/24 AD) (2076/77 – 2080/81 BS)

Long-term Vision 2043

‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’

A prosperous, independent, and socialism-oriented economy with happy, healthy, and educated citizens enjoying equality of opportunities, dignity, and high living standards.

Long-term National Goals 2043

1. Prosperity	2. Happiness
1.1 Accessible modern infrastructure and intensive connectivity	2.1 Well-being and decent life
1.2 Development and full utilization of Human capital potentials	2.2 Safe, civilized and just society
1.3 High and sustainable production and productivity	2.3 Healthy and balanced environment
1.4 High and Equitable National Income	2.4 Good governance
	2.5 Comprehensive democracy
	2.6 National unity, security, and dignity

 National Goal

The fifteenth plan will provide a basis for achieving the long-term vision of “prosperous Nepal, happy Nepali." Accordingly, the national goal of this plan is to create a basis for upgrading Nepal to the status of a high-income country by transforming it into a socialist-oriented welfare state with a prosperous economy, social justice, and improved living standards.

Key Quantitative Targets and Achievements

S. No.	Indicators	Status (FY 2075/76)	Five Year Target	Progress (FY2079/80)
1.	Economic Growth Rate (%)	6.8	10.3	3.50
2.	PCI (USD)	1,047	1,595	1,456
3.	Poverty – Absolute (%)	18.7	9.5	20.3
4.	Power generation—connected capacity (MW)	1,250	5,820	2,877
5.	Household access to electricity (%)	88	100	96.7
6.	National and Provincial Highways (Km)	7,890		14,765
7.	Population with access to the internet (%)	65.9	80	69.2
8.	Gini Coefficient (Consumption)	0.31	0.29	0.30
9.	Human Development Index (HDI)	0.579	0.624	0.601

The evaluation of Nepal's 15th Plan shows mixed progress, with some indicators showing substantial improvements and others highlighting challenges and unmet targets. While the PCI increased from USD 1,047 to USD 1,456, the power generation capacity rose from 1,250 MW to 2,877 MW, household access increased from 88% to 96.7%, internet penetration improved from 65.9% to 69.2%, and the Human Development Index improved from 0.579 to 0.601, slightly below the target. However, economic disruptions hindered progress in economic growth, poverty reduction, and inequality. The plan emphasizes the need for stronger implementation mechanisms, resource mobilization, and disaster preparedness.

Fundamental Questions and Challenges in Development Efforts

Based on the progress of the planned development efforts and the progress review of the Fifteenth Plan, the fundamental questions and challenges in the development efforts have been identified as follows

1. Continued low economic growth, structural problems in the economy, shrinking of the manufacturing sector, and declining contribution of the secondary sector; extension of the tertiary sector without the solid foundation of primary and secondary sectors

2. Low production and productivity, rising production costs, and weak competitiveness; Increasing aversion to agriculture and dependence on even basic foodstuffs

3. Consumption-oriented imports and low export capacity and high trade deficit

4. Migration of young manpower for foreign employment due to limited internal employment opportunities

5. Fragmented social security programs, increased liability, poor management and low-security perception

6. An education system not linked to the production system; Problems of quality and timeliness in higher education; poor human resource management

7. Weak public health system with poor access to even basic health services by ordinary citizens

8. Mismatch between demand and supply of infrastructure, poor management of sustainable infrastructure development dimensions, and low quality of built physical infrastructure

9. Lack of reliable, secure, and sustainable use of modern information technology and increasing security challenges

10. A wide gap between the demand and supply of urban infrastructure and service facilities and unorganized urbanization, ineffective integrated settlement development and relocation programs

11. Changes in the form of violence against women, children, senior citizens, and marginalized communities, economic-social discrimination, and continuation of traditional thinking

12. Gaps between policies, practices, and outcomes related to inclusion

13. Weak level interconnection, low progress towards achieving inclusive, equitable, and balanced regional development through a strong federal governance system

14. The gap between public expenditure needs and resource mobilization capacity; large share of revenue based on imports; challenges in implementing fiscal federalism with an uncertain public finance system

15. Low capital allocation and low spending capacity; uncontrollable costs and delays in construction of infrastructure projects; low returns compared to costs

16. Mobilization of financial resources between limited persons and entrepreneurs; not reaching the expected contribution to production and job creation from financial resources

17. Poor conditions of market competition; increase in informal transactions and revenue and capital leakage; abnormal fluctuations in liquidity, prices, and supply

18. Citizen complaints regarding the quality of public service delivery and security arrangements; the challenge of corruption control; ensuring social justice and speedy justice

19. High pressure on the environment; the challenge of mitigating the effects of climate change and adopting sustainable development and green economy

20. Managing the challenges that come with the achievements of upgrading in developing countries; resource management and effective implementation for sustainable development goals.