By Ajay Chhetri, Kathmandu, Sept 18: The federal expenditure for the first two months of the current fiscal year has increased by 30 per cent in comparison to the same period of the previous fiscal year (FY).

The data provided in the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) in mid-September showed that the federal expenditure crossed Rs 89.73 billion at the end of the first two months of the current FY. The data of FCGO showed that the amount was Rs 68.56 billion in the same period of the previous FY.

The financial expenditure has a hefty proportion in the rise of aggregate expenditure. The FCGO data accounted for the financial expenditure of Rs 28.73 billion in the first two months of the current FY while the amount was Rs 1.57 billion in the same period of the previous FY.

Former Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Krishna Hari Baskotahas considered the rise of the financial expenditure as a positive cue. He informed that the financial expenditure incurs either government spend for the repayment of debt and principal or payment of arrears of the various institutions.

"Unlike recurrent expenditure, increase in capita and financial expenditure is deemed as expenditure for development and assets creation." He said.

At the end of mid-September, the recurrent expenditure also increased by 8.30 per cent in comparison to the first two months of the same period of the previous FY. The FCGO recorded the recurrent expenditure of Rs 63.24 billion in the first two months of the current FY while the amount was Rs 58.39 billion in the same period of the previous FY.

However, the capital expenditure did not show an encouraging figure. It is fell by 30 per cent in comparison to the first two months of the previous FY. The capital expenditure accounted in the FCGO data is Rs 2.6 billion at the end of the first two months of the current FY slid from Rs 3.7 billion of the previous FY of the same period.