Kathmandu. President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Anjan Shrestha, has said that the time has come to restructure the economy.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the 18th NADA Auto Show 2026 in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Chairman Shrestha stressed on the need of restructuring of the economy at present when the economy is not dynamic at present.

He said economic prosperity was not possible until the investment of private sector was secured and business environment was created.

“The overall demand has not increased, it is difficult to operate the industry and the entrepreneurs are in a difficult situation. “The morale of the business is at an all-time low,” he said, adding, “In my 36-year career, I think this is the lowest point in history. The economy is in a challenging state and the market is sluggish. The new government has not been able to work in practice as promised in the budget. ”

Stating that industries should be established within the country for import substitution in the automobile sector, Shrestha said that the state’s protection was necessary for the same. He said that although some industries have been opened, the government has not paid attention to the problems of the industrialists and entrepreneurs.

He said that although the government had promised to make the economy dynamic through the budget, a per capita income of $ 3,000 in the next five to seven years, an economy of $ 100 billion and 1.2 million jobs, the budget announcement has not been able to move forward.

Presenting the statistics of import of Rs 106 billion in the automobile sector in the last fiscal year, he complained that the state collected Rs 81 billion revenue from the import of automobiles. He suggested that the government should give priority to the sectors contributing Rs 81 billion alone out of Rs 1200 billion in revenue.

Commenting on the incumbent government’s eagerness to reopen the closed industries, Shrestha said that the government did not pay attention to the condition of the industries that have been closed for decades. He said that the government was silent about the problems facing the automobile industry and urged the government to understand the problems faced by the industry and help resolve their problems.