Mar 20, Kathmandu- Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that loans will be disbursed to at least five hundred entrepreneurs this year by providing startup loan assistance to make the youth entrepreneurial.

While answering questions from lawmakers in today's meeting of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Oli informed that the selection process from interested proposers has reached the final stage in the program to disburse loans at concessional interest rates to attract investors in startup-based entrepreneurship development by encouraging creativity and innovation.

He said that the government had recently concluded the National Labor and Employment Conference with the aim of creating a sustainable basis for domestic employment by expanding production and productivity within the country. He added that as the world has now become a global village, citizens of no matter how developed and wealthy a country is, there is a global trend of going abroad for business, employment and studies as per their preferences.

"The fact that the country's youth have left should not be understood in a completely negative way. The dual nature of considering going abroad as a matter of pride on an individual level and negatively interpreting it socially has sent a negative message", Prime Minister Oli said, "Yesterday, there were limited options for livelihood, today it has expanded. Our youth have also taken advantage of the choice to go to any corner of the world. By saying this, we have not been doing anything to create entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for the youth in our country. We should not spread the wrong message that this country is not being built, nothing is being built here."

Prime Minister Oli said that various policy and legal reforms have been made in the country to make the industrial investment environment investment-friendly, to attract foreign investment by encouraging domestic investment, to create employment by increasing production and productivity, and to reduce the trade deficit through import management and export promotion.

He also claimed that education in Nepal is not weak. He also said that the youth who go abroad should be taught to love the country even when there are opportunities in Nepal.

"Education in our country is not bad. It is cheaper than the rest. We should not go abroad when there is an opportunity here," he said. "We should teach people to love their country. The government is serious. We are helping the youth not only to find employment but also to become entrepreneurs."