1,635 industries in operation in Karnali

By Our Correspondent, Surkhet, Dec.17: Altogether 1,635 industries are now in operation across Karnali Province. According to the National Industrial Survey 2019, the number of registered and renewed industries in the province stands at 1,635.

There are 60,158 industries in operation across the country.The National Industrial Survey was conducted by the National Statistics Office by classifying the industries into four categories. 

According to the information provided by the Office, five industries related to mining and quarrying, 1,468 related to industrial production, 98 relating to electricity and gas and 64 related to water supply, sewage and waste management are in operation in Karnali.

This figure is very low compared to the industries in other provinces. Only a few large scale industries are operational in Karnali because of lack of infrastructure, according to the survey. In terms of industrial production, only 43 large industries are in operation. The survey showed a lack of infrastructure and investment in industries in the province.

In an interaction organised in Birendranagar by the National Statistics Office to make public the provincial level results of industrial survey, Director of the National Statistics Office Binod Acharya informed that the condition of industries in Karnali is weaker than in other provinces.

He informed that only the registered or renewed industries were surveyed. According to him, the study was conducted by classifying the industries into four areas-- mining and quarrying, industrial production, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning services and water supply, waste management.

He said that although conducting of the survey began in 2019, the survey had completed in July 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results were made public only recently.

More than 4,000 jobs

The survey showed that more than 4,000 people have been employed in the industries operating in Karnali. According to the survey, 4,364 workers receive regular salary and wages. Compared to other provinces, the number of jobs in industrial sector in Karnali is very low. Among them, 55 people have been employed in the mining and quarrying industry, 2,145 in industrial production, 1,773 in the electricity and gas related industry and 391 in the water supply, sewage and waste management industries.

The number of businessmen and partners, unpaid family workers and workers with salary in industries of Karnali is 6,996. The industries operating in Karnali have Rs. 28.90 billion fixed assets. It is less compared to other provinces, except Sudurpashchim Province.

Acharya said that when the investment is low, the production is also low. In Sudurpashchim, industrial investment stands at Rs. 23.32 billion.  There are fixed assets worth Rs. 619.51 billion in the industrial sector across the country.

It has been found that many industries do not operate throughout the year in Karnali for various reasons. The survey showed that only 77 per cent of industries operate for 270 days or more while 1.5 per cent come into operation for less than 90 days.

The survey showed that 36.7 per cent of industries in Karnali are fully utilising their production capacity. Director Acharya said that the reasons for the industry not running at full capacity are lack of market demand, inadequacy of raw materials, lack of resources and skilled workers. He said that 60 per cent of the industries operating in Karnali do not have access to credit. According to the data, only 37.4 per cent of industries had taken loans.