Mongolia’s mineral rich economy was hit hard when the global downturn 2008/09 started. It was extremely hard for Mongolia to manage its mineral backed wealth during the period. Consequently, Mongolia had to sought for help from World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). With that assistance, it initiated for a south-south exchange, especially with Chile, another copper producing country.
Role of the Congress in the budget process; legal environment; role and responsibility of Congress for improving fiscal sustainability environment.
Fiscal rules and budget and fiscal sustainability laws.
Fiscal audit process.
Intergovernmental fiscal regulations and related law and procedures.
Features of budgeting in case of natural force majeure and others, including in the economic crisis.
Copper price estimation and Chilean Copper Stabilization
Fund.
Pension reforms and Chilean pension fund.
General review of budget procedures: budget expenditure ceilings, how enforced for different spending units, and violations.
Program budgeting: (i) types of budget classification— if program classification is used in budget process and how it is used in making appropriations and controlling expenditures; (ii) nonfinancial indicators and how they are used for funding different levels of line ministries, how collected, and by whom; and (iii) how performance management works.
Investment budgeting.
Medium-term budgeting and macroeconomic and fiscal projections: how are macroeconomic and fiscal projections estimated?
Budget execution controls.
After an intense discussion with Chile Mongolia started making reforms that could be supportive to its economy.
Key reforms:
a landmark Fiscal Stability Law (FSL) was passed by a bipartisan majority of Parliament in June 2010.
Parliament passed the Integrated Budget Law (IBL) in December 2011.
Public Procurement Law of Mongolia (PPLM) was passed in January 2011.
The Social Welfare Law in January 2012.
However, Mongolian officials have said that it was a daunting task to implement those new policy reforms.
The government has finally requested the Indian government to initiate the tender process for the upgradation of Janakpur-Bijulpura railway and extension of the link to Bardibas, a major junction along the East-West Highway.
Previously, the Indian government had cancelled the tender process twice after the government could not provide land for the project. The Indian government had allocated Rs 600 million in the previous fiscal year for the purpose.
The government, which has repeatedly failed to allocate funds for land acquisition, has now written a letter to the Indian government to start the bidding process to select a contractor.
"The ministry requested the Indian government to begin the tender process as we have almost acquired land for the project," an official at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM) told Republica on Tuesday.
The Indian government had agreed to upgrade the 51-km railway project during the official visit of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav to India in February 2010. However, the project was continuously delayed due to the government´s inability to acquire land for the project.
"The government has started compensating the land owners in the project area," Ram Prasad Lamsal, director general of the Department of Railways (DoR), said. "The land acquisition process will complete by mid-November." DoR has estimated that land acquisition in the Bijulpura-Bardibas area would cost the government Rs 1.25 billion. Similarly, it needs to acquire a total of 220 hectares of land in Janakpur and Bijulpura to upgrade the existing railway track.
In a separate development, the Indian government has awarded the contract for construction of the 13-km Jogbani-Biratnagar railway line to an Indian company, Lamsal disclosed. "We have been informed that the Indian government has signed an agreement with an Indian contractor to develop the railway (Jogbani-Biratnagar) track," Lamsal said.
Likewise, the government has initiated the process to select a consultant to carry out a detailed survey -- a part of feasibility study -- of the Pathalaiya-Lumbini railway project.