ABSTRACT
The dismal level of infrastructure and development at the time was due to the Rana regime's policy of not promoting economic development for fear of rebellion against its autocratic rule. Nepal's long-term economic-development prospects depend on democratic state building, political stability, agricultural development, modernization, and the cooperation of its neighbors. Nepal, however, has been trying to overcome the problem of poverty through economic development and modernization. Nepal does not have extensive mineral resources but is rich in water resources. The immediate challenge in Nepal is to complete a new constitution in a form and manner that is acceptable to the widest possible section of the people. Since the 1980s, Nepal has developed a carpet industry, and since the 1990s it has expanded its garment industry. Nepal's private sector, historically closely tied to the aristocracy and the caste system, often lobbied to protect its market turf and frustrated reforms.
