Nepal, March 19 -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments jumped by a whopping 93.34 percent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, with investment pouring into small-scale businesses following the government's move to lower the FDI threshold.

According to the Department of Industry, FDI commitments totalled Rs29.13 billion for 253 projects during the review period. The proposed investments have been envisaged to generate employment for 13,169 people.

Most of the proposed FDI is for the establishment of small-scale business ventures, the department's data shows.

The country received pledges totalling Rs21.83 billion for establishing 238 small-scale business ventures in the review period, which is 74.93 percent of th...