Government to develop, supervise Software for public institutions

Kathmandu, Aug. 21

The government has moved ahead to create an institutional structure to domestically develop software for the public institutions and provide policy guidance to them.

A meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday has approved the Software Development and Operation Committee (Formation) Order, 2083 for the same.

It has paved a way to establish a Software Development and Operation Centre (SDOC) that will supervise its activities, to make public service delivery information technology-based through the development, upgrading, necessary maintenance and other related work of software used by public bodies.

According to the PMO, the Order provides for the formation of a six-member committee, chaired by the secretary responsible for governance affairs at the Prime Minister's Office.

"The committee will provide policy guidance to the centre. It will have a 6-member expert committee, led by a secretary of the PMO, to supervise the software used in the public agencies," Spokesperson of the PMO Hemraj Aryal informed at a press meet held on Thursday.

The SDOC will be led by an executive director and will have 30 employees, including a gazetted first-class officer from the relevant service. Aryal said that additional staff will be appointed according to the need.

According to the order, the centre will undertake software development, upgrading and maintenance work as requested by public bodies. It will also upgrade and maintain software systems developed by the centre itself, as well as various legacy software systems requested by public bodies.

Similarly, the centre will provide round-the-clock technical support for various software systems developed by it.

"The order further states that, during software development, maintenance and upgrading, the centre must make appropriate arrangements for the secure hosting, processing, backup, access control and technical protection of data," the Prime Minister's Secretariat informed.

PMO directs to use domestic goods

The PMO issued a letter on Friday requesting all public bodies - including federal ministries, commissions, secretariats, provincial governments, local governments and Nepali diplomatic missions abroad - to give priority to Nepali products in their procurement processes.

At the direction of Prime Minister Balendra Shah and following recent consultations with domestic entrepreneurs and businesspeople, the PMO has requested all government agencies to use domestically produced goods and services.

The move has been taken to ensure the full implementation of existing legal provisions governing public procurement, said Aryal.

"The government has taken this initiative to strictly enforce existing legal provisions with the objectives of increasing the contribution of domestic production to the national economy, substituting rising imports, promoting domestic products, protecting local skills and entrepreneurship, and creating employment opportunities within the country," he said.

In line with the request from the PMO, government offices will now be required to make arrangements to use Nepali handicraft products, wherever possible, for meetings, ceremonies, souvenirs, gifts and decorative items.

However, such goods must be procured in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, 2063, and other prevailing legal provisions, while ensuring standards relating to availability, quality, price and safety.

In addition, public bodies will be required to explicitly mention the priority to be given to domestic products when preparing tender documents.

Responding to the sustained demand from the private sector entrepreneurs and business associations, the government had implemented the Directives for the Use of Domestic Products in Public Institutions in 2014.

The policy couldn't make any impact and the government came up with a new edition of the policy in 2024 but public institutions received it coldly.

While the public entities must purchase local goods, as far as they are available. However, such goods should be produced locally and should have obtained 'Nepal Standard' and the manufacturers should be registered with the government and. 

Published in The Rising Nepal on 22 August 2026.   

FNCCI meets labour minister

Kathmandu, Aug. 21

The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) delegation, led by President Anjan Shrestha, met with Minister for Youth, Labour and Employment Ramji Yadav and discussed timely amendments to labour laws, promotion of domestic employment, management of labour market demand and supply, and industrial relations.

The FNCCI stressed that amendments to labour laws should be pursued in line with the changing labour market, industrial requirements and the country’s economic transformation. "Labour laws should be balanced and practical, encouraging investment and job creation, enhancing the competitiveness of industries, and ensuring workers’ rights and social security," it said in a statement.

“Along with amending labour laws, we need to consider what we want Nepal’s employment situation to look like over the next 10 years, while making the best possible use of the demographic dividend the country currently enjoys,” Shrestha said.

In response, Minister Yadav said the ministry was currently working on the first phase of amendments to the Labour Act and that consultations with relevant stakeholders would begin once the ministry completed its preliminary work. He also urged the FNCCI to undertake the necessary studies and preparations in parallel, and said the federation and other stakeholders would soon be invited for discussions.

He added that the practical experience and institutional recommendations of the private sector should be incorporated while amending the Labour Act 2017 and other labour-related laws. “Amendments to labour laws should not be pursued merely as legal reform, but as an economic reform linked to industrial investment, production, productivity, job creation and the long-term transformation of the labour market,” he said.

Regarding the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill 2083, which is under consideration in Parliament, the FNCCI expressed its commitment to the objective of eliminating child labour. However, it said provisions relating to implementation, compliance by industries and businesses, investigation, and penalties should be made practical and enforceable.

The FNCCI also stressed the need to effectively implement the concept of one establishment, one official trade union to promote stability, dialogue and productivity in industrial relations.

Minister Yadav said the amendment of the Labour Act also required serious discussion on issues related to the platform economy. He said he had already instructed the committee to invite employers’ and trade union representatives who participated in the 114th International Labour Conference to provide their suggestions.

Prabal Jung Pandey, chairperson of the FNCCI’s Employer Council, said an effective mechanism was needed to test and certify the skills of Nepalis returning from foreign employment.

He also called for skills testing of workers already employed in the domestic labour market, followed by reskilling and capacity-building programmes in collaboration with industries.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 22 August 2026.   

Karki assumes role of CIT Executive Director

Kathmandu, Aug. 17

The newly appointed Executive Director of the Citizen Investment Trust (CIT), Parbat Kumar Karki, assumed office on Friday.

On the occasion, he said that the work being carried out by the CIT would be advanced in an even more efficient and transparent manner in order to manage good governance and service delivery effectively.

Furthermore, he noted that work must be undertaken with a special sense of responsibility so that the substantial fund held by the company is mobilised into priority government projects and productive sectors, thereby contributing to the country’s economic development.

Karki was appointed as the ED of the CIT by the Cabinet on Tuesday, August 19.

A resident of Udayapur, Karki had already served as the ED of the CIT and Nepal Rastra Bank.

In addition to Nepal Rastra Bank, he possesses experience serving as CEO of Nepal Gramin Bikas Bank and Kisan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited. Karki holds a Master of Banking and Finance (MBF) from Griffith University in Australia and a Master's degree in Management from Tribhuvan University. He has also received international training in areas such as central banking, financial stability, and financial market analysis.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 18 August 2026.   

Saudi envoy calls on Minister Khanal

Kathmandu, Aug. 20

Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Nepal Fahd Mohammad A. Mnikhr paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal where they discussed bilateral high-level visits and the safety and welfare of Nepali workers.

In the meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in Singha Durbar, the two sides also talked about the bilateral relations and various matters of mutual interest.

"Both sides recalled the significance of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Saudi Arabia and stressed the need to continue high-level visits and exchanges to further strengthen bilateral ties," FM Khanal's secretariat informed in a statement.

FM Khanal said high-level visits between the two countries would provide further momentum to bilateral relations and contribute to expanding cooperation in various areas of mutual interest. “We should continue high-level visits and dialogue between the two countries and further expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest,” he said.

The Minister thanked Saudi Arabia for the security and protective measures it had adopted to ensure the safety and protection of its citizens and Nepali workers living in Saudi Arabia during the recent regional conflict. He also expressed concern over reports that some Nepali workers employed in Saudi Arabia had not received fair remuneration for the work they had performed, and urged the Saudi side to pay due attention to such issues.

Minister Khanal also appreciated the support provided by Saudi authorities in repatriating the bodies of Nepali citizens who have died in Saudi Arabia.

They also discussed expanding cooperation in political consultations, investment, tourism, air connectivity, labour mobility and the welfare of Nepali workers in Saudi Arabia.

“Nepal is keen to expand cooperation with Saudi Arabia not only in political and diplomatic relations but also in investment, tourism, air connectivity, labour and other economic sectors. It is now necessary to transform the existing friendly relations between the two countries into a more results-oriented partnership,” Minister Khanal said.

Nepal and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations on 15 March 1977.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 21 August 2026.   

Foreign policy should deliver economic outcomes: FM Khanal

Kathmandu, Aug. 20

Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal has said that Nepal’s foreign policy should deliver direct and transformative economic outcomes for the country.

Speaking at a programme organised by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) to launch a book 'Geopolitical Conflict in the Wolf World: Great Power Competition and the Illiberal Revolt Against the Liberal Order' in Kathmandu on Thursday, he said foreign policy should serve as a means of transforming the country’s economy.

Stating that foreign policy must become the external instrument of country's domestic economic aspirations, FM Khanal said, “We must use our geographical position between two large and rapidly growing economies not merely as a challenge but as an opportunity.”

Although Nepal had historically been portrayed as a ‘yam between two boulders’, he said the country’s strategic vision in the 21st century was to develop Nepal into a dynamic and credible bridge between two large and rapidly growing economies.

According to him, developing countries, landlocked countries and vulnerable nations would be among those most affected as the rules-based multilateral order weakened around the world. He noted that the United Nations Charter, the Bretton Woods institutions and the multilateral trading system had been established to replace raw power with common rules and collective predictability.

FM Khanal said Nepal had embraced these institutions not because they were perfect, but because they provided a basis for addressing and improving their shortcomings.

“For countries like Nepal, a rules-based multilateral order is not merely an academic priority, it is a matter of existential necessity. When the multilateral system weakens, developing, landlocked and vulnerable nations are affected before powerful countries,” he said.

He said geopolitical fragmentation and conflict were not merely theoretical issues, but had a direct impact on the lives, employment and economic well-being of Nepali citizens. Referring particularly to the large number of Nepali workers employed in West Asia, he said instability in the region had a direct impact on Nepal.

“We have a large workforce in West Asia, and they make a significant contribution to remittances coming into Nepal. As instability increases in the Gulf region, it can lead to flight disruptions, affect employment contracts, raise consumer prices, increase anxiety among families and, unfortunately, even result in the loss of Nepali lives,” Minister Khanal said.

Marc Saxer, author of the book and Head of Asia Pacific Regional Programme of the FES, said that although south is not under hot war for now the countries need to learn how to navigate in the world that has been increasingly moving to a might-based international order from the liberal rule-based one.

According to him, geoeconomic disruption shifts have been made through the trade war, supply chain reconfiguration, currency competition and price wars.

"There is now a political price for market access while open trade order has almost come to an end, while tech race is driven by security concerns and bifurcation has created high opportunity cost for third parties, and rise of techno-nationalism," he said.  

Saxer expressed concerns to the weaponisation of technology transfer.

He suggested a Neo-Westphalian order as a solution – sovereignty, non-interference and territorial integrity to be maintained by the United Nations General Assembly. This is a non-hegemonic 'universalism without interference', he said.

Former ambassador, Gyan Chandra Acharya, said that if everyone believes 'might is right', the world would be in chaos and anarchy. "That's why I think it's very important for us to make sure that whatever we have, we try to have an impact at the global level or at the regional level in terms of really getting across the values, the principles as well as the benefit of cooperation," he said.

According to him, as the multilateral institutions and principles are completely undermined, the world has so many other things that are coming up. This makes having an issue-based coalition more prominent.

Stressing on reform and revitalisation, Acharya said that since major proponents of the multilateral principles themselves are now abdicating that responsibility, it is necessary to make sure that the other powers and the rest of the international community follow it.

Binoj Basnyat, major general (retd.) of Nepali Army, said that Nepal must move to a designed strategy from the current practice of reactive diplomacy to make sure the national interest is protected.

Likewise, political analyst Dr. Chandra Dev Bhatta said that for a country like Nepal, multilateralism is the best option in terms of international cooperation and development initiatives. 

Published in The Rising Nepal on 21 August 2026.   

Nepal promotes tourism diversity, wellness at PATA Travel Mart

Kathmandu, Aug. 20

Nepal has promoted its tourism destinations and products at the PATA Travel Mart 2026, one of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading international business-to-business travel trade events, held from August 18 to 20 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter participated in the event in collaboration with Nepal Airlines and nine private-sector travel trade companies, showcasing Nepal’s tourism attractions and services to international buyers and travel industry stakeholders.

According to a press statement of PATA Nepal Chapter, the mart brought together more than 1,100 tourism delegates from 48 countries and destinations, including 221 buyers representing 215 companies from 29 source markets.

It also featured more than 365 sellers representing over 200 tourism organisations and destinations, providing opportunities to connect with international markets and establish new business partnerships.

The Nepali exhibitors at PTM 2026 included Himalayan Holidays Nepal, ExpeditionHimalaya.com, Destinago Tours & Travels, Royal Mountain Travel, Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, Off the Wall Trekking, Mountain Delight Treks & Expeditions, Mountain Tiger Nepal, and Mission Nepal Holidays.

The "Nepal Pavilion" highlighted Nepal's diverse offerings, including mountaineering, trekking, expeditions, spirituality, wellness, luxury travel, community-based tourism, and immersive, transformative experiences.

"PTM 2026 was very fruitful for Nepali exhibitors, and it gave us a proud moment to celebrate once again, as the PATA Nepal Chapter received the 'Award of Excellence' among global PATA Chapters," said Bibhuti Chand Thakur, Immediate Past Chairman of the PATA Nepal Chapter.

Following the successful conclusion of PTM 2026, the next PATA Travel Mart will be held in Macao from September 20–22, 2027, it said.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 21 August 2026.   

Ncell pays Rs. 4.96 B for licence renewal

Kathmandu, Aug. 20

Private telecommunications service provider Ncell Axiata has paid Rs. 4.96 billion to the government towards the renewal fee for its mobile service licence.

Of the total amount it paid to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), Rs. 4.25 billion represents the principal amount of the outstanding instalment of the licence renewal fee.

The payment also includes Rs. 649.26 million in interest for 328 days from 23 August 2025 to the end of the 2025/26 fiscal year, and a further Rs. 65.32 million in interest for 33 days from 17 July to 18 August 2026, the company said.

Ncell had already paid the instalment and interest due up to 22 August 2025. On 22 August last year, the company paid Rs. 3.29 billion, following an earlier payment of Rs. 2 billion on 13 July 2025.

The government had allowed Ncell to pay the Rs. 20 billion mobile service licence renewal fees in four instalments. A Cabinet meeting in August 2024 had decided that the outstanding instalments would carry annual interest of 10 per cent.

The company had initially applied for licence renewal after paying Rs. 4 billion as the first instalment in May 2024. The government subsequently allowed the remaining amount to be paid in instalments.

Ncell said that it has contributed around Rs. 375 billion to the government in taxes and various fees since its establishment. The payments include licence and renewal fees, royalties, telecommunications service charges and income tax, among other government levies.

The company began operations after receiving a GSM cellular mobile service licence on 31 August 2004 under the brand name Mero Mobile.

 Published in The Rising Nepal on 21 August 2026.