KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Thursday expanded his 30-member Cabinet, inducting four new ministers from fringe parties.

Deepak Bohara of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Ek Nath Dhakal of Nepal Pariwal Dal, Shiva Lal Thapa of Janamukti Party and Prem Bahadur Singh of Samajbadi Janata Party have been named new ministers.

They took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidya Devi Bhandari today.

Bohora has been given the responsibility of Ministry of Labour and Employment while Thapa has been made the Minister for Science and Technology.

Likewise, Singh has been made the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Dhakal's portfolio is yet to be finalised.

Six new state ministers

Meanwhile, Oli inducted six state ministers from his own CPN-UML party. They are Dinesh Chandra Yadav, Damodar Bhandari, Bal Bahadur Mahat, Nar Devi Pun Magar, Manju Kumari Chaudhary and Deep Narayan Sah.

Their portfolios have not been assigned yet.

With today's expansion, the total Cabinet strength has reached 40. It includes the Prime Minister, six deputy prime ministers, 21 ministers, 10 state ministers and two assistant ministers.

Ministries split

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Cabinet held for the second time today split the Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Science Technology and Environment in order to accommodate new ministers.

The MoHP has been changed into the Ministry of Health while the MoSTE has been changed into the Ministry of Science and Technology. A new ministry - Ministry of Environment and Population - has been established.

Likewise, the Ministry of Urban Development has been split into the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Urban Development.

The first meeting of the Cabinet held today, however, had not taken any decision in this regard.