KATHMANDU, MAY 14
The government has reduced the number of federal ministries from 22 to 18, aiming to cut recurrent expenditure, enforce austerity and improve administrative efficiency.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday approved the 'Nepal Government (Work Division) Regulations, 2083' to implement the change.
According to Dipa Dahal, Press and Investigation expert of PM Balendra Shah, key ministries including Finance, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs remain unchanged. Industry, Commerce and Supplies; Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation; and Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation have also been retained in their existing form.
A new Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has been created by separating the science and technology portfolio from the education sector. Other ministries have been merged and reorganised based on functional similarities.
The new structure includes ministries such as Education and Sports; Communication; Youth, Labour and Employment; and Land, Cooperative and Human Resources. Likewise, ministries covering Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security; Health and Food Security; Infrastructure Development; and Agriculture, Forests and Environment have been formed.
Information technology-related functions previously under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology have been moved to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
The restructuring follows a commitment in the government's '100-point reform agenda' announced after the formation of the administration led by Balendra Shah. The reorganisation was based on recommendations from a restructuring taskforce coordinated by Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karki.
The government said the move addresses high operational costs linked to a larger number of ministries and is intended to make service delivery more effective.
