Kathmandu, January 8:

Nayeb Badagurujyu Prof Dr Madhav Prasad Bhattarai today said that the cabinet of ministers had recently decided to provide the Royal Nepal Panchanga Niranayak Committee (RNPNC) — the national body that decides on the issues related to astrology — with budget, office and employees.

Speaking at a function held to mark the eighth anniversary of the Nepal Jyotish Parishad (NJP), Bhattarai said the astrology fraternity in Nepal should actively work to improve the sector.

Bhattarai, who is also the president of the RNPNC, lamented the lack of interest shown by the previous governments in developing this sector. Member of RNPNC, Dr Keshav Ram Joshi, said Nepal should focus on producing more mathematicians as their number has been going down steadily.