KATHMANDU, MARCH 6

President Ram Chandra Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed Deputy Prime Ministers and ministers.

They received the oath upon the recommendation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, in accordance with Article 80 of the Constitution, at a special function held at the President's office this evening.

Those taking the oath of office on behalf of the CPN-UML include Raghubir Mahaseth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure; Hari Prasad Uprety, Minister for Defense; Rajendra Rai, Minister for Water Supply; Damodar Bhandari, Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies; Bhagawati Chaudhari, Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizen; Jwala Kumari Saha, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock; and Balram Adhikari, Minister for Land Management and Cooperatives.

Similarly, on behalf of CPN (Maoist Centre), Narayan Kaji Shretha took the oath of office and secrecy as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Barsha Man Pun as Finance Minister, Shakti Bahadur Basnet as Minister for Water Resources and Energy, Rekha Sharma as Minister for Communications and Information Technology, and Hit Bahadur Tamang as Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation.

From Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rabi Lamichhane took the oath as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Sumana Shrestha as Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, and Biraj Bhakta Shrestha as Minister for Youth and Sports.

Taking the oath of office from CPN (Unified Socialist) are Bhanu Bhakta Joshi as Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration and Dhan Bahadur Budha as Minister for Urban Development.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Deputy President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav, PM Dahal, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, UML Chair and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and Chairperson of CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar, among others.

Similarly, the three ministers without a portfolio have been assigned ministries - Padam Giri as Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs; Hit Bahadur Tamang as Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation; and Dol Prasad Aryal as Minister for Labour, Employment, and Social Security.

They took the oath of office and secrecy on Tuesday. The remaining ministries are currently handled by the Prime Minister himself.