Newly appointed Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Biswo Poudel took the oath of office and secrecy on Wednesday.
He took the oath of office and secrecy before Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut amidst a ceremony held at the Supreme Court.
The government on Tuesday appointed Poudel as the 18th Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday evening at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar.
Three names were recommended for the position by a committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel. The committee shortlisted Poudel, Acting Governor Neelam Dhungana and former Secretary Dinesh Bhattarai for the role earlier on Tuesday. The governor’s post had remained vacant since April 7, after the end of the previous term.
Before the Cabinet decision, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba held discussions regarding the appointment. Initially, Gunakar Bhatta, Executive Director at NRB, was considered for the role, reportedly with backing from Deuba. However, consensus could not be reached, and Deuba subsequently proposed Poudel as a compromise candidate.
As Governor, Paudel will serve as the chief economic advisor to the government and play a key role in formulating monetary policy in line with fiscal policy.
He previously served as the Vice-chair of National Planning Commission (NPC), Senior Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, Chairperson of the board of governors of ICIMOD, president of the Colombo Plan council and chair of Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration (RECI) in Asia and the Pacific. Additionally, he also served as the Chief Economic Advisor of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), and a member of the Board of Directors of Sanima Bank and Sanima Middle Tamor Hydropower Company.
He also ran as a Nepali Congress candidate from Chitwan-1 in the 2022 parliamentary elections but lost to Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)’s Hari Dhakal.
Earlier, advocates Pratibha Upreti and Bishal Thapa had filed the writ at the Supreme Court, demanding that Poudel be disqualified from the position. However, the Supreme Court administration dismissed the writ. The advocates had submitted an application to reverse the writ rejection decision, but the court did not entertain the request.
