Kathmandu: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Rajendra Lingden, assumed office today.
Before assuming office, the leader visited the Pashupatinath Temple. Prior to this, he took an oath before the Head-of-the-State at the Sheetal Niwas.
Shortly after assuming office, the Minister decided to form a three-member taskforce to prepare a five-year strategy for the development of domestic energy, water resources and energy sector.
As he said, the taskforce is headed by a joint-secretary. According to him, planned approach in any development sector will help achieve substantive outcomes.
He said he was committed to utilizing his term at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation to transform challenges into opportunities.
Talking about the visit to the Pashupatinath, one of the major Hindu shrines in the nation, he said he believed in the Sanatan religion and thought it worthwhile that he should visit the deity before taking up auspicious roles.
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Newly-appointed Defence Minister assumes office
Newly-appointed Minister for Defence Hari Uprety has assumed office at the Ministry of Defence in Singha Durbar today.
Chief of the Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma and the Ministry Secretary Kiran Raj Aryal, among the employees welcomed him at the Ministry.
Receiving the newly-appointed Minister, Secretary Aryal gave assurances of cooperation and coordination on behalf the Ministry.
“The Minister’s leadership role will not only contribute to the Ministry but will also be significant to the overall national independence, national unity and national interest,” he said.
The Ministry of Defence has the responsibility of formulating the laws, policies for the overall national interest, security, defence and the Nepali Army as well as of carrying out monitoring, directives and formulating the annual programmes and budget. The Ministry has four Divisions and 83 employees.
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Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies assumes office
Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari has made a decision on reviewing the commerce policy. It is his first decision after taking charge of the Ministry today.
He was assigned the portfolio of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies today itself. Before this, he was appointed as the Minister without Portfolio on December 25.
Ministry secretary duo Toya Narayan Gyawali and Madhu Kumar Marasini welcomed the new Minister to his office at the Ministry. Ministry high officials and the chiefs of the public corporations under the Ministry were present on the occasion.
After assuming office, Minister Bhandari reiterated that he world work for the development of industries in a way to creating the environment in which the Nepalis working in foreign countries will be able to get employment within the country itself.
The existing policy-level hurdles would be sorted out soon, he said and added that the Ministry would focus its activities on fulfilling the topics covered in the 21-point common programme brought by the government.
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New Education Minister Khanal promises quality improvement
Newly appointed Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Shishir Khanal, has promised policies and programmes required to improve the quality of education in the country.
Talking to media briefly after assuming the office today, the Minister said he would use experiences in the education sector as the Minister and remain effortful to enhance the education sector.
Pledging to proceed with the introduction of the Federal Education Act and the University Umbrella Act, he said adjustment of teachers’ quota for schools, management of text books on time, implementation of post-COVID learning and teaching activities for further development of education sector and policy-level arrangements of quality improvement would be focused during his term.
On the occasion, he was welcomed by the Ministry employees.
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New Communications Minister Sharma assumes office
Newly appointed Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, assumed office today shortly after she took an oath of office and secrecy before the Head-of-the State.
The new Minister reached the Singha Durbar to assume office following the swearing-in ceremony at the Office of President, Sheetal Niwas.
Assuming the office, the Minister digitally launched the ‘programme to ensure access to communications’.
On the occasion, the Minister pledged her special role to extend communications and technology services nationwide. She vowed to work collectively in efforts to make communications services easily and widely accessible.
Talking to media in brief, she said she was fully committed to fulfilling the responsibilities allotted by the party, but still needed support and cooperation from all quarters for the same.
Brief bio of minister Sharma
The CPN (Maoist Centre) standing committee member Sharma had won the November 20 House of Representatives elections from Dang 2. She defeated CPN (UML) prominent leader Shankar Pokhrel to win the election under the first-past-the-post system.
Sharma is the single woman candidate from the party to win the election under the FPTP system.
She was the proportional representative (PR) member in the previous House of Representatives and the 2013 Constituent Assembly member. She was appointed the Minister for General Administration in 2015 and remained in the post for a year.
Born in Masina of Ghorahi on September 25, 1969 to mother Parbati Sharma Poudyal and father Giriraj Sharma, she began her political career at the age of 16 as a school student union member of the All Neal Free Students Union. Late she was the Dang district vice chair for the Union, district chair for ALL Nepal Women’s Association (Revolutionary), its central member, the YCL central member and the central chair of the Association from 2053 to 2057 BS. She was the whip for the Maoist parliamentary party in 2013 CA and 2017 HoR.
She became the central member of the CPN (Maoist Centre) in 2057 BS and took her role as the deputy politburo in-charge for the Kathmandu member. In 2002, she was detained by the then Royal Nepal Army together with her spouse Krishna Dhwaj Khadka from Chabahil and the couple was put in the NA Lalitpur-based Rajdal Battalion and Pokhara NA Barracks for a year and was released on April 14, 2003 with commencement of the government and the then rebel Maoist talks .
Sharma who holds a Master’s degree in Sociology is taken as an established women leader in the party. She is the permanent resident of Ghorahi Submetropolis-18, Dang.
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Kiranti at helm of Tourism Ministry as 40th minister
A politburo member of the CPN (Maoist Centre), Sudan Kiranti has taken oath as the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation today. He is the 40th minister to take charge of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
As per the Ministry’s records Dr Harka Gurung had taken charge of the Ministry as a Minister of State in 2034 BS.
Born to father Harka Bahadur Rai and mother Rakshya Kumari at Okhre of Bhojpur in 2035 BS, Kiranti has become a lawmaker three times – in 2064 BS, 2074 BS and 2079 BS. Kiranti is a youth leader who has risen from the grassroots and he is popular as a politician, who is with the people through their thick and thin. He is also a person who is straightforward and forthright in putting his views.
He has also earned a reputation of a leader representing the indigenous nationalities community.
Kiranti was elected a Member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament, from Bhojpur in the November 20 election.
As a Tourism Minister, Kiranti has the responsibility of reinvigorating the country’s tourism sector which is dented by COVID-19 pandemic, of executing policy reforms for strengthening the tourism and civil aviation infrastructure and tourism services and of formulating the strategic action plan.
The government has already unveiled the outline of the strategic action plan by announcing the Tourism Decade (2023 to 2032) for the overall development of the tourism sector including the tourism infrastructures.
From the effective implementation of the Tourism Decade to the development and promotion of tourism as the base for economic prosperity through policy reforms would be Minister Kiranti’s major responsibilities.
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