Government Restructures Federal Administration, Reduces Ministries to 17

The federal government will now operate with 17 ministries after the Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved the Government of Nepal (Work Allocation) Rules, 2083. With the endorsement of the new framework, four ministries out of the existing 21 have been merged into other ministries as part of a major administrative restructuring initiative.

The government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah has introduced the restructuring with the objective of reducing administrative expenditure and improving service delivery and efficiency. The move has been carried out under the government’s “100 Works in 100 Days” action plan.

Under the newly proposed structure, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation, and Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration will cease to exist as separate entities.

Their responsibilities will be integrated into other ministries. The Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Water Supply have been merged under the newly formed Ministry of Integrated Physical Infrastructure . Likewise, the sports sector has been brought under the education portfolio, leading to the formation of the Ministry of Education and Sports.

The restructuring has also significantly expanded the authority of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Following the dissolution of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, all of its responsibilities will now come directly under the Prime Minister’s Office. Key sectors including information technology, science and technology, and poverty alleviation will also be overseen by the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to the new arrangement, nearly 50 agencies and departments will function under the Prime Minister’s Office. The government is preparing to assign the responsibility of managing these bodies to a Deputy Prime Minister or a senior minister.

The newly restructured federal ministries are:

1. Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
2. Ministry of Finance
3. Ministry of Home Affairs
4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
5. Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
6. Ministry of Health and Food Security
7. Ministry of Education and Sports
8. Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Cooperatives and Rural Development
9. Ministry of Social Security and Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minority Affairs
10. Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Innovation
11. Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment
12. Ministry of Energy, Irrigation and Water Resources
13. Ministry of Integrated Physical Infrastructure
14. Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate
15. Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
16. Ministry of Communications
17. Ministry of Defense