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Tensions between the US and China are increasing day by day and its implications are already felt in Kathmandu. The Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government faces an herculean task of managing a balanced and trustworthy relations with all major powers to reap benefits from their economic development.

In this context, Pratik Ghimire talked to Rupak Sapkota, a foreign policy expert to solicit his views about Nepal’s changing foreign policy picture and geopolitical situation.

What is your view on the recent shifting of geopolitical tension in the Himalayan belt?

Over the past few years, big powers have adopted an assertive foreign policy. Let’s ponder the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the position taken by major powers. America and its traditional allies are providing arms and ammunition to Ukraine. Similarly, it is also urging its Asian allies to stand in favor of Ukraine and provide weapons. American military and diplomatic officials are undertaking a world-wide tour to advance their agenda. On the other hand, strategic relations between China and Russia have been developing and growing too. At the same time, Xi Jinping has been re-elected for the third consecutive term, and the political document endorsed by the Chinese Congress shows that China desires to change the world order in its favor.

China has the economic and diplomatic strength to undo the existing world order. America is enhancing its presence in the Indo-pacific region with a primary goal of containing China. It has launched a fresh campaign to re-energize its alliances both in Europe and Asia. China, meanwhile, is adopting a dual strategy. Its immediate priority is not to alter the existing world order but to exploit its industrial and technological advantage. At the same time, China also wants to promote its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with a mantra of human community with a shared future. America’s leadership is becoming weak and in this context, China along with Russia and other emerging economies, who want to see change in the current world, are advocating for a new world order. In a nutshell, world powers are heading towards a bitter conflict and confrontation. And in this scenario, the countries of the global South are particularly fearful that they could be trapped in the stiff geo-political contest between the US and China.

NATO has been paying close attention to Asia. Does this mean the geopolitical tension will further increase in future? 

This is entirely a new global phenomenon that we had not seen after the second world war. Over the past few decades, America was obviously paying attention to Asian countries but NATO’s Asia pivot is a new development. America is working at a structural level like QUAD and AUKUS but NATO’s direct communication and engagement with Asian countries is rare. The NATO chief recently visited Japan and South Korea, and is likely to visit India as well. The primary objective of NATO’s move is to secure more arms and ammunition for Ukraine, and the second is to enhance military and strategic cooperation with India, which is projected as a pillar of the Indo-Pacific region. India’s defense cooperation with Russia is strong and robust. And since India has adopted a policy of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war, it has made the US unhappy. NATO, America and other Western powers want to minimize India’s military dependence with Russia.

Over the past few years, the defense cooperation between India and US is increasing, which has been reflected through plus-two dialogue. This aims to minimize India’s defense cooperation with Russia. At the same time, India and China have been locked in a bitter border dispute since 2018, and there are no signs of rapprochement despite the dialogue between two Asian powers. Both India and the US view China as a common security threat. So, it seems that geopolitical gravity is gradually shifting to Himalayan region. America has been trying to upgrade its cooperative relationship with India for three reasons: to enhance the influence of the Indo-Pacific region; to contain China; and to minimize India’s defense dependency with Russia.

How do you see the recent US engagement with South Asian countries including Nepal?

As stated earlier, America is expanding multi-layer engagement with Asian countries and Nepal is also an important priority. Obviously, Nepal’s geopolitical location drives big powers to engage with us. A recent report from the International Monetary Front has shown the growing economic might of China as well as India. And since Nepal is between these two powers, it may have driven America to engage more with us. America’s economic engagement with Nepal, be it through MCC or other forms, is gradually increasing. The series of visits of American officials show that Nepal-US bilateral relations will further enhance in the coming days. Nepal’s geopolitical location has driven the US to engage more with Nepal.

Lying between the world’s two greatest economies, Nepal occupies an important position. Frequent visits of American officials show our relationship and engagement with America has expanded. America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) has come up with a holistic approach—military, economic, governance and politics, trade and connectivity. Though American officials are not vocal about it, the US is conducting all its activities and assistance in this region through IPS.

How is the Nepal government preparing or dealing with these issues?

After the promulgation of a new constitution in 2015, Nepal has failed to navigate the fast-changing geopolitics, and does not have any plan on how to manage the competing foreign powers and pursue our national interest. There is a state of confusion on how we conduct our foreign policy in the current geopolitical flux. In many ways, I see a strategic void. Over the past few years, big powers have come up with different strategies, such as America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. Nepal was asked to join the IPS during our foreign minister’s America visit in 2018. We endorsed the MCC with declarative interpretations and we have told big powers that we cannot join any military strategies. Similarly, we are moving ahead with China to cooperate on the economic front of BRI and other projects, but we have failed to make any substantial progress. India, too, is coming up with aggressive strategies.

Agnipath is a case in point. It is yet to be seen how the new government tackles the Agnipath scheme. The spillover effects of geopolitical rivalry have already been felt in Kathmandu, but we do not have any plan on how to push our economic agenda amid such strategies. This is a major challenge of the new government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. We should carve out a clear strategy of staying away from intense geopolitical rivalry and engage with big powers on clear economic terms. Development, prosperity and good governance are our key priorities, and to achieve them, we have to build international cooperation. We need to collaborate with all big powers on economic issues.

What are the key priorities of the Dahal-led government?

The Dahal government should conduct international relations focusing on three key priorities. First, staying away from military engagement with big powers while accepting economic assistance and investment. Second, it should conclude the remaining tasks of the peace process by taking the international community into confidence. And third, it should enhance climate diplomacy and raise Nepal’s climate vulnerabilities in the international forum. Along with these priorities, Nepal should also enhance its diplomatic outreach through multilateral agencies like SAARC. The new government should play an active role to revive the SAARC process.  

Has Rabi Lamichhane dug a hole for himself and his up and coming party with his Sunday’s press conference? The leader of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who recently resigned as home minister over dual citizenship and passport controversy, has accused the press, publishers, and even some Twitter users of launching a witch hunt against him and his party.

Lamichhane had organized the press conference to announce the party’s decision to recall its ministers from the government, but he took no time to turn the briefing into a bizarre mudslinging fest, where he mostly attacked the media. Political analyst Lokraj Baral said Lamichhane’s action has done more harm to his nascent party than good. Baral compared the RSP with the party led by Dr KI Singh and Gorkha Parishad that were formed following the first democratic election of 1959.

“They too had won around 15-20 seats in parliament, but could not secure their political future,” said Baral. “It may appear like Lamichhane exposed the national media with his press conference, but his attitude was also exposed as that of other political leaders. This could hamper the future of his party in the long run.”

ApEx contacted several RSP central committee members and parliamentarians for their comments regarding Sunday’s incident, but most of them declined to talk about it. One central committee member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Lamichhane had called the press conference without informing the party members. “Most of the party members didn’t know what he was going to say in the conference,” said the RSP central committee member. Another party leader and lawmaker said it was Lamichhane who decided to recall the party ministers, not the central committee. “Other ministers could have won the public trust with their work,” said the leader.

Ganesh Karki, central committee member, wrote on social media that the person himself (Lamichhane) must defend his statement since it was not formally/informally discussed in the official meeting of the party. Minister of Education, Science and Technology Shishir Khanal and State Minister of Health and Population Dr Tosima Karki were not present at the press conference, while most of the party lawmakers and central members left the party office after the central committee meeting.

The RSP was formed around six months ago as an alternative political force and contested the general elections of 20 Nov 2022. The party won 20 seats in the federal parliament to become the fourth latest party, and decided to join the coalition government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Lamichhane was appointed the deputy prime minister and home minister. But trouble began when it was revealed that Lamichhane had contested the election by submitting an invalid citizenship document, and the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court voided his status as a lawmaker and minister. Lamichhane has since obtained a valid citizenship, but he could not retain his lawmaker and minister’s status.  

Birth: 8 Jan 1928, Kathmandu

Death: 5 Feb 2023, Kathmandu

Himalaya Shumsher Rana, the first governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, breathed his last on February 5 in Kathmandu, leaving behind a rich legacy. The reputed economist (95) passed away on Sunday in the course of treatment at the Thapathali-based Norvic Hospital. While he will primarily be remembered for his role in the establishment of the central bank, Rana has many other laurels under his belt. He was instrumental in establishing Himalayan Bank, Nepal's first private sector bank after 1990, and setting up Gorkha Brewery and Himalayan Distillery. Rana, the great-grandson of the then Prime Minister Dev Shumsher Rana, held the position of the governor from 26 April 1956, to 7 February 1961.

After a successful tenure as finance secretary, Himalaya Shumsher Rana was offered the job of governor at Nepal Rastra Bank by the then King Mahendra. As there was no central bank in the country, the king gave him a book that had a draft of the Banking Act. But Rana requested that he would need some time to study the acts of central banks of foreign countries and only start the process of establishing Nepal’s central bank.

At first, he established a central office, an office for banking transactions, and a note department. After almost six months of homework, he was appointed the governor on 26 April 1956. With a small team, Rana started working to realize King Mahendra’s dream. He had two major concerns: to introduce Nepali notes in the Tarai, and stabilize an exchange rate between Rs and InRs. During those days, the Nepali currency was not in use in the Tarai, so much so that it was customary to take the land revenue and immigration duties in Indian currency.

In such a situation, replacing Indian notes with Nepali ones was a challenging task. Unless there was a stable exchange rate between Rs and InRs, it was not possible to circulate Nepali currency in the southern plains. The team researched for three years and came up with an exchange rate of Rs 160 for InRs 100. To date, Nepal uses the same rate. Rana and the team then established currency exchange centers from the east to the west. Nepali notes were printed at Nashik Security Press in India back then. After the establishment of the central bank, the central bank called for an international tender because the revision of the notes being printed in India was a must.

A proposal from a company from the UK was considered the best as it came up with a new design for notes bearing the pictures of famous places of Nepal. It was very nice and attractive. The notes printed in India also did not have the security thread; it was added on to the notes printed in the UK.  After serving as the governor for four years and eight months and almost two months since King Mahendra banned political parties and started a dictatorial regime, he was sacked on 8 Feb 1961 because of being a supporter of democracy.  

Rana then worked as a representative in various countries from 1962 to 1986 under the United Nations Development Program. He worked in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, America, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Indonesia. 

In an ApEx Pioneers column of The Annapurna Express, Rana said ever since he became the finance secretary, he had worked tirelessly. “After retirement, I tried to spend my time playing golf and reading books. But I got bored after six months and decided to start a business. I established the Gorkha Brewery Company and brought international beer brands like Tuborg and Carlsberg to Nepal. I also established the first private bank in Nepal, Himalayan Bank Ltd.” Among many national and international recognitions, he was conferred with the title of The Order of Japan (The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star) for his contribution. Former governor Chiranjibi Nepal described Rana’s demise as a huge loss for the banking sector. “Without him, the Nepali currency would not have found its place for a long time,” he says.

“The establishment of the first private bank was itself a milestone back then as it opened the door for aspiring bankers.” Rana’s friend Kiran Pyakurel remembers him as an admirable man. “Though born to a Rana family, he always advocated for democracy, which also cost him the post of governor,” he says: “I am inspired by how he never lost his learning spirit and has managed to remain curious all his life. No matter his age, he is always curious to learn about new things.”  Rana is survived by two daughters and two sons. 

Simrik Air recently conducted a heli-training and orientation for the crew, staff, and medical team to prepare them better for rushing crucial assistance during natural and man-made disasters by enhancing their skills and expertise.  Capt Siddartha Jang Gurung led a Bambi Bucket training session for helicopter pilots Capt Hare Ram Thapa and Capt Rajendra Duwal at Bojinee Dam in Nagarkot. The pilots learned the proper use and operation of this specialized tool. Simrik Air is the sole provider of this water-based firefighting service in Nepal.  In addition to Bambi Bucket training, Simrik Air also offered a variety of other realistic engagement training options such as Recco, Yak Winch, Sling operation, Long-line operation, Medical evacuation, and Management training to keep the staff up-to-date and maintain safety, efficiency, and consistency in service. Capt Bimal Sharma and Capt Bhaskar Pokharel were trained on this.  Crew members Ang Tashi Sherpa, Tshering Dhenduk Bhote, Tshering Pandey Bhote and Sonam Bhuti were also trained during these sessions. These sessions were conducted under the supervision of instructor and trainer from Germany and Switzerland Bruno Jelk, Daniel Brunner and Beat Marti.  In a country marked by difficult terrains, this kind of training is expected to be of great help in saving lives and properties during natural and manmade disasters like flooding, fires and mountaineering accidents, given that the state alone is not adequately equipped in dealing with such contingencies.  

Born: 1943, Yorkshire, England 

Death: 25 Jan 2023, Lalitpur, Nepal

Greta Rana, a celebrated poet, novelist and translator, died on Jan 25 at the age of 80. Born in Yorkshire, UK, Rana lived most of her life in Nepal with her late husband Madhukar Shamsher Rana, a prominent economist and former finance minister. Rana was a writer of the highest class, who produced several works of fiction, poetry and other literary works. ‘Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo, ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Brontë, and ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens were some of her all-time favorite books. Among the Nepali literary figures, she admired novelist Dhruba Chandra Gautam.

In 1991, Rana won the Arnsberger Internationale Kurzprosa for her short story ‘The Hill’, which was inspired by the Godavari marble quarry. She also translated ‘Seto Bagh’, a historical novel by Diamond Shumsher. ‘Hidden Women: The Ruling Women of the Rana Dynasty’, ‘Beneath the Jacaranda’, ‘Hunger is Home’, ‘Nothing Greener’, ‘Distant Hills’, ‘Guests in this Country’, ‘Hostage’, and ‘Ghost in the Bamboo’ are some of her notable works of poetry and fiction. Rana was also a founder member of PEN Nepal and a former chair of International PEN Women Writers’ Committee.

In 2005, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire by the British government for her contributions and achievements in the literary field. Besides literary career, Rana also contributed to children’s education in Nepal. She established Shakespeare Wallahs, a theater group, to raise funds for the education of children from the poor communities.

Rana was also passionate about conserving the mountain environment and the people living there. She was active in the development work of International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), where she worked until 2004. Sharing her vision for Nepal in this paper, she had said she wanted to develop towns in the mountains where all services are available, so that our youths don’t have to labor in foreign lands.

“The Himalayas of Nepal are full of micro-climates. We have a comparative advantage as we can grow anything here. We can grow fruits and vegetables when it is off-season for them elsewhere and then export them. This will give Nepal much-needed revenue.” Rana was also an advocate of an education system that incorporated job training. “We won’t get anywhere with the outdated curricula that simply don't contribute to our society,” she told this paper. 

Rana also dreamt of Nepal having enough electricity and running water for each home. She firmly believed that with proper governance, those things could be achieved within couple of decades, especially with mini and micro hydel potential in Nepal. Rana passed away while undergoing treatment for brain tumor at Nepal Mediciti Hospital in Lalitpur.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has postponed the party’s central committee meeting, yet again. Thursday’s move comes three days before the scheduled date for the meet. At a time of deepening dissatisfaction within the party over the leadership’s style of functioning in contravention of the party statute, this move is sure to rile the rival camp further. Deuba had postponed meets scheduled for Jan 6 and 12 also.

The party president does not want to hold the CC meet for a number of reasons. Firstly, Deuba fears he will come under criticism for failing to give continuity to the pre-poll ruling alliance. Before the 20 Nov elections, Deuba had thrown his weight behind the alliance, taking action against leaders and cadres opposing his scheme, without bothering to take the whole party into confidence.  

But the pre-poll ruling alliance fell like a house of cards for want of understanding between Deuba and CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal on the issue of premiership.

Initially, the largest party in the parliament (88 seats) had wanted to lead the government. This pushed Dahal to the CPN-UML camp. With support from UML and some other fringe parties, a coalition government took shape under Dahal. Though consigned to the opposition bench, the NC was forced to vote for the government in a trust vote in the parliament. Subsequently, the party has lost important positions like the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.  

All this has many CC members miffed. Deuba does not want to face their ire, with a vote for President round the bend. A CC meet will give rivals an opportunity to target Deuba, alienating Dahal further and causing more setbacks for NC. This leaves Deuba with little choice. 

The Tharu Commission is provided for in Part 27, Article 263 of the Constitution of Nepal. The Tharu Commission Act, 2017 has been enacted by the parliament incorporating topics like the qualifications of the chairperson and members of the Tharu Commission, status of vacancies, remuneration and service conditions, duties and rights. Bishnu Prasad Chaudhary was nominated the first chairperson of Tharu Commission four years ago. Pratik Ghimire of ApEx caught up with Chaudhary to know about the progress that the commission has made so far.

What are the major working areas of the Tharu Commission?

Our major work is to conduct research on the Tharu community, culture, food, language and all Tharu identity-based issues. We also research problems facing the Tharu community like health, employment and education. The commission regularly conducts awareness programs, skill- and education-based training and workshops for the welfare of the community. Moreover, we study plans and policies of the government and offer suggestions.

Does the government implement your recommendations?

I must say no. The government, to date, has not endorsed our suggestions. It has a major role to make our work effective, meaning that without coordination from the federal government, we can’t even be a proper watchdog. Everything we do, or we require (human resources and budget) to run the office is associated with the government. 

For research activities, we need a huge budget, which we don’t have. For example, data are the foremost requirement for any research but due to the lack of budget, we can’t collect data on our own, so we have to rely on secondary sources. These sources are neither reliable nor accessible. We regularly recommend the government on law and policy making, but they don’t listen. This doesn’t mean these commissions should get executive powers. The duties, responsibilities and rights that the constitution provides us are enough. The problems lie with the government. It must heed our suggestions, and provide us human resources and the budget.

How is the coordination of the commission with three tiers of the government?

Though we work with all three tiers of the government, we are in touch mainly with local and federal governments. For training and workshops, we coordinate with respective local governments while for policy-making, we consult with the federal government.  As we have our main office in Kathmandu and no liaison office outside, it's quite difficult to coordinate, both with the government and the people. 

These commissions don’t have executive powers. In light of ongoing debates about their relevance, do we really need them?

Without these commissions, there will be an identity crisis. In the public service field, Tharu communities were included in the Madhesi cluster after the 2007 revolution. At that time, the Tharu communities had no idea about this. After coming to know about the matter, they protested which resulted in the Tharu revolution—and establishment of the Tharu Commission. The commission has outlined identity-based problems and often warned the government and concerned bodies about the consequences of ignoring them.

Thanks to this, the Tharu cluster is determined for political representation in the Election Act. The Civil Service Act has not incorporated these issues. The Madhesi Commission and the Madhesi leaders have always wanted Tharu and Muslim communities included in their cluster, but we stand firm against it. We have our own history, culture and identity. We won’t let this die down.

How often do you coordinate with other commissions?

We have met with the Madhesi Commission a couple of times for problem identification and resolution of cluster issues. But they don’t want to coordinate with us; they want us in their cluster instead. It appears like they don’t respect our identity. But they should be clear that we are not the Madhesis.

Quick, who are the top-earners of Nepal? If your guess is private bank CEOs, then you are right on the money. The average annual salary package of private bank CEOs, as per Nepal Rastra Bank data, is above Rs 10m. But do you know which bank’s CEO gets the fattest check? While on the subject, how much does the President of Nepal earn, or the prime minister for that matter? Definitely, much less than private bank CEOs but a lot more than an average salary person.

Pratik Ghimire of ApEx reports on the salaries and benefits of top government officials and bank honchos.

One of the decisions of the first Cabinet meeting of the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government was that the prime minister and ministers will not take the 15 percent salary raise for a year in order to maintain austerity in public expenditure. The previous government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, had increased the civil servants' salary by 15 percent in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2022/23. With the increment the cost of salaries and allowances increased by more than Rs 44bn in the current fiscal year. In line with the decision, Rs 188.74bn was allocated for salary and allowance for the running fiscal year.

Together with pension and social security allowances the allocation stood at Rs Rs 440.43bn against Rs 364.44bn of the previous fiscal year. The president, vice president, prime minister, speaker of the House of Representatives, chairman of the National Assembly, chief  ministers, federal ministers, chief secretary, army chief, lawmakers, and chiefs of the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force are among the highest paid government officials in the country. While their salaries are much lower than the CEOs of private banks and companies, those holding top political and executive positions do enjoy other privileges apart from their salaries.

As per latest data, President Bidya Devi Bhandari draws a monthly salary of Rs 177,531 while Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun takes home Rs 127,475. The prime minister gets a monthly paycheck of Rs 91,190  while the Speaker of the HoR gets Rs 79,438. Similarly, the monthly salary of the deputy prime minister is Rs 76,936 while that of ministers is Rs 71,945. Members of parliament, meanwhile, get Rs 65,171 monthly.

The Deuba-led government had decided to increase the salaries and other perks and benefits of the country’s five top officials, including the president and prime minister, as per the recommendation of the committee led by the then Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, Lakshman Aryal. The committee's report titled 'Report on Salary, Facilities of Special Officers-2079' had proposed increasing the monthly salary of the president to Rs 250,000, the vice president to Rs 150,000, the prime minister to Rs 110,000, the speaker to 95,000 and the chairman of the National Assembly to Rs 95,000 per month. The committee had made the recommendation based on the salary increment rates of government employees in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

How much do the highest-paid bank CEOs get? Banking has always been the most preferred sector for job seekers in Nepal, as it offers lucrative pay and allowance packages compared to other lines of work. The salary index that Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) publishes every month also shows salary growth of bank employees is higher than those working in other sectors. As per the recent macroeconomic report published by the NRB, the salary index of bank and financial institute (BFI) employees increased by 25.04 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of the last fiscal year.

Apart from the monthly salary, the BFI employees also receive benefits such as accrued leave allowances, allowances, bonuses, social security benefits, and insurance facilities. They can also get loans to buy houses and cars at low-interest rates.  That is why the remunerations of bank CEOs always attract a lot of public interest. The available data shows that bank CEOs are among the highest-earning professionals in the country.  As per the NRB rule, a CEO can work in the same bank for two consecutive terms (eight years) only. After that, a 'cooling period' of six months is applicable if he/she wants to join another bank. 

The remunerations of CEOs of government-owned banks are less than their private bank peers. The annual salary and allowances of the CEOs of government-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB), Nepal Bank Limited, and Agricultural Development Banks are around Rs 5m. Krishna Bahadur Adhikari, CEO of Nepal Bank, received Rs 5.4m in the last fiscal year. The annual salary package of Kiran Kumar Shrestha, CEO of RBB, was Rs 6.6m in FY 2021/22.  Among the commercial banks, the annual remuneration packages of the CEOs of Prabhu Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal, and Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) are the highest.

Each of the CEOs received annual remuneration of above Rs 30m in the last fiscal year.  The average annual salary package of CEOs of private banks is above Rs 10m. In FY 2021/22, Prabhu Bank CEO Ashok Sherchan received an annual pay package of Rs 40.03m, the highest among the bank CEOs to date. In FY 2021/22, NIC Asia CEO Roshan Kumar Neupane's annual package was Rs 23.4m. NIC Asia paid Rs 18m as salary and allowances, and Rs 5.2m as a bonus to Neupane in the last fiscal year.  Similarly, Siddhartha Bank paid Rs 28m to its CEO in FY 2021/22.

Himalayan Bank paid Rs 21.1m as a salary and allowance to its CEO Ashoke SJB Rana in the last fiscal year. The bank paid Rs 10.6m as salary and Rs 9.5m as allowances to Rana.  Prime Commercial Bank paid annual remuneration of Rs 21m to its CEO Narayan Das Manandhar. Of the total remuneration paid to him, Rs 18m was salary and Rs 8.5m was allowance and Rs 1.4m was Dashain allowance. 

Laxmi Bank CEO Ajay Bikram Shah was paid Rs 13.2m as annual remuneration in the last fiscal year. NMB Bank paid Rs 23.4m annual pay package to its CEO Sunil KC in FY 2021/22. Of the total remuneration, Rs 8.5m was allowance and Rs 5m was bonus.  Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) paid an annual salary package of Rs 30.6m to its CEO Jyoti Prakash Pandey in FY 2021/22. Of the total package, Rs 16m was salary, Rs 10.7m was allowance and Rs 2.2m was Dashain allowance.

NRB Governor receives Rs 5m in remuneration

Maha Prasad Adhikari, governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, received Rs 4.90m in remuneration in the last fiscal year, of which Rs 1.41m was salary and Rs 305,000 was meeting allowance of the board of directors of the central bank. Similarly, the governor received Rs 3.18m in other allowances and facilities.

Meanwhile, NRB deputy governors Neelam Dhungana and Bam Bahadur Mishra have received Rs 4.26m and Rs 4.22m in remunerations, respectively, in the last fiscal year. As per data published by NRB, both deputy governors received Rs 1.26m in salary. Dhungana's BOD meeting allowance totaled Rs 273,000, while it was Rs 296,000 for Mishra. Meanwhile, Rs 2.71m was paid to Dhungana in other allowances and facilities which was Rs 2.63m for Mishra.

Banks paid Rs 47.17bn in salary and allowances;  Rs 10.67bn paid as a bonus

The NRB data shows commercial banks' employees' expenses increased by 10.15 percent in the last fiscal year. The commercial banks operating in the country paid Rs 47.17bn as salary and allowances to their employees in FY 2021/22. Such salary and expenses stood at Rs 42.82bn in FY 2020/21. Similarly, banks also paid Rs 10.67bn as bonuses to their employees in the last fiscal year.