Prof. Dr. Bishwanath Paudel to Be Appointed as the Next Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank

After weeks of political tug-of-war, Prof. Dr. Bishwanath Paudel is set to be appointed as the new Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The decision follows a consensus reached on Tuesday morning between Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Paudel, a former Vice-Chairperson of the National Planning Commission and a respected economist, was previously part of the Governor Recommendation Committee. He had resigned from the committee after Nepali Congress proposed his name for the Governorship.

The Governor Recommendation Committee, chaired by Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, is scheduled to meet today to formally recommend Dr. Paudel’s name. A Cabinet meeting is also expected later in the evening to finalize and endorse the appointment.

This move comes after a prolonged deadlock between the ruling CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress regarding the Governor’s appointment. The earlier recommendation committee had remained inactive for over a month, leading to the resignation of former members, including ex-Governor Bijay Nath Bhattarai. The committee was recently restructured, bringing in former Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari and expert member Pushkaraj Pandey.

On Monday, a Cabinet meeting was initially planned to confirm the Governor’s appointment but was postponed due to Prime Minister Oli’s health condition. In the meantime, top Congress leaders, including Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and General Secretary Gagan Thapa, held internal discussions to reach a consensus.

This morning, Deuba personally met Prime Minister Oli at Baluwatar, urging him to settle the matter. “Let’s not prolong this further; the pressure is mounting,” Deuba reportedly told Oli. Sources say Oli had been supportive of appointing the Congress-backed candidate from the beginning.

Once the committee’s recommendation is approved in today’s Cabinet meeting, Prof. Dr. Bishwanath Paudel will officially take office as the new Governor of Nepal’s central bank. His appointment is expected to bring policy clarity and momentum to Nepal’s financial sector.