An interaction of the National Assembly’s Public Policy and Delegated Legislative Committee and the Policy Research Institute was organised.
June 5, 2024
Federal Parliament Secretariat, Singh Durbar
Today, at the invitation of the Public Policy and Delegated Legislative Committee of the National Assembly, a team of Department Heads and Senior Research Fellows led by Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma, Executive Chairman of the Policy Research Institute, met and interacted with the Hon’ble Chairperson and Members of the Committee on the activities of the Institute and the state of public policy in Nepal.
At the event, Mr. Maya Prasad Sharma, Hon’ble Chairman of the Public Policy and Delegated Legislative Committee, welcomed the institute team and explained the scope, functions, duties and powers of the Committee and said that the interaction was organised to learn about the status of public policy making and implementation process in view of the recent inclusion of the Public Policy topic in the Committee’s mandate and also to learn about what kind of cooperation and contribution the Institute can make in this work area of the Committee.
Thereafter, Dr. Lekhnath Sharma, Executive Chairman of the Institute, briefly spoke about public policy factors and the status and role of think tanks worldwide. Senior Research Fellows of the Institute, Dr. Khagnath Adhikari and Dr. Hari Sharma Neupane, made presentations on the introduction of public policy, policy formulation process, areas of improvement in the policy process and the introduction and performance of the Institute.
After the presentation, the Hon’ble Members inquired and suggested various topics and issues. Delay or unwillingness in the implementation of policies, lack of inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination, practice of decision-making without research, need for reforms in delegated legislation such as Board Formation Orders, specificity of the work of the Policy Research Institute and the National Planning Commission, the situation where the role of Member of Parliament is currently limited, the scope of public policy, and the relationship and cooperation of the Public Policy and Delegated Legislative Committee and the Policy Research Institute were discussed.
Dr. Deepak Kumar Khadka, Dr. Kalpana Khanal, Dr. Mukti Rijal, Dr. Hari Sharma Neupane, Dr. Khagnath Adhikari, Senior Research Fellows of the Institute, Mr. Laxman Bhattarai, Office Manager, and Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma, Executive Chairman, answered the inquiries of the Hon’ble Members.
The topics answered included textbook principles of public policy, theoretical studies made and guidelines developed by the Institute, a state of professional compliance with the autonomy with a serial relation between policy research and policy formulation and functional specialisation of the Policy Research Institute as required by the principle of the policy cycle, lack of human resources for research if the Institute has the resources, etc.
At the end of the program, Hon. Chairman Mr. Maya Prasad Sharma said that the interaction was very useful and educational, and the partnership and collaboration between the Committee and the Institute have started. He said that the Committee would give instructions for forming the Act of Institute, lobby for resources, and, at an appropriate time, present a resolution to the National Assembly. He concluded the meeting with his view that today’s need of the nation is “Higher knowledge, simpler administration” and that the question of how to realise it should guide our efforts.
Attendance
National Assembly, Public Policy and Delegated Legislation Committee:
Hon. Maya Prasad Sharma (Chairperson)
Hon. Goma Devi Timalsina
Hon. Gopal Kumar Basnet
Hon. Nar Bahadur Bista
Hon. Padam Bahadur Pariyar
Hon. Baldev Bohara
Hon. Madan Kumari Shah (Garima)
Hon. Yuvraj Sharma
Hon. Rukmini Koirala
Hon. Renu Chand
Hon. Shreekrishna Prasad Adhikari
Hon. Sumitra B.C.
Policy Research Institute:
Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma (Executive Chairperson)
Dr. Deepak Kumar Khadka
Dr. Hari Sharma Neupane
Mr. Laxman Bhattarai
Dr. Mukti Rijal
Dr. Khaga Nath Adhikari
Dr. Kalpana Khanal
Ms. Rija Manandhar
Mr. Bimal Chandra Sharma