March 10, 2025
Policy Research Institute, Narayanhiti

The E-Governance Board of the Government of Nepal has drafted the E-Governance Blueprint, envisioning a digital transformation of Nepal’s public services to make them more agile, transparent, accountable, and efficient. This blueprint aims to foster a robust digital ecosystem by developing digital infrastructure, establishing legal and policy frameworks, digitizing governmental processes, and promoting innovation, research, and development in digital governance.

At the request of the E-Governance Board, the Policy Research Institute (PRI) organized a public policy dialogue to gather feedback from stakeholders and experts on the draft blueprint.

The dialogue, held on March 10, 2025, commenced with opening remarks from Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma, Executive Chairman of PRI, and was facilitated by Dr. Mukti Rijal, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute. Er. Kedarman Bhandari, representing the E-Governance Board, provided an overview of the blueprint’s objectives and key provisions. Expert Rituraj Lamsal then presented insights on the necessity of the E-Governance Blueprint, its alignment with the Digital Nepal Framework, its impact on government service delivery, and the implementation challenges.

During the discussion, participants welcomed the blueprint as a significant initiative and shared recommendations for its effective implementation. Key areas highlighted for success included institutional structures, technological infrastructure, data security, and citizen participation.

Closing the program, Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma affirmed that PRI would submit recommendations to the E-Governance Board based on expert reviews, stakeholder feedback, and internal consultations.

Attendees

Guests
Er. Kedarman Bhandari (Computer Engineer, E-Governance Board)
Dr. Rituraj Lamsal (Expert)
Deepak Raj Awasthi (Senior Superintendent of Police, Nepal Police Cyber Bureau)
Subash Khadka (Chief Executive Officer, Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal)
Chandra Sah (Joint Secretary, Internal Revenue Department)
Dr. Prakash Paudyal (Associate Professor, Kathmandu University)
E. Ranjit Lohiya (Deputy Chief, Nepal Telecom)
Dr. Bhojraj Ghimire (Associate Professor, Nepal Open University)
Om Krishna Shrestha (Advocate, Supreme Court Bar Association)
Krishna Raj Pandey (Statistics Officer, Department of Health Services)
Santosh Sigdel (Executive Director, Digital Rights Nepal)

Policy Research Institute
Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma (Executive Chairman)
Dr. Muktiram Rijal (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Hari Sharma Neupane (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Khaganath Adhikari (Senior Research Fellow)
Dr. Kalpana Khanal (Senior Research Fellow)
Laxman Bhattarai (Office Manager)
Ashok Pandey (Research Fellow)
Gopal Acharya (Associate Research Fellow)
Bimal Chandra Sharma (Library Management Coordinator)