By Our Reporter

It is not yet certain who will be the successor of Maha Prasad Adhikari to lead the Nepal Rastra Bank as several candidates are in the race to grab the position.

The government has already formed a three-member committee to recommend a new governor for Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), as the term of the current Governor Mahaprasad Adhikari ends on April 5.

The committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has former NRB Governor Bijayanath Bhattarai and economist Dr Bishwo Poudel as members,

Two deputy governors of Nepal Rastra Bank, Neelam Dhungana and Bam Bahadur Mishra, are in the race to become the new governor. Dhungana has now increased the race compared to Mishra. Raising the slogan of being the first woman governor, she is telling the story that she is qualified for the governor by establishing family ties with former President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s wife Radhika Shakya and Arzu Rana.

As KP Sharma Oli has been making statements in various public programmes in recent weeks that women should be given a platform, many have termed this as his plan to appoint Dhungana to the key post.

Gyanendra Dhungana, who was drawing a salary of Rs. 25 million,  resigned from the position of CEO of Nabil Bank and entered the competition. He is backed by the Nepali Congress 

Executive Director of the Nepal Rastra Bank, Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha, has also joined the fray by resigning from the post. Shreshta, who is also a member of the National Planning Commission, has a close relations with UML.

Gunakar Bhatta is another candidate. This man has good relations with Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba. 

Meanwhile, in a significant policy shift, the Ministry of Finance has removed the age restrictions previously imposed on appointments to its affiliated public bodies. This has come as a big move and strategic step ahead of the anticipated appointment of the new Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).  The policy shift has paved the way for the government to appoint governor even aged above 65.

The decision formalised through the second amendment to the “Standards for Appointment and Nomination of Officials and Members in Finance-Related Public Entities 2073 (2016),” eliminates the earlier requirements of a minimum age of 30 and a maximum of 65 for such positions.

Two persons who are in race to become governor could benefit from this provision,  They are former Chief Secretary Rajendra Kishore Kshatri and former executive director of NRB Rabindra Pande,

But appointments of old persons to the key post could backfire as the public is already fed up with old faces in political parties and government.

Obviously, by increasing the number of contestants, the powerful politicians, including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli want to ensure a hefty amount of commission from the contestants. The persons who could pay the highest amount will become the new governor.