Nepal Two Salaries: The news Prime Minister of Nepal is undertaking radical reforms after coming to power. According to reports, PM Balendra Shah has decided to pay government employees fortnightly instead of monthly. Employees will receive the salary in two equal installments every 15 days instead of a one time payment at the end of the month. The decision has been taken to stimulates consumption and revive the economy. Agencies reported that an order was issued by the Finance Ministry and communicated to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office. The changes will be implemented immediately, reports added.
Why is Nepal Paying Government Employees Twice A Month?
Nepal has taken the decision to pay government employees with an aim to increase the cash flow. This in turn is believed to increase the spending and spur economic growth.
Experts claim that the decision could help the middle-class employees of the country by easing the financial burden. Countries like US and Australia follow the similar model.
Nepal Revises Hierarchy Of Ministers
In a similar move, Balendra Shah recently revised the hierarchy of the Council of Ministers of his cabinet formed on March 27. The revision of ministerial positions comes in less than fifteen days of the formation of the government.
As per the release from the Office of the President, after it was recommended by the meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.
“The change applies to the Council of Ministers formed on March 27 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Balendra Shah, in accordance with Article 76(9) of the Constitution of Nepal,” the release said.
Though the ministerial hierarchy has been changed, the portfolios remain unchanged; their order of precedence has been rearranged.
Nepal To Investigate Assets Of Politicians
Nepal’s new government, led by rapper-turned politician Balendra Shah, has set up a panel to investigate the property and assets of past and present politicians and officials, a move aimed at controlling corruption in the Himalayan nation.
Shah, 35, became prime minister after his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) scored a sweeping victory in the March 5 parliamentary election – the country’s first vote after the anti-graft ‘Gen Z” protests last September.
During his three-year stint as mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, Shah gained popularity for his fight against corruption and reformist credentials.
The probe is expected to cover hundreds of politicians and officials who held public offices after the popular movement that led to the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008, analysts said.
Who is Balendra Shah? The New PM Of Nepal At the Heart Of Reforms
Balendra Shah was sworn in as prime minister of Nepal last month. Shah is Nepal’s youngest prime minister in decades and the first Madhesi – people of the southern plains bordering India – to lead the country that is wedged between Asian giants India and China.
A former mayor of the capital, Kathmandu, Shah, 35, became prime minister after his three-year-old Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won 182 seats in the 275-member parliament in the March 5 election, the first vote after the anti-corruption Gen Z protests in which 76 people were killed in September last year.
(With inputs from ANI)
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
