Neelam Dhungana Timsina and Bam Bahadur Mishra have been appointed as the deputy governors of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The cabinet meeting on Tuesday appointed Timsina as the senior governor and Mishra as deputy governor for five years.
Timsina and Mishra have been appointed to the vacant posts after the five-year tenure of deputy governors Chintamani Shivakoti and Shivaraj Shrestha came to an end March 3.
Timsina, who joined Rashtra Bank in 2054 BS as an assistant director, has an MBA degree from Tribhuvan University, another master’s degree in economics from Australia, and a PhD in management from Rajasthan, India.
Timsina, also the head of National Debt Management Department at NRB, has previously worked in research and foreign exchange management. “I will continue to work tirelessly to achieve NRB’s objectives,” she said following her appointment.
She is the first woman deputy governor in the history of NRB.
The NRB Act stipulates that the Council of Ministers of the Government of Nepal should appoint a deputy governor on the recommendation of the Governor. As per the provision, the Council of Ministers appointed Timsina and Mishra from the names recommended by the Governor.
Though the NRB Act required governors and deputy governors be appointed on the basis of seniority and merit, NRB has a long history of appointing the senior officials on the basis of political affiliation and proximity.
The newly appointed deputy governors are close to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, while one of them is from his home district Jhapa.
