The government has appointed Gunakar Bhatta as the Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission and Kiran Pandit as the Deputy Governor of the National Bank. The decision to appoint them was taken at a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, informed Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Pratibha Rawal. 

The post of Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission fell vacant with the fall of the interim government. There is a provision that the Prime Minister will be the chairman of the commission. There is a provision that the Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, including the office bearers, will also automatically resign after the Prime Minister leaves office. Based on this provision, the previous Vice Chairman Prakash Kumar Shrestha was replaced. The government has appointed Bhatta to the vacant post. 

Bhatta is the former Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank. According to the employee regulations, Bhatta retired a few months ago as per the provision of mandatory retirement after seven years of being an Executive Director. There is a provision for retirement after 30 years of service in the National Bank, 12 years for a director level of 58 years or higher, and 7 years for an executive director. 

He resigned from the position of Executive Director of the National Bank in Baisakh 2082 to become the governor. But his resignation was not accepted. Bhatta holds a master's degree in management and economics and a doctorate in economics from the United States. Bhatta, who was born in Doti, completed his school education in the district. After that, Bhatta, who studied at Kailali Campus until graduation, came to Kathmandu for his master's studies. 

Similarly, the government has appointed Kiran Pandit as the Deputy Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank. The government has appointed him for a period of five years. Pandit is considered one of the best among the 18 executive directors of the Nepal Rastra Bank. Pandit, who joined the banking service as an assistant director at the Nepal Rastra Bank in 2062, was previously working as an executive director. Although his permanent home is in Tanahun, he currently lives in Kathmandu. Pandit, who holds a master's degree in management, was the head of the Foreign Exchange Management Department. He had previously been the head of the Payment Systems Department and has also served as a spokesperson at the Nepal Rastra Bank.

There is a provision for two deputy governors in the Nepal Rastra Bank. The government appointed only one on Tuesday. Since appointing both at the same time will also cause the vacancy to occur at the same time, the government is preparing to appoint the other deputy governor only after three months. Although the law states two governors, the Ministry of Finance has not given an official answer as to why only one was appointed. 

Two deputy governor posts were vacant in the National Bank since 25 Falgun 2082. The posts fell vacant in the National Bank after the five-year tenure of the outgoing deputy governors Neelam Dhungana Timsina and Bam Bahadur Mishra. Timsina and Mishra were appointed as deputy governors on 27 Falgun 2077. 

The National Bank Act provides for the appointment of deputy governors by the Council of Ministers on the recommendation of the governor. Section 16, Sub-section 2 of the Act states that the governor recommends four people from among the executive directors (special category officers) of the National Bank for appointment to the post of deputy governor. ‘When recommending for appointment to the post of Deputy Governor, the Governor shall recommend names of twice the number of vacancies among the special category officers of the bank based on their performance,’ the Act states, ‘A person appointed as Deputy Governor shall be deemed to have automatically retired from the service of the bank.’ According to the same provision, the Governor recommended four names, but the government appointed only one. 

Based on this, the qualification for Deputy Governor is Executive Director (Special Category Officer). Currently, there are 18 Executive Directors in the Rastra Bank. According to the law, all of them were competitors for Deputy Governor. Since the Act only mentions Executive Director, it does not appear that senior and junior are considered in the appointment of Deputy Governor. 

Even though the Governor is an executive position, the role of Deputy Governor is very important in making the work of the Rastra Bank effective. The Deputy Governors are assigned their areas of work by dividing all the departments of the Rastra Bank. The Governor only has overall oversight and direction. The role of the Deputy Governor is crucial in the success/failure of the Governor of the National Bank.