The government has made preparations to conduct all work related to information technology and digital governance through a comprehensive 'Information Technology and e-Governance Office' under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

For this, three major bodies such as the Department of Information Technology, the Integrated Data Management Center, and the National Cyber ​​Security Center have been abolished and brought under the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister's Office has stated that an Organization and Management (O&M) Committee has been formed to determine the detailed structure, posts, and work description of the new office.

Through the ‘Government of Nepal (Division of Work) Regulations, 2083’ published in the Gazette on 30 Baisakh, the government has added detailed responsibilities related to information technology within the scope of the Prime Minister’s Office. The committee has already prepared a report in two months and it is now in the final stage, Prime Minister's Office Spokesperson Hemraj Aryal told Kantipur. Based on the same report, the detailed format of the new office will be finalized within the next one month. Point 39 of the 100-point agenda approved by the Council of Ministers meeting on Chait 13 mentioned that the Information Technology and e-Governance Office would be established within three months. The point stated that arrangements would be made to operate all public bodies related to information technology under this office.

Accordingly, through the ‘Government of Nepal (Division of Work) Regulations, 2083’ published in the Gazette on 30 Baisakh, the government has added detailed responsibilities related to information technology within the scope of the Prime Minister’s Office. ‘Technology’ was removed from the then Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and Joint Secretary of the Ministry’s Information Technology Division, Aadesh Khadka, and others have been brought under the Prime Minister’s Office. The Data Management Center, Cyber ​​Security Center and Information Technology Departments, which were previously in the Ministry of Communications, have now been brought under the Prime Minister’s Office.

‘We are working regularly, the office is still where it was before.’ But when instructions come from both the Ministry of Communications and the Prime Minister's Office, there is confusion about who to give priority to,' said an employee of the Cyber ​​Security Center on condition of anonymity, 'We were told that a new office would be built within three months. But even after two months, we have not received any news. It does not seem like much work is being done on it.'

Due to the new division of labor regulations and structural changes, not only the daily activities of information technology-related bodies have been affected, but also large projects like the Nepal Digital Transformation Project.

Legal and administrative complications have been seen in how to proceed with the ownership of technology-related projects that were previously handled by the Ministry of Communications. 'Due to the change in the division of labor regulations, information technology-related tasks have been shifted from the Ministry of Communications to the Prime Minister's Office,' Joint Secretary Khadka told Kantipur last week. 'Due to this structural change, the project has been put on hold.' Now, more will be known about this only after the Ministry of Finance and donor agencies (World Bank/ADB) sit down and work out.'

Although a specific structure is needed for the regulation and facilitation of the information technology sector, experts have pointed out that it is important to know what the mandate of the new body will be and how much priority it will get. At the Kantipur Economic Summit held on 30 Baisakh, Finance Minister Wagle had said that digital projects would be taken forward not as a technical matter but as the main means of reaping the benefits of good governance and restructuring the economy. 'The government has a plan to create a powerful IT authority under the Prime Minister's Office and consolidate all work related to information technology there,' he had said. An official from the Prime Minister's Office mentioned that this body is going to implement information technology and digital good governance in a strong manner by placing 200 employees.

The Prime Minister's Office has stated that an attempt is being made to set up a single powerful organization by integrating all the scattered information technology-related bodies.

Although a specific structure is needed for the regulation and facilitation of the information technology sector, experts have pointed out that it is important to know what the mandate of the new body will be and how much priority it will receive. Former Communications Minister Rekha Sharma said that a dedicated ministry or a strong autonomous body is needed for the regulation of the information technology sector and effective digital service delivery, but placing it under the Prime Minister's Office will not achieve the goal. 'There is a big problem of inter-agency coordination in the information technology sector,' she said, 'but the Prime Minister's Office is not the best option for that coordination. Instead, it is appropriate to create a strong organization with specialized human resources.'

Stating that the previous experience of bringing agencies like Revenue Investigation or the National Investigation Department under the Prime Minister's Office was not good, former Minister Sharma expressed concern that since the Prime Minister's scope of work is very broad, a dynamic sector like information technology will not get the necessary regular priority and this sector may lag behind. 'It is not possible to operate everything from the Prime Minister's Office. There may also be a lack of sufficient manpower and resources,' she said, 'concentrating powers in one place is not good for democracy.'

It is not possible to operate everything from the Prime Minister's Office. Centralizing powers in one place is not good for democracy either. - Rekha Sharma , Former Minister of Communications Prime Minister's Office spokesperson Aryal explained this as an effort to create a strong 'central body' for information technology rather than centralizing powers. He believes this will eliminate duplication in work performance. 'This office will remain a functional and operable, modern institution, a little different from the traditional body,' he said, 'The positions of the employees in it and the work descriptions they perform may also be specialized and different from the previous ones. This should be understood as an effort to integrate the scattered activities of information technology rather than centralizing power.' According to him, there is no clear central body to look after information technology and a new body is needed to operate all the work in a uniform manner.

Information technology expert Manohar Bhattarai says that the main challenge in Nepal's digital journey is the lack of inter-agency coordination and developing a system where everyone is separate and does not know each other. He considers the creation of an effective structure under the Prime Minister's Office to be a positive solution to this problem. 'This can be considered a political commitment of the government in information technology and digital service delivery. But the creation of a new structure is not a big deal, what is important is what its mandate will be,' he said. 'If this body can coordinate effectively, its role will be important.'

Bhattarai also mentioned that digital systems should not be made in a way that is centralized or dependent on the federal structure. Pointing out that public bodies across the country currently depend on the 'Government Cloud' in Kathmandu, he said that it is ironic that local-level services are disrupted when the central system is down. ‘The government needs to manage this dependency properly,’ he said, ‘Even though government services are online, many ordinary people do not have information about it and digital literacy. When I studied in a ward in the Far West, I found that even though there is a system for recommending citizenship online, barely 4/5 people have taken that service in four years. Along with creating structures, the government should also emphasize increasing literacy.’

The government has given high priority to digital governance and data governance in the list of 100-point reforms. The goal is to make all government services ‘faceless’ and ‘time-bound’. It has been said to establish a national integrated digital governance platform and implement the digital governance blueprint and operate a national data exchange platform within 100 days. Although point 38 says that an independent regulatory body will be established within 60 days to regulate information technology and digital governance, it has not been created after two months.

An independent regulatory body for information technology and digital governance was set up within 60 days, but it has not been established after two months. The Prime Minister's Office currently has an e-Governance Board and an Information Technology Division under the Prime Minister's Office to promote digital media in public service delivery and government work. There are also comments that the new body to be established will lead to duplication of work. 'Previously, there was confusion due to the duplication of work between the Digital Nepal Framework Unit of the Prime Minister's Office, the Information Technology Division, the e-Governance Board, and the Ministry of Communications,' said former Minister Sharma. 'Now the government may have tried to bring information technology together by restructuring the bodies. The problem is not in the intent or purpose, but in how practical and feasible this arrangement is.'