New ministers sworn in

KATHMANDU: Sixteen newly appointed ministers were sworn in on Wednesday during a ceremony held at the Office of the President at Sital Niwas.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had recently appointed three ministers on Monday after forming a new coalition with CPN-UML, JSP, and RSP.

The coalition parties reached an agreement on Wednesday regarding ministerial allocation, leading to the expansion of the Cabinet.

Among the notable appointments, Barshaman Pun of CPN-Maoist has taken charge of the Ministry of Finance, while Rabi Lamichhane of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has assumed the role of Home Minister. Narayan Kaji Shrestha from the Maoist Center has been designated as the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Additionally, CPN-UML's Raghubir Mahaseth is now the Minister of Physical Infrastructure, and Rajendra Kumar Rai has been appointed as Minister for Drinking Water and Irrigation.

Other key appointments include Padam Giri as Minister for Law, Bhagwati Chaudhary as Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, Balram Adhikari as Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation, Damodar Bhandari as Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, Hari Upreti as Defense Minister, and Jwala Kumari Shah as Agriculture Minister.

Moreover, from the Maoist Center, Rekha Sharma will serve as Communication Minister, Shakti Bahadur Basnet as Energy Minister, and Hit Bahadur Tamang as Tourism Minister.

Similarly, Bhanu Bhakta Joshi has been appointed as Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, while Dhan Bahadur Buda will serve as the Urban Development Minister from CPN (Unified Socialist).