Kathmandu, July 25: The government has officially appointed Lila Devi Gadtaula as Nepal’s first female chief secretary. A meeting of the Council of Ministers took a decision to this effect on Thursday.

Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, confirmed the appointment. Gadtaula, who previously served as acting chief secretary under the administration led by CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, now assumes the role of chief secretary on a permanent basis. 

In addition to Gadtaula’s appointment, the meeting also addressed other key positions within the National Planning Commission. Prof Dr Shiva Raj Adhikari from Palpa has been appointed as the vice chairman of the commission. Dr Adhikari is a Professor of Economics at Tribhuvan University. 

The Council of Ministers also nominated several members to the commission. The new members include Dr Ramesh Prasad Singh, Dr Prakash Kumar Shrestha, Gita Kumari Paudel Adhikari, Dr Jai Bahadur Tandon, and Ganga Dutta Awasthi.