Nepal Public Policy Review

Connecting research to policy

Editorial Team

Executive Editor:

Dr. Deepak Kumar Khadka: Dr. Khadka has a doctoral degree in life sciences from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and ten years of experience of research works at the National Institutes of Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Temple University in the US (2001-2010), one year of experience of managing biotechnological research and development at Deurali-Janta Pharmaceuticals, and four years of experience of overseeing and managing research support programs for higher education at the University Grants Commission in Nepal (2012-2019). Since 2020, Dr. Khadka is serving as a Senior Research Fellow at the Policy Research Institute (PRI). Dr. Khadka brings a rich experience of research quality assurance for diverse disciplines.

List of Editors

Dr. Bimala Rai Paudyal: Dr. Paudyal is the former Member of the National Assembly, Federal Parliament of Nepal. She has also served as a member of the National Planning Commission. Dr. Paudyal holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands and an MA from the University of Manchester, UK. She is a policy expert especially in the areas of sustainable development, natural resource governance, climate-smart agriculture, gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), post disasters need assessment (PDNA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). At the global parliamentary forums, Dr. Paudyal is a member of Climate Parliament and one of the founding members of the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd). She has authored a number of publications and has been serving as a peer reviewer of a number of reputed journals in the field of development studies.

Dr. Bishnu Raj Upreti: Dr. Upreti is the former Executive Chairperson of the Policy Research Institute. Dr. Upreti has 40 years of experience in development, research and teaching. His geographical research areas include Latin America, Africa and Asia and thematic research areas include public policy, state building, human security, environment, and natural resources.

Dr. Biswo Nath Poudel: Dr. Poudel is the former Vice-Chairperson of the National Planning Commission of Nepal. Dr Poudel received his PhD degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Poudel served as a professor at Kathmandu University, chief economic advisor of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), columnist in Kantipur Daily, member of the Board of Directors of Sanima Middle Tamor Hydropower Company, a member of the board of trustees of Ullens Education Foundation, and an economic advisor at the International Labour Organization (ILO). His areas of expertise are natural resources economics and labour economics.

Dr. Hemant Ojha: Dr. Hemant Ojha is Associate Professor at University of Canberra and Senior Policy Advisor at Institute for Study and Development Worldwide (IFSD), Australia. He is an expert on environmental politics and international development.  He has published over 70 scientific papers. He sits as co-editor/advisor of Journal of Forest Policy and Economics (Elsevier), World Water Policy (Wiley), and Water MDPI).

Prof. Dr. Khadga KC: Dr. KC is  Professor at the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. He was a Japan Foundation Fellow (2012 July- March 2013 and was the US State Department Fellow on SUSI at the Chicago University, (April-June, 2012. Dr. K.C. was a fellow of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Japan (2002-2009). He is an executive editor of Journal of International Affairs, DIRD, TU, and an editorial board member, of Journal of International Relations, Dhaka University.

Prof. Dr. Naba Raj Devkota: Currently serving as the Vice Chancellor of Gandaki University, Nepal, Dr. Devkota has served more than a decade as Director of Research and Extension at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS/TU) and Agriculture and Forestry University. Prof. Devkota was Editor-In-Chief of Journal of Agriculture and Forestry University (JAFU) from 2017 to Oct. 2020, an advisor for Nepal Journal of Biotechnology and Editor of EC-VET and Global Journal of Agriculture and Allied Sciences, USA.

Dr. Rajan Bhattarai: Dr. Bhattarai received PhD in international relations in 2011 from Jawaharlal University, India and M.A. in International Studies from the University of London, UK. He has served as the Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister three times. He is a former member of the Constitution Assembly (Sambidhan Sabha). He was also a member in the Eminent Persons Group on Nepal India Relations. Dr Bhattarai, extensively published on foreign policy, security and political affairs.

Dr. Shankar Sharma: Dr. Shankar Sharma is a former Vice-Chairperson of the National Planning Commission,  a former Ambassador of Nepal to the United States and the current Ambasador of Nepal to India. Dr. Sharma received PhD in economics from the University of Hawaii.  Dr. Sharma has served as an editor to ASEAN Economic Bulletin and a consultant editor to Hydrocarbon Asia, both published from Singapore for about seven years. Dr. Sharma has published over 8 books and more than three dozen articles mainly in the areas of the economy, energy and environment.

Prof. Dr. Sharad Onta: Dr. Sharad Onta, a medical graduate, has a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in Health Research System. Currently, Dr. Onta is Professor at the Department of Community Medicine and Public Health and Country Coordinator at People’s Health Movement Nepal. Dr. Onta has also served as a member secretary at Nepal Health Research Council, as Assistant Dean (Academic) at Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University and as Head of Department of Community Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Onta has been involved in research in various aspects of public health and published several articles in national and international journals and has presented numerous papers in national and international conferences.

Dr. Suprabha Baniya: Dr. Suprabha Baniya is Assistant Professor of Economics (PhD faculty of International Trade) at Clark University, United States. She received her PhD in economics from Purdue University in 2017. Through her doctoral work and current research, she is associated with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and the GTAP.

Dr. Teertha Dhakal: A former Secretary to the Government of Nepal (GON), Dr. Dhakal has over 25 years of experience in drafting national development plans/policies, designing/implementing results-based monitoring and evaluation frameworks, facilitating independent evaluation/research studies and reviewing journal articles. Dr. Dhakal holds a PhD in Education (Research in Policy Implementation) from Kathmandu University, an MSc in Project Planning and Management from the University Of Bradford (UK) and a Master’s in Business and Public Administration (MBA and MPA) from Tribhuvan University.