Last month Nepal was officially released on Google Street View, making it possible to virtually explore the streets of more than 60 cities and scenic highways, hopefully boosting <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/greening-nepal-s-tourism">business and tourism</a>. Just open up <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@27.6598523,85.3377024,14z?entry=ttu&amp;g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDkwMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D">maps.google.com</a>, click on the little yellow Peg Man, and drag him to an area on the map. In future, Street View Nepal may serve as an important archive of what Nepal used to look like.&nbsp; Nepal is the 107th country to get comprehensive Street View coverage, and the fourth in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/south-asia-2040-qxr16oup">South Asia</a> after Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.&nbsp; “We used two cars, a smaller one for narrower alleys and a bigger car for wider roads,” explains Nishant Nair, who leads a team that oversees outsourced Street View operations. Last year, a dark grey Hyundai Santro was spotted in Kathmandu with an NCTech iSTAR Pulsar, a 360-degree camera used to capture and stitch together Street View images.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250906140956_902bedfcd7eee077e522c04b5a9582e5811a26caa43f7e1edfd69fd12a7cdd7c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250906140956_902bedfcd7eee077e522c04b5a9582e5811a26caa43f7e1edfd69fd12a7cdd7c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1444" height="821" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> </figure>  In July, the process ran into problems in Bharatpur, where locals thought the car was surveying the alignment of the East-West Railway. So they torched the car and detained the surveyors. Bharatpur today has zero coverage on Google Street View.&nbsp; &nbsp;The maps have satellite images with photos from Street View Cars or contributors. The data is from official street maps. Says Nair: “Our <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/can-democracy-survive-ai">AI algorithms </a>can then analyse photos for street names, turn restrictions, and number of lanes to build a comprehensive map of the country.”&nbsp; From the pictures, Google’s AI can also extract information about ‘places of interest’, helping small businesses be visible on the internet.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250906140956_c22db31f11b88901af634aad930a5167d5c8ffb8de5ebb0beb65c2b359710068.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250906140956_c22db31f11b88901af634aad930a5167d5c8ffb8de5ebb0beb65c2b359710068" data-rendition-name="original" width="3022" height="2056" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>2. A dirt road amidst the far-western hills.</figcaption> </figure>  Dipesh Lamsal, CEO of Mahalaxmi Bikas Bank, says that hotels, restaurants, and tour operators benefit from the maps because it brings global visibility: “For us banks the technology can support Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, helping us confirm locations, assess businesses, and strengthen due diligence.” The network of coverage of Street View is denoted by a road glowing blue, with roads in cities and towns mostly featured. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">The Tarai</a> has a denser road network, the foothills have a few highways connecting main cities, and the mountains do not have blue at all except for some highways and popular trekking routes. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090616090_199a0054207b5a9fa2f640c09ca3432e18d7fc8bb58d453bddc4e3d176f73ce7.png" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2025090616090_199a0054207b5a9fa2f640c09ca3432e18d7fc8bb58d453bddc4e3d176f73ce7" data-rendition-name="original" width="509" height="327" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>3. Near the Bardia National Park in Western Tarai.</figcaption> </figure>  One of the biggest users of this feature will be Nepalis themselves, as<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/visit-nepal-in-the-monsoon"> domestic travel gets more popular</a> than ever this holiday season. Trekking trails are now also on Google maps with embedded views of scenic areas. What is striking is how similar cities look across Nepal — the same cement ads painted to the sides of buildings, the same shutter pasal, and haphazard overhead wires. Towns on the other side of the border look fundamentally the same except for billboards for Indian companies like Jio Mobile.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090615090_fa41d728dd7114052de9a21310908436853fce3d0487d271687ad8e2ae4f1911.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025090615090_fa41d728dd7114052de9a21310908436853fce3d0487d271687ad8e2ae4f1911" data-rendition-name="original" width="3420" height="2224" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>4. Near Jhiwakhola Devisthan in Baglung, Gandaki.</figcaption> </figure>  Connectivity As ride-sharing and e-commerce expands, tech-based companies need accurate data about locations, and directions to them. Rather than develop their own databases and maps from scratch, it makes sense to use existing Google Maps.&nbsp; Mapping services get paid a small amount every time another app asks to search for a location, or to calculate the optimal route between two specific places. They may also allow auto-completing searches or calculating just the distance between two locations instead of the best route.&nbsp; There is one problem: Nepali companies cannot afford to pay for this data from Google Maps — especially with 1 USD hitting Rs142 this week. And that is where <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/finding-your-way-in-nepal?fbclid=IwAR3Ls8S90Qcjv8CYsuZb2QjaFaMKnOar0L2jDiT3D1o7hx8ipoJRrTUbXDI%2F">Nepali mapping companies </a>like Baato and Galli Maps come in.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090615094_796a828a97ae656832fe1540df13dc6eb79c43cf83d01d37f387548146071b06.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2025090615094_796a828a97ae656832fe1540df13dc6eb79c43cf83d01d37f387548146071b06" data-rendition-name="original" width="3412" height="2068" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>5. The Kali Gandaki river in Kagbeni.</figcaption> </figure>  “We built Baato because we wanted to empower business, but over time we realised that bad maps isn’t only a business concern, it’s annoying for regular individuals too,” says Prithvi Khakda, Baato’s investor and business developer.&nbsp; One problem Khadka faces is the lack of trained technicians to take existing data about a customer and predict their preferences. Skilled people are rare, and once hired and trained in data manipulation, they will likely emigrate. Khadka’s solution is to use an agency to do the work, but that raises privacy issues. Khadka recently pitched Baato Maps on Shark Tank Nepal, successfully snaring a Rs24 million investment from Hem Raj Dhakal of IME for 40% of the company. Details of the deal will be finalised after Dasain, and Khadka says being on the show has given Baato better visibility: “The dynamic has flipped. Companies are now coming to us, instead of us going to them.” One of the new clients is all-electric ride-hailing service eDrive Nepal.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090615098_11c95467cdecdadc8d1683a80f533e7839395f37180910d04a7add888e168b18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2025090615098_11c95467cdecdadc8d1683a80f533e7839395f37180910d04a7add888e168b18" data-rendition-name="original" width="3086" height="2122" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>6. A central Nepal sunset at Tanahunsar in Gandaki.</figcaption> </figure>  Baato Maps’ main selling point is accuracy: it updates the changing nature of streets and locales with verification tools so users do not waste time chasing dead ends. “Building a map is challenging because it reflects all the changes that happen in real life,” says Khadka. &nbsp; Baato also makes it quick to find areas that would be of immediate locale interest, such as ATMs, bus stops, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/nepal-turns-on-the-electric-switch?%20waitfor%20delay%20%270%3A0%3A15%27%20--%20=">EV Charging stations</a>. In future it will recommend local restaurants and businesses to customers based on location, and perhaps tie-up with IME Pay’s inDrive.&nbsp; Galli maps serves companies like Hamrobazar, WorldLink, eSewa, Foodmandu, Sajilo Rides, and others. Founder Raj Bikram Maharjan says the company got a start from the government’s attempt to solve the addressing problem by numbering houses in 1998.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250906150912_6c4f8b729a9532a6e152bc8f37dd66f14e9be1aec11e459fed8fd72a90f386d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250906150912_6c4f8b729a9532a6e152bc8f37dd66f14e9be1aec11e459fed8fd72a90f386d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="3420" height="2224" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>7. A busy Thamel Street in Kathmandu.</figcaption> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/navigating-nepal-with-new-digital-maps">Navigating Nepal with new digital maps</a>, Shristi Karki “That was a revolutionary concept, but there was actually no way to see the numbers and use them to locate, and Lalitpur then numbered houses in 2019, but had the same problem,” recalls Maharjan who faced the issue firsthand when he tried to order an oximeter for his sick mother during Covid and was stuck giving directions on the phone for half an hour. Galli Maps also has a 360 degree street view feature, covering Kathmandu, Pokhara, Everest Base Camp, and Annapurna Base Camp, although it is not something it spends a lot of resources to maintain. Maharjan is excited about Google Street View now being a thing, and used to contribute to the service in 2014. Google was quite stealthy about carrying out mapping, but they need not have been because when Galli went to the Ministry of Communication and Technology, it said it did not need permission because it was not filming, just pictures.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250906150912_7bb3ca1250da082fbf76134db866498a35d6dd3b3655cf7a7d344d269882f21e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250906150912_7bb3ca1250da082fbf76134db866498a35d6dd3b3655cf7a7d344d269882f21e" data-rendition-name="original" width="3018" height="2122" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>8. The Pushpal Highway in Lamidanda in Kosi.</figcaption> </figure>  Galli does work with the government in other ways: re-mapping locations every year to update data, and also recent information from the Department of Roads. It has also tried a reporting feature so users could report <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/don-t-go-quietly-into-the-night">accidents, potholes</a>, trash buildups, and fires. This feature was scrapped after government departments did nothing about the complaints.&nbsp; Galli is planning for more use cases for its map application in future, including live tracking of festivals like<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-legend-behind-the-myth-of-indra-jatra"> Indra Jatra</a>, which this year starts on 6 September with chariot pulling.&nbsp; “I love to attend these jatra, but the problem is nobody knows exactly where the rath or lakhey are at any given time. Locals give directions, but the processions have moved by then,” says Bikram.&nbsp; Besides Baato and Galli, there are companies like Thegana which look to solve the addressing problem by digitising locations by assigning unique Thegana Codes to them. Another is Trackon Nepal, which offers vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions using small GPS devices and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/privacy-is-power?%2F=">mobile data</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090616090_da5aeb44d1adf0a475320759b44bc17bba5c00af173977ddb8441592ba11f42c.png" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025090616090_da5aeb44d1adf0a475320759b44bc17bba5c00af173977ddb8441592ba11f42c" data-rendition-name="original" width="508" height="315" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>9. Dadhauli in the central Tarai.</figcaption> </figure>  <h2>Trekking Views</h2> Google Street View covers roads, but what about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/himalayan-highs">Nepal’s trekking trails</a>? Now that the two main mobile telephone providers have built towers along the main trekking routes, it is possible to geolocate on online maps that show hiking paths. Better coverage would give trekkers an idea of the facilities they can expect en route, views that await them, and even weather alerts to warn of impending blizzards, landslides or avalanches.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250906150916_07b41580d22e3fa091da078cabba1bba35b28f2d2b0e30fe7acce329982370de.png" data-media-id="editor_22" data-image-id="20250906150916_07b41580d22e3fa091da078cabba1bba35b28f2d2b0e30fe7acce329982370de" data-rendition-name="original" width="586" height="778" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> </figure>  As more Nepalis travel within the country, they are uploading photos along the way. Two areas in the mountains that are partially covered on Google Street View are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/glory-and-risk-on-himalayan-peaks">the Annapurnas and the Everest Trail</a>. In Annapurna, the coverage is along the Beni-Tatopani-Jomson-Kagbeni route, including of the Kali Gandaki River. Most contributors are individuals.&nbsp; In the Khumbu area, there was a concerted effort in 2014 by a Google Maps team to create videos and an interactive website with places to explore in Lukla, Namche Bazaar, Thame, Khumjung and Phortse. Explorable views of the German Bakery at Lukla Airport, a Yak Parking Lot, and the Sir Edmund Hillary School reveal what life is like in the area.&nbsp; This is a project that could be undertaken quite easily by the government working perhaps with tour operators and individual <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trekkers-welcome-in-nepal-but-conditions-apply">trekkers</a> with 360 degree cameras that cost about $200. Documenting routes in the Far-West hills, perhaps showing that facilities do exist, could be vital to increasing tourism and the economy in the region.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090616094_468fea34380f2f81a04f67044e3d93bdddd4610b2bd543b1ff5199f85b41e4a6.png" data-media-id="editor_25" data-image-id="2025090616094_468fea34380f2f81a04f67044e3d93bdddd4610b2bd543b1ff5199f85b41e4a6" data-rendition-name="original" width="555" height="316" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal online"> <figcaption>10. The Himalaya in the north-eastern corner of Nepal.</figcaption> </figure>

Vishad Raj Onta

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

thumbnail

viewImage

Navigating Nepal online

Nama Raj Budhathoki was doing his PhD in the US when he came back to Nepal in 2009 and made plans to have dinner with a friend. He received a long, complicated email from his friend with directions to his home.&nbsp; Detailed as his friend’s instructions were, it was still difficult to find the house following landmarks.&nbsp; “Navigating in Nepal was a nightmare, I remember it being a waste of time and energy,” Budhathoki recalls. “I hoped that one day we would be able to solve this problem.” In 2011, Budhathoki completed his PhD with a focus on OpenStreetMap, an open-source global geographic database maintained by volunteers and contributors from across the world. He came back to Nepal, and in 2013 founded <a href="https://kathmandulivinglabs.org/">Kathmandu Living Labs (KLL)</a>, a mapping initiative to build on the OpenStreetMap movement that he had introduced to Nepal. Read Also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/finding-your-way-in-nepal">Finding your way in Nepal</a>, Prithvi Jung Khadka “Governments make maps, but more from their perspective to govern and make their own decisions,” says Budhathoki, who is currently with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) as the Regional Director of the Open Mapping Hub – Asia Pacific. “OpenSourceMap is necessary for a country like Nepal because we do not have other relevant free maps accessible to people, its value lies in people being able to map what they are interested in,” he adds. Kathmandu Living Labs eventually worked on disaster response, using crowdsourced mapping to aid relief agencies and volunteers to plan and target their relief efforts in the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquake.&nbsp; While the importance of digital navigation tools and technologies was better realised after the earthquake, their uses have expanded in the last few years — especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns which led to an e-commerce boom in Nepal.&nbsp; After the lockdowns, delivery and ride-sharing services have seen significant growth, and digital navigation is central to such services. But navigation in Nepal is trickier than in other countries. The streets are not consistently named or numbered, and house numbers are either poorly assigned or not assigned at all. Most Nepalis rely on landmarks like temples, historic buildings, trees, and even garbage dumps to find their way around.&nbsp; “Localised maps are crucial to Nepalis because the way we navigate is very different to the way people navigate in the West,” says Budhathoki.&nbsp; Recognising the unique navigational challenge in Nepal, civic-tech companies have begun to develop navigation applications that are contextualised to Nepali communities.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230922150916_bb502868c3d3ef8485c8383ac17c50229db8d3bd95638a73553f0b1ec870d3b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230922150916_bb502868c3d3ef8485c8383ac17c50229db8d3bd95638a73553f0b1ec870d3b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="828" loading="lazy" alt="Baato map"> <figcaption>Baato Maps</figcaption> </figure>  Baato Maps, developed by Kathmandu Living Labs itself, is one such service. It was introduced to the public as a navigation app in 2023. Galli Maps, another nav app was first launched in Kirtipur before spreading across Nepal. “We started Baato because there is a huge problem not only in navigation in Nepal but also in mobility,” says Prithvi Jung Khadka of Baato. “There is a huge gap in mobility infrastructure and it was clear Nepal needed more reliable maps.” Raj Bikram Maharjan, an aeronautical engineer, built drones in his spare time which proved to be useful in the aftermath of the earthquake when Nepal required them to map out heritage reconstruction work.&nbsp; Maharjan left his job in aviation to work on 3D heritage mapping full-time and also made maps for local governments. When the pandemic hit in 2020, it took some personal experiences with delivery services for Maharjan to realise the challenges Nepalis and navigation-based businesses faced because Nepal’s alleys and buildings were not properly represented by global navigation services like Google Maps.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/tech-away/nepal-s-e-conomy-rapidly-goes-digital">Nepal’s e-conomy rapidly goes digital</a>, Saniaa Shah “Other countries use navigation-based technologies such as delivery and ride-sharing services because they are convenient, but in Nepal, it has expanded because it is a necessity," says Maharjan. “And localised maps are crucial to such services. If there are inefficient maps, neither navigation-based businesses nor everyday life in Nepal can be sustainable.” And so Maharjan along with his friends Janam Maharjan and Ashon Shakya set out to develop a navigation service that recognised alleyways, small road networks, and buildings in Nepal.&nbsp; They collected mapping data from OpenStreetMaps, GPS, 360-degree cameras, their own drone imaging technology as well as from local governments, who were loath to share data initially even as they had begun to number houses — something that the general public had no idea about.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230922150920_97d8d7f6dd2a531df13cc02c12fc09fe9782442e6cf1e97c03b0dc4be77b63e3.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230922150920_97d8d7f6dd2a531df13cc02c12fc09fe9782442e6cf1e97c03b0dc4be77b63e3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1806" height="814" loading="lazy" alt="Galli app"> <figcaption>Gali Maps</figcaption> </figure>  “Nepal does not necessarily have a culture of sharing data, and we spent a lot of time explaining to government agencies and local governments why open data was crucial,” notes Maharjan. “That was a challenge, but once Kirtipur agreed to share its data, other municipalities followed suit.” However, since local navigation apps are still at a nascent stage, not only are Nepal’s institutions hesitant to share data, they also do not want to use the data provided by such services.&nbsp; And while individual users seem to be taking to the applications, &nbsp;most services dependent on navigation technology still rely on established global navigation software and applications.&nbsp; There are other challenges. Crowdsourced mapping as well as Nepal-based navigation apps are meant to be participatory, say digital mapping experts, but the fact that individuals and institutions are using those services has not necessarily meant that they contribute back to mapping at similar levels.&nbsp; Although much of Nepal has access to mobile technology, internet use is stuck at 65%, which means the flow of information and data is such that cities and densely populated areas with robust infrastructures are better mapped than rural Nepal.&nbsp; Additionally, open-source mapping also means that data might be collected by ordinary people in a way that is not always accurate or updated.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230922150920_93183c6619f6bec34efbce66e1edc9e2c38cc8d7425b7290c9c2b37a1210386b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230922150920_93183c6619f6bec34efbce66e1edc9e2c38cc8d7425b7290c9c2b37a1210386b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Navigating Nepal"> <figcaption>Photo: Bikram Rai/NT Archive</figcaption> </figure>  “Maps are constantly changing, and keeping that in mind, we have to work to make sure that our virtual maps better reflect the reality of Nepal while encouraging users to contribute at the same time,” says Khadka of Baato. But navigation services are making progress. Baato Maps has digitised public transportation and made transportation information available on the application. Galli Maps is preparing to introduce a crowd-sourced ‘reporting’ feature that allows users to input information about traffic, as well as issues of infrastructural damage and upkeep that will go directly to the dashboard of local governments for them to address.&nbsp; Not only do Nepal’s localised navigation services help Nepalis and navigation-based businesses, but they could also help enhance the tourism sector. Both Baato and Galli apps include Nepal’s major trekking routes.&nbsp; However, navigation experts do note that the availability of trekking routes, as helpful as they are, must be reconciled with the fact that trekkers, both foreign and domestic, rely primarily on the experience and knowledge of trekking guides and tourism professionals.&nbsp; Nama Budhathoki notes that Nepal-based navigation apps are an infrastructure themselves, with tremendous opportunities to enable and enhance the lives of individuals, start-ups, institutions as well as the government. Adds Budhathoki: “The future is location-based.”&nbsp;

Shristi Karki

Navigating Nepal with new digital maps

Samsung Nepal has opened pre-orders for the Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Both phones run Samsung’s One UI 8.5, featuring AI capabilities like voice transcription, Circle to Search, and photo editing. They feature a 50MP triple-camera system, a Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates.

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
<div class="embed-block"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1279862820757799%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>
BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

digital-maps

Navigating Nepal online

Navigating Nepal with new digital maps

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

How to win friends and influence nations

Nepal’s new government springs into action