25 candidates have applied to become the next chairman of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the sole regulator of all telecommunication services in Nepal. The list includes seasoned professionals in the industry and also has the advisor to the communication minister (MoCIT) Ms. Sharma touted to be the frontrunner.
On Magh 14, the NTA opened applications from interested candidates to become the new NTA Chairman. The former head Purushottam Khanal resigned from the post on Poush 24 over TERAMOCS and MDMS procurement process controversies. His resignation came at a crucial time for the telecom industry. In his last few months, Smart Telecom, UTL, and CG all lose their license to operate telecom services. There is also an outcry regarding the financial viability of telecom companies in Nepal. In addition, the challenge of implementing MDMS and the controversy of TERAMOCS remain paramount challenges for the authority to cope with.
25 candidates apply to chair NTA
25 candidates submitted their applications to chair NTA. The list includes Communication Minister Rekha Sharma’s ICT advisor Bhupendra Bhandari, Former General Manager of Sajha Prakashan, Dolindra Prasad Sharma, etc. Bhandari, a top favorite (among the candidates, as per several media) to clinch the highly prestigious post was appointed as the advisor to the minister on Ashar 05 by a cabinet meeting. Bhandari has long experience of serving in the industry in top positions. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smart Mobile in Burundi from 2008 to 2015. Bhandari has also worked as the CEO of Intergroup Telecom in Sierra Leone.
Likewise, Former Executive Director of Radio Nepal, Suresh Kumar Karki is also in the run for the NTA chairman post.
Other candidates who have applied to lead NTA are Nanda Bikram Adhikari, Anil Jha, Menejar Prasad Sah, Devnarayan Yadav, Prakash Baral, Nagendra Kumar Das, and Rohit Rauniyar. Also read: NTA completes RTDF Mid-Hill optical fiber project in Koshi Province, ready for sharing
Similarly, Sagarnath Upadhyaya, Madhav Prasad Regmi, Sushil Ojha, Ramdev Yadav, Nabin GC, Girindraraj Adhikari, Laxmiprasad Pandit, and Janardan Bhatta are also in the run. Damodar Regmi, Shailendra Giri, Shrikrishna Subedi, Pankaj Kumar Das, Gokarna Prasad Sitaula, Chitrasingh Budhathoki Magar, and Kamal Prasad Khanal have also submitted their application for the post.
Meanwhile, a writ has been filed at the Supreme Court for not following the criteria to fulfill the post.
