Nepal PM and ministers given power to set their own salaries

The Prime Minister and ministers of Nepal now have the authority to decide their own salaries. This change came after the federal parliament amended an existing law and gave this power to the Council of Ministers.

The amended law, called the Some Nepal Acts Amendment Bill, was approved by President Ramchandra Paudel on Shrawan 14 (30 July ). With this, the Prime Minister and Ministers’ Remuneration and Facilities Act, 2049 has been updated. The amendment allows the Cabinet to decide how much salary and benefits the Prime Minister and other ministers will receive.

Previously, the salary and benefits of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, State Ministers, and Assistant Ministers were fixed by a law passed in 2049 BS (1993 AD). According to that law, the monthly salary was:

• Prime Minister: Rs. 9,000
• Deputy Prime Minister: Rs. 7,500
• Minister: Rs. 7,000
• State Minister: Rs. 6,700
• Assistant Minister: Rs. 5,800

But in the newly amended law, there is no fixed salary mentioned. Instead, it states that the government will publish the salary details in the Nepal Gazette after making a decision through the Cabinet.

This means the Prime Minister and ministers can now change their salary and benefits anytime by making a decision in the Council of Ministers and publishing it officially.

Until now, any changes to their salaries were made through a guideline called the Government Operations Directive. The last time this guideline was updated was on Magh 22, 2077 (4 February 2021).

Current salary and benefits

According to the 2077 (2021 AD) guideline:

• The Prime Minister receives a total monthly salary of Rs. 94,280, which includes:
  • Basic salary: Rs. 77,280
  • Price inflation allowance: Rs. 2,000
  • Communication allowance: Rs. 5,000
  • Hospitality allowance: Rs. 10,000
  • Plus: 306 liters of petrol per month and 40 liters of mobil oil per year
  • Staff: 34 government employees including advisors and assistants
  • Travel allowance: Rs. 3,000 per day when traveling outside Kathmandu
• The Deputy Prime Minister gets:
  • Total monthly salary: Rs. 84,640 (includes allowances)
  • 306 liters of petrol per month
  • 8 government staff members, including a private secretary
• Ministers receive:
  • Total monthly salary: Rs. 79,230
  • 207 liters of petrol per month
  • 7 government staff
• State Ministers get:
  • Total monthly salary: Rs. 75,030
  • 200 liters of petrol per month
  • 7 government staff

Now, instead of relying on the directive to revise salaries, the government has legally given this authority to the Cabinet. From now on, salaries and benefits of the Prime Minister and ministers will be decided and changed directly by the Cabinet and announced in the Nepal Gazette.