KATHMANDU, April 26: Information technology (IT) analysts have called on the Government of Nepal to promote artificial intelligence (AI) tailored to local languages and contexts, aiming to ensure effective and inclusive public service delivery.
Speaking at an event organized by the Nepal Association for Software and IT Services Companies (NAS-IT), industry experts stressed the need to improve AI tools to strengthen the IT developer ecosystem. Such advancements, they said, could help modernize public services and enable faster grievance resolution through digital platforms.
NAS-IT Vice-President Dipen Chapagain noted that Nepal’s IT sector is emerging as an export-oriented industry with significant potential. “With timely policy support, the country could earn substantial foreign exchange,” he said.
Let Sajha rise
“Given the rising global demand for digital services, outsourcing, cloud solutions, AI, and software development, this is the right time to harness Nepal’s young workforce, competitive costs, and technical capabilities,” Chapagain added.
NAS-IT also urged the government to introduce comprehensive reforms in the income tax system through the upcoming budget. Providing tax concessions to the IT sector, the association argued, would help develop the domestic industry and boost international competitiveness by encouraging reinvestment in innovation, human resources, and infrastructure.
Citing examples from Bangladesh and Vietnam—where IT companies receive subsidized export credit to offset cost-related disadvantages—NAS-IT called for similar privileges for Nepali firms.
Among other requests for the annual budget 2026/27, IT experts sought government intervention on several fronts: reserving certain opportunities for small IT companies with a capital base below Rs 100 million, ensuring the effective enforcement of cyber laws, addressing the growing threat of data theft, ensuring good data governance, and establishing a clear policy on digital transactions.
