Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Twelve candidates have applied for the vacant position of chairperson of the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) – the insurance sector regulator.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Kamal Prasad Regmi, Dr Devraj Roka, Sharad Ojha, Chiranjivi Chapagain, Bishnu Babu Mishra, Buddha Kaji Shrestha, Damodar Basaula, Dim Prasad Prasad Poudel, Ram Sharan Pudasaini, Bikrant Pandey, Raman Nepal and Binod Kaji Shrestha have applied for the position.
Regmi is a director at NIA, Roka is a former chairperson of the Youth Self-employment Program, Ojha is a journalist and legal professional and Chapagain is a former chairperson of the NIA. Likewise, Mishra is a former CEO of Deposit and Credit Guarantee Fund, Basaula is a former executive director of the Health Insurance Board, Nepal is the chairperson of Laxmi Sunrise Bank, Pandey is a former deputy general manager of Nepal Insurance Company and Paudle is a former general manager of Nepal Airlines, while Pudasiani and Neupane are former government secretaries.
A selection committee headed by the National Planning Commission Vice-chairperson Dr. Shivaraj Adhikari will prepare a shortlist of three applicants after studying the presentations of all candidates and recommend them to the cabinet. The cabinet will then appoint one of them as the NIA Chairperson.
The position has been lying vacant following the automatic suspension of Surya Prasad Silwal after a corruption case was filed against him.
