Nepal Releases Draft Federal Civil Service Bill for Feedback

The Nepal government has released a draft of the proposed Federal Civil Service Act, inviting suggestions from stakeholders within seven days.

The draft legislation introduces major reforms to the civil service structure, including adjustments to age limits, recruitment systems and administrative management.

According to the proposal, the entry age for civil service will be reduced by three years for men and five years for women, while the mandatory retirement age will be raised from 58 to 60 years.

The bill also proposes a mixed hierarchical structure combining grade-based and level-based systems.

Under this framework, the civil service will consist of nine categories and 14 levels, ranging from non-gazetted to gazetted top-tier positions.

A dedicated Nepal Information Technology Service has been proposed to attract and manage human resources in the ICT sector.

Key reforms include the removal of trade unions within the civil service, replaced by separate grievance and service management mechanisms.

Civil servants will also be required to update records during foreign study leave.

The draft restricts government employees from conducting private coaching classes or teaching in training institutes.

For senior officials, a “cooling-off” period of two years has been proposed, barring post-retirement or resignation appointments in constitutional, diplomatic or other government positions.

The bill also introduces stricter political neutrality rules, proposing dismissal and future ineligibility for public service if employees engage in political activities, hold party membership or contest elections.

Additional provisions include extended tenure rules for secretaries, digitization of administrative processes and a performance-based transfer and promotion system.

Employees would be required to serve minimum tenure periods before transfers.

The government says the proposed law aims to make the civil service more professional, technology-driven, accountable and performance-oriented.