A Strategic Reform for Autonomy, Excellence, and National Development
Regulation specially in AI in Nepal Is insufficient. Most regulations are reactive, sector-specific and designed for slower technologies. Every powerful technology humanity has created—electricity, aviation, medicine—became safe because we invested in safety before disaster. Society normalizes risk before it understands it. Civil Society must be involved and Government of Nepal alone cannot keep pace. Human capital development in Nepal is in documentation only specially in rural settings. The entire population need to be empowered in order to face the challenges in AI and reap the benefit from AI.
For more than four decades—since 1979—I have been advocating demanding government to reform Nepal’s higher education landscape by granting Institutes of National Importance (INI) status to the country’s premier technical and scientific institutions. This proposal draws from successful international models, particularly India’s INIs, which have demonstrated the transformative impact of structural autonomy, stable funding, and protection from political interference.
Nepal’s leading institutions—such as the Institute of Engineering (IOE), Institute of Medicine (IOM), and Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)—remain constrained by bureaucratic control, unstable budgets, and politicization. These systemic barriers prevent them from achieving global competitiveness and fulfilling their potential as engines of national development.
Problem Statement
Nepal’s top academic and research institutions are hindered by chronic political and bureaucratic interference, unstable and short-term funding cycles with limited autonomy in academic, administrative, and financial decisions with weak research infrastructure and inadequate capacity for innovation inability to retain and attract top national and international talenst. Without structural reform, these institutions cannot meaningfully contribute to Nepal’s long-term scientific, technological, and economic advancement.
INI Designation via Special Act of Parliament
Granting INI status to premier institutions through a Special Act of Parliament will provide long-term, protected funding guaranting financial stability insulated from annual political or fiscal shifts ensuring independence in governance, academic programs, staffing, international partnerships, and research priorities developing ability to conduct high-impact research aligned with national development goal with freedom to innovate, collaborate internationally, and benchmark against world-class institutions. Empowered institutions can drive Nepal’s advancement in engineering, medicine, science, technology, and innovation.
Expected Outcomes will be establishment of globally recognized centers of excellence with enhanced STEM education and workforce development with improved capacity for scientific research and innovation strengthening various sector including health, engineering, and technology sectors which will ensure long-term contributions to economic growth and national resilience
Role of the Private Sector
The private sector can play a catalytic role in strengthening Institutes of National Importance (INIs) by contributing resources, expertise, and innovation ecosystems that public institutions alone cannot provide. Strategic partnerships with industry—through joint research labs, technology transfer centers, internship pipelines, faculty exchanges, and co-funded innovation hubs—can significantly enhance the relevance, employability, and global competitiveness of INI programs. Private-sector collaboration would also help align academic research with market needs, accelerate commercialization of technologies, and attract investment into high-impact sectors such as engineering, health sciences, biotechnology, AI, and advanced manufacturing. By integrating the private sector as a long-term partner, Nepal can ensure that INIs evolve into dynamic engines of innovation and national economic growth.
INIs will lead to technology transfer, job creation, and import substitution in the long term.
Nepal should analyze detailed case studies of similar successful institutions, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) or other global models, focusing on the specific legislative steps taken to grant them autonomy.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) should be provided with Frame the INI proposal as a matter of National Priority and Strategic Development directly related to Nepal's long-term prosperity. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) is the immediate administrative body. Address their concerns about loss of control by showing how accountability mechanisms will be strengthened, not weakened. Lobby members individually and collectively to introduce or support a Special INI Act. Get endorsement of National planning commission by linking INI status to the achievement of Nepal’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national five-year plan objectives. Secure official resolutions of support from the Nepal Engineers' Association, Nepal Medical Association, NAST, and various university faculty associations. Activate the global alumni network of IOE, IOM, etc., particularly those who are successful internationally. Their testimonials and financial pledges for an INI-structured foundation can be highly persuasive. Get major business associations (like FNCCI or CNI) to officially endorse the proposal. Present the government with a ready-to-go, professionally drafted "Institutes of National Importance Act" that outlines the specific provisions. Governing Board/Council should be establishment of a with majority representation from academia, industry, and international experts (not political appointees). A Protected Endowment Fund structure or a commitment to a multi-year is essential which is non-lapsable budget that is separate from the annual Ministry budget. Clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be developed for research, publication, and patent generation.
Only a Special Act, distinct from the general University Act, can grant the necessary level of administrative and financial independence.
Designating IOE, IOM, NAST, and similar premier public institutions as Institutes of National Importance is not merely an academic reform—it is a strategic national investment. A Special Act of Parliament will provide the autonomy, stability, and vision necessary for these institutions to become the foundation of Nepal’s technological and scientific future. This reform has been championed for more than 40 years and remains one of the most urgent and impactful actions Nepal can take to secure long-term national development. The INI status is the legislative mechanism that transforms our top institutes from Government-Managed Cost Centers into Nationally Accountable Innovation Engines. This is not a budget increase; it is a structural reform for national competence.
Technology Is Moving Faster Than Human Systems
AI capabilities are advancing at exponential speed, while Laws move slowly in Nepal, institutions need to adapt cautiously and awareness program in semi urban and grassroots is very urgent because public understanding is lagging behind. This creates a dangerous gap between what AI can do and what society can safely manage. Regulation that arrives after harm occurs is not protection—it is documentation.
AI safety research is not about stopping innovation. It is about understanding and controlling it.
Ensuring AI goals match human values is important. It's important to understand how AI systems make decision preventing unexpected or harmful behavio and knowing how to limit, pause, or shut down systems safely. Without this research, we are deploying systems we do not fully understand.
The future Advanced AI will be able to learn strategie persuading human. It can optimize toward goals we did not intend. The danger is not malice, but misalignment. A system that is extremely competent but poorly aligned can be more dangerous than one that is intentionally hostile.
AI is Cross-sector (health, education, defense, elections), Self-improving and Globally deployed
By the time a law in Nepal is passed, the technology it addresses may already obsolete. Faster regulation does not mean careless or heavy-handed regulation. It means Adaptive frameworks that evolve with technolog with Pre-deployment risk assessments and Mandatory safety evaluations for high-impact systems with Clear accountability for
If safety research and regulation lag Deepfakes and misinformation destabilize democracies, Economic inequality accelerates, Health misinformation costs lives and Control over powerful AI concentrates in a few hands
Civil society—including organizations like Rotary—plays a crucial role by Raising public awareness, Promoting ethical standards, Advocating precaution and responsibility and Bridging experts, policymakers, and communities
Various stakeholders should be engaged. Rotary’s credibility makes it a trusted voice in this conversation. The goal is not to halt progress, but to ensure Innovation proceeds at the speed of wisdom, not just capability.
AI should be Powerful, but controllable, Innovative, but accountable and Fast, but safe.