This report on data governance in Nepal is part of the “Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia” (D4DAsia) project, which aims, inter alia, to create and mobilize new knowledge about the tensions, gaps, and evolution of the data governance ecosystem, taking into account both formal and informal policies and practices. This report is also part of a broader comparative effort that includes case studies from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The report provides an overview of Nepal’s constitutional and governance framework and examines the laws, policies, and institutional arrangements that shape the collection, processing, storage, access, and sharing of data. It analyses key legislative instruments, including the Electronic Transaction Act, Privacy Act, Right to Information Act, Statistics Act, and the Directives for Managing the Use of Social Networks, while also assessing emerging initiatives relating to open data, digital governance, interoperability, and cybersecurity. The report further explores issues relating to institutional capacity, fragmented implementation, data localization, and the absence of a comprehensive data governance framework, highlighting the tensions between openness, privacy, innovation, and state regulation within Nepal’s evolving digital ecosystem.
The Nepal Country Report can be found below.
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