Digital Rights Weekly/ Year 5 Issue 21

Nepal’s New Digital Transformation Project: Hope or Repeat of Past Failures?
In recent years, Nepal has increasingly prioritized digitalization as a key component of governance reform, public service delivery, and economic modernization. The government has repeatedly emphasized digital transformation through national plans, policies, and annual budgets, while the current government has also included digital governance and public service reform within its 100-day governance reform agenda and plans and program for FY 2026/27. Initiatives such as expanding digital public infrastructure, improving e-governance systems, strengthening cybersecurity, and promoting digital identity and online public services have been presented as central priorities for improving state efficiency and citizen access to services.
In line with these commitments, the Government of Nepal has signed concessional loan agreements worth around USD 90 million (approximately NPR 1.3 billion) with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for the “Nepal Digital Transformation Project.” The project aims to strengthen Nepal’s digital public infrastructure by improving online government services, cybersecurity systems, data centers, digital identity management, and citizen service delivery. The government claims that within the next five years, nearly seven million citizens will gain access to more efficient digital public services, reducing service delivery time from six hours to two hours.
Despite these promises, the project has sparked widespread debate because Nepal’s previous digital initiatives, particularly the Digital Nepal Acceleration (DNA) Project and the Digital Nepal Project (DNP), failed to produce meaningful results. The earlier DNA project was eventually canceled, and Nepal had to return approximately NPR 1.7 billion in unused funds to the World Bank without any clear public accountability. This has led lawmakers, experts, and the public to question what makes the current project different from previous unsuccessful efforts.
Experts warn that Nepal’s main challenge has never been the absence of funding, but weak implementation capacity. Previous projects failed due to poor inter-agency coordination, political instability, policy ambiguities, bureaucratic inefficiency, procurement delays, and disputes among implementing institutions.
Another major concern is the absence of a fully approved strategic framework guiding Nepal’s digital transformation. Although the government is preparing the Digital Nepal Framework 2.0, it still remains in draft form. Experts argue that launching another large digital project without a finalized national digital strategy risk fragmented implementation and duplication of efforts. They stress that digital transformation should not be treated merely as an information technology project, but as a broader governance and economic reform agenda requiring institutional coordination, legal reforms, and long-term political commitment.
The project’s implementation structure has also become uncertain due to ongoing government restructuring. Technology-related responsibilities are reportedly being shifted from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Government officials acknowledge that these institutional changes have temporarily delayed implementation while coordination with donor agencies is being reorganized.
Despite these concerns, international examples show that successful digital transformation can significantly improve governance and economic efficiency. Countries such as Estonia, India, and Sri Lanka have successfully used digital public infrastructure to improve public service delivery, reduce costs, and strengthen state efficiency.
The success of Nepal’s Digital Transformation Project will depend not only on financial investment, but on political stability, institutional coordination, legal preparedness, technical expertise, and the government’s ability to learn from past failures. Without strong implementation capacity and accountability, experts warn that Nepal risks repeating the same cycle of ambitious digital promises followed by poor execution and growing debt burdens.

DACSA Statement on the Cancellation of RightsCon
DACSA (Digital Accountability Collective South Asia) has expressed deep concern over the cancellation of RightsCon, a critical global gathering that has long served as a vital platform for advancing digital rights, accountability, and collective resistance against growing authoritarianism in digital spaces. The statement issued by the DACSA members, including Digital Rights Nepal, mentions that spaces like RightsCon are more necessary than ever at a time when governments and corporations are increasingly deploying surveillance, censorship, internet shutdowns, AI-driven discrimination, and attacks on freedom of expression,
DACSA noted that RightsCon has played a critical role in connecting communities from the Global Majority, enabling knowledge-sharing, solidarity-building, and coordinated advocacy to challenge digital repression and promote democratic participation, privacy, and human rights online.
The statement further emphasized that the ongoing digital crisis is not merely technological, but fundamentally tied to broader issues of human values, justice, and rights. According to DACSA, the loss of a convening platform like RightsCon weakens collective efforts to build accountable and rights-respecting digital ecosystems.
Reaffirming its commitment to inclusive digital governance, DACSA called for stronger and more accessible global platforms that center the voices, lived experiences, and priorities of communities from the Global Majority.