Examining Nepal Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy

Nepal Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has released the draft National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence for public review. The document outlines three foundational pillars: public sector digitization, capacity building across higher education institutions, and regulatory frameworks for algorithmic accountability. Key highlights from the draft policy include: 1. Data Localization Guidelines: Requirement for domestic public sector records to reside in government data centers. 2. Academic Research Grants: Allocation for university-led natural language processing projects for Devanagari models. 3. Ethical Safety Boards: Formation of an inter-ministerial council to review high-risk automated decision systems in public administration. TJF will host a consultative round table with member reporters and civil society researchers to submit formal stakeholder feedback before the final parliamentary filing.