KATHMANDU, March 3: The government has appointed renowned scholar Bishnu Raj Upreti as head of the Policy Research Academy (PRI), a government-owned policy research institute.

A cabinet meeting held on Sunday took a decision to appoint Upreti, who is engaged in teaching, research and policy debates in the field conflict transformation and peace building, security sector governance, unconventional security issues, conflict and development, resource and environmental conflict in Nepal.

“I will try my best with full of honesty and sincerity,” he told Republica. A PhD in conflict management, Upreti currently serves as Executive Director of Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research (NCCR) as well as the South Asia Regional Coordinator of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South).

He has published more than two dozens of books, several peer reviewed journal articles and chapters in anthologies. The post of PRI head was lying vacant after Prof. Chaitanya Mishra decided to step down after facing various bureaucratic hurdles and lack of necessary support from the government in his works.

Although one of the Board of Directors Ganesh Gurung was entrusted with the responsibility serve as Acting Head of the PRI after Mishra’s resignation, the policy think-tank had failed to function properly. The PRI is envisioned as an independent think-tank to recommend government policies on all governance issues ranging from development and construction to security, foreign policy and good governance.

 
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