PM Balen Shah outlines plan to boost Nepal's gaming and IT sector

Prime Minister Balen Shah has said the government will reform policies and ease taxes to develop Nepal's game development and information technology (IT) sectors into industries that compete globally. He set out the plan in a Facebook post on Saturday, October 31, 2026, after meeting local game developers to hear about their problems.

According to Onlinekhabar, Gorkhapatra and Ratopati, the Prime Minister said the rules and conditions that affect local tech firms would be reviewed. He pointed to the success of games made by Nepalis: according to him, 'Ludo' has been downloaded nearly 200 million times and 'Call Break' more than 150 million times. He added that hundreds of young Nepalis are now building game apps.

Policy reforms and ecosystem support

Prime Minister Shah said the government wants an environment in which 'global unicorn' companies, startups valued at more than $1 billion, can be built from Nepal. According to Ratopati, he said the tax system would be eased to encourage companies to earn and reinvest income, and that strict, outdated rules on international earnings would be relaxed.

He also said the government would invest in events such as Game Jams, startup events and hackathons, and would set up regular discussions between the IT sector, Nepal Rastra Bank and the Ministry of Finance.

No timeline for the changes has been announced. The Prime Minister said the government has begun the groundwork needed to develop the sector as an industry.