The Ministry of Defence is governmental body in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

that formulates defence policies and coordinates defence affairs with other agencies of the government and the

Nepalese Armed Forces The Nepalese Armed Forces are the military forces of Nepal. Composed primarily of the ground-based Nepali Army, organized into six active combat divisions, the Nepalese Armed Forces also operates the smaller Nepalese Army Air Service designed t ...

Origin

The origin and evolution of the defence administration of modern Nepal dates back to the

unification of Nepal The Unification of Nepal, also known as Expansion of Gorkha Kingdom, officially began in 1743 AD (1799 BS) after King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha launched an aggressive annexation campaign seeking to broaden his own kingdom's border. After ...

in 1770. From the foundation to until popular movement, the defence administration was directly overseen by the Crown itself. Before 1950, there was no division of duties between the Ministry and the Army headquarters. The Commander-in Chief and the Senior Commanding General between themselves dealt with the whole range of administration and policy regarding defence. For the first time in the history of Nepal, a separate ministry by the name of Defence Ministry was set up in the interim Government of 1950 headed by Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher. The first Defence Minister was Babar Shumsher . The organizational structure of the Defence Ministry at the time was quite simple having only two branches, Viz. (i) General and (ii) Budget. The Ministry had a secretary, two deputy secretaries, and two assistant secretaries. Since then the ministry has undergone continuous evolution and assumed the present structure. The Ministry of Defence was established to protect and defend the nation and the people from internal instability and external threats by ensuring the sovereignty, national independence and integrity of the country.

Functions

According to Business (Allocation) Regulation 2063, the Ministry of Defense is responsible for following functions: *overcome the threat of border * Organization and control of the Nepalese Army * Coordination of Military Training * Oversight of Military Welfare * Procurement and Production of military hardware * Oversight of military activities and military operations * Oversight and coordination of military construction * Development of Military academy, installation, communication and transport * Provision of Military storage * Enhancement of Military Intelligence capabilities * Development and establishment of Military Hospitals * Establishment and Management of Military barracks and offices * Coordination and direction of military assistance in natural calamities and development * Organization, Training and Administration of the National Cadet Corps * Welfare of Retired Military Personnel * Oversight, establishment and coordination of National Parks and Wildlife reserves * Provision and procurement of military aircraft * Welfare schemes * Coordination with the National Security Council (NSC)

Objective

Ministry of Defence is established as per ''Government of Nepal Business Allocation Rules, 2069 (2012)'' with the objective of managing and operating national defence affairs. The Ministry is responsible for maintaining internal as well as external security in order to safeguard the

national sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the ...

and

territorial integrity Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that gives the right to sovereign states to defend their borders and all territory in them of another state. It is enshrined in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and has been recognized ...

. Besides its primary responsibility of external security, it is also responsible for maintaining internal law and order by protecting the lives and properties of the people as per the derisory of the government . In this context the principal task of the Defence Ministry is to make policy directions on defence and security matters and communicate them for implementation to the

Nepalese Army The Nepali Army ( ne, नेपाली सेना, translit=Nēpālī Sēnā), technically the Gorkhali Army ( ne, गोरखाली सेना, translit=Gōrakhālī Sēnā, label=none; see ''Gorkhas''), is the land service branch ...

and its various service departments. Besides, the MoD also acts as a liaison or contact point for communication and interaction for

Nepal Army The Nepali Army ( ne, नेपाली सेना, translit=Nēpālī Sēnā), technically the Gorkhali Army ( ne, गोरखाली सेना, translit=Gōrakhālī Sēnā, label=none; see ''Gorkhas''), is the land service branch ...

with other Ministries and Departments.

Former Ministers of Defence

This is a list of all ministers of Defense since the Nepalese Constituent Assembly election in 2013:

References

{{Ministries & Departments of Nepal

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...