KATHMANDU: The federal government has reduced the number of ministries from 22 to 18, including the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, after the cabinet approved the Government of Nepal Work Division Rules 2026.

The restructuring finalizes changes in the names, responsibilities, and structure of several ministries as part of the government’s governance reform and expenditure reduction plan.

Under the new framework, the government will abolish or merge the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation, the Ministry of Urban Development, and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration into other ministries.

According to the proposed structure, the sports portfolio will be integrated with education, while ministries related to women, children, senior citizens, youth, health, and social security will be combined under a new social development ministry. Water Supply and Urban Development will be merged into Physical Infrastructure, and the transport sector is expected to be shifted to the Labor Ministry.

A task force led by Govinda Bahadur Karki, secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, had recommended reducing the number of ministries to 18 to control rising recurrent expenditure.

Officials said discussions are still underway regarding the final names of the newly merged ministries.