PM Balen Shah Unveils 25-Member Secretariat and Official Biography
Prime Minister Balendra Shah's office has released the full roster of his 25-member advisory and secretariat team, alongside an official profile detailing his career and policy priorities.
The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has formally released details regarding Prime Minister Balendra Shah's advisory team and personal secretariat, alongside an official biography outlining his profile and administrative priorities.
According to records published on the prime minister's official portal and reported by Nagarik News, Annapurna Post, and Thaha Khabar, the secretariat comprises 25 officials and support staff. The roster includes five senior advisers granted ministerial or state-ministerial status, alongside administrative aides, technical specialists, and subject experts.
Three appointees have been extended remuneration and facilities equivalent to cabinet ministers. Kumar Byanjankar serves as honorary chief political adviser, Asim Shah as political adviser, and Prof. Dr. Jagdish Prasad Agrawal as honorary health adviser. Two other aides—Sudip Dhakal, who oversees policy, administration, and good governance, and Bibek Mishra, who advises on information and communications technology—receive benefits equivalent to ministers of state.
The administrative wing of the secretariat is headed by Chief Personal Secretary Subash Sharma, who holds the status of a special-class gazetted officer. Personal Secretary Nabin Bhandari carries the rank of gazetted first class, equivalent to joint secretary. Four other appointees—Sanjiv Pandey for development projects, Deepa Dahal for press and research, Santosh Giri for program and tour coordination, and Bishwo Rai for social development—also hold joint-secretary equivalency.
Five officials carry under-secretary status, including personal secretaries Prakriti Dhakal, Bishal Adhikari, and Binaya Shakya, alongside assistant experts Suman Gautam for civil aviation and Ravi Kiran Adhikari for drafting and language. The roster is rounded out by four section-officer-level appointments—covering press facilitation, graphics design, and research—and five non-gazetted technical and administrative assistants handling videography and general office support.
Separately, Nagarik News reported that the Prime Minister's Office published Shah's official biography roughly six months after he assumed office on March 27, 2026. The profile recaps his tenure as mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City from 2022 to 2025, his civil engineering degree from Purbanchal University, and his master's degree in structural engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in Karnataka, India.
The official profile also notes Shah's past musical career, including his 2012 track 'Sadak Balak', his breakthrough in the 2013 Raw Barz rap battles, a catalogue of more than 25 compositions, and his poetry anthology 'Aashra'. While the text mentions his marriage to Sabina Kafle and their daughter, Nagarik News observed that the biographical entry omits his date of birth and the names of his parents. The page lists governance reform, public health expansion, education reform, economic growth, and environmental sustainability among the administration's foremost priorities.
