Govt. names AIG Poudyal new APF IG

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Apr. 28: A meeting of the Council of Ministers took several key decisions, including promotion and appointment of Additional Inspector General (AIG) Narayan Dutta Poudyal as new Inspector General of the Armed Police Force (APF). 

The meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) decided to appoint Poudyal as 13th IGP of the force.

Informing about the Monday’s Cabinet decisions, Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Sasmit Pokharel said, Poudyal who is currently chief of the Human Resources Department, will assume the command as new IGP on May 1, 2026. 

Completing four-year term, the current Inspector General, Raju Aryal, will be bidden farewell on April 30. 

Poudyal was the leading contender for promotion to the post of IGP. He joined the Nepal Police as an Inspector on March 31, 1998. 

Alongside him, AIG Banshi Dahal, who was serving in the Border Department, and AIG Ganesh Thada Magar, serving in the Operations Department, were also in the race for promotion to IGP. However, they were junior to Poudyal.

Poudyal was promoted to Additional Inspector General (AIG) on May 20, 2022. After Raju Aryal became IGP, Poudyal was promoted to the vacant AIG position.

Dahal, who was considered the second contender for the post of IGP, was promoted to AIG about five months after Poudyal. The government promoted Dahal to AIG on October 14, 2022. At that time, the government even created an additional AIG post in the Border Security Department to asjust his promotion.

AIG Thada Magar is about two years junior to them. He was only promoted to AIG on June 16, 2025. He is also two years junior in terms of recruitment, having joined as an Inspector in 2000 A.D.

Poudyal will serve as the head of the organisation until March 31, 2028, completing a two-year tenure. Under the existing Armed Police Force regulations, he will retire on March 31, 2028 due to the 30-year service limit.

He originally joined the Nepal Police as an Inspector in 1998 and was later transferred to the Armed Police Force after its formation.He was appointed Acting DSP in the Armed Police Force on July 2, 2001. He was permanently promoted to DSP on March 31, 2002.  He was then promoted to SP on April 12, 2007, became SSP on May 16, 2013, was promoted to DIG on October 30, 2018, and finally became AIG on May 20, 2022. 

Further, the Cabinet meeting decided to include the Security Printing Centre in the list of public bodies permitted to carry out commercial activities in competition with the private sector. An official notice regarding this decision will be published in the Nepal Gazette, according to the Minister. The meeting also approved Customs Regulations-2083 of the Ministry of Finance, marking a significant update to the country’s customs framework.