Nepal took a visible institutional step into artificial intelligence when it inaugurated its first National Artificial Intelligence Centre in Kathmandu in November 2025.

The launch

The centre is an initiative of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MoCIT). Minister Jagadish Kharel launched it on November 10, 2025. The report describes it as part of the “Digital Nepal” vision and says it is meant to bring AI into public administration, governance and private industry.

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Built on AI Policy 2082

The launch followed the adoption of Nepal’s AI Policy 2082, which sets out a national framework for using AI in key economic and governance sectors. The minister reportedly said the centre turns what began as a small idea into a national programme, and linked it to goals such as good governance, corruption control and job creation.

Earlier roadmap: LLM and vision projects

The centre did not appear out of nowhere. In June 2025, at the launch of the UNDP Human Development Report in Kathmandu, the then communications minister outlined an AI roadmap, It included:

• an AI Center and an AI Excellence Center;
• a Nepali Large Language Model (LLM);
• computer-vision systems for agriculture, health, tourism, education and traffic;
• tax incentives for AI startups and AI-powered skilling for young people;
• a forthcoming Digital Nepal Framework 2.0.

These were plans stated in 2025. The sources we reviewed do not confirm that every item has been delivered, so readers should treat them as goals.

Why it matters

A dedicated national body gives AI policy an institutional home. For startups, universities and civil servants, it can become a coordination point. Its impact will depend on funding, staffing and clear public deliverables, which the sources do not yet detail.