Chief Minister of Bagmati Province, Ashta Lakshmi Shakya, expanded the provincial Council of Ministers today. The Chief Minister has inducted six ministers and four ministers of state to her cabinet.Province Chief Whip of the CPN (UML) Deepak Niraula informed that the newly appointed ministers will be sworn in today itself.

With the expansion of the Council of Ministers by Shakya, there are two women ministers of state including one minister in Bagmati. Rachana Khadka has been appointed Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, Dr Ajay Kranti Shakya Minister for Internal Affairs and Law, Shanti Prasad Poudel Minister for Infrastructure Develoment, Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment, Bijay Raj Subedi the Minister for Social Development, Chandra Bahadur Lama Minister for Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives and Pradip Katuwal, the Minister for Health, said Province Government spokesperson Keshab Raj Pandey.

Likewise, other newly appointed ministers are Jeevan Khadka (Minister of State for Infrastructure Development); Juneli Shrestha (Minister of State for Social Development); Saraswati Bati (Minister of State for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment) and Badri Mainali (Minister of State for Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives). The Ministry of Health has been separated from the Ministry of Social Development.