Central Department of Economics
Kritipur
Kritipur
Established in 1959, the Central Department of Economics is one of the oldest and largest departments under the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Tribhuvan University. It was the first institution in Nepal to run an MA programme in Economics.
The Department moved to the university campus premises in Kirtipur in 1965. Enrolment peaked at around 1,000 students a year between 1995 and 2005, settled near 400 under the early semester system, and fell to roughly 100 a year more recently. The MA programme has been growing again: enrolment rose from 70 students in 2020/21 to around 200 a year now, and women have held between 44 and 47 per cent of the seats throughout that period.
The MPhil programme opened in 2007 and admits about 35 students a year. A course-based PhD, run with the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, has admitted about 20 students a year since 2018. All three programmes now run under a semester system, and most faculty members hold a PhD or are working towards one.
The Department has published the quarterly Economic Journal of Nepal since 1977, with 128 issues to date, and added the CEDECON Working Paper Series in 2024. Its books include The Nepalese Economy: Building towards the Strong Nation State (2004) and Political Economy of Nepal (2016). Research runs on internal money such as the Tarapad Chaudhary Fund and on partnerships with the National Planning Commission, Nepal Rastra Bank, the Ministry of Finance, other line ministries, the University Grants Commission, the private sector and development partners including the United Nations.
The vision of the Central Department of Economics (CEDECON), Tribhuvan University, is to establish the institution as a Center of Excellence in Economics by advancing the teaching-learning environment, fostering research and publications, and contributing to the nation-building process through providing skilled, trained and specialized human resources, producing and disseminating knowledge, and contributing to policy spheres. The Department aspires to achieve and sustain national and international acclaim in teaching, research and service, while fostering an educational and professional environment of diversity and inclusiveness, in the continued process of converting into a School of Economics.
The mission of CEDECON is to provide qualitative higher education through teaching and research in economics by achieving academic excellence to meet its vision.
To impart quality education in the field of economics at affordable cost to cater to the nation's development needs.
To establish the Department as a think-tank in the policy sphere by accelerating research and publication activities, producing and disseminating knowledge, and extending linkages with national and international institutions.
To establish the Department as a well-equipped teaching-learning center by applying state-of-the-art physical and information technology.
To stand as a mentor institution for academic institutions in the economics domain across the nation.
The Department sits on the premises of the University Campus at Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, on about four ropanies of land. Public transport reaches it from most parts of the Kathmandu Valley and the road runs up to the main gate, though the Department itself operates no transport service. Students join every year from across Nepal and from the northern states of India.
The Department admits students without discrimination on social, economic, cultural or political grounds, and charges the nominal fees prescribed by Tribhuvan University.
Blocks A and B are built, so the 2026 to 2030 plan shifts the emphasis from putting up new structures to getting fuller use out of the ones already standing.
The main building holds two classrooms, two faculty rooms, three administrative rooms, an account room, a library, a computer lab, a seminar hall and a publication room. Two further classrooms are in the humanities faculty building.
Alongside the central TU library, the Department keeps its own collection of around 1,000 books, research reports and MPhil and master's theses. A Documentation Centre, Data Bank and E-Library are planned.
The computer lab runs 17 functional laptops. The Department also has 15 desktop computers, 20 laptops so that every faculty member has one, 6 multimedia projectors and 12 printers.
Classrooms seat students on 27 four-seater bench sets and 80 single chairs. KUKL supplies drinking water, topped up with 20-litre jars. Toilets are on every floor of Blocks A and B, with separate facilities for boys and girls.
The Office of the Principal, University Campus, manages hostel accommodation for postgraduate students centrally. Sports run under the central sports section of the university, and the Department organises its own events as well.
Sixteen faculty members, comprising 6 Professors, 5 Associate Professors and 5 Assistant Professors, run the teaching and research, with the administration and account sections supporting them.
Responsibility for running the Department is distributed rather than concentrated in one office. The Head of the Department leads it, and most planning, implementation and quality assurance work happens through a set of standing committees, each with a defined functional area and a named chairman or coordinator.
Leads the Department, supported by the administration and account sections. The Head chairs or coordinates five of the ten committees, including both quality assurance committees, the Research Management Committee and the Journal Management Committee.
The administration and account sections support the Head of the Department and keep the daily academic and administrative work moving.
Each committee owns a functional area: overall management, quality assurance and accreditation, research and publication, information systems, student counselling and support, extra-curricular activities and public information.
The Economics Subject Committee is the apex body for designing and implementing the economics curriculum at all levels of higher education, and its decisions take effect with the approval of the Faculty Board under the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. It is headed by the Chairman of CEDECON.
The Subject Committee reviews the curriculum each year. Major revisions are made on a five year cycle, which is what keeps the MA, MPhil and PhD syllabi from drifting out of step with the rest of the system.
The committees below are the working bodies of the Department. They also carry the programmes and activities set out in the Strategic Plan 2026 to 2030: in its activity implementation matrix, a named committee is assigned as the responsible body for each activity.
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Shiva Lal Bhusal
Prof. Dr. Tara Prasad Bhusal, Prof. Dr. Sanjaya Acharya, Prof. Dr. Krishna Raj Acharya, Dr. Uma Shankar Prasad, Dr. Ramesh Chandra Paudel, Ms. Anjana Rajbhandari
Chairman: Prof. Shiva Lal Bhusal, PhD
Coordinator: Dr. Nirmal Kumar Raut
Mr. Naveen Adhikari, Dr. Dipak Bahadur Adhikari, Ms. Anjana Rajbhandari, Mr. Dhruba Raj Neupane
Chairman: Prof. Shiva Lal Bhusal, PhD
Member-Secretary: Dr. Nirmal Kumar Raut
Dr. Resham Bahadur Thapa, Dr. Birendra Bahadur Budha (Nepal Rastra Bank), Mr. Pawan Regmi (Rastriya Banijya Bank), Ms. Anjana Rajbhandari, Mr. Dhruba Raj Neupane, Ms. Sharishma Chaulagain
Chairman: Prof. Shiva Lal Bhusal, PhD
Dr. Pramshu Nepal, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Raut, Dr. Resham Bahadur Thapa, Dr. Dipak Bahadur Adhikari
Chairman: Prof. Shiva Lal Bhusal, PhD
Prof. Dr. Sanjaya Acharya (Executive Editor), Dr. Ramesh Chandra Paudel, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Raut (Editor), Dr. Dipak Bahadur Adhikari
Coordinator: Mr. Naveen Adhikari
Dr. Pramshu Nepal, Dr. Dipak Bahadur Adhikari
Coordinator: Dr. Nirmal Kumar Raut
Mr. Naveen Adhikari, Dr. Dipak Bahadur Adhikari, Ms. Anjana Rajbhandari
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Tara Prasad Bhusal
Dr. Nirmal Kumar Raut, Mr. Damodar Adhikari, Mr. Dhruba Raj Neupane, Ms. Sharishma Chaulagain
Coordinator: Dr. Pramshu Nepal
Mr. Damodar Adhikari, Secretary of ECOSS, Ms. Anjana Rajbhandari
Coordinator: Dr. Dipak Bahadur Adhikari
Dr. Pramshu Nepal, Ms. Anjana Rajbhandari