A person seated at a desk in an office, with a flag and a portrait of a political figure in the background.

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said the government is preparing policy and regulatory changes to help Nepal’s information technology (IT) and game development industries grow and compete in the global market.

In a social media post on Friday, Shah said the government would review existing laws, regulations and procedural requirements to make it easier for technology companies and game developers to operate and expand their businesses.

Highlighting the growing international reach of Nepali digital products, Shah pointed to locally developed gaming applications such as Ludo and Callbreak. Ludo has reportedly surpassed 200 million downloads worldwide, while Callbreak has crossed 150 million downloads.

Shah said the government had recently engaged with people working in game development to learn about the challenges they face and identify ways to make the sector more business-friendly.

“We reached out to them to understand their challenges and discussed ways to simplify the game development sector and advance it as an industry,” Shah said, adding that the government had already started work to address the issues raised by developers.

The prime minister said Nepal’s IT products and service exports were also showing encouraging performance. He said the government was reviewing policies concerning revenue generation, reinvestment, taxation and income earned from international markets to create a more favorable environment for technology businesses.

According to Shah, the government’s goal is to enable Nepali companies to expand beyond the domestic market and eventually develop into globally competitive companies and unicorns.

He also stressed the need to strengthen the wider ecosystem supporting technology and gaming businesses. The government plans to encourage initiatives such as game jams, startup programmes and hackathons to promote innovation and help young people develop skills in the sector.

Shah said regular discussions would also be held with IT industry representatives, Nepal Rastra Bank and the Ministry of Finance to identify policy barriers and develop practical solutions.

The proposed measures are aimed at creating a stronger foundation for Nepal’s digital economy while encouraging domestic technology companies to develop products and services for international markets.