Nepal’s first governance mobile application launched

Search for Common Ground – Nepal launched Nepal’s first governance mobile application, Singha Durbar at the Next Growth Conclave 2017. Touted as Nepal’s first governance mobile application, the application aims to educate, aware, and inform the public on critical and important laws and policies on governance, a finger-tip version on federal structure, mobile readable version of Nepal’s constitution, and information on access to justice and legal services. The mobile application also includes a media player – where mobile users can watch the critically acclaimed Singha Durbar TV series, listen to ‘Gaun Gaun Ma Singha Durbar’ (Singha Durbar in Every Village), and Maithali language radio show ‘Sangor’ (Coming Together). Speaking at the launch, Dr. Bhola Prasad Dahal, Country Director of Search for Common Ground – Nepal stated, “As Nepal morphs into a federal structure of governance, people’s meaningful participation in making elected representatives accountable and transparent is very important. Therefore, the mobile application not only educates people, but also inspires them to take up the role of watch-dog for good governance, through informed and evidence-based knowledge.” He also stressed that e-governance will be one of the core aspects of governance in Nepal, and the infusion of information technology in governance will not only support in access and delivery of government services, but also help in curbing corruption, reduce government operation costs, and will definitely strengthen transparency and accountability. The mobile application is a part of the USAID funded project, Singha Durbar on good governance and collaborative leadership, and is targeted for politicians, aspiring youth leaders, academia, governance practitioners, and media to garner information on various governance practices through a fusion of media and research products in one mobile application. The application can be downloaded from google play store and has been designed by Kazi Studios.