Murarka assumed office amid a ceremony at the FNCCI headquarters in Teku. A prominent name in the business community, Murarka has interests in mining, iron and steel, paints, and hydropower, among others. He had joined FNCCI in 2003 as an executive commitee member.

Immediately after Murarka was sworn in as president, a meeting of the FNCCI executive committee nominated Bhawani Rana as the senior vice-president. Murarka said the executive committee was unanimous in its nomination of Rana.

Rana was one of the three contenders for the post of president. She pulled out of the race after another rival Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar withdrew his nomination. Well-placed sources at the FNCCI said Rana bowed out after reaching a loose agreement with Murarka and company that she would be unanimously named the senior vice-president.  

The FNCCI’s top post had been vacant since Pradeep Jung Pandey was sent to jail on March 18 over a three-decade-old corruption case. Since Murarka will be serving Pandey’s remaining term as the president, he will hold the post for around 21 months.

President Murarka said his immediate priorities would be providing inputs from the private sector to the next budget and ensuring recovery for the businesses and entrepreneurs affected by the devastating earthquake. “Nepal’s business community took a terrible beating from the earthquake. Hence, the coming budget is very important for us. The first item on my agenda is giving the private sector’s inputs to the budget,” Murarka said. Another priority is providing inputs after studying the draft constitution.

Murarka is the second president from the Marwari community in the FNCCI’s five-decade-long history. Before him, Binod Chaudhary, the president of the Chaudhary Group, had served in the top post from 1993-1995. Other prominent industrialists from the Marwari community, namely Diwakar Golchha and Rajendra Khetan, have made it to the level of senior vice-president and second vice-president respectively, but the top post has eluded them so far.