The government has appointed economist Biswo Poudel vice chairman of the National Planning Commission. The Cabinet on Tuesday made a decision to this effect.

Poudel had served as an economic adviser to the International Labor Organisation and as a senior economist at the National Planning Commission. He holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

The post of the vice chairman was vacant after economist Pushpa Kandel, close to the CPN-UML, resigned shortly after KP Sharma Oli stepped down as prime minister on July 13.

The Cabinet meeting also appointed Ram Kumar Phuyal and Dil Bahadur Gurung members of the commission.