The cabinet meeting held on Tuesday decided to appoint Shiwakoti and Shrestha as the deputy governors of the central bank after nearly two months since the posts fell vacant.
The posts were lying vacant after Gopal Prasad Kafle and Maha Prasad Adhikari took retirement from the post of Deputy Director on December 25 last year after completing their five-year term.
The government delayed the appointment due to dispute over recommendation of four names by Governor Chiranjibi Nepal to Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel.
Sources say that Governor Nepal, who was appointed by the Nepali Congress-led government, wanted to get at least a deputy close to him. However, ruling CPN-UML was pressing him to forward the names of at least two candidates close to the party.
Along with Shrestha and Shiwakoti, Governor Nepal had recommended the names of Trilochan Pangeni and Shivanath Pandey to Minister Poudel last week.
Shrestha has been appointed as senior deputy governor and Shiwakoti as the junior deputy governor. Shrestha, who is fifth in NRB hierarchy among 15 executive directors, was heading Human Resources Management Department of the central bank.
Shiwakoti, who joined the central bank in 1987, was recently promoted to the executive director. Before that, he was heading the Currency Management Department of the central bank.
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