The Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) is Nepal’s national academy for science and technology, functioning as an autonomous apex body that funds and coordinates scientific research across the country. For research administrators and academic professionals working with Nepali institutions, researchers, or South Asia regional funding portfolios, NAST is the primary domestic (non-university, non-donor) source of competitive research grants and fellowships inside Nepal. This guide summarizes NAST’s core grant and fellowship instruments, how they are structured, and what a research office needs to know before advising an applicant or building a compliance file around a NAST award.
What is NAST?
NAST was established in 1982 as Nepal’s national science academy, headquartered in Khumaltar, Lalitpur. It operates as an autonomous apex body for the advancement of science and technology in Nepal, with a mandate that includes promoting scientific research, preserving and modernizing indigenous technologies, and identifying and facilitating technology transfer. NAST is affiliated with the International Science Council (ISC). Within Nepal’s research funding landscape, NAST sits alongside the University Grants Commission (UGC) and individual university research councils, but is distinguished by its explicit mandate to fund science and technology (S&T) research directly, including through small competitive grants aimed at early-career and academically affiliated researchers rather than only institutional block funding.
NAST’s grant and fellowship portfolio
NAST runs several parallel funding tracks under its Grant and Fellowship program, most of which are announced through an annual call for proposals published on the NAST website and via national press notices, typically tied to Nepal’s fiscal year (Nepali calendar, Bikram Sambat). The main instruments are:
Research grants (individual, group, and institutional)
NAST’s core annual research grant program funds proposals from individual researchers, research groups, and institutions working in science and technology fields, with an explicit stated priority for need-based research that makes use of local resources. Proposals are submitted directly to the NAST central office in Khumaltar, Lalitpur, or by email, ahead of an annual deadline set in the call for proposals. NAST’s own program listing has described maximum grant ceilings on the order of NPR 5 lakh (NPR 500,000) for individual or group research projects and up to NPR 10 lakh (NPR 1,000,000) for institutional research projects; treat these figures as indicative of NAST’s typical grant-size structure rather than a fixed, current-cycle number — ceilings, priority themes, and eligibility criteria are reset with each annual notice, so confirm the exact figures against the live call before advising an applicant or building a budget.
PhD Fellowship
NAST’s PhD Fellowship supports Nepali citizens who are registered for a PhD at a university in Nepal and conducting research in science and technology fields. Continuation of the fellowship is contingent on an annual evaluation of the fellow’s research progress, and the award can run for up to three years. This is one of the few domestically funded, competitively awarded PhD support mechanisms available to researchers who remain enrolled at a Nepali university rather than pursuing doctoral study abroad.
Master’s Thesis Grant
A separate Master’s Thesis Grant supports thesis-stage research for master’s students in science and technology disciplines, including, in some cycles, provision for thesis research conducted using NAST’s own laboratory facilities. This track is aimed at strengthening research capacity earlier in the academic pipeline than the PhD Fellowship or full research grants.
Youth/young-scientist research grants
NAST periodically issues a dedicated research grant call aimed specifically at young or early-career scientists, run alongside (and under similar administrative terms to) the general research grant program. As with the general research grant, treat specific funding ceilings, eligibility age bands, and thematic priorities as set fresh in each fiscal year’s call rather than fixed policy.
Fellowship and assistantship positions
Beyond project-based grants, NAST also appoints researchers to staff-style fellowship and assistantship positions within its own research divisions, generally structured across three levels: Research Fellow (RF), Assistant Research Fellow (ARF), and Research Assistant (RA). These positions place a researcher inside a NAST research unit (for example, its molecular biotechnology, environment, or physical science divisions) rather than funding an external, applicant-led project.
Other programs
NAST’s broader portfolio has also included a Scientific Collaboration Program (supporting collaborative/visiting arrangements), a Special Talent Promotion Program, and a Brain Pooling Program aimed at engaging Nepali scientific expertise, including diaspora expertise, in domestic research capacity building. Availability and terms of these programs vary by fiscal year and should be confirmed against the current call.
Eligibility and application mechanics
Across NAST’s grant and fellowship tracks, common eligibility threads are: applicants are generally expected to be Nepali citizens; research must fall within recognized science and technology disciplines; and PhD-track support requires active registration at a Nepal-based university. Applications are submitted either directly to the NAST central office in Khumaltar, Lalitpur, or by email to the program’s dedicated grants address. Because NAST issues a fresh annual notice for most of these tracks — with its own deadline, required proposal format, and (where stated) funding ceiling — a research office advising a Nepali applicant, or a partner institution planning a joint proposal, should treat the live call for proposals on NAST’s own site as the authoritative source for the current cycle rather than any single past announcement.
Why this matters for research administrators
For institutions with Nepali partners, diaspora researchers, or South Asia regional programming, NAST functions similarly to a national science foundation for early-stage domestic funding: it is small relative to major multilateral or bilateral donor programs, but it is one of the only competitively awarded, government-affiliated sources of PhD and thesis-stage research support inside Nepal, and it is the natural first stop for a Nepali researcher seeking in-country co-funding, a local research affiliation, or a domestic funding history to strengthen a subsequent international application. Grants offices coordinating multi-country or South Asia regional research administration should track NAST alongside comparable national bodies in the region — for example Bangladesh’s Science and Technology Fellowship Trust (administering the National Science and Technology, or NST, Fellowship) and Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) — when mapping the national funding landscape a partner researcher operates within.
Frequently asked questions
Is NAST a government agency or an independent academy?
NAST describes itself as an autonomous apex body for science and technology in Nepal — it functions with its own governing structure and research divisions rather than as a direct line department, while still operating within Nepal’s national science and technology policy framework.
Do NAST grants fund international or non-Nepali researchers?
NAST’s grant and fellowship program is structured around Nepali applicants — individual researchers, groups, and institutions inside Nepal, and Nepali citizens registered for degrees at Nepali universities. International collaboration is supported through separate mechanisms such as NAST’s Scientific Collaboration Program rather than through the core research-grant or PhD Fellowship tracks.
How often does NAST open its grant and fellowship call?
NAST issues its main research grant, PhD Fellowship, and Master’s Thesis Grant calls annually, tied to Nepal’s fiscal year, with deadlines and specific terms reset in each new notice published on the NAST website.
What is the difference between NAST’s Research Grant and its Fellowship/Assistantship positions?
The Research Grant program funds externally proposed, applicant-led research projects (individual, group, or institutional). The Fellowship/Assistantship track (Research Fellow, Assistant Research Fellow, Research Assistant) instead places a researcher in a staff-style role inside one of NAST’s own research divisions.
