Parshuram Upadhyay

Parshuram Upadhyay (Parshu) is The Asia Foundation’s Senior Policy and Governance Advisor in Nepal. With over two decades of experience in political and subnational governance, Parshu brings extensive experience in democratic local governance, policies and laws, participatory planning, fiscal federalism, and community development. He played an important role during Nepal’s transition from unitary to federal governance, contributing to the restructuring of the local governments and the formulation of foundational policies and laws related to subnational governance.  

In leadership positions within national associations of local governments, he contributed to building shared voices and understanding among local governments on securing explicit provisions for democratic local governance in Nepal’s federal Constitution, demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity and democratic decentralization. Prior to joining the Foundation in May 2018, Parshu worked as an expert on federalism for the Local Governance and Community Development Program under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, where he contributed to draft foundational policies, managed programs, conducted research and studies, and facilitated local government networks and capacity building initiatives. He was a civil servant for more than eight years, serving different ministries, departments, and line offices across the country. 

Currently, Parshu’s roles in a flagship subnational governance program, along with other programs, provide technical leadership for strategic programming on matters related to policy, law, justice, and governance and support networking across the federal, provincial, and local governments for implementation. Parshu is a member of different legal networks in Nepal, including the member of Bagmati High Court Bar Association and the Constitutional Lawyers Forum, where he is an advisor. His engagement with various government ministries, legal networks, development partners, and civil society, coupled with his contributions to policy discussions,  

Parshu has contributed to a number of articles, books, reports, and policy briefs on local governance, fiscal decentralization, human rights, gender and social inclusion, and intergovernmental relations.