Kathmandu, April 7 -- The government has appointed Maha Prasad Adhikari as the 17th governor of Nepal Rastra Bank for the next five years.

The Cabinet meeting on Monday selected Adhikari from three final candidates-the central bank's deputy governor Chintamani Siwakoti and former secretary Keshav Bhattarai-for the top central bank job.

Adhikari, who retired from the Nepal Rastra Bank as the deputy governor in December 2015, currently serves as the chief executive officer of Nepal Investment Board.

Adhikari had been recommended for the governor post before. However, in March 2015, the Sushil Koirala led-government picked Chiranjibi Nepal as the 16th governor of Nepal Rastra Bank.

Nepal completed his five-year tenure on March 17. The go...