In the last 4-5 years, the Nepalese government has recognized the significance of labour migration and remittances to the national economy. The government has shown some interest in developing institutional mechanisms to deal with labour migration and in channelling remittances through banks, not least because these represent a huge source of foreign exchange and income in the form of tax. Only in the last couple of years has new research generated information and data to reveal the extent of Nepal's dependency on foreign labour employment and remittances.The history of formal labour administration in Nepal is about 70 years old. Its origin can be traced to the start of organised industry in the 1930's, but national structures took form only after the outbreak of the 1947 labour movement in Biratnagar. With the installation of a democratic government in 1951, the labour administration underwent a process of reform to cope with increasing labour problems and to undertake labour welfare measures.