Kathmandu-In a quiet hillside village of eastern Nepal, far from the traditional media hubs, a self-taught journalist is redefining how public-interest news reaches people. Roshan Shrestha was born on October 14, 1996 (Aswin 28, 2053 B.S.) in Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal., didn’t begin his journey in a major newsroom. Instead, he started with a phone, a story, and a commitment to spotlight voices often unheard.
In 2021, he founded Khoj Samachar, an independent digital news outlet registered under Bethel Media House Pvt. Ltd. The platform started with local stories — about landslides, missing aid, and farmers’ struggles — and gradually evolved into a broader watchdog of public affairs.
By early 2025, Shrestha launched the Roshan Shrestha App, an all-in-one civic tool designed to help Nepali citizens verify visas, understand labour rights, and receive real-time alerts on online scams and frauds. Built for Android and iOS, the app aims to support communities where reliable information can be hard to come by.
In June 2025, data from SimilarWeb and AppFigures revealed that his app had reached the No. 1 spot in Nepal under the News & Magazine category — briefly surpassing platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) on both major mobile stores.
With more than 100,000 installs and over 10,000 five-star reviews, the app has become a trusted civic companion for many. Its rapid rise reflects a larger hunger for tools built by Nepalis, for Nepalis — particularly outside the capital.
Beyond apps, Shrestha is active on Facebook and YouTube, where he shares stories of rural hardships, missing government funds, and neglected public services. His reporting style blends fact-checking with direct community feedback, often surfacing local issues that don’t get national headlines.
He also works with the National Cardiac Center in Kathmandu, helping develop public health campaigns about non-communicable diseases and emergency preparedness — a role that links journalism with civic health.
His stories have been picked up by national platforms like News24 Nepal, Sidhakura, and Teraionline. He also holds verified public profiles on Wikidata, IMDb, and Muck Rack.
As Nepal’s legacy media wrestles with structural bottlenecks and funding issues, Roshan Shrestha’s path stands out. His work doesn’t rely on big budgets or studio backdrops — just persistence, purpose, and a commitment to making news useful again.
External Resources:
