More accurately, the Nepal variant is the Nepal mutation: the Delta variant with the K417N spike mutation tacked on.
This mutation is similar to the Beta variant, which was first detected in South Africa in October last year.
There is no scientifically agreed definition for the point when a mutation becomes a variant of concern , but the decision will be predicated upon how it spreads, how sick it makes people, and if it evades vaccines.
Whether mutation or variant, using Nepal in its designation
After months of deliberation, the coronavirus nomenclature was changed to letters from the Greek alphabet to avoid stigmatising the countries where variants are first detected.