Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki has stressed the need for collective efforts to make the advertisement market disciplined, manageable, and healthy.
Addressing an interaction organized here today by the Advertisement Board on the occasion of Advertisement Day, the Minister said that media houses and advertisement agencies should focus on the matter as advertisements alongside the promotion of goods and services work for the welfare of mass people.
Emphasizing the use of factual, correct, and decent languages on the production and transmission of advertisements, he underscored the need for carrying out a study on the impacts of hoarding boards featuring advertisements on general people. Implementation of the clean feed policy has helped expand the advertisement market, he claimed.
“We can make Nepal, the prosperous country in South Asia, in 10 years through the use of available resources. We all must be effortful and responsible in this regard,” said the minister, also Spokesperson for the incumbent government.
In another context, he said that the government has focused on providing relief to those victimized by recent flooding and landslides. On the occasion, Minister Karki virtually released the Advertisement Code of Conduct drafted by the Board. At the program, Ministry Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal said the government was committed to further systematizing the advertisement market and making it more disciplined as it had a vital role in promoting any sort of business and making the economy vibrant.
“The government is always open for addressing issues including policy ambiguities in regard with the advertisement business.” Chair of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Bipul Pokhrel insisted on the need of establishing the notion that ‘advertisement is the media right’. He was of the opinion of expanding the advertisement market.
Board Chair Laxman Humagain said the advertisement had its direct concerns with consumers, media and advertising agencies and preparations were on to issue its code of conduct by coming mid-January and bring the National Advertisement Policy by mid-July next year. The Board was working to promote transparency and system in the advertisement market, remaining as one of the major sources of income for media. President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industries, Shekhar Golchha said it was necessary for domestic industries to flourish if we wished to extend the advertisement market.
He utilized the forum to cover the advertisement market in the post-COVID relief packages recognizing it as the most affected sector by the pandemic. Advertising Association of Nepal’s President Som Prasad Dhital said they were since the beginning advocating for a separate act, code of conducts and the Board for the systematic operation of the advertisement business and complained about the ‘ exclusion’ of representation of the advertising agencies in the Board.
Media Alliance Nepal Chair Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar said the advertisement was the means of branding any service or goods and its proportional distribution seemed not appropriate. He urged the government to ensure concessional loans to private sector media houses affected by COVID-19.
