KATHMANDU: The government has decided to make it mandatory for all public notices and advertisements to be published and broadcast only through state-owned media outlets. The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers issued a directive stating that the move aims to ensure fiscal discipline and enhance transparency in government spending.
With the new decision, all public bodies under the federal, provincial, and local governments will now be required to publish their notices exclusively through state-owned platforms such as Gorkhapatra Corporation, Radio Nepal, and Nepal Television. The policy has been introduced after Balendra Shah assumed office as Prime Minister, signaling a shift toward prioritizing government-owned media for official communications.
According to a secretary-level decision of the Prime Minister’s Office, all notices related to public procurement and other official matters must be published only in these state media outlets. The directive also requires that payments be made directly to the accounts of the concerned media institutions, with advertisement rates and discount structures formally approved.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the step was taken to bring uniformity in government expenditure and promote state-owned media institutions. However, the decision has drawn criticism from journalists and media stakeholders on social media, who warn that it could severely impact private media outlets that have long depended on government advertisements as a key source of revenue.
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