KATHMANDU, AUGUST 8
Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, has said the government is preparing to introduce the Mass Communications Act soon.
While inaugurating a three-day South Asian Community Radio Conference of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters in Kathmandu today, the minister said the ministry had already prepared the draft of the Act and is ready for presenting it to the Council of Ministers soon.
"It is expected that the Act will be an effective instrument to address persisting issues in mass communications sector including in radio as well," she said.
Democracy and communications are interconnected, according to the minister, who said, "Wherever the freedom of expression is guaranteed, democracy prevails there."
Describing freedom of expression as the beauty of democracy, the minister said radio had played a significant role in taking all movements for democracy at home to success. The minister utilised the forum to pledge that government would make efforts to address some policy-level and legal issues in community radio.
She hoped that the conference would provide a ground for exchange of noble practices and policies concerning community radio in South Asian nations among the participating countries. Additionally, it would foster the environment for mutual cooperation and goodwill among the South Asian nations, further consolidating the transnational ties, she added.
Terming radio as a reliable means of mass communication since its development, the minister said it had reached where access to newspapers and internet service was still awaited.
AMARC Asian Pacific regional President Ramnath Bhat said the event would meet the anticipations for promoting strategic partnership and the sharing of relevant knowledge among the participants.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 9, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
