KATHMANDU: President Ramchandra Paudel has said that the role of the media will be important in creating an environment for the elections.

He also stated that the role of the media will be vital in making the upcoming House of Representatives election on March 5, 2026 successful, which will further enhance good governance, the constitution, and democracy.

Addressing the first anniversary of Public Service Broadcasting Nepal and the inauguration ceremony of PSB NTV World, the President emphasised the need to fulfill the aspirations of young people to strengthen democracy and to ensure the success of the elections.

The Head of the State stated that the media should not fail in its duty to inform citizens in order to strengthen democracy and create an environment where the people can benefit from it.

“Considering the young generation’s desire for good governance and development, it is today’s necessity for the media to work more effectively to ensure the success of the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, 2026, in order to further advance and strengthen the Constitution and democracy,” he said adding that the public service broadcasting is not a government or commercial interest media organisation.

“It is an institution of the citizens, which must work in the interest of the citizenry and the nation, rising above government interference and commercial pressure,” the President stressed.

Highlighting the development of public service broadcasting media as an independent autonomous institution, the President expressed confidence that it will embrace the fundamental principles recognized by the world – providing citizens with accurate information in a clean, impartial, and accountable manner in accordance with democratic values and the ethics of independent professional journalism.

He expressed concern over the recent increase in the spread of false information, misleading news, and rumours, stating that obtaining truthful, factual, and reliable information is a fundamental right of citizens and that disseminating information based on truth and facts is the duty, responsibility, and obligation of the media.

President Paudel noted that the development of the internet and information technology has significantly changed the content of news, media, and information transmission, that various mediums of social networks and broadcasting have emerged alongside technological development, and that citizen journalism has become equally strong. He reminded that it is the responsibility of mass media to protect the public from the risk of being misled through the misuse of technology in the current context.

The President launched the ‘NTV World’ at the programme attended by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel, Secretary of the Ministry Radhika Aryal, and others.
On that occasion, PSB’s logo and ‘mobile app’ were unveiled.

Nepal Television and Radio Nepal were integrated and transformed into PSB in accordance with the new law. The PSB Nepal celebrated its first anniversary today.

PSB Nepal Chairman Dr Mahendra Bista said that the broadcasting service is being transformed in accordance with the ‘Citizen First’ concept.