By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Jan. 5: Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that the media has a vital role to run banking literacy programmes so as to impart banking literacy on the general public en masse.

"It is the media that can reach the mass and impart banking literacy on a large number of people at a time. Here, the media itself has taken initiative. It's a good initiative. It should succeed and sustain," he said.

Addressing the inaugural programme of the banking literacy campaign in the Capital, Governor Adhikari said that financial inclusion and banking literacy are two sides of the same coin, so they should go together.

The NRB has made it mandatory for banks and financial institutions to carry out banking literacy programmes as a part of their corporate social responsibility, he said.

He further asked the concerned stakeholders to cooperate with the campaign and make it a success.

Deputy Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Neelam Dhungana said that though money had become an indispensable means of human life, many people still lacked proper information on its handling.

The literacy would help people smartly manage all financial issues and be safe, she said.

Stating how people face difficulty is lack of banking literacy, she highlighted the importance of banking literacy in financial management.

She said that NRB in its programmes has accorded top priority to banking literacy.

Dhungana stressed the need of starting banking literacy programmes from the school level.

Chairman of Nepal Bankers' Association and Chief Executive Officer of Agricultural Development Bank Anil Upadhayay said NBA was planning to introduce a new programme to impart banking literacy.

He asked all to focus on rural areas rather than urban centres.

Chairman of Smart Choice Technologies (SCT) Suman Pokharel, highlighting the importance of banking literacy, said that the programme should focus on bringing the ordinary people who lack access to banking services under the umbrella of the banking system.

Chairman of Himalaya Television, Dharma Raj Bhusal, who is also the coordinator of the campaign, said that the campaign would fill the gap seen between the financial sector and the general public.