Govt unveils 11-pt media policy POST REPORT KATHMANDU, Oct 12 - Unveiling an 11-point media policy on Tuesday, the government has banned all types of commercial wall paintings and posters in Kathmandu Valley. The cabinet meeting�s decision Monday, is based on a report of the high-level committee headed by Information and Communication Minister Dr. Mohammad Mohsin. The decision aims to discourage outdoor advertisements and to divert the cost that would be incurred to the media sector, a press statement of the Ministry of Information and Communications said. �It is essential to discourage advertisers to prevent such ads and develop the trend of publishing and broadcasting ads in mainstream media,� the ministry said. �The impact on traffic and the environment has also been considered.� Hoarding boards will also be banned around sites with religious, historic and archaeological importance. The ban will gradually be extended to other places as well. The government has also decided to double subsidies being provided as advertisement to weekly newspapers, and also to those being published from outside Kathmandu Valley. Newspapers violating the code of conduct will not be allowed to avail of this facility. The code of conduct will also be reviewed to make them at par with international standards, through statutory changes if the need arises. The government has also decided to exempt the tax on articles and other research write-ups in newspapers. �The tax amount imposed on awards, welfare fund and articles will be exempted now,� the statement said. The cabinet meeting also decided to provide Rs. 1.5 million immediately to Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) to set up a fund for welfare of violence-hit journalists. Rupees 100,000 will be provided to all proposed and undergoing constructions of district branch-offices of FNJ. The government has also made it obligatory for all media houses to make their audit report public every year. The media will not be allowed to use more than 40 percent of the total space for advertisement. The Information Ministry statement said, some decisions would come into effect immediately, while some may take time. It however did not specify which decision fell in which category.