unnati - access to finance ( a2f ) partnerships launch ceremony with bfis closing remarks by dr. chiranjibi nepal, governor, nepal rastra bank 8 may 2017 hotel yak and yeti, kathmandu ms. valerie julliand, un resident coordinator, ms. ingrid dahl - madsen, charge d'affaires, embassy of denmark, mr. vincent weirda, regional technical advisor, uncdf, mr. shiba raj shrestha, deputy governor of nepal rastra bank, officials from government of nepal and other agencies, officials from nepal rastra bank ceos and representatives from banks and financial institutions, friends from the media, distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen it gives me immense pleasure to be here at this challenge fund partnership launch ceremony of unnati - access to finance program with different bfis. allow me, at the outset, to extend my sincere appreciation to the embassy of denmark and uncdf for supporting the government of nepal by launching this project that aims at expanding financial access to the rural people and help raise their living standards and ultimately reduce the poverty level in the country. distinguished guest, ladies and gentlemen, financial access broadly refers to the reach of financial institutions and their products to the doorsteps of the people throughout the country. this would create opportunities for the people to involve themselves in in - come generating activities and hence improve their wellbeing. as some 80 percent of nepalese population live in rural areas and about two - thirds of them rely on agriculture, extending financial services to the rural people is especially meaningful for inclusive growth of nepal. acknowledging this need, the government of nepal and nepal rastra bank have long been undertaking a host of policy measures to increase access of financial services to the rural areas through different modalities. one such modality is project financing under which government of nepal and nrb have been working with different bilateral and multilateral donor agencies to implement different projects. unnati - access to finance is one such project that is supported by government of denmark along - with united nations capital development fund ( uncdf ). the 5 - year project ( 2014 - 18 ) is being implemented by nrb in the 7 hilly districts of eastern development region ( edr ) by supporting bfis to more effectively serve the agricultural value chain actors with appropriate financial products and services. consequently, it also aims to enable smallholder farmers and micro small and medium enterprises ( msmes ) to invest into their agriculture value chain activities leading to

yuba raj khatiwada : business ethics for a prosperous nepal remarks by dr yuba raj khatiwada, governor of the central bank of nepal, at the programme on “ business ethics for a prosperous nepal ”, organized by the world forum for ethics in business, kathmandu, 17 january 2014. * * * rt. hon ’ ble chairman of council of ministers his holiness sri sri ravi shanker jee, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen let me thank the organizers for rendering me the honour to speak on ethics in business amid this high profile gathering in the presence of sri sri ravi shanker jee. as i stand to speak on this topic, we have a question to ourselves as to whether we can really apply in our practical life the words we speak and hear at this event here, and adhere to the noble principles and values raised in this discourse. we understand that business ethics are moral principles that guide the way a business behaves. acting in an ethical way involves distinguishing between “ right ” and “ wrong ” and then making the “ right ” choice. while it is relatively easy to identify unethical business practices, it is not always easy to create similar hard - and - fast definitions of good ethical practice. making money is not unethical, but doing the same in an immoral way is unethical. a business company must make a profit for competitive return to its shareholders ’ capital and treat its customers, employees and other stakeholders fairly. strong returns for shareholders capital should not be achieved at the expense of social, environmental and moral considerations. indeed a business can thrive in the long - term only if it also takes into account the needs of other stakeholders such as governments, employees, suppliers, communities and customers. further, any business should minimize any harm to the environment and work in a way that does not damage the communities in which it operates. in the present day world, many companies maximize profits unethically via unhealthy marketing, slashing employee expenses, lowering product quality or impacting the environment negatively. use of violence, sex, and other unethical means to draw attention to a product or service is an example of unhealthy marketing. such unethical business practices can lead to smeared public relations and a loss of trust and respect to business people from the consumers. distinguished participants, as we have witnessed the birth of new entrepreneurial and so called knowledge based economic age, we have also seen a growing moral and spiritual