The Press Association of India on Saturday demanded from the central government a suitable pension scheme for working journalists, accredited by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).The demand came at the first meeting of the newly elected executive committee of the Press Association headed by senior Journalist Jaishankar Gupta. A resolution, in this regard, was also passed by the association."It is high time that the Government of India should introduce a suitable pension scheme for the working journalists accredited by it," the resolution said. The demand is genuine and would provide some social security to a large number of accredited journalists who do not come under any such scheme, it added.
The Press Association said many state governments already have pension schemes for working journalists in their states while many others, who had no such schemes, have now started introducing such schemes for the scribes.The Press Association also demanded that the existing Central Government Health Scheme for the accredited journalists should be applicable in all government and private hospitals as was done in the case of the employees and pensioners of the government. It also stressed on the need for a suitable health insurance policy for the accredited journalists adding that pension and health facilities are the minimum requirements for the scribes.The Press Association will write letters to the concerned Central Ministers and seek meetings with them to press for the demands.