The Central Government, on Thursday (27 May), approved the proposal of the Journalist Welfare Scheme headed by Sh. Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, said in a statement that “ They are providing the financial relief of Rs.5lakh to each of the family of 26 journalists who lost their lives due to Covid-19.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting said that it has compiled the details of journalists who lost their lives due to the pandemic in the years 2020 and 2021 and started a special initiative to assist their families under the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS).

In the financial year 2020-21, the Central Government provided such assistance to 41 families of the journalists decreased due to Covid taking the total number to 67. Committee expressed their deep condolences to the families of the journalists affected due to Covid-19.

The Committee also considered the applications of 11 families of those journalists who had passed away due to reasons other than Covid-19.