Manipur govt declares jounalists 'frontline warriors'; will vaccinate them on priority

Joining several states across India, Manipur govt too has designated journalists as frontline workers prioritising their inoculation for COVID-19. Issuing a statement on Wednesday, Manipur CM N Biren Singh stated that the govt recognised effort of journalists and the risk they're exposed to while covering COVID-19. He tweeted that all accredited working journalists will be recognised as frontline warriors and the state govt will now vaccinate all the journalists on a priority.

Manipur govt to vaccinate journalists on priority

Apart from Manipur, several states like Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala too have prioritised vaccinating journalists, declaring them frontline workers. Although the Maharashtra government has not made any such announcement on journalists, Maharashtra Minister Balasaheb Thorat on Tuesday said he has written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urging him to consider journalists as frontline workers to ensure that they get vaccinated against COVID-19. According to a study conducted by the Delhi-based Institute of Perception Studies, as many as 101 journalists have succumbed to COVID-19 between 1 April, 2020 and 28 April, 2021.

The study states that over 50 journalists have passed away due to COVID-related complications since January 2021. While the Centre has not recognised journalists as frontline workers, the Centre has enforced the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS)  to help immediate families of journalists who have died due to COVID-19. The JWS scheme, under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, has been in force since 5 March 2019.

What is the Journalists Welfare Scheme (JWS)?

Under the JWS, a journalist who is an Indian citizen, accredited to PIB or non-accredited but a journalist for minimum five continuous years, is eligible for relief from the Scheme in case of death, permanent disabilities, major ailments, accidents causing serious injuries. The payment under the scheme will be made from Centre's annual budgetary allocations under JWS and the govt committee may recommend higher assistance if necessary or suggest deviations. The financial grant under the scheme to any working journalist is not a 'matter of right' and will be extended depending on the Committee's satisfaction regarding the merits of the case. 

Key features of the Scheme:

• Upto Rs 5 Lakhs provided to family under extreme hardship on account of death of journalist
• Upto Rs 5 lakhs to journalist in case of permanent disability rendering him incapable of earning a livelihood
• Upto Rs 3 lakhs for treatment of major ailments like cancer, renal failure, heart ailments, angioplasty, brain hemorrhage and paralytic attack
• Upto Rs 2 lakhs in case of accidents causing serious injuries necessitating hospitalisation