August 29, 2010

West Bengal govt announces pension for accredited journalists

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Sunday announced a post-retirement pension scheme for journalists and promised to implement a health insurance scheme for them soon.

"All accredited journalists will be given a monthly pension of Rs 2,000 after retirement. We are planning to raise this amount in the future," finance minister Asim Dasgupta said at an Independence Day function at the Press Club, Kolkata.

The minister said he had discussions with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee about a health insurance scheme for journalists and hoped he could announce a positive decision soon in this regard.

The state government has already decided to allow free travel to journalists in state-run public transport, including buses, trams and ferries.

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