New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) The newly-elected committee of the Press Association held a meeting with the principal director general of Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Wednesday and demanded that the process for renewal of journalist accreditation cards be commenced “without any further delay”. During the meeting, principal DG of PIB Jaydeep Bhatnagar informed that the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry is “reviewing” the guidelines of the renewal process and once this is complete and final, the process for renewal of media accreditation cards will start, the journalists body said in a statement.
He assured that “the proposed new guidelines” will be finalised after consultation with the accreditation committee and “other stakeholders”, it said.
“The principal DG (director general) assured that the PIB cards will be renewed at the earliest for which the validity of the existing cards have been extended to January 31, 2022,” the journalists’ body said.
He also assured that if needed, the validity of the PIB cards will be further extended “in case there is any further delay or incompleteness of the renewal process”, it added.
At the meeting, the executive committee “reiterated” early reconstitution of the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) “which expired long ago”, saying the delay in the reconstitution of panel is “affecting” journalists and media professionals “as a large number of them are deprived of getting fresh accreditation or renewing their existing accreditation for months”.
“The principal DG assured that the PIB will intimate the Ministry of Home Affairs, CGHS and others about the extension of the cards,” the Press Association said.
Bhatnagar also assured that journalists for now can submit their demand draft for CGHS (central government health services) cards at the National Media Centre (NMC) itself while renewing their CGHS forms, the association added.
An “inordinate delay” in the renewal of the journalists’ PIB cards for 2022 was among other issues which were discussed at the meeting, the Press Association said.
“The executive committee (members) informed (the principal DG) that there is a lot of confusion and anxiety among journalists because the process of renewal of the accreditation cards by the PIB has not yet commenced even though the year is going to end in a few days. Extension of the PIB cards can only be a temporary solution for a limited purpose,” the association said.
They underlined that extension of the PIB cards can only be “a temporary solution for a limited purpose”, it added.
“The Press Association demanded the online renewal process of the PIB cards should commence without any further delay. This will help the journalists to organise the relevant documents like Editors letter, story clippings, etc. required for the renewal and also help the PIB to finish the process in time,” the journalists body said.
Additional DG (Press Facility and Administration) Kanchan Prasad was also present at the meeting, it added. PTI PK ZMN ZMN
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