Odisha announces benefits for working journalists
Bhubaneswar, June 7: The Odisha government on Thursday announced a string of benefits for working journalists including a death benefit of Rs 4 lakh and financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh in cases of permanent incapacitation.
Information and Public Relations Minister Pratap Jena said the journalists will get a death benefit of Rs 4 lakh and additional financial assistance from the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) for critical illness where the expenditure exceeds Rs 2 lakh under the Health Insurance Scheme.
Earlier, the government had implemented the Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Jojana up to Rs 2 lakh with effect from June 1, 2018.
Over 3,000 working journalists were covered under the scheme in the first phase.
The Minister said that 3 per cent interest subvention up to Rs 25 lakh for house building loans to be provided to the journalists.
Subvention will be released annually after repayment of regular instalment with interest by journalists who have taken loans, he added.
Besides, 3 per cent interest subvention for four wheeler loan up to Rs 4 lakh and Rs 50,000 for two-wheeler loans will be provided by the government.
Educational assistance to the children of deceased working journalists will be provided at Rs 1,500 per month till Class 10 and Rs 2,500 per month for higher studies, the Minister said.
The state government will bear the cost up to Rs 10,000 per journalists to facilitate training of minimum 25 and maximum 35 journalists within the state institutions like IIMC in a block period of five years.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
