Patna, July 26 In a significant move just months ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced a major hike in the pension amount provided to retired journalists under the Bihar Patrakar Samman Pension Yojana.
The announcement was made via social media early in the morning.
The monthly pension has now been increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000, an over two-fold hike.
In addition, the family pension for the dependent spouse of a deceased pension-recipient journalist has been increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 per month.
Sharing details of the decision, CM Nitish posted, "I am happy to inform that under the Bihar Patrakar Samman Pension Scheme, now all eligible retired journalists will receive a monthly pension of Rs 15,000. The dependent spouse of a deceased journalist will now receive Rs 10,000 per month."
He said the government had long been deliberating on a respectable support system for retired media professionals and termed the press as the "fourth pillar of democracy".
The Chief Minister emphasised that journalists play an essential role in socio-political development and should have the freedom and financial security to perform their duties "impartially and fearlessly".
Notably, CM Nitish has rolled out welfare announcements across different sectors in recent weeks.
Earlier, the Nitish Kumar government had increased social security pension from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100 to benefit widows, disabled persons, and senior citizens under different government schemes.
Chief Minister Nitish had also announced 125 units of free electricity per month for every household in the state starting August 1. This will benefit 1.67 crore families in Bihar.
Soon after Chief Minister Nitish announced the scheme, JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar appreciated the move of the Bihar government.
"Journalists are the fourth pillar of democracy, and CM Nitish always thinks about them. I sincerely thank the Chief Minister for it," the JD(U) MLC said.
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