Rs 5.05 crore approved for families of 101 journalists who died of Covid: Centre tells Rajya Sabha

The central government told the Rajya Sabha on Monday that Rs 5.05 Crore was approved as financial assistance to the dependents of 101 journalists who died due to Covid.

In a written reply to question asked at the Rajya Sabha, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said that Rs 5.05 crore had been approved during 2020 and 2021 for financial assistance; each of the families of the 101 journalists would receive Rs 5 lakh. Thakur said this was calculated on the basis of applications received by the Press Information Bureau that fulfill criteria under the I&B ministry's journalist welfare scheme.

According to Rate the Debate campaign, 672 journalists have died in India of Covid as of today. A database compiled by the Network of Women in Media, India, puts the number at 552.