Financially insolvent senior journalists aged over 65 will receive a monthly honorarium of Tk 10,000. The policy regarding this decision was finalized in a meeting held on Thursday.
The meeting, held at the Secretariat, was presided over by Md. Kausar Ahmed, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. An official of the ministry, who attended the meeting and requested anonymity, said, “The policy was finalized today. Once the Honorable Adviser approves it, a notification will be issued, followed by publication in the official gazette.”
The official also confirmed that the monthly honorarium for financially insolvent senior journalists has been set at Tk 10,000. According to sources, the draft of this policy was prepared by the Journalist Welfare Trust. In the draft, they had proposed increasing the honorarium to Tk 15,000, but the ministry reduced it to Tk 10,000, which was finally approved.
Initially, senior journalists from divisional and district headquarters will be brought under this allowance scheme. Later, the coverage and the amount of the allowance will be gradually increased, according to the ministry.
As per the policy, journalists aged over 65 with at least 25 years of professional experience will be eligible to apply for this monthly honorarium.
