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MIB to relook Journalists Welfare Scheme
Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has constituted a ten-member committee headed by renowned journalist and member of Prasar Bharati Ashok Kumar Tandon to take a look at the existing guidelines of the Journalists Welfare Scheme (JWS) and make appropriate recommendations for changes therein.
This decision is considered significant in the light of the many changes that have taken place in the media eco-space including the loss of a large number of journalists due to COVID-19 and the broad basing of the definition of the “working journalists”.
The JWS which has been in existence for many years needs a relook from a futuristic perspective and broad basing the coverage for the benefit of the journalists of this country. With the enactment of the Occupational, Safety, Health and Working Condition Code 2020, the definition of the working journalists has been broadened to include within its fold those working in both traditional and digital media. Further, it was also considered necessary to look at the possible parity between accredited and non-accredited journalists from the perspective of welfare and availing of benefits under the scheme.
The MIB has in recent times taken proactive steps for grant of ex-gratia payment to the families of journalists who unfortunately died due to COVID-19 and such assistance has been given in over 100 cases at Rs five lakh each.
The committee is expected to give its report in a time-bound manner within two months. Its recommendations would enable the government to frame guidelines afresh for the benefit of the journalists. The committee headed by Ashok Kumar Tandon includes Sachidanand Murthy (resident editor – The Week), Shekhar Aiyar (freelance journalist), Amitabh Sinha (News 18), Sishir Kumar Sinha (Business Line), Ravinder Kumar (special correspondent – Zee News), Hitesh Shankar (editor – Panchjanya), Smriti Kak Ramachandran (Hindustan Times), Amit Kumar (Times Now), Vasudha Venugopal (Economic Times) and Kanchan Prasad (Addl DG, Press Information Bureau).
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India at 100: self-reliance must power the next leap, says Vineet Jain
Times Group MD calls for strategic depth across AI, energy, defence and data as India eyes developed status by 2047
NEW DELHI: India’s next act will not be written by growth alone but by grit, capacity and hard-edged self-reliance, Vineet Jain said, setting the tone at the Times Now Summit as the network marked 20 years and turned its gaze to the republic at 100.
Opening the summit, Jain framed the moment as a rare convergence of economic momentum, demographic heft, digital muscle and geopolitical weight. The question, he argued, is no longer what India has become—but what it must still build to meet its 2047 ambition.
The answer, he said, lies in a broader, sharper doctrine of Aatmanirbhar Bharat—one that rejects isolation but demands strength in the sectors that define sovereignty and competitiveness. Self-reliance must stretch well beyond factories into the commanding heights of the century: artificial intelligence, data governance, education, defence, energy, critical minerals, frontier technologies and digital platforms.
Control over data will shape the architecture of the future, Jain noted, while AI will drive productivity, security and knowledge. Energy dependence, he warned, leaves economies hostage to volatile supply chains; access to critical minerals will decide the winners of the green and tech transitions.
India must also stop “importing capability” and invest deeply in human capital, he said, arguing that strategic autonomy is credible only when backed by indigenous strength across defence and technology.
For decades, India was tagged as a nation of promise. That era must give way to execution—reform, institution-building and sustained national focus. The window is finite. “We must grow rich before we grow old,” Jain said, calling it a civilisational urgency as the country seeks to convert its demographic dividend into jobs, skills and productivity gains.
Hitting developed-nation status by 2047 will demand second-generation reforms, more competitive institutions, faster urbanisation and heavier bets on research and innovation, alongside a public discourse that rewards long-term thinking over short-term reaction.
Jain cast the summit as a platform not just to question power but to elevate national purpose—moving from commentary to solutions in what he described as a shared project spanning government, industry and citizens.
The message was blunt and forward-leaning: anniversaries don’t transform nations—ambition and execution do. India’s century mark is in sight; the harder task is building the muscle to meet it.
