Agartala, Jan 17: Fulfilling its promise, the Tripura government has started implementing the proposed insurance scheme for the journalists and issued accreditation cards to more journalists.

Minister for Information and cultural Affairs Sushanta Chowdhury on Tuesday said a process is already underway to provide health insurance cover to 337 government accredited journalists in the state.

Speaking to the media, he said, health benefit of up to Rs. 3 lakh would be given to the insured journalists per year. The scheme would be implemented at 80:20 ration; the government would bear 80 percent of the insurance premium and the insured person would have 20 percent contribution.

Meanwhile, the ICA minister said that accreditation cards have been issued to more 189 working journalists; the total number of accredited journalists in Tripura is now 337. The figure included 25 veteran and distinguished journalists.

Secretary of ICA department Dr. P. K. Chakraborty, Director Ratan Biswas were also present in the press conference.

The ICA Minister said the journalists who didn’t get accreditation this time would get it in the next phase. The state government is committed towards providing accreditation cards to more journalists; the process would continue, he said.