India grants press accreditation to online journalists, finally

The Indian government has decided to grant accreditation to online journalists. The new Accreditation Guidelines for media persons have introduced the category of web journalists.
The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting which grants accreditation to Indian as well as foreign mediapersons through its media unit Press Information Bureau (PIB), has revised the existing guidelines keeping in view the changes in media scenario. Raising the quota for existing media organisations by approximately 50 per cent is one of the major amendments, a statement issued by PIB said.
A new category ‘Long and Distinguished Service’ has been introduced for working journalists of over 65 years of age to “acknowledge their long innings and standing” in the field of journalism. Revision of eligibility criteria for electronic media, news agencies and freelance journalists are other important features of the revised accreditation rules.
In the case of newspapers, while the requirement of minimum 10,000 circulation copies remains unchanged for being eligible for grant of accreditation, some modifications have been brought about in the minimum number of pages.
The guidelines were last reviewed/revised in 1999 and a relook at the existing provisions and amendments thereto was necessitated due to factors such as major developments in the media scenario, super specialisation in various segments of reporting, rise in the number of 24-hour news channels and media organisations branching out in various areas of news dissemination, the PIB statement said.
The Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) had also unanimously suggested the need for the proposed changes. Detailed revised guidelines are available on PIB website pib.nic.in.
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