The Union government on Friday approved a proposal to provide financial relief to the families of 35 deceased journalists, 16 of whom died from Covid-19, under the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JSW).?

The families will be provided with assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh, said Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a statement.

Additionally, the JSW Committee, chaired by I&B Ministry Secretary Apurva Chandra, also recommended assistance to two journalists suffering from permanent disability and to five others for their medical treatment of major ailments as per the JWS guidelines. ?

The JSW Committee approved a total assistance of Rs 1.81 crore during the meeting.

So far, assistance under the scheme has been provided to the families of 123 journalists who have lost their lives due to Covid-19.

"Under the scheme, families of journalists are provided with financial assistance up to Rs 5 lakh in the event of the death of the journalist causing extreme hardship," said the I&B Ministry's statement.?

It added that assistance is also provided to journalists in case of permanent disability, serious accidents, and major health ailments.

In 2021-22, 134 journalists and their families were provided assistance totalling at Rs. 6.47 Crore, according to the statement.

(With PTI inputs)