BY TC News Desk
Agartala, June 22, 2023: The Information and Cultural Affairs Secretary Dr Pradip Kumar Chakraborty on Thursday said that initiative has been taken to develop the classical culture in the state through organizing of such festivals. Not only this, literary conferences will be organized in the state in the coming days to encourage the writers and poets. Moreover, musical instruments will be distributed to folk art centres in the state to develop folk culture, he added.
While addressing a press conference at Civil Secretariat here on Thursday afternoon, Dr Chakraborty said that various programs will be organized in 75 border villages of the state in July-August as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. He said that if a journalist of the state who has received an accreditation card dies in an accident, the dependent family members are being given a monthly family pension of Rs 5,000 through the ICA department. At present one family is receiving this pension.
While informing about the success and future plans of the ICA department in the press conference, the Secretary said that conveying the information and statements of the state government to the people and giving their opinion is one of the main tasks of the ICA department. Apart from this, the department is continuously making efforts to revive and develop the cultural heritage of the state.
He also highlighted the success of various branches of the department and said that currently the official press release is being published in three languages – Bangla, Kokborok and English. Currently there are 74 print, 27 electronic, 32 web media in the state authorized under the department. So far 891 press jackets have been distributed among journalists of various media. 15 display boards or LED screen boards have been installed in different districts including Agartala through the department. Besides, the department has taken the initiative to install 6 more display boards. Various important events are being telecasted live through these LED screens.
Dr Chakraborty also said that the ICA department has already launched various new policies and guidelines such as Tripura Advertisement Policy-2021, Tripura Media Representative Accreditation Guideline-2020, Tripura Journalist Pension Scheme-2021, Tripura Journalist Health Insurance Scheme-2022. As per Tripura Media Representative Accreditation Guideline- 2020, 363 journalists of the state have been issued accreditation cards so far.
According to the Tripura Journalist Pension Scheme-2021, the monthly pension of retired journalists has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000. At present 5 retired journalists of the state are getting the benefit of this pension. National Insurance Company Limited has been selected for implementation of Tripura Journalist Health Insurance Scheme- 2022. The secretary said that in this scheme, 80 percent of the insurance premium will be borne by the state government and 20 percent by the journalists.
In the press conference, the secretary said that the budget allocation for advertising has been increased from Rs 3 crore in 2018 to Rs 15 crore in 2023. In the financial year 2022-23, 461 different cultural programs have been organized as per the cultural calendar of the department. Notable among these is the organizing of ‘Mayer Gamon Carnival’ where 56 Sharad Sammans have been awarded on the occasion.
As a part of Azadi Ka Amrita Mohotsav, 4 lakh 37 thousand national flags have been distributed across the state by the department in ‘Har Ghar Triranga’ programme. Statues of Birsa Munda at Khowai and Sidhu and Kanhu at Simna have been installed under the initiative of the department. 50 lakhs has also been sanctioned to provide financial assistance to 11 cultural organizations in the state during the financial year 2022-23.
While informing about the various future plans of the department, the secretary said that the advertisement wing of the department will be digitized, revenue will be generated by advertising on digital display boards, 493 cultural programs will be organized in the financial year 2023-24 and plans to launch artist pension scheme for senior artistes will be taken. has been Also the department has taken initiative to empanel artists in the state. For this purpose, the auditions of artists in the categories of music, dance, conducting, drama etc. are also going on.
ICA department’s Director Bimbisar Bhattacharjee was present at the press conference.
