Central Media Accreditation Guidelines

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Context: Central Media Accreditation Guidelines-2022 released by the Union government.

About Central Media Accreditation Guidelines

Most of the provisions mentioned in the guideline are drawn from Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution which impose restrictions to freedom of free speech and expression guaranteed to every citizen of the country and worked as the guidelines for the press and media.
These guidelines are announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Accreditation is only available for journalists living in the Delhi NCR region.
The guidelines contained various conditions under which license could be canceled if:
- A journalist acts in a manner prejudicial to the country’s security, sovereignty and integrity, friendly relations with foreign states, public order.
- Charged with a serious cognisable offense.
- On the ground of decency or morality.
- In relation to contempt of court, defamation or Provocated to an offense.
Authorized media persons are prohibited from using the words ``Accredited to the government of India” on public platforms, social media profiles, visiting cards, etc.
The Government formed a 25 members ‘’Central Media Accreditation Committee’ under the Press Information Bureau (PIB), to ensure implementation of the guidelines.

Importance of Accreditation:

It helps in getting access to government offices and to special events organized by the Government of India.
Some Ministries like Home and Defense and Finance allow access only to accredited journalists.
Accreditation brings several benefits for journalists and their families, such as coverage under the Central Government Health Scheme, concessions on railway tickets, etc.

Who is eligible for accreditation under the guidelines?

Any journalist working with a newspaper which has a daily circulation of 10,000, news agencies with at least 100 subscribers and digital news platforms with 10 lakh unique visitors can apply.
A full-time working journalist with a minimum of five years experience can apply for accreditation to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the licensing process involving a mandatory security check from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Journalists, with over 30 years of experience, and who are older than 65 years of age, are also eligible.
Digital newspapers should have a registered office in India. The Editor of the digital news portal must be an Indian citizen.
No accreditation for freelance journalists working for foreign news media organizations.

Concerns:

The Editors Guild of India expressing concern over the new guidelines issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
According to many activists some clauses have been included with an intention to restrict criticism and investigative reporting of government affairs. The conditions mentioned serve more as censorship rules rather than guidelines.
These guidelines have been announced without any prior consultation with Media houses or Journalists associations.
Merely being charged has been mentioned as a ground for cancellation. Journalists concerned have not been given an opportunity to be heard.
Any report critical to the Government could now be seen as prejudicial to the interests of the country and it will be left to the discretion of the Central Media Accreditation Committee.

Way forward:

The Government should undertake meaningful consultation with all the stakeholders before announcing any policy in order to avoid post-announcement controversy, and for smooth implementation of the Policy. Government needs to learn from the experience of Farmers’s agitation against farm bills.