Health insurance scheme is being launched for artists, journalists: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD, July 13 (SABAH): Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan started the journey of economic revival.

Speaking at the meeting of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting in Islamabad on Thursday, Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Radio Pakistan has started working on digitalization of its archives while twelve state of art studios have also been established in building of the national broadcaster in Islamabad.

She informed the committee that cinemas were being established in Broadcasting House of Lahore and Peshawar. She said that government launched a project for rehabilitation of the Radio Pakistan Peshawar building, which was torched by the mob on 9th May.

She further informed the Committee that Pakistan Television earned record revenue of 5.5 billion rupees during the current year.

She said all the contractual employees of Pakistan Television have been regularized while PTV Peshawar, Multan and Karachi are now broadcasting round the clock transmission in Pashto, Siraiki and Sindhi languages.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said a studio has been set up for PTV Virtual in Islamabad, while work for PTV Film has also been started at PTV Academy.

She said the incumbent government for the first time formulated Film Policy. She informed that a separate allocation had been made in the current fiscal year’s budget for the film policy while several incentives had been provided to the film producers.

The Minister said health insurance scheme is also being launched for artists and journalists.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said the national broadcasting institutions are playing vital role in disseminating the information to the people.

She said the government, during its fourteen months, utilized the national institutions for the sake of the masses and did not make any effort to auction these institutions.