Kunal Ghosh Urges Government to Consider Pension Benefits for Desk Journalists

MP, June 26, 2026, Kolkata: The West Bengal government has announced a pension scheme for retired journalists in the state budget presented on Monday by Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta.

However, the benefit will be available only to journalists holding accreditation cards, a condition that excludes a large section of desk journalists.

Accreditation cards are official recognition documents issued to professional journalists by the government or authorised bodies, mainly to facilitate access to government programmes and official events.

Raising the issue in the Assembly, Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh appealed to the government to reconsider the eligibility criteria and include desk journalists within the pension scheme.

Referring to Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta's own background in journalism, Ghosh said that while official records recognise accredited journalists, newsroom professionals working at desks and running editorial operations are equally part of journalism.

He argued that accreditation should not become the sole marker of who qualifies as a journalist for welfare benefits.

According to him, those involved in desk work, editing and proofing contribute significantly to the functioning of media organisations and should not remain outside such support systems after retirement.

Ghosh urged the government to examine whether retired journalists across categories could be brought under the pension scheme.

Following his appeal, the Finance Minister reportedly responded with a smile, though his microphone remained off and his remarks were not audible in the Assembly.