ISLAMABAD: The federal government plans to grant a health insurance scheme to journalists and media workers, said Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, with 5,000 people to benefit from it in the first phase.
During the federal budget 2024-25 speech in the National Assembly Aurangzeb said 10,000 more journalists and media workers could avail the facility under its second phase.
The 60-year-old lauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for resuming a health insurance scheme while assuming the charge of premiership for the second time.
The minister congratulated the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and his team for their contribution to the relaunch of the scheme.
During the budget speech, Senator Aurangzeb also revealed the leading efforts of the government to address the climate crisis including the establishment of the Pakistan Climate Change Authority which is intended to implement climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Moreover, a National Climate Finance Strategy was being prepared that would be finalised by October 2024 that would help devise strategies to bring global climate finance to Pakistan which would help undertake initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, he added.
The Minister further announced that a national digital climate finance monitoring dashboard would be established to maintain data related to climate finance received from global financing facilities.
