Budget 2024-25: Journalists, media workers to get insurance under health scheme

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb announced a health insurance scheme for journalists and media workers while presenting the Federal Budget 2024-25 in the National Assembly Wednesday.

According to Aurangzeb, 5,000 journalists and media workers would be given health insurance under the scheme, while 10,000 more would get 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.