Govt approves Rs 42 million Grant to run ‘Digital Media Wing’

Aftab Ahmed

The PTI government has approved Rs 42.791 million grant to run a newly created ‘Digital Media Wing’ in Information Ministry to counter fake news and project policies of the government on social media.

Out of total funds, an amount of Rs 18 million would be spent on 27 employees for the remaining six months of the current financial year, and funds to the tune of Rs 24.15 million would be spent to meet day-to-day activities and a one-time purchase of requisite equipment.

https://newztodays.com/pti-govt-laying-special-focus-on-development-of-digital-media-info-minister/

Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had refused to approve a supplementary grant of Rs 42.791 million. The ECC had noted that in order to maintain financial discipline in the expenditure of Ministries and divisions, no supplementary grant of additional expenditure had been approved by the government during the last seven months of the current financial year.

Therefore, the request of the ministry of information and broadcasting for the proposed supplementary grant was not tenable. The ECC had directed Information Ministry to meet requisite expenditure on the newly created Digital Media Wing within its allocated budget for 2019-20 through technical supplementary grant and try to adjust new posts against already available vacant posts.

However, the cabinet chaired by Imran Khan decided to approve the allocation of a supplementary grant of Rs 42.791 million in a recent meeting during the current financial year for creating of Digital Media Wing in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Pakistan with a large user base of 45 million social media users has huge potential to spread the news around the world. It was informed that the federal government had approved an amendment in the rules of business 1973 and enlisted the promotion and projection of the policies of the government through digital media as a subject of the Ministry of Information.