Jammu
The Government has co-opted Ashwani Kumar, President, Press Club Jammu and Mohammad Saleem Pandit, President, Press Club Kashmir as the members of the State News Media Accreditation (SMAC), constituted vide Govt Order No: 37-ID of 2016 dated: 07-12-2016.
The Government has also rechristened the State Press Accreditation Committee (SPAC) as State News Media Accreditation Committee (SNMAC).
The other members of the SNMAC include Bashir Manzar, Editor Kashmir Images; Shuja-ul-Haq, Bureau Chief, India Today TV; Taufiq Rashid, Bureau Chief, Hindustan Times; Manish Gupta, Resident Editor, Early Times; Vivek Sharma, Correspondent, State Times; Pradeep Dutta, Bureau Chief, Times Now; Tariq Lone, Video Journalist, Aaj Tak; Farooq Javaid Khan, Photojournalist, Rising Kashmir; Rajnesh Bakshi, Video Journalist, IBN7 and Channi Anand, Photo Journalist Associated Press.
The Director Information & Public Relations is the Member Secretary of the Accreditation Committee.
Pertinently, the Government has extended the term of the SNMAC constituted vide Govt Order No: 37-ID of 2016 dated: 07-12-2016 for the year 2017-18 as no meeting of the Accreditation Committee could take place last year.
The Department of Information and Public Relations has already invited applications, in the prescribed format, from the media-persons for the issuance of new accreditations and review/updating of the existing accreditations. The meeting of the SNMAC is likely to be convened soon.