Subsidy to Purchase E-Bike for Journalists

What is the Subsidy to Purchase E-Bike for Journalists scheme?

Subsidy to Purchase E-Bike for Journalists is a scheme of the Department of Information and Publicity, Government of Goa, notified under No. DI/INF/128/Scheme/e-bike/2023/8952, signed at Panaji on 28 December 2023 and published in the Official Gazette, Series I No. 41, dated 11 January 2024. The scheme came into force with immediate effect.

The notification's reasoning is practical. Journalists spend much of their time collecting and searching for news, visiting the scene where a newsworthy event took place, interviewing witnesses and law enforcement authorities, and searching public records. For all of this a journalist requires a vehicle. The Government of Goa framed the scheme so that journalists based in Goa can buy an e-bike: defined in the scheme as a two wheeler which consumes electric power to run; at a subsidised rate.

Goa is described in the notification as one of the few States to introduce Journalist Welfare Schemes under which retired journalists receive a pension. The e-bike subsidy sits alongside the Patrakar Kritadnyata Nidhi benevolent fund and the Goa State Journalist Awards Scheme, both also administered by the Department of Information and Publicity.

Who is eligible for the e-bike subsidy?

A journalist can apply if:

• The applicant has not availed benefit to purchase an e-bike or two wheeler under any other Government scheme.
• The applicant is a 15 years resident of Goa and can produce a residence certificate issued by the Mamlatdar.
• The applicant is working for a Media Organisation as defined under the scheme: any print or electronic media organisation, including Government Media Houses, which disseminates news on a daily basis, as well as print publications like weekly, monthly or other periodicity, printed and published from the State in the case of print media, and disseminated from the State in the case of electronic media.
• The applicant is a full time working journalist whose sole livelihood is through journalistic activities.
• The applicant is not more than 58 years of age.
• The applicant submits a letter from the Editor or Head of Organisation that he or she has been a working journalist or in the journalistic field for the last eight years.
• The applicant submits a declaration certificate that similar benefits have not been availed under any scheme implemented by Government.
• The applicant submits a quotation from a reputed dealer for processing.

The scheme's definition clause describes a beneficiary as any journalist or accredited journalist, accreditation being issued by the Department of Information and Publicity, who is either a working journalist as defined in the Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 as amended from time to time, or a journalist who has been a full-time journalist for at least 8 years, does not engage in any other activity, and whose sole livelihood is through journalistic activities with a newspaper, news agency or media house. Words not defined in the scheme carry the meaning given in the Goa State Media Representatives Accreditation Rules, 2014.

A journalist is not eligible if:

• The applicant has already availed the benefit of an e-bike or two wheeler from any other Government scheme.
• The applicant is more than 58 years of age.
• The applicant has fewer than eight years in the journalistic field.
• The applicant is not a full time journalist, or engages in another activity such that journalism is not the sole livelihood.
• The applicant is not a 15-year resident of Goa, or cannot obtain the Mamlatdar's residence certificate.

The scheme also states plainly that it does not confer a right on any applicant to any benefit, and that the Government reserves the right to reject an application without assigning any reason.

How much subsidy is given?

The Government provides the subsidy up to 50% of the value on the quotation or Rs 50,000 whichever is less, and the remaining 50% of the value is borne by the beneficiary. Payment is effected directly to the beneficiary upon receipt of the purchase document of the e-bike, and the subsidy is disbursed in a single instalment on production of documents of purchase, that is the RC book and insurance, by the beneficiary.

How to apply for the e-bike subsidy

1. Wait for the Department to invite applications. Under the scope clause, the Department of Information and Publicity invites applications from eligible beneficiaries for subsidy under the scheme.
2. Get the Mamlatdar's 15-year residence certificate for the taluka in which you reside, and collect your birth certificate, Aadhaar card and driving licence.
3. Get a letter from your Editor or Head of Organisation confirming that you have been a working journalist for the last eight years, and get your latest payslip from the organisation.
4. Obtain a quotation from a reputed dealer for the e-bike you intend to buy. The committee may accept or reject the quote partly or fully, or seek a fresh quote.
5. Fill Application Form-A — name, permanent postal address and contact number, 15-year domicile certificate details, valid driving licence number, age proof, name of the registered media organisation and designation, address of the organisation, mobile number, evidence of being a working journalist, years in service with evidence from the Editor or Management, and the latest payslip.
6. Sign the declaration stating that you have applied under the E-Bikes scheme and have or have not availed similar benefits under any scheme of the Department of Information and Publicity.
7. Attach two passport size photographs and submit the duly filled proforma with the relevant documents to the Director, Department of Information and Publicity, Udyog Bhavan, 3rd floor, Panaji.
8. After approval, buy the e-bike and provide the purchase documents together with the sanction order issued by the Department to the Director of Information and Publicity for processing the subsidy, along with your bank details.

Who decides the applications?

A Screening Committee is constituted for scrutiny, sanction and other requirements of the scheme. It sits under the chairmanship of the Director of Information and Publicity, with the President, Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ), the President, Goa Photo Journalist Association of Goa (GPJAG) and the Joint Secretary, Finance or their representative as members.

The applicant must satisfy the Committee that the eligibility criteria are fulfilled, and the Committee may direct the applicant to produce additional documents in support of the application if required. The Committee decides the applications under the scheme.

The Government notes that the type and cost of the e-bike to be granted will be decided by the Government, so an applicant should not commit to a model before the sanction.

Key conditions to note

• Applications are considered for purchase of an e-bike only, no other vehicle qualifies.
• The scheme is to be reviewed after three years from the date of its commencement, that is from January 2024.
• Where any discrepancy, clarification or ambiguity arises, the Government has the power to decide, and its decision is final.
• The Government may relax the clauses or conditions where a genuine requirement arises, as determined by the scrutiny or sanction committee, case by case, with prior approval of the Finance Department, except those relating to the grant of financial benefits.

Why applications get rejected

• Under eight years in the profession, or an Editor's letter that does not state the eight-year period clearly.
• Age above 58 on the date of application.
• Residence certificate short of 15 years, or issued by an authority other than the Mamlatdar.
• Already availed a two-wheeler benefit under another Government scheme.
• No dealer quotation, or a quotation the committee finds unreasonable: in which case a fresh quote is sought rather than the application being closed.
• Annual cap reached. Only 65 e-bikes are sanctioned each year, in order of years of working, with a maximum of two per organisation per meeting.
• Purchase documents not produced after sanction. Without the RC book and insurance, the subsidy is not released.

Where to raise a grievance

The scheme is administered by the Department of Information and Publicity, Udyog Bhavan, 3rd Floor, Panaji, Goa 403001, telephones 0832-2223157, 0832-2422675 and 0832-2226047, email dipgoa@gmail.com. The full gazette notification, including Application Form-A and the declaration, is published as a PDF on the department's schemes page at dip.goa.gov.in.

No fee is payable to apply, and no agent is needed. Because the subsidy is released directly to the beneficiary's bank account after purchase, no dealer should collect the subsidy amount on the journalist's behalf.

How to check your application status

There is no online tracker for this scheme. Since applications go in on paper as Form-A to the Director, Department of Information and Publicity, checking status means following up with the department directly.

1. Note your submission details before you follow up: the date you submitted Form-A, the name of the official who received it, and your media organisation's name, since the Screening Committee sanctions applications in order of years of working and tracks them by applicant rather than by an online reference number.
2. Call the department on 0832-2223157, 0832-2422675 or 0832-2226047 and ask whether your application has been placed before the Screening Committee chaired by the Director of Information and Publicity, and if so, whether it has been scrutinised, sanctioned, or sent back for additional documents.
3. Write to dipgoa@gmail.com if you want a written response, quoting the date of submission and your name as it appears on the application.
4. Visit in person at Udyog Bhavan, 3rd Floor, Panaji, if a phone or email follow-up does not get a clear answer, since the Committee may ask for additional documents in support of the application and this is often communicated informally rather than through a formal notice.
5. Watch for a sanction order rather than a status update as such: once the Committee approves an application, the Department issues a sanction order, and it is this order, along with the purchase documents (RC book and insurance), that you then submit back to the Director to actually release the subsidy. If you have not received a sanction order and have not been asked for further documents, your application is most likely still waiting in the yearly queue, since only 65 e-bikes are sanctioned each year on a first come first served basis by years of working.
6. Check the department's schemes page at dip.goa.gov.in for any public notice on the current year's applications being invited or closed, since the scheme runs on an annual invitation cycle rather than accepting applications on a rolling basis.

Because disbursement happens only after you submit purchase documents following sanction, there is no separate "payment status" to check before that point: the subsidy itself is released in a single instalment directly to the beneficiary once the RC book and insurance are produced.