Scheme for Providing Financial Assistance for the Purchase of Laptop or Desktop Computer to the Media Persons of the Union Territory of Puducherry

What is the laptop assistance scheme for media persons in Puducherry?

The Scheme for Providing Financial Assistance for the Purchase of Laptop or Desktop Computer to the Media Persons of the Union Territory of Puducherry is a scheme of the General Administration (Information and Publicity) Department, administered by the Directorate of Information and Publicity. It gives a media person financial assistance not exceeding Rs 15,000 towards the purchase of a laptop or a desktop computer.

The scheme was notified in G.O.Ms.No. dated January 2015 as the "Scheme for providing Financial Assistance for the Purchase of Laptop or Desktop Computer to the Media Persons of the Union territory of Puducherry 2014". The government's order records the reasoning: the question of granting assistance of up to Rs 15,000 to media persons had been under consideration "keeping in view the special nature of the service rendered by the Media Persons to the society in creating a sense of socio-political awareness among the people".

The scheme is one of five measures the Directorate runs for media persons, alongside the grant of identity cards, the grant of accreditation cards, the pension benefits scheme that pays Rs 6,000 a month to veteran journalists, and the grant of free bus passes.

One current change is worth flagging. The Directorate's live programmes and schemes page now describes the measure as "Scheme for providing Financial Assistance to media persons for the purchase of Laptop or Desktop Computer or Smart Phone". The 2015 notification available on the Directorate's site covers laptops and desktops only. If you intend to claim against a smart phone, confirm the present scope and the ceiling with the Directorate before you buy.

Who is eligible for the laptop assistance, and who is not?

You can apply if:

• You are a citizen of India and a resident of the union territory of Puducherry by birth, or by continuous residence of not less than 10 years.
• You have put in not less than five years of service in one of the roles the scheme names: full-time Editor, Reporter, Sub-Editor, Press Photographer or Correspondent of a newspaper or periodical duly registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India; or Reporter or Photographer of a news agency in Puducherry whose headquarters are outside the union territory; or Reporter or Videographer in the employ of electronic media, namely satellite channels.
• You possess a Press Identification Card issued by the Directorate of Information and Publicity, Puducherry.
• The machine you are claiming for is brand new.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not hold a Press Identification Card from the Directorate. The scheme's own definition of "media person" turns on that card.
• Your service is under five years, or was part-time. The service certificate in Form-III must state specifically whether the post was full-time or part-time, so this is checked directly.
• You worked for a publication not registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India.
• You are claiming for a second-hand or refurbished machine. The scheme defines both a laptop and a desktop as "brand new".
• You cannot show birth in Puducherry or 10 years of continuous residence.

Unlike the Directorate's pension scheme, this scheme publishes no age condition and no income ceiling. It is a professional support measure, not a poverty measure.

How much is paid, and how?

The assistance "shall not exceed Rs 15,000, or such amount as may be fixed by the Government from time to time". Two words matter there.

"Not exceed" means the assistance is capped, not fixed. Where the machine costs less than Rs 15,000, the assistance follows the bill. Where it costs more, the extra is the applicant's own.

"From time to time" means the government can revise the ceiling by order without renotifying the scheme, so the figure on an old listing may not be the current one. Ask the Directorate.

The claim is built around the original purchase bill, which must indicate the serial number, make and other technical specification of the machine. Keep the bill safe from the moment you buy; a card statement or a delivery note will not substitute for it.

How to apply for the laptop or desktop assistance

The scheme runs on paper through the Directorate of Information and Publicity.

1. Check that your Press Identification Card is current. If it has lapsed, renew it with the Directorate before you do anything else.
2. Get the Revenue Department certificate in Form-II, nationality, nativity and residence: from an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Tahsildar. Certificates issued by a lower officer are returned.
3. Obtain the service certificate in Form-III from your former employer. It must state the designation, whether the post was full-time or part-time, the period of service and the place of work. The full-time or part-time entry is the one the Directorate reads first.
4. Buy the machine. It must be brand new. Collect the original bill showing serial number, make and technical specification, and keep the packaging documentation.
5. Complete the declaration in Form-IV and attach the original purchase bill to it.
6. Fill in Form-I and assemble the file — Form-II, Form-III, Form-IV with the bill, and a copy of your Press Identification Card. The Director of Information and Publicity adds the verification certificate in Form-V.
7. Submit to the Director of Information and Publicity, Puducherry, and take a dated acknowledgement with an inward number.

How is the claim decided, and how do you follow up?

The scheme provides for a committee constituted under clause 7 to select the beneficiaries. As with the Directorate's pension scheme, the file moves from scrutiny by the Directorate to the committee, and sanction follows the committee's decision.

To follow up, contact the Directorate of Information and Publicity, Puducherry, quoting the inward number and date of your application. Applicants in Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam should trace the file first at the office where it was lodged. There is no online status tracker for this scheme.

Why do claims get rejected, and how do you avoid it?

• No Press Identification Card, or a lapsed one. Renew first. This is the most common failure and it is entirely avoidable.
• Service certificate silent on full-time status. Send it back to the employer for the specific entry the form asks for.
• Publication not registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India. Service with an unregistered publication does not count toward the five years.
• Bill without serial number or make. Ask the dealer for a corrected invoice at the time of purchase; retrofitting it later looks bad and delays the file.
• Photocopy of the bill instead of the original. The scheme asks for the original with the declaration in Form-IV.
• Revenue certificate from an officer below Deputy Tahsildar rank. Get it reissued at the correct level.
• Residence short of 10 years. Add nativity certificate, voter roll entries and utility bills covering the decade.
• Buying before checking the current ceiling. The ceiling can be revised by government order. Confirm it before you spend.

What else does the Directorate offer media persons?

• Grant of Identity Cards to media persons, the Press Identification Card under the Puducherry Media Representatives Identity Card Rules, 2013, which is the prerequisite for this scheme.
• Grant of Accreditation Cards under the Pondicherry Press Representatives Accreditation Rules, 1984.
• Scheme for Pension Benefits to Media Persons: Rs 6,000 a month for journalists aged 58 and above with 20 years of service, with 50 per cent family pension to the spouse.
• Grant of free bus passes to media persons.

A working journalist in Puducherry who does not yet hold an identity or accreditation card should treat that as the first application to make, because three of the four remaining measures depend on it.

Where do you get help or complain?

• Contact the Director of Information and Publicity, Government of Puducherry, quoting the inward number of your application. The scheme notification and the application forms are published on info.py.gov.in.
• Applicants in the outlying regions may route representations through the Regional Administrator, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam.
• An unresolved grievance can be filed on CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in against the Government of Puducherry, Information and Publicity Department.

No fee is payable for the forms or the processing, and no dealer or agent can secure the sanction for you.