New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Following a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has initiated steps to simplify accreditation procedures for foreign journalists in India. They will now be able to apply for it online from their respective countries even while applying for a visa, officials said.
‘We have taken steps to cut down on the time taken for security clearance,’ Neelam Kapur, principal director general, PIB, told IANS.
Since accreditation process for Indian journalists was already available online, it was felt that the facility should be extended to foreign journalists too, Kapur said.
Sources said that the move follows a complaint by a Japanese journalist during the prime minister’s press conference in May about problems in getting PIB accreditation for foreign journalist.
The prime minister had told the journalist that he will certainly look into the issue.
The procedures for accreditation of foreign journalists were reviewed about a month back at a meeting of officials of the home, external affairs and information and broadcasting ministries.
Foreign journalists will be required to make an accreditation request when they apply for a long-term journalist visa and it will be forwarded by the respective Indian mission to New Delhi for security clearances.
