PIB to issue IDs with barcodes to accredited journalists

New Delhi: For the first time, accredited journalists will get bar code enabled cards from Press Information Bureau in 2017.

The Narendra Modi government is claiming to have introduced the measure in an effort to enhance the security features and access to sensitive establishments.

Sources said that the bar code embedded at the back of these cards would bear the relevant details of the respective journalists  which will be accessible to security personnel at the click of a button.

Security staff at high risk buildings are likely to be provided with devices to read these bar codes in an effort to check the authenticity and identity of the cards and their bearers.

The data collected is expected to be stored and may be used for future scrutiny, sources stated.

Till now no such data of entry and exit of journalists into government buildings was kept or was possible to maintain.

The current accreditation cards allows journalists easy access to many government offices. Till now cards were issued with the digitally scanned signature of the chief security officer of the MHA, which grants the holder entry into  restricted areas.

It is understood that the new security features on the PIB cards have been put in place in consultation with the ministry of home affairs.

Approximately 3,000 accreditation cards are understood to be issued by the PIB. Journalists apply for PIB card renewal at the end of every year.

Over the past few years, the PIB has been trying to enhance the security features of cards issued to accredited journalists.

In 2015, the attempt by the PIB to make police verification mandatory each year came under attack from several quarters and was finally shelved by the government.