<div><strong>Suchetana Ray</strong></div><div> </div><div>North Block that houses Home and Finance Ministries are looking at changing ways communication between the Government and the Fourth Estate of India. First, it was the Ministry of Home Affair that barred journalists from entering the ministry and now different departments under Finance Ministry is taking the cue. The writing on the wall is clear: scribes will not have the free access, to the various Departments of the Finance Ministry, that they once had. Finance Ministry has five departments under it, one after the other their doors are shutting for journalists. Even, reporters with accreditation from the Press Information Bureau of India have been barred from entering. </div><div> </div><div>While the Revenue Department have had their lips sealed ever since the new Government assumed power last year; allegedly because of the sensitive nature of their work and also because they had to devote time towards an image makeover from tax terrorist to assessee friendly. In fact, for months now the officials dealing with international taxation have been told off from meeting reporters. For any issue a journalist is promptly directed towards the official spokesperson from the Tax Department. Department of Disinvestment doesn’t want reporters around as they feel that they are very prompt with ‘press releases’. Similar is the attitude of the Department of Financial Services. </div><div> </div><div>Not ones to easily give up, journos have been up in arms against this new form of one-way communication adopted by the Finance Ministry. And to ensure that this dissatisfaction doesn’t spread among the regular reporters who cover India’s financial policy matters, the Ministry has decided that it will hold a monthly press conference, attended by all secretaries of the five departments and the Chief Economic Advisor to address all queries of the media. The first such “interaction” began today, with Ratan Watal, Finance Secreatary addressing the media. For today though the agenda of the conference was fixed by the Ministry, but the strategy for these monthly meetings are yet to be fixed, say officials in the Finance Ministry. Clearly, the watchdogs of the Indian Democracy will not be able to sniff around in North Block any more.</div><div> </div>
