Tirupati: The first-ever national conference of senior journalists in India will be held in Thiruvanan-thapuram from August 19 to 21, 2025, with a major call for instituting a national pension scheme for retired journalists, in view of the wide disparities in social security benefits across states.

Announcing the details in Tirupati on Mon-day, Andhra Pradesh State Veteran Journal-ists’ Union president Dr T Janardhan and sec-retary M Narender Reddy said that the con-ference is being hosted by the Senior Jour-nalists’ Forum-Kerala, which has brought to-gether most of the senior journalists in the State under its banner. About 250 delegates from 21 States are expected to take part in the three-day event, which will be attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on August 20.

The conference will deliberate on issues con-cerning the welfare of journalists in the coun-try, with a focus on ensuring uniform and decent pensions for all journalists, irrespec-tive of their state. It will also press for the inclusion of every section of the profession, including reporters, desk staff, proof readers and photojournalists, under pension schemes, while highlighting the need for a nationwide health insurance programme for senior journalists.

Other demands to be taken up include the restoration of railway concessions and other facilities for retired journalists and an in-crease in the minimum pension under the Provident Fund. The meeting will culminate in the election of a national-level committee which will take forward the campaigns and public initiatives to be decided by the dele-gates at the conference.