For this year, MVR 27 million has been allocated from the state budget for media outlets, representing 0.1 percent of projected state revenue.
Journalists protest against bills targeting independent media
A new policy outlining the provision of a one-time financial grant to media outlets has been officially unveiled.
The regulation, announced on Thursday, states that all registered media outlets that have been operating for at least one year are now eligible to receive this financial assistance.
Previously, the policy governing state financial assistance to media outlets was formulated by the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts and also provided for a one-time disbursement of funds. Under that earlier framework, media outlets were required to have been registered and operational for a minimum of three years to qualify for assistance.
Although a decision was made on 30 October 2025, to provide financial aid from the state budget to privately registered media outlets, the decision was revoked within 24 hours of its announcement.
At the time, a review of the drafted policy showed that a media outlet linked to the interests of the then Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts Ibrahim Waheed, who made the decision to allocate funds to media, was positioned to receive the largest share of the funding.
Further concerns were raised when it emerged that an outlet operated by State Minister Ali Shamaan, who was involved in the grant allocation process, was set to receive MVR 1.34 million.
In addition to this, one of the media outlets deemed eligible for funding was Maldives Online, an Arabic-language publication operated by the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed. Following widespread public criticism over these issues, the previous policy was rescinded.
Under the newly introduced policy, one of the eligibility requirements is that the media entity must have been continuously registered and licensed since January 2024. The scoring system will assess factors including the age of the media outlet and the number of employees.
The policy further specifies that marks will be awarded based on efforts to develop the media house. An additional five marks will be allocated for each of the following categories: strengthening administrative functions, developing infrastructure, and contributions to public service content.
For this year, MVR 27 million has been allocated from the state budget for media outlets, representing 0.1 percent of projected state revenue.
