New Delhi, June 17: The grand ‘Dev Rishi Narad Journalism Awards 2026’ ceremony was held on Tuesday at the Speaker Hall, Constitution Club, under the auspices of the Indraprastha World Communication Center. The event featured Rahul Kanwal, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of NDTV, as the chief guest, and Sunil Ambekar, All India Publicity Chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, as the keynote speaker.
Notable attendees included Narendra Thakur, All India Co-Publicity Chief of the RSS, Vishal, Delhi State Publicity Chief, and Rajesh, Co-Organizing Secretary of the RSS, who were present as distinguished guests.
The awards recognized outstanding journalists in various categories. Pooja Rana, Senior Associate Editor at OpIndia, was honored in the Outstanding Young Journalist category. Garima Upreti, Editor at No The Nation, received accolades for Outstanding Women’s Issues Journalism. Himani Diwan, Senior Assistant Editor at Kisan Tak, was awarded for Outstanding Rural/Environmental Journalism. Other winners included Vimal Tyagi for Outstanding Content Creator (YouTube), Mayank Balian for Outstanding Content Creator (X), Manoj Tiwari for Outstanding Content Creator (Instagram), Prabhat Ranjan Mishra for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, Neeraj Kumar Dubey for Outstanding Digital Journalism, Nihal Singh for Outstanding Print Journalism, Dr. Ram Kinkar Singh for Outstanding TV Journalism, Shashwat Panigrahi for Outstanding Columnist, and Ramanuj Sharma, News Editor at Hindustan Samachar, for Outstanding Innovative Journalism. Each recipient received a certificate, a memento, a shawl, and a check for ₹11,000.
The Indraprastha World Communication Center invited entries in 12 categories for the ‘Dev Rishi Narad Journalism Awards 2025’ through an online platform. A distinguished jury was formed to evaluate the entries and select the awardees. The jury comprised Mamta Verma, Director General of DD News, Raj Kishore, Senior Editorial Advisor at Amar Ujala Group, Rohit Vishwakarma, Managing Editor at NDTV India, Brajesh Kumar Singh, Group Editor at Network 18, Aishwarya Pandit, Managing Director at ITV Network, and Harish Chandra Barnwal, Senior Vice President at Blue Craft Foundation.
Addressing the ceremony, Rahul Kanwal emphasized the challenges journalists face in the age of technology and AI. He noted that while machines can write news stories, the essence of journalism lies in human connection and understanding context. He highlighted that the first journalist, Dev Rishi Narad, exemplified this by engaging with people and listening to their stories, a task that AI cannot replicate.
Keynote speaker Sunil Ambekar urged journalists to reflect societal truths to foster a better community. He cautioned against becoming part of the political landscape while reporting political news and stressed that not all societal issues should be viewed through a political lens. He remarked on India’s positive progress across sectors and the importance of using technology for the betterment of humanity.
Ambekar also stated that technologies like AI should enrich the tradition of knowledge rather than replace humans. He expressed optimism for India’s future and called for collective efforts toward national interests.
Rajesh Kumar, Co-Organizing Secretary of the RSS, shared insights about the events held in Delhi during the RSS centenary year. Brajesh Kumar Singh elaborated on the selection process for the award-winning journalists.
The event was attended by numerous dignitaries, media personnel, editors, senior journalists, and social media influencers. Ritesh Agarwal, Vice President of the Indraprastha World Communication Center, introduced the organization, while Ashok Sachdeva, President, delivered the vote of thanks.
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