Government Appoints 13 New Members to Press Council of India

Guwahati: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting named 13 media professionals to the Press Council of India. These appointments include six editors and seven working journalists. The council works under the Press Council Act of 1978. It protects press freedom. It keeps news standards high.

The six nominated editors are Pradeep Kumar Jain, Sayed Raza Husain Rizvi, Ankur Dua, Aparna Shukla, Raj Parwana, also known as Narender Singh, and Vinod Bajpai. The seven working journalists are Vinod Kohli, Geetartha Pathak, Prajnananda Chaudhuri, Kingshuk Pramanik, C K Nayak, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, and Bijoy Kakchingtabam.

These selections fall under Sections 5(3)(a) and 5(5), read with Section 6(1) of the 1978 Act. The council maintains autonomy. Retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai leads the body. The membership features representatives from Parliament, the Bar Council of India, the University Grants Commission, and the Sahitya Akademi.

"The Press Council of India is headed by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai," the notification stated regarding the current leadership structure of the statutory body.