NEW DELHI, October 8, 2026 – The Central Government on Thursday announced the reconstitution of the Press Council of India (PCI) by nominating 13 new members to the prestigious media regulatory body. The new inductees include six editors and seven working journalists from other categories.
The reconstituted statutory autonomous body will continue to be headed by Chairperson Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retd.). The broader 14-member council also encompasses five Members of Parliament, six representatives of newspaper owners, and three members representing the Bar Council of India (BCI), the University Grants Commission (UGC), and the Sahitya Akademi.
According to the official notification issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the nominations were made under the provisions of the Press Council Act, 1978. The Act empowers the government to establish the council to preserve the freedom of the press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies across the country.
The six journalists nominated under the “Working Journalists (Editors Category)” are Pradeep Kumar Jain, Sayed Raza Husain Rizvi, Ankur Dua, Aparna Shukla, Raj Parwana (also listed as Narender Singh), and Vinod Bajpai.
Furthermore, the seven members nominated under the “Working Journalists (Other Than Editors)” category are Vinod Kohli, Geetartha Pathak, Prajnananda Chaudhuri, Kingshuk Pramanik, C K Nayak, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, and Bijoy Kakchingtabam.
The reconstitution of the PCI ensures continued oversight and ethical regulation of the print media landscape in India.
Published by True Roots Media Network