Government reconstitutes Press Council of India, nominates 13 journalists

Press Council of India reconstituted; 13 members nominated

The Central Government has reconstituted the Press Council of India (PCI) by nominating 13 members, according to a notification issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

The development was announced on Wednesday (October 8, 2026), with the new nominees comprising six editors and seven working journalists from categories other than editors.

The notification was issued under provisions of the Press Council Act, 1978.

Six editors nominated

The members nominated under the Working Journalists (Editors Category) are Pradeep Kumar Jain, Sayed Raza Husain Rizvi, Ankur Dua, Aparna Shukla, Raj Parwana/ Narender Singh and Vinod Bajpai.

The government has also nominated seven working journalists under the Working Journalists (Other Than Editors) category.

They are Vinod Kohli, Geetartha Pathak, Prajnananda Chaudhuri, Kingshuk Pramanik, C K Nayak, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty and Bijoy Kakchingtabam.

Together, the two categories account for the 13 members added through the reconstitution.

Existing composition of the PCI

The PCI is headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retd).

The council has 14 members, including five MPs, six representatives from newspaper owners and three experts from the Bar Council of India (BCI), University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Sahitya Akademi.

The nominated editors and working journalists will therefore join a body that already includes parliamentary representatives, newspaper owners and experts from the three institutions listed in the government’s description of its composition.

The PCI is a statutory autonomous body set up under the Press Council Act, 1978.

Its main roles are to preserve the freedom of the Press and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in the country.

The reconstitution brings editors and working journalists into the council through the categories specified in the government notification.

The notification said the nominations were made in exercise of powers conferred under the Press Council Act, 1978 (37 of 1978).

Source: The Hindu