A Night of Excellence

The evening saw eminent people from all walks of life in the audience, including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Sunil Arora, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi, CPI leader D Raja, jurist Fali Nariman, former ABVP national organising secretary Sunil Ambekar, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Principal Director General of Press Information Bureau.

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President Ram Nath Kovind gives his address at the 14th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards last week.

The importance of values like honesty and fairness were underlined by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, as he presented the 14th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards on January 20 at the Taj Palace, New Delhi. “The quest for truth is, of course, difficult and easier said than done. But it must be pursued. A democracy like ours deeply relies on the uncovering of facts and a willingness to debate them. Democracy is meaningful only when the citizen is well informed. In that sense, excellence in journalism grants full meaning to democracy,” said Kovind in his address.

Twenty three journalists, who excelled in their respective fields, were awarded at the ceremony. The evening saw eminent people from all walks of life in the audience, including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Sunil Arora, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi, CPI leader D Raja, jurist Fali Nariman, former ABVP national organising secretary Sunil Ambekar, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Principal Director General of Press Information Bureau.

Kuldeep Singh Dhatwalia and Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification Prasoon Joshi, former CECs SY Quraishi and Nasim Zaidi, former bureaucrat Ashok Chawla, NDTV’s Ravish Kumar, Congress leader Rajeev Shukla and former home secretary GK Pillai. Also present were Prasad Krishnan, Vice President-Corporate Affairs, TVS; Saptarshi Roy, Director (HR) NTPC; Amar Nath Verma, Executive Director (HR), NTPC; KM Prashanth, Additional General Manager (Corporate Communication), NTPC; Prem Kishan Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Gateway Rail; Ravindran Ramchandran, President- Business Development & International Business, Ward Wizard Solutions India Pvt Ltd; Sojan Avirachan, Chairman, Indian Credit Co-operative Society Ltd; Shrikant Kukrety, Senior Manager, Signature Global; Ankush Arora, Assistant Manager, Signature Global; AV Girija Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, Oriental Insurance; R Balasubramanian, CVO, Oriental Insurance; Arti Mathur, General Manager, Oriental Insurance; Saroj Mohanty, Assistant Vice President, Sonalika Tractors; Munish Kumar, CMO, Sonalika Tractors.

Anant Goenka, Executive Director, Indian Express Group, presents a portrait by Suvajit Dey, Illustrator, The Indian Express to President Ram Nath Kovind, in the presence of Viveck Goenka, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Express Group

Former bureaucrat Ashok Chawla

Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner of India

(From left) Hans Christian Winkler, spokesperson and Head of Public Diplomacy, Embassy of Germany; Avigail Spira, spokesperson, Embassy of Israel; Aly-Khan Rajani, Counsellor and Head of Advocacy and Public Affairs, High Commission of Canada

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SY Quraishi, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India and jury member, RNG Awards

Nasim Zaidi, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India

KC Tyagi, National Secretary General, JD(U)

Sunil Ambekar, former ABVP national organising secretary

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Suanshu Khurana, Assistant Editor, The Indian Express, sings the national anthem

Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Prasar

Senior journalist and Magsaysay award winner Ravish Kumar

Saptarshi Roy, Director (HR), NTPC

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Rajesh Chaturvedi, Chairman, Adfactors PR