Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday presented the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism awards in New Delhi.
"We are here to recognise the good work of good journalists, and also to pay tribute to the memory of a great publisher," Manmohan said.
The Prime Minister added, "India is fortunate to have a free and vibrant media. We must defend its freedom and foster its vibrancy. I am sure the Ramnath Goenka awards will further encourage the growth of a professional approach to journalism."
Following is the list of winners of the first Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards:
- Regional Award, Jammu and Kashmir, Print: Mir Ehsan, The Indian Express: For exposing the story of fake surrenders, how innocent villagers were paraded as militants in the Kashmir Valley
- Regional Award, Jammu and Kashmir, Broadcast: Vikram Choudhary, NDTV 24x7: For a report on how women have been forced to take up the gun for their own protection and to join the Village Defence Committees
- Regional Award, Hindi, Broadcast: Punya Prasun Bajpai, Aaj Tak: On an investigative report on tribals in Vidarbha who were falsely booked under TADA for alleged Naxalite links.
- Regional Award, Regional, Print: Sopan Pandharipande, Lokmat: For a series of investigative reports that exposed the Mahila Nagari Sahakari Bank scam.
- Regional Award, North East, Broadcast: Sutapa Deb, NDTV 24x7: For a report that ventured into the heart of unrest in Manipur and told the story of its victims
- Environmental Reporting, Print: Ramesh Menon, Freelance Journalist: For his detailed report on how the over-use of pesticides is turning Punjab into a poison field
- Environmental Reporting, Broadcast: Swati Thyagarajan, NDTV 24x7: For a report on a Karnataka village that is trying to keep alive a tradition and storks that have made it their home
- Uncovering India Invisible, Print: C Vanaja, Freelance Journalist: For her journey into the deep forests of the Dandakaranya to report on the parallel government run by Maoists
- Uncovering India Invisible, Broadcast: Shikha Trivedy, NDTV 24x7: For her journeys into the scarred Gujarat landscape, to discover a society struggling to come to terms with life after a carnage
- Business and Economic Journalism, Print: Vikas Dhoot, Business World: For a series of stories on how the Employees Provident Fund Organisation reforms were scuttled and how politics hijacked the fund
- Regional Award North East, Print: Ratna Bharali Talukdar, Freelance Journalist: For her in-depth reports chronicling the lives and struggles of coal mine workers in upper Assam
- Business and Economic Journalism, Broadcast: Menal Doshl, CNBC/TV18: For the most talked-about story of last year, the report which made the rift in the Ambani family official
- Foreign Correspondent covering India, Print: Somini Sengupta, The New York Times: For a wide range of stories from across India.
- Journalist of the Year, Broadcast: Barkha Dutt, NDTV 24x7: For her reports from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu that captured the trauma and tragedy of lives torn apart by the tsunami
- Journalist of the Year, Print: Varghese K George, The Indian Express: For exposing the Bihar flood relief scam which saw millions meant for flood victims siphoned off by politicians and bureaucrats.
- Journalist of the Year, Print: Praveen Swami, Frontline: For his extensive and in-depth reports on terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and investigations into the merchants of terror.
