Finest journalism of 2016 will be honoured at Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards today

A benchmark for excellence in Indian journalism, the awards this year will be handed over by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for outstanding work done in 2016.

Twenty seven journalists will take centrestage Wednesday night at the 12th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, the most prestigious annual event in the media calendar.

A benchmark for excellence in Indian journalism, the awards this year will be handed over by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for outstanding work done in 2016. The 27 winners — across 25 categories, including print and broadcast, English and vernacular — have been chosen from over 800 entries for their ability to tell a story simply and accurately.

An eminent jury, including former Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna, HDFC Ltd chairman Deepak Parekh, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi and senior journalist Pamela Philipose, chose the winners from among entries that came in from all parts of the country, many of them in regional languages.

In the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, former vice president Hamid Ansari, former president Pratibha Patil and former chief justice of India P Sathasivam have been chief guests at the awards.

The Express Group instituted the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2006 as part of the centenary year celebrations of its founder, Ramnath Goenka. Over the years, the awards have become the gold standard of journalism honours in India, the ultimate recognition that every outstanding journalist working in the country searches for today. The awards, which come with a trophy and a reward of Rs 1 lakh to each of the winners, aim to celebrate excellence in journalism, recognise courage and commitment and showcase the outstanding contributions of journalists from across the country.