India reconstitutes Press Council of India with 13 new members

The Indian Union government has reconstituted the 15th Press Council of India (PCI), a statutory and autonomous body responsible for print media surveillance and protecting press freedom. Following a prolonged delay that drew criticism, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting nominated 13 media professionals to fill vacancies on October 7, 2026.

The new nominees include six editors—Pradeep Kumar Jain, Sayed Raza Husain Rizvi, Ankur Dua, Aparna Shukla, Raj Parwana/Narender Singh, and Vinod Bajpai—and seven working journalists—Vinod Kohli, Geetartha Pathak, Prajnananda Chaudhuri, Kingshuk Pramanik, C K Nayak, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, and Bijoy Kakchingtabam.

Led by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the 29-member council includes representatives from the Bar Council of India, the University Grants Commission, and the Sahitya Akademi, alongside lawmakers. The current term of the 15th Council is set to expire on December 18, 2027. Previously, the quasi-judicial body had been functioning without representation from the working journalist and editor categories.