National Press Day (NPD) is observed every year across India on 16 November to commemorate the day the Press Council of India (PCI) began functioning, safeguarding journalistic standards and protecting press freedom.
Theme:
2025 Theme: “Safeguarding Press Credibility amidst Rising Misinformation”
Focus: The theme focuses on countering misinformation in the digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) age.
Exam Hints:
- Event: National Press Day 2025
- When: 16th November
- 2025 Theme: “Safeguarding Press Credibility amidst Rising Misinformation”
- Regulator: Press Council of India (PCI)
- Establishment: 1966 (functioning from 16 Nov 1966; re-established 1979 under Press Council Act, 1978)
- India’s Press Freedom Rank 2025: 151st (Score 32.96) (Norway tops)
Background:
Commission: The 1st Press Commission in 1954 recommended creating a statutory authority composed of industry-linked members to uphold professional ethics in journalism.
Establishment: The PCI was established on 4 July 1966 under the Press Council Act, 1965.
The PCI began functioning as a watchdog body on 16 November 1966.
- The PCI was re-established in 1979 as a statutory, quasi-judicial, autonomous authority under the Press Council Act, 1978.
Chairman: Justice J. R. Mudholkar, a former Supreme Court judge (1960–1966), served as the first Chairman of the Press Council of India.
World Press Freedom Index 2025:
Index: The 23rd RSF (Reporters Sans Frontières) World Press Freedom Index 2025 highlights economic fragility as a major threat to press freedom, with journalism conditions poor in half the world and 160 of 180 countries reporting that media outlets struggle to remain financially stable.
Categories: Press freedom situations are classified into five categories: good, satisfactory, problematic, difficult, and very serious.
Top Ranked Country: Norway topped the index with a score of 92.31 for the 9th consecutive year.
- Estonia secured the 2nd position, followed by the Netherlands in 3rd place.
India’s Rank: India improved its ranking to 151st, up from 159th in 2024.
- Despite the progress, India remains in the “very serious” category, highlighting continuing challenges to media freedom.
Key Initiatives supporting Press Freedom:
PRGI: The Press Registrar General of India, formerly Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) (established in 1956), was redesignated under the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023 to oversee periodical registration and transparency.
Legal Protections for Journalists: In India, journalists are safeguarded by the Working Journalists Act, 1955, and supported through the Journalist Welfare Scheme (launched 2001, revised 2019), which provides up to Rs.5 lakh for death or permanent disability and graded assistance for major ailments and injuries.
PRP Act: The Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023 (PRP Act, 2023) (effective 1 Mar 2024), digitised title allotment, decriminalised procedural lapses, and is operationalised by PRP Rules 2024.
Sewa Portal: The Press Sewa Portal, developed under PRP Act, 2023, onboarding 40,000 publishers and registering 3,000 presses in six months, provides a fully digital, paperless system for registration with features like Electronic (e)-sign, Quick Response (QR)-coded certificates, real-time tracking, a Press Keeper module, and an AI chatbot.
IIMC: The Indian Institute of Mass Communication(IIMC) (established in 1965) offers postgraduate (PG) diplomas in multiple languages and short courses, has trained over 15,000 professionals, and was declared Deemed-to-be-University in 2024.
Journalism Awards: The National Awards for Excellence in Journalism, presented annually on National Press Day(November 16), recognise outstanding journalistic work across categories, with the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award as the highest honour, and are accompanied by a Souvenir highlighting awardees’ achievements and expert articles.
2025 Event:
Event: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB); and Minister of State (MoS) Dr L. Murugan, MIB, attended the National Press Day 2025 celebrations held at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, Delhi.
Growth in Registered Publications:The number of registered publications in India has surged from 60,143 in 2004-05 to 1.54 lakh in 2024-25, highlighting the growing reach and diversity of India’s media sector.
About Press Council of India(PCI):
Chairman– Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Established – 1966
