Press Council of India reconstituted; 13 members nominated
The Indian government has reconstituted the Press Council of India by nominating 13 new members, including editors and working journalists. The body, chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, is tasked with maintaining press freedom and journalistic standards.
Why it matters
The Press Council is a critical statutory body for media regulation and ethics in India, and its composition influences the oversight of the country's news industry.
The government on Wednesday (October 8, 2026) reconstituted the Press Council of India (PCI) with the addition of 13 members, mostly editors and working journalists.
The PCI is headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retd) and it has 14 members, including five MPs, six representatives from newspaper owners and three experts from the Bar Council of India (BCI), University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Sahitya Akademi.
Now, the government has nominated six editors and seven working journalists, other than editors, as members of the PCI.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (3) and sub-section (5) of section 5 read with sub-section (1) of section 6 of the Press Council Act, 1978 (37 of 1978), the Central Government hereby nominates the following members to the Press Council of India," a notification issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said.
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