18th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards (2022)

The 18th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, honoring work produced in 2022, were presented at a prestigious ceremony on March 19, 2024, in New Delhi. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari served as the Chief Guest for the evening.
The 2022 awards are particularly noted for recognizing journalists who navigated the post-pandemic recovery period, uncovering deep-seated social issues and institutional scams that emerged during that time.

Ramnath Goenka Awards 2022: Featured Winners

The following journalists were recognized for their outstanding contributions across print, digital, and broadcast media for the year 2022:

Investigative & Civic Journalism

• Investigative Reporting (Print/Digital): Zoya Hussain & Hera Rizwan (TRT World) for their exposé on the alarming prevalence of hysterectomies among India’s women manual scavengers.
• Investigative Reporting (Broadcast): Andrew Amsan (The Indian Express) for his impactful report on an IAS officer who cleared a public stadium just to walk his dog—a story that sparked national debate on bureaucratic privilege.
• Civic Journalism (Prakash Kardaley Memorial Award): Azeefa Fathima, Balakrishna Ganeshan & Prajwal Bhat (The News Minute) for their exhaustive investigation into the persistent and illegal practice of manual scavenging.

Politics, Business & Regional Journalism

• Reporting on Politics and Government: Prajwal Bhat (The News Minute) for his comprehensive and nuanced coverage of the Udupi Hijab row.
• Business and Economic Journalism: Twesh Mishra (The Economic Times) for his detailed report regarding the import of “Made in China” wheels by the Indian Railways.
• Regional Languages (Print): Anand Madhusoodan Sowdi (Kannada Prabha Daily) for exposing a major recruitment/appointment scam in Karnataka.
• Regional Languages (Broadcast): Tejas Vaidya (BBC News Gujarati) for his documentary filmed in Bilkis Bano’s village, Randhikpur.

Specialized Reporting

• Uncovering India Invisible: Rupsa Chakraborty (The Indian Express) for her series on the severe socio-economic backwardness and lack of basic healthcare in the Nandurbar district.
• Environment, Science & Technology: Basant Kumar & Ayush Tiwari (Newslaundry) for their series on the slow ecological degradation and choking of the Aravalli hills.
• Hindi (Broadcast): Hridayesh Joshi (Newslaundry) for his documentary uncovering the silent crisis of arsenic contamination in groundwater.
• Feature Writing: Raj Chengappa (India Today) for his in-depth story exploring the historical truths behind why Kashmiri Pandits had to flee their homes.

Books & Photojournalism

• Books (Non-Fiction): Rahul Ramagundam for his acclaimed biography, “The Life and Times of George Fernandes”, which provides a deep look into the life of the socialist leader.
• Photojournalism: Abhinav Saha (The Indian Express) for the viral and defining image of the IAS officer using a stadium as a private walking track for his pet.