Bhubaneswar: Pratidin Editor Sudhir Kumar Panda and Puri Lok Sabha MP Sambit Patra were among the nine persons nominated by the Centre as members to the Press Council of India (PCI) under the provisions of the Press Council Act, 1978, official sources said Wednesday.
The nominations, published in the Gazette of India December 2, 2025 through notification number 5372, came after an amendment to a December 2024 notification (SO 5509(E)) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The notification confirms the insertion of six members under the category – Members from among persons who own/carry on the business of management of newspapers – nominated under clause (b) of sub-section (3) of section 5 of the Act. “Sudhir Kumar Panda of Pratidin (Odisha), MV Shreyams Kumar of Mathrubhumi (Kerala), Gurinder Singh of Indian Observer (New Delhi), Arun Kumar Tripathi of Jan Express (UP), Arti Tripathi of Jai Pradesh (UP) and Braj Mohan Sharma of Gulabi Halchal (Jaipur) have been nominated as PCI members under the category,” the notification said.
Similarly, the notification also confirms the insertion of three members under the category – Members of Parliament – nominated under clause (e) of sub-section (3) of section 5 of the Act. “Naresh Ganpat Mhaske from Maharashtra, Kali Charan Munda from Jharkhand and Sambit Patra from Odisha have been nominated as PCI members under the category,” added the notification.