Why is National Press Day celebrated on November 16 ?

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE – India celebrated the ‘National Press Day’ on November 16 as the Press Council of India (PCI) started functioning as a responsible body overlooking the works of the press as a whole body on this day.

The day is symbolic of a free and responsible press in India.

It is the day on which the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only the press maintains the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors.

The Press Council of India was first constituted on 4 July 1966 as an autonomous, statutory, quasi-judicial body, and it started functioning from 16 November 1966 with Justice J R Mudholkar, then a Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman.

The Press Council keeps a check on the quality of reportage provided by the Indian press. It also ensures that journalistic objectivity is not compromised due to “influence or threats of any extraneous factors.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets media

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted media on National Press Day, which is commemorated every year on November 16, and appreciated their contribution to make India a democratic country.

Press Council of India

The stated objectives were “to help newspapers maintain their independence” and to “lower the standards” through a code of conduct, maintaining “highest professional standards” and “low standards of public taste”. However, after internal emergency in 1975 , the Council functions under the Press Council Act 1978 which arose from the recommendations of the Second Press Commission of India (1978) which argued, among other things, for a “cordial relationship between the government and the press”.

The Council is funded by revenue collected by it as fees levied on the registered newspapers in the country on the basis of their circulation. No fee is levied on newspapers with a circulation of less than 5000 copies. The deficit is made good by grants by the Central Government, through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Complaint against a newspaper

A complaint against a newspaper for any publication the complainant finds objectionable and affecting him personally, or for non-publication of any material, should first be taken up with the editor or other representative of the publication concerned.