News Broadcasting
DD must forge own identity, exhorts Sarma at DD Awards night
MUMBAI: National broadcaster Doordarshan was out in full strength on Saturday at the Goregeon Sports Club in Mumbai to honour and award its own.
Information and Broadcast minister RS Prasad, the chief guest for the evening, addressed the audience and spoke about the advantages and the reach of DD. Also present were Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chagan Bhujbal and Prasar Bharati chairman MV Kamath. Attended by the whos who of the television industry, the DD Awards were hosted by actors Sachin Pilgaonkar and Gauri Karnik (of Sur fame).
There were some glittering and foot stamping performances by bhangra King Gurudas Mann, singers Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan and KK. Prasar Bharati chief executive KS Sarma gave away the special award for leading financial saving to HP Pritampura. The administrative awards for the NE zone went to DK Sharma and from the east zone it went to Ratan Kanti Dey from DDK Kolkata.
Sarma later addressed the audience and said, “No one is weak or powerful in the Prasar Bharti team. We have to keep going and reach greater heights.” He also congratulated the winners and thanked Bhujbal for giving the slogan Doordarshan Desh Ki Dhadkan for the pubcaster. He said, ‘DD aims to communicate with the people. At present we are lagging far behind. We hope to improve and the organization is looking forward to it. All television channels are facing stiff competition. DD has to keep up the national name and not ape others. We have to keep our own identity in the rat race,” he stressed.
Noted film maker Pahlaj Nihalani gave away the awards for the best promo award to Suchandra Chowdhary (Kolkata). The award for the best sound was bagged by Sanjay Rane (Mumbai). The best editing awards went to Pawan Mahinya and Virendra (Jalandhar).
Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPAA) president Smita Thackeray awarded the best graphics award to Bharat Bhusan. The best screenplay award went to Sharan Birajdar. Veteran actor Parikshit Sahani gave the award for the best Art direction to Goraknath Kadu. The best cinematography award was jointly shared by Raj Shekhar and Uday Nayak.
Dainik Bhaskar Group chairman Girish Agarwal handed the best wildlife and environment programme award to Anand Sujal (Jaipur). The best science and technology programme award was bagged by Ajay Sharma (Jaipur). TAM India CEO L V Krishnan gave away the award for the best agricultural programme to Rajshekharan.
Renowned gazal singer Talat Aziz awarded the best sports programme award to BS Bickey (Jalandhar). The live event OB award was jointly bagged by Bickey and Amarjeet. The best award for the animation programme was yet again jointly shared by the Kamal Gulati – Bhagwan Rao duo and Ram Awtaar Sharma. Singer Ila Arun awarded Kalpana Parida with the best childrens programme. The best youth programme of the year was jointly shared by KK Bohra (Jaipur) and MS Gunsheelan (Bangalore).
Veteran actor Tabassum who started her career with Doordarshan way back in 1972 when the pubcaster opened its Mumbai office gave away the next set of awards. She said, “I am proud of my association with Doordarshan. My talk show Phool Khile Hai Gulshan Gulshan was on air for almost 21 years. Its probably the longest any show has run on any channel ever.” Tabassum gave the best womens programme award to Champa Panjikar (Goa) and the best documentary award to E Sethumadhavan (Thiruvanthapuram) and Tapas Mitra (Port Blair). Yesteryears comedian Jagdeep handed the best music programme to Surendra Sharma (Delhi). The best innovative programme went to Prabhitangru Das (Agartala). TB Singh (Imphal) and Padmavathi bagged the best dance programme award.
SAB TVs vice chairman and managing director Markand Adhikari gave the best docudrama award to TM Sarangi and the best soap opera to Pankaj Chauchna (Ahmedabad) for her soap Ek Dal Na Pankhi. The award for the best film based programme was bagged by Sharad Dutt (Delhi) for the programme Living Legend Dev Anand. Adhikari said, “DD reaches over eight crore (80 million) homes in the country. According to TAM data the recently launched DD News channel has grabbed higher TRPs than any other satellite news channel. One of our serial which is being aired on DD is going to finish 1,500 episodes soon. With this it will enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest running serial. It could have been only possible on DD.”
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
