Prasoon Joshi felicitated at Goafest 2026 on Prasar Bharati appointment

GOA: India’s advertising world had reason to celebrate at Goafest 2026. The industry came together to felicitate Prasoon Joshi on his appointment as chairman of Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcaster, a role he will hold alongside his existing position as chairman of Omnicom Advertising India.

The honour, conferred by the Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club, which jointly organise Goafest, recognised Joshi’s decades-long contribution to Indian advertising, cinema, literature and public communication. A Padma Shri awardee, he has also previously served as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification and is the author of several books.

For an industry that has long regarded Joshi as one of its most distinctive voices, the appointment to Prasar Bharati carries weight beyond the personal. It signals a rare convergence of creative credibility and public purpose at an institution that has often struggled to find either.

Accepting the felicitation, Joshi was characteristically measured. “Recognition from one’s own fraternity is always special,” he said. “The advertising industry has shaped and continues to sharpen my understanding of people, culture and storytelling. Prasar Bharati now offers the privilege of applying that understanding in the service of the nation and a larger public purpose.”

Industry leaders present pointed to his ability to move fluidly across advertising, governance and culture as what sets him apart. Few in Indian communication can claim as broad a canvas.

The question now is what he does with it. Prasar Bharati, long seen as creaking and underleveraged, could use exactly the kind of storytelling instinct Joshi has spent a career building. The industry has given him its blessing. The rest is up to him.