Awards
Star India, Zee & Wizcraft partner Press Club for Redink Awards
MUMBAI: India’s premiere Experiential Marketing and Event Management company, Wizcraft International Entertainment, has partnered with Mumbai Press Club as the official event partner five years in a row for RedInk Awards.
Star India is the Presenting Partner for Mumbai Press Club RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2017, while Aditya Birla Group, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zee Entertainment, Eros International, Indiabulls Housing, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, National Stock Exchange, Nanavati Hospital and JSW Steel are the Award Partners. The Hindu Group and Facebook are the media partners.
In its 5th year of partnership with Mumbai Press Club’s Redink Awards, Wizcraft yet again creates a memorable event, right delivering the on-ground execution and management of the event.
The RedInk Awards have been instituted to promote noble practices among journalists and encourage good quality writing, fair play and high ethical standards. Mumbai Press Club’s The RedInk Awards have been created to raise the bar of news and feature writing in India and to encourage fair play and high ethical standards in media and are the only national recognition for good journalism instituted by a professional body.
The much-awaited Award for Excellence in Indian event in the personal calendar of journalists were presented on Wednesday evening at a glittering awards night here at NCPA with veteran journalist Vinod Dua being conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Raj Kamal Jha the Journalist of the Year Award.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was the chief guest for the RedInk awards night, said that he does not buy the argument that there is a threat to the fourth estate. “Constructive journalism always has its own value and at the same time we are open to criticism,” he said, narrating his own experience since he took over as the Chief Minister. “Tolerance is in the blood of Indians…India traditionally had been a tolerant society,” he said, adding “Our democracy is very strong and it has survived turbulence in the past. The democratic system evolves and corrects itself.”
On this occasion, Mumbai Press Club felicitated Fadnavis, who played a yeoman’s role in ensuring the passage of the state Journalist Protection Act.
The Lifetime Achievement Award has been bestowed on Vinod Dua for his extensive and versatile contribution to journalism in different formats and subjects. He was among the country’s first psephologists, co-anchoring election analysis programs alongside Dr Prannoy Roy on Doordarshan. Dua continues to be an active journalist today as Contributing Editor of The WireHindi.com and anchors a popular news show called ‘Jan Gan Man Ki Baat’ on the digital platform.
The RedInk Award for the ‘Journalist of the Year’ 2017 given to Raj Kamal Jha, Chief Editor of the Indian Express, for providing exemplary stewardship over the last couple of years to the newspaper; and for providing focus and restoring what it has always been known best for – investigative journalism. Jha also led from the front to make Indian Express part of an international investigative team that cracked the global money laundering scam known as ‘The Panama Papers’.
“This award belongs to the Indian Express, the entire team,” said Raj Kamal Jha, the Chief Editor of Indian Express, who received the prestigious ‘Journalist of the year’ for the overall coverage of ”The Panama papers’. He said that receiving the award on 7 June is unique for him as on 7 June, 1996, he had joined the Indian Express. “For us what is important is a good story…and sometimes when we see a good piece from a youngster, we feel that we could not have written it that way,” he said expressing hope that good journalism has a bright future.
Winners of Redink Awards 2017
POLITICS
Print – Radhakrishnan Rariyam Kandath, Frontline
TV – Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV
SCIENCE & INNOVATION
Print – Nithyanand Rao & Virat Markandeya, The Wire
TV – Aamir Rafiq Peerzada, NDTV
HUMAN RIGHTS
Print – Ipsita Chakravarty & Rayan Naqash, Scroll.in
TV – Joint Winners, Abhisar Sharma, ABP News & Maya Mirchandani, NDTV
BUSINESS
Print – Sarika Malhotra, Business Today
TV – Archana Shukla, CNBC TV 18
BIG PICTURE
Winner – Ashish Sharma, Open Magazine
Runner Up – Kunal Pradeep Patil, Hindustan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Print
Joint Winner Tushar Dhara, Sanjay Sawant, Shraddha Ghatge & Neeradh Pandaripande, First Post
Raj Narain Mishra, Dainik Jagran
TV – Rajesh Kumar, India News
SPORTS
Print – Swaroop Swaminathan, The New Indian Express
TV – Joint Winner, Moumita Sen, India Today TV & Rajeev Mishra, India News
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Print – Priyanka Vora, Scroll.in
TV – Archana Shukla, CNBC TV 18
CRIME
Print – Alia Allana, Fountain Ink
TV – Atir Khan, India Today TV
LIFESTYLE & ENTERTAINMENT
Print – Kathakali Chanda, Forbes India
TV – Biju Pankaj, Mathrubhumi News
SPECIAL IMPACT AWARD – Rahul Kulkarni, ABP Maza
MUMBAI STAR REPORTER – Govind Tupe, Sakal
JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – Raj Kamal Jha, Indian Express
LIFETIME ACHIVEMENT – Vinod Dua
Awards
Ajay Kakar to chair jury for ad:tech Honours Awards 2026
Industry leaders join jury as nominations surge for marketing tech awards
NEW DELHI: The ad:tech Honours Awards 2026 are gearing up for a bigger second edition, with Ajay Kakar, head of corporate branding at Adani Group, set to chair the jury for India’s technology-focused marketing awards.
Organised in partnership with the International Advertising Association India Chapter, the awards celebrate the growing influence of technology in shaping modern advertising and marketing outcomes. This year’s edition has drawn a strong response from across the industry, signalling rising momentum around innovation in marketing technology.
The organisers say the nominations reflect a wide range of ideas and approaches, highlighting how brands and agencies are increasingly leaning on platforms, tools and data to sharpen their campaigns and connect with audiences more effectively.
Leading the evaluation process, Kakar will head a jury made up of senior leaders from across brands, agencies and technology platforms.
The jury panel includes Amaresh Godbole, CEO, digital technology business at Publicis Groupe; Bishwajeet S, head of marketing and PR at Volkswagen India; Carol Goyal, executive director at Rediffusion and CEO of Aesthetic Intelligence Lab; Kushal Sanghvi, director at Komerz; Lara Balsara, executive director at Madison World; Rana Barua, group CEO India, sea and North Asia; Deepak Oram, senior vice president growth marketing and martech; and Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi, head of marketing and creative solutions at Amazon Ads India.
The ad:tech Honours Awards aim to recognise not just creative campaigns but the smart use of technology that delivers measurable impact and business results. Categories this year reflect the rapidly evolving digital landscape, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, data-driven marketing, content ecosystems, automation, martech and adtech integration, and commerce-led marketing.
The winners will be announced on 17 March 2026 at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi during ad:tech New Delhi 2026. The event is expected to bring together leaders from brands, agencies, platforms, creators and technology partners for an evening celebrating the ideas and innovations shaping the future of marketing.iconductor industries.
