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Press Council of India operates at half strength
It is observed that the Press Council of India (PCI) operates at half its sanctioned strength for nearly a year now and without a single working journalist or newspaper editor. The observation brings focus on PCI’s statutory status, composition, and powers under the Press Council Act, 1978.
Press Council of India:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Status and legal basis | The Press Council of India is a statutory, quasi-judicial, autonomous authority, re-established in 1979 under the Press Council Act, 1978. |
| Objectives | The Press Council of India provides for two objectives: preserving the freedom of the press; maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. |
| Chairman | The Chairman, typically a retired Supreme Court judge, is nominated by a committee comprising the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and an elected representative from the 28 members. |
| Member composition: working journalists | Of the 28 members, 13 represent working journalists, comprising 6 editors and 7 other working journalists, other than editors of newspapers. |
| Member composition: newspaper owners or managers | 6 members represent newspaper owners or managers, with 2 each from large, medium, and small newspapers. |
| Member composition: news agency | One member comes from the news agency sector. |
| Member composition: Parliament representatives | The Press Council of India comprises 5 representatives from Parliament: 3 nominated by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and 2 by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. |
| Member composition: education, law, and literature | 3 members representing education, law, and literature are nominated by the University Grants Commission, the Bar Council of India, and the Sahitya Akademi. |
| Powers | The Press Council of India authorises functions including: helping newspapers to maintain their independence; building up a code of conduct for journalists and newspapers according to high professional standards; reviewing developments likely to restrict the supply and dissemination of news of public interest and importance; reviewing cases of foreign-source assistance received by any newspaper or news agency in India as referred by the Central Government; adjudicating complaints against the Press for violation of journalistic ethics or by the Press for interference with its freedom. |