“When more debates are held on TV than in parliament…”, says Aroon Purie

Stressing the importance of the media in today's India, Aroon Purie, Founder Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The India Today Group, said, "A free press is essential for our democracy, especially when democracy is not functioning so well...when more debates are held on television than in Parliament."

Purie received the Lifetime Contribution to Media Award at the recently concluded Managing India Awards.

Accepting the Managing India Award, Purie said that he was delighted to receive the award at this particular time because the media has become the whipping boy for everyone and everyone blames all ills of the society on the media. "We're not perfect. Bad apples exist in every industry and profession. Aren't there bad apples in business and bureaucracy?" he said.

Purie expressed worry about the epidemic of fake news, and the potential of AI to make it worse. "Truth is in danger of becoming an endangered species...journalists have to step up and do their job honestly," he said.

RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, received the Lifetime Contribution Award.

Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies took the Corporate Citizen Award. All awardees were joined by their spouses during the presentation of trophies.

Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa, presented the Managing India Awards at the Golden Jubilee National Management Convention in New Delhi.

The citations for the awards were read by Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Enterprise, Rajiv Makhni, television show host, and Nandita Das, renowned cinema actor and director.

Bhargava said that the award was somewhat an anomaly because when he joined Maruti, he knew nothing about management. He credited his colleagues for teaching him management. "Individuals can never achieve. All achievements are collective," he said.

In her acceptance speech, Nilekani said, "We live in complex and challenging times. We need to cultivate empathy, self-restraint and charity to create a successful samaaj, a safe harbour for our children and grandchildren."

Opening the awards ceremony, AIMA President Shrinivas Dempo brought attention to the focus of the 50th National Management Convention and emphasised that India needed to raise its thinking and action to the next level. "The new India needs a new dream - a dream of being a country with high standards of living for every Indian, a dream of being an evolved country that offers the world new models of economy, democracy, governance, technology and culture," he said.

Nikhil Sawney, Senior Vice-President, AIMA thanked Kant for presenting the awards and congratulated the winners. "Each one of you is special and each one of you has made a transformative contribution in a critical sector of the Indian economy," he told the awardees.

Sudhir Jalan, Co-Chairman, Rieter India, introduced the awards and complimented the jury for its excellent selection of awardees.

The awards ceremony was live-streamed on AIMA's social media channels.

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