Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L. Murugan presented the 8^th National Photography awards in New Delhi today.

A total of 13 awards were presented comprising of one Lifetime Achievement Award with cash prize of Rs.3,00,000; one award each in Professional Photographer of the Year category and Amateur Photographer of the Year category with cash prize of Rs.1,00,000 and Rs.75,000 respectively; and 5 Special Mention Awards in both Professional and Amateur categories with cash prize of Rs.50,000/- and Rs.30,000/- each respectively.

Ms Sipra Das was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award. Professional Photographer of the year Award was given to Shri Sasi Kumar Ramachandran while Shri Arun Saha won the Amateur Photographer of the Year award. A total of thirteen awards were presented during the ceremony today including 6 each in the Professional and Amateur category. The theme for the Professional category was “Life and Water”, while in the Amateur category the theme was “Cultural Heritage of India”.

Speaking on the occasion, at the very onset, Dr Murugan congratulated all the award winners and acknowledged that the winners come from diverse professional backgrounds but what binds them is their passion for photography. These awards recognize the extraordinary talent and outstanding capabilities of these photographers, he added.

The Minister further said that photography is a universal visual language, a language that transcends time and space, it documents the present and offers a window to look into the distant past. Photographs don’t lie and will always speak the truth of every action and emotion. The Minister recalled the contribution photographs have played in immortalizing the freedom movement and its leaders. Today we recall these photographs as we celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, he added.

Dr Murugan commended the photographers for their dedication to the profession and their innate urge to tell their stories. Photographers can lend weight to facts, figures and statements as well as tear away masks of falsehoods and fakeness, he said. Our brilliant photographers can play a critical role in raising awareness about our rich and unique cultural heritage and introduce our cultural capital to the world, he further added.

Earlier the Minister inaugurated a photo exhibition at the venue. A special brochure was also released by the dignitaries on the occasion.

Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Shri Apurva Chandra, while speaking on the occasion said that the National Photography Awards are an effort to nurture the immense effort made by the photographers of the country. Shri Chandra recommended that government flagship schemes can be included as a category of awards in future.

Shri Vijay Kranti, Chairman of Jury for the awards informed the audience that a total of 9 entries were received for Lifetime Achievement Award while 12 were entered in the category on recommendation of Jury members. He further informed that 462 entries with a total of 4,535 images were received for the Professional category. These entries were received from 21 States and 4 Union Territories. In the Amateur category, 874 entries with 6,838 images were received from 24 States and 6 Union Territories.

Winners of the 8^th National Photography Awards

1. Lifetime Achievement Award

• Ms Sipra Das

2. Professional Photographer of the Year Award

• Shri Sasi Kumar Ramachandran

3. Special Mention Awards in the Professional category

• Shri Dipjyoti Banik
• Shri Manish Kumar Chauhan
• Shri R S Gopakumar
• Shri Sudipto Das
• Shri Umesh Harishchandra Nikam

4. Amateur Photographer of the Year Award

• Shri Arun Saha

5.  Special Mention Awards in the Amateur category

• Shri C S Sreeranj
• Dr Mohit Wadhawan
• Shri Ravishankar S L
• Shri Subhadip Bose
• Shri Tharun Adurugatla

               Members of the Jury for 8^th National Photography Awards

• Shri Vijay Kranti, Chairman
• Shri Jagdish Yadav, Member
• Shri Ajay Aggarwal, Member
• Shri K. Madhavan Pillai, Member
• Ms. Ashima Narain, Member, and
• Shri Sanjiv Misra, Photographic Officer, Photo Division, Member Secretary.

Saurabh Singh