Journalists in Rajasthan have come together to launch a YouTube channel aimed at highlighting issues faced by journalists in the state and bringing instances of pressure on the media to public attention. The Rajasthan unit of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ) has decided to launch the channel, named IFWJ Rajasthan, amid growing concerns over attempts by those in power to silence the press. The decision was taken during a recent meeting. The channel will be run entirely by journalists, for journalists, with a focus on issues affecting the fraternity across the state. Speaking to Influencing India, Upendra Singh Rathode, president of the IFWJ Rajasthan unit, said, “It is high time that journalists united and spoke about the harsh realities they face day in and day out.” Rathode cited his own experience, recalling a protest he had staged against those in power that lasted 19 days. He claimed that the protest went largely unreported by publications due to fear a

  As India gears up to observe National Sports Day on August 29, a group of journalists in Jammu and Kashmir has come together to form the Jammu Sports Journalists Association (JSJA), with the aim of promoting sports and working towards the welfare of the sporting fraternity in the Union Territory. The association will seek to work with the government, sports bodies, athletes and other stakeholders to identify issues affecting the sector and suggest measures for its development. The association has described itself as a non-political and non-profit body and was formed on August 27, a day ahead of National Sports Day. Sanjeev Sharma has been appointed president, Vikas Abrol vice-president, Vishal Bharti general secretary and Monika Jamwal treasurer. Arun Roshan, Ranjit Thakur, Arun Singh Chib and K Koushal are members of the executive committee. Speaking about the need for such a platform, Bharti said sports persons and other stakeholders often approach journalists with concerns an

For decades, tea farmers in Tizit, eastern Nagaland, cultivated tea without seeing the kind of income they had hoped for. Tea farming began taking root in the area in the early 1990s, with families learning cultivation practices from neighbouring Assam. But farmers remained dependent on middlemen, had little access to government schemes and lacked direct links to tea factories. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, award-winning independent journalist Manno Wangnao began looking more closely at why growers in her hometown remained poor despite spending long hours on their plantations. The issue was personal too. Wangnao’s own family was among the early tea-growing households in the area. “We were among the first tea farmers here in 1993. My father was one of the early people to start tea farming in the area. Many others followed because they believed tea would provide a steady source of income,” she told Influencing. According to Wangnao, the decline of the loc

For members of the Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists Association (DKWJA), reporting an issue is not where the story ends, it's often where the work begins. For nearly four years, journalists associated with the organisation have taken their reporting beyond the newsroom through Gramavastavay, an annual village stay programme that brings journalists, villagers and government officials together to address local problems. Held over a day between September and October each year, the initiative involves identifying a village, understanding residents' concerns, and bringing in officials from the relevant departments to the spot. The objective is not merely to report the problems but to see whether they can be resolved. Speaking to Influencing, Pushparaj B N said journalists working across different sections of society, particularly in rural areas, are familiar with the challenges villagers face. "We journalists work across different sections of society. Those working w

Friday, 28 August 2026 #1  ·  Times Nation / Page 16  ·  Investigative / Ground report Isro to return to launch pad after hiatus, Gisat-1A lift-off on Sept 4 By Chethan Kumar   ·   The Times of India, New Delhi  ·  Page 16 Isro has received government clearance to launch Gisat-1A (EOS-05), a strategically significant Earth observation satellite, on September 4 — its first launch since the PSLV-C62 failure in January. The 2.2-tonne satellite improves on the lost Gisat-1 and will provide frequent near real-time imagery useful for agriculture, disaster management, and defence planning. The NVS-03 navigation satellite, which augments India's NavIC GPS alternative, is also cleared for launch. Chethan Kumar broke the confirmed launch date with multiple source corroboration, situating the mission within a detailed history of Gisat programme setbacks since 2020 — original reporting that goes well beyond

Web-channel journalist Deepak Bhandari allegedly died by suicide while in judicial custody at Amritsar Central Jail on Wednesday morning. He had been lodged in the jail for more than one-and-a-half years in connection with a case involving the alleged smuggling and peddling of banned medicines. According to reports, Bhandari was found hanging inside the jail. The authorities informed his family, police and the district administration following the incident. Sources said Bhandari had reportedly been under considerable stress for nearly a year, allegedly over the prolonged legal proceedings and the lack of relief in the case. His brother had been granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court a few months ago, but Bhandari himself had not received similar relief. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had named Bhandari and other members of his family as accused in the alleged peddling of banned medicines. Following his death, the police took custody of the body and initiated procee

Influencing recently held its annual TechLeaders event, where we heard from amazing vendors and keynote speakers to discuss the key technology topics in today’s landscape. Joining us today is TechDay's Sydney-based Interviews Editor David Shilovsky. Thanks for joining us here this weekend. What have you thought of TechLeaders so far? “It's been really good. I've enjoyed it a lot. Getting to know different people, networking, learning more about the industry, because I'm still quite new to Tech.” Is there a particular theme, panel or speaker that you’ve particularly been intrigued by? “PEXA, [I] really enjoyed that one. NearMap, I really enjoyed that as well. Those two probably stand out, but I would say that there weren’t any bad speakers or roundtables.  “It was all really informative. It was quite dense and quite tightly packed. A lot of information in one go”. What major Technology topics do you think w