MUMBAI: Transparency International India, an international NGO with support from the Oberoi Group has instituted the first MS Oberoi Awards aimed at recognising and rewarding journalists for outstanding stories exposing corruption in India.

Varghese K George from Indian Express and Rohit Khanna from CNN-IBN won The Gold Award. The Silver Awards were shared by ML Narsimha Reddy of the Telugu Daily Eenadu, and Samudra Gupta Kashyap of the Indian Express in the Print category and by Saurabh Shukla of Aaj Tak and Siddhartha Gautam of CNN-IBN in the Electronic category.
The jury comprised o B G Verghese, Harsh Mander, Justice Leila Seth, Vinod K Bakshi and Arun Duggal.

Verghese said, "While shortlisting the entries and selecting the winners, the jury has given weightage to stories that have direct and significant effect on development, progress, human rights violation or public interest. Also the impact and significance of such disclosures and the risks and challenges countered by the journalist in breaking the story were among the factors taken into consideration in making the final decision."

Announcing the awards Transparency International India chairman Tahiliani said, "Transparency International aims to increase the level of accountability and transparency of government institutions, elected representatives and the government. In a democratic society all citizens need to take a stand against corruption and must therefore be well informed. The electronic and print media have played a vital role in generating awareness through their reach."

The Oberoi Group chairmans P R S Obero added, "Journalists, who often at substantial personal risk, investigate and expose corrupt practices deserve applause, recognition and encouragement. The Rai Bahadur M.S. Oberoi Media Awards are an effort to demonstrate our admiration for these compelling tales of courage, character and integrity. I would like to congratulate the winners for their exemplary zeal, which if relentlessly pursued by all of us, has the potential of making India a better place to live in and do business with."

The presentations will be made on 11 January in New Delhi.