India Currents rocked the 2025 California News Publishers Association (CNPA) excellence in journalism awards with a record haul of 11 top honors. At a gala held at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City Hotel on Saturday, May 17, eighteen India Currents writers won awards for their outstanding work in 11 categories for Division 7. The CNPA awards recognize newsrooms across California for their work in informing and enlightening readers through reporting, design, photography, and multimedia in print and online.
The India Currents Editorial Team scored awards for three categories: our brand new home page layout, public service, and audience engagement.
Top Honors
Home Page Layout & Design – 1st Place
Film & TV Writing
- 1st Place
Amann Mahajan: Hasan Minhaj – ‘Off With His Head’
Photojournalism – 2nd Place
Sree Sripathy: Boys Can Learn Bharatanatyam Too, Says Orinda High Schooler Avya Poddatoori
Religion & Faith Writing – 2nd Place
Journeys of Faith
Partha Sircar: A Toe Bone Leads To My Unified Theory of Hindu Mythology and Anthropology
Vijay Rajvaidya: Walking Through The Rann Of Kutch: A Journey Of Faith & Fitness
Pradeep Deshpande: A Chemical Engineer Learns New Lessons From The Bhagavad Gita
Feature Story – 3rd Place
This Indian American Life
Ritu Marwah: The Bulgari Mangalsutra
Shalini Kathuria Narang: Navigating Diwali & Halloween This Fall
Shabnam Arora Afsah: This July 4th, An Indian American Asks, “Why Am I Questioning My Identity Now?”
Audience/Community Engagement Award – 3rd place
Election 2024: In Language Voter Guides
Meera Kymal & Prachi Singh
Honorable Mentions
Artistic Photo – 4th place
Sree Sripathy:
A Bay Area Trans Rights Activist Talks About South Asian Identity and Gender Fluidity In The US
Editorial Comment – 4th place
Indian American Voices
Avatans Kumar: Kamala Chitti’s Uphill Battle Courting Indian American Voters
Vignesh Ramachandran: Everyone Code Switches – Even You!
Ashwin Murthy: The Paradox Of Indian Americans Who Lean Left In The US, But Right In India
In Depth Reporting – 5th Place
Asian Indians Redefine Aging In America
Meera Kymal: ‘Leaving A Legacy Like A Dewdrop On A Lotus Leaf’
Immigration Reporting – 5th Place
Immigration: The American Dream & Nightmares
Harshini Rajchander: How Do Ballot Measures Affect Working Immigrant Communities?
Anjana Nagarajan Butaney: Indians, The Third Largest Group Of Illegal Immigrants, Add To Border Crisis
Shabnam Arora Afsah: 1.1 Million Indian Immigrants Face 134-Year Wait For Green Card
Public Service Journalism – 5th Place
Election 2024-Desis on the Ballot
India Currents Editorial Team: Meera Kymal, Snigdha Sen, Nandita Bose, Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney, Prachi Singh & Tanay Gokhale
Writing
Mukund Acharya: Life’s Third Act: The New Frontier
Panels
India Currents publisher Vandana Kumar moderated a panel, ‘Turning Newspapers into Successful Nonprofits,’ which explored case studies on successful transitions and offered insights and practical guidance on creating sustainable models for local journalism.
Audience Engagement Editor Prachi Singh moderated a panel called Newsletter Growth – How We Did It, which examined strategic approaches behind driving newsletter growth from industry leaders related to content personalization, audience engagement techniques, and building loyal subscriber bases.
