<span style="color: #222222;">Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will inaugurate National Press Day celebrations in New Delhi on Friday.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Briefing media on Thursday evening, Press Council of India chairman CK Prasad said the winners of National Awards for Excellence in Journalism will be honoured on the occasion. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Eminent journalist and Chairman of the Hindu Publishing Group, N Ram has been selected under prestigious award category of Raja Ram Mohan Roy award. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Ruby Sarkar, Chief Correspondent of Deshbandhu, Bhopal and Rajesh Joshte of Daily Pudhari in Ratnagiri will share the award in category of Rural Journalism. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mr Prasad said the selection of the awardees was carried out by a jury comprising eminent working journalists, and senior editors, among others. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Delegates from neighbouring Press Councils of SAARC countries – Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives will be present on the occasion. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The inaugural function will also include the release of a souvenir.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">National Press Day is symbolic of a free and responsible press in India. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">It was on this day that the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">PCI has been mandated by Parliament to improve the standards of journalism and maintain its freedom. </span><br />''