Mumbai, October 16, 2026: Media & PR Folks (MPRF) has announced the winners of the inaugural MPRF Community Awards 2026, recognising public relations professionals and their work across multiple industry sectors. The awards celebrate excellence in public relations and communications, highlighting the strategic thinking, creativity and execution that contribute to building brands, strengthening reputations and engaging stakeholders.
The inaugural edition recognises five professionals for their work across startups, banking and financial services, real estate and infrastructure, lifestyle and entertainment, and healthcare. The winners include Piyush Tewari of Concept PR India Ltd, Hemali Bist of MSL India, Kavita Pandey of Passion 4 Communication, Anuja Choudhary of WizSPK Communication and PR, and Manjunath N of Hashtag Consulting.
Piyush Tewari has been recognised in the Startups & Disruptors category for work associated with Slice; Hemali Bist in the BFSI category for VISA; Kavita Pandey in the Real Estate & Infrastructure category for Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited; Anuja Choudhary in the Lifestyle, Luxury & Entertainment category for the International Film Festival Delhi (IFFD) 2026; and Manjunath N in the Healthcare & Pharma category for the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedics.
Commenting on the inaugural edition, Kunal Gupta, Founder of Media & PR Folks, said, “The MPRF Community Awards were conceptualised to recognise the people behind impactful public relations work and celebrate the contribution they make to brands, businesses and society. The inaugural edition marks an important step towards building a culture of recognition within the PR fraternity. We hope these awards encourage professionals to continue pushing boundaries, bringing fresh thinking to communications and setting higher benchmarks for the industry.”
Vinay Maurya, Founding Member of Media & PR Folks, added, “Public relations is a strategic function that goes well beyond media visibility. It involves building credibility, shaping perceptions, managing stakeholder relationships and creating lasting value for organisations. Through the MPRF Community Awards, we want to celebrate the professionals who bring these efforts to life and provide a platform for their work to be recognised by the wider industry. We see the inaugural edition as the beginning of a long-term initiative to celebrate excellence and strengthen the PR community.”
The awards feature categories spanning technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, banking and financial services, real estate and infrastructure, lifestyle, luxury and entertainment, startups and disruptors, and crisis communication. Designed as a jury-driven initiative, the awards seek to recognise professional work across the varied disciplines of public relations and communications.
The MPRF Community Awards form part of Media & PR Folks’ broader efforts to bring together public relations professionals, encourage industry engagement and celebrate achievements within the communications fraternity. With the inaugural edition, MPRF aims to establish a continuing platform for recognising the people and work contributing to the evolution of the profession.
About Media & PR Folks : – Media & PR Folks (MPRF) https://www.linkedin.com/company/mediaandprfolks is a professional community of over 15,000 members from the public relations and communications fraternity across India. The platform brings together professionals from agencies, brands and diverse industry sectors, fostering networking, knowledge exchange, collaboration and professional engagement. Through industry initiatives, community interactions and recognition programmes such as the MPRF Community Awards, MPRF aims to celebrate professional excellence, strengthen industry connections and highlight the evolving role of public relations in brand building, reputation management and stakeholder engagement.
