Dipti Raut, journalist at Dainik Bhaskar Group’s Marathi newspaper Divya Marathi, has won the first prize in The Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting 2025 on 16 September 2026.
Dipti received the award at a ceremony in Kolkata, where NABARD President Purushottam Kumar Bhardwaj presented the honour.
Raut won for her ground report from Nandurbar in northern Maharashtra, which highlighted how women in remote tribal areas were still relying on traditional male birth attendants for childbirth despite government schemes for maternal safety.
Her report documented childbirths being conducted using arrowheads, bamboo sticks and blades.
It also reported instances of women being given mahua liquor to cope with labour pain, while healthcare facilities remained difficult to access in remote areas.
An excerpt from Divya Marathi showing Dipti’s report.
The report highlighted the gap between government spending on maternal healthcare and the reality faced by women in tribal communities.
It also pointed out that some of these practices continued close to government health facilities.
Following the report, the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and issued notices to the Maharashtra government.
The Maharashtra Health Minister also ordered an investigation into the issue.
This is the second consecutive year that a Dainik Bhaskar journalist has won the top honour in The Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting.
Last year, Rajasthan-based Bhaskar journalist Vijaypal Dudi received the award.
