Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday stressed the importance of independent judiciary and media for the progress of a democracy, and said that among all institutions, the media suffered the biggest problem of crisis of credibility.
The Road Transport and Highways Minister was addressing a gathering at IIM Nagpur Media Conclave 2026 on the theme of 'Media, Leadership and the New World Order '.Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of the Press Trust of India (PTI) Vijay Joshi, Editorial Director at Business Standard A K Bhattacharya, and Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Blitz India Media Group Deepak Dwivedi were among those present at the event.
"India is the mother of democracy and it is the largest democracy in the world," Gadkari said.
Seeking a qualitative transformation in democracy, he said, "The Constitution has very clearly specified the responsibilities of the four pillars of democracy, that is legislature, executive, judiciary and media. Independent, impartial and fair judiciary and media are very important for the progress and development of a democracy."
Politics and  political parties are the biggest strength of a democracy, he said.
"There can be differences of opinion or ideological differences, but there should be commitment towards one's ideology," the veteran politician said.He also made a pitch for raising public awareness on social, economic, educational issues in order to strengthen democracy."Awareness among people about democracy and democratic values, and commitment of people with democratic values and ideology are very important," he said.
Credibility, goodwill and honesty are the biggest capitals of the 21st century for all sectors, Gadkari noted.
"Credibility has deteriorated in all sectors, but credibility in media has gone down very badly," he said, while also noting that not all media houses have lost their credibility.
Sharing his experiences, he said, "Newspapers and media houses used to say that they will decide who will win the elections, but now social media has changed that trajectory.""Crisis of credibility is there in all sectors, including politics, but crisis of credibility is the biggest problem in the media sector," he said, and urged media to think about restoring credibility.
Gadkari said those who have credibility do not need to market themselves.The minister advised journalists to write in the interest of people, society and country, and said they should reach out to the common man with qualitative transformation.Like any good work, good journalism is also recognised, he said.
In the coming times, those who safeguard their credibility as well as basic values of the profession will survive, according to him.He urged the media to work towards strengthening democracy, protecting social and national interests and transforming knowledge, and said these things will also help in making India a ''vishwa guru" (world leader).
Speaking on the occasion, Director of IIM Nagpur, Dr Bhimaraya Metri, said today's youth will play an important role in the development of the nation.Managing Director of Lloyds Metals & Energy Metals, B Prabhakaran, said the world was looking at India as a nation of young population, start-ups and largest market.He also highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship and self-reliance.