Rana Ayyub honored with highest Press Freedom award of US, becomes first Indian to achieve feat
Says “there is no free press in India anymore” in powerful acceptance speech
New York: Indian journalist Rana Ayyub was on Wednesday received the prestigious John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award at the 2022 Fourth Estate Award Gala.
The award is conferred by the National Press Club of Washington DC and is the club’s highest honor of Press Freedom.
This year’s Aubuchon #pressfreedom international honoree is Rana Ayyub! She is an investigative journalist living in India and a Washington Post Global Opinions contributor, the NPC Journalist Institute wrote in its tweet.
“We are pleased to name Rana Ayyub the 2022 John Aubuchon Award International Honoree. Ms. Ayyub’s courage and skill in investigative work has been evident throughout her distinguished career and her criticism of the government has been met with an unwelcome assault on her rights and freedom of expression.” National Press Club President Jen Judson and National Press Club Journalism Institute President Gil Klein had said earlier this year while announcing Rana Ayyub’s name for the award.
Ayyub after her name was announced in July 2022, dedicated the award to her colleagues who are lying in different prisons across the country. “Dedicating this to my colleagues Mohd. Zubair, Siddique Kappan, and Asif Sultan incarcerated for speaking truth to power,” she had said.
In her acceptance speech on Wednesday, Rana Ayyub said that there is no free press in India anymore. “I’m here, trying to feel less alone at a time I feel very lonely” she added in her speech.
"I happen to be a Muslim & a woman. How dare I speak? ... Thank you for making me feel less alone & isolated." She further added.
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Swiggy IPO makes 500 employees 'crorepatis'; unlocks Rs 9,000 cr worth of ESOPs
New Delhi, Nov 13: Swiggy's much-anticipated stock market debut on Wednesday catapulted over 500 current and former employees to the "crorepati" club, with the food delivery and quick commerce major's listing poised to unlock Rs 9,000 crore in ESOPs for 5,000 staffers, people aware of the details said.
Swiggy's initial share sale had a price range of Rs 371-390 a share.
"The total Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) pool is worth Rs 9,000 crore, with 5,000 past as well as present employees holding them. At the upper price range of the initial share price (Rs 390), 500 employees out of the 5,000 are set to become crorepatis," a person in the know shared the details requesting anonymity.
On Wednesday, shares of Swiggy were listed with a premium of nearly 8 per cent against the issue price of Rs 390 on NSE.
Shares of the firm made the market debut at Rs 420, a jump of 7.69 per cent on the bourse.
The stock on the BSE was listed at Rs 412, a jump of 5.64 per cent from the issue price. Later, it surged 7.67 per cent to Rs 419.95.
The company's market valuation stood at Rs 89,549.08 crore during the early trade.
The Rs 11,327-crore initial public offer of Swiggy was fully subscribed on the final day of the share sale on Friday, ending with 3.59 times subscription.
The company's IPO (Initial Public Offering) had a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 4,499 crore, along with an Offer-For-Sale (OFS) of Rs 6,828 crore.
Going by the draft papers, the company plans to utilise proceeds from the fresh issue for investing in technology and cloud infrastructure; brand marketing and business promotion; and debt payment; and funds will also be allocated for inorganic growth and general corporate purposes.
