Nagesh Hegde

  • Visiting Professor

Nagesh Hegde was an Assistant Editor with Prajavani, a leading Kannada daily and a widely respected writer on environmental issues. He has handled important assignments for the newspaper, besides being deputed to cover the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro.

Hegde has a Master’s Degree from IIT Kharagpur and an M.Phil from JNU in Environmental Sciences from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In fact, he was among the first batch of students to get a degree in Environmental Sciences in India. He was also the first to be appointed as an Assistant Professor to teach Environmental Geoscience in Kumaon University, Nainital.

Hegde’s work on India’s iron ore export was debated in the Indian Parliament just prior to the infamous Emergency. During the heyday of environmental movements in Karnataka, Hegde’s writings were cited frequently and many of his articles have become textbook lessons. He has also travelled in the US, UK, Italy, Portugal, Kenya and many East Asian countries attending environmental conferences. His column on science and environment in Prajavani is currently running its 38th year, the longest running one in Kannada. He has written more than 40 books and  has  worked for popularising science among rural communities.

Hegde has won many literary and environmental awards including the “Outstanding Environmental Journalist” award by the PRSI (Public Relations Society of India) and recently  a national award for children’s literature too.

At IIJNM, Mr Hegde not only teaches Developmental Journalism, Environmental Reporting, but also Health and Rural Reporting.