Senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Dr Pragya Paliwal Gaur has been elevated to the rank of Principal Director General (Pr DG), following the temporary upgradation of a Director General-level post by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
The upgraded post carries the Apex Scale, or Level 17 of the Pay Matrix, and the elevation has been approved as a measure personal to Dr Gaur. The upgrade will remain effective until her superannuation on July 31, 2027.
A 1991-batch IIS officer, Dr Gaur has more than 34 years of experience across various media units of the Government of India. She has held several senior positions during her career, including Director General of Akashvani and the News Services Division, Director General at the Press Information Bureau, Director at Doordarshan Kendra Jaipur and Regional Head of the Central Bureau of Communication.
Dr Gaur is currently serving as Vice Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi. She has also been associated with IIMC’s efforts in strengthening professional training and capacity building in public communication.
Over the course of her career, Dr Gaur has also undertaken several international assignments and represented India at major global forums, including the Indo-Russian Summit and G20 Summits. Her professional training includes programmes at the Thomson Foundation in the UK, Queensland University of Technology in Australia and the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, San Francisco.
The elevation comes as Dr Gaur continues to serve in a senior leadership role within India’s public communication and media ecosystem, bringing together her extensive administrative experience across government media organisations with her current academic leadership at IIMC.
