The Fifth National Photojournalism Award 2025 was held in Lalitpur on Saturday, April 26, coinciding with National Photojournalism Day. Organized by the National Forum of Photojournalists (NFPJ) Nepal, the event recognized excellence across eight national categories and honored outstanding photojournalists from each of Nepal’s seven provinces.
Dipendra Dhungana of Naya Patrika Daily won the Nepal Telecom Daily Life Photojournalism Award, while Kavita Thapa of Gorkhapatra Daily secured the Panchakanya Group Women’s Photojournalism Award.
Read: NFPJ Nepal Announces National Photojournalism Award 2025
Skanda Gautam of The Himalayan Times received the Surya Jyoti Life Insurance Political Photojournalism Award. The Dish Home Internet Sports Photojournalism Award went to Udipta Singh Kshetri.
In other categories, Rajib Hengaju, a photojournalist from the Nepal Army, was honored with the Agricultural Development Bank Independent Photojournalism Award, and Manoj Ratna Shahi of Gorkhapatra Online received the Adventure Outdoor Tourism and Culture Photojournalism Award.
Abhishek Maharjan of annapurnaPost.com won the Rastriya Banijya Bank Entertainment Photojournalism Award, while Chandra Bahadur Ale of onlinekhabar.com earned the Global IME Bank Economic Photojournalism Award.
Read: NFPJ Nepal Announces Top Five Nominees for Photojournalism Award
The awards ceremony also acknowledged photojournalists at the provincial level.
Sujan Bajracharya of Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) won the Gurkhas Finance Koshi Province Photojournalism Award. Other provincial honorees included: Ram Sarraf (Yatra Daily, Madhesh), Navin Paudel (RSS, Bagmati), Prem Thapa (parichaya.com, Gandaki), Madhav Prasad Aryal (Kantipur Daily, Lumbini), Amrit Kumar Budhathoki (Himalaya Television, Karnali), Lokesh Saud (Sudurpaschim)
Lifetime Achievement and Special Recognition
Veteran photojournalist Devendra Man Singh was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to the field. The late Chungba Sherpa, a lifetime member of the institution, was also recognized with a special honor.
NFPJ Nepal also presented appreciation letters to various social workers and well-wishers who contributed to the National Photojournalist Emergency Relief Fund.
The jury to select the awardees was chaired by NFPJ Nepal President Pradeep Raj Onta and included senior photojournalist Shailendra Kharel, Nepal Tourism Board’s Senior Manager Surya Thapaliya, Branding and Communication Head at SuryaJyoti Life Insurance Magendra Prakash Giri, Nepal Academy’s Head of Architecture and Creative Arts Department Saurganga Darshandhari, and Deputy Editor of Desh Sanchar Manoj Dahal.
The awards were presented by Devraj Ghimire, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Deepak Khadka, Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation.
