The 21^st National Conference of Small and Medium Newspapers of India was held at M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Jeypore, Odisha, from April 16 to 18, 2022. Editors of various media houses across 11 states participated.

The programme was chaired by Mr. Sankar Kataria, general secretary of Association of Small and Medium Newspapers of India (ASMNI), co-chaired by Mr. Rabi Rath, President ASMNI Odisha Unit, and coordinated by Mr. Binod Mohapatra, Vice-president, ASMNI Odisha Unit.

The chief guest of the inaugural session Shri Taraprasad Bahinipati, Honourable MLA Jeypore, said that the government needs to have a strategic plan to support the small and medium newspapers so that real-life issues from remote locations in rural India would receive the attention they deserve. He appreciated MSSRF for reaching out to farming communities, and recommended that the Swaminathan Commission Report (National Commission on Farmers) be translated in regional languages for farmers to gain awareness of their rights, also for better understanding at the grassroots.

Mr. Parshant Kumar Parida, Development Coordinator MSSRF, participated in the inaugural session and said that MSSRF links science and society through information, education and communication and through Village Knowledge Centres, and added that newspapers are an instrument to bridge the knowledge gap between urban and rural populations.