The stage is set for the biggest journalism awards in India. The first Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism will be presented tomorrow at a ceremony in New Delhi presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Sixteen journalists, from print and broadcast media in English and Indian languages, will be honoured for their outstanding and pathfinding work.

As film director and jury member Shyam Benegal said, these were stories that gave voice to an India that’s rarely heard and seen. ‘‘The mass media has the power to magnify little things. Take the case of that silly little incident at the Bombay Fashion Week. It was all over the media and politicians seized upon it, even discussing it in the Assembly to divert attention from real problems. But there are some reporters out there doing stories that are important. These are of concern to the jury. The awards will reflect what the jury values,’’ he said.

The award, set up in 2004, the birth centenary year of Ramnath Goenka, is an effort to take forward the legacy of the Indian Express group founder who believed in uncompromising and fiercely independent journalism.

With 16 awards and a total prize money of Rs 19 lakh, the grand sweep of this exercise is unparalleled in the country. With separate awards for print and broadcast, categories include environmental reporting, uncovering Invisible India, business, economic and political reporting.

There are regional awards for reporting the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir and another for an international correspondent covering India.