Pranay Arya is the founder and editor of The News Dirt, an independent regional journalism platform dedicated to documenting ground-level realities across Vidarbha. His work focuses on civic infrastructure, governance, regional history, environmental challenges, public policy outcomes, and the everyday issues faced by citizens that often remain under-reported in mainstream media.

Since establishing the platform, he has authored 800+ original research-based articles, building one of the most extensive digital knowledge archives focused exclusively on Vidarbha’s districts, towns, and historically significant locations. His reporting combines archival research, government records, field observations, and long-form investigative documentation to create fact-driven narratives that track how policies, administrative decisions, and development projects shape local communities over time. His reporting is built on document based research, public records, archival sources, and on ground verification where possible.

His areas of research include regional historical documentation, municipal infrastructure development, environmental degradation patterns, district-level governance trends, public resource allocation, and the socio-economic transformation of urban and rural Vidarbha. Many of his long-form articles compile scattered historical and administrative information into structured public records, making them accessible for researchers, students, policy observers, and citizens.

Beyond individual articles, Pranay Arya works on building structured thematic series that examine long-term trends such as irrigation policy outcomes, regional development disparities, public infrastructure planning failures, historical trade routes, and institutional decision-making affecting Vidarbha. Through consistent documentation and multi-year tracking of recurring civic issues, his work aims to create a reliable digital reference base for understanding the region’s evolving administrative and developmental landscape.

At The News Dirt, he leads editorial planning, research direction, long-form investigative writing, archival compilation, and thematic knowledge-series development. The platform publishes original, independently researched content with a focus on factual reporting, documented evidence, and the preservation of regional knowledge.

Founder and Editor, The News Dirt

800+ articles on The News Dirt

Focus areas: Vidarbha public issues, governance, regional history, infrastructure, environment

Based in: Nagpur, Maharashtra