Contents
Radhika Roy is an eminent Indian journalist and the founder of the Indian news channel NDTV. She served as the co-chairperson of NDTV. She served as the managing director of NDTV from 1998 to 2011. NDTV channel began working under the leadership of Radhika Roy as a production house, and soon, it became the first independent news broadcaster in India.
Wiki/Biography
Radhika Roy was born on Saturday, 7 May 1949 (age 74 years; as of 2023) in Calcutta, India. Her zodiac sign is Taurus. She received her school education from Welham Girls’ boarding school in Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh. She qualified as a speech pathologist from the Oldrey Fleming School, London. She was honoured with a degree in English literature from Miranda House, University of Delhi. She received a degree in broadcast journalism from The New School For Social Research in New York, United States. Later, she attended a course in television production from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Radhika Roy’s father’s name is Sooraj Lal Das, and he was a Bengali engineer. Her mother’s name is Oshrukona Mitra. Brinda Karat, an Indian politician, is her sister.
Husband & Children
Radhika Roy got married to Prannoy Roy in 1972.
Radhika Roy with her husband
She has a daughter named Tara Roy.
Radhika Roy’s daughter Tara Roy
Career
After completing her studies in London, Radhika came back to India with her husband Prannoy Roy and settled down in Delhi. Soon, Radhika began her journalism career with The Indian Express at the editor’s desk. Later, she joined the India Today magazine for some period of time as a news coordinator. They both founded NDTV, the New Delhi Television Limited, in 1984. However, in a conversation with a media house, Prannoy Roy declared that he later joined the NDTV and it was Radhika who was the real founder of the NDTV news channel. After the establishment of NDTV, the channel started serving as a production house for the Doordarshan. Soon, it was regarded as the first Indian independent news broadcaster. Upon this, NDTV set an example in Indian journalism and became a pathfinder for broadcast journalism in India. Soon, it was recognised as the legacy brand in the news industry in India. After earning the legacy brand, Radhika began serving as the managing director of NDTV. Later, she was promoted to the chief executive producer at NDTV. Radhika was given the responsibility of editorial and backend processes and Prannoy began anchoring on the television. Editorial integrity, impartiality and legal binding code of conduct are the main ethics that she incorporated at her workplace. Radhika was given the credit for the provision of free sanitary napkins in NDTV offices. According to a senior official at NDTV,
If Prannoy Roy is the face of the organisation, Radhika Roy is its heart and soul.”
Star India was in partnership with NDTV to begin its first 24×7 news channel from 1998 and 2003. Under the leadership of Radhika Roy, Star India managed the infrastructure of the channel while the editorial and production areas were under the responsibility of NDTV. Star India used to keep the profits of the company while NDTV charged a regular fee amount in the partnership deed. In 2003, NDTV was not handed over the full editorial control by Star India, and in return, there was a disagreement between the two that led to the end of the partnership deed. Soon, NDTV received an independent power to control the management and simultaneously, Radhika opted to start two new news channels called NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India. Upon this initiative of Radhika, NDTV became the independent Indian news broadcast channel. In 2004, NDTV became the highest leading Indian media company of India through its public market capitalisation under the supervision of Radhika Roy. After 2014, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, NDTV began fronting the legal and intimidating actions and pressures of advertisers on the network. This pressure was denoted as the collapse of the freedom of Indian media. It is said that during the Modi governance, NDTV was ordered to ban its Hindi news channel; however, a mass protest debarred the order. In 2017, a reporter of NDTV questioned the statements made by the ruling party speaker, consequently, the offices and houses of Radhika and Prannoy Roy were raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In 2015, Radhika Roy was in a loan agreement with the billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. Later, NDTV was capable of paying a series of debt amounts; however, Radhika Roy was questioned about the successful payments during the NDTV’s global crises. In 2019, a report released by an international news organisation, Reporters sans frontières stated that Radhika and Prannoy held the shares in NDTV at 16.32% and 15.95%, respectively. In addition to this, in the NDTV and RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd., Radhika and Prannoy equally hold a 29.18% stake. In 2019, Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy were blamed for concealing the loan agreements information of the NDTV company and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred them for two years from managing the board positions in the NDTV. Soon, the case was filed against the orders at The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) by Radhika and her husband. They were ordered to pay fifty per cent of the fined amount before the second hearing and the fined amount was rupees 27 crores. Accordingly, Radhika knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court of India, and as a result, she was exempted from paying the fined amount. Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud thrashed the tribunal later on for demanding the half penalty amount directly.
Resigned from NDTV
Radhika Roy and her husband, Prannoy Roy, resigned as directors of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPRH) on 29 November 2022 after the Adani Group made an open offer for New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV).
Facts/Trivia
- Radhika met Prannoy Roy when she was a teenager. They both went to London to pursue their higher education and got married there. They returned to India after completing their studies and settled down in Delhi. To start her career in journalism, Radhika started working at the editor desk at The Indian Express. Later, she worked as a news coordinator at the India Today magazine for some period of time.
- In her teens, she met Prannoy Roy. Soon, they both went to London for their higher education. After completing their education in London, they got married and returned to India. In India, they settled down in Delhi.
- The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Information, Communication and Entertainment was presented to Radhika and Prannoy Roy in 2003.
- Radhika was honoured as one of the fifty vital women figures by the Paley Center for Media museum in the history of television and radio broadcasting in 2007.
- She was listed among the top 50 most powerful Indian businesswomen by Fortune India. In 2016, she remained on the list of the top 50 most powerful Indian businesswomen of Fortune India because of her,
Sheer staying power in the face of adversity.”
- Radhika Roy keeps herself away from the media and believes in maintaining a low profile. She is often considered as,
Quiet and behind the scenes.”