Prannoy Roy

Prannoy Roy
Born Prannoy Lal Roy
15 October 1949
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Education The Doon School
Queen Mary University of London,
Delhi University
Occupation News Journalist,
Psephologist,
Economist
Years active 1984 – present
Notable credit(s) World This Week "Election Specials" "Govt Budget Analysis" "Co-author: India Decides"
Title Executive Co-Chairperson NDTV
Spouse(s) Radhika Roy
Children Tara Roy
Website
Prannoy on ndtv.com

Prannoy Lal Roy (born 15 October 1949) is an Indian journalist and media personality .He is the co-founder and executive co-chairperson of New Delhi Television (NDTV) along with his wife Radhika Roy.

Early life

Roy was born in Kolkata to a Bengali father who was the Chief Executive of the Indian unit of a British company and an Irish mother who was a teacher. He is cousin of Indian author Arundhati Roy. He attended The Doon School, Dehradun.[1] [2] He later won a scholarship to Haileybury and Imperial Service College in the UK for his A-levels and qualified as a British Chartered Accountant, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (England and Wales) and has a PhD in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics.[1] [3]

Graduating with First Class Honours from Queen Mary College, London, Roy continued his academic career to earn a PhD from the Delhi School of Economics. His academic awards include the Leverhulme Trust (UK) Fellowship, Queen Mary College Prize for results at BSc and an OPOS Scholarship at the Doon School to study at Haileybury College.

His paternal grandfather Paresh Lal Roy was called the 'father of Indian Boxing'. Paresh Lal Roy's younger brother Indra Lal Roy was the first Indian Ace, the first Indian pilot of Royal Flying Corp during World War I.

Career

Prannoy Roy is a TV / digital journalist in India, an author and a professional Chartered Accountant and Economist. He has been the lead anchor for election analysis and budget specials on India's national television network Doordarshan and for BBC World News' Question Time India.

NDTV group

In 1988, Roy, along with his journalist wife Radhika, launched a television production house called New Delhi Television.[4] Roy started his career with televised coverage of India's general elections. On Doordarshan, he hosted news programs "The News Tonight" and "The World This Week" (which were nominated as one of India's 5 best television programs since independence.) He also started India's first 24-hour English news channel NDTV 24x7.

Other accomplishments

He has been an Economic Advisor in the Indian government's Ministry of Finance and an Associate Professor at the Delhi School of Economics, where he developed a macro-econometric forecasting model for the Indian economy. He has also been a consultant to the India division of international accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In 2009 Roy was one of two Indians serving on the International Advisory Board of Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. [5]

Controversies

The CBI had filed a case of criminal conspiracy against NDTV managing director Prannoy Roy in 1998 for alleging fraud in Doordarshan upgrade.[6] In July 2013, Roy and NDTV were cleared by the courts and found not-guilty of all charges involving cases filed against Roy by the CBI under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Roy said, "finally the courts have proven that the charges were fabricated and false. We have always known the truth and have believed that justice will win in the final analysis. Those who thought the false charges would make us pliable must be very disappointed. They should be ashamed of themselves."[7] [8]

Books

He has co-authored "A Compendium of Indian Elections" [9] and "India Decides: Elections 1952-1991" [10] with David Butler.

Personal life

Prannoy Roy married his school friend Radhika Roy[11] and they have a daughter Tara Roy together.[12]

Awards

In addition to winning international and national awards for his programmes, Roy has been adjudged the "Television Personality of the Millennium" by an Indian Express poll.

Social initiatives

Prannoy's network has focused on a number of social issues through campaigns like the annual "Greenathon", "7 Wonders of India" and the "Save Our Tigers campaign", which won the Best Public Service Campaign for a Brand by a News Channel in 2011, and "Support My School" and "Marks for Sports" campaigns in 2010 and 2011. The "Jeene ki Aasha" campaign, which focuses on maternal and childcare issues around the country was launched in 2011 with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. NDTV also honours deserving people from all walks of life with its "Indian of The Year" Awards.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.aspenindia.org/bot/prannoy.pdf
  2. ↑ The Doon School, Dehra Dun | Arijit Barman. Outlookindia.com (10 December 2001).
  3. ↑ Dr. Prannoy Roy Speaker Bio Find booking agent contact to book top speakers bureau and celebrities. Allamericanspeakers.com (15 October 1949).
  4. ↑ "NDTV-theCompany". NDTV. Archived from the original on 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  5. ↑ cfr member
  6. ↑ www.outlookindia.com |
  7. ↑ NDTV and Prannoy Roy – Once Upon a Time Zoom Indian Media (14 February 2011).
  8. ↑ CBI case against Prannoy Roy. The Indian Express. (20 January 1998).
  9. ↑ Butler, David; Lehiri, Ashok; Roy, Prannoy (1984). A Compendium of Indian Elections. Arnold-Heinemann. Archived from the original on 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  10. ↑ Butler, David; Lahiri, Ashok; Roy, Prannoy (1991). India Decides: Elections 1952-1991. Living Media India. p. 380. Archived from the original on 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  11. ↑ "Prannoy Roy plans to take NDTV global". Rediff (Rediff.com). 2006-09-14. Archived from the original on 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  12. ↑ Chandran, Bipin (2005-05-31). "Prannoy Roy to gift NDTV stake to daughter". Rediff (Rediff.com). Archived from the original on 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-21.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prannoy Roy.