1949–1984: Early life and career Radhika was born in
Calcutta,
West Bengal on 7 May 1949, at 5/1B Belvedre Road to Ashrukona Basu Mallick, a grandniece of Raja Subodh Chandra Basu Mallick and Sooraj Lal Dass, who had migrated to the city during the
partition of India. In the 1960s, Radhika was sent to study at
Welham Girls' boarding school in
Dehradun,
Uttar Pradesh. Radhika met
Prannoy Roy during her teenage years. Prannoy was also from Calcutta, and attending
The Doon School, a boys' boarding school in Dehradun. She also graduated with a degree in English literature from
Miranda House,
University of Delhi. Radhika Roy began her career as a journalist at
The Indian Express where she worked for the editing desk. She joined the
India Today magazine, where she was a new coordinator. Roy quit her job at the magazine to join
The New School For Social Research for a post-graduate degree in
broadcast journalism in New York, United States. Both the Roys are considered to be the founders of company, but according to Prannoy, Radhika was the original founder of the company and that he joined afterwards. The company began as a production house for the public broadcaster
Doordarshan, and became the first independent news broadcaster in India. which set the template for broadcast journalism in India.
1984–2022: Co-Chairperson of NDTV Radhika Roy was the
managing director of NDTV between 1998 and 2011, before which she was the chairman. She also held the position of chief executive producer. Radhika had instituted a legally binding code of conducts for journalistic ethics in the company at a time when other broadcasters had none. In the partnership, NDTV managed the editorial and production aspects in exchange for a fee with an
escalation clause, while Star managed the infrastructure and retained the profits. The partnership was ended in 2003 over disagreement in providing complete editorial control to NDTV. Following the split, NDTV became an independent news broadcaster after launched its owns news channels
NDTV 24x7 and
NDTV India. Radhika Roy along with her husband Prannoy Roy were designated as the executive co-chairpersons of NDTV after 2011. She was reportedly well liked by her employees and remained heavily involved in the company's day-to-day operations to the point that she was recognised as the de facto CEO, one former employee described her working style to be sometimes controlling as there was no effective decentralisation in the company. The government attempted to ban the Hindi news channel NDTV India in 2016 and retracted following widespread protests. In 2017, the offices of the company and the residence of the Roys were raided by the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after a NDTV news presenter had questioned statements made by a ruling party spokesperson. In June 2019, the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Radhika and Prannoy Roy from holding managerial or board positions in the company for a period of 2 years over alleged withholding of information in loan agreements. The order was appealed against and stayed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). In December 2020, SEBI imposed a fine on the Roys worth . SAT directed the Roys to deposit 50% of the sum as conditional to a second hearing. The company moved to the
Supreme Court of India (SCI) which exempted them from the deposits. Justice
Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud remarked that it was "brash" for the tribunal to have demanded it. Doubts had also begun emerging by 2015 over how much control the Roys had over their company after it had become involved in a debt agreement with the billionaire
Mukesh Ambani's conglomerate
Reliance Industries following a series of loan transactions necessitated by the NDTV's downturn due to the
Great Recession. In late 2019, the international news organisation
Reporters sans frontières released a report, according to which, Radhika Roy directly held 16.32% of the stake in the company while her husband held 15.95% of the stake. The two held an additional 29.18% stake through a 50:50 holding company called RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd. In December 2022, Radhika and Prannoy Roy sold 27.26 per cent out of their 32.26 per cent shareholding in the news network to
Adani Group, who till then had over a 37% stake in NDTV, making the conglomerate, the single largest shareholder with over 64.71 per cent stake. == Public image and recognition ==