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Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 1, 2026 • 4 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth15 October 1949

Age75 Years

BirthplaceCalcutta, West Bengal, India

ProfessionJournalist, Psephologist, Economist

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseRadhika Roy

FamilyDaughter - Tara Roy; Father - P. L. Roy; Mother - Name not known

Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) Biography

Prannoy Lal Roy is an Indian journalist, psephologist, economist and chartered accountant best known as the co‑founder of NDTV. Trained in economics and a

Early life and background

Prannoy Lal Roy was born on 15 October 1949 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, India. He grew up in a family with a Bengali father and an Irish mother; his father worked as a senior executive in Calcutta while his mother was a teacher. Roy attended La Martiniere in Calcutta and The Doon School in Dehradun before going to the United Kingdom for further study.

He studied economics at Queen Mary University of London, where he completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Economics in 1973. He also qualified as a chartered accountant through the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Roy completed a PhD in Agricultural Economics at the Delhi School of Economics in 1978.

Career

Roy’s professional profile spans journalism, economics and electoral analysis. He is widely recognized as a psephologist—someone who studies and analyses elections—and as an economist and chartered accountant. Alongside his academic and analytical work, Roy built a reputation in television news.

In 1988, Roy and his journalist wife, Radhika Roy, launched NDTV (New Delhi Television) as a production company. NDTV began by producing programs for the public broadcaster Doordarshan and later became a prominent independent news broadcaster in India. Between 1998 and 2003 NDTV operated a 24×7 news service in partnership with Star India, with NDTV handling editorial and production and Star providing infrastructure. After the partnership ended in 2003, NDTV launched its own channels, NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India, and the company went public in 2004.

Roy’s work in broadcasting and election analysis includes introducing opinion polling to the Indian media landscape. He has co‑authored books on Indian elections, including India Decides: Elections 1952–1991 and A Compendium of Indian Elections, and more recently co‑authored The Verdict: Decoding India’s Elections (2019) with Dorab R. Sopariwala.

Public profile

Over the years Roy and NDTV have been prominent in India’s media scene and have attracted both recognition and controversy. Roy and Radhika Roy received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Information, Communication and Entertainment in 2003. In 2015 he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the Red Ink awards.

NDTV under the Roys has been involved in legal and regulatory disputes. Cases and inquiries referenced in public reports include an investigation related to an upgrade at Doordarshan in which the accused were later reported to have been acquitted, a 2017 Central Bureau of Investigation raid connected with alleged bank loan irregularities, and regulatory actions by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that included restrictions on holding board positions and monetary penalties. The Roys challenged some of those regulatory orders through appeals; one reported outcome involved a Supreme Court decision addressing a procedural matter related to deposit requirements.

Beyond reporting and regulation, Roy has participated in public campaigns and social initiatives associated with NDTV, including environmental and education‑related projects such as Greenathon, Support My School and campaigns for sports and wildlife conservation. These initiatives have been recognized for public service work by news channels.

Personal life

Prannoy Roy married Radhika Roy in 1972. The couple has one daughter, Tara Roy. Roy’s extended family includes notable figures in Indian sporting and military history: his grandfather Paresh Lal Roy has been described as a foundational figure in Indian boxing, and another relative, Indra Lal Roy, served as an early Indian pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. Reported family connections also note a familial relation to the writer Arundhati Roy.

Latest updates

In recent years corporate developments around NDTV drew public attention. In late 2019 public disclosures recorded the shareholdings of Prannoy and Radhika Roy in NDTV and related holding entities. In November 2022 both Prannoy and Radhika Roy resigned as directors of RRPR Holding Private Limited following an open offer by another corporate group to acquire NDTV.

Roy remains a public figure associated with broadcast journalism, election analysis and the corporate history of one of India’s well‑known news brands. His career has combined academic work, authorship and the development of television news in India.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Prannoy Roy (News Anchor), send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

The Verdict: Decoding India’s Elections

Co‑author of a book on Indian elections with Dorab R. Sopariwala, published in 2019.

2019
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Career Highlights

  1. Co‑founder of NDTV
  2. Introduced opinion polling into Indian media coverage
  3. Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2003)
  4. Red Ink lifetime achievement award (2015)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) born?

Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) was born on 15 October 1949.

What is Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) known for?

Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) is known for journalist, Psephologist, Economist.

What is Prannoy Roy (News Anchor)’s marital status?

Prannoy Roy (News Anchor)'s marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) married to?

Prannoy Roy (News Anchor) is publicly listed as married to Radhika Roy.