In 1988, Prannoy Roy, along with his journalist wife Radhika, launched a television production house called New Delhi Television. 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.
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. Roy was born in Calcutta 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 attended The Doon School, Dehradun. 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.
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. Prannoy Roy married his school friend Radhika Roy and they have a daughter Tara Roy together. He is a cousin of Indian author Arundhati Roy.
Prannoy Roy is a TV / digital journalist in India, an author and a professional British 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. 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 Pricewater house Coopers. In 2009 Roy was one of two Indians serving on the International Advisory Board of Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. He has co-authored "A Compendium of Indian Elections" and "India Decides: Elections 1952-1991" with David Butler.
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. 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.