Rahul Kanwal has quit as India Today’s news director.
In an email to staff on Thursday, India Today Group vice chairperson Kalli Purie said, “After more than 22 years with us, Rahul Kanwal – News Director, TVTN, and Executive Director of Business Today – will be moving on to explore new opportunities.”
The industry is buzzing with speculation that Kanwal may assume a top editorial role at NDTV. He is most likely to join as Group Editor with a seat on the board. The network, however, is yet to confirm any such development.
Purie’s email announcing Kanwal’s exit comes a day after Shiv Aroor joined NDTV as managing editor, over a month after he had resigned as India Today executive editor.
In a letter to Kalli Purie, with the subject line “Resigning with a heavy heart”, Kanwal said he’d spent 22 years at the India Today Group, or “half my life”
“It’s a testament to the vibrancy of this great institution that a curious young journalist like me found professional fulfilment and growth year after year,” the letter said. “Never did I feel stagnant, constrained, or compelled to compromise. Your steadfast courage – your refusal to bow when bending might have been easier – has earned my deep respect.”
Kanwal described Kalli’s father Aroon, or ‘AP’, as “much more than a boss – he’s been a mentor, a guide, a lodestar” and “a second father”.
“This decision has not been easy, but I wish that even when I’m no longer on the newsroom floor, you will hold warmth in your heart and goodwill in your mind,” he wrote. “...Very few people lead with equal parts warmth and wisdom.”
Kanwal, who spent nearly two decades cultivating his brand at India Today – most prominently as the face of programmes like Newstrack – steps into a news organisation still navigating the aftershocks of its 2022 acquisition by the Adani Group. A wave of high-profile departures have previously fundamentally altered NDTV's editorial DNA since its founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy relinquished control.
Kanwal did not respond to Newslaundry’s request for comment. This copy will be updated if he responds.
Kanwal and Aroor are only the latest in a series of prominent television faces who have joined NDTV after its acquisition by Adani. In 2023, Sumit Awasthi and Marya Shakil left ABP News and CNN-News 18, respectively, to take over top editorial roles.
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