The Sharma Family

Rajat Sharma is an Indian journalist born on 18 February 1957. He did his graduation in Commerce from Sriram College of Commerce in Delhi. Rajat Sharma started his career as a reporter with a print magazine, Onlooker as a trainee. Later he became the Chief of Bureau and Editor of Onlooker. After working with the Sunday Observer as the Editor, Rajat Sharma first shot into prominence with his show, Aap Ki Adalat (Your Court), where he put celebrities in the dock in a mock courtroom session. The show which went on air in Zee TV in 1993, was an instant hit, and launched Rajat Sharma as a celebrity face in Indian news television. In 1997, he quit Zee Group and formed the Independent News Service, INS– the company that owns the channel - India TV. He took the famous property, Aap Ki Adalat with him.

As a youngster, Rajat Sharma was drawn to the Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) movement, against the Congress rule in Bihar and the Centre, when Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. He spent 11 months in jail during the imposition of Emergency in India. During his college days, he became friends with Arun Jaitley, India’s current finance minister in the Narendra Modi government, and Vijay Goel of the BJP, when he became the General Secretary of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU). Rajat Sharma was awarded the country’s third highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan in 2015. Rajat Sharma has won several awards like Indian Television Academy Award for Best Anchor – News/Current Affairs show, Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award in 2009 by Exchange4media, Indian Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. Rajat Sharma is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India TV. He is also the President of News Broadcasters Association of India (NBA), Director of Strategic Affairs of The Indian Broadcasting Foundation and President of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). He is also the Director in a number of companies with businesses in Real estate, Education, Production and Publication. The companies are Knowledge Tree Infrastructure Limited, India TV Interactive Media Private Limited, India TV Film Academy Private Limited, India TV Broadcast Company Private Limited and Independent Media Private Limited.

Ritu Dhawan, his wife, co-founded Independent News Service with Rajat Sharma. She is the CEO and Managing Director of the channel. Dhawan was presented with the IMPACT’s Most Influential Woman of the Year title in the year 2012 for her contribution to the TV news industry. Ritu Dhawan is a Director in a number of companies with interests in Real estate, Education, Communication, Production and Publication.