'Lakshman rekha between management, editorial': How Gautam Adani promises to run NDTV

Gautam Adani, whose Adani Group has taken over New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV), said that there will be no interference from the management on editorial decisions of the media company. In an interview with India Today, Adani said that a clear “lakshman rekha” will be maintained between management and editorial. Gautam Adani has been named India Today’s ‘Newsmaker of the Year’. 

In the interview with India Today Group Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa, when asked how Adani plans to ensure editorial independence, he said, “On editorial independence, let me say categorically that NDTV will be a credible, independent, global network with a clear lakshman rekha between management and editorial. You can endlessly debate and interpret each and every word of what I am saying, as has been done by many, but my fundamental point is that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So, please allow us some time before you start judging us.”

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Gautam Adani’s statements come days after NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy resigned from the board, following a months-long tussle with the Adani Group. The founders said that they decided to transfer most of their shares to Adani, giving the company control over 65 per cent of NDTV. Adani already held more than 37 per cent after an open offer and acquisition. That, along with the Roys’ 27.26 per cent stake will give Adani 64.71 per cent of the media company, as per its regulatory filings. 

In their announcement to step down, the Roys said that their discussions with Gautam Adani have been constructive and all their suggestions have been accepted by him with openness. They said that they hope Adani will preserve NDTV’s values of trust, credibility and independence. 

Gautam Adani, further in the interview, said that all the Adani Group businesses are run by professional and competent CEOs. Gautam Adani said that he does not interfere in the day-to-day functioning. “My role is limited to formulating strategy, capital allocation and their performance review,” he said. 

The billionaire said that this leaves him time to manage such a large and diverse organisation and also incubate several new businesses as well as look for new opportunities for acquisitions. 

Gautam Adani further stated that 2022 was an exceptional year as they had seen a successful IPO with Adani Wilmar, and also became India’s second largest cement manufacturer after they acquired ACC and Ambuja Cements for $10.5 billion. 

It was also the year Gautam Adani made it to the richest people list, ranking at No 3. However, the world’s third-richest man said that he does not care about such records. “These rankings and numbers do not matter to me. They are only media hype. I am a first-generation entrepreneur who had to build everything from scratch. I get my thrills from handling challenges – the bigger they are, the happier I am,” he said.

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