Jacob will take up his retirement on his 63rd Birthday which falls next month but will maintain his links with the corporation as a commentator and correspondent on a freelance basis. Jacob joined the BBC in 1970's as a stringer in Addis Ababa. Five years later, he moved to Delhi where he teamed up with Mark Tully. Together they covered the most dramatic events in modern Indian history.

Satish reported for the BBC on stories ranging from the defeat of Indira Gandhi in the 1977 general elections; Sanjay Gandhi's death; the Punjab violence; Operation Bluestar; the assassination of Mrs Gandhi and the uprising of Kashmiri separatists in 1990. He worked his way up in the organisation until he became the Deputy Bureau Chief in the early nineties. Satish Jacob made his announcement to colleagues on Wednesday, according to a press release from BBC.