News Broadcasting
Puja Sethi exits Times Network after brief tenure
NEW DELHI: Puja Sethi is on the move again. After ten months as managing editor of Times Network Digital, she has announced her departure—the latest chapter in a career that has taken her through nearly every corner of Indian media since the turn of the millennium.
The move, described by Sethi as “difficult” and made “after much reflection”, ends a stint that began in March 2025. It continues a pattern of strategic pivots that have defined her professional trajectory. Her LinkedIn profile reads like a guided tour of India’s evolving digital media landscape: India TV (two-and-a-half years), Zee Entertainment (two years, seven months), myUpChar.com (one year, three months), Jagran New Media (six years, ten months in various roles).
Sethi’s career began in the early days of Indian private broadcasting, when she anchored programmes for All India Radio and Doordarshan as a freelancer. She was then scouted by Moving Pictures to present Subha Savere, billed as India’s first Hindi news breakfast show, before moving to “India This Week” as a political correspondent. By 2002, she had landed at Indiatimes, where she ran mobile content for short code 58888—India’s most widely subscribed text service at the time, back when people actually paid for SMS news alerts.
Print beckoned next. Sethi served as executive editor of two hyper-local newspapers, Neighbourhood Flash and Jagran Cityplus, launching 48 editions of the latter across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.
Then it was back online: editor of OnlyMyHealth.com, where she grew the user base to over 5 million, followed by a lengthy stint as digital head at Jagran New Media, managing content strategy and partnerships.
The vice-president role at myUpChar.com came in 2019, before she joined Zee Entertainment as group editor in April 2020, navigating the pandemic’s digital acceleration. By October 2022, she had moved to India TV, also as group editor. Three years later, Times Network came calling.
What next? Sethi, an English literature graduate from Lady Shri Ram College and a master’s from Miranda House, has not said. Her LinkedIn post speaks of “new challenges” and “the next chapter”—the standard language of career transitions, though given her track record, something substantial is likely brewing.
If there is a constant in Sethi’s career, it is adaptability. She has worked across radio, television, print, mobile content, online health portals, regional news networks and national broadcasters. She has launched products, grown audiences, managed teams and overseen digital strategies through multiple technological revolutions. Indian media’s evolution from analogue to digital, from SMS to social, from desktop to mobile—she has been there for all of it. Whether the next chapter involves another newsroom or something entirely different, it will likely reflect the same versatility that has marked her three decades in the business.
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
