News Broadcasting
Rajat Sharma is the new boss of DDCA
MUMBAI: Rajat Sharma, chairman and editor-in-chief of India TV is the new boss of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). He bagged 54.4 per cent of votes in his favour on 2 July 2018.
Sharma got a total of 1521 votes, 517 more than former test cricketer Madan Lal, who could only poll 1004 votes. The third candidate in the fray, advocate Vikas Singh, got 232 votes only.
Sharma’s group swept the elections winning all 12 seats to become the president.
For vice-presidential post, Rakesh Bansal, younger brother of former DDCA president Sneh Bansal bagged 1364 votes beating BCCI acting president CK Khanna’s wife Shashi by 278 votes. Shashi won 1086 votes in the VP elections. The defeat might prove to be the end of the road for Khanna in DDCA, where he enjoyed supreme power for nearly three decades.
Sharma and his panel’s candidature was backed by a political heavyweight from the ruling party with the IOA president Narinder Dhruv Batra throwing in all his might. Batra incidentally is a former DDCA treasurer.
“The moment Sharma got blessings from a senior cabinet minister, there was no chance in hell for any other candidate to win this election. What was not expected was a clean panel sweep. It will be good that Sharma will get a free hand to run the body. This also means that CK Khanna’s reign in DDCA ends unless he strikes some deal with Sharma,” a senior DDCA official told PTI as quoted by Insidesports.co.
With DDCA being the first among equals to go into elections after the Supreme Court appointed Lodha Committee suggested path-breaking structural reforms, the polling also witnessed abolition of proxy system with nearly 3000 voters turning up to cast their vote.
Among the other notable winners was former sports committee head Vinod Tihara, (1374 votes) who became secretary defeating nearest rival Manjeet Singh (998) by 376 votes.
The joint secretary’s post went to Rajan Manchanda (1402), younger brother of former treasurer Ravinder, who beat Pushpender Chauhan (953) by 449 votes. Pushpender is the younger brother of Chetan Chauhan.
For treasurer’s post, Om Prakash Sharma beat Deepak Singh by 1241 to 891 votes.
Coach Sanjay Bhardwaj was elected for the director’s post (first-class cricketer) while Renu Khanna became the woman director.
Notable among other directors were Apruv Jain, son of former media manager Ravi Jain, who polled 1286 votes, Alok Mittal, Nitin Gupta, Shiv Nandan Sharma and Nitin Agarwal.
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.
