The Nidhi Razdan biography is the story of one of India’s best-known English-language television journalists. She spent more than two decades at NDTV, anchoring Left, Right & Centre and The Big Fight. In January 2021 she became the centre of an international news story when she revealed that a Harvard teaching offer, which had led her to quit her job, was the result of a phishing attack. In 2026 she is working with Prannoy Roy’s digital venture deKoder.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Nidhi Razdan |
| Date of Birth | 11 April 1977 (some sites say 1974; see note below) |
| Age (October 2026) | 49 |
| Birthplace | Budgam, Jammu & Kashmir, per Wikipedia; some sites say New Delhi |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religion | Hindu (Kashmiri Pandit community) |
| Education | Lady Shri Ram College; PG Diploma in Radio & TV Journalism, IIMC (1998–99) |
| Profession | Journalist, TV anchor, author |
| Known For | NDTV’s Left, Right & Centre, The Big Fight, the 2021 Harvard phishing case |
| Father | Maharaj Krishan Razdan, former editor-in-chief of the Press Trust of India |
| Spouse | Divorced from journalist Neelesh Misra (married 2005, divorced 2007) |
| Social Media | X (Twitter): @Nidhi |
Who Is Nidhi Razdan?
Nidhi Razdan is an Indian journalist and television personality who began her career at NDTV in 1999. She covered Indian politics, foreign affairs and Jammu & Kashmir, and she reported from places including Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Tibet and the United Kingdom after the July 2005 London bombings. She published a book, Left, Right and Centre: The Idea of India, with Penguin in 2017.
Her profile rose sharply in 2020–21 for reasons outside her reporting. She also left NDTV a second time in 2023 during the wave of exits that followed the Adani Group’s takeover of the network. Since then she has worked independently and, according to a February 2026 report, with Prannoy Roy’s deKoder.
Early Life and Family
Razdan comes from a Kashmiri Pandit family. Her father, Maharaj Krishan Razdan, was the editor-in-chief of the Press Trust of India (PTI), one of India’s largest news agencies. Her mother is Sarla Razdan. A brother, Nitin Razdan, is mentioned on biography sites.
In a Telegraph India profile, she described growing up in a household where news was part of daily life. She said that is a large part of why she was drawn to journalism.
Education
Razdan attended Apeejay School in Sheikh Sarai, New Delhi. She graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, then completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Radio and TV Journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, in 1998–99.
Career
Joining NDTV (1999–2005)
Razdan joined NDTV in 1999, straight after IIMC. She has said NDTV took her in as a 22-year-old. Within months she was sent to anchor the morning parliament broadcast on her own. She went on to cover political reporting and the External Affairs beat.
Reporting and Anchoring (2005–2019)
Her coverage over the years included the India–US nuclear deal, general and state elections, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. As NDTV’s diplomatic correspondent she covered foreign policy. She also made documentaries from Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Tibet.
She anchored several NDTV 24×7 programmes, including The Lead, India Decides @ 9 and her best-known show, Left, Right & Centre, a live evening debate programme. In April 2019 she also took over the weekly debate show The Big Fight. She rose to the post of executive editor.
Author: Left, Right and Centre: The Idea of India (2017)
In July 2017 Penguin Random House India published her first book, written around the 70th anniversary of Indian independence.
The Harvard Episode and Departure (2020–2021)
On 13 June 2020 she announced she was leaving NDTV after 21 years to join Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts & Sciences as an associate professor of journalism. The full story is covered in the Controversies section below.
Academic Roles (2021)
By May 2021 she had taken up two academic positions: Director of Strategic Programmes and Outreach at GITAM (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management) in Visakhapatnam, and visiting faculty at the Kautilya School of Public Policy.
Return to NDTV: No Spin (2022–2023)
In February 2022 she returned to NDTV as a consulting editor to anchor the primetime interview show No Spin. She said at the time that television was her “real calling” and that the show would focus on the general elections and other major issues. She also writes an opinion column, This Side of the Story, for Gulf News.
On 31 January 2023 she announced on Twitter that she was leaving NDTV again. She called it a “roller coaster ride” and said it was time to move on. Her announcement came three days after Sreenivasan Jain’s exit and followed the departures of Ravish Kumar and several senior executives after the Adani takeover. She gave no further public reason beyond her tweet.
deKoder and Independent Work (2024–present)
Prannoy Roy, NDTV’s co-founder, launched deKoder in January 2024 as an AI-driven news and analysis platform offering content in several Indian languages. Razdan is now associated with the venture; a trade-media listing from April 2025 refers to a show launched on the platform. She also continues to write opinion columns on international and domestic affairs.
Awards and Recognition
- Teacher’s Achievement Award for Communication (Electronic Journalism), 2011
- News Show Host of the Year 2010 (English), Indian News Broadcasting Awards
- Best Anchor, Exchange4media Awards, 2011
- Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism for reporting from Jammu & Kashmir and north-eastern India [VERIFY: year]
- Jammu & Kashmir State Award for excellence in journalism (2010)
- International Press Institute (IPI) India Award for coverage of the Kathua rape and murder case (announced November 2019)
Controversies
The Harvard Phishing Case (2020–2021)
In June 2020 Razdan announced she was leaving NDTV for a Harvard teaching post. On 15 January 2021 she posted a statement on Twitter beginning with “I have been the victim of a very serious phishing attack.” She said she had never actually received an offer from Harvard. She described the attack as sophisticated and coordinated, involving forged documents and misrepresentation. She said it may have given the perpetrators access to her personal data and accounts.
She filed police complaints with the Jammu & Kashmir Police (16 January 2021) and the Delhi Police (18 January 2021). Her lawyer said the first email carrying the purported offer arrived in December 2019, while her own statement placed the approach in mid-2020. She said she was not asked for money. Cybersecurity experts quoted by Vice said her public statement contained too little detail for independent analysis. Some international outlets and social media users mocked the episode. She published a blog on NDTV.com on 16 January 2021 telling her side of the story.
Kashmir Commentary
Her Kashmir reporting has drawn criticism from different directions. After she spoke at a UK event on Kashmir in 2019, outlets such as OpIndia and the defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra accused her of making statements critical of India. Razdan said she had countered Pakistani propaganda at the event. Her supporters see her as a journalist who reported on a sensitive region from the ground. Readers should weigh these accounts against the original event coverage, which this article does not independently verify.
Personal Life
Razdan married journalist and writer Neelesh Misra in 2005, and the couple divorced in 2007. In 2011 some media outlets and social media users speculated about a relationship between Razdan and former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. According to biography sites, she denied it. This is rumour only; there is no confirmation from either person in the sources reviewed .
She has spoken in interviews about being stalked. She has also said she assumes she is under some form of surveillance given her profession. She lives in New Delhi.
Net Worth
No credible, verified net worth figure for Nidhi Razdan exists. Sites that publish one give wildly inconsistent numbers, some obviously wrong, with no cited source. Her income has come from NDTV, her book, columns, academic roles and her current work, but the amounts are not public.
Nidhi Razdan in 2026
In 2026 Razdan is working with deKoder, with Prannoy Roy. In February 2026 she appeared on Frontline’s SpeakEasy with host Amit Baruah. She said all governments try to control the narrative and that the media’s job is to push back. She described changes in press access over successive governments, from the Vajpayee era through the UPA to the present, and warned of declining institutions, weakened newsrooms and pressure through investigative agencies. These are her views as stated in the interview.
Her Observer Research Foundation (ORF) contributor page also lists new video content dated September 2026 on Indo-Pacific security topics. Her columns on international affairs continued through late 2025.
Filmography / Television & Publications
| Year | Title | Platform / Publisher | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2020 | NDTV 24×7 (various) | NDTV | Reporter, anchor, executive editor |
| Various | Left, Right & Centre | NDTV 24×7 | Anchor |
| 2019–2020 | The Big Fight | NDTV 24×7 | Anchor |
| 2017 | Left, Right and Centre: The Idea of India | Penguin Random House India | Author |
| 2022–2023 | No Spin | NDTV 24×7 | Anchor |
| 2024–present | deKoder | deKoder | Journalist |
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Nidhi Razdan?
Nidhi Razdan is 49 years old as of October 2026. Wikipedia lists her birth date as 11 April 1977. Some websites give 1974, but a 2019 tweet in which she called herself 42 supports 1977.
Who is Nidhi Razdan’s husband?
She is not currently reported to be married. She married journalist Neelesh Misra in 2005 and they divorced in 2007.
What happened between Nidhi Razdan and Harvard?
In 2020 she announced she was leaving NDTV to join Harvard as an associate professor. In January 2021 she said the offer was a phishing scam and that no such job existed. She filed police complaints in Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi.
Why did Nidhi Razdan leave NDTV?
She left in 2020 for the supposed Harvard post. After returning in 2022, she resigned in January 2023 during a series of senior exits that followed the Adani Group’s takeover. She said only that it was time to move on.
What is Nidhi Razdan doing now?
As of February 2026 she is working with deKoder, the digital platform started by NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy, and she writes opinion columns.
What is Nidhi Razdan’s net worth?
There is no verified figure. Estimates online are inconsistent and unsourced.
Is Nidhi Razdan Kashmiri?
Yes. She belongs to the Kashmiri Pandit community, and her family is from Budgam in central Kashmir.
Last updated: October 2026
