Raj Chengappa is a veteran journalist of over 40 years’ standing.  He is currently the Group Editorial Director (Publishing) of the India Today Group, Asia’s leading media house with interests in publishing, television, radio and the web. India Today, its flagship, is Asia’s largest circulated newsmagazine.   Prior to his current assignment, he was Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune Group of Newspapers.  

Before joining The Tribune Chengappa was Managing Editor of India Today and worked there for 29 years. He was concurrently the Editor of the Indian edition of Scientific American and India Today Aspire, a magazine on careers and education.  He chronicled India’s nuclear weapons history in his best selling book ‘ Weapons of Peace, The Secret Story of India’s quest to be a Nuclear Power.’ 

Raj Chengappa has varied interests and is a specialist in foreign affairs, security, nuclear weapons, the environment and development. Apart from editing publications, he has done over a hundred cover stories and exclusive reports for India Today on a range of subjects, including international affairs, defence, science, health, education and environment.  

 He has covered major international events and wars and interviewed prominent international leaders. Apart from domestic politics, he has also written extensively on environment and development and was a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Climate Change Council for eight years.  He is currently the President of the Editors Guild of India, the premier body representing over 200 newspaper, magazine and television editors in the country.  

He won the Prem Bhatia award for Excellence in Reporting in 1998. He is also the winner of the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting in 1987. He was a Stimson Fellow on Security Issues in Washington D.C. in 1995, a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1990-91 and a Harry Britain Fellow partly at Oxford University in 1985.