Who was Gitanjali Iyer, India’s first English news anchor on Doordarshan?

New Delhi: Gitanjali Iyer, who was India’s first English woman news presenter on national broadcaster Doordarshan, passed away on Wednesday. Sources close to the family said that the famous anchor was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and collapsed after returning home from a walk. Several political leaders and celebrities including Union Minister Anurag Thakur took to Twitter to condole the demise of the eminent anchor.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said in a tweet, “Deeply saddened to hear about the passing away of Geetanjali Iyer, one of the first and finest English news anchors on Doordarshan and All India Radio.”

He said Aiyar was a “pioneer and pioneer” who brought “credibility, professionalism and a distinct voice” to every news report.

Deeply saddened to hear about the passing away of Gitanjali Iyer, one of the first and finest English news anchors on Doordarshan and All India Radio.

A trailblazer and pioneer, she brought credibility, professionalism and a distinct voice to every news report, leaving an indelible mark … pic.twitter.com/MvaR7kgLmB— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) June 7, 2023

Gitanjali Iyer has graduated from Loreto College, Kolkata

A graduate of Kolkata’s Loreto College, Iyer joined Doordarshan in 1971 and won the Best Anchor award four times. She also won the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding Women in 1989.

Iyer, a diploma holder from the National School of Drama (NSD), has also been a popular face in several print advertisements and even acted in Sridhar Kshirsagar’s TV drama “Khandaan”, apart from presenting news programmes.

In her decades-long illustrious career, she was also associated with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).