Vijay Darda

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vijay Darda

• Vijay Darda is an Indian politician, businessman, journalist, author, and philanthropist. He has served as the chairman of Lokmat Media Group. He has been a three-time Rajya Sabha member. He has also been involved with various social work organizations. In July 2023, he was convicted of corruption in the Coalgate scam and sentenced to four years in jail.

• After completing his formal education, he pursued a career in the press and later ventured into politics.

  

• On 15 December 1971, Vijay Darda assumed the leadership of the Marathi Newspaper Lokmat. With his vision, he successfully introduced Lokmat English and Lokmat Hindi newspapers. Throughout his remarkable five-decade-long career, He worked with several national and international media organizations, serving in diverse roles and making notable contributions.

  

• During his tenure as the President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) from 1997 to 1998 and Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) from 2010 to 2011, Vijay Darda took proactive measures to safeguard journalists from violence and ensure their safety. He played a crucial role in eliminating anti-dumping duty on newsprint and securing concessional electricity tariffs for newspaper establishments.

  

• A significant accomplishment of Vijay Darda was the founding of the South Asian Editors Forum (SAEF) in 1999. The idea originated from an editors’ conference held in Colombo during the Kargil War. Taking on the role of Founding President, he sought to utilize the media’s influence in South Asia to ease tensions between Pakistan and India, with a specific focus on resolving the contentious Kashmir issue. His efforts aimed to foster communication and understanding among media professionals in the region to promote peace and cooperation.

• He played a key role in setting up the world’s first statue of ‘Freedom of Press,’ unveiled in 2013 at the Lokmat printing press in Butibori, Nagpur. The inauguration of the statue was done by the Union Home Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde. In addition to his contributions to the media industry, he has served as the chairman of the Lokmat Media Group.

  

• He served as a member of the Press Council of India in New Delhi for two consecutive terms, from March 1998 to 2001 and March 2001 to 2004. As the Managing Trustee of the Press Institute of Maharashtra in Pune and a Life Member of The Advertising Club of India in Mumbai, he has made notable contributions to the advertising industry. Additionally, he holds memberships in prestigious international organizations such as the World Association of Newspapers in Paris, France, and the Commonwealth Press Union in London, UK. He is a member of the All India Newspapers Editors Conference in New Delhi and the Indian Languages Newspapers’ Association in Mumbai.

• He is a member of the Committee responsible for deciding comprehensive policies and regulating advertisements in Newspapers & Periodicals. He also serves on the Co-ordination Committee to combat and control attacks on Journalists and Press Establishments. As a member of the Maharashtra State Accreditation Committee, he contributes to providing accreditation facilities to journalists. His role as a member of the Ad-hoc Board of Studies in Mass Communication at Nagpur University and the National Readership Studies Council in Mumbai reflects his involvement in understanding readership trends and insights in the media domain.

  

• He has also been a member of the Vidarbha Daily Newspapers Association in Nagpur, the International Advertising Association in New York (USA), the Advisory Panel of the Central Board of Film Certification, and the Judging Committee of the 22nd National Awards for Excellence in Printing, Designing of Books, and Other Publications (1980).

• Vijay Darda has also made business ventures in the real estate and investment sectors. He holds the positions of Chairman and Managing Director at Darda Investments & Properties Ltd., the Chairman of Cozy Properties Pvt. Ltd., and a Partner at Mangal Mudran (Printing Press) in Yavatmal.

  

• Vijay Darda has had an extensive and diverse career as a member of various committees and forums in the Indian Parliament. He served as a member of both the Standing Committee on Information and the Standing Committee on Finance from 1998 to 2004, a member of the Standing Committee on Technology from 2004 to 2006 and the Konkan Railways Users Consultative Committee in 2005. He also became a part of the Indo-China Society and the Indo-US Parliamentary Forum, serving from 2005 onwards and between 2004 and 2010, respectively.

• During his tenure as Rajya Sabha MP, he held positions such as a member of the Consultative Committee for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation from 2010 to 2016. In 2008, he took part in the India-Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program in Washington D.C., USA.

  

• Darda’s contributions extended to various specialized committees and advisory groups. He was a member of the Committee on Petitions, the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, the Central Consumer Protection Council, and the Philatelic Advisory Committee of the Department of Posts, among others. He also played an active role in the Indo-Pak Parliamentary Forum, the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Culture, and the Committee on Finance.

• He served as the Vice-President of the India-Israel  Parliamentary Friendship Group from May 2013 to 2014, and as a member of the Parliamentary Forum on HIV/AIDS, the Committee on Commerce, and the Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, and Forests (2016).

• In addition to his parliamentary responsibilities, he was also part of the Advisory Group of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, various Hindi Salahakar Samitis related to commerce, railways, and other sectors, the Bureau of Indian Standards, and the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010.

  

• Vijay Darda has authored numerous books covering diverse topics, including touching reminiscences of his parents and his own experiences. Some of his notable works include ‘Tapsi: Reminiscences of Veenadevi Darda,’ ”The Indian Emergency as Seen by an Indian’ (English version), ‘Lokmat Congress Centenary Special-1985,’ ‘Sanskar Pushpa,’ discourses of Jain Sadhvi Preeti Sudha Ji, ‘Raktanjali,” a book of inspiring poems dedicated to the Kargil Martyrs and written by Col. V. P. Singh, as well as ‘Straight Thoughts,’ ‘Na Sampanare Shabda,’ ‘Seedhi Baat,’ ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram,’ and ‘Public Issues Before Parliament.’

  

• He has actively contributed to various social causes, advocating for women empowerment, specially-abled upliftment, religious harmony, and environmental concerns. Notably, he organized a large-scale agriculture exhibition in 2008 in Amravati, Maharashtra, to benefit farmers in the Vidarbha region. His philanthropic efforts extended to establishing hostels in Aurangabad, Nagpur, and Solapur. He donated Rs 40 lakhs for Nepal earthquake relief in 2015 and Rs 71 lakhs to the Army Central Relief Fund in 2022.

  

• He later provided financial aid to Jeet Singh, the grandson of Shaheed-e-Azam Udham Singh, and supported the marriage of the youngest daughter of Sultana Begum, the great granddaughter-in-law of India’s last Mughal Emperor Bahadurshah Zafar, with a contribution of Rs 2 lakhs. ^[8]The Indian Express Demonstrating a commitment to rural development, he adopted Bhari village in the Yavatmal district under the Parliamentary Ideal Village Development Program, transforming it into a model village at a cost of Rs 1 crore.

  

• At his residence in Yavatmal, Vijay Darda has honoured his parents by erecting a statue in their likeness, naming it Prerna Sthal as a symbol of inspiration and tribute to their memory.

  

• Some of his envisioned projects include the Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded railway line and a Rs 200 crore package for the widows of farmers in the Vidarbha region who have committed suicide. He demanded a separate state to be made out of Vidarbha region in Parliament in 2014.

• He developed an interest in wildlife during his childhood and was particularly fond of wildlife photography. ^[9]Hindustan Times