Saurabh Dwivedi out at Lallantop; exit expected for months, say sources

New Delhi: Saurabh Dwivedi is set to exit India Today Group Digital after 12 years, stepping down as Editor of The Lallantop and India Today Hindi, according to an internal announcement circulated within the organisation.

The internal communication said Dwivedi will be “moving on to explore new opportunities” and described him as a long-time India Today Group digital leader who joined as Features Editor at AajTak.in and went on to shape The Lallantop into a large youth-focused platform.

However, sources said Dwivedi’s exit has been in the works for months and is linked to a widening gap between his personal ambitions and the group’s culture and expectations.

People familiar with the matter said discussions around his next move had been underway for some time, and the transition was not entirely unexpected internally.

The internal note also signalled an immediate leadership change at The Lallantop. Kuldeep Mishra will take full charge of Team LT’s editorial operations, while Rajat Sain will lead the production team. Both are part of the founding team, and the message framed the handover as a “home-grown generational shift”.

The communication said Mishra has been a key on-air face and has frequently anchored The Lallantop Show and Netanagari, while Sain has overseen multiple production transitions at the platform.

Dwivedi has been one of the most recognisable faces of the India Today Group’s Hindi digital push, associated with long-format interviews and political conversations, apart from leading The Lallantop’s editorial strategy.

The internal note credited him and the team for building what it called a credible alternative digital news platform and scaling its reach.

India Today Group has not issued a separate public statement on the development beyond the internal communication at the time of writing.