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Palki Sharma Husband: Who Is Sanket Upadhyay? Complete Biography & 2026 Update

The untold story of India’s most prominent journalistic power couple — and the man behind the headlines.

Palki Sharma Upadhyay — Managing Editor, Firstpost & host of Vantage. Married to journalist Sanket Upadhyay since 2008. (Source: biogooglies.com)

Who Is Palki Sharma’s Husband?

When people search for Palki Sharma husband, they discover not just a name, but an entire parallel legacy in Indian journalism. Palki Sharma Upadhyay — the sharp-tongued, saree-clad anchor known for her fearless coverage on Firstpost — is married to Sanket Upadhyay, a veteran journalist whose career spans over two decades across India’s top newsrooms.

Sanket Upadhyay is not simply a footnote in his wife’s celebrated biography. He is a seasoned media personality in his own right — a man who has anchored prime-time debates, led bureau operations, navigated the corridors of NDTV, Times Now, and Network18, and ultimately broke free of mainstream media to co-found The Red Mike, an independent digital news platform. Together, Palki and Sanket represent one of Indian journalism’s most compelling power couples: two people who began their careers in the same newsroom and have since grown into commanding, independent voices — each on a different side of the media spectrum.

Wedding Details: How Palki Sharma & Sanket Upadhyay Got Married

Sanket Upadhyay — veteran Indian journalist and Palki Sharma’s husband.

Palki Sharma and Sanket Upadhyay’s love story is one rooted deeply in shared professional values and mutual admiration — a bond that was forged inside the newsrooms of India’s competitive media landscape. Their paths first crossed when both were working as staff writers at Hindustan Times in 2003, at the very beginning of their respective journalism careers.

What began as collegial camaraderie between two ambitious young journalists quietly blossomed into a personal relationship as their careers progressed across different organisations. After years of building their individual professional identities, Palki and Sanket formalised their relationship by tying the knot in 2008. The wedding was a private, intimate affair — very much in keeping with the low-key personal style both journalists have maintained throughout their public lives.

In a candid media interview, Palki reflected warmly on how her marriage to Sanket transformed her professional freedom. Before their union, her parents had restricted her from working odd late-night hours as a correspondent. After marriage, she was finally able to rush out for breaking news coverage at any hour — a small but significant detail that reveals the understanding and support that defines their partnership.

The couple has two children together: a daughter named Manya Upadhyay and a son. Their family resides in Delhi, India, and by all accounts they have maintained a warm, balanced home life even as both their careers have taken them in increasingly independent directions — Palki leading prime-time programming on national television, Sanket quietly building a counter-culture media platform from the ground up.

Palki Sharma & Sanket Upadhyay: Relationship Timeline

Sanket Upadhyay: Full Biography

Early Life & Family Background

Sanket Upadhyay was born and raised in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, in a Brahmin Hindu household with a profound legacy in journalism and public service. His father, Madhuker Upadhyay, is a renowned Indian journalist and writer who worked with Hindi BBC Radio in both London and Delhi during the formative years of his career, before later becoming a professor at National Tribal University in Amarkantak. This journalistic pedigree ran deep in Sanket’s family — he once shared on social media that his great-grandfather served as the Magistrate of Faizabad during the 1950s, publishing an appreciation letter as early as July 1958.

Growing up in such an intellectually stimulating environment, journalism was never merely a career choice for Sanket — it was practically inherited. The family’s tradition of public discourse, truth-telling, and civic engagement would come to define Sanket’s entire professional identity.

Education

While specific details of Sanket Upadhyay’s educational institutions have not been made widely public, his academic background reflects the strong foundation needed for bilingual journalism. Fluent in both Hindi and English, Sanket pursued studies in mass communication and journalism before entering the industry. His bilingual prowess has been one of his most distinguishing attributes across his career — allowing him to anchor shows in both languages with equal authority and nuance.

Career: A Journey Through India’s Top Newsrooms

Sanket Upadhyay’s career in Indian journalism spans more than two decades and reads as a roadmap of the country’s evolving media landscape. His story is one of steady ascent through establishment institutions, and ultimately, a principled departure in search of genuine editorial independence.

He began his career in August 2003 as a Staff Writer at Hindustan Times, the same role that brought him into contact with his future wife Palki Sharma. Two years later, in August 2005, he joined NDTV as a Correspondent, quickly rising to become the Lucknow bureau head for NDTV’s English channel — a significant responsibility that showcased his reportorial depth and operational leadership.

In October 2007, Sanket moved to NewsX as Principal Correspondent in Delhi, followed by a brief stint at Headlines Today, TV Today, and Aaj Tak from March to July 2008. Then, in a major career move, he joined Times Now (Bennett, Coleman and Co.) as Deputy News Editor in July 2008 — a position he held for six years until February 2014. His tenure at Times Now was widely recognised for his crisp analysis, no-nonsense delivery, and earned him a loyal national viewership.

In February 2014, Sanket joined TV Today in Noida as a Senior News Editor, where he was also given additional charge of Head of Output Operations and hosted the morning prime-time show, First Up. He served there until July 2016. Shortly after, he took on the role of Deputy Executive Editor at Network 18 Media & Investment, where he hosted the flagship 7 PM debate show, The Big Debate — a programme that cemented his reputation as one of India’s most measured and incisive prime-time debate moderators.

In 2019, Sanket returned to NDTV for a second stint, this time as a Consulting Editor. During this phase, he anchored several of the network’s flagship shows: Muqabala in Hindi, The Big Fight in English, and Khabaron Ki Khabar. He remained at NDTV until 2023.

The Red Mike: Sanket’s Bold Leap to Independence (2023–2026)

When Sanket Upadhyay resigned from NDTV in 2023, it wasn’t simply a professional transition — it was a declaration. Together with colleagues Sunil Saini and Saurabh Shukla, he co-founded The Red Mike in December 2023, an independent digital journalism platform designed specifically to resist algorithm-driven sensationalism and corporate editorial pressures.

The Red Mike’s philosophy is captured in its founding ethos: bringing meaning back to media by saying what journalists actually think, without censorship. By 2025, the platform had amassed nearly 1 million subscribers, a remarkable achievement for an independent, ad-hoc media venture built from the ground up. By 2026, The Red Mike continues to grow as a trusted voice in the digital media ecosystem — particularly among audiences who are disillusioned with mainstream television news formats.

Social Media Presence

Sanket Upadhyay maintains an active presence on Instagram under the handle @sanket.up, where he has accumulated over 34,400 followers and has made approximately 284 posts as of 2025–2026. His social media content is typically personal and reflective — sharing memories, family moments, and occasional professional commentary. He has used his platforms to share poignant family photographs, including a memorable post from March 2021 featuring an old picture alongside his father and sister from their 390-km walk along the Dandi Route in 1994.

Unlike his wife Palki, who commands massive audiences on social media given her television prominence, Sanket has maintained a more understated digital footprint — preferring the quality of engagement over volume.

Brand Collaborations & Public Engagements

Given Sanket Upadhyay’s deliberate pivot away from corporate media, he has largely kept his distance from traditional brand endorsements and commercial collaborations. His primary focus has remained editorial credibility and journalistic integrity — assets that are incompatible with heavy commercial branding. Through The Red Mike, however, the platform has developed its own independent revenue model, primarily driven by digital subscriptions, YouTube monetisation, and select editorial partnerships that align with its values.

Sanket is regularly sought after for panel discussions, journalism forums, and media industry events where his perspective on editorial independence and the future of digital journalism is highly valued. His public engagements in 2025–2026 have increasingly focused on the intersection of technology, media ethics, and journalistic independence.

Net Worth (2026)

Given Sanket Upadhyay’s extensive career across India’s major broadcasting networks — including NDTV, Times Now, Network18, and TV Today — combined with his entrepreneurial venture as co-founder of The Red Mike, his estimated net worth in 2026 is placed between:

This figure accounts for his senior editorial salaries across two-plus decades of premium television journalism, his income from The Red Mike’s growing digital monetisation, and his family’s shared real estate assets in Delhi. It is important to note that Sanket has never publicly disclosed his finances, and these figures represent informed estimates based on industry standards.

2026: Latest Updates on Sanket Upadhyay

As of 2026, Sanket Upadhyay remains fully committed to The Red Mike, which continues to be one of India’s fastest-growing independent journalism platforms. The platform’s bold, editorially autonomous approach has resonated powerfully with audiences weary of sensationalised prime-time television. With nearly one million subscribers and counting, The Red Mike is poised to cross that milestone in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Sanket’s wife Palki Sharma Upadhyay has been dominating national conversation in 2026 with her Firstpost show Vantage and her high-profile coverage of Operation Sindoor — coverage that has made her arguably the most talked-about journalist in India this year. The couple’s contrasting positions in the media landscape — Palki at the helm of a mainstream digital-television newsroom, Sanket building a rebel platform from scratch — make them one of the most fascinating professional pairings in contemporary Indian media.

Palki Sharma Upadhyay: Brief Biography

No article about the Palki Sharma husband keyword would be complete without acknowledging the remarkable woman at its centre. Palki Sharma Upadhyay, born on May 29, 1982, is one of India’s most recognisable and respected journalists. She holds a Master’s Degree in Communication and Journalism and is a gifted polyglot — fluent in Tamil, Kashmiri, Hindi, English, Punjabi, Sanskrit, and French.

Her journalism career began in 2002 with Doordarshan, India’s national broadcaster, where she worked as a news anchor. She subsequently joined Hindustan Times (2004) before moving to CNN-News18 in May 2005, where she spent over a decade as an anchor and senior editor, covering everything from cabinet ministers to international affairs. In 2007, she received the prestigious Best News Reader Award.

In 2016, Palki joined iTV Network, and by 2017 she had taken on one of the most significant roles of her career as Managing Editor at WION — Zee Media’s global English-language channel. There, she became the face of the flagship show Gravitas, which won the Best International News Show Award at ENBA 2020. She was also the first Indian correspondent to cover Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in the United States.

In September 2022, Palki made headlines by quitting WION before joining Firstpost as Managing Editor, where she hosts the show Vantage. Her 2026 coverage of Operation Sindoor has cemented her status as one of India’s most consequential voices in broadcast journalism.

Beyond journalism, Palki is known for her passion for sarees, which inspired her to launch a saree brand called Revya. She is also a painter and artist in her spare time.

Quick Facts: Palki Sharma & Sanket Upadhyay (2026)

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