Riniki Bhuyan Sarma

Riniki Bhuyan Sharma
Born	(1973-07-31) 31 July 1973 (age 51) Guwahati, Assam, India
Alma mater	Cotton College (BA) Government Law College (LLB)
Occupation	Businesswoman
Organization(s)	News Live Rang Ramdhenu Indradhanu North East Live Time8
Spouse	Himanta Biswa Sarma ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2

Riniki Bhuyan Sharma (born 31 July 1973) is an Indian businesswoman from Assam. ^[1] She is the managing director of Pride East Entertainment, the largest media house in Assam. ^[2] She is married to Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam. ^{[1] [3]}

Early life

She was born on 31 July 1973, in Guwahati. She comes from a notable family, with her father, Jadav Chandra Bhuyan, being a well-known industrialist. ^[1] Riniki's early education took place in Guwahati, where she attended St. Mary's High School ^[1] before moving on to Cotton College, where she graduated with a degree in Political Science. ^[4] Following her undergraduate studies, she pursued a law degree at Government Law College in Guwahati. ^{[1] [5]}

Career

She is the Chairperson and Managing Director of Pride East Entertainments, ^[2] which is a parent company of several Assamese channels. It includes, two news channels (News Live & Northeast East Live), ^[6] three entertainment channels (Ramdhenu, Rang & Indradhanu) and one Assamese News paper (Niyamiya Barta). ^{[1] [7] [8]}

Recently, Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd., headed by Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, successfully acquired the digital news platform Time8. ^[9]

Personal life

She is married to Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam's current Chief Minister. ^[10] They met as students while studying in Cotton College, and Himanta shared his ambition of becoming Chief Minister with her. ^[11] They have two children: a son, Nandil Biswa Sarma, and a daughter, Sukanya Sarma. ^[12]

Controversy

In September 2023, Congress alleged that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, through her company M/s Pride East Entertainments Private Limited, had allegedly obtained a grant of ₹10 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). ^{[13] [14]}

Riniki Bhuyan Sarma denied the allegations, claiming that her company had neither applied for nor received any subsidies, even though it was eligible. She also filed a ₹10 crore defamation lawsuit against Gaurav Gogoi, accusing him of running a "slanderous campaign" against her business. ^{[15] [16]}

References

1. "In Conversation with Riniki Bhuyan Sharma: Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Media Tycoon of Northeast". guwahatiplus.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
2. "PRIDE EAST ENTERTAINMENTS PRIVATE LIMITED - Company, directors and contact details | Zauba Corp". www.zaubacorp.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
3. Shantanu, Shashank (10 May 2021). "Himanta Biswa Sarma wife Riniki Bhuyan new assam cm interesting facts latest news updates | India News – India TV". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
4. "Himanta was sure of becoming CM even in his college days, says wife Rinki Bhuyan". Hindustan Times. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
5. Live, Assam News (24 March 2021). "Riniki Bhuyan Sharma Biography - Success, Achievements, Education, Background, Controversies" . Retrieved 15 September 2021.
6. "Media Ownership Monitor: Who owns the media in India? | Reporters without borders". RSF. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
7. "Pride East". prideeast.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
8. "The Sarma Family". india.mom-rsf.org. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
9. Live, Northeast (1 June 2023). "Assam's media behemoth Prideeast Entertainments acquires Time8". Northeast Live. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
10. Guwahati, PTI. "Himanta was sure of becoming CM even in his college days, says wife Rinki Bhuyan". Hindustan Times.
11. "30 years ago, Himanta Biswa Sarma told his wife he will become CM one day". India Today. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
12. "Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma Is A Proud Dad As Son Starts Law School". NDTV.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
13. Lahiri, Ishadrita (13 September 2023). "Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi says Himanta 'helped wife's firm get Rs 10-cr govt subsidy', Assam CM denies". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
14. "Details of agro processing cluster projects under APC Scheme" (PDF). Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
15. "Assam CM's wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma files Rs 10 crore defamation case against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi". The Economic Times. 23 September 2023. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 29 August 2024.
16. "Assam CM's wife files 10 crore defamation case against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi". The Times of India. 24 September 2023. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 29 August 2024.