Suddenly in December 2008, HT Media announced Narisetti was stepping down as editor of Mint. Narisetti did not send a newsroom-wide email prior or since explaining his decision to leave. Subsequently, he joined The Washington Post as managing editor.

In a June 2009 interview with Forbes India, Narisetti said this about his departure: “The succession planning process was always carefully thought through from the time Mint’s Editorial Leadership Team was put together. In the fall of 2008, it became very clear to me that key members of the team were ready and raring to take on larger roles ... Rather than hold off smart successors because I had nothing else to do, I decided to look for jobs outside Mint. That I didn’t have anything specific lined up when I stepped down didn’t bother me as I could have actually used the break after nearly three all-consuming years in India.”

The New York Times, in a story on Indians trained in the West who find it difficult to come back and work in India, features Narisetti’s case. “Some very simple practices that you often take for granted, such as being ethical in day-to-day situations, or believing in the rule of law in everyday behavior, are surprisingly absent in many situations,” that paper quoted the Hyderabad-born Narisetti as saying.

Narisetti’s rare public comments about the work environment in India have once again set off speculation about the circumstances of his departure. It’s hard to imagine that his frustration with working in India didn’t on some level play into his decision to leave the paper. But In an email response to contentSutra, Narisetti said the two weren’t related. ” I gave up my Mint editorship voluntarily and at my own timing because I had a strong succession plan in place, which, in retrospect and from my distant vantage point, appears to be working well just going by Mint‘s numbers today. And I left India earlier than I had expected because of what I told Ms Timmons of The New York Times.”

“Raju is an excellent professional and we were very happy to have him bring out Mint as a business daily in India. The paper has set new standards in Indian journalism,” HT Media CEO Rajiv Verma said.