The Independent to be published in India

The Independent is to be published in India, becoming the first British newspaper to be printed in the sub-continent.

The Indy has yet to obtain the necessary government approval to publish a facsimile edition, but this is expected within the month.
It is anticipated that it will then print 5,000 copies. Its owners, the Dublin-based group, Independent News & Media (INM) has already forged strong links in India, and this is seen as a natural, and sensible, extension of that relationship.
INM holds a 20.8 per cent stake in the Indian media company, Jagran Prakashan, which will be responsible for publishing the Indy’s Indian edition.
Though it will be distributed only in Delhi initially, it is hoped that it will eventually appear in 25 more Indian cities.
This breakthrough will, of course, enable The Independent to add its Indian copies to its foreign sales and, therefore, to its “headline” circulation.
However, I understand that it will not result in a sudden boost to the overall sale because INM is planning to re-evaluate its current foreign sales at the same time and will cut out unprofitable sales areas.
INM is so pleased with its partnership with Jagran Prakashan that it applied last month to the Indian market regulator to buy a further one to three per cent of the company.
INM also plans to take a 20 per cent stake in Jagran’s coming radio venture. Jagran publishes the hugely successful Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, which boasts a readership of 22 million and rivals Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun as the most-read paper in the world.

Roy Greenslade