Project Report On Printing Industry

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT
CHAPTER ONE: INDUSTY PROFILE
Alliance Business Academy
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Printing Industry
News Papers Magazines
Others
Books (post cards-memos-
business order forms)
1.1 Introduction:
Printing Industry encompasses numerous fields of every economy. Printing Industry

generates a wide range of products which require in every step of our everyday life.
Starting from Newspapers, Magazines, Books, Post Cards to Memo Pads and Business
Order Forms each are the products of Printing Industry. Other than the direct
contributions, there are many indirect influences of Printing Industry up on the economy.
This is because, all the activities like Binding, Embossing which generate considerable
amount of income and employment are related closely with the Printing Industry.
Packaging industry and Advertising Industry in many ways depend on the Printing
Industry.
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Trend:
Printing Industry Trends has been very significant over the years. This trend is actually
the force that is determining the future of Printing Industry. The increasing use of
Internet in the publishing world has brought a revolution in the Printing Industry. Remote
Distribution of Data and Variable Data Printing has been possible by the use of Internet.
The special ability of Internet of distributing large quantities of data to diverse locations
bridged the gaps of Printing Industry. Earlier, almost all printing work was used to be
done through press. But, in today's world of technological advancement, many printing
work is done from customer's home printer.
Internet publications have opened a new horizon for printing industry. The Publishing
Companies are realizing that it is better to distribute data through Internet in the first
step and to print them in the second step. This is because if they carry out the traditional
process of firstly printing and then distributing then it may generate much more costs.
So, in this context, the biggest challenge faced by the companies which operate through
Printing Press is of lowering costs
Technology:
The pressure of lowering costs has risen more because of the recent technological
advancements which have invented the concept of e-commerce. E-Commerce has
lowered administration costs and the proofing time. To keep pace with these emerging
technologies, the Printing Industry has now concentrated on Digital Printing. But this
advent of technology in the field of printing is killing the Cottage Print Industry.
According to survey, the number of companies in the cottage print industry is going to
decline sharply within 2010. But as a whole we can say that Printing Industry has
already ridden a growth wave through technological innovations and further growth can
come only through new innovations and high level of productivity.
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Growth:
Printing Industry Growth is an outcome of different actions and reactions which took
place in past few decades all over the world. In most of the cases, growth of any
industry is driven by the increase in demand. The Printing Industry is no exception. The
Growth of Printing Industry has taken place due to rising demands for printed products.
Now if we want to find the reason behind this increase in demand we will find several
factors. Among these, the main factors are Overall Economic Growth, Population
Growth, Increasing Advertising Expenditures and the Advent of Internet.
If we go through detailed analysis, we will find that there have been some key changes
in the Printing Industry in the last two decades. To understand the Printing Industry
Growth we need to discuss these changes in details.
The main changes which contributed significantly to Printing Industry

Growth are the following:
 Desktop Publishing-This introduced Typographic Print put in place of traditional

Typewritten Print out.
 Personalization of Data-This introduced use of specific data to generate printed

items. This was possible due to increasing use of personal computers and personal
printers.
 Digital Printing-This introduced Toner based and Inkjet based technology. Digital
Printing also holds Variable Data Printing Capacity.
 E-Commerce-E-Commerce has given the relationship between buyers and sellers a

new dimension. E-Commerce or E-Business has strengthened the business
communications and has contributed significantly to Printing Industry Sales.
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 Use of Color-In the past decades most of the printing work was done in Black and
White. But, in the present era use of color has risen tremendously in the print medium.
Newspapers, Magazines, Catalogs Printers have shifted to color reproduction.
 Distributed Production- The production process has changed immensely. From the
Press Centric Production the Printing Industry is slowly moving to Printer Centric
Production.
The journey of Print Media:
59 BC Caesar orders the publication of events in Rome
748 First hand written newspapers - China
1440 Guttenberg develops wooden printing press
1502 First mass produced news report – Zeitung
1653 First double column paper – Oxford Gazette
1702 First daily newspaper – Daily Courant
1731 First magazine published – Gentlemen’s Magazine -Scotland
1833 The Penny Press - $.01 newspapers
1845 Paperbacks appear in America
1880 First photographs in newspapers
1909 Conde Nast buys Vogue, and transforms it into a photo fashion monthly for up
market women
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1.2 : Indian Printing Industry:
India is one of the fastest growing print media markets in the world. In 2001-06, the
Indian print industry grew at an 8.8% CAGR, against 1–3.5% growth for most other
markets globally over 2001–06. Going forward, we expect strong economic growth,
rising incomes and rising literacy levels to accelerate India’s print media industry
growth. . India is one of the few markets in the world where newspaper readership is
growing, driven by rising income levels and increasing literacy. In addition, there is a
literate population of about 300m who do not read newspapers, which provides for
opportunity of growth in readership.
While print may be losing out to television and the Internet in other countries, in India
the print media industry (including newspaper and magazine publishing) is buoyant and
is expected to grow at a 13 percent cumulative annual growth rate over the next five
years. With readership (222 million adult readers) growing at a fast pace, the industry is
estimated to almost double from its current size of US$ 3.2 billion to US$ 5.80 billion by
2011. This growth is being attributed to two distinct factors; Indian government
liberalizing laws pertaining to foreign investment in Indian publishing companies and the
Indian economy’s fast growth in English-educated middle-class citizens with increased
disposable incomes.
Global media companies are now eyeing the Indian market and are actively seeking
entry through collaborations and joint ventures. A number of Indian versions of
international publications (franchises of the original) have entered the Indian market,
including Elle, Cosmopolitan, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping and Maxim.
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Growth in India’s print and publishing sector is assured in the years to come due to the
growth in the literacy levels in both urban and rural India. Laws to protect intellectual
property (IP) rights are also now in place in India. Although enforcement of the laws at
local levels needs drastic improvements, IP theft in India is much lower as compared to
other emerging markets. Consequently, interested American publishers should consider
entering the Indian market.
Strong growth — Indian print media grew at a CAGR of 8.8% over the last five years,
ahead of the 1-3% growth for most markets globally. We expect Indian print media
growth to accelerate to a CAGR of 14.8% over FY06-11E on a strong macro
environment, rising incomes, improving literacy and media penetration.
Advertisers turning to smaller towns —
Rising affluence in non-metro cities is driving advertisers to increasingly allocate higher

budgets to non-metro/regional newspapers. Advertising rates for regional papers, which
have been at a steep discount to metro (typically English) newspapers, have now
started to catch up.
Mismatch between circulation & advertising share: Hindi and regional
languages have a 25% share each in the Indian advertising revenue pie,
despite their clear leadership in circulation and readership. English
newspapers command higher advertising yields and more than a 50% share of the
advertising pie. We believe this mismatch will eventually narrow as highgrowth
industries such as financial services, retail, real estate, etc, increasingly use print to
target Tier II and Tier III cities for growth through focused, cost effective advertising.
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Faster print media growth in non-metro towns: Non-metro and smaller towns are
subject to stronger growth in print media compared to the larger metro
cities. This, however, is changing. Based on our estimates and using local
language newspapers as a proxy for non-metro advertising, the share of
advertising for local language newspapers has increased to 45%, from about
30% about seven years back.
Market Demand:
The vibrant Indian print industry, comprised of newspaper and magazine publishing,
generates a turnover of around US$ 3.20 billion annually and ranks third in the world in
number of English publications per year (after the United States and United Kingdom).
According to estimates in a report published by the Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, this industry is projected
to grow from its present size to around US$ 5.80 billion by 2011. Lower cover prices,
spreading literacy and rising incomes have translated into rapidly growing newspaper
and magazine sales. Including several new publications released in recent years, both
the newspaper and magazine industries are expected to show a healthy growth rate as
provided in the table below.
Newspaper Magazine Total print media

Reach (# of readers) 204 million 68 million 222 million
Size current (2006) in US$ 2.79 billion 0.32 billion 3.20 billion
Size estimated (2011) in 5.04 billion 0.76 billion 5.80 billion
US$
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Leading print media players are enjoying revenue growth of between 20 and 30 percent,
contrary to the worldwide trend of print losing to television and the Internet. Print
continues to dominate advertising revenue in India. Its market share is almost 50
percent, which amounts to US$ 1.95 billion.
Market Data:
A booming Indian economy, growing need for content and government initiatives that
have opened the sector to foreign investment are factors driving growth in the print
media. With the literate population on the rise, more people in both rural and urban
areas are reading newspapers and magazines. The industry has a potential to grow still
larger as 360 million people in India are do not subscribe to any publication.
The National Readership Study 2006 (NRS 2006), conducted annually in India by the
National Readership Studies Council, is the largest survey of its kind in the world. One
of the main objectives of this survey is to estimate the readership of publications. The
study covers 535 publications (of which 230 are dailies and 305 are magazines) and
provides a very good view of the readership patterns in India and future trends. Some
key findings of the NRS 2006 follow.
The reach of the press medium (dailies and magazines combined) has increased from
216 million to 222 million between 2005 and 2006. As a proportion, however, press
reach has stabilized in urban India at 45 percent and in rural India at 19 percent. Dailies
have driven growth in the press medium, with their reach increasing when measured as
a proportion of all individuals aged 12 years and above. Magazines have declined in
reach from 9 percent to 8 percent over the last one year. Time spent reading has
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increased in urban India (from 41 to 44 minutes daily) and decreased slightly in rural
India (from 36 to 35 minutes daily). Literacy as measured in the NRS 2006 has risen
slightly to 71 percent, giving an additional small boost to publishers. Press (dailies and
magazines combined) added 7 million readers over the last year. Apart from news and
politics, sports is the topic of most interest among readers, and is followed by coverage
of films and television soap operas.
Best Prospects:
As readership increases in India, the demand for foreign publications has expanded as
well. Import statistics for printed books and newspapers for the past two years follow:
Imports $ (in million) % change

2005-2006 372 30
2006-2007 450 21
What makes Indian print market unique?
1. Highly fragmented nature
India’s print media industry is highly fragmented, with more than 8,500 daily
newspapers published across the country. The print media has a total
readership of around 215m. Vernacular newspapers have the highest
readership, followed by Hindi newspapers (9.2% readership) and English
newspapers (2.7%).
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2. Mismatch between advertising & circulation
Regional newspapers are leaders in circulation and readership...
Indian newspapers can be segmented into English and regional (Hindi and
local language newspapers).
...but English newspapers dominate the advertising pie
Despite clear dominance of the circulation and readership charts, regional
newspapers’ share in the total print industry and specifically advertising pie is
disproportionately low. This skew has traditionally existed as the income level
and purchasing power of a regional language/Hindi newspaper reader is
typically low and hence is not the target of many advertisers. English
newspapers' advertising rates are at a 35-60% premium to local language
newspapers. Industry sources indicate that English newspapers have a 50%
market share of total print advertising and Hindi and local language
newspapers have a 25% share each.
3. Print media in non-metro towns growing faster
Non metro and smaller towns are witnessing stronger growth in print media
compared to the larger metro cities. Traditionally, large metro cities, which also
tend to have high percentage of English newspaper readership, have
commanded significant advertising rate premium over non-metro newspapers,
owing to superior per capita incomes and higher growth potential.
1.3 Industry Trend : Print Media
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The print media industry recorded an impressive growth of 15%, significantly higher
than any other country in the world in the four years spanning 2003-2007.. Magazine
publishing grew at a rate of 15%, relatively less when compared to news papers which
grew at 17%. The size of the magazine publishing industry was estimated at Rs 19
billion in 2007, which grew from 16.5 billion in 2006, registering a growth of 15%
Newspaper Magazine
Growth in Avg ads per day 33% 69%

( English)
Language wise share of 33% 69%
News papers and
Magazines
( English)
Media ad Volumes : Top Category
1) Educational Institutes 150 (col*cms in lakhs)
2) properties real estates 67
Media ad volumes : Top Brands
1) IIPM 11 (col*cms in lakhs)
2) Tata sky 9
Outlook for the 5 year period : 2008-2012
The Indian print media industry is projected to grow by 14% over the next 5 years,
reaching to Rs 281 billion in 2012 from 149 billion in 2007. The advertisement segment
is projected to grow at 16%
1.4: NEWS PAPER:
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History:
The Newspaper as we know it today is a product borne of necessity, invention, the

middle class, and democracy, free enterprise and professional standards. Choose the
historical marker to begin the history of newspaper. The first new sheet? The first
newspaper? The first daily newspaper? Pre history ‘newspaper’ was one-to-one in
nature. The earliest variation on a newspaper was a daily sheet published in 59 BC in
Rome called Acta Diurna [Daily Events], which Julius Caesar ordered posted throughout
the city. The earliest known printed newspaper was in Beijing in 748.
In 1451, Johannes Gutenberg uses a press to print an old German poem, and 2 years
later prints a 42-line Bible, the significance being the mass production of print products,
ushering in an era of newspapers, magazines and books. By 1500, the genesis of a
postal system can be seen in France, while book publishing becomes popular
throughout Europe and the first mill can be found [England].
Zeiung [Newspaper] is a news report published in Germany in 1502, while Trewe

Enountre becomes the earliest known English-language news sheet in 1513.
Germany’s Avisa Relation order Zeitung, in 1609, is the first regularly published
newspaper in Europe. 44 years after the first news paper England, the Oxford / London
Gazette is considered the first true newspaper. The First North American newspaper,
Public Occurrences both Foreign and Domestic, was published in 1690 in Boston.
The 1700s was a century in which market elements were created that encouraged the
development of daily newspaper: rising literacy, the formation of nation-states, a
developing postal system, the proliferation of urban centres, a rising literacy and
philosophical tradition emphasizing involvements of government, and technologies that

supported news paper production. In short, it was great news century. The first daily
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S Courant in London, 1702. In 174, he daily Advertiser in London uses the first four
column format. France’s first daily newspaper appears in 1777, Journal de Paris, while
the first United States daily was the Pennsylvania Packet in 1784. The rise of the middle
class transformed newspapers in the 1880s. A penny buys a New York newspaper in
1883, opening of the first mass market for newspaper. In 1847, the telegraph is used as
a business tool, transforming for-away stories. In 1873, an illustrated daily newspaper
can be seen in New York. In 1878 the first full page newspaper advertisements appear,
and in 1880 he first photographs are seen in newspaper, using halftones.
With the basic technology ground work for the modern newspaper in place by the late
19th century, the story of the newspapers in the 20 th century was about professional
development and adaptation to changing consumer and media markets. The story also
involved an evolving business model that rode an ever growing wave of mass market
advertising. Increased profitability and higher revenues attracted publicity owned
corporations interested in buying newspapers from descendents of company founders,
while simultaneously exposing newspapers to the whims of cash and profit hungry stock
markets.
By 2000, newspapers were juggling priorities: fragmentation of news consumption,

fragmentation of advertising investments, the advantages of being a mass medium,
balancing the wants of the market place with the company’s duty to provide the needs
of the market place, a journalize backlash changes, the sheer physicality of ink-on-
paper production and distribution versus digital distribution, increasing profit pressure
surrounding the core product, and extension of the company’s core brand into other
profit centres.
1.5: MAGAZINE
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Definition of magazine:
A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles on various

subjects. Magazines are typically published weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly, with
a date on the cover that is in advance of the date it is actually published. They are often
printed in color on coated paper.
Magazines usually have articles on popular topics of interest to the general public and
are written at the reading level of most of the population. An academic periodical
featuring scholarly articles written in a more specialist register is usually called a
"journal." "Periodical" is the word usually used to describe magazines, journals,
newspapers, newsletters, and anything else that is published in regular intervals for an
indefinite period of time, but "Serial" is sometimes used, especially in librarianship.
Newsmagazine:
A newsmagazine, sometimes called news magazine, is a usually weekly magazine

featuring articles on current events. News magazines generally go a little more in-depth
into stories than newspapers, trying to give the reader an understanding of the context
surrounding important events, rather than just the facts.
History of magazine:
The Gentleman's Magazine, first published in 1731, in London, is considered to have

been the first general-interest magazine. Edward Cave, who edited The Gentleman's
Magazine under the pen name "Sylvanus Urban", was the first to use the term
"magazine", on the analogy of a military storehouse of varied materiel, originally derived
from the Arabic makazin "storehouses".[1] The oldest consumer magazine still in print is
The Scots Magazine, which was first published in 1739, though multiple changes in
ownership and gaps in publication totaling over 90 years weaken that claim. Lloyd's List
was founded in Edward Lloyd’s England coffee shop in 1734; it is still published as a
daily business newspaper.
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Types of magazines:
Academic journals
Architecture magazines
Art magazines
Automobile magazines
Boating magazines
British Boy's Magazines
Comic books
Computer magazines
Customer magazines
Fantasy fiction magazines
Health and fitness magazines
History magazines
Horror fiction magazines
Humor magazines
Literary magazines
Luxury magazines
Men's magazines
Music magazines
News magazines
Online magazines
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Part works
Pornographic magazines
Pulp magazines
Railroad magazines
Regional magazines
Satirical magazines
Science fiction magazines
Science magazines and scientific journals
Serials, periodicals and journals
Shelter magazines (home design and decorating)
Student magazines
Teen magazines
Trade journals
Trade magazines
Travel magazine
Wildlife magazines
Women's magazines
The top 5 magazines in India (readership), according to NRS 2008,
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Name Nos Rank

(‘000’s)
Saras Salil 7139 1
India Today – 5150 2
English
Vanitha 4115 3
Grihashobha – 3788 4
Hindi
Kungumum 3698 5
1.6: Threats to the Printing Industry: (news paper and magazines)
Radio
Talk radio allows consumers to listen to views on political,
social, or sports topics. Consumers can interact and voice their opinions on issues.
Broadcast and Cable Television
 24 hour news channels cover stories in depth and break news instantly
 Video presentation is more entertaining to the mass society
Internet
 News consumers can seek out the stories that interest them
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 Consumers can interact and voice their opinions on issues
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1.7: Federal publishing policy:

Publishing was hitherto a protected sector. The country has now opened
the doors for international publishing companies to come in with equity
participation in varying degrees. The recently announce policy allows
foreign equity up to 74percent in non –news- based publishing companies
in the country. On the news side, it is limited to 24 percent. Local
established publishing companies are restructuring their respective
businesses to accommodate foreign equity investment accordingly.
However, there is no clear policy defined for investment in directory and

custom publishing agencies in India. Directory publishing companies can
safely be 100 percent owned y foreign companies. In case of custom
publishing, since the titles are/ would be owned by Indian companies,
these companies technically would not be subjected to foreign investment
limitations.
Publishing overview:
The ‘News & views’ publishing sector in India can be broadly classified
along general news dailies, business dailies, general news magazines,
especial interest magazines and B2B (trade) magazines.
The market of general news dailies is dominated by publishing groups like

Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu and Anand Bazar Patrika in

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the country’s for regions of west, north, south and east. The Times of India
and Hindustan Times are engaged in a fierce fight to win the market leader
position in the north.
The India Today group enjoys almost monopolistic position in the general
English news Magazine category, with ‘The Week’ from the south – based
Malayala Manorama group coming a distant second. Except for The week’,
the rest all is base in New Delhi- the political capital of the country.
In the non-English ‘news & views ‘publications’ category, three are several
publications in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali and Gujarati. How ever,
these are broadly confined to the different regions. With a reported 41
percent of Indian govt’s tax accruals coming from the country’s commercial
capital Mumbai, the major B2B publishing companies understandably are
based in Mumbai
B2B publishing in India is largely unorganized with the major industry and
trade publications being published by small publishers. The major national
publishing companies have forayed into B2B publishing. However, the
smaller and independent publishers still call the shots in there respective
niches.
In B2B category, the notable publishers serving the computer and software
section are cyber media in the north and Jasubhai Media in the west.
Times of India withdrew from this segment after a failure, while Indian
Express group has met with modest success with its weekly title Express
Computer. Apart from being unorganized, another peculiarity is that the
B2B category has virtually no non-English publications. Almost all of B2B

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publishing happens in English. India has a huge non- English h speaking

Trading community. However, there is no major magazine serving there
needs
More over, a majority of the B2B publications severely lack quality of

contents and production. Other categories like special interest, sports,
leisure and lifestyle have still not taken off on a large scale. There are a
handful of successful publications in segments lied women, cricket,
lifestyle & fashion and children.
1.8: International publishers in India:
Over the last few decades, when foreign equity was barred in India
publishing, international publishers signed licensing and content
syndication deals with Indian publishers. This is now equity participation.
Major India publishers are restructuring themselves to accommodate
international publishers, in accordance with the foreign equity laws.
Already, news of financial times taking up equity in the country’s second
larges business and financial daily- Business Standard – publishing
company have been reported.
BBC Magazines has also entered in to an MOU with the Times of India
group for a separate magazine publishing entity.
One existing route that is being explored aggressively now is licensing of

publication. However, a few licensing relationships have gone sour- the
most notable being Frugal’s licensing of this computer magazine “CHIP” in
the India markets. While CHIP was off them, the earlier publishing partner

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launched another magazine to fill in the void created by Chip’s absence.

The re launch of Chip with another publishing partner happened with
expected setbacks in circulation and advertising revenues.
New Delhi’s India Today group is aggressively pursuing licensing

relationships, having introduced cosmopolitan magazine, amongst
others, in the country. Magazines like L’Officie and Elle are also being
published through the licensing route. Though significant opportunities
exist in the different categories of publishing in India, inter national
publishers will be better off with there own/ independent research and
understanding of the India marketplace.

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1.9: Industry regulation:
Foreign investment in Indian print sector is governed by the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting (MIB) regulations. The important features of the
regulations:
1. FDI and portfolio investments by FIIs are allowed up to a ceiling of 26% of
the total paid up capital
2. Equity held by the Indian shareholder must be at least 51% of the paid up
capital of the resultant entity
3. Publication of facsimile editions of foreign newspapers by Indian entities
(with and without foreign investment) is allowed provided the entities are
registered and incorporated in India.
FII investments and publishing of foreign newspapers in India were not
permitted until 2005 when laws were relaxed. Foreign papers are imported to
India, but because of the delay in their distribution, their appeal to readers is
limited. Relaxation of government regulation allowing foreign investment and
printing of foreign papers in India should contribute to unit circulation growth.

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CHAPTER 2
COMPANY PROFILE

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Company Profile:
‘The Students’ is a part of Shakthi Projects India Pvt Ltd, which is a diversified
group and has 4 different activities (business) under its belt. All the units were
started as partnership firms and later merged under one single name Shakthi
projects India pvt ltd, holding company.
1. Shakthi Industries
2. Comet Educational Solutions
3. Kombra Recruitment Services
4. ‘The Students’ magazine.
2.1: SHAKTHI INDUSTRIES:
Shakthi industries is a production unit while all the other three are services.
Shakthi industries is a 15 year old company started by K Mahendran in the year
1994 which is into the production of rolling shutter leaves and tension springs.
The unit is in auto complex industrial area, sagar road, shimoga. Majority of the
finished goods are supplied within the district while for the rest they get orders
from neighboring districts. The organization structure is very simple at Shakthi as
there is only 3 levels. They do not follow a hierarchy system and still follow the
traditional industrial practices. They manufacture the best quality shutter leaves
for the lowest cost as they have modern machinery which minimizes wastage
and the processing time. They follow a common SLA with all their vendors. They
are planning to expand their market share and also enter new markets.

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COMET EDUCATIONAL SOLUTIONS:
Comet educational solutions (CES) is a professional training institute which offers

training to students to succeed in various competitive MBA entrance exams and
also involved in soft skills training. CES was started in 2006 in shimoga, its head
office. CES has so far trained 10 batches with very good results. It has started a
new branch in chickmagalore district. The business model of CES is, offering
coaching for various MBA entrance exams for a fixed course period.
They have a market share of 40% and their only competitor is a 8 year old
training institute which has got about 50% of the market share. The rest is shared
by the couple of small players in the market.
CES has so far trained more than 500 students. An indigenously developed
training programme they formulated started bringing in the results. Recognition
followed with more and more students from CES making it into the reputed B-
Schools across the state. They are planning to open new branch in hassan and
several other district head quarters in the state.

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sThe vision of CES is to provide quality coaching for the sub-urban and rural
students to take up various competitive exams at a very low cost.
CES has signed MOU with all the leading colleges in their operational area and
provide coaching to students within their college. All the faculties are guest
lecturers and they also have 2 permanent faculty members.
The following are the guiding principles they follow at CES. All of them at CES
consider these principles as supreme. They try to observe these principles both
in letter and in spirit at all times.
 Provide highest quality education to students.
 Give students more than what we promise them.
 Charge very reasonable fees for all courses - without compromising on the
quality of inputs that we give.
 Act in the best interests of students at all times.

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KOMBRA RECRUITMENT SERVICES :

find where you should be!
KRS is a 2 year old organization incorporated in the year June 2007, comprising
of 2 entities with multi site presence, focused to provide dedicated “smart”
solutions in the space of IT and BPO domains. They are a strong team of 60
people and still growing. They represent a team of bright experienced
professionals moving towards a common goal of achieving excellence and
beyond.
The range of solutions spans across fields such as Banking, Insurance,

Healthcare, IT enabled services, Biotechnology and Hospitality management.
The gamut of services include Strategic Consulting, Outsourcing and Program
Management, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). They provide innovative,
time-bound solutions to their Customers. They proudly represent SEI CMM
Level 3 to 5 companies and have addressed smart staffing solutions to majority
of the blue chip companies. Their Customers include some of the most prominent
players in the industry. Customer Service and Continuous Support are key to
their success
Today, outsourcing is widely recognized as a strategic tool for success. Focusing

on core strengths and outsourcing peripheral activities can result in increased
efficiencies, increased productivity, and reduced costs.

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KRS helps organizations manage people, processes and technology to deliver and sustain
value. Through our solutions delivery centers and the relationships with our solutions
partners, we offer a comprehensive solution that addresses most outsourcing challenges
today. The consulting services to support the Corporate Information Factory
Infrastructure Development and Program Management are delineated below.
Start-up Planning
Scope Definition and Project Planning
Team Participation and Mentoring
These services can be applied to the entire Corporate Information Factory or just
to the data warehouse, operational data store or data mart.
Start-up Planning
Many times, a company simply does not know where and how to get started with its
strategic decision-support project. It may be faced with questions such as:
"What is the problem we are trying to answer?"

"How do I get the buy-in needed to support my project?"
"What is the priority of the possible projects or problems?"
"What is a reasonable scope?"
KRS offers a one-day facilitated session to help enterprises struggling with these
and other fundamental questions. Our facilitators are trained to draw out the
answers to these difficult questions, synthesize conflicting inputs, and derive the
steps needed to go forward. From the session output, the Information Technology
manager can proceed with confidence to the next steps in the data warehouse
project. In addition to the above session, the consultant can provide the data
warehouse project manager with a Scope Document template and explain each
of the document sections to the data warehouse manager.

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Major Deliverables
Knowledge transfer
Data Warehouse Start-up Report
Employee Assessment & Selection:
They provide a wide array of assessments to validate candidate skills and

ensure a good fit between the client and the employee, which leads to higher
employee retention rates. The recruitment process has become increasingly time
consuming as employers are inundated with job applicants who come to them
through online job boards and recruitment agencies. It enables the Human
Resources department to focus on other, more strategic priorities, knowing that
they can rely on us to find the right people.
We find the right people to help you increase flexibility and maximize
performance; individuals, teams full-time and part-time, permanent or temporary
staff. Quickly and when you need them fitting in your organization's structure and
culture. they can provide short or long-term support giving customers the
flexibility of staffing up or down as the business demands

31
Training
They offer a wide choice of training and development solutions that help your
employees, to improve their skills that will help them to succeed in the dynamic
work environments. Growing your talent pool in an environment of increasing
mobility requires a change in traditional mindsets around retention, loyalty and
investment in career development. They offer ready access to training and a
new approach to measuring and managing talent at all levels. As the skills
required in today's working world change faster then ever before, people need
quick and easy access to training, when and where they need it.

32
“THE STUDENTS”
Introduction:
The students is a social magazine, dedicated to the exchange of information
between students with an interest in just about anything. The magazine has
motivational messages and covers topics that focus on college, career, finance,
health, lifestyle and fashion. “The students” is the right place for students who are
looking for fun and interesting material to help through their college life.
Most of the sections are entirely dedicated to students as they believe that
communication between the members of the young generation is essential for
their further professional development. One can express their opinions, share
their experiences and help to build a community that will result in a constructive
exchange of knowledge. Students are welcome to participate and they can find
several interactive ways to do it here.
“The Students” is one of its kind magazine where the focus is to connect and
unite the student fraternity and be their voice, give them a right platform to realize
their dreams, build a wide and powerful network which would help them to reach
their goals.
VISION:
Our vision for this magazine is our desire to help the students and create a
platform for them to hone their skills. Our Magazine is a tool designed to inform
and unite Students from all over the place and thus bringing to light the zest and
vibrancy they possess.

33
Reason for Shakthi projects India pvt ltd to enter magazine

industry ( print medium)
Market Entry:
The entertainment and media industry has benefited significantly from India’s
liberal investment regimes. The print medium, in particular, has become one of
the favorite segments for overseas investors with maximum overseas investment
within this industry. Joint ventures and licensing of titles from international
publishers are daily coming to the newsstands and local publishers are also
talking to each other to start joint publications.
In this industry, 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) is now allowed for
non-news publications and 26 percent FDI is allowed for news publications. India
now permits the printing of facsimile editions of foreign journals. This policy is
helping journals save on the cost of distribution while effectively servicing the
Indian market.
Over the last year, in order to cater to evolving reader interest, the Indian
newspaper and magazine industry has seen several cooperative efforts with
foreign publishers as follows:

34
Overseas publication Indian partner

Financial Times (U.K.) Business Standard
Haymarket Publishing (U.K.) for Sorabjee Communications
Autocar
Maxim (U.K.) Media Transasia (license agreement)
Reed Business Information (51:49 Infomedia India (formerly Tata
joint venture) Infomedia)
Independent News and Media Jagran Prakashan (26 percent owned
(Ireland) by overseas partner
Newsweek Outlook Group (for facsimile edition)

35
In addition, several other specialty magazines with international collaborations

have or will be launched in India, as follows:
 Marie Claire magazine was launched in partnership with the Outlook
Group.
 Info media India launched UK’s gadgets magazine T3 under a licensing
agreement.
 Wolters Kluwer announced its plans to get into the business of printing
and publishing scientific journals and magazines in India.
 UK based publishing company Parragon formed a joint venture in India for
launching 250 books ranging from children’s to reference books.
 The Conde Nast group of the United States has decided to bring its two
best known magazines, Vogue and Glamour, to India through a 100

percent subsidiary.
 The Time Warner group-owned Fortune announced its plans for
o publishing in India
 Cambridge University Press acquired 51 percent of Foundation Books
 Private Limited
Another major deal took place in 2006 when Warburg Pincus, through its affiliate
Cliffrose Investment, bought into in a local publishing house Dainik Bhaskar.

36
2.5: Growth opportunities:
Low advertising penetration in India:
Indian media is under-penetrated compared with the developed markets. Total
advertising spend in India is only 0.34% of GDP, vs. 0.8% in Japan, 0.6% in
Singapore and 1.3% in the US. Even developing markets, such as China
(0.5%) and Malaysia (0.9%) have higher advertising-to-GDP ratios than India.
Low advertising penetration, coupled with strong GDP growth and rising
consumerism, are likely to drive strong growth for advertising in India.
More press offerings
Many Indian publishers are trying to increase their press offerings. Jagran
Prakashan has started two new newspaper formats: I-Next and City Plus, and
has expanded geographically in last two-three years to other Hindi-speaking
areas. Deccan Chronicle is trying to gain a stronghold in south India. It entered
the Chennai market in March 2005 and is planning entry in Bangalore in early
2008. We believe, increasing press offerings is a good move since these
opportunities leverage these companies’ publishing experience, existing
advertiser relationships, and established distribution networks. Also, more
publications can help woo regional or national advertisers and act as a defense
against competing press.

37
Alternative media
As advertisers look for more ad-spend efficiency and seek out more effective
ways of reaching their target audience, we expect the significance of alternative
media to increase. We believe there is a lot of opportunity for publishers in
alternative media such as out-of-home and events management, which will
enable them to leverage their existing relationships with advertisers and grab a
greater share of the advertising pie.
India’s out-of-home advertising (OOH) market at Rs10b is highly unorganized
and fragmented due to lack of regulation. It is dominated by small local
players, which typically directly market these sites to advertisers. Though the
market size of OOH advertising in India at Rs10b is small, it stands at 6% of
the total advertising spend in India, which compares favorably with global
standards. Globally, OOH advertising spend is 5% of total advertising.
According to FICCI PWC forecasts, OOH advertising is set to grow at a CAGR of
16.5% till 2011E. The live entertainment industry/events management industry is

worth Rs9.4b and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.6% to Rs22b from 2006-
11. Corporate events form a significant portion of the events management
industry.

38
2.6: Print market growth drivers:
1. Rising incomes and improving literacy
There is a direct link between literacy and income levels, especially in

marketslike India. People reading newspapers are literate, which means a
highercorrelation with higher income levels. This is an attractive target
audiencesegment for virtually all advertisers. Also, in lower income segments
print-media penetration is still low, and rising incomes and literacy rates are likely
to drive growth of the country’s print media. The industry estimates 300m literates
in India still do not read newspapers, presenting a growth opportunity for
publishers.
2. Emergence of new categories as big advertisers
High growth industries such as real estate, automobiles, financial services

andretail chains are becoming increasingly dependent on print media to
reachtarget audiences. This is based on its cost effectiveness, longer retention
and broad base.
3. Migration to color advertising
Emergence of new fast growing industries like retail, real estate,

financialservices, etc, and availability of good quality newsprint and augmentation
of color printing capacities by some of the large publishers has led to an
increasein demand for color advertising. Color advertising rates are typically at a
30-50% premium over black & white ad-rates. A migration towards increased
color advertising not only improves ad–yields and profitability for publishers, but

39
also bodes well for the print industry as a whole as it expands the total revenue
pie. The companies that we are focusing on in this report, Jagran Prakashan and
Deccan Chronicle already report a higher share of ad-revenues coming

fromcolor. Color ads contribute to 33% and 37% of Jagran and DCHL's
advertising space, respectively.
4. Print has 47% share of advertising pie
Over the last decade, increasing penetration of cable and satellite TV has shifted
market share from newspaper advertising towards broadcasting. Thistrend,
however, seems to have stabilized over the last few years. Strong growth in
sectors such as retail, real estate, telecoms, and financial services has led
companies to target penetration in Tier II Tier III cities. In these markets, local
print advertising is an effective means of communication, with
positiveimplications for print sector growth
2.7: Market Issues & Obstacles:
The Copyright Act 1957 governs copyright protection in India. The basic features
of this Act are in harmony with the provisions of the two international conventions
on copyrights: the Berne Convention (1886) and the Universal Copyright
Convention (1952). India has been a member of both of these conventions since
its independence in 1947.
The Act has undergone three important changes since its enactment in 1957.
The Act was substantially amended in 1983 and 1984 and its provisions were
updated to keep in step with the technological developments and to afford
effective protection of the publishers’ rights. The main thrust of the 1983
amendment was to take advantage of concessions for instructional purposes
provided in the revised Paris Text of the Berne Convention and the Universal

40
Copyright Convention in favor of the developing countries. In 1984, the Act was
amended with the specific purpose of enhancing penalties for infringement of
copyrights in order to combat large-scale piracy of copyright protected works. In
1987, the Indian Government set up a working group to study the provisions,
keeping in view the developments in communication technology. The group also
had the mandate to examine why the stringent anti-piracy provisions
incorporated in 1984 amending Act had not worked effectively. They developed a
comprehensive bill enacted as the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 that came
into force in May 1995.
The Act provides: (1) A statement of works which will enjoy the protection of the
law; (2) a definition of the person who shall enjoy such protection; (3) a statement
of the nature and the extent of protection; (4) assignment of the copyright; (5)
legal remedies available to a copyright owner for enforcing his rights; (6) a list of
exceptions outside the purview of copyright; and (7) statutory arbitration in cases
of dispute.
For legal remedies, the Act provides a dual course of legal options to the
aggrieved party: (1) through the Registrar of Copyrights and the Copyrights
Board and (2) through the courts. A person whose copyright is violated can
institute necessary civil and criminal proceedings in the appropriate court in India.
Although laws to protect intellectual property (IP) rights are also now in place in
India enforcement of these laws at local levels needs drastic improvements. In
addition to the protection provided by the law, publishers have also started taking
their own steps to protect their IP. A recent example is Penguin Books India
(publishers of the Harry Potter series) who have hired a legal team to prevent
piracy of their new books. Vigilance cells were set up around the country to
ensure immediate action, should a case of piracy be reported. In addition, the
services of leading intellectual piracy investigators have been retained to keep a
watch on known offenders and pirate business locations.

41
www.thestudentsmag.com

42
THE STUDENTS PROFILE
3.1: Introduction:
The students is a social magazine, dedicated to the exchange of
information between students with an interest in just about
anything. The magazine has motivational messages and covers
topics that focus on college, career, finance, health, lifestyle and
fashion. “The students” is the right place for students who are
looking for fun and interesting material to help through their
college life.
Most of the sections are entirely dedicated to students as they

believe that communication between the members of the young
generation is essential for their further professional development.
One can express their opinions, share their experiences and help to
build a community that will result in a constructive exchange of
knowledge. Students are welcome to participate and they can find
several interactive ways to do it here.
“The Students” is one of its kind magazine where the focus is to

connect and unite the student fraternity and be their voice, give

43
them a right platform to realize their dreams, build a wide and

powerful network which would help them to reach their goals.
VISION:
Our vision for this magazine is our desire to help the students and
create a platform for them to hone their skills. Our Magazine is a
tool designed to inform and unite Students from all over the place
and thus bringing to light the zest and vibrancy they possess.
Origin:
Two brothers by name Sumith and Sujith came out with the concept of an
exclusive student magazine which would act as the voice of student fraternity
and help students bringing to light the zest and vibrancy they posess. They
named their new product as “The Students”
The Company was incorporated on April 2009 under the Indian Companies Act,
1956 and has its Registered Office at , BTM II Stage, Bangalore- 76. The
Company a part of Shakthi project India pvt ltd which is owned and managed by
Mr. K. Mahendran
The group has analyzed the ever-changing perception of customers and is

striving sincerely to provide value to its readers. Hence along with core
competence it satisfies the needs of its readers with innovative layouts, designs,
and useful supplement news in its publications.
3.2: Business Model:
Publication of students magazine catering to all sections of youth interests.
Business model of our magazine would follow the lines of subscription model,
where a customer must pay a subscription price to have access to the

44
product/service. Thus, a one-time sale of a product can become a recurring sale

and can build brand loyalty.
For our website (www.thestudentsmag.com) we follow a freemium model

where we provide content for free, but restrict access to premium features (for
example, archives) to paying subscribers and also attract advertisers
3.4: Market Potential for the Product:
There are about 1400+ registered magazines in India ( source RNI ) but, our
magazine, “The Students” is perhaps the first one which is exclusively meant for
students, and in its true sense is a magazine “ By the students” For the students”
and “Of the students”
An overview of Bangalore’s Student market:
Course Seats per year Course period Total No of

Students
( Minimum)
( Approx)
Engineering : 35000 per year 35000 x 4 1,30,000
MBA 15000 per year 15000 x 2 30.000
Medical 2000 per year 2000 x 5 10,000
Technical * 20000 per year 20000 x 3 60,000
Management 5000 per year 5000 x 3 15000
Others* 5000 per year 5000 x 2 10000
Exec and Distance 10000
TOTAL 2,65,000

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3.4: MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES:
To lead and operate an organization successfully, it is necessary to direct and

control it in a systematic and transparent manner. The success can result fro
implementing and maintaining a management system that is designed to
continually improve the performance while addressing the needs of all the
interested parties.
Eight Quality Management Principles have been identified by The Students

publications that can be used by the Top Management in order to lead the
organization towards improved performance.
1) Customer Focus
“The Students” depend on their customers and therefore should
understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer
requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations (Customer
delight)
2) Leadership
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They
should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can
become fully involved in the achievement of organization objectives.
3) Improvement of People
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full
involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization’s
benefit.

46
4) Process approach
A desire result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related are
managed as a process.
5) System approach to Management

Identifying, Understanding and Managing inter-related processes as a
system contributes to the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in
achieving its objectives.
6) Continuous Improvement
Continuous improvement of organization’s overall performance should be
a permanent objective of the organization.
7) Factual approach to decision making

Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information.
8) Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

An Organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually
beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.

47
3.5: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Board of
Directors
Editor in
CEO COO
chief
Marketing
Technical
executive Reporters Free Lancers Sub Editors
Head
(Ads)
Executive Sales
CRM reporters
Subscription Division
Student
SPOCs
Jockey
Coach

48
Production
Department
Photo Scan Advertisement News Sources Internal Agency
Editor
Print
Packing
Delivery sub
point
vendors
End user

49
3.6: ADVERTISEMENT DEPARTMENT:
Introduction:
Scheduling the advertisements to be published is computerized using
software package which was earlier been done manually. This package
takes Care of all the major aspects of advertisement scheduling. The
objective of this system is to register all the release orders and to capture all
necessary data for advertisement billing, reports and other information
system.
Rules and Regulations:

 Advertisements must comply with :
a) Our Code of Standards
b) State Laws
c) The Rules as stipulated in the Code of the Indian Newspaper Society.
 We stand indemnified against claims arising directly or indirectly from
the publication or non-publication of an advertisement.
 We endeavor to publish advertisements on schedule; but the dates of

publication cannot be guaranteed.
 We reserve the right to advance or postpone the date of release by a

week either way albeit after prior intimation.
 We may at our sole discretion edit, classify, reject and choose to omit,
suspend or change the position of any advertisement.

50
 Advertisements are accepted in good faith, but we cannot accept

responsibility for their veracity, delay, error, omission in publication,
forwarding replies and shrinkage in production etc.
 We reserve the right to revise rates and terms without issuing prior
notice. In the event of any national, state or local levies being imposed on
printing materials, such taxes will be payable by the advertiser.
 Release orders received at incorrect rates will be booked at the
applicable tariff in force.
 Irrespective of the rates mentioned in the release order, the rates
applicable to the category of ad released would be charged and payable.
 All release orders must be accompanied by advertisement materials
before the deadline as specified under material specification in the rate
card. If in exceptional situations a confirmation is required, on the basis of
a letter or release order without accompanying material, the agency/client
will have to boldly inscribe the legend, 'RATE CATEGORY AS
DETERMINED BY YOU IS ACCEPTABLE', on both the letter and R.O.
 Rate as applicable on the insertion date will apply irrespective of the
date of booking.
 All ads falling in a package should be placed through a single release
order.
 Written instructions for cancellation of B&W ads must be received within the
following time span:
Time Span for Cancellation

Publication / Position
Local Editions Other Editions
Magazines 2 weeks ---

51
 In all release orders, insertions having multiple publications/editions

should be consumed within the time specified.
 Advanced bookings for solus position advertisements need to be
reconfirmed by the agency at least 4 days prior to the deadline for the
publication. Failure to do so authorizes us to cancel the booking.
 These conditions are over and above any specific agreement that may
be set forth between our Space Marketing Department and the
advertisers.
 Overseas recruitment agents should disclose their recruitment license
number in the material.
 We charge 25% extra on display rates for political and election ads.
 For financial ad packages where financial rates are not mentioned the
corresponding display rate plus 25% will be applicable.
 25% less on financial rates for audited/ UN audited financial results,
Chairman’s speech, and allotment of issue, prospects, balance sheet,
issues opens/closes and curtain raiser ads.
 Advertisers submitting their material in a CD (compact disc) must
ensure that the CD does not contain any other material other than what is
relevant for the publishing of the advertisement. Material submitted in
floppy will not be accepted.
 Advertisers must enclose a printout of the material when it is submitted
in a digital format. For a colour material colour printout has to be provided.

52
3.7: QUALITY
Responsibility:
Quality is not just the responsibility of one person in the organization. Everyone
involved directly or indirectly in the production of an item or in the performance of
a service is responsible.
The primary responsibility of the quality Department is to have in place the formal
system that continually surveys the effectiveness of the quality Philosophy of the
company. The Quality team thus audits the various departments and assists
them in meeting their responsibility for producing a quality product.
Role:
1) Defect Prevention
a. By Setting Standard
Standards are set as per certain Quality systems . The same is
made available in Quality manuals.
b. Ensuring Adherence of the Standard

Periodical audit of the system standard will be conducted to check
the compliance of the standard.
c. Corrective and Preventive action

Every complaint will be thoroughly investigated by quality
department and its origin and reason. Necessary corrective and

53
preventive action will be taken in consultation with the concerned

departments.
2) Defect Detection
a. By gathering data constantly on occurrence of defect.

b. Every job will undergo thorough inspection as per the inspection plan set
at each stage of operation and recorded if defect is observed.
c. Defect seen on the copies received from centres will be sent back to the
centres after Quality monitoring duly mentioning defects and corrective
action required.
d. Monthly Reports will be generated to understand the status and
performance of the center as regards to quality.

54
HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT
3.8: HR POLICIES OF THE COMPANY
The Students work place attracts, energizes and retains the finest talent. The
company,
 Continuously strive towards working with a multifaceted and talented

workforce that will bring different perspectives to the table.
 Provide an even-handed opportunity for individual development and

advancement based on merit.
 Attract, develop and retain versatile achievers, regardless of their

nationality, and provide them with the resources to bring out the best in
them.
 Involve employees and their families in developing a network of talented

people for creative work and a long-term relationship.
 Build an organization that is continuously learning and changing to suit the

dynamic business environment.
 Develop and nurture leaders who shall bring out the best in themselves
and their teams.

55
 Promote the spirit of teamwork in the workplace - innovation is a process

that needs the contribution of many.
Working Environment:-
“The Students” work environment values creativity. They believe in teamwork,

delegation of responsibility, competitive challenges and growth. As they grow,
they make it a point to celebrate their successes, large and small, with their
people, who have made these successes possible.
Man Power Forecasting:
Recruitment:
It is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The
process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applicants
from which new employees are selected. Purpose of the recruitment is to build a
pool of applicants. Recruitment represents the first contact a company makes
with potential employees.
For recruitment the company prefers both internal and external sources of
recruitment. But mostly the company prefers to have external sources that too at
the executives, trainees etc. as these are entry level for the company .So they
can’t go for internal. The external sources which are followed by the company
Advertisement, Campus recruitments, and walk INS .The major internal sources
include promotion of employees, employee referrals, and previous applicants. At
the lower level external source is preferred.

56
The main reasons for the preference of external sources are that the company
will have the benefit of new skills, new talents and new experiences. The
company frequently recruits people at lower levels and rest most of them
depends on the vacancy of the company. The qualification for recruitment differs
with the post. The company prefers students wit or without MBA.
Selection:
Selection is the process of picking individuals with requisite qualifications and

competence to fill jobs in the organization.
The selection process commence with preliminary interview followed by a test

i.e., aptitude test and if the applicant successfully qualifies in that test, he will
have a final interview. The interview method the company usually uses is panel
interview. Then if the applicant gets selected he will be given the appointment
letter.
Orientation:
It is designed to provide a new employee with the information he or she needs to

function comfortably and effectively in the organization.
“The Students” believe very much in induction program. As soon as employee

joins the company he is given the general information about the company and its
product profile and the daily work he has to do. In orientation program they are
told about the physical facilities, company policies, rules, pay scale and other
benefits, which he is going to derive out of the company. Then the major thing is
introduction of the employee to his trainer, co-worker, co trainees and his
superiors. Then the employee is told about overview of job, job objective and to
which other jobs he is related to i.e. in which other things he can involve.

57
The company organizes 3 months product based induction for all employees.
“The students” has a very friendly working environment. “the students” believes
in teamwork, delegation of responsibility, competency challenge and growth.
Training and Development:
Training refers to the imparting of specific skills, abilities and knowledge to an

employee. All the employees joining the company will have to undergo training.
The duration differs according to posts. Training is compulsory for all new
employees. The old employees also have some training programs conducted in
different fields. If some employees lack in some field he is given a special
training. The methods used by the company are: Initially mix of classroom and on
the job training i.e. for all the new employees. Later on role-plays, case studies,
lecture, business games, etc.
Employee Development:
A motivated employee is a creative one. With this in mind, “the students” invests
significant resources in employee development and in providing a constructive
work environment, which is key to enhancing employee contribution.
LDP - The Leadership Development Programme
The Leadership Development Programme (LDP) is a part of “the students” talent

management programme. The Company’s top executives are part of this
process, which involves workshops on company strategy and values, 360-degree
feedback and development of skills. Every individual in the Leadership Group
prepares his/her Individual Development Plan (IDP), which is discussed with the

58
CEO and the COO. Based on the IDP, structured development programmes are
charted out including training, job rotation and special projects. The programme
also includes formal methods of assessing leadership competencies and
providing career growth for senior executives.
MDP - Management Development Programme
The Management Development Programme (MDP) is also part of the talent

management initiative. An annual programme, it helps identify leaders. MDP
creates a pool of talented employees who are high performers in their present
position and also have the potential to handle challenges and greater
responsibility. MDP creates a career path for promising executives by offering
options for growth and development, besides opportunities for moving up the
corporate ladder.
Performance Appraisal:
It is the systematic evaluation of the individual with respect to his or her

performance on the job and his or her potential for development.
The company gives very high importance to Performance Appraisal. For

performing appraisal the basis on what they are going to be appraised is
previously informed as the employee and boss both the goals to be achieved and
the parameters on which they will be evaluated. Some of the parameters on
which they evaluate the employee are: attitude towards work, quality of work,
imitativeness, and performance against set targets.
Remuneration:

59
Compensation is fixed for the employee on the basis of, both experience and
knowledge. But much importance is given to knowledge of the employees to fix
remuneration. More qualified will be paid more in the initial stages i.e. MBA
qualified employee paid more than other graduates and later on after experience
in the field the remuneration is fixed on the basis of performance.
Incentive and bonus are given to employees that are performance based it is
called “Payments by Result”
Benefits and Services:
The benefits and services which the company provides are medical allowance,
leave encashment, LTC (Leave Travelling Concession), insurance, loans and
trophies, certificates and letters of appreciation are awarded to the outstanding
employees. Employees are encouraged for studies i.e. education as continuous
learning is must in this competitive world. For the higher-level authorities they
provide bonus which is based on performance and stock options (ESOPs) etc.

60
3.9: SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTH
1. One of its kind product.

2. Exclusive magazine for students
3. No competitors
4. Young, Aggressive and Spirited team
WEAKNESS
1. Low Promotional Methods adopted

2. Lack of experience
THREATS
1. Open for new and Big players

2. Rapid changes in market expectation.
3. Rapid duplication strategies by competitors
OPPURTUNITIES
1. Has got a very response in the market and can exploit

the market to a greater extent.
2. Can introduce the product to many other territories.

61
PRODUCT PROFILE:

62
3.1(a): Product Profile: “The Students”
The Students is a monthly social magazine, dedicated to the exchange of

information between students with an interest in just about anything! The
magazine has motivating messages and covers topics that focus on college,
career, finance, health, lifestyle, fashion.If you're looking for fun and interesting
material to help you through your college life, you've come to the right place.
Most of the sections are entirely dedicated to students as we believe

communication between the members of the young generation is essential for
their further professional development. One can express their opinions,
share theur experiences, and help to build a community that will result in a
constructive exchange of knowledge. Students are welcome to participate
actively as they can find several interactive ways to do it here!
USP:
 By the students, for the students and of the students.
 No middlemen ( Direct sales )
 Information plus Entertainment
Description:
A type of periodical that is financed by advertising, subscriptions and newsstand

sales.
Bound publications with a soft cover

63
Higher quality and longevity than newspapers
Printed in full color on coated paper
Segmented into two categories – Information and Entertainmen
3.2(b): Magazine Contents:
Campus Bulletin
Shout Box
Entrepreneur Interview: Young Gun
Celebrity Interview
Politician Interview: Netabol
Khel-mail
MBA News
Finance News
Fashion & Trends: The Big F
FT – Your guide to the rules of love
Welcome abroad
Beauty secrets –
college gossips-
student model-
calendar of events –
jokes –
3 min chef-puzzles-
gender wars-

64
book review-
techie talk-
student adda-
yellow pages-
shopping guide-
achievers club-
hangouts – and many more among others.
2) Special articles and features 3) Seasonal stories and many more.
Every article or story we cover would be confined to students and we would pay
at most attention that each article of ours would one way or the other inspire
students. We would stand first to review and change things and adopt according
to the situational demands.

65
3.3(c): Brief description of the contents:

College life is not just about exams, tests and assignments. Its also
about fests, mad ads and intercollegiate any many others. This
section brings the latest happenings across various campuses.
Shout box is a forum for celebrated writers to voice their opinion on

some hard hitting issues.
Young gun is a section which would feature young entrepreneurs,
politicians and achievers
Khel mail will give readers a healthy dosage of all the sporting
actions that takes place across campuses and also feature
upcoming sporting icons.
The Big F is where one can keep up to date with the latest fashion
news. The Big F team will strive to keep you chic and stylish at an
affordable price.
“The students” will bring you regular on gizmos, eating joints,
books and the likes.

66
3.4(d): Description:
Product Type: Monthly Magazine
Language: English
Target audience: Students (initially Bangalore)
Distribution : Direct sales ( SJs, Coach, SPOCs)
Product Description: Size: 180 * 240 mm

70+ page,
all color,
90 gsm paper, 210 gsm cover page,
gloss finish.
Information : Advertisement 60 : 40
Rs 100
Cost per Customer
Pricing :
Subscription Price per No of Cost Discount Issue

in years copy issues Price
6 months 40 6 240 --- 240 + 18
1 40 12 480 25% 364 + 30
2 40 24 960 25% 738 + 50

67
The students magazine:
Cover:
The students magazine would use their covers to attract readers and induce
purchase by featuring upcoming models, young role models. Good covers
quickly communicate their message to the consumer. The cover page conveys a
lot of message such as
What stories are found in this issue?
What the magazine is about?
So a lot of importance would be given for the cover.
Trends:
Advertising drives many of the industry’s innovative trends. Advertisers want to

create interesting ways for their message to rise above the noise. “The Students”
will always find ways to squeeze more revenue from their product
 Artwork is playing an increasing role in magazine design and layout so a

lot of artwork will be included
 Photos are used as backgrounds
 Photos are computer enhanced and altered
 Tie online content to print editions

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Type setting :
Unusual text alignment and sizes create dissonance but engage the reader and
“the students” team takes atmost care in type setting to generate good amount of
interest amongst its readers. Non traditional fonts and reverse type fonts are
used. “The Students” team understands that more progressive your magazine
the more design rules you can break.
Color:
Color grabs attention and presents a more finished valuable product. “The
Students” does not a have a permanent color set up instead they play with colors
in every issue depending on the story they have or based on the situation.

69
CHAPTER 4:
RESEARCH DESIGN

70
Research design:
Research design is important as it facilitates the smooth sailing of the various

operations, there by making the research as efficient as possible. The research
design of the study is descriptive in nature
1) Statement of the problem:
The main purpose of the study was to understand the reading patterns, interests
and preferences among bangalore students and to find out whether there is a
need for an exclusive student magazine. The study was conducted for ‘Shakthi
projects India pvt ltd’ to understand the market potential and to design a
customized youth magazine.

71
A structured questionnaire was prepared including open and closed ended

questions to get information. Questions like - how many people read magazines,
what they expect from a magazine, what type of news they prefer to read and
suggestions if any.
2) Title of the Project:
“Market analysis of ‘THE STUDENTS’ magazine. A study on students’ reading

patterns, preferences and interests in a youth magazine”.
3) Objectives of the Study:
1. To understand the market strength for “ the students” magazine
2. To know about student’s awareness about the magazine
3. To know about what readers expect from a youth magazine.
4. To know about the interesting areas and topics of the reading majority.
5. To analyze the areas and sections which demands change.
6. To come out with a better product which would generate good amount of
interest among the students.

72
4) Need and importance of the Study:
There is a stiff completion in the publishing industry especially in the magazine

market, because of the presence of large number of players. The study is to
ensure that the product must be a value added to lead the market. For value
addition, it is must to know about the values that the readers expect from a
magazine. Since the target audience is students whi fall in the age group of 18 –
25, its very difficult to predict their taste and preferences unless you have a first
hand report. They have very uncommon preferences and if your product can
satisfy them its certain that your product will create a brand image for itself.
Hence this study gains importance as it gives a clear picture of what is being
expected from a youth magazine and it helps the management to arrive at proper
decision with respect to the product and its marketing strategies.
5) Operational Definitions:
Descriptive research:
Descriptive research, also known as statistical research, describes data and
characteristics about the population or phenomenon being studied. Descriptive
research answers the questions who, what, where, when and how.
Although the data description is factual, accurate and systematic, the research
cannot describe what caused a situation. Thus, descriptive research cannot be
used to create a causal relationship, where one variable affects another. In other
words, descriptive research can be said to have a low requirement for internal
validity. The description is used for frequencies, averages and other statistical
calculations. Often the best approach, prior to writing descriptive research, is to
conduct a survey investigation. Qualitative research often has the aim of

73
description and researchers may follow-up with examinations of why the

observations exist and what the implications of the findings are.
In short descriptive research deals with everything that can be counted and
studied. But there are always restrictions to that. Your research must have an
impact to the lives of the people around you. For example, finding the most
frequent disease that affects the children of a town. The reader of the research
will know what to do to prevent that disease thus, more people will live a healthy
life.
Sampling:
It is the process of learning about the population on the basis of sample drawn
from it, Thus in the sampling technique instead of every unit of the universe only
a part of the universe is studied and the conclusion are drawn the basis for the
entire universe. A sample is a sub-set of population units. The researcher has
adopted convenience sampling for studying the population because the
population is unknown. The researcher has chosen 100 customers and 100
corporate houses in various areas at Bangalore city.
Data source:
Primary Data:
The data, which are collected first hand, either by the researcher or by some one
else especially for the purpose of study are known as Primary data. Primary data
are original source from which the researcher directly collects data have not been
previously collected. In the present study, using a structured questionnaire has
collected primary data.
Secondary data:
The difference between primary and secondary data is only of degree-data which
are primary in the hands of one become secondary in the hands of another. Data

74
are primary for the individual agency or institution collecting them whereas for the
rest of the world they are secondary. It is highly convenient to use information,
which someone else has complied.
Data Collection Tool or Research Instrument:
This study is based on primary data and the primary data are collected through a
well structured questionnaire. The researcher has designed a structured-non-
disguised questionnaire for data collection. According to this structure where the
listing of question is in pre-arranged order and where the object of enquiry is
revealed to the respondent. This type of questionnaire will be helpful to extract
the result with in our limits.
The first step of the research is literature survey, during literature survey the
specific areas and issues up on which data has to be gathered is decided based
on the objectives of the study. Literature survey is of paramount importance
because it equips the researcher with a macro view of a micro issue and vice
versa. It provides exhaustive information in the area of researchers and provides
the researcher with diversified views on a particular issue. For this purpose, the
abstracting and indexing journals and published or unpublished bibliographic are
the first place to go to. Academic journals, conference proceeding, government
reports, books etc; must be tapped depending on the nature of the problem.
In this process, it should be remembered that one source will lead to another.
The earlier studies, if any, which are similar to the study, concerning the problem
at hand must necessarily be surveyed and examined before a definition of the
research problem is given. This means that the researcher must be well-
conversant with relevant theories in the field, reports and records as also all other
relevant literature.

75
He must devote sufficient time in reviewing of research already undertaken on

related problems. This is done to find out what data and other materials, if any
are available for operational purposes. This would also help a researcher to know
if there are certain gaps in the theories, or whether the existing theories
applicable to the problem under study are inconsistent with each other, or
whether the findings of the different studies do not follow a pattern consistent
with the theoretical expectations and go on.
All this will enable a researcher to take new strides in the field for furtherance of
knowledge i.e., he can move up starting from the existing premise. Studies on
related problems are useful for indicating the type of difficulties that may be
encountered in the present study as also the possible analytical shortcoming. At
times such studies may also suggest useful and even new lines of approach to
the present problem.
6) Research Methodology:
a) Sources of Data:
(i) Primary data:
The interviewer approached the respondents, and a structured
questionnaire was given to the respondents with a request to
answer the questions and return the questionnaire
(ii) Secondary data

The data was collected from internet and previous records of the
industry and the organization

76
b) Research Method:
For analyzing the topic, descriptive research was adopted and a questionnaire
was formed and distributed among 100 respondents in Bangalore city.
This method was used to identify “who, what, where, when and how” about the
magazine. That is
 who would like to subscribe the magazine?
 What content they would prefer to read?
 How do they want the magazine to be ?
c) Sample size and description:
100 students from different colleges, different background and from different
parts of bangalore were interviewed for this study. 30 from PUC, 40 doing their
UG and rest in their masters. Random sampling method was used. But care was
taken to have a proper blend of male and female readers.
d) Contact Method:
Personal interviews were conducted as per the convenience of the respondents
and also keeping the time constraint.The primary data from the respondents is
obtained through structured questionnaire as well as telephonic interviews
administering questionnaires
e) Data Collection Method

Well-structured questionnaire comprising both open- ended and closed questions
were designed for the respondent. A pilot survey was conducted to ensure the

77
accuracy of the designed questionnaire. Necessary changes were made in the

questionnaire
Instrumentation technique:
In order to find the response of students, a structured questionnaire was framed

to collect information.
Technique for analysis:
Data collected through questionnaire has been analyzed using simple

percentage analysis. Based on the analysis conclusions and suggestion have
been drawn
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY.
1. Respondents might have provided false information.
2. Since sample size was small which is 100, the findings from this may not
represent the whole population.
3. Getting responses from respondents was very difficult, as they were half
interested and busy.

78
4. Questionnaire survey was the main technique used in the study. It is

wholly based on the perception of the respondents at the time of
answering.
5. Time and resources are also limiting factors of the study.

79
CHAPTER 5:
DATA ANALYSIS
Objective 1:
To assess the extent of magazine readership among students
Table 4:

80
Table showing 3 segments of respondents.
Segments No of Respondents
Pre university 30
Graduates 40
Post graduates 30
Total 100
Interpretation
For the research we selected a sample size of 100 students, out of which 30
students are doing their Pre-University Course, 40 are undergraduates and 30
are Post graduates. As UG population is more and since this group is more
inclined towards reading magazine we chose 40 students from this group.
Pie chart 1: Showing 3 segments of respondents

81
Inference:
From the above pie chart it is clear that out of 100 respondents selected 30 are
at pre university level, 40 are doing graduation/graduates and 30 are doing post
graduation/post graduates.
Table 5:
Table showing readers’ awareness of different magazines.

82
Respondents
post
Magazines pre university Graduates graduates
Week 20 36 24
India today 22 40 28
business world 10 36 18
outlook 22 36 22
film fare 28 36 22
sports star 24 34 22
women's era 14 32 22
competition
success 24 36 24
Interpretation:
The table shows that graduates are more aware of magazines than Pg and UG
but the readership is high for sports and film related magazines.
Clustered Bar Graph 2.1: Showing awareness of different magazines

among Pre university students.

83
Inference:
From the above Bar Graph it is clear that PU Students are aware of almost all the
magazines that are considered for the study. Most of them are aware of film fare
(93.33%), competition success (80%) outlook (73.33%) and India today (73.33%)
Clustered Bar Graph 2.2: Showing awareness of different magazines

among Graduates.

84
Inference:
From the above Bar graph it is very clear that graduates are aware of
almost all the magazines that are considered for study. Most of them are aware
of India today (100%) Competition success (90%)
Clustered Bar graph 2.3: Showing the awareness of different magazines

among post graduates.

85
Inference:
Above graph clearly shows that post graduates are aware of almost all the
magazines that are considered for study. Most of them are aware of India today
(93.33%) the week (80%) sports star (73.33%).
Table 6:
Table showing mode of purchase of magazines:

86
Respondents Subscribe Buy (single copy)

Pre University 15 15
Graduates 16 24
Post Graduates 04 26
Total 35 65
Pie chart 3.1: Showing Mode of purchase of magazine among

Pre University student.
Interpretation:
Out of 30 PU students studied 15 said that they prefer to buy and remaining 15
preferred subscription.
Inference:
Above pie chart shows that half of the graduates prefer to buy single copy and
remaining half prefer to subscribe the magazines.
Pie chart 3.2: Showing mode of purchase of magazines among graduates .

87
Interpretation:
Out of 40 graduates studied 24 preferred to buy single copies and 16 preferred to
subscribe for the magazine.
Inference:
Above pie chart shows that 60% of the graduates prefer to buy magazines and
40% of graduates prefer to subscribe.
From this we can say that mode of purchase preferred is buying than
subscribing.
Pie chart 3.3: Showing Mode of purchase of magazine among Post

graduates.

88
Interpretation:
Among 30 Post graduates studied 26 preferred to buy and 4 preferred to
subscribe the magazine.
Inference:
Above pie chart shows that 87% of post Graduates prefer to buy the magazine
and 13% of post Graduates prefer to subscribe.
This gives us a clear picture that most preferred way of procuring a magazine is
buying single copy than subscribing.
Pie chart 3.4: Showing Mode of purchase of magazine among the

89
sample studied.
Interpretation:
Out of 100 respondents 65 preferred to buy and 35 preferred to subscribe.
Inference:
Above pie chart shows that 65% of the total respondents prefer to buy single
copies of the magazine and the rest 35% prefer to subscribe it.
Out of 100 respondents 65 preferred to buy the magazine and only 35 preferred
to subscribe. On the basis of this study we can draw a conclusion that buying
single copies is the most preferred way of procuring the magazine amongst the
student community.
Table 7:
Table showing the type of magazine preferred by the respondents.

90
Respondents Monthly Weekly

Pre university 04 26
Graduates 08 32
Post Graduates 14 16
Total 26 74
Pie Chart 4.1: Showing Preference pattern of Monthly Magazine.
Interpretation:
Out of 100 respondents only 26 preferred monthly magazine. Among those 26,
PU students were 4, graduates were 8 and post graduates were 14.
Inference:
Above pie chart shows the preference of monthly magazine among different
segments of the sample. Out of 100 respondents 26 preferred monthly magazine
which included 54% of post graduates 31% graduates and 15% PU students.
Pie chart 4.2: Showing the Preference of weekly magazines.

91
Interpretation:
Among 100 respondents 74 students preferred weekly magazine. Out of them 26
are PU students, 32 graduates and 16 Post graduates.
Inference:
Above pie chart shows the preference of weekly magazine among the
respondents. Out of 100 respondents 22% post graduates, 35% pre university
students and 43% Graduates preferred weekly to monthly magazine. So monthly
magazine has an edge over the weeklies.
Pie chart 4.3: Showing preferred type of magazines among respondents.

92
Inference:
The above pie chart clearly shows that 74% of the total respondents prefer to buy
weekly magazine and 26% of the respondents preferred monthly magazine.
Table 8:

93
Table showing the preferred advertisements of readers.
Respondents Education Automobiles Electronic Apparels

Gadgets
PU students 20 14 16 04
Graduates 18 24 16 28
Post Graduates 16 08 06 08
Stacked Bar Graph 5.0: Showing areas of interest in advertisements that appear
in magazine.
Inference:
It is evident from the graph that students prefer to read more of educational
advertisements followed by automobiles.
Table 9:
Table showing benefits of reading magazine among respondents.

94
Respondents Academics General awareness Pleasure

PU students 12 28 04
Graduates 18 38 18
Post Graduates 08 24 08
Stacked bar graph 6.0 showing benefits of reading magazine among

respondents.
Interpretation
Among 100 respondents 38 said magazine reading helps in Academics, but 90
respondents said that it helps building general awareness and 30 said it’s read
for fun.
Inference:
Most of the students prefer news on general awareness to Academics followed
by pleasure related stuff.
Objective 2:
To identify the factors influencing Magazine readership.

95
Table 10:
Table showing factors that influence in buying the magazine.
Attributes PU students Graduates Post Graduates

Availability 26 10 08
Price 22 16 08
News Coverage 18 32 22
photographs 14 10 06
Staked column graph 7.0 showing factors that influence in buying a

magazine among respondents.
Inference: We can find out varying behavior of the respondents for this question.
A majority of PU students say that availability and price plays a major role in
buying a magazine. But majority of the graduates think that news coverage plays
a very important role. According to Post graduates news coverage is the only
thing that plays a very important role in buying a magazine
Table 10 (a):
Table showing rating of factors that influence in buying a magazine. Among

PUC students:

96
Attribute High Medium Low priority

Priority
Price 04 24 02
Publicity 08 14 08
Editorial Quality 14 14 02
Interpretation:
Among 30 PU students, 26 students have given high priority for availability and
24 members have given Medium priority for magazine pricing.
For news coverage 20 students give high priority for news coverage. For
editorial quality we find a very positive response.
Graph 8.1 showing rating of factors that influence in buying a magazine

among PUC students

97
Inference:
Price, availability and editorial quality are the major factors which influence in
buying a magazine among PU students.
Table 10 (B):

98
Table showing rating of factors that influence in buying a magazine among

Graduates.
Attributes High Priority Medium Low Priority

Price 12 16 12
Publicity 08 18 14
Interpretation:
According to 32 graduates, availability play a good role in buying a magazine.
For price we can see a varying behavior of the graduates. 12 say high priority
and 12 says low importance.
A majority of about 32 said news coverage plays a very important role.
Publicity is given the average importance and 22 said that Editorial quality also
plays a very important role in buying a magazine.
Graph 8.2:
Graph showing rating of factors that influence in buying a magazine

among Graduates.

99
Inference:
Graduates have given the most importance to news coverage and average
importance has been given to the availability. They also give importance to
editorial quality and publicity equal importance
Table 10 (c)
Table and Graph showing rating of factors that influence on buying of a

magazine among Post Graduates.

100
Attributes High Priority Medium Low Priority

Price 08 14 08
Publicity 06 18 06
Inference:
News Coverage and Editorial Quality are the two major factors which influence in
buying a magazine among Post Graduates.
Table 11:
Table and Graph showing Promotional offers that respondents look in a

magazine.
Respondents Special Gifts Subscription discount Lucky coupon

PU Students 18 06 06
Graduates 24 10 06

101
PG 14 12 04
Interpretation:
Among respondents 18 PU students, 24 graduates and 14 post graduate
students voted for special gifts. 6 PU students 10 graduates and 12 post
graduates voted for concession on subscription. And 6 PU students 6 graduates
and 4 post graduates chose for lucky dip coupons .
Inference:
Majority of respondents preferred special gifts as promotional offers than
concession on subscription and lucky dips.
Objective 3:
To identify the category which generates good amount of interest.
Table 12:

102
Table showing areas of utmost interest in magazines
.
Area of interest PU Students Graduates Post Graduates
Business 14 09 15
Politics 03 06 05
General 00 01 01
Sports 03 05 03
Entertainment 10 19 06
Interpretation:
14 PU students, 9 graduates and 15 post graduates showed good interest in
Business related articles. 10 PU, 19 graduates and 6 post graduates showed
interest in entertainment. Politics and sports got low response.
Graph showing areas of utmost interest in magazines

103
Inference:
Business and Entertainment news lead all the way in generating interest among
readers. Politics and general news does not generate interest among students
Table 13:
Table showing Awareness of Students about a magazine exclusively for

students.

104
Respondents Yes No
PU students 1 29
Graduates 2 38
Post Graduates 5 25
Total 8 92
Interpretation:
Out of 100 respondents 92 say they are not aware of any magazine which is
exclusively meant for students.
Inference:
 Majority of them are unaware of the magazine.
 There is no magazine which is exclusively meant for students
Table 14:
Table and Graph showing the Opinion of students about the requirement of
a magazine exclusively for students.
Respondents Required Not Required

105
PU Students 26 4
Graduates 37 3
Post Graduates 28 2
Total 91 9
Interpretation:
Out of 100 respondents 91% said that they require a magazine exclusively for
students.
Inference:
Majority of Students feel that there is a need for an exclusive magazine for
student community.

106
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION.
Findings and Recommendations
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: From the study conducted on PU Students,

graduates and post graduates followings are the findings.

107
1. There is a good awareness of all the magazines among all the segments of
respondents. The most preferred ones are India Today, Outlook, week and
Business world.
2. There is much preference for single copy buying than to subscribe.
3. Most of the respondents look for weekly magazine than a monthly magazine.
4. Respondents look for news coverage, availability, price and stills when they
buy a magazine.
5. Most of the respondents rated news coverage and availability as high priority
factors and rated publicity as the low priority factor.
6. They are more interested in entertainment, sports news and general news
when they buy a magazine.
7. Graduates and post graduates showed more interest towards business news
8. Most of the respondents were interested in advertisements that are related to

education, Electronic gadgets, automobiles and some of them even in apparels.
9. Most of them went for Special gifts and lucky dip coupons as preferred
promotional offers but very less preferred Concession on subscription.
10. Majority of the respondents read magazine for general awareness and for
academic purposes.
Recommendations:
From the study it was found that most of them were looking forward for an
exclusive student magazine. But there are certain things that the students were
not satisfied with and they are as follows.

108
 The most important among them is that the price of the magazine has to
be reduced. Most of them felt that the magazine is over priced.
 “The Students” magazine should cover some amount of news covering

different areas like sports, politics, entertainment and business.
 Magazine should be easily available and in sufficient quantities.
 More number of magazines should be distributed to colleges and libraries

where more number of people tend to use the magazines and there by try
to convert them into subscribers.
 The subscription price should be reduced.
 Weekly magazines are most preferred.
 Along with the price factor news coverage also plays an important role for
the sale of any magazines. So much emphasis should be given to the
news coverage also.
 More publicity should be given to the magazine in print media and in

electronic media.
 Special gifts and gift coupons should be used as promotional tools
Conclusion:
From the research work it can be concluded that the different segments of
students showed different buying reading and preference patterns. Even their
taste and preferences were different. Students were very much interested in

109
current affairs which includes politics, sports, Educational and Entertainment.

Most of them preferred a magazine that can cover all the above said segments.
The price factor is not much important for them as the most emphasis was given
to the news coverage. They are most interested in the Magazine which can cover
excellent news coverage of latest happenings. Most graduates preferred
magazine which cover more of the sports news, entertainment and some amount
of politics. Respondents preferred weekly magazines than a monthly magazine.
At the same time post graduates showed a different set of response when they
bought a magazine. They showed more interest in business magazine. This is
because most of the respondents of this segment were business management
students along with others. They showed very less interest in politics and sports.
Hence from the study it can be concluded that this particular segment of students
has different set of behavior displayed which plays a very major role in any
magazines success and failure. Any magazine that can consider the students
likes and preferences is sure to be success in the market.
My learning:
Working with a start up company and that too for a new product launch targeted
towards youth can only increase the excitement and addressing the energetic
student audience is always motivational.

110
I had the privilege to work with sales and promotional team. This study entitled
Market analysis of ‘THE STUDENTS’ magazine. A study on students’
reading patterns, and interests in a youth magazine was carried out to
address the problem of what young readers look out for in a youth magazine.
The study has helped “the students” management to understand the likings and
preferences of student readers and design a product according to the customers’
requirement.
In addition to the survey of the students’ perception about the new magazine, my
profile included speaking to prospective advertisers and converting them into
clients who shall advertise in the magazine. I was also a part of the presentation
team and thereby had an opportunity to represent the company before many
college students to propose “the students” magazine.
Besides I also had the opportunity to get a hands on experience of interacting

with members of other functional areas which gave cohesion to the study. “The
Students” gave me a real time experience on how a new product is launched.
This study gave me an idea about the things that should be taken care of while
launching a new product, how to understand customers and how to analyze
market. It gave me an idea about what student think and how they perceive a
magazine. The stay was an amazing experience of learning.

111
Bibliography:
Books:
 Steinberg, S.H. (1996). Five Hundred Years of Printing. London and

Newcastle: The British Library and Oak Knoll Press.

112
 Sanjay Kaptan, Akhilesh Acharya, Advertisement in Print Media, Jan 2001,

mumbai
 The Indian Entertainment and Media Industry 2006 – FICCI and Price
water house Coopers.
 Monthly review of the Indian Economy, Center for Monitoring Indian

Economy June 2007
 The Marketing White Book - Business World 2009-10
Website:
http://www.hindu.com/nic/nrs.htm
www.studentmagazine.ca
www.rni.nic.in
www.indianprinterpublisher.com
www.drupa.de

113
ANNEXURE
Request: I, Sumith K M, am a 1 year MBA student at Alliance Business Academy. In

partial fulfillment of the course, I’m carrying out a research work entitled “Market
analysis of ‘THE STUDENTS’ magazine. A study on students’ reading patterns,
and interests in a youth magazine”. I request you to help me in completing the

114
research by filling the enclosed questionnaire .I assure you that the information
provided by you will be kept confidential and used for academic purposes only.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Questionnaire for “The Students” Magazine:
1) Personal Data
 Name : _________________________________________________
 Address : _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
 Sex : Male Female
 Education: Pre University Graduation Post Graduation
2) Which of the following magazines you are aware of

 The Week
 Business World
 Film fare
 Women’s Era
 India Today
 Outlook
 Sports Star
 Competition success
3) Do you Subscribe Buy

115
4) Which type of magazine you prefer Monthly Weekly
5) What prompted you to go for a particular magazine?
 Availability Price
 News Coverage Photographs
6) Rate the factors that influence you in buying a magazine.

1. High Priority 2.Medium 3.Low priority
 Availability
 Price
 News coverage
 Publicity
 Editorial quality
7) Which area is of utmost interest to you?

Business News Politics General Sports Entertainment
8) Areas of Interest in Advertisements

 Educational
 Automobiles
 Electronic gadgets
 apparels
9) What Promotional Offers Interest you?

 Special Gifts
 Lucky Dip coupons
 Concession on Subscription
10) How Have Magazine reading helped you?

 Academics

116
 General Awareness
 Pleasure
11) Have you Read any magazine which is exclusively for students.
Yes No
12) What do you think of a magazine which is exclusively for students?

Good Very good Excellent

117

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INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT

CHAPTER ONE: INDUSTY PROFILE

Alliance Business Academy

News Papers Magazines

Printing Industry encompasses numerous fields of every economy. Printing Industry

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The main changes which contributed significantly to Printing Industry

 Desktop Publishing-This introduced Typographic Print put in place of traditional

 Personalization of Data-This introduced use of specific data to generate printed

 E-Commerce-E-Commerce has given the relationship between buyers and sellers a

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The journey of Print Media:

59 BC Caesar orders the publication of events in Rome

748 First hand written newspapers - China

1440 Guttenberg develops wooden printing press

1502 First mass produced news report – Zeitung

1653 First double column paper – Oxford Gazette

1702 First daily newspaper – Daily Courant

1731 First magazine published – Gentlemen’s Magazine -Scotland

1833 The Penny Press - $.01 newspapers

1845 Paperbacks appear in America

1880 First photographs in newspapers

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1.2 : Indian Printing Industry:

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Advertisers turning to smaller towns —

Rising affluence in non-metro cities is driving advertisers to increasingly allocate higher

Mismatch between circulation & advertising share: Hindi and regional

despite their clear leadership in circulation and readership. English

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language newspapers as a proxy for non-metro advertising, the share of

30% about seven years back.

Newspaper Magazine Total print media

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Imports $ (in million) % change

What makes Indian print market unique?

1. Highly fragmented nature

readership of around 215m. Vernacular newspapers have the highest

readership, followed by Hindi newspapers (9.2% readership) and English

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2. Mismatch between advertising & circulation

Regional newspapers are leaders in circulation and readership...

local language newspapers).

...but English newspapers dominate the advertising pie

Despite clear dominance of the circulation and readership charts, regional

and purchasing power of a regional language/Hindi newspaper reader is

newspapers' advertising rates are at a 35-60% premium to local language

newspapers. Industry sources indicate that English newspapers have a 50%

newspapers have a 25% share each.

3. Print media in non-metro towns growing faster

tend to have high percentage of English newspaper readership, have

commanded significant advertising rate premium over non-metro newspapers,

owing to superior per capita incomes and higher growth potential.

1.3 Industry Trend : Print Media

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Growth in Avg ads per day 33% 69%

Media ad Volumes : Top Category

1) Educational Institutes 150 (col*cms in lakhs)

2) properties real estates 67

Media ad volumes : Top Brands

1) IIPM 11 (col*cms in lakhs)