India: Publishing Industry

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India: Print and Publishing Industry

Aliasgar Motiwala
September 08

Summary

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.

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.

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

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Size current (2006) in US$ 2.79 billion 0.32 billion 3.20 billion
Size estimated (2011) in US$ 5.04 billion 0.76 billion 5.80 billion

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.

Source: The Indian Entertainment and Media Industry 2007 – FICCI and PricewaterhouseCoopers

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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 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.

Detailed findings of the NRS 2006 survey are available on http://www.hindu.com/nic/nrs.htm

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

Source: Monthly review of the Indian Economy, Center for Monitoring Indian Economy – June 2007

The following offer opportunities to U.S. companies interested in tapping the Indian market:

• Books • Printing equipment

• Newspapers • Printing technology
• Magazines • Content sharing
• Journals

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Prospective Buyers

The major importers and suppliers of U.S. books/magazines/newspapers in India are:

• India Book Distributors (Bombay) Ltd (India’s largest importer)

• Aditya Books (P) Limited, New Delhi
• Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Limited, New Delhi
• Allied Publishers Limited, Mumbai
• Capital Book Pvt. Limited, Calcutta
• India Book House Pvt. Limited, Mumbai
• Narosa Book Distributors Pvt. Limited, New Delhi
• UBS Publishers and Distributors Limited, New Delhi

The top 5 dailies and magazines in India (readership), according to NRS 2006, follow:

Dailies Magazines

Name Nos (‘000’s) Rank Name Nos (‘000’s) Rank

Dainik Jagran 21165 1 Saras Salil 7139 1
Dainik Bhaskar 20958 2 India Today – English 5150 2
Eenadu 13805 3 Vanitha 4115 3
Lokmat 10856 4 Grihashobha – Hindi 3788 4
Amar Ujala 10847 5 Kungumum 3698 5

Note: The Times of India is the world’s most read daily newspaper in the English language with 7.4 million
readers.

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:

Overseas publication Indian partner

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

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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.
• Infomedia 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 TimeWarner group-owned Fortune announced its plans for 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.

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 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

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 India: Publishing Industry
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intellectual piracy investigators have been retained to keep a watch on known offenders and pirate business
locations.
Trade Events
Kolkata (Calcutta) Book Fair Mumbai (Bombay) International Book Fair
February 1-28, 2007 (dates to be confirmed) 16th - 20th January 2008
Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata http://www.internationalbookfair.com/
http://www.kolkatabookfaironline.com/index2.php

Resources & Contacts

Mr. S.C. Sethi, President
The Federation of Publishers’ & Booksellers’ Associations in India
84, Second Floor, Darya Ganj, (Opp. Cambridge Primary School).
New Delhi -110002
Phone: 91-11--23272845,23272215 Fax : 23281227
E-mail: fpbai@vsnl.net
Website: http://www.fpbai.org

Mr. Hormusji N. Cama, President

Indian Newspaper Society
INS Building
Rafi Marg
New Delhi 110001
Phone: +91 11 23715401 (12 Lines)
Fax: +91 11 23723800
Email: ins@ins.org.in, hnc.samachar@gmail.com
Website: http://www.ins.org.in/index.html

Reference: The Indian Entertainment and Media Industry Report - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &
Industry (FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers

For More Information

The U.S. Commercial Service in Mumbai, India can be contacted via e-mail at: Aliasgar.Motiwala@mail.doc.gov;
Phone: 91-22-22652511; Fax: 91-22-22623850; or visit our website: http://www.buyusa.gov/india/en/

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International copyright, U.S. Department of Commerce, 2007. All rights reserved outside of the United States.

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