The Hindu : Front Page : Indian editions of foreign news magazines allowed

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Friday, Sep 19, 2008
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Indian editions of foreign news magazines allowed

Special Correspondent

Union Cabinet clears proposal of I&B Ministry

NEW DELHI: Foreign news magazines can now come out with Indian editions with the Union Cabinet on Thursday clearing an Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry proposal to review the print media policy to this effect.

Till now, only Indian editions of foreign scientific, technical and speciality periodicals and journals were allowed.

However, unlike in the case of niche publications — like the scientific, technical and speciality periodicals — where cent per cent foreign investment is allowed publishers of Indian editions of foreign news magazines will be eligible only for 26 per cent foreign investment.

This is in line with the existing foreign investment cap for newspapers.

Only Indian companies registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956, will be allowed to bring out Indian editions of foreign news magazines. And, three-fourths of the directors on the Board of Directors of such companies and all key executives and editorial staff have to be resident Indians.

New policy

The new policy does not provide any parameters on the content of the Indian edition of foreign news magazines. The Indian edition can be either identical to the foreign magazine it ties up with or it can include locally generated material. The Indian publisher is also free to insert local advertisements.

The title of the magazine will have to be registered by the Indian company with the Registrar of Newspapers for India.

While opening up this sector, the Government has stipulated that only those magazines which are being published in the country of their origin will be allowed to enter India with an Indian edition. To ensure against fly-by-night operations, the policy also states that these periodicals should have been in print for at least five years running with a minimum circulation of 10,000 copies during the last fiscal in the country of origin.

At cheaper rates

This revision of the print media policy – first opened in 2002 – is aimed at facilitating access to foreign magazines at cheaper rates. As for increasing the foreign investment limit in newspapers, Ministry officials did not rule out such a possibility in the future but maintained that nothing was on the cards right now.

Since 2002, the government has cleared 17 proposals for foreign direct investment in print media. In all, 183 Indian editions of speciality magazines have been allowed. This is besides the 116 cases where foreign investment has been allowed for speciality magazines.

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