Saturday, Sep 13, 2003
Saturday, Sep 13, 2003 |
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Business
By P.A. Seshan
The rupee devaluation story as featured in The Hindu of June 6, 1966. BUSINESS reporting in India as we know it assumed importance only after the country attained Independence. In earlier years, the daily newspapers did not pay much attention to news and comments on the happenings in the stock, money and commodity markets. In fact, except for the mini boom in stock markets in the late 1930s and the buoyant conditions during the World War II years, when industrial production had to be maximised to support the war effort of the British Government, the bourses were generally dormant. The coverage of business news in The Hindu before 1957 was limited to assorted items relating to bullion, commodities, stock exchanges and shipping movements published in the business page along with happenings in select overseas markets. This was understandable as agriculture and trading were the mainstay of the Indian economy in those days. Industrial activity was confined to textile, jute and other agro-based segments and a couple of steel companies. There was, of course, growing awareness of the importance of business news in the changed economic climate of the country. When I expressed my desire to join The Hindu, the Editor, K. Srinivasan, wanted to know about the special contribution I could make to the finance and commerce page and in helping with editorial comments and articles on economic, financial and other subjects. I was asked to submit a note detailing my approach to revamp the page. In my note, the need for a daily column providing analytical and objective comments on important developments in the business world was emphasised. More space was sought to cover extensively happenings in the stock and commodity markets and even in international centres. The Editor promptly accepted the suggestions. After my induction in The Hindu as Assistant Editor in February 1957, the proposed changes were introduced in a phased manner. The daily column that appeared under the pen name Leo soon became popular. With dramatic developments, particularly in the private sector, in the 1960s and 1970s, coverage of business news expanded with the focus turned on the corporate sector. The change in approach to business news was widely appreciated by readers, especially as financial dailies from Bombay were not available in time. In pursuance of the objective of widening the area of coverage, weekly supplements were brought out over a period since the late 1970s. `The Business Review' supplement was thus launched in the 1980s for enhanced coverage of developments that could not be attempted in the daily pages for lack of space. In depth articles by staff writers and outside experts on matters of topical interest have found a place in this weekly pullout. A tax column caters to the requirements of individual assesses. There were occasional serialised write-ups on issues of public interest such as those on the working of the Central Excise Department and the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor-General. The period also witnessed the appearance of a weekly `Engineering Supplement' in the business page, which later took the form of a full-fledged four-page `Science, Engineering, Technology and Agriculture' feature devoted to developments in key areas of research and technology. Apart from regular columns such as Speaking of Science, IT Trends, Questions and Answers, Paths of Innovators and Farmer's Notebook, this supplement has been a unique and sustained effort to disseminate the latest in technology and pure sciences through extracts from reputed international publications. For providing a broader perspective and understanding of developments in different segments of the economy, The Hindu turned to its annual publication. Launched in a modest way in 1956, The Hindu Survey of Indian Industry has grown in size and content over the decades while giving focussed and critical coverage of developments in the industrial, financial and agricultural sectors. The comprehensive articles of the paper's Special Correspondents who closely monitored the bigger core projects in the infrastructure and industry segments during their gestation phases in different regions were unique contributions to development journalism. With this publication well received by industry and stock market circles as also by the reading public, it was time for the launch of the annual Hindu Survey of Indian Agriculture as the agricultural sector was growing in stature after the Green Revolution. Subsequently, an Environment Survey was added with a view to creating greater awareness among the public as well as the authorities of the importance of protecting the environment. The weekly and annual publications thus aimed at an integrated treatment of issues of crucial importance. With increasing awareness among the public, the Central and State Governments and other organisations about the need for more comprehensive dissemination and discussion of economic issues, the idea of bringing out a financial daily was mooted way back in the late 1970s. The Hindu Business Line was launched in 1994. The two publications along with their numerous supplements are now meeting to a considerable extent the exacting demands of readers for information and guidance on the exciting nation-building activities taking place around them.
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