Vineet Jain elected PTI Chairman

Vineet Jain, Managing Director of the Times of India Group, was on Monday elected Chairman of the board of directors of the Press Trust of India (PTI).

M.P. Veerendrakumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Mathrubhumi Group, was elected Vice-Chairman at the 62nd annual general meeting of the PTI's shareholders here.

Mr. Jain, who was Vice-Chairman, succeeds Vijay Kumar Chopra, Editor of the

Punjab Kesari Group. Mr. Jain has played a key role in the growth of

The Times of India and other publications of Bennett Coleman and Company, and is credited with its successful forays into online, radio and television services. He was PTI Chairman in 2002-2003.

Mr. Veerendrakumar was formerly a Member of Parliament and Union Minister. A past President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), he is associated with media-related bodies in India and abroad.

Besides Mr. Jain and Mr. Veerendrakumar, the members of the board are Vijay Kumar Chopra ( Hind Samachar ), N. Ravi ( The Hindu ), R. Lakshmipathy ( Dinamalar ), Aveek Kumar Sarkar ( Ananda Bazar Patrika ), Shekhar Gupta ( Indian Express ), K.N. Shanth Kumar ( Deccan Herald ), Mahendra Mohan Gupta ( Jagran Prakashan ), Hormusji N. Cama ( Bombay Samachar ), Riyad Mathew ( Malayala Manorama ) and Sanjoy Narayan ( Hindustan Times ). The Directors from outside the newspaper industry are Professor E.V. Chitnis, Justice S.P. Bharucha and Fali S. Nariman.

Addressing shareholders, Mr. Chopra commended PTI's news and photo services for their dominant impact. During the last financial year, PTI had achieved its highest-ever revenue and continued to make profits, he said.

PTI was gearing to cover the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. It had invested substantially in upgrading equipment for the purpose, he said. An advanced graphics service launched recently had evoked encouraging response from newspaper-clients. The board had approved an audio news clip service and a feed for mobile phones.