Jagran set to launch new editions

The Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, published by Kanpur based Jagran Prakshan Pvt Ltd, is targeting a readership of two crore. The latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS) has put its readership at 1.68 crore.

Mahendra Mohan Gupta, Dainik Jagran's managing editor, told Business Standard, that this growth is necessary to give its advertisers value for money.

To achieve the two crore target, Jagran is planning to launch several new editions. The three states it is immediately eyeing are Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The newspaper is already present in some of these market. "In MP we are already publishing the paper from two places and we propose to add one more centre to the existing two," said Gupta.

Jagran is also planning to start printing the newspaper from J&K, and later from Chandigarh, which will be primarily for the Himachal market. Gupta also sees plenty of opportunity in West Bengal.

"We sell 25,000 copies of Dainik Jagran in a day in that state. These are fed from our Jamshedpur and Ranchi centres," he added. Currently, Dainik Jagran is printed from 25 centres covering eight states. The newspaper has a daily print order of 22 lakh copies.

The group is targeting a turnover of over Rs 400 crore in the current year ending March 2005, compared to Rs 315 crore last year. The projected profit after tax is said to be Rs 20 crore compared to Rs 14 crore last fiscal.

Commenting on the foreign direct investment in the newspaper by the Ireland based publisher, Independent News and Media plc, Gupta said that the alliance is set to benefit both the newspaper groups. "The news bank of the two papers will be shared," he said.

The Irish media group has picked up a 26 per cent stake in Jagran Prakashan for a sum of Rs 150 crore. Asked about the plans to launch new publications like magazines or a business daily, Gupta said that these decisions will be taken by the new board, as and when it is constituted.

"But all this is subject to government approval of the proposal," he said.

He dismissed the speculation that Jagran will sell out to an investor. Neither the current law permits it, nor have the Dainik Jagran promoters ever thought of it, said Gupta.

The Independent group has already invested in a Russian newspaper and is publishing a paper from Australia. It had a turnover of ¤ 1388 million in the year ending December 2003.