Forbes India Launched

The inaugural Forbes India is set to become the most influential business brand in India following its recent launch in Mumbai that was attended by India’s top business leaders, nearly two years after Network18 and Forbes Media forged an alliance in December 2007.

The inaugural issue features Lakshmi Mittal, the man who changed the face of the steel industry, and became the fourth richest man in the world and gives the most comprehensive look yet at this driven, determined man.

Speaking at the launch, Steve Forbes, chief executive officer, Forbes Media and editor-in-chief, Forbes said, "Forbes is about nurturing entrepreneurial capitalism and Network18 is itself a good example of entrepreneurship. We are excited to be working with one of India’s leading media groups, Network18, as our partner…I doubt there’s been a better time to launch Forbes India. In the midst of economic doom and gloom, India’s story is one of resilience in adversity and optimism for the future."

Forbes India will take on the role of the drama critic of Indian business. The magazine will help readers connect the dots, form patterns and see beyond the obvious, giving them a completely different perspective. In doing this, it will deliver sharp, in-depth and engaging stories by looking at global and domestic issues through an Indian prism.
Raghav Bahl, Network 18 founder and editor, said, "The Indian media landscape has had quite a few inflection points in its history. These are points when the rules of the game change and a new language of content emerges and the landscape alters fundamentally."

"We believe that this will be that inflection point for business coverage in the country – a point, which will redefine in India how wealth creation will be understood, how business leaders will choose to lead, and indeed how business will be done." The launch of Forbes India is seen as a positive step for the Group in the direction of strengthening its footprint in the print domain.

Haresh Chawla, Group chief executive officer, Network18, stated, "With our experience in business media as well also our ability to deploy global media brands successfully in the Indian market, we are confident of an enriching association with Forbes."

Forbes Editor in Chief Steve Forbes.

He added, "We see a lot of opportunity for value creation in this partnership by unleashing cross platform synergies and developing a roster of market leading offerings in the coming years with subsequent launches of ForbesLife and ForbesWoman."
William Adamopoulos, president and publisher, Forbes Asia, commented, "Forbes India complements and builds upon our existing pan-Asian network of Forbes Asia, Forbes China, Forbes Korea and Forbes Nihonban, making Forbes the largest circulating business publication brand in Asia-Pacific."

Lead by Raghav Bahl and Haresh Chawla, Team Forbes India would see B Sai Kumar, group chief operating officer, Network18, don the additional hat of publisher, Forbes India. Ajay Chacko is chief executive officer, Forbes India, while Anil Uniyal, who is chief operating officer, Network18 Media, is also the business director, Forbes India. Along with Senthil Chengalvarayan, president and editorial director, TV18 Business Media; Indrajit Gupta, a former BCCL hand, will lead the magazine as editor; Charles is the executive editor, while Shishir Prasad is the deputy editor.

To further complement the magazine’s offerings, the Forbes India Show will be a half-hour weekly programmed and air on CNBC-TV18. The show will see Chengalvarayan in conversation with decision makers to bring together opinions on issues and policies that impact the economy.

Earlier, in an online chat with Moneycontrol.com, India’s leading corporate and financial website, Forbes had said the prospects for the print media were very bright in India. "It is very bright, and certainly more vigorous and upbeat than in the US. The outlook for the magazine industry in India is particularly bright."

Forbes said, "The outlook for the Indian economy is excellent. One of the great advantages that India has is the established tradition of the rule of law. Another advantage in India is the widespread use of English. India’s democracy may strike some observers as inefficient for economic development. But the truth is that India’s democracy makes its economic outlook better because of the prospect of long term political stability. So in some ways India has it all!"

Forbes said he saw Indian markets as an attractive destination, given its firm commitment to economic reforms. "The environment has obviously improved since the elections. But we were very optimistic about the outlook even before the elections. India made the big change to become a global economic power after the 1991 financial crisis. Despite ups and downs since then, the course of India has been set and it is a positive one," he said.

[ BY GAURI KUMAR ]