Local language business publishing in India

We have written in the past of the decline of English language business publication (here and here). One of the reasons for this is the increased capacity of local publishers to address business communities in their own languages. This is a huge challenge in India with its multiplicity of dialects and received wisdom is that English remains the common language of the business elite and, therefore, the best one to use.

We noted with interest, then, this piece on the exchange4media site about Gujarati editions of the Financial Express newspaper. It quotes the Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Express Group Viveck Goenka as saying, “We believe the India story goes much beyond the metropolises of the country. It resonates particularly strongly in Gujarat, which has been at the forefront of the economic reform and is now one of our fastest growing states".

It's hard to see the local language opportunities in India being any less competitive than the English ones but they certainly represent a sizeable market.