12 foreign magazines await govt nod to launch Indian editions

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) The government is considering the requests of 12 foreign magazines seeking permission to launch their editions in India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting today said. There are 12 requests for permission from magazines published abroad to launch their Indian editions under consideration of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, a ministry official said. Some Indian magazines are also awaiting the Ministry's nod for Foreign Direct Investment, he said. With an average of over 35 foreign magazines entering the country every year for nearly a decade, the magazine market in the country is witnessing an unprecedented boom, Ministry sources said. In addition to 260 foreign magazines, 128 editions of Indian magazines with Foreign Direct Investment have also been launched in the country in less than a decade, they revealed. Already 260 foreign titles under the magazine category are available in the Indian market. Twelve more are in the pipeline. The combined number of foreign magazines or magazines with FDI would soon cross 400 in a span of just eight years, said an official. In the global scenario print industry is moving towards digitisation and showing negative growth but the Indian magazine Industry is proving to be an exception, sources said. Officials attribute the booming magazine sector to the changed print media policy of the government. The policy of not allowing foreign owned periodicals to be published in India was reviewed in 2002 and then in 2005. The Government has been encouraging the entry of speciality and niche magazines as availability of foreign scientific and speciality magazines at affordable cost has benefited students and professionals, an official said. Liberalisation of our print media policy has also attracted substantial Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the official said. With the government in an accommodative mode, the rush to start new magazines in the Indian market is likely to continue in future, ministry sources said. The launch of internationally renowned magazines like BBC's Knowledge and Home Trends, worldwide Media's Lonely Planet, Network 18's Forbes Life and CondeNast's Traveller have drastically increased the choice offered to the Indian reader, they said. The launch of two facsimile editions of foreign publications Wall Street Journal and Wall Street Journal Asia have also contributed to this growth in the country magazine market.