Dear Readers,
There’s isn’t a day that we at the Indian Express Group haven’t felt inspired and in awe of what our founder Shri Ramnath Goenka accomplished. He’s recognised as a brave fighter for free press, but today we’re remembering him as a brave businessman. Someone who, in the early 70s when the cost of capital was well over 30 per cent, launched newspapers in 12 local languages across India; all with expensive local printing facilities and independent editorial teams. He embarked on an unprecedented expansion strategy at a time when 70 per cent of the country’s advertising and hence the newspaper’s revenue came from central and state governments and public sector units — clients whom the Express frequently rubbed the wrong way in its pursuit of truth. It’s this commitment to his reader that made nine of the 12 language papers he launched the largest in their regions.
We believe the appetite for Ramnath Goenka’s signature brand of courageous journalism permeates all languages. It’s the reason our Marathi newspaper’s website loksatta.com is the largest in its language, why jansatta.com is the fastest growing Hindi news site and also why ieMalayalam.com, launched in February, is the fastest growing site in its region.
So here’s a line of appreciation for all of you who have made us India’s second largest digital newsgroup. With your continued faith, we will roll out digital editions in a few other language sites well before Akshay Tritiya 2018.
For now, please join us in welcoming our new readers on ieMalayalam.com and ieTamil.com.
Anant Goenka is Executive Director of Indian Express Group
