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Foreign investment

V. S. Jayaraman, e-mail

A debate is on as to if India should allow foreign investment in the print media as in other fields, consequent to the opening up of the Indian economy. A school of thought vociferously argues against this foreign investment. They are of the opinion that newspapers should not be equated with consumer products and that print-media is a vehicle of information and appraises people of the current events and issues.

Newspaper is not a consumer product; but the readers definitely are its `consumers'. To suit the taste of its consumers, every newspaper periodically adopts and adapts itself to new technology. True, even without foreign investment, while a newspaper can still obtain technology, with a formal tie-up through foreign investment, the newspaper can lay access to the technology at much better price, terms and conditions. In this manner, a newspaper with foreign investment stands to gain.

In no field, monopoly should be allowed to reign supreme as it will be disastrous. Dominance is dictatorial. Competition, on the other hand, affords an opportunity to the consumer to pick and choose. With the opening of Indian economy, many multi-nationa l companies have entered the country with their products.

Though the indigenous industries bear the brunt, competition, on the other hand, provides them an opportunity to match their products in terms of quality and price with that of the imported ones. The consumers too, in the process, are in an advantageous position as they can pick and choose the best. Taking into account the many advantages available to the readers (with whose patronage a newspaper is able to build on its circulation) through foreign investment, the print-media too should open up for fore ign investment. The apprehension that if foreign investment is allowed, foreign investors will play a vital role in dictating the political future of the country, is unfounded and far-fetched.

Many multi-national companies operate in our country. If proper checks and balances are put in place and enforced upon, print media too can benefit from foreign investment.