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India News Network Digest    Wed, 9 Mar 94      Volume 2 : Issue 200

Today's News Topics:

   Raymond James : Bombay office could open by April 1
   Coca-Cola begins production in Calcutta
   Holiday Inn Worldwide to open 3,000 hotels by 1998
   McCormick announces joint venture in India
   S. Korea's Shinsung and India'a Salora Group in joint-venture
   IAPA lists India among most dangerous areas for flying
   Plane crashes into a parked jetliner at New Delhi's International Airport
   Delegation from Maharashtra tours LA earthquake area
   Arianespace Unit to launch two satellites for Indian Govt
   Germany's Mercedes to build cars in India
   S.Korea's Daewoo Securities signs joint venture in India
   Trademark trials: Firms entering India face struggle against copycats
   India tries to shun foreign newspapers

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Date: Tue, 08 Mar 1994 15:06:11 -0700
From: RAJESH <RAJESH_H1@sfov1.verifone.com>
Subject: Raymond james office to open in Bombay in April

#1  RAYMOND JAMES : BOMBAY OFFICE COULD OPEN BY APRIL 1

DOW JONES NEWS (DJ)
   NEW YORK -DJ- In an effort to take advantage of what it sees as
''strong'' potential for its services in India, Raymond James &
Associates Inc. plans to open an office in Bombay, India, by April 1.
    A spokesman for the St. Petersburg, Fla., firm said he thinks
Raymond James is one of the first non-New York-based securities firms -
if not the first - to place a branch in India.
    Raymond James said it plans to pursue its Indian interest through a
joint venture with ASK Securities of Bombay, a member of the Bombay
Stock Exchange.
    The joint venture, ASK-Raymond James Securities of India Ltd., also
plans to start an off-shore institutional fund, Taj Performance Fund.
The fund, which will invest in small-capitalization Indian stocks, will
be offered in Europe.
    The spokesman added that India's middle-income and upper-income
population segments compare favorably with those in the U.S.

#2  COCA-COLA BEGINS PRODUCTION IN CALCUTTA

DOW JONES NEWS (DJ)
   ATLANTA -DJ- Coca-Cola Co. (KO) said it began production in
Calcutta, its first major metropolitan market in India, following its
recent reentry into the country after a 16-year absence.
    Coke is being produced in Calcutta by Black Diamond Beverages Ltd.,
a bottler owned by the Goenka group in India. Black Diamond also
bottles five of India's leading brands, which Coke acquired, the
company said.

#3  HOLIDAY INN WORLDWIDE TO OPEN 3,000 HOTELS BY 1998

  BERLIN, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its aggressive development
campaign, Holiday Inn Worldwide has announced its goal of operating
3,000 hotels by the end of 1998.
  Holiday Inn Worldwide has been developing hotels at a record-setting
pace during the past 15 months, opening one new hotel every other day
on average.
  "Our growth strategy focuses on the strength of Holiday Inn
Worldwide's value proposition for both franchisees and consumers," said
Bryan D. Langton, chairman and chief executive officer of Holiday Inn
Worldwide.  "Backed by a strong brand name, state-of-the-art
technology, a commitment to training, and a reputation for excellence,
we are a company on the move."
  Currently, Holiday Inn Worldwide has more than 1,800 hotels and
340,000 guest rooms in over 50 countries.  The company has more than
150 hotels in its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division; 57
hotels in its Asia Pacific division; and more than 1,600 hotels in its
Americas division.
  Since the beginning of the fiscal year, which began October 1, 1993,
through the end of January 1994, Holiday Inn has added 54 properties
worldwide; 48 in the Americas and six in EMEA.
  "As the best-known hotel brand in the world, Holiday Inn has a bold
global goal to continue to pursue new development opportunities
aggressively and explore new markets around the world," Langton said.
  Europe - Middle East - Africa Division
  In its EMEA division, the hotel chain predicts to add 40 hotels by
the end of this fiscal year, and 60 hotels by the end of the calendar
year.  In January, Holiday Inn announced its plans to enter Russia for
the first time with hotels in St. Petersburg, making Holiday Inn the
first major international hotel company to operate there.  Holiday Inn
has also recently signed significant deals in France and Germany.
  "Holiday Inn Worldwide/EMEA is continuing its strategy for extensive
growth in the region," said Tim Clarke, Executive Vice President and
Managing Director Holiday Inn EMEA.  "We plan to surpass last year's
expansion record, mainly through franchising as we recognize the more
prominent role franchising is taking in the European hotel industry.
The company is heavily investing in technology to increase reservations
and revenues for its franchisees."
  During February 1994, Holiday Inn opened three hotels in the region:
Holiday Inn Naples, Italy; Holiday Inn Jena, Germany; and the Holiday
Inn Garden Court London-Oxford Circus.  Holiday Inn Worldwide will
enter a new country soon with the opening of a hotel in Nicosia,
Cyprus, and also will be opening Holiday Inn hotels soon in Bratislava,
the Czech Republic; Glachau, Dessau, and Hamburg, Germany; and Eilat,
Israel; a Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza soon will open in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, which will have the largest banquet facilities in the Middle
East.
  Asia Pacific Division
  In its Asia Pacific division, Holiday Inn Worldwide will add 23
hotels by the end of the fiscal year; 12 will be on the Indian
subcontinent, four in China and three in Malaysia.
  Holiday Inn also will be entering a new country in Asia Pacific in
July when it opens a Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Kathmandu, Nepal.  In
addition, the company has recently signed major deals for 70 hotels in
India and 30 in Indonesia.
  "This is an exciting time for Holiday Inn in the Asia Pacific
region," said David H. Paulon, managing director of Holiday Inn's Asia
Pacific division.  "With the development of Holiday Inn Express hotels
for the domestic travelers in India and Indonesia as well as wonderful
new properties for leisure travelers in Australia and Nepal, we are
well positioned to continue our growth."
  Americas Division
  In the Americas, Holiday Inn continues to flourish and grow through
franchising.
  "The entire Americas region is experiencing exciting growth and we
are looking to open more than 200 Holiday Inn hotels by the end of the
1994 calendar year," said Michael A. Leven, president, Americas
division, Holiday Inn Worldwide.  "In the United States, we will
continue to expand Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in major markets while
Express will grow rapidly in smaller areas with an estimated 400 hotels
to be opened by the end of 1995.
  "With the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico
promises to be a country with fast economic growth," Leven said.  "We
have anticipated this growth and are well on our way to establishing a
strong presence in the country with 16 hotels currently operating under
the Holiday Inn flag, and an agreement for 20 additional hotels to open
within the next two years."
  Holiday Inn Worldwide, which is owned by Bass PLC of the U.K.,
operates more than 1,800 hotels and 340,000 guest rooms in over 50
countries.  Holiday Inn is the world's largest single hotel brand.

#4  MCCORMICK ANNOUNCES JOINT VENTURE IN INDIA

  SPARKS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McCormick & Co. Inc. (NASDAQ:MCCRK) and
A.V. Thomas Group Companies of Madras, India, Monday announced
formation of a new joint venture, AVT McCormick Ingredients Private
Limited.
  Each partner will own 50% of the venture.
  To be located in Cochin, India, the new company will produce whole
and ground naturally sterilized spices for direct shipment to Europe,
the United States, and other world markets.  Through its participation
in Kancor Flavours and Extracts Limited, McCormick is also a major
manufacturer of spice oleoresins in India.
  Commented Bailey A. Thomas, chairman of the board and CEO of
McCormick & Co., "This new venture will be a strategic addition to our
global supply network.  It will provide high quality products that will
enhance our ability to serve all world markets."
  Said Ajit Thomas, managing director, A.V. Thomas Group Companies,
"The AVT-McCormick joint venture will be a significant step towards
fulfilling India's aspirations of globalization.  The mission is to
fulfill the high standards of discerning customers in the field of food
ingredients."
  McCormick is the international producer of spices, seasonings,
flavorings, and specialty foods.  A.V. Thomas Group has pioneered many
agribusiness ventures in India since 1925.

#5  S. KOREA'S SHINSUNG AND INDIA'A SALORA GROUP IN JOINT-VENTURE

AP-DOW JONES NEWS 03-07-94
  SEOUL (AP-DJ)--South Korea's Shinsung Tongsang Co., a maker of
sweaters and knitwear, said Monday it has started full operation of a
knitwear plant in Nicaragua, capable of producing 250,000 dozen pieces
of knitwear a year.
  The output from the plant will be all sold in the U.S., and is
expected to total 7.5 million U.S. dlrs this year.
  In a separate development, according to the official, Shinsung and
India's Salora Group is jointly building a 7-million-U.S.-dlr sock
manufacturing joint-venture factory in India.
  The plant, which is slated for completion in November, is expected to
sell 7 million U.S. dlrs worth of socks in India and other third
countries.

#6  IAPA LISTS INDIA AMONG MOST DANGEROUS AREAS FOR FLYING

WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
   Compiled by Richard L. Holman
03/07/94
    The International Airline Passenger Association's latest survey
of most dangerous areas for flying lists the former Soviet
republics, China, South Korea, India, central Africa and Colombia.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 08 Mar 1994 21:12:23 -0500 (EST)
From: kvrao@dad.bgsu.edu (Prof K. V. Rao)
Subject: Plane crashes into a parked jetliner at New Delhi's Intl Airport

#7  PLANE CRASHES INTO A PARKED JETLINER AT NEW DELHI'S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Date=3/8/94
Byline=Lea Terhune
Dateline=New Delhi

Intro:  As many as ten people were reported killed and seven
seriously injured when a plane from a small airline crashed today
(Tuesday) into a parked jetliner at New Delhi's International
Airport.  Lea Terhune reports from the Indian capital.

Text:  The casualties occurred when an aircraft on a practice
flight crashed into a parked Russian Aeroflot Jetliner at Indira
Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

The victims were Airport and Airline personnel.   No  commercial
passengers were aboard the planes.

The Boeing 737 belonged to Sahara Airlines, one of the small,
private airlines that has recently started operating in India.
It was on a training flight, and carried three trainee pilots and
an instructor.

Eyewitnesses said the plane began to lose altitude after take-off
and hit the Aeroflot Illyusin 86, which was parked in a
maintenance area.

It is the first fatal crash of a private carrier since
deregulation of airlines in India two years ago.  India has been
cited by airline safety organizations as having one of the worst
flight safety records in the world.  (Signed)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 08 Mar 1994 21:13:36 -0500 (EST)
From: kvrao@dad.bgsu.edu (Prof K. V. Rao)
Subject: Delegation from Maharashtra tours LA earthquake area

#8  DELEGATION FROM MAHARASHTRA TOURS LA EARTHQUAKE AREA

Date=3/7/94
Byline=Alan Silverman
Dateline=Los Angeles

Intro:   A delegation from India's Maharashtra State toured Los
Angeles earthquake damage Monday and met with local officials to
compare notes on dealing with disasters.  V-O-A's Alan Silverman
reports.

Text:  Last September 13th, the devastating earthquake in Central
India killed eight thousand people and injured twice that number.
The tremor measured six-point-four on the Richter scale.

In contrast, the magnitude six-point-eight Northridge quake in
Southern California January 17th resulted in 57 fatalities.

Maharashtra State Chief Government Secretary N. Ragunathan came
to see American disaster operations which, like those in his home
state, have now shifted to the rebuilding phase.

   "We were invited by the Los Angeles and California
    people to  have a look at what they are doing because
    we can learn a lot from  them -- and to have a
    general interchange of ideas -- sharing our
    experiences to a better world, as it were."

The Maharashtra delegation included earthquake relief
and rehabilitation head Kuljit Sidhu, Chief Public Works Engineer
G.K. Deshpande, and Latur District Collector Praveen Pardeshi.
They traveled to Southern California from Washington, D.C. where
Mr. Ragunathan says his state's earthquake recovery effort got a
boost last week from the World Bank:

   "We had approached the World Bank for a loan for the
    rehabilitation and reconstruction program because it
    is so massive.  The project cost is about 350 million
    dollars and the World Bank is  giving us about 250
    million dollars, as a loan to the Government of
    India, which will be passed on to the State
    Government for carrying out the various
    rehabilitation operations.  These went through last
    Friday at the official level and the matter is to be
    placed before the Board of Governors of the World
    Bank for a formal ratification. "

The Southern California fact-finding tour included visits to
quake-damaged structures and a disaster assistance center staffed
by state and federal agencies.  There were also briefings with
officials  of the U-S Government's Federal Emergency Management
Agency and the California State Office of Emergency Services.

Chief Secretary Ragunathan says the Americans were interested in
learning about his communication with quake-devastated
communities and mobilization of relief efforts:

   "I think wherever human suffering is the central point
    of a thematic debate, there is always a two-way street."

While the disasters appear magnitudes apart on a human scale, Mr.
Ragunathan says survivors of both quakes share the same
challenge: to put their lives back together again. (Signed)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 05:37:10 -0700
From: RAJESH <RAJESH_H1@sfov1.verifone.com>
Subject: Arianespace Unit to launch two satellites for Indian Govt

#9  ARIANESPACE UNIT TO LAUNCH TWO SATELLITES FOR INDIAN GOVT

DOW JONES NEWS (DJ)
   WASHINGTON -DJ- Arianespace Inc., a unit of Arianespace
Participation, said it reached an agreement with the Indian Space
Research Organization to launch two second-generation satellites.
    In a press release, the company said the Insat 2C and Insat 2D
satellites are part of the Indian government space department Insat
program.
    Arianespace said it will launch Insat 2C in 1995, and Insat 2D in
1996.
    The multipurpose satellites will provide telecommunications, search
and rescue, and educational services for India's domestic needs, the
company said.

#10  GERMANY'S MERCEDES TO BUILD CARS IN INDIA

AP-DOW JONES NEWS 03-08-94
  STUTTGART (AP-DJ)--Mercedes-Benz AG, continuing to push its passenger
car production outside Germany, Tuesday announced it will build sedans
in India.
  The German luxury car maker will build some 20,000 'E'-class
executive limousines a year in a joint venture with its longtime
partner, Bombay-based Tata Engineering & Locomotive Co., Mercedes
parent company Daimler-Benz AG announced Tuesday.

#11  S.KOREA'S DAEWOO SECURITIES SIGNS JOINT VENTURE IN INDIA

AP-DOW JONES NEWS 03-08-94
  SEOUL (AP-DJ)--South Korea's Daewoo Securities Co. said Tuesday that
it has signed to purchase a 50% stake, or 800 million won, in CRB
Securities Ltd. in Bombay, India.
  The purchase marked the first joint venture between Korean and Indian
Securities firms and the second offshore joint venture for Daewoo
Securities after Firstvina Bank in Vietnam, Daewoo officials said.
  Daewoo's purchase followed CRB's recent increase of capital from 80
million won.
  The joint venture will focus its business in the issuance of overseas
securities by Indian companies and brokerage business for overseas
investment by Korean investors, Daewoo said.
  Established in 1992, CRB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's
major merchant bank, CRB Capital Markets.
  Daewoo, a unit of the nation's giant Daewoo Group, is South Korea's
largest securities firm in terms of capital and market share.

#12  TRADEMARK TRIALS: FIRMS ENTERING INDIA FACE STRUGGLE AGAINST COPYCATS

ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL (AWSJ)
   By Suman Dubey
   Staff Reporter
03/04/94
   NEW DELHI -- In his warren-like factory here, Narinder Suri makes
toasters, irons and other household appliances, racking up sales of
about $1 million a year, mainly to the Indian army.
   Behind Mr. Suri's desk hangs a photograph showing him receiving a
national productivity award from the president of India in 1988. In
a neighboring office are four other industrial awards. A model
entrepreneur?
   Ask Toshiba Corp. For six years, the Japanese electronics giant
has been fighting in Indian courts -- so far without success -- to
prevent Mr. Suri's firm, Tosiba Appliances Ltd., from using the
brand name Tosiba.
   As India opens its economy to foreign companies, more and more of
them are fighting such battles to protect their brands against
alleged pirates, lapsed partners or imitators. "I visualize in the
next couple of years a 300% to 500% increase in litigation by
companies wanting to protect their rights," says Pravin Anand of
Anand & Anand Advocates, a New Delhi-based law firm specializing in
trademark cases.
   India has been trying harder to protect intellectual property
rights in recent years. A comprehensive revision of copyright law is
expected to be enacted within the next few months, tougher trademark
legislation is moving through parliament, and the police are
cracking down harder on video and audio piracy.
   Still, piracy remains rampant, and litigation is common. Some of
the legal battles involve major Indian companies rather than
back-lane manufacturers.
   William Grant & Sons Ltd., a Scottish whisky distiller
considering entry into the Indian market, is seeking a court ruling
against India's market leader in spirits and beer, McDowell & Co. of
Bangalore, to prevent it from marketing a single malt whisky whose
label and packaging allegedly resembles those of Grant's Glenfiddich
whisky. The complaint cites a market survey indicating that 35% of
those who buy the Indian tipple think it has some connection with
the Scotch whisky.
   London-based Financial Times Ltd. is trying to force India's
Economic Times to stop circulating a weekly four-page supplement
called Financial Times. Economic Times, India's leading business
daily, is owned by Bennett, Coleman & Co., which also publishes the
Times of India.
   TNT Express Worldwide, a courier unit of Australia's TNT Ltd.,
set up an Indian subsidiary in January and is embroiled in
litigation with its former Indian partner, TNT Skypak Pvt. Ltd.,
over which of them has the right to use the TNT brand.
   Following earlier victories by owners of the Cartier and Chanel
brand names, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA of France in
February obtained an injunction from the Delhi High Court to stop an
Indian accessories manufacturer from making imitations of Vuitton
handbags and luggage.
   Some lawyers argue that, while Indian courts have usually been
quick to grant such injunctions to protect the rights of brand and
trademark owners, their record on punishing offenders has been
inadequate. Mr. Anand says that he can't recall a single violator
having been sent to prison in the hundreds of cases he has handled
over the past decade, even though Indian law provides for sentences
of up to two years. "If the cost of punishment can be factored into
the profit and loss, the pirate feels no pinch," he says.
   In the rare cases in which penalties are applied, they usually
involve fines of no more than 100,000 rupees ($3,225), and such
fines usually are imposed only after lawyers for the two sides come
to an understanding, Mr. Anand says.
   New trademark legislation, proposed last year by the Rao
government and likely to become law in 1995, would impose stiffer
penalties; the maximum jail term would be three years. Fines would
range up to 200,000 rupees, and the law would set a minimum fine of
50,000 rupees. The new law also would make it easier for the police
to make arrests in trademark-infringement cases.
   Apart from the law, however, much depends on the willingness of
copyright or trademark owners to take action. Mr. Anand says that a
Swiss client, which owns a copyright for Charlie Chaplin's image,
declined a few years ago to pursue an alleged infringement because
the company had no business interests in India.
   Other companies keep close track of the marketplace even though
they aren't making a major push for sales here. Alfred Dunhill Ltd.,
London, which sells little in India outside of duty-free outlets, is
pursuing legal action against a Calcutta concern called Dunhill
Trading Co., which went public last year with a plan to distribute
cigarettes and liquor.
   Sometimes bureaucratic anomalies provide loopholes for imitators
to exploit. In the case of newspapers, the official Registrar of
Newspapers is the agency that, under an 1867 law, must approve
publication of newspapers in India and ensure that no two have the
same name. But this agency needn't defer to the Registrar of
Trademarks, which confers legal ownership of brands and titles.
Financial Times Ltd. of London has since March 1987 had an Indian
trademark registration for its newspaper title. But Times Publishing
House Ltd. -- which shares a New Delhi office with Bennett Coleman,
publisher of the Times of India -- in July 1990 obtained the title
Financial Times from the Registrar of Newspapers. Since November, a
four-page "Financial Times" section has been added to The Economic
Times once a week.
   Lawyers representing London's Financial Times argued in court
earlier this year that Bennett Coleman's Times of India, having
failed in an attempt to set up a joint venture with the British
company, is trying to keep it out of India. Bennett Coleman is
"probably feeling threatened," says Anil Diwan, a lawyer
representing Financial Times. "These are pre-emptive moves to
protect themselves and their business." Financial Times is setting
up joint venture with Calcutta-based Ananda Bazaar Patrika Group to
publish a newspaper in India.
   A spokesman for Bennett Coleman denied that his company is trying
to thwart the British newspaper company.
   The new trademarks legislation would make such cases less likely
by requiring both the Registrar of Newspapers and the Registrar of
Companies to determine whether titles are available for use.
   In India's overstretched legal system, cases often drone on for
years, as Toshiba has discovered. The Japanese giant went to court
in early 1989, shortly after Mr. Suri's productivity award made a
splash.
   Lawyers representing Mr. Suri in June 1989 began to seek an
annulment of Toshiba's trademark registrations on the ground that
they hadn't been used in India, a claim Toshiba disputes. Last
September, a Calcutta High Court judge ruled in the Indian company's
favor, arguing that, because the trademarks were registered in 1953
and 1971, when strict import restrictions were in effect, Toshiba
couldn't have had a bona fide intention to use the trademark in
India. On appeal the next day, Toshiba won a temporary reprieve, and
the case continues.
   In January, Toshiba's lawyers filed separately in the Delhi High
Court for an injunction to prevent Mr. Suri's company from using the
trademark Tosiba.
   Meanwhile, Mr. Suri's business continues to thrive. "Our argument
is that we've been in business 18 years," he says. "Only the Delhi
High Court can tell me to stop. If the court tells me I'm wrong,
I'll stop it."

#13  INDIA TRIES TO SHUN FOREIGN NEWSPAPERS

ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL (AWSJ)
   By A.S. Abraham
03/03/94
   NEW DELHI -- Last week, Rupert Murdoch concluded his first
professional visit to India. He met the high and mighty, from the
prime minister on down, in addition to a variety of media bigwigs --
newspaper owners, official television chiefs, cable operators. He
was treated like royalty and an ever eager press hung on his every
word.
   Hard on his heels, but keeping very much a low profile, was
another Australian TV baron, the owner of Channel 9 TV in that
country, Kerry Packer. Next month, Ted Turner comes to India. His
Cable News Network is also available locally, though less
ubiquitously than Mr. Murdoch's Star-TV. Like the others, he is
coming to test the waters before making a bigger splash.
   The spread of satellite TV cannot in the nature of things be
stopped, even controlled, by hostile domestic interests, official or
private. Yet the way is particularly stony when it comes to foreign
newspapers seeking a toehold here.
   The case of the Financial Times of London is instructive and
illustrative. Keen to launch an edition here, it recently set up a
joint-venture company, the Financial Times of India Pvt. Ltd., with
a paid-up capital of about $3 million. It will be supported by the
Ananda Bazar Patrika group of Calcutta publications, known for the
Bengali daily of that name and also an English-language weekly news
magazine, Sunday, and a daily, the Telegraph.
   When the Financial Times sought permission for its venture from
the government, it little expected the storm of opposition it would
provoke both from within some official quarters and from influential
papers in India like the Times of India, whose stable includes the
Economic Times.
   The government itself stood firm on the policy it had laid down
in 1955, when Nehruvian socialism was at its zenith, in a case
pertaining to the New York Times. It was decided then that no
foreign newspaper would be allowed to publish independently from
Indian soil. For good measure, foreign wire agencies were also
required to use Indian agencies to transmit their copy.
   Following India's first tentative attempts at liberalization in
the 1980s, the policy was reviewed at the end of the decade -- only
to be essentially reinforced. The single change allowed was that, in
view of sophisticated world market information offered by foreign
wire agencies, these were no longer required to use Indian news
services as conduits, but could tie up directly with non-media
subscribers. This remains the official position.
   As for opposition from private India media, the strategies
employed are both legal and professional. The Financial Times
registered itself under the Trade Marks Act. But in a cunning
pre-emptive move, Times Publishing House, an affiliate of Bennett,
Coleman and Co. Ltd., which publishes both the Times of India and
the Economic Times, registered the same title with the official
Registrar of Newspapers in India. At the same time, Times Publishing
began the free distribution of a four-page supplement with the
Economic Times called the Financial Times.
   Provoked by this, the London paper sought, and at first was
granted, an injunction against Times Publishing from the High Court
in Karnataka State where the supplement first appeared (Bangalore is
Karnataka's capital). That, however, was not the end of the matter.
   A number of High Courts, including those in Delhi and Allahabad
in Uttar Pradesh, have granted temporary stays against the Financial
Times, restraining it from registering under the Trade Marks Act if
such registration is identical with or similar to names registered
with the Registrar of Newspapers.
   What's more, a number of petitions are pending with the courts
calling for names to be registered only with Registrar of
Newspapers, not under the Trade Marks Act. The argument is that the
latter embodies a trade, commodity or product -- which, it is
argued, a newspaper is not, being instead a cultural expression
closely linked to the readers' view of themselves.
   The domestic interests insisting on registration with the
Registrar of Newspapers only for newspaper titles have made sure
foreign newspapers can never be registered since the names are
already registered (even if the papers are not yet published) by
Indian newspapers. And Registrar of Newspapers rules make clear
that, once claimed, a title cannot be sought by someone else.
   The Financial Times, and others like it (including Time magazine,
which is tying up with Living Media Ltd., publishers of the widely
circulated multi-language, fortnightly newsmagazine, Indian Today)
have either to wait upon the courts' verdict or, in this time of
liberalization, expect a more generous approach in governmental
policy on foreign newspapers.
   But it is another aspect of domestic opposition that shows up
those Indian newspapers, journalists' bodies and other professional
organizations plumping for it as Luddites interested only in
protecting their turf. They argue that only genuinely Indian
newspapers can provide true, objective information unclouded by
foreign perceptions and interests.
   This is to insult the intelligence of their readers, who are now
more directly exposed than ever to foreign newscasts thanks to
satellite TV. And, before the advent of CNN and its followers were
the radio broadcasts of the BBC, whose popularity with listeners, in
English and the Indian languages, is legendary. Even Indian
newspapers see the virtues of reprinting news and analyses as they
appear in foreign media, as any observer of the Indian papers would
notice.
   The notion of "cultural imperialism" went out with the misguided
attempt to foist a United Nations-sponsored New World Information
Order upon a hapless developing world. As it became clear then, only
poor countries with no media freedom worth speaking of were
enthusiastic proponents of this order. There would be greater
plurality than now, newer standards of printing, technology,
production, editorial accuracy and use of language -- from which all
Indian readers would benefit. Professional standards for
journalists, not to mention greater job mobility, would also improve
vastly.
   This argument -- that most, if not all, of the foreign papers
seeking entry in India are part of media conglomerates and would be
detrimental to the country's interests -- would be more attractive
if those advocating it here were not media empires themselves.
   The Times of India group, for example, consists of a large number
of newspapers and magazines in English and the Indian languages plus
an FM music radio station, a TV broadcasting company, an investment
trust firm and others. The Hindustan Times, another well-known paper
in India, comprises, besides a clutch of newspapers and magazines, a
TV news company as well. The same is true of almost every newspaper
chain in India. Is bigness all right so long as it is Indian?
   There is a bitter irony in the bleatings of those Indian papers
who want the license to go on milking the information media,
untramelled by any foreign interlopers. Until now, they were fond of
singing the praises of foreign papers on grounds of their high
standards of editorial excellence. But that was so long as they were
far away.
   Today the Indian reader has a chance to compare, and to benefit
from the comparison. And those Indian papers that fear the imminent
proximity of such foreign rivals are singing a different tune.
   ---
   Mr. Abraham is a New Delhi-based journalist.

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