I AM WHAT I AM
This
business leader belongs to the Sahu Jain Family, the Industrial family of
India. She was born in September 08, 1936(age 76). She is from Agarwal Jain Community and hails from a small town of
Najibabad, Uttar Pradesh. A widow with two sons named Samir Jain and Vineet
Jain who now control the Times Group, she has taken the Times Group to a new
level. This 76 year old Indian women entrepreneur handles the philanthropic genre
of the Times Foundation. Indu writes spiritual columns in her papers and is an
active supporter of women's rights and fighter for various social problems
existing in the country. She encourages budding entrepreneurs and gives them a
chance to shine with their abilities and make way for themselves in the world.
Recently, Indian Congress of Women (ICW) awarded Indu Jain with an
International Lifetime Achievement Award. The Times Group is India's most
profitable media company, and enjoys 50 percent urban market share of
English dailies. Indu Jain as a Chairperson of Times Group and a true
matriarch, acts as the guiding force of the group, and continues to infuse new
energy into it, leading ways and heading all.
Company
Profile: Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd is the nation's
largest media group. It was founded in the year 1838, and is based in Mumbai,
India. In 1948, Ram Krishna Dalmia sold out the company to the present group,
his son-in law, Sahu Shanti Prasad. It provides media publishing services such
as Magazines, Internet and newspapers. Huge brand names such as The Economic
Times, Times of India, Femina, Sandhya Times, Times FM and Filmfare are under
its ownership. Along with this, various television channels such as Times Now,
Zoom and ET Now; and FM radio network like Radio Mirchi also constitute its
holdings. The Times Group
acts as its supreme fame-generating source. It is the most circulated English
daily newspaper, and is accordingly headed by Indu's sons Vineet and Samir. It
was acquired from a British group, and today sells more than 3 million copies
worldwide. It employs over7000 employees, publishes five dailies including two
largest in the country, owns fifteen publishing centers, fifteen printing
centers and fifty-five sales offices. It further runs two lead magazines,
twenty-nine niche magazines, thirty two radio stations and two television
channels, producing a turnover in excess of USD 700 million.
Indu, carefully guides every step taken towards the development of The Times
Foundation, and has successfully collected national and international acclaim
for it. New Delhi is the landmark for its headquarters.
BCCL strives to provide high quality of content in all its spheres of activity.
Today, it has risen to the position of India's largest media conglomerate.
Initially, it was present in areas of print media, but it's century old policy
of innovation and birth of fresh ideas has diversified it into new fields. The
company gets its name from the partnership of Thomas Bennett, The Times of
India's first professional editor and F M Coleman.
The Bhartiya Jnanipath, which was established in 1944, by the then President of
BCCL, awarded excellence in creative literary writing to Indians in any
language. Today, this prestigious award lies within the powers of Indu Jain,
herself. She is the chairperson of the Bhartiya Jnanipath Trust, and rightfully
heads the post being a true patron of art and literature herself.
Indu Jain's Career: A humanist, an Indian women entrepreneur,
spiritualist, educationalist and patron of art and culture, Indu Jain is also
the founder President of the Ladies Wing of FICCI and Bhartiya Jnanpith Trust
which hosts India's most prestigious and highest literary award (Jnanpith
Award). She was ranked 317 richest person in the World and India's top 20
richest person. She is a strong believer of oneness among faiths and has spread
this message in UN at the Millennium World Peace Summit.
She is a
strong believer of oneness among faiths and has spread this message in UN at
the Millennium World Peace Summit.
Beliefs: She is a Strong believer of oneness and follow it in her
firm. She is an active supporter of women’s rights. Under her guidance, the Times Foundation runs community
services, research groups and relief funds for various disaster relief such as
floods, cyclones, earthquake etc. She encourages budding
entrepreneurs and believes in their abilities to shine, and make way for
themselves in the world.
Achievements: She addressed the United Nations in 2000 at the ‘Millennium World peace Summit’ of
Religious and Spiritual Leaders. The Oneness Forum recently awarded the ‘Mahatma Mahavira awards’. The president of BCCL, awarded excellence in creative
literary writing to Indians in any language and the Prestigious awarded lies
with Indu Jain. Recently, India Congress of Women (ICW) awarded Indu Jain
with an ‘International Lifetime
Achievement’ award.
Failures: Doubts have been raised on the credibility of reports published in the TOI,
time and again. Revenue generation through advertisements is amongst the most
easy and efficient route, taken up by the media. Although, its usage is
inevitable, the ever-rising advertisements in TOI, at times, mislead the reader
from the news, and direct him towards the flashy advertisements.
The recession of 2009 acted as a bonanza for its chairperson, shifting her a
few places ahead in her billionaire list, like her contemporaries. While the
crisis had hit the poor and the working class hardest, the billionaires whose
greed and unscrupulousness caused it in the first place, only grew richer; this
act became an unethical blotch on Indu, although she might not be blamed for
any of it directly.
Mantra for maintaining work-life
balance: Our inner growth must match Our material growth
and achievements. Learning, Living and Actions…. move in Oneness. There is no
positive. There is no negative. Simply, there ‘is’. She is the matriarch of the
most powerful media group in the country, estimated to be worth over $4-billion
(Rs 18,400 crore). Indu Jain, Chairman of the privately-held The Times Group,
hardly fits into any prototype of power-women, but she wears her power with a
style that is her very own. Known to be an ardent follower of Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Jain has pushed through her unique
spiritual, cultural and social sensibility into Bennett, Coleman & Company,
her group’s flagship. At the same time, she is also known to have pushed
through the agenda of internal audit, or, management assurance system, earlier
on. She is the founder of The Times Foundation and is also the Chairperson of
Bhartiya Jnanpith Foundation.
The
Symbol of Matriarchy: A spiritualist at heart, Indu handles the philanthropic genre of the Times
foundation. She also writes spiritual columns for it. She is an active
supporter of women's rights, and her passionate fight for various causes is
well-known.
Under her guidance, the Times Foundation runs community services, research
groups and relief funds for various disaster reliefs such as floods, cyclones,
earthquakes and epidemics. She encourages budding entrepreneurs and believes in
their abilities to shine, and make way for themselves in the world.
She stressed the need for oneness among faiths, in her speech at the United
Nations in 2000, at the Millennium World Peace Summit of religious and
spiritual leaders. The Oneness Forum, formally launched by the President of
India in 2003, also works under the leadership of Indu Jain.
Recently, Indian Congress of Women (ICW) awarded Indu Jain, an International
Lifetime Achievement Award, with women empowerment being the event's backdrop
theme. She is the founder President of the Ladies wing of FICCI (FLO).
Today, The Times Group is India's most profitable media company, and enjoys 50
percent urban market share of English dailies. Indu Jain acts as the guiding
force of the group, and continues to infuse new energy into it, leading ways
and heading all, like a true matriarch.
