India, where just about 15% of the people have access to papers today, will remain the engine of the South Asian growth story and the challenges will be to maintain credible media that is self sustaining. India's press, driven by a growing middle class, is lively and newspaper circulation is rising.
At the International Newsmedia Marketing Association conference in New Delhi, held last November, it was reported by the Times of India that although the global picture for the future of newspapers is not that rosy, South Asia is witnessing the sunrise of print media.
A futurist, Ross Dawson, has predicted that extinction of newspapers in 52 countries between 2017 and 2039, with the last of the printing giants closing in the United States in 2017. It was noted that none of the South Asian countries were on the list.
In the fifteen sessions that followed, it was emphasized that there is a need to increase readership by customizing products for readers, connecting with young readers and not allowing advertising to influence the editorials.
One of the last speakers, Earl J. Wilkinson, CEO of a major firm, said that receiving news on cellphones will become the preferred mode in the future, given mobile penetration, more so with 3G coming, and that newspaper organizations will have to tailor news to serve through this communication tool
India’s demographics provide ample reason to get excited about the Internet market’s potential for stellar growth there. But if New Delhi doesn’t address basic infrastructure snags, this new frontier won’t fulfill its high promise.
In an online Wall Street Journal report last October, it was stated that about 70%of India's people live in villages and a staggering 84% of them aren't yet aware of the Internet.
India's economic growth rate is one of the fastest among the world's largest economies but only 52 million people - just 5% of the total population - were using the Internet in 2009. Still it is double the total three years ago showing the potential in rapid urbanization.
Inadequate internet infrastructure in the country’s rural areas is a big deterrent. More than half of India’s population doesn’t have access to electricity. Even in cities only 32% of the population is computer literate and only 4% of Indians owned personal computers in 2009 compared with 20% in China.
BBC News informs us that that beginning in the late 1980s, India began to open up to the outside world encouraging economic reform and foreign investment. It is now courted by the world's leading economic powers, including its one time foe China. With its many languages, cultures and religions, India is highly diverse.
India's broadcasting has flourished since the state's TV monopoly was broken in 1992. The array of channels is still growing. Private cable and satellite stations command large audiences. News programs often outperform entertainment shows.
The country has a large burgeoning urban middle class and has made great strides in fields such as informational technology. Its large skilled workforce makes it a popular choice for international companies seeking to outsource work.
India launches its own satellites and in 2008 sent its first spacecraft to the moon. It also boasts a massive cinema industry, the products of which are among the most widely watched films in the world.
On the negative side, Paris based Reporters Without Borders says that press freedom is threatened by "the violence of political parties as well as religious and separatist groups". Communal, caste and regional tensions continue to haunt Indian politics, sometimes threatening its long-standing and democratic and secular ethos.
The vast mass of the rural population remains impoverished. Their lives continue to be influenced by the ancient Hindu caste system, which assigns each person a place in the social hierarchy. Discrination on the basis of caste is now illegal and various measures have been introduced to empower disadvantaged groups and give them easier access to opportunities such as education and work.