Andhra Pradesh gets new Telugu daily Namasthe Telangana

The daily is being launched simultaneously from seven locations, across the Telangana region.

The Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh gets its own Telugu newspaper Namasthe Telangana, starting June 7. The daily has launched seven editions simultaneously, with an estimated print run of over 7 lakh.

Namasthe Telangana intends to be the voice of the common man of Telangana, and aims to address the concerns, aspirations and ambitions of the people of the region. The Telangana Publications group, is already in the broadcasting business, and has a channel called T News.

The Telangana region comprises the following ten districts -- Adilabad, Hyderabad, Khammam, Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Rangareddy and Warangal. Hyderabad, the capital of the state, houses a population of around one crore.

V Narayanan, vice-president, sales and marketing, Namasthe Telangana, says, "It is planned to be different and the most popular newspaper of Telangana." The content mix of the newspaper would include political news, sports, business, cinema, features, and a Sunday magazine.

The Telugu daily will have 12 pages in its main issue, as well as a 16-page tabloid containing local news for each district. It will bear a similar cover price to that of its competitors, and will be sold for Rs 3 on weekdays, and Rs 3.50 on Sundays.

The new entrant will face competition from Eenadu, Sakshi, Andhra Jyothi, Vaartha, Andhra Bhoomi, Andhra Prabha and Prajasakti, which already exist in Andhra Padesh.

About promoting the newspaper, Narayanan adds, "The people of Telangana are already aware of Namasthe Telangana and are eagerly awaiting its launch. We don't really need to do much on this front. However, media will be used tactically, that is, as and when required."

Divakonda Damodar Rao, an entrepreneur and senior financial consultant, is heading the team of Namasthe Telangana, as its managing director. He is one of the key persons behind the launch of T-News channel (earlier known as Raj News). Allam Narayana is heading the editorial team of Namasthe Telangana. Katta Shekar Reddy is heading planning, co-ordination and the administrative wings of Namasthe Telangana as its chief executive officer.

Narayanan further says that the print market in Andhra Pradesh has been dominated by Eenadu for the past 35 years, as there was no serious contender in the market. The daily Saakshi was launched three years back, and it made a quite a dent in the market. However, both the media groups are from Seemandhra region. "For the first time, we have a Telugu daily coming out from the Telangana region. Healthy competition will see volumes and value increasing for all players," he adds.

For the record, Telangana is the biggest amongst the three regions of the state of Andhra Pradesh, covering 41.47 per cent of the state's population. It contributes more than 60 per cent of the total revenue of the state's exchequer.