The Indian Printing Industry

The Indian Printing Industry

Subhash Chander
President
All India Federation of Master Printers （AIFMP）

　　I express grateful thanks to the Printing and Printing Equipment Industries Association of China for inviting us to be a part of this mega event: China Print 2009. I congratulate Mr. Yu Zhen, Chairman and Mr. Wang Demao, Vice Chairman Executive and the team of Office Bearers of PEIAC for organizing this grand China Print 2009. We in India are particularly happy to join this event in China – as we are all aware, our two countries represent more than a third of the global population and our combined strengths will go far to further the interests of the print industry globally.

　　All India Federation of Master Printers, established in 1953, is duly recognized by the Government of India as the apex body of the printers in the country. It represents 57 affiliate associations from all the regions. AIFMP has been at the forefront of initiating significant cooperation among the South Asian Printers through South Asia Print Congress in 1996 among SAARC countries and to create a shared vision of the future. Earlier, India led the way in forging international exchange of information and expertise as in 1993 AIFMP secured the honour of hosting the 5th World Print Congress in New Delhi which was attended by 600 participants from 17 countries.  The theme of the Congress was “Print Communication: A Global Vision”.

　　To facilitate greater regional and global cooperation among allied bodies, AIFMP has signed a number of agreements and works closely with various associations from different countries: Sri Lanka Association of Printers, NPES (USA), Association of Italian Manufacturers of Machinery for Graphics, Mexican Chamber of Graphic Arts, as also the Printing and Printing Equipments Industries Association of China.
The Indian Printing Industry is well established and presently growing at 12% per annum. According to NPES / PRIMIR report India is the world’s fastest growing market with a projected 73% rate of growth from 2006-2011.  Not only is India growing extremely fast but it is doing so from a very large base.  Today, India’s printing market is about $ 12.1 billion and is forecast to grow to US $ 20.9 billion by 2011.  There are more than 8000 daily newspapers published in India, besides a large number of weekly and fortnightly periodicals published in all Indian languages.

　　The Indian Printing Industry today comprises more than 250,000 big, small and medium printers with a total turnover of more than US $ 12 billion.  Almost 75% printing presses are family owned and hence closely held.

　　The Indian packaging industry – currently valued at over US $ 14 billion - is also growing at 14-15% annually. This growth rate is expected to double in the next two years. These figures indicate a fairly rapid change in the industrial and consumer set up. There are about 600-700 packaging machinery manufacturers, 95% of whom are in the small and medium sector and are located all over India.
India’s population of 1.2 billion makes India the second most populous nation in the world.  Literacy level has shown a steady increase since 1990 and is now just over 60%.  If this progress is maintained, by 2011 literacy levels in excess of 65% are expected to be achieved, giving a significant boost to traditional publication markets.  India’s literacy level is still very low by world standards, but even so, a 65% literacy rate factored into a population of 1.2 billion gives 780 million people who can read. 

　　Further, the emergence of the retail revolution across the country is acting as a fuel to the growth of the Printing Industry.  Also, the enormous reading capacity leads to more consumption of paper.  Growth in economy and paper consumption is closely linked.  By the industry projection, the paper consumption is projected to reach 13.95 million tons by 2015-16.  India is the world’s fastest growing market for paper.

　　The Printing Industry of India is providing employment opportunities to more than 3.0 million people directly and more than 1.5 million indirectly. Due to liberalization and globalization, the printing industry is progressing at a very fast speed by adopting modern technology and by employing professionals.
The facilities available in India, as compared to the other parts of the world, are more economical due to lower labour costs and availability of basic infrastructure.  India is therefore attracting entrepreneurs from all over the world to set up their units in this country. Foreign investment regulations have been relaxed. Up to 26% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permitted in newspapers and periodicals dealing with news and current affairs. In non-news publications, 100% foreign investment is permitted. Due to the changes in the regulation, many foreign investors have taken strategic stakes in the domestic print media companies. Multinational Companies (MNCs) are investing in our printing industry and collaboration agreements are being entered.

　　Special economic zones are being developed by Government of India and additional facilities are being provided in all these zones.  The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and the Ministry of Industry have several schemes that help develop the infrastructure and promote the print sector, particularly the micro and small enterprises, alongside cluster developments.

　　 The All India Federation of Master Printers plays an active role in the human and resources development of the printing sector by holding seminars, conferences, exhibitions etc. in different parts of the country. AIFMP organises National Awards for Excellence in Printing that are coveted honours in the printing industry. Awards are given in almost all categories. I am proud to say that our Indian printers are also winning many international awards – AIFMP members M/s Pragati Offset, Hyderabad and Silver Point, Mumbai, Thomson Press, Faridabad are among leading printers who win international awards, year after year.

　　India today has more than 50 printing institutes across the country in the private as well as public sector which are imparting training to more than 4000 printing professionals including M-Tech/ Degree/Diploma holders and others into the mainstream industry every year.  AIFMP’s official journal “Printing Times”, published since 1977, is a key contribution to the Indian print scene.

　　Presently, AIFMP has a number of projects under its umbrella that will showcase the print sector in India, such as PAMEX-2010 from January 19-22, 2010 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, and National Awards for Excellence in Printing on 20th January 2010 at Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi, and Conference of South Asia Print Congress (SAPC) during August, 2010 at Bangalore.  Plans are underway to set up AIFMP’s own state-of-the-art Printing Testing, Training and Research Institute at Bangalore to impart training to printing students.

　　AIFMP with the active cooperation of all its 57 affiliate associations each year celebrates Printers' Day on 24th February to honour Johannes Gutenberg, Father of Printing Industry who was born on this auspicious date. To commemorate the day free medical camps are organised, books are distributed to needy children and students of printing institutes are invited to participate actively.

　　To return to the national scene: India's growth record during the recent years is commendable; with the continuation and completion of some key reform initiatives India’s potential to become a significant player in the next 5-7 years is high.  Progress made in computerization, automation and in the field of printing industry is becoming more interactive - changing every aspect of our daily life.  Printing industry requires more and more skills and resources, both human and financial, to exploit new technologies. Seminars, conferences, exhibitions provide the forums to deliberate upon the challenges and opportunities. The Indian economy, even in these days of global recession, is continuously growing at an even pace.  The national income has doubled in just 15 years, as also India’s share of world exports.  India is amongst the six top book producers in the world and the third largest English language publishing country.

　　But in the context of the world-wide recession there has been some effect on the Indian market also. But since our domestic market is big the recession has so far not been the cause of too much worry to us and we hope this will remain the case in the future too. However, I must also add that there has been a psychological effect on the industry in terms of investments on capital equipment with a wait-and-watch attitude. The emerging consensus is that the economy may now be at its lowest but a firm recovery may take longer depending on the global economy. Well, we should be able to tide over by this year-end with signs of revival being already seen on the horizon.

　　Exhibitions such as China Print 2009 help raise the status of our industry.  They provide a golden opportunity to the visitors to see state-of-the-art print and related equipments through live demonstrations under one roof.

　　In the end I would like to say that our Federation offers a platform to all our friends here to help them establish contacts in India, share research data, develop collaboration proposals for mutual benefit and the development of the printing fraternity in general.

　　Thank you once again for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts with you!