India to launch daily tech zine

India will see the launch of another daily paper -- one that will focus on its booming tech sector

By Staff and wire reports

BANGALORE, India -- Bangalore, India's high-tech epicenter, will launch a daily newspaper next week exclusively devoted to the sector.

The Tech Mail, as described by the Technology Media Group (TMG), will be the world's first technology daily.

The launch of the daily zine arrives as Standard Media International and its backers end the publication of the Industry Standard magazine, one of the most popular tech-focused monthly magazines.

First daily of its kind

It has already seen a test run of distribution on Thursday ahead of its Monday formal launch.

The salmon pink, 16-page tabloid will have color editions on weekends.

"I believe there is a large opportunity. There is definite demand. We have been on this for more than one year," said publisher Subhanjan Sarkar.

He said he had checked with leading technology publishers worldwide, and was pretty much certain that the daily was the first of its kind.

Bangalore has been at the heart of India's booming software industry, which saw its exports reach $6.2 billion in 2000/01 (April-March), having grown around 50 percent a year from $734 million in 1995/96.

"I am told there are about 75,000 software professionals (in Bangalore),'' Sarkar said.

"Besides these, hardware industry workers, educational institutions, trainees and students would add up to a strong potential market," he added.

Bangalore, with a population of 5.6 million people, has more than 900 software firms, officials say.

Along with Hyderabad and Madras, the city constitutes a high-growth technology area sometimes called the "Silicon Plateau" of India.

The TMG Group, a private firm backed by venture funding, also runs a 24-hour satellite television channel and publishes "CIO," a magazine targeting IT executives.

As TMG readies for the daily publication of its new tech daily, the once highflying tech magazine the Industry Standard will be shutting down, as the magazine's financial backers have pulled out, company insiders told CNN.

However, a backer could still appear and the publication could open back up, a source said.

Reuters contributed to this report.