Venkatesh Babu ,
IBS Bangalore, (‘98)

Editor - South ,
Hindustan TImes - MINT

Me …

I am currently working as Editor – South for Hindustan Times Group’s newly launched business newspaper MINT. The product has been successfully launched in New Delhi and Mumbai and within six months of launch has become the No.2 business daily in the country with circulation crossing the one lakh copies mark. Aim of MINT is to bring a fresh breath of air in the way business is covered in India. We have an exclusive partnership with Wall Street Journal.
My current mandate is to beef up coverage from the South for an eventual roll out of the Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad editions for the newspaper. All the editorial bureaus in the south will report into me.

Prior to this I was a Senior Editor with Business Today which is India’s No.1 business magazine and a part of the India Today Group. Have been associated with the Print Media in various capacities for more than a decade.

My family….

Come from a middle class background. My father was a government servant who passed away when I was fairly young. While my educational rigor can be traced back to my father’s passion for information and knowledge the key seminal influence on my life has been my mother, who also unfortunately passed away a couple of years back. Though my mother was an illiterate in the conventional sense of the word, her value systems, her sense of fairplay and justice and ability to tackle the toughest of situations — something which she passed on to her children — was next to none. The stress in the family was on education and being morally upright citizens who would give back to society.

Sojourn in IBS...

I quit my then job at Indian Express in 1996 to join IBS B to add value to myself. It has been my good fortune that not only did I get a sound academic grounding but also formed several lasting relationships with people from diverse background. Relationships I cherish. It has been a decade since I passed out of IBS B portals but I do look back with pride on what the institution has achieved itself and helped me to achieve as an individual.

High pressure situations …

Journalism is all about deadlines and pressures. Being quick on your mental feet is a must. I remember one particular incident. For a story on Infosys I was doing at Business Today I had to meet the Chairman of the company N R  Narayana Murthy. Being a print publication we also had to get good pictures and thus my photographer was with me. The story was more on the individual rather than the company and we had made a prior request that Mr Murthy should be casually dressed for the shoot. (Try and remember the last time you ever saw a picture of Mr Murthy in a T –Shirt or any other casual wear apart from the formal tie and suit. Difficult right !) Imagine to my horror when we turned up he was dressed in his natty best of a formal suit while my Editor’s instructions were that he be in casuals. Remember, I had a deadline to meet also. When I pointed this out to him Mr Murthy was very apologetic.

So even as my photographer panicked I ventured to make a bold request to Mr Murthy on whether he would mind wearing the T Shirt of my photographer (Those who have seen me know that in rotoundity I am several times Mr Murthy’s size and I was also in a formal dress).

Such is the greatness of this humble man without demurring even for a minute; he gladly got out of his suite and shirt and changed into my Photographer’s rather sweaty T Shirt. We shot him. This is one photoshoot and picture which I will always remember

balancing work and family …

Given the nature of work (news does not break according to an individual’s requirements), it is no doubt a challenge. However I make it a point that I do spend quality time with my family. One day a week at least the BlackBerry goes into silent mode !

Idea of relaxation…

Both I and my wife enjoy reading. A good read relaxes me. An occasional getaway to some place with no crowds and lots of greenery.

Biggest lesson in life..

There is no substitute for good old hard work. If you are talented and work hard, results will eventually come.

What is the future you visualize about India in comparison with other countries especially China, What will be the role of press in the development of our country especially in the Political, Economic and Social fields. Can you share your vision of the future of Indian economy and the sectors which are poised for rapid growth.

While I don’t have any pretensions to being a visionary, it is a fact that India is at the cusp of change. A fact which I see visually day to day and hear from Industry leaders on a first hand basis. India’s moment under the sun has come. 50 per cent of our billion plus people are under the age of 25. This is a young vibrant nation.

I think all comparisons are odious. Indians have to stop having  a chip (nay a boulder) when it comes to China. While China has an open economy with a centralized political system, India for a long time had an centralized economy with an open political system. With the economy being thrown open in the last decade and a half, the natural entrepreneurship of Indians is coming to fore.

This concept of India being a poor country is only a recent perception; say in the last 200 years. Why did the british, dutch, portugese and all other European colonists try to come to India ? because India was rich. 200 years in a nation’s lifetime is just but a blink of the eye. India will regain its rightful economic position in the world. 16 per cent of the world’s population cannot have 0.7 per cent of its GDP. Most sectors of the economy will do well including manufacturing inspite of skeptics.

How connected are you with you friends an batch mates at IBS

Fairly.

Your Advice to fellow alumni embarking upon their careers

You are limited only by your ambitions. Dream big. Achieve bigger.◊