DB Corp's Divya Marathi completes two years

Dainik Bhaskar Group's latest offering, Divya Marathi recently completed two years of its existence. The Marathi newspaper has increased its cover price from Rs 3 to Rs 3.50 on two days, when it distributes supplements along with the main edition.

As per the company officials, after establishing its presence in the five cities of Maharashtra, the newspaper is geared up to launch a new edition from Akola in the coming months. The edition will cover Amravati, Yavatmal and Buldhana districts, apart from Akola.

On its anniversary, all the copies of the special 72-page issue of Divya Marathi carried the smell of Kevda. The group also launched a book titled 'Marathawadacha Dosh Kaya' (What is the fault of Marathawada), a compilation of articles on the subject which is anchored and authored by prominent personalities.

The company official adds, "Divya Marathi is the only Marathi daily to register an increase in readership of 45 per cent in Aurangabad and 43 per cent in Nashik."

The newspaper carried a commercial supplement of 48 pages. The issue also included an eight page gate fold. The main edition of Divya Marathi and Divya Marathi city pull out were printed on green imported news print.

Continuing with its anniversary celebration, the newspaper also organised Divya Marathi Utsav that included a Marathi drama, a talk show by Vithhal Kamat and Abhishiekh Lodha, a musical evening by Swapnil Bandorkar, and a panel discussion on women empowerment by Poonam Mahajan and Pranouti Shinde.

Talking about the anniversary, Pradeep Dwivedi, chief of sales and marketing, Dainik Bhaskar Group, says, "In the last two years, Divya Marathi has grown to be an important aspect of the socio-economic and cultural fabric of the Maharashtra region. We have made significant endeavours to harness the local potential and have aligned this to group's vision to be the enablers of socio-economic change. Our success story has become a case study at IIM Bangalore."

For the record, DB Corp publishes eight newspapers with 65 editions, 199 sub-editions in four languages including Hindi, Gujarati, English and Marathi across 13 states in India. Its flagship newspaper, Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi), was established in 1958; Divya Bhaskar and Saurashtra Samachar are in Gujarati. Its other offerings include Business Bhaskar, DB Gold, DB Star and DNA (in Gujarat, Rajasthan and MP) on a franchisee basis.

The company's other business interests includes the radio segment through brand My FM with presence in seven states and 17 cities.