The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has issued a notice on an application filed by Jagran Prakashan seeking the appointment of an administrator without supersession of the Board.

In the application, the company also sought permission for Jagran Prakashan’s Board to identify a qualified and independent professional in the capacity of a Chief Executive Officer, with further prayer that the term of Mahendra Mohan Gupta as the MD of the Company to continue till such CEO is appointed.

The Allahabad bench of NCLT sought responses from non-applicants in the matter within a week as the next hearing is scheduled for October 4.

The application was filed in a pending petition titled Mahendra Mohan Gupta and others vs Devendra Mohan Gupta and others under sections 241/242 and 244 of the Companies Act 2013

NCLT noted that as per the Regulation 26A of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Regulation, 2015, a listed company is required to fill any vacancy in the office of Managing Director at the earliest, and not later than three months from the date of such vacancy.

“Since the present vacancy of MD is going to occur on 30.09.2023, as stated by the Counsel representing the Applicant, therefore the appointment in any case has to take place on or before three months in terms of the Regulation 26A of the SEBI Regulation, 2015,” the bench said.

The tribunal also directed that the parties would come out with a definite timeline in order to ensure that the appointment of the Managing Director takes place within a time bound manner, so that the vacancy on the post of the Managing Director does not continue indefinitely.

“Let the needful be done within the aforesaid stipulated period of one week,” the bench said while seeking a response from the parties. 

BARC India will be sharing both unprojected and weighted respondent-level data with broadcasters, media reports have said.

This comes after BARC fixed the price for Respondent Level Data at Rs 15 lakh per annum for broadcasters.

As of now, only agencies have access to Respondent Level Data at a cost of Rs 60 lakh per annum.

exchange4media had earlier reported that BARC was planning to make the Respondent Level Data available to broadcasters at a more reasonable price compared to what agencies pay for it.

Jagran Prakashan has filed a disclosure statement on September 25 in the pending matter in NCLT. Titled- Mahendra Mohan Gupta and Devendra Mohan Gupta and C.P., the matter pertains to seeking urgent reliefs to secure interim management in the company.

The group informed BSE that the company had filed an application on the same matter on September 25. In the said application, the company requested the following interim reliefs: pass appropriate and necessary directions appointing a fit and proper person as an administrator, without supersession of the board, to oversee, regulate, and manage the affairs of the company and to file a monthly report before the Tribunal with a copy to JPL.

Company also requested to permit the company's board to identify a qualified and independent professional in the capacity of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), or by whatever name called, to assist and work under the supervision of the administrator so appointed, within a reasonable period with the Tribunal's approval.  Another request they made was to pass appropriate and necessary directions extending the term of the petitioner as the MD of the company till such CEO is identified, to work under the supervision of the Administrator appointed by the Hon'ble Tribunal.

The company was served with an oppression petition on July 10, 2023 filed by Mahendra Mohan Gupta, Chairman & MD, Shailesh Gupta, Whole time director of the company and VRSM Enterprises LLP before the National Company Law Tribunal, Allahabad. The petitioners hold 16.18% shareholding in Jagran Media Network Investment Private Limited (JMNIPL), which holds 67.97% shareholding in the company.

The Petitioners’ indirect and direct shareholding in the company aggregates to 11.29%. The shareholding of JMNIPL is completely held by the members of the Gupta family, which includes the petitioners.

In the intimation to BSE, the petition raises issues concerning oppression of the minority shareholders i.e. the petitioners, by the majority shareholders i.e. the other members of Gupta family, both at the JMNIPL and the company level. In addition to the said other shareholders, JMNIPL and the company have also been impleaded as respondents.

Media Research Users Council India (MRUCI) held its 29^th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.

Shailesh Gupta, Wholetime Director, Jagran Prakashan Ltd. and Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director – Sales & Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., have been unanimously elected as MRUCI’s Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively. The announcement was made at MRUCI’s Board meeting which was held shortly after its AGM.

Shailesh Gupta takes over the mantle from Mr Shashidhar Sinha, CEO- India, Mediabrands, who served as MRUCI’s Chairman for two consecutive terms i.e. from 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

While handing over the mantle, Sinha stated, “I am happy that IRS is being revived after a gap because of Covid”

Shailesh Gupta in his vote of thanks stated, “I’d like to thank Mr. Shashi Sinha for leading MRUCI and taking several strides forward in reviving the IRS. It will be my endeavour to help create a robust 3^rdparty research that helps all constituents and collectively takes the industry forward.”

Two new members have also been appointed to the Board of Governors, viz:

1. Rajeev Beotra, Executive Director, HT Media Ltd.
2. Anupriya Acharya, CEO, South Asia, Publicis Groupe

Shailesh Gupta, the Wholetime Director of Jagran Prakashan Limited, is one of the most respected names in the Indian Media Industry. Over the last 25 years, Shailesh has provided a new dimension to Jagran’s marketing strategy, and has been at the heart of driving transformational change at the Jagran group. He’s also hold positions as Director, Music Broadcast Limited, and Director, Midday Infomedia Ltd.

Shailesh is associated with several industry bodies in media.

• President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), 201920.
• Elected as the youngest member of the Managing Committee of the Audit Bureau of Circulation for the year 200405
• Chairman, Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), 201213
• Vice Chairman of Media Research User’s Council (MRUC), Sep 2021. MRUC is one of the most prominent media research bodies in India formed with the sole purpose of organizing accurate, timely and efficient media research in the country, across all forms of media.
• Nominated by the Indian Newspaper Society to the board of the World Association of Newspapers, Paris.

He has also been conferred with the “Most Talented CMO of India” by the World Marketing Congress in 2014, awarded the “Youngest Entrepreneur Of The Year” by Rotary Club, India, and was the recipient of the “Excellence Award for Communication and Mass Entertainment” By Merchants’ Chamber of U.P.

Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer at Maruti Suzuki, is a business leader par excellence and is widely recognized as one of the most influential marketeers in India, having led and steered the Marketing & Sales function at Maruti Suzuki through its most challenging phases of covid pandemic and supply chain disruption.

In a career spanning more than 3 decades at Maruti Suzuki, Mr. Srivastava has worked in both domestic and international marketing, and has witnessed the evolution of Indian automotive industry from its nascent days to today’s hyper competitive phase.

An alumnus of the prestigious IIM Ahmedabad, in his current role, he is transforming Marketing & Sales function at Maruti Suzuki, and preparing it for the disruptive mobility ecosystem ahead. His digital transformation initiatives include making MSIL the 1^st automotive OEM globally to take vehicle bookings on Metaverse.

He is a member of various industry bodies such as:

• CII National Committee on Marketing
• Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI)
• Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA)
• Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC)
• Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)
• Media Research Users Council India (MRUCI)

HT Media's revenue from operations rose by 14.0% to Rs 1,711 crore in FY 2022-23, as compared to Rs 1,500 crore in FY 2021-22, according to the company's annual report. Total income for FY23 grew to Rs 1862 crore from Rs1677 crore.

The company's revenue from the sale of newspapers for the year FY 2022-23 grew by 17.53% to Rs 236.41 crore against Rs 201.15 crore in FY22. Advertisement revenue for the financial year increased by 12% to Rs 1,064.83 crore against Rs 949.32 crore.

Revenue from airtime sales grew to Rs 140.82 crore in FY23 from Rs 99.68 crore in FY22. Meanwhile, income from digital services stood at Rs 132.21 crore against Rs 131.73 and job work revenue and commission income was Rs 42.13 crore against Rs 32.55 crore.

The company's EBITDA margin decreased to 0.7% in FY 2022-23 from 12.2% in FY 2021-22, according to the annual report for FY 23. The company said that this decline was led by higher newsprint costs along with new business investments in the fiscal year.

Subsequently, PAT margin decreased to 13.6% in FY 2022-23 from 1.3% in FY 2021-22. The company reported a loss of Rs 251.75 crore against a profit of Rs 18.99 crore.
In the annual report, Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director of HT Media said that over the course of the last financial year, HT Media witnessed growth in revenue, marking a significant recovery from two challenging years of the pandemic and the consequent industry-wide slowdown.

"During the year, our businesses showed resilience in the face of geopolitical strife, broken supply lines, increased raw material costs, and a relatively subdued festive season on the back of sluggish retail spending. Nonetheless, we ended the year on a positive note with top-line growth in our key businesses and a relative softening of input cost inflation, especially in the second half of the year."

She added that while the group's emphasis on journalistic principles and quality content remains steadfast, HT Media continue to constantly find ways to grow readership (across platforms) and be the voice of the common man.

"As part of our effort to reach a wider audience, our focus has shifted to 'phygital', combining physical and digital approaches for thought leadership events, consumer outreach and enhanced user experience."

She added that the group's radio business also experienced robust growth, mostly on account of the sustained strength of the FCT (Free Commercial Time) and non-FCT performance both of which have seen an upswing post-pandemic. The social media presence and relevance of radio brands led by Radio Fever and Punjabi Fever has grown and they dominate the metro city landscape in regions where they operate.

The company's digital businesses continue to show growth promise with Mosaic reinforcing its position among prominent enterprise tech-led business investment intelligence platforms for both individuals and corporates.

According to her, the Indian OTT space is one of the fastest-growing segments of the Media and entertainment industry. "To tap into this emerging opportunity, we launched OTTplay.com, a platform that aggregates OTT content with a focus on choice, convenience, personalisation and affordability.
"In the ongoing financial year, our focus remains on sustaining our growth trajectory from the previous year as we manoeuvre through the overarching macroeconomic conditions and the evolving media ecosystem. It is an approach that is rooted in our long-standing journalistic values, that is cognizant of the emerging opportunities, and which understands the changing needs of both our readers and advertisers."