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INFA: A Brief Profile
India News and Feature Alliance (INFA) is India’s leading news and
feature agency. An independent syndicate, it was founded in 1959 by
Durga
Das following his retirement as the Editor-in-Chief of the Hindustan
Times.
INFA will turn 50 on 14 November
2009. For over two decades, it has been crusading to strengthen India’s young
democracy at the grassroots through a better-informed public opinion. It has
endeavoured to achieve this by providing a daily service of articles on topical
issues by leading experts giving background, inside information and in-depth
analysis.
Its subscribers include not only
scores of small and regional newspapers across the country but also top
Government leaders, both at the Centre and the States, CEOs of leading Public
and Private Sector companies and foreign missions eager to keep themselves
well-informed in a fast moving world through ten minutes of reading each day.
News, no doubt, is important for
being well informed. But INFA believes that news analysis is equally important.
In fact, on occasions analysis becomes crucial for understanding matters between
the lines and in small print. It offers a service which comprises daily columns,
exclusive off-beat news items, backgrounders and features on request. Also
provided are news items of human interest, both domestic and foreign.
The feature service covers a
wide spectrum:
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Political Diary,
a weekly column on national affairs with inside information and relevant
background.
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Round the World,
a column on in-depth analysis of international events as viewed from New
Delhi.
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Round the States,
a weekly focus on the highlights of developments in the States together with
the Union Government’s reactions to them.
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Defence Notes,
a weekly column analyzing the national
defence policies and activities and international developments related to the
country.
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Economic Highlights,
a weekly feature with analysis of the latest business and economic
developments.
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Open Forum,
invites a cross-section of top leaders of various
political parties to raise and debate topical issues of national or regional
concern.
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Events and Issues,
a commentary on major issues and happenings.
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People and Their Problems,
deals with a cross-section of basic and other
issues concerning the common man.
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Parliament
gets special attention in view of its central
role in a democracy through which the will of the people is expressed, laws
passed and the Government held to account.
INFA has also filled two other
gaps in the national media by bringing out two annual publications:
India Who’s Who
and INFA
Press & Advertisers Year Book.
Importantly, INFA’s founder,
Durga Das authored his seminal memoirs entitled
India: From Curzon to
Nehru and After, published by Collins in the UK, John Day in
the US and Rupa in India. With the royalty earned from this book he founded in
1969 the Durga
Das Ratan Devi Trust to promote excellence in journalism.
INFA is presently functioning
from New Delhi at the national level and is headed by veteran journalist
Inder Jit, former member of Lok Sabha, India’s House of the People. Inder
Jit was trained on The Times, London, and was the political and parliamentary
Correspondent of The Times of India in New Delhi before he joined INFA as its
Editor in 1962.
Contact Address:
INFA,
Jeevan Deep Building,
Parliament Street,
New Delhi 110001.
Tel: 91-11-23743330-2-4
Email:
infaservice@infapublications.com
Durga Das was
born in 1900 and was a colossus among editors both before and after
India’s independence. In his career of over 55 years, he reported crucial
events from the beginning of India’s freedom movement onward to Independence
and the regimes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
He was with the Associated Press of India, forerunner of the Press Trust of
India, from 1919 to 1937 and was its Chief Parliamentary Correspondent and
Editor. Thereafter, he was with The Statesman from 1937 to 1943. He joined
The Hindustan Times in 1944 as its Joint Editor and Political Columnist and
became its Chief Editor in 1957.
Durga Das founded INFA on November 14, 1959 following retirement from The
Hindustan Times and was its Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief. Nehru, as
India’s first Prime Minister enthusiastically “welcomed the founding of INFA
as a news and feature syndicate. He also edited 10 volumes of Sardar Patel’s
correspondence 1945-50 (6,000 pages), published by Navjivan Trust, founded
by Mahatma Gandhi.
Durga Das passed away on 17th May 1974. The New York Times prominently
carried his photograph and obituary, describing him as the “Chronicler of
the freedom movement for 50 years”
In 2003, the NDA Government brought out a commemorative stamp in honour of
Durga Das, in recognition of his great services to India and the world at
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India Who’s Who is the only publication of its kind and provides
accurate biographical information about 5000 eminent personalities in India
from the world of politics, business & finance, education, law, science,
entertainment, arts, sports, etc, in fact every sphere of human activity.
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INFA Press & Advertisers Year Book too is the only publication of its kind
on advertising, media planning, press, sales, promotion and publicity. The
year book is informative, concise and a vital tool for those who are engaged
in advertising and selling.)
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India from Curzon to Nehru
and After The book records the most crucial events in Indian history covering
a span of 50 years from beginning of India’s freedom movement against
British rule to the regimes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
India’s third President Dr. Zakir Hussain wrote the foreword
for Durga Das’ seminal book and described it as “Indian history seen from
the inside.” The book was released by India’s fourth President, V.V. Giri,
in 1969 who described it as a must for any one wanting to understand free
India.
The book was published in 1969 by Collins in Britain and John Day in the
United States. Rupa of India subsequently published the book both in paper
back and hard cover. It also brought out a paper back edition in Hindi.
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