Economic Times, popularly called as ET, is the largest selling business newspaper in India, owned by Bennet Coleman & Co. (which also owns Times of India)
It is the cheapest priced business newspaper in India (& probably the entire world) - all yours for Rs. 2/- per day! (Weekdays only).
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Who is it For?
1) Commerce / MBA / CA Students
2) SME owners
3) Stock Market investors
4) Marketing / Technology Professionals
5) Casual Business Readers
Who is it NOT for...
Anyone involved in Decision Making & investing Serious Money into business would rather prefer to skip this paper for the more technical ones like Financial Times or Business Standard
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COMMON SECTIONS OF ET
1) Top Stories covering the front page. These stories mostly relate to profit earnings, major investments, takeovers, legal battles, government policy changes, etc. All top companies from various categories can be covered here.
2) Economy - All news related to companies from diverse fields - giving indications of future growth in those business areas. Also, news on SEBI, Taxation, EXIM policies, etc.
3) International - International business news (mostly collected through various news agencies). More often than not - very casual news. Nothing that will enable decision making. It is advisable that one refers to international business news websites for such matters. In any case, if you’re a serious International news tracker - you’re better of taking out that Credit card of yours and subscribing to Wall Street Journal and the likes.
4) Stock Market - Featured from Mondays to Saturdays. On Mondays - you shall only get start of the week tips on how the bullion markets, Futures & Options, the general stock market are likely to behave in response to latest corporate news, government policies and International events affecting the Indian business scene. Other days - the same news as on Monday plus all information on major stocks - their performance.
5) Commodities - If agriculture, derivatives interests you - then this section can be quite helpful. News is related to supply / demand of commodities, both national and international. Plus, news on Government policies, commodity exchanges, etc.
6) Editorial, Viewpoints - This is a daily feature that involves commenting by industry experts, the newspaper editor on latest news (mostly those featured also on the Front Page). This section has to be read with care as many viewpoints may be biased and in the best interests of only certain section of readers.
7) CFM (Companies, Finance & Markets) - The section header is self-explanatory. All news on corporate earnings, takeovers, etc. - a spillover from front page and other latest news from Indian businesses. Lately, this section has also been used to cover Times Group companies and related interests groups in a very biased manner - shamelessly giving undeserved exposure to even the minutest of news from these companies. You may also come to notice an inclination of ET to lean favorably to certain business groups in covering their news stories.
8) ET Personal Finance - Almost a regular section. Interesting for casual readers and small investors. News / Resources / tips on spending your money wisely. Issues like Credit Card management, Loans, Stock Market investment are covered here in brief and simple way.
ET also has recently started a section called Political Theatre. Nothing ground breaking (as they claim it is). Just old wine in new bottle. Same old Political stories covered under a superficially grand header The Political Theatre.
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SPECIAL SECTIONS
1) ET in the Classroom - An excellent resource. Virtually any topic related to Business, Finance, Management, Government Policies, etc. is picked up and explained in great detail. For ex: What is the role of IMF? What is SDS? How does Government account its Revenues & Expenditures?
Featured every Monday
2) Education - This is probably one of the most useful resources, for students, covered by ET. Almost every kind of education topic is covered here. They even have an expert answering your education related queries. Plus, news / tips on loan procurement for future studies - both in India and abroad. Also, news on studying opportunities in various countries, visa related issues, etc. Mostly - the focus lies on MBA and related education topics. But they also tend to cover diverse educational issues such as Public Relations, Politics, Technical Writing, etc. Featured on Mondays
3) Money & Banking - Definitely for those who are interested in making Banking (any type) their field of specialization. Cannot comment much on this section due to my ignorance about news / opinions related to the Banking field. I accept this ignorance as a major flaw in my business knowledge repository. My personal opinion is that anyone interested in money matters - especially long-term investments or opening up a business venture must keep track of Banking matters. Banks are the fuel that drives the economy. Not only funding new ventures, but also the most crucial matters like Working Capital, Loans for expansion, etc. Featured on Wednesdays
4) Networked - All news related to Information Technology is covered here. From your ERP’s to CRM’s to many other business related tools. Also contains Opinions/ Viewpoints from CTO’s, CFO’s and even CEO’s of technology companies on issues such as managing IT infrastructure, upcoming technologies in IT, security issues, efficiency, storage management, etc. All in all - a nice read for IT news watchers. Featured on Thursdays..
Other Special Sections include those on Marketing, Infrastructure Index, NRI related news, etc.
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SUPPLEMENTS
1) Corporate Dossier - CD as it is popularly called - is known for news related to business management issues. Generally experts in this field are asked to write their opinions on happening news stories that are a good case study in business management. CD arrives with your regular ET on Wednesdays.
2) Brand Equity - As the name suggest, all news related to Marketing. Usually Indian media / marketing agencies are covered here. Plus, marketing strategies / news covered from both Indian and international arenas.
This Supplement arrives on Fridays.
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MY FAVORITE SECTIONS
1) Front Page News stories (Keeps me abreast of latest on Indian business scene)
2) Education news
3) ET in the classroom
4) Networked
Other sections of interests include Editorial / Viewpoints, CFM, Marketing, miscellaneous stories.
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FINAL COMMENTS
All in all Economic Times is a reasonably good business newspaper - that can be read to keep abreast of latest events, happenings in Indian business. Plus other useful resources - those mentioned above.
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