The Indian edition – priced at Rs 75 – will have a mix of Indian and international content and serve as a “tool kit” for entrepreneurs with information on a variety of subjects like finance, investments, hiring, technology as well as inspirational stories, according to the publishers.

Lakshmi Narasimhan, chief executive officer (magazine publishing) of Infomedia18 told reporters that “India’s small-scale businesses, having 42 million-plus business units, offer the biggest opportunity worldwide.” The company sees this as “the right time” to launch a business magazine “to become a part of this important ecosystem.”

The magazine would be made available across India through “the strong distribution network” of Infomedia18.

“Entrepreneurship,” according to Lakshmi Narasimhan, “is a flourishing concept and yet entrepreneurs in India tread a lonely path, and Entrepreneur aims at “filling the void in the life of every entrepreneur in India.”

According to Peter Shea, chairman and publisher of Entrepreneur Media Incorporated, the company’s vision is “to continue extending its expertise to as many viable regions as possible as well as to support the social and economic benefits of entrepreneurship globally.”

The publishers claim the Indian edition of Entrepreneur targets the small and medium business units, businessmen who already have ventures and also those people who aspire to become entrepreneurs.

In a press release, Bipin Chandran, Editor of the Indian edition of Entrepreneur, said that the magazine’s approach to content will be “different” in that it will offer “practical business tips as well as highlight opportunities, which an entrepreneur in India can benefit from.”

The Indian edition of Entrepreneur, a general business magazine, will compete with Indian business magazines such as Business Today and Business World.

The Entrepreneur magazine, which has existed in the United States for the last 32 years, claims to have a readership of 3 million readers each month. Also, it has a presence in many nations, including Russia, Mexico, South Africa and the Philippines.

Network18 currently publishes the business magazine Forbes India, in partnership with international business publisher Forbes Media, which publishes the magazine Forbes.

In India, the total revenue from print-media advertising was around Rs 9,000 crore in 2008 – with magazines making up about 10% of this amount. However, business magazines at present account for just 2% of the total revenues from the print media.