New look national herald all set for relaunch

National Herald, an English newspaper founded by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru 73 years ago, will soon hit the stands again.

National Herald, an English newspaper founded by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru 73 years ago, will soon hit the stands again.

HT Image

The Congress is re-launching National Herald as well as its Hindi and Urdu editions — Navjeevan and Quami Awaz — with modern technology. The party, which finances the newspapers, has roped in Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on public information, infrastructure and innovation, to give a new look to the publications.

Pitroda, who also served as an advisor to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and is responsible for revolutionising India's foreign and domestic telecommunications policies, has been appointed as a director on the board of the Associated Journals Ltd, headed by Congress MP and treasurer Motilal Vora.

In its last editorial on April 1, 2008, the National Herald, which was launched by Nehru from Lucknow on September 9, 1938, had announced temporary suspension of publications.

While the party leadership was yet to decide the date of re-launch, sources said the newspapers are likely to hit the stands within next few months or might coincide with Nehru's birth anniversary.

The Herald House, which houses the publications, wears a new look. The renovation and refurbishment of the building on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, also known as Delhi's Fleet Street, has almost been completed.