Anand Limaye receives MMS’ Lifetime Achievement Award 2023

MMS’ sixth Roundtable Conference also held

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Anand Limaye receives MMS’ Lifetime Achievement Award 2023
Anand Limaye receives the MMS LTA by the chief guest Ram Naik

On 14 April, the Mumbai Mudrak Sangh conferred its Lifetime Achievement Award (LTA) 2023 to industry stalwart and the man behind the 91-year-old India Printing Works, Anand Limaye.

Chief guest Ram Naik speaking during the ceremony

Former governor of Uttar Pradesh Ram Naik was the chief guest while former Nagaland governor Padmanabh Acharya was the guest of honor. The function organized at MCA Club in Bandra Kurla Complex was attended by members of the print community from Mumbai and beyond.

Before Limaye was given the award, Pranav Parikh, the founder of Technova, paid a tribute through a special video message. “It is a great privilege for me to be able to express the respect and admiration that I have for Anandji. He is a very special person with so many qualities rarely found in one individual — simplicity and humility, charm and gentle sense of humor, sharp intellect. His ability to spot and nurture the people he interacts with and his readiness to extend a helping hand without any expectation are the qualities that have served him well. Not only has he nurtured India Printing Works with love and dedication, he has worked tirelessly to alleviate the concerns of Indian printers. Congratulations to MMS for bestowing this honor to the true champion of our industry,” he said.

Tushar Dhote, past president of MMS said, “Anand is my mentor. What I am today in the field of print and what I have contributed to the association is because of Anand. I have followed in his footsteps. You are a living legend.”

Naik recalled how he got acquainted with Limaye 15 years ago. He said Limaye was instrumental in turning him into a writer by giving the idea that Naik should publish his columns in the Marathi newspaper Sakal into a book titled Charaiveti! Charaiveti!! — which in Hindi means Chalte Raho! Chalte Raho!!

Anand Limaye giving the acceptance speech
Anand Limaye giving the acceptance speech

Charaiveti! Charaiveti!! has been translated in 13 languages. As a politician and governor, I was only issuing press notes and annual reports. I could be a writer only because of Anand Limaye,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, which he delivered in Marathi, Limaye thanked MMS for conferring him with the award and expressed his gratitude to Pranav Parikh.

“On this occasion, I would like to mention the extraordinary founder chairman of TechNova Shri Pranavbhai Parikh. Under his guidance, the company rose to be ranked among the top five global manufacturers of plates and chemicals for the printing industry,” he said. “Pranavbhai was unable to attend today’s ceremony physically, but I sincerely thank him for his virtual blessing.”

Thanking his colleagues and the industry, Limaye said the staff, clients and vendors were also behind the success of India Printing Works. At the same time, he said his family was the foremost reason for his success.

“The time spent doing all this was a little business, a little personal, and mostly family time. If I did not have the support of my family who fully backed me in all the work, it would have been difficult for me. I will forever be grateful to them,” he said. 

MMS’ sixth Roundtable Conference

Earlier in the day, MMS organized the sixth edition of the Roundtable Conference

MMS Roundtable Conference taking place
MMS Roundtable Conference taking place

. The theme of this year was ‘Rethink, Redesign, and Realign’.

There were eight tables where industry experts discussed topics pertinent to the industry. The topics discussed were digital labels, digital packaging, automation, high-value digital short run, MIS/ERP, corrugation design and packaging, narrow web, and print on demand books.

The roundtable took place for 90 minutes and after that a panel discussion was held.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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