Yo, Indra

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Not surprisingly, as in the English-language dailies across the country, the regional press too played up the 50-year old Chennai-born Indra Nooyi's appointment to the top job of cola giant PepsiCo. The news was, however, given bigger play in south India as compared to the northern parts "" Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, for instance, had a large story on her on the back page, but nothing of significance on the front page.

In Andhra Pradesh, all the Telugu newspapers "" Eenadu, Andhra Jyothi and Vaartha "" splashed the news as the lead story on their business pages on Tuesday. Eenadu scored over other Telugu dailies the next day, and dedicated half of its exclusive women's page "" Vasundhara "" to Nooyi. It carried an article and a three-column picture of a beaming Nooyi. Throwing light on both her personal and professional life, the newspaper carried a lot of biographical information "" from her schooling to her becoming the President and CFO of PepsiCo and her relationship with her husband and two daughters. "Nooyi has come a long way to prove herself. Over the last 12 years, she pushed PepsiCo to take many risks, and her business acumen helped the soft drinks major create Yum! Brands Inc and acquire Tropicana," the newspaper said.

In Bangalore, all the Kannada press "" Vijaya Karnataka, Praja Vani and Kannada Prabha "" dedicated sufficient space in their commerce and business sections to Nooyi. A majority of them carried photographs of Nooyi. Praja Vani published a biography. Vijaya Karnataka had an analysis on Nooyi's elevation and its impact on India. In its supplement on women, Nooyi received a special mention among women achievers. Curiously, leading Tamil daily Dinamalar didn't carry the news on even its business pages though it carried pieces on the pesticides controversy.