Ethnic Media Group (EMG) is planning to stop publishing India Weekly as a stand-alone newspaper and instead make it part of sister paper Asian Times, AiM has learnt. The move will also see the introduction of three new 'mini-titles' bundled in with Asian Times - Pakistan Weekly, Sri Lanka Weekly and Bangladesh Weekly.

EMG bought India Weekly for an undisclosed sum from its owner Ashoka publications in April 2003. Having been founded in 1965, it is the UK's oldest English language Asian newspaper.

Managing Director of EMG, Wayne Bower, told AiM the re-structuring of the papers was more about the launch of three new brands instead of being the axing of India Weekly. He said the brand would still be alive, albeit inside Asian Times.

"This is about the development of Asian Times, one of the longest running Asian papers in the UK. We haven't changed it much since we acquired it in 1997, and this will be one of the first moves in changing the paper with a new look and a clear new direction. Asian Times itself will be increased in pagination and distribution," he said.

The publishing group is also working on a new edition of Eastern Eye newpaper for Scotland, Bower told AiM. He did not give a time frame for the launch, saying it was "part of an ongoing development program".

"EMG believes these developments work very much in line with what our research provides us - i.e. to provide the best possible products for our readers. Much of the information and research for these developments has come from the NOP media research we conducted (1997)," he added.

The new supplements would also be accessible by the internet he said, and didn't rule out the possibility of them being available as individual titles in the future. He admitted that one person had been lost at the company but added that it had nothing to do with the re-structuring.

Bower said the content for the paper would be provided by teams that EMG had established in the sub-continent. An announcement would be made "shortly" on who would become editor for the expanded paper. Isaac Hamza is currently editor for Asian Times and Bower would neither confirm or deny if Hamza would stay on as editor.

Asian Times will be printed in full colour for the first time when it hits the streets in its new form. No indication was given on when this would be. Tomorrow's India Weekly will be the final issue as a stand-alone paper.

"We are very, very excited about the plans and very excited about the developments at EMG," Bower said.