• Veena Rao is the first NRI woman to edit and publish a newspaper outside India
   

Atlanta, GA, May 18: Veena Rao, the editor and publisher of the Atlanta, Georgia based NRI Pulse, was recognized by the Limca Book of Records as the first non-resident Indian woman to edit and publish a newspaper outside India, in its forthcoming 2010 edition. Rao is a native of Mangalore.
 
NRI Pulse (www.NRIPulse.com) is a free monthly newspaper that serves the Indian-American and other South Asian communities of Georgia and other southeastern states of the US.

Veena Rao launched NRI Pulse in 2006, after she saw the need for a news-based publication in the region.
 
“The market was choc-a-bloc with magazines of all kinds, but no publication with a focus on news,” she said. “It is important that people know what’s happening in their community, and the country they live in. It is important that they stay abreast of happenings in India. This is vital for the socio-economic and cultural growth of the community as a whole.”
 
NRI Pulse has today become the primary source of news for Indian-Americans in the region, and has impacted the community on several levels. In the close to four years of its existence in print format, NRI Pulse has grown to become a household name in Georgia.
 
“Running a publication, especially through the recession, has been challenging,” she said. “The recognition has proved to me that if you believe in yourself and in your product, in the end, you will get your just dues. I am now motivated to take NRI Pulse to the next level.”
 
Veena Rao has a background in print journalism, having worked for the Indian Express in India, and a couple of community publications in Atlanta. She has a Masters’ Diploma in Journalism and Communication from the Pune-based Symbiosis International University and a Masters’ in Economics from Fergusson College. Rao spent much of her childhood in Mangalore, and attended St. Gerosa and St. Mary’s schools. Her mother Suguna Rao, and her extended family still lives in Mangalore.
 
“My love for reading and writing began during my elementary school days at St. Gerosa’s,” she said. “The journey began in Mangalore.”