In 1999, following the death of her husband, publishing magnate
Ashok Kumar Jain, Indu Jain became chair of
The Times Group, India's largest
media group (formally named Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd). This group owns
The Times of India and other newspapers and media outlets. In 2012, the Times Group employed 11,000 people, and controlled 38 per cent of the Indian newspaper market. The key to the success of the Times Group is that the newspapers are not about investigative reporting, but selling advertisements with large parts of the papers dedicated to
Bollywood and paid editorials. According to
Forbess 2006 rankings, Indu Jain had a net worth of $2.4 billion and was the 317th-richest person in the world. As of 2007, she was estimated to be the richest woman in Asia. In 2000 Jain founded The Times Foundation, which she also chaired. The Times Foundation runs Community Services, Research Foundation and Times Relief Fund for relief from disasters such as floods, cyclones, earthquakes and epidemics. Jain was an author, who published a two-volume
Encyclopedia of Indian Saints and Sages in 2012 and 2019. Co-authored with N. K. Prasad and published by Times Group Books, the second instalment was launched at an event for World Environmental Day with religious leaders. ==Awards==