• Lalvani Presented DTI Innovation Award in London
• ONGC gets Asia Money Award
• Indian Art Makes a Splash with Bare Necessities
• Indians Awarded for Rescue Mission
• Film on Netaji Eyes Guinness Book
• NIIT Scientist Wins Dewang Mehta Award
• H'wood Finds the B'wood Masala Hot

• Indian Scientist Among WWF Contest Winners
• Ash Amongst Time's Most Influential
• Min of Tourism Bags PATA Award
• Indian Scientist gets Jaeger Lecture Award from IIW
• Richest Indian Honour for Azim
• Entertainment Industry Poised for Growth

Britain's Parliamentary under-secretary for science and innovation, Lord Sainsbury presented the DTI (Department of Trade and Industries) Innovation Award to 73-year-old Lalvani at a glittering function organised by the Eastern Eye, a publication house, at the London Hilton in London. Lalvani's discovery of Immunace will play a very important role in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, according to the official International Journal of AIDS. Immunace was invented as the first synergistic formula of antioxidants, nutrients and co-factors to demonstrate a dramatic improvement in the immune system, building up resistance to infection with optimal cell defence. Lalvani told a news agency recently that the discovery would help save lives of thousands of people.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 26, 2005

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An Indian scientist has found place among the winners of the International Smart Gear Competition conducted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Dr MR Boopendranath, principal scientist at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (India) came up with one of three winning solutions to prevent the accidental maiming and killing of marine mammals, juvenile fish and sea turtles that become ensnared by fishing nets and loglines, the WWF said on Tuesday. The solutions will also improve the efficiency of commercial fishing, it said. The three new winning solutions will be announced on Thursday at a press conference on the eve of Earth Day on April 22.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, April 22, 2005

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Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been awarded 'Best Deals of the Year 2004' trophy by Asiamoney - Asia's leading capital markets publication. The award was given in recognition of the successful placement of Rs 10,694 crore worth of secondary shares, a company press release said here. At an exclusive award presentation function held in Mumbai, the trophy was received by ONGC chairman and managing director Subir Raha and director (finance) R S Sharma. This was for the first time that the awards road-show was held in India. Asiamoney editor Chris Cockerill, while presenting the award, complimented ONGC for exemplary financial management systems.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 21, 2005

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Aishwarya Rai has a knack for appearing on covers and on celebrity shows not because she has mastered the art of media and public relations but she has finessed her early accolade of the Miss World into a rapidly growing cinematic resume now marching towards Hollywood unmatched by her colleagues in Mumbai. Last year, Aishwarya Rai made it into the Time magazine's list of 100 most powerful people. It is very rare that the same person gets selected the succeeding year. But Aishwarya Rai made her presence in the star-studded dinner in New York last night with this year's 100 most powerful influential people. "It's undoubtedly an honour. It feels great that I was a part of this remarkable group. On a personal level, it's a humbling experience, because the people I have been rated with have achieved so much more than me", said Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya shared the night alongside the who's who from government, science, arts, sports, business and entertainment, those who have been rated the most powerful people of 2004-2005 by Time . Recently, Aishwarya shared the cover with Ziyi Zhang on the April issue of Beijing Review on the eve of the Chinese Premier's visit to India. Ziyi made it to this year's Time 's 100 list is being written as the Chinese gift to Hollywood. Ziyi was introduced to Hollywood through Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Aishwarya has the distinction of appearing the cover of Time magazine as well. Alone. Aishwarya might not have the girlish petulance of Ziyi Zhang, but in her own right has charmed filmmakers in Hollywood. Aishwarya's upcoming Hollywood projects include the role of a battered prostitute in Chaos with Meryl Streep, Roland Joffe's Singularity opposite Brendan Fraser, and possibly in Michael Douglas' Racing The Monsoon . Can Aishwarya achieve western stardom? She could be the first Indian actress to do so. In fact, most Indian actresses want to emulate her and be in her shoes. She has been considered someone who is too perfect in the world of Indian cinema. Should that be considered a virtue in Hollywood, who would not want to bet on Aishwarya making her mark in Hollywood? After all, she could be India's gift to Hollywood.

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 21, 2005

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Erotica is one of the most favourite themes of Indian contemporary artists. Well-known painters who kept returning to this form off and on are MF Husain, FN Souza, Bhupen Khakhar, Manu Parekh, Laxma Goud and Nalini Malani. Other artists who have also dwelt on this subject are Prakash Karmakar, Kartick Pyne, Jogen Chowdhury, Amitabha Banerjee and Nikhli Biswas. "Traditions of the erotic art form are rooted in the sculptures of Konark and Khajuraho. It is also seen in the sculpted terracota figures at various ancient era temples. Miniature paintings, covering Rajasthani, Kangra and Mughal schools, also reflect works on eroticism. The Kamasutra is also depicted in the miniature format,"sources told ET. "Eroticism is treated as part of Indian aesthetics." According to them, one contemporary painter who has excelled in this art form is Laxma Goud. His masterly execution of paintings or prints of this genre in the 1960s did not create a stir at that time, but are much sought-after now. "Goud was selling for a song in those years. His watercolours and prints were available for Rs 100-200 during that early phase. At present, one will need to cough up at least 100-300 times that. Goud, in fact, has used eroticism in such a way that it has become an integral part of his artistic repertoire and also of mainstream art," said sources. Among other masters of eroticism is Francis Newton Souza whose nudes in oil are selling for nearly Rs 1 crore. However, Souza's early watercolours have not yet surfaced in a big way on the auction scene. The watercolours, which would be worth lakhs now, sold for just Rs 100-500 in those days. Husain also used erotica, though relatively guarded, in his Mithun series. Ganesh Pyne delved into this area in his famed temperas. In earlier years, Hemen Mazumdar used eroticism to depict his nudes and semi-nudes. Nikhil Biswas' erotic drawings are in a league of their own. A discussion on eroticism would remain incomplete if one doesn't mention the early Bengal School paintings, which were done in Kalighat pata style. They haven't been exposed fully in the art market, but appear from time to time. "Eroticism in Indian art is never confused with pornography. Erotica in Konark and Khajuraho or Indian contemporary art is totally acceptable. Indian artists have successfully brought out the aesthetic elements in eroticism, while keeping pornography at a distance," said sources.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 20, 2005

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The Union Ministry of Tourism has bagged the 2005 PATA Grand Award for Heritage for its Ajanta Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project. The Ministry gained the trust of the community and the local authorities to effectively conserve, restore and promote the Unesco World Heritage Site as a high quality tourist destination. The awards were presented at the 54th annual conference of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) which began its session at Macau Sar in China on Monday. Indian Airlines got the Gold Award for effecting service turnaround to perception turnaround while Thomas Cook, India, Limited received the award for Tour Operator/Travel Agent, Welcomenviron of ITC Hotels, India, got the Corporate Environmental Award. The Union Ministry of Tourism also bagged a Gold Award for its Print Media Advertisement -- "Incredible Taj". The Multimedia and Journalism award went to SITA, India for its Consumer Travel Brochur, India Quest, Premium Vacations. Kerala Tourism secured the E-Newsletter award for its newsletter and also bagged another one for heritage and culture for "A day with the masters". "Domestic Tourism, The Next Big Wave" written by Kamal Gill got the award for the best business article. Capt C P Krishnan Nair of Leela Hotels was presented Award of Merit for his work in "greening" the Leela, Mumbai and many public places in the city.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 19, 2005

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Two Indian Air Force pilots have won the prestigious Aviation Week Laureates award for a heroic high-altitude rescue of three critically injured mountaineers. The Smithsonian Aviation and Space Museum bestowed the award on Wing Commander Sudhir Kumar Sharma and Flt Lt AB. Dhanake here last week, an Indian Embassy release said. The IAF pilots are the only Indians after President APJ Abdul Kalam and the late JRD Tata to be inducted as laureates in the Smithsonian's Hall of Fame. It is the first time IAF pilots have won the award. This year, Sharma was awarded the Kirti Chakra, a peacetime gallantry award, for the same rescue expedition in which he masterminded the rescue of three seriously injured members of a mountaineering expedition to Mount Kamet in Uttaranchal. The operation was carried out at a record height of 23,260 feet in May 2004. Dhanake was his co-pilot during the mission. The Smithsonian award was conferred on both pilots for the same feat, which displayed exceptional flying skills and exemplary courage, Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine said. The magazine called the Indian pilots the "most outstanding achievers in aviation operations category for the year 2004."

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 15, 2005

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Baldev Raj, a leading Indian nuclear scientist, has been conferred a prestigious award by the International Institute of Welding (IIW) and International Standards Organisation (ISO). Raj, director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, is the first Indian to receive the coveted Jaeger Lecture Award from IIW. IIW, a premier body comprising experts from over 30 countries, frames welding directions and policies for advancement of welding science and technology. The award is in recognition of Raj's research and significant contributions to the science and technology of welding, an official statement said Tuesday Raj has developed repair welding of cracked shrouds and blades of steam turbines, and a procedure for "hard facing" components at nuclear power plants using nickel-based alloys. This led to substantial reduction in costs and shutting down of plants for repairs. Raj is also responsible for developing indigenous electrodes for the 500MW fast breeder reactor, which led to the availability of high-quality welding electrodes in the Indian market. He was earlier honoured with the lifetime achievement award for 2004 by the Indian Welding Society.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, April 15, 2005

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Shyam Benegal's movie, Bose, the Forgotten Hero, is trying to enter the record books with producers Sahara India planning to make its premier, in the city on May 5, the largest attended one of a film ever. The period drama, starring Sachin Khedekar as Bose, would be vying with Brewster McLout , a production from Texas, USA, which holds the Guinness Book record of the biggest premier ever with 23,930 people attending its opening show. "We would try to outdo the record held by Brewster McLout for the last 35 years," Priti Sahni, production head of Sahara One Motion Pictures, told a press meet last evening. The grand premier, to be held at the Eastern Command ground in the heart of the city, is expected to draw around 30,000 people, she said. "This is being planned on a huge scale. There will be a massive promotional drive in colleges and Cafe Cofee Day outlets to distribute tokens for anybody and everybody interested." To authenticate the distribution of tokens and confirm the number of people attending the premier, leading market research body Earnst and Young would carry out their own investigation and send it to the Gunniess Book of Record. Technicians from the UK and India will put together the gala event with a giant screen showing the movie that depicts the most eventful years of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, West Bengal's most revered freedom fighter. "This is a long film of three and half hours. But I could not have settled for any less to portray the extraordinary life, travels, trauma and achievement of one of the greatest Indians who remained unsung even in his own country," Benegal told reporters.

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 13, 2005

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Wipro chief Azim Premji is the richest Indian based in India, according to a latest rich list of top 20 Indians. With a wealth of Rs 31,198 crores, Mr. Premji is described as the Indian Bill Gates for transforming his father's vegetable products company into a multi-national computer giant based in Bangalore. The Ambani brothers, with a combined wealth of Rs 24,172 crores, are placed at number two in the list, released as part of the annual Success 2005 magazine. Chairman and managing director of Bharti Tele-Ventures Sunil Mittal is ranked third with Rs 12,552 crores and is followed by Shiv Nadar, chairman, president and CEO of HCL Technologies, who is worth Rs 7,929 crores. "Asian wealth now creates and sustains more jobs than its has ever done. Asian wealth stimulates growth in industries… it is diversifying, modernising," says Dr. Spinder Dhaliwal, the University of Surrey lecturer who has compiled this year's list, which also includes Zee Telefilms boss Subhash Chandra, at ninth place with an estimated worth of Rs 2,849 crores, and the Hinduja brothers, at number 13 with Rs 2,378 crores. The British Asian section of the rich list includes London-based industrialist Swraj Paul, ranked sixth.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, April 12, 2005

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NIIT'S chief scientist Sugata Mitra has won the Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation in Information Technology, instituted by the department of information technology. In 1999, in an experiment conducted by Mr Mitra, a computer connected to the internet was embedded in a slum wall and left for unsupervised use by children. The findings of the experiment suggested that groups of children could learn to use computers and the internet on their own, irrespective of who or where they were. Mr Mitra and his team subsequently verified this discovery via intensive testing through a large-scale experiment conducted across India and Cambodia. In '01, the World Bank, through its affiliate International Finance Corporation, formed a JV with NIIT in the form of HIWEL to spread out the research project to over 30 locations across India. Mr Mitra's Minimally Invasive Education Technology (popularly known as the Hole-in-the-Wall experiment) is the result of over 15 years of intensive testing and is based on the premise of incidental learning with minimum human guidance. The Award for Innovation in IT was instituted in '01 by the DIT in memory of IT evangelist Dewang Mehta, to honour individuals from technology-related sectors for their innovative work, which has the potential of making an impact on national development.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 05, 2005

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The Indian entertainment industry now estimated at over Rs. 20,000 crores ($4.5 billion) is expected to grow in high double digits at 18 per cent compounded annually over the next five years to reach over Rs. 45,000 crores ($10 billion by 2009), according to a FICCI-PricewaterhouseCoopers study. The largest contributor to this growth will be the television segment followed closely by the film segment. The study says that the entertainment industry, fuelled by higher and growing levels of consumer spending, especially on leisure and changing lifestyles, coupled with the force of high technology, is poised to unfold a whole host of value added features for the consumers and new streams for the players in each segment of the industry. In the new converged paradigm, the technological boundaries of the entertainment industry will be merged with those of the telecommunications and information technology segments and mobile entertainment, with its ability to dissect boundaries of time and space, will be the biggest growth driver.

Television

The future of the television industry is digitisation and it is only a matter of time before market forces propel the industry towards that. Resolution of current challenges of distribution and digitisation will also define the content formats and the viewership patterns of consumers in future. The study says that digitisation will revolutionise the film industry by bringing out faster and cheaper modes of delivering films. These will be in terms of digital distribution of films, emergence of home video market entailing shorter release windows and new distribution formats such as Internet and mobile devices. Content is and will continue to be the king of entertainment in future and securing rights over the content will decide the strength of the players across all segments. The challenge will then be of having a regulatory regime working towards adapting to these advancements.

Digital Cinemas

Though piracy continues to dampen growth, measures taken by some companies to go digital and the increase in the number of digital cinemas are helping reduce its extent. The emergence of professionally run international companies, distributing domestically produced movies, has also contributed towards increase in legitimate revenues of the film producers. A similar growth is projected for the Indian music industry, which is riding on the boom of remixes and video albums. Digital delivery formats, wireless mobile phones and Internet will be the emerging platforms and will bite into the traditional formats of CDs and cassettes.

Radio

The radio industry is also set to boom, says the study. Availability of larger number of frequencies is expected to drive the segment by 22 per cent over the next five years. The present market is still untapped to a large extent and with rationalisation in the licence framework; the segment is expected to almost treble its size to about Rs. 650 crores by 2009. The boost provided by the television segment and corporatisation of the entertainment segment is expected to drive the segment growth at 18 per cent over the next five years.

Courtesy: The Hindu, April 04, 2005

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Daniel Glickman, President and CEO of the powerful Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), sees big opportunities for the Hollywood studios in India and says the 'idiosyncrasies' of the Indian film industry are in fact its strengths. Mr Glickman is due to come to India to participate in Ficci's entertainment convention. ET caught up with him to assess the view of the Indian film industry from LA. The prolific output of the Indian film industry is not a shortcoming but a strength. The unique 'masala' storytelling style is again preferred by Indian audiences, and there is no reason why Indian producers should change their style that caters to the cultural sensibilities of moviegoers here, Daniel Glickman told ET. Is there greater appreciation of Indian cinema after the large number of 'cross-over' movies that have been seen in the US? Mr Glickman acknowledged that 'Bend It Like Beckham' and 'Monsoon Wedding' were great successes outside of India. "These films certainly 'crossed-over' to me," the MPAA chief said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2005

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