MUMBAI: News channels apart from reporting news have an additional responsibility in shaping and developing the society. STAR Majha has taken forward the responsibility which the viewers entrust on a news channel by launching Majha Sanman Puraskar 2010. This pioneering effort of STAR Majha would connect to 10 crore population of Maharashtra and salute the achievers. Through Majha Sanman Puraskar, STAR Majha would recognize the excellence of Maharashtra and pay tribute to the Maharashtrians who have reflected the glory of the community through their achievement. This recognition would be for the contributions done in the diverse fields of literature, music, politics, sports, etc. The recipients would be the heroes of the state who have achieved an inspirational stature for Maharashtrians.

Star Majha has been the No.1 Marathi News channel from bouquet of MCCS- India‘s leading News Network. The channel has been leading with an avg market share of 42% for past three years in Maharashtra. STAR Majha has also been leading the pack of all News channel in Maharashtra with 12% market share (ahead of all leading Hindi and English news channels). (Source: CS 15+, Maharashtra). Therefore at this level the launch of consumer engagement initiative - Majha Sanman Puraskar was a natural corollary to extend the channel-viewer relation to next level. Majha Sanman Puraskar also drives it‘s thought from STAR Ananda- Sera Bengali which has been the most reputed initiative for recognizing excellence. STAR Ananda- Sera Bengali has been felicitating the pioneers from West Bengal, and is running on its fourth successful year.

STAR Majha Sanman 2010, in its inauguration year would happen grandly on 14th July 2010. The event is presented by Mahanand Dairy and powered by Parle G. The event is conceptualized on a large scale and would witness the presence of literati and the glitterati of the state.

STAR Majha has always been an initiator in connecting to the masses. Earlier effort from STAR Majha was Majha Maharashtra 2020, where STAR Majha had brought the leaders of the state to discuss the growth of the state by the year 2020. Leaders of Maharashtra like Vilasrao Deshmukh, Gopinath Munde, Chagan Bhujbal, Raj Thackeray, etc. were present at the event to discuss the vision of Maharashtra. The event has trailed further to specific cities like Pune 2020, Nashik 2020.

The event has been eagerly awaited by all Marathi Manus; as this event will bring the heroes of the masses receive the due credit for their contribution made for the society.

MUMBAI: The much in demand show Mrs. & Mr Sharma Allahbadwalle is all set to take the audience back to the good old days of Bollywood, when the romance on screen was still fresh and a girl?s blush was still red! When the couples on screen could romance only through their expression and gestures; and the songs could take the audience through a romantic journey of their own. This week Mr. & Mrs Sharma are reviving their chemistry by enacting the songs of all time favourite bollywood couples.

This track begins with Mr. Sharma trying to explain romance to Mrs. Sharma in his style and takes her back to the time when one naughty look and a song was enough to woo the girl for life. During their special moments, they go back in time and re ? create the magic of the legendary bollywood couples of our industry - Nargis ? Raj Kapoor , Rajesh Khanna ? Mumtaaz, Shahrukh ? Kajol, Devanand ? Hema and Amitabh ? Rekha.

While the serious Mr. Sharma plays the intense Mr Bachhan of Silsila with the song ?Yeh kahan aa agye hum?. Mrs. Sharma does a Mumtaaz jig in ?Jai Jai Shiva Shankar? The fun continues with some more all time hits like ?Chod do annchal? of Devanand ? Nutan followed by Devanand Hema - Malini magic of ?Pal bhar ke liye koi humein pyaar kar le?. Mr Sharma even plays Shammi Kapoor in ? Yun to humne laakh haseen dekhen hai .?

Over this entire love filled sequence, Rajesh Kumar expressed that, ? Divyanka and me tried our best to do justice to re ? create similar chemistry which was portrayed by the iconic couples of Bollywood industry. We hope to bring back the subtlety and purity of romance which existed during the old times. I had a great time shooting for my favourite song, Pyaar Hua Ikraar Hua, it was the moment that would be very difficult for me to forget where I am in the exact look and feel of the actor I have looked upto all my life.?

And Divyanka in all her excitement said, ?This sequence is surely a great ad on to my experience in acting up till now. I got the chance to look and acts like the actresses that I have grown up admiring. I had a ball dressing up like Mumtazji and Nargisji but my favourite dance sequence was the Hemaji and Dharmendraji song ? Pal Bhar ke Liye, where I am wearing a western outfit and have very short hair. We have tried to create a romantic atmosphere for our audience which is apt for this monsoon weather and hope that our viewers enjoy it.? She adds with a smile.

Catch Mrs & Mr Sharma in a completely never seen before avatar and get pleasantly surprised.Watch out for the romance and fun filled episodes of Mrs. & Mr Sharma Allahbadwalle June 30th onwards only on SAB TV.
 

MUMBAI: CNBC AWAAZ, India‘s No. 1 business channel, honoured ?India?s Most Preferred Brands? at the sixth edition of ?Consumer Awards 2010? held at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai yesterday. Honourable Finance Minister of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the awards to the winners. The theme of this year?s awards was aptly titled ?Made for India, Made by India and Made in India?, celebrating not only the popularity of India?s winning brands but also honoring the people who have dedicated themselves to make these brands admirable in the minds of the consumer.

Speaking on the occasion, Hon. Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said, ?I am very happy to be here today in Mumbai for the presentation of the CNBC Consumer Awards. I am told that these awards are based on an exhaustive consumer survey done by M/S Nielsen across 21 cities spanning 12 states. The awardees deserve the accolades due as they achieved this in the face of an economic downturn in 2008 ? 2009 which was a difficult year for most companies and sectors. As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.?

The Finance Minister also said, ?The awardees must be given their share of credit for the fast paced and robust economic recovery that Indian economy exhibited in 2009 ? 10. By recognizing and awarding those who have excelled in adverse conditions, we not only acknowledge their exemplary accomplishments, but also inspire the younger generation to follow suit. This is one of the effective ways of cultivating and perpetuating excellence. And with such a spirit of excellence, we may be able to realize the dream of a developed India sooner. I once again congratulate the award winners. ?

Further, Mr. Sanjay Pugalia, Editor in Chief, CNBC AWAAZ said, "CNBC AWAAZ was launched 5 years ago with the aim of democratization of wealth and investor protection, investor education and consumer empowerment. These are the four pillars that our channel stands on. In the past four years the business channel viewership has quadrupled and CNBC AWAAZ has been a catalyst in that."

He also added, "CNBC AWAAZ felicitated advertisers, creative agencies, media agencies and marketers. Our findings are based on a democratic process by a third agency, The Nielsen Company. This is a real recognition of those who have done good work and honoured the consumer."

Apart from the Finance Minister, the event was attended by some of the biggest names in the Indian Business and Marketing Communications Industry namely, Nitin Paranje, CEO, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.; Kishore Biyani, Founder & Group CEO, Future Group; Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, Bharti Airtel Ltd.; Alok Gupta, Director, Caf? Coffee Day; Anil Dua, Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales), Hero Honda Motors; Mayank Pareekh, Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki; Ajit Varghese, MD, Maxus; Chanda Kochar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd.; O P Bhatt, Chairman, State Bank of India; TS Vijayan, Chairman, LIC; V. Vaidyanathan, CEO & MD, ICICI-Prudential (India); Kuldeep Goyal, Chairman & MD, BSNL; Bhargav Dasgupta, MD & CEO, ICICI Lombard; PRP Nair, Senior Advisor, RK Swamy BBDO; Marcelo Villagran, MD, Bata India Ltd; Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT; Sam Balsara, CMD, Madison Communications; R Gowthaman, MD, Mindshare India, Ambi M G Parameswaran, ED & CEO, Draftfcb Ulka Advertising, Mumbai; Arvind Sharma, Chairman & CEO, Leo Burnett; R Balki, Chairman & CCO, Lowe Lintas India; Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman, McCann Erickson India; Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather, Harindra Singh, MD, Percept Holdings; Harshad Hardikar, VP, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Prasad Subramaniam, Director, Capital Advertising; Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, South Asia, GroupM Media India Pvt. Ltd.; Lynn D‘Souza, Director, Lintas Media Group and Genelia D?Souza, Actor.

CNBC AWAAZ, in association with India?s leading research organisation The Nielsen Company conducted a comprehensive research to arrive at a list of ?India?s Most Preferred Brands? perceived by the end consumer for each of the sub-categories covered in the study. The key objectives of the research were to arrive at a list of the ?Most Preferred Brands? as perceived by the end consumer for each of the sub-categories covered in the study and also identify the drivers that influence the selection of a particular brand in each sub-category. The research was conducted amongst 4000 respondents across 20 major cities and markets within the age-group of 18 ? 45 years, both males and females belonging to SEC A, B & C households. A Random Sampling technique combined with an interview methodology (face-to-face interviews & questionnaire format) was adopted to conduct this research. Selected after such an exhaustive survey, the winners of these awards are thus the true and most credible reflection of the Indian consumers? today.

MUMBAI: Tata Sky Ltd., the joint venture between the TATA Group and STAR, announced ?Sabse Sasta Bid?, a unique contest where subscribers can bid as little as they can to win products ranging from LCD TVs to Trips to foreign destinations and now a brand new Chevrolet Beat.

The ?Sabse Sasta Bid? contest is open for participation to all existing Tata Sky subscribers. For participating, subscribers have to bid for products as little as possible. The array of products that could be won range from LCD TV?s to Trips to foreign destinations and now a brand new Chevrolet Beat. Not only this, Tata Sky provides the choice to subscribers of participating in this bid as many times as they want. The subscriber with the lowest unique bid at the end of entire period of the show will be adjudged winner.

Not only this, the bid will go live for the bumper prize of a Chevrolet Beat.

MUMBAI:  Total Telephone subscriber base reaches 653.92 Million

Wireless subscription reaches 617.53 Million

Wireline subscription declines to 36.39

16.30 Million new additions in wireless

Overall Tele-density reaches 55.38

Broadband subscription is 9.24 million

The number of telephone subscribers in India increased to 653.92 Million at the end of May-2010 from 638.05 Million in April-2010, thereby registering a growth rate of 2.49%. With this, the overall Tele-density in India reaches 55.38

Broadband (>= 256 Kbps download)
Total Broadband subscriber base has increased from 9 million in April-2010 to 9.24 million in May-2010, there by showing a growth of 2.67%.

Wireless Segment (GSM, CDMA & FWP)
Wireless subscriber base increased from 601.22 Million in April-2010 to 617.53 Million at the end of April-2010 registering a growth of 2.71%. Wireless Tele-density stands at 52.30.

Wireline Segment
Wireline subscriber base declined from 36.83 Million in April-2010 to 36.39 Million at the end of May-2010. BSNL/MTNL, two PSU operators hold 84.32% of the Wireline market share. Overall Wireline teledensity is 3.08.
 

MUMBAI: The lucky winners of the UTV Bindass? contest ?Pyaar Vs Forget it yaar? will get a once-in-a-life-time-opportunity to meet the cast of ?I Hate Love Stories? in the grand finale episode on Tuesday, June 29, 7pm on UTV Bindass. The contestants will share love notes with Chocolate boy Imran Khan and stunning Sonam Kapoor for the final showdown!

Imran and Sonam play a quick round of rapid fire with the contestants earning them some fun filled goodies on the best answers they come up with, after an exciting meet and greet session.

Much to the contestants delight, Imran and Sonam too must face a challenge! They must prove their opinion on love, capturing the movie?s essence, with a little help from the participants. Will true love emerge victorious in this battle of the sexes?

Watch the ultimate debate as the contestants exchange their viewpoints on love with Imran and Sonam only on Pyaar Vs Forget it yaar, this Tuesday, June 29th at 7p.m. only on UTV Bindass!