MUMBAI: The finalists of the ABU Prizes 2006 programme categories have been selected. Out of a total of 211 entries for its radio and TV categories, All India Radio has made it into two final spots in the Children and Youth sub category for Made for Each Other and in the Documentary sub category for I Take the Responsibility.

However, India did not feature among the TV finalists for the ABU Prizes this year. The TV categories include drama, entertainment, children, youth, news, documentary, and sports.
There is also a Special Jury Prize which is awarded to programmes targeting broadcasters from less developed countries which showed creativity despite the limited resources available. While the categories for radio are drama, infotainment, children and youth, news, documentary, external broadcasts and the Special Jury Prize.

The pre-selection of the awards were held last week and among the other finalists, NHK-Japan, RTPRC-China, IRIB-Iran and RTHK-Hong Kong lead the nominations with five each. NAB-Japan has four programmes on the shortlist, while Korean broadcasters KBS and EBS have three finalists each, informs an official release.

The shortlisted candidates for TV drama are Bride from Hanoi (SBS-Korea), McLeod's Daughters (Nine Network-Australia), The Dance of Passion (TVB-Hong Kong), and The Ice Wall (NHK).

For radio drama, the finalists include At the Very Beginning (RTHK), Haru's Dairy (NHK), Weekend 2006 (ARD/BR-Germany) and Iran Through the Passing of Time (IRIB).

The ABU Programme department head, Tatsuya Nakamura, said, "Each year, the jury members observed an improvement in the quality of the programmes submitted, which made it more difficult to select the finalists for each prize.

"For instance, we had very good TV documentaries. It was hard for the juries to select only four finalists. There were plenty of heated discussions among jury members as the shortlists were being drawn up."

The total entries this year has set an all-time record for the awards since it was introduced in 1964. The winner in each category will be announced at the 43rd ABU General Assembly which will be held in Beijing from 7 to 9 November, adds the release.