MUMBAI: Times Now, the country?s most watched general English news channel completes four glorious years since its launch in 2006. The channel?s emphasis on thorough reporting and incessant questioning has heralded it as the undisputed ?Number One? for two years and counting.

The channel has firmly set itself on the growth trajectory leaving competition far behind emerging as the Indian viewer?s number 1 choice for English news. Indian viewers have chosen Times Now for its incisive and ?in your face? journalism that has cut through the information clutter to deliver news as is, unadulterated and pure.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sandeep Sharma, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, at TGBCL, said, ?Since inception, we have strived to always be with the news and deliver the same to our viewers in an insightful manner. The focus on news, responsible and unbiased reporting backed by strong marketing support has led to this feat. We will strive to see Times Now maintain this leadership position in the years to come and our commitment to deliver relevant news will continue throughout.?

NEW DELHI : Veteran actress Zohra Segal who was named for the Padma Vibhushan last week and actress and former swimming champion Nafisa Ali Sodhi were among the recipients of the Kalpana Chawla Excellence Awards this year.

The awards are given away every year to coincide with the death anniversary of India?s space woman Kalpana Chawla, and have been instituted by PECOBA, which is the alumni association of the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, where she had had her initial training before going to join the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States.

Among the other women achievers who received this award were Padma Bhushan awardee and Kathak dancer Uma Sharma, and Padmashree recipient and veteran singer Shanti Hiranand.

The awards were given away by Kalpana?s father Banarsi Lal Chawla at a function presided over by National Commission for Women Chairperson Girija Vyas.

Segal, now 98, has been acting on stage, TV & Films for the last 75 years. Her award was received by her daughter and Padmashree awardee Kiran Segal.

Vyas said Kalpana is now a popular role model for the youth of India. Banarsi Lal Chawla narrated many personal incidents about his daughter and her love for greenery and environment protection.

Mr Amarjit Singh Kohli, General Secretary of PECOBA founded by him in 1967, also spoke on the occasion.

The Function was followed by a unique audio-visual musical programme on the life of Kalpana Chawla entitled ?Kalpana Ki Udan, Naari Ka Samman? produced by cultural organization Sakha and directed by Kohli.

Sodhi had begun her film career with the National Award-winning ?Junoon?(1979) with Shashi Kapoor. Hiranand started singing from Radio Lahore at the age of 14 and continues to sing till date for the last 63 years. She wrote a book on her guru and mentor ?Begum Akhtar ?The story of my Ammi?. Begum Akhtar announced publically in a concert ?If you want to hear my music after my death, hear it through Shanti?s singing?. Uma Sharma is Director of the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan. Revolutionised Repertoire of classical form of Kathak by enriching it with literacy and intellectual substance through her extensive research on the origins of Kathak.
 

MUMBAI: Known for her bold business moves, Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Managing Director of Kinetic Motor Company Ltd, has announced plans to co-produce along with India‘s leading business channel, Zee Business, and also host a 13 part special TV show series - ?Legends and Legacies".

Sulajja‘s excellence has not been limited to academics and corporate world only. She excelled in Badminton at the national level, runs the marathon and has recently walked the ramp towards a social cause.

Legends and Legacies, a landmark concept on Indian business television, will have Sulajja in conversation with India‘s business czars like N.R.Narayana Murthy, Rahul Bajaj, Adi Godrej, Harsh Mariwala, Navin Jindal and the likes. Their discussions would focus on the value systems of these businesses and their success secrets, and would bring out the journey of these legendary business houses alongwith the contribution they have made to the progress of our country, and in a way helped shape its future.

Each episode will unravel the legacies of these icons in a face to face interview capturing truly the foundation that has made the business families the iconic towers today.

Commenting about her new role, Sulajja Firodia Motwani said, "This is a pet project for me. I am deeply passionate about India and about business, and the effort here is to bring out the great contribution and archive the triumphs of legendary business houses of India. A strong value system has been the guiding principles of our family‘s approach to business. Infact, the genesis of the Firodia family‘s entry into business was an objective to make millions of Indians mobile and bring self reliance in our auto industry. I was always intrigued to explore what are those values that had shaped the fortune of other leading Indian corporate houses. It is a rare experience to engage in discussions with such personalities and not only to learn from them their untold journeys, but also to chart out their success stories to inspire other aspiring business-creators. "

Launching the series, Barun Das, CEO, Zee News Limited, "‘Legends and Legacies‘ would possibly be the first business show in our country focusing on corporate value systems. To my mind, the value systems and ethics have been the foundation of every corporate success story. Sulajja came up with questions which possibly an entrepreneur of her stature could only thought of. It is not like a usual television chat-show. Rather it is an interaction between two brilliant business minds. Each episode will be a story of how an institution has been built over the years, pursuing certain strong value systems and thus shaped the making of India Inc."

Hosted and co-produced by the dynamic Sulajja Firodia Motwani, scion of an illustrious Indian business family, the special series (beginning, January 30, ever Saturday at 9:00pm in Hindi and Sunday 10:00am in English), will
showcase the stories of legendary leaders and the businesses they built.
 

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, Asia?s leading integrated telecom service provider, today announced the launch of India?s first ever Family Tunes service for its 2.9 million Fixed Line customers across the country.

Airtel?s Family Tunes will provide its Fixed Line customers another Call Management service by offering a pre-recorded Welcome Message customized to the customer?s individual Family Name to greet callers instead of the conventional tone. A library of more than 1000 most common Indian Family Names will be available for customers to choose from.

Announcing this, Mr. Vikas Singh, Chief Marketing Officer?Telemedia Services, Bharti Airtel said, ?For most homes today in the country, the Fixed Line remains irreplaceable as the family phone, distinct from the personal mobile phones of each member of the family. Having a Welcome Message customized with their own Family Name will help our customers to enhance the calling experience and make the most of their home phone.?

Airtel Fixed Line customers may access the Family Tunes by dialing 5432151 on their Airtel Fixed Line. Customers will be charged a one-time Download Fee of Rs. 15 for a Family Tune and a recurring Monthly Hello Tune Subscription fee Service Fee of Rs. 30 per month, which would be added to the customer?s monthly bill.

MUMBAI: Bloomberg UTV in association with HP organized an informative session on ?Rethinking Virtualization: the new era of Green Computing? today. The event concluded with a presentation and a panel discussion with industry leaders discussing virtualization technology and analyzing the best practices in the industry to highlight advantages of a complete 360 degree application of virtualization.

This discussion through effective examples highlighted the full spectrum of virtualization infrastructure, software, services, and partnerships needed to reap the true potential of virtualization. The session focused on rethinking virtualization as a holistic solution in all business entities and the competitive advantage that virtualization brings.

The panel of experts included industry stalwarts like Mr. Praveen Sahau, Head IT ? Tata Consulting Engineers; Mr. Rajendra Deshpande, Group CIO ? Intelenet Global Services Ltd, Mr. Sandeep Nair, President & MD ? Emerson Network Power India Pvt Ltd & VP ? MAIT, Mr. Rajat Mehta, Country Manager ? Remote Client Solutions ? HP & Mr. Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Country Manager, Storageworks, HP India.

The panel reiterated the fact that virtualization is not only about short-term projects for limited gains but it is about making technology a seamless part of the way IT delivers services. Virtualization is about reducing energy and operating costs while simultaneously increasing availability, security, and compliance.

Mr. Govindraj Ethiraj, Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg UTV who was also moderating the discussion said ?Rethinking Virtualization is about deploying new or enhanced business services and the application of governance and policies more cost effectively than before. It is an imperative business practice that we must all adopt to achieve holistic solutions.?

Speaking on the occasion Deepti Dang, Head, Marketing ? Commercial & SMB, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd. said ?HP keeps an ear open to the changing needs of its customers and strives to continuously improve the efficiency of their business. HP is the pioneer for Remote Client Solutions that can help resolve the most common business challenges associated with traditional, distributed PC environments by centralizing compute resources and lead to greater ROI over a period of time.?

Throwing light on how technology plays a major role in determining an organization?s success before, during and after a downturn, Deepti Dang further added that, ?The current economic environment is dramatically changing how businesses operate. While difficult, these times do create opportunities for agile businesses to seize a stronger market position. With virtualization innovations, HP is helping customers optimize performance and adapt quickly to change.? It?s about making virtualization technology a seamless part of the way IT delivers services. Through these solutions CIO?s will be able to drive out complexities throughout their computing environment and successfully contribute to their long-term business growth.
 

MUMBAI: MUMBAI: The search for Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius came to an end with 51-year-old Prahlad Punia, who is HCL VP, emerging as the winner.

Punia, the winner of this online initiative, has won the National geographic Expedition to Washington DC, flying Lufthansa?s luxurious Business Class.

Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius is an attempt by infotainment broadcaster National Geographic Channel and Lufthansa to challenge participant?s knowledge about the world he/she lives in. After the successful first edition, the second phase recently started with a new set of questions covering various facts and trivia about different regions on the world map. This, initially on-air show, was adapted in the online format by National Geographic Channel in association with Europe?s leading airline Lufthansa.

The first online edition got participation of over 25,000 people who love to travel. People from varied backgrounds participated in the contest, which included top management executives, government employees, students and professionals from many other sectors. The quest once again reiterated Nat Geo?s endeavor to provide innovative, intelligent, informative and yet entertaining content.

Punia says, ?Rarely have I come across a challenge that was as exciting as it was brain-tickling! Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius was an amazing mix of entertainment, information and skill and I am extremely glad I have emerged the ?Genius? amongst all other participants. I plan to have an exceedingly good time, enjoying the prize of an expedition to Washington D.C.?.

National Geographic Channel India senior VP ? content and communication Rajesh Sheshadri says, ?At Nat Geo, we take pride in seeing each brand as a unique entity and offer innovative solutions that best suit their needs. We successfully introduced the Indian version of our internationally acclaimed quiz show, Geo Genius earlier with Lufthansa on the channel and later online. We are delighted with the consumer response and look forward to taking the excitement forward through the next online edition?.

Lufthansa director ? South Asia Axel Hilgers says, "We look forward to welcoming the next winner onboard Lufthansa for a truly memorable experience. We are pleased to have partnered with National Geographic Channel and believe that the second season will be an even bigger success than the first. As the Lufthansa group expands its operations in the strategic Indian market, we are glad that through this interactive online medium, we can reach a larger audience and engage with them in new ways.?

The participants are scored, in the form of award miles, on the basis of their knowledge about various countries and their culture. The quiz takes place on a world map divided into 4 zones. according to the status categories of the Lufthansa Miles & More mileage programme - Base Zone, FTL (Frequent Traveler) Zone, Senator Zone and HON Zone. Participants get 59 seconds to answer each of the 40 questions. Every correct answer gets the participant 1000 flyer miles. After answering 10 questions in each zone, one moves to the next one, but two wrong answers lead to elimination from the quiz. Top scorers feature on the Lufthansa Jet setter?s board and win prizes daily, weekly and monthly.