Mumbai, December 29, 2005: The twin triumphs of Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai at the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants respectively created history for India and opened the floodgates for Indian women participating in global beauty pageants and created great success stories back home. The success stories continue and today Lara Dutta, Diya Mirza, Yukta Mookhey, Priyanka Chopra and Tanushree Dutta reign as India‘s glamour queens. The common thread weaving all these success chapters together is Femina Miss India - the beauty pageant which not only provides a platform for international exposure but also instills the confidence in young aspirants to take on the contenders from world over.

Pond‘s Femina Miss India, the most prestigious beauty pageant in India, has started its search for icons who will represent India at international pageants in the year 2006. India‘s most exhilarating beauty event calls for unmarried girls in the age group 18 to 26 (as on Jan 31, 2006) to live their dream of a sparkling career in the field of fashion and a readymade stepping stone to international recognition. Entries for the contest close on January 5 2006. The event will be held in Mumbai in March 2006.

Making the announcement, Mr. Munish Purii - National Director, Femina Miss India, said, "PFMI is a medium which consistently offers a transformation platform for the young aspirants from small towns and big cities of India? into the landscape of opportunities in the emerging India. The hopes and aspirations of the prospective contestants actualize in a journey of self-discovery and growth. This success of the Pond‘s Femina Miss India, which enters its 43rd year, has been the result of relentless pursuit towards excellence. This year will also witness the telecast of the countdown to the final in a unique reality format on Zoom. The series will capture the various stages of metamorphosis of the participants from an untrained contender to a fierce and prepared competitor. The show telecast will be on Sony."

The top three winners of the Pond‘s Femina Miss India contest will be titled Pond‘s Femina Miss Universe, Pond‘s Femina Miss World and Pond‘s Femina Miss Earth respectively and will be the official Indian representation in these international pageants.

While Pond‘s remains the title sponsor, Pantaloon‘s has come on board this year as an associate sponsor for Pond‘s Femina Miss India 2006.