MUMBAI: More than 12 million marriages take place every year, offline and online. The marriage market in India is valued at about 96,000 cr and growing at a rate of more than 20 percent each year. Tapping into the needs of this market, BharatMatrimony recently launched ?Online Matrimony Directory?, an exhaustive listing of over 50,000 wedding vendors across 20 categories in India, to aid for the arrangements on the special day.

From wedding halls, catering, jewellery, videography to honeymoon packages, the directory has a verified database of 50,000 vendors spanning across 14 cities and towns in India. The directory will help in finding local expertise and best bargains in a particular locality.

?Over 200,000 new people register every year on BharatMatrimony and hundreds have been asking us for such services. This led us to the new service,? says Lalit Masta, Business Head - Matrimony Directory.

From apparels to astrologers, mandaps to musicians, everything you need to plan your Perfect Wedding is just a click away. www.matrimonydirectory.com

Mumbai, June 7, 2013: Havas Media India took home 2 wins at the DMA ECHO Awards India 2013, the gala evening of the two day conclave by the Direct Marketing Association of India (DMAi) at Leela Kempinski, Mumbai, 4-5 June 2013.

Parle?s, Hide & Seek Caff? Mocha, ?Like a Coffee with your Morning Paper?? campaign in the Media-Print category won a Bronze for the innovation of making the audience wake up to a newspaper with the strong whiff of coffee inducing the awareness of the Caff? Mocha cookie.

Quikr.com was awarded the special DMAi 2013 Synergy Award in the Media-Integrated category for ?Buy, sell anything Quikrrr...?. Here the missed call facility was the hero of the communication across media platforms reaching high affinity engagement touchpoints of Movies, Sports, Music and News broadbasing the online audience.

"We are delighted with the awards. It comes at a good time in tandem with the new business wins. We look forward to an eventful year ahead", said Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group, India and South Asia.

"The campaigns resulted in meaningful connections with the brands target audience at a personal level to achieve their goal of mass awareness and impact. In keeping with our Meaningful Brands framework we impart holistic solutions to brand marketing", added Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media India.

The DMA ECHO Awards India are instituted by the Direct Marketing Association of India in alliance with the DMA International ECHO Awards that honors the creative par excellence in marketing and advertising campaigns that have raised the bar of originality, response strategy, interactivity and marketing impact. In their second year, they recognize marketing excellence & celebration of result oriented marketing campaigns in India.

MUMBAI: Thappa, initiated by 93.5 Red FM last year across 14 markets of the Network 2012, enabled the people to select their favorites in the city. A city loves the best about it: shops and establishments, monuments, gardens, and the like. Its people talk about these, take pride in them. The activity celebrated this association by letting people vote for their favourites, to try and get these endorsed as the city?s favourites - the winners of Red FM ka Thappa.

The tremendous amount of listener engagement witnessed last year prompted Season 2 of Thappa. This has been initiated in 21 markets of Red FM; comprising U.P., M.P., Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Orissa.

Commenting on the initiative, Ms. Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM said, "Thappa was a huge success in all our markets last year. It is perhaps the only entirely public driven initiative of this nature in the radio industry, and certainly the biggest! We?re all set to make this season of Thappa bigger and are looking forward to larger participation by our listeners to select the best in their cities across various categories."

National, June 07, 2013: Kingfisher Blue MILE ? a crafted entity to reiterate Kingfisher Blue?s affinity with adventure, presented one of the most thrilling quests to six lucky contestants who went on a breath taking trip to Andamans. Amidst the relentless monsoon season which added to the adrenaline rush, the six participants were seen scuba diving, snorkelling, jet skiing, surfing and taking part in many other adrenaline pumping activities at the Kingfisher Blue MILE, turning them into adventurers. All the participants tweeted their day to day experience on Kingfisher?s Twitter page and posted pictures of their conquests from the scene of action.

The participants were selected through a digital contest on Kingfisher?s Twitter page and were provided with an opportunity to set out on a journey to the Andamans. The six participants experienced the most exhilarating time of their life as they went about seeking all the thrill that the place had to offer. In course of the enlivening voyage, the participants travelled through the length of Andamans, passing through some of the most desolate places, high tides and challenging weather, while also taking part in the various adventure activities that were part of the expedition.

From the green seas at Havelock Islands to the famed Limestone Caves near Rangat dock, the Andamans had the perfect setting for a breathtaking conquest which got the best out of the participants. The unpredictable weather conditions and the surreal locales of the Islands, unleashed the ?dare-devils? in them and provided a great opportunity to explore the thrills of the serene blue-green waters.

One of the participants who was part of the Kingfisher Blue MILE, exclaimed, ?This is just unbelievable. I never thought that I could be an adventurer and that I would be doing so many awesome things. This has to be the high point of my life. Right from scuba diving to the road trips, every single activity was thrilling and gave us an adrenaline high. I thank Kingfisher Blue for giving me this huge opportunity to visit Andamans and explore the adventurer side of me.?

Kingfisher Blue, India?s premium beer brand has carved a niche for itself as a youthful and daring brand that keenly associates itself with activities that are thrilling and adventurous. Kingfisher Blue MILE is a platform for like-minded adventure enthusiasts to get together to live and experience thrilling outdoor adventure sports like mountain biking, rafting, deep sea diving, rock climbing etc.

One of the six lucky participants can now avail yet another opportunity to be a part of the next edition of Kingfisher Blue MILE, by penning their experience in a travelogue. The participant who writes the most talked about and interactive travelogue will be gratified by Kingfisher Blue and will be provided with a direct entry into the next edition.

To know more about the adventure filled Kingfisher Blue MILE and to get details on the next edition of Blue Mile, log on to - www.twitter.com/kingfisherworld or www.kingfishgerworld.com/bluemile

NEW DELHI, June 6, 2013: FUJIFILM India is proud to announce the launch of the new ?FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS? lens for the FUJIFILM X-Pro1 and X-E1 compact system cameras.

FUJINON XF lenses feature advanced lens engineering, capable of drawing the maximum performance out of the highly-descriptive "X-Trans CMOS Sensor" in the FUJIFILM X-Pro1 and X-E1 cameras. The new FUJINON XF55-200mm lens produces sharp images across its entire zoom range, well resolved corner-to-corner. The fast F3.5-4.8 lens facilitates image capture in scenes requiring a fast shutter speed. Its image stabilization function enables the use of shutter speeds 4.5 stops slower, preventing camera shake even when shooting hand-held in low-light, or at a stopped down aperture. Furthermore, it is built to include two linear motors for high-speed AF of 0.28 seconds*1, instantaneously focusing on your subject.

Mr. Rohit Pandit, Executive VP, Sales & Marketing, Fujifilm India says ?I am extremely happy to share the launch news. In India, the Lens will be available from 10th of June 2013. It will be a perfect companion to the X-E1 and X-Pro1 camera bodies, this lens is also an important milestone in our journey to populate more lenses for the Fujifilm interchangeable range?.

Key Features

Built with advanced optical design to cover the mid-telephoto (84mm*2) to telephoto (305mm*2) range and deliver the large maximum aperture of F3.5-4.8 despite its compact size; offering mobility and high descriptive performance at the same time.
Featuring image stabilization that allows the use of shutter speeds 4.5 stops slower; detecting a wide range of camera shakes from low to high frequencies to deliver advanced correction
Uses two linear motors for high-speed AF and quiet operation, making the lens suitable for video recording as wel
Features two ED lens elements including one Super ED lens element that boasts performance equivalent to that of fluorite lenses; controlling chromatic aberrations, which typically occur in long focal lengths, to produce images that resolve well corner-to-corner across the its entire zoom range
Applying FUJINON?s proprietary "HT-EBC(High Transmittance Electron Beam Coating) " on the entire lens surface to achieve a highly preventative measure against reflections, and to control flair and ghosting
Offering the minimum working distance of 1.1m across the entire zoom range to enable telephoto close-ups, capturing a small part of a subject
Featuring a 1/3EV step aperture ring so that users can easily adjust the aperture whilst holding the camera up to their eye
The focus ring and aperture ring are made from metal and have been designed to have a high quality feel, with the benefit of being extra robust

NEW Firmware will speed up the Auto Focus performance of the X-Pro1 and X-E1 compact system cameras

At the launch of the XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS lens, Fujifilm will upgrade the firmware for both the X-Pro1 and X-E1 cameras. Thanks to a new algorithm, the firmware will be able to harness the full capability of the lens enabling both cameras to search the contrast AF quickly throughout the full range of focal length. The focus speed will be as fast as 0.7 sec. even if it searches from infinity to the Minimum Object Distance at the telephoto end.

By upgrading your X-Pro1 or X-E1 with new firmware you will also improve the AF speed with other existing XF lenses. *3

The firmware will be available to download from www.fujifilm.com nearer the launch of the XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8R LM.

*1 based on CIPA standards

*2 35mm format equivalent

*3 It will be necessary to update the firmware on all XF lens except the XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS.

INDIA, 7 June 2013: SFR Business Team, a leading French provider of enterprise communications services, and Verizon, a leading provider of global communications and IT solutions, have been chosen by Veolia Environnement transform the company?s global communications infrastructure. The three-year contract covers 3,000 Veolia sites globally.

SFR Business Team and Verizon will offer Veolia a secure, high-capacity global communications network to link 140 key business sites in 33 countries, with integrated secure Internet and remote network access, and network optimisation services for best application performance.

The contract is part of Veolia?s two-year strategic restructure, announced by the company in December 2011, which aims to focus its efforts on added-value service solutions and technologies, with greater financial flexibility, to support future business growth. From the technology perspective, Veolia?s NewIT programme aims to simplify and streamline the company?s global technology infrastructure, with a particular focus on datacenters, workstations and networks.

By working with SFR Business Team and Verizon, Veolia Environnement will benefit from streamlined services ? including integrated networks, convergent services, optimised processes and comprehensive customer service ? offered worldwide. Both Verizon and SFR will work together to guarantee service quality for network management and reporting.

Veolia Environnement is the worldwide reference in environmental solutions. The company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in three complementary segments: water management, waste management and energy management.

Announced in June 2012, the SFR and Verizon preferred partnership enables both companies to work together to provide global telecommunications solutions and support to companies based, or operating, in France. The preferred partnership calls for Verizon to provide global communications services, with SFR delivering the in-country network and information and communications technology elements of these services. SFR will likewise rely on Verizon to deliver global connectivity to SFR?s customers. This partnership is part of the Network Team Alliance created by SFR.