NEW DELHI: Recognising the remarkable achievements and contributions of Indians who have tirelessly worked towards strengthening India?s foundation, CNN-IBN announced the winners of the Indian of the Year 2012. At a star-studded awards ceremony held in New Delhi, winners across Politics, Sports, Entertainment, Business and Public Service categories were announced.

Instituted in 2006, this is the seventh edition of CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Awards. Over the years, these awards have achieved prestige and credibility unmatched by awards instituted by other media organisations. The awards adhere to a transparent and unique four-tier selection process that includes the IBN Editorial Board drawing a list of nominees, which are authorised by the Jury, followed by voting by the Electoral College and India?s citizens.

The award ceremony will be telecast on CNN-IBN on 22 December, Saturday, 9:30PM. The winners across different categories are:

INDIAN OF THE YEAR 2012 & SPORTS:
Viswanathan Anand is CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Award 2012 and in addition to this he also bagged the award in the Sports Category for being India?s most successful chess grandmaster who has been the undisputed World Champion since 2007.

POLITICS:
Manohar Parrikar: For being the architect of BJP?s win in Goa and for successfully selling the agenda of hope in a state, which was used to a despairingly low level of politics.

BUSINESS:
Dr. Yusuf Hamied: For running CIPLA, one of the most socially conscious pharmaceutical companies in the world, profitably.

ENTERTAINMENT:
Irrfan Khan: For an outstanding performance in ?Paan Singh Tomar?, and for continuing to make a splash in international cinema with films like ?The Amazing Spider-Man? and ?The Life of Pi?.

PUBLIC SERVICE:
Dr. Devi Shetty: For being a cardiac surgeon who leads and runs the world?s largest and most economical heart care and health care institute, Narayana Hrudayalaya, which is run with the motive of giving quality health care services with dignity.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Aamir Khan & Team Satyamev Jayate: For using the medium of television and the talk-show format to shed light on burning social issues that affect India?s masses.

MC Mary Kom: For overcoming all obstacles to find a place on the Olympic podium. Her achievement brought joy to an entire region that had always been on the fringe of not just sports but Indian society at large. She is an inspiration and a hero.

Tessy Thomas & Team DRDO: For being an unlikely face in the world of defence research and for inspiring women to choose a career in science. Known as the Missile Woman and Agniputri, Tessy regards missiles as instruments of peace because of their deterrence value.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Heroes of Rezang La, 1962: For their heroic stand at Rezang La on November 18, 1962 to save a Ladakhi village during the India-China war. The C Company of the 13th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment, led by Late Maj. Shaitan Singh, fought to last man, last round, and wrote one of the most glorious chapters in the military history of the world.

Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN-Lokmat, said, ?We at CNN-IBN are privileged to honour these distinguished citizens for their accomplishments and contributions in taking India forward. We congratulate all the winners for their extraordinary participation.?

MUMBAI: India?s most influential TV show Satyamev Jayate on Wednesday bagged the prestigious CNN-IBN Indian of The Year - Special Achievement Award 2012 for its path breaking initiative.

This accolade for Satyamev Jayate follows soon after recognition by the Government of India earlier this year. The show had been rewarded by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for its efforts to create awareness against social discrimination in October.

Satyamev Jayate won the CNN-IBN ?Indian of The Year? award under Special Achievement category along with Olympian Mary Kom and missile scientist Dr. K.C. Thomas.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar and the Satyamev Jayate team were honoured for their remarkable contribution in highlighting several social ills that continue to plague modern India and to help create awareness against such evils through the pioneering TV program.

"This award is extremely special to us at Star as responses from viewers were critical in deciding a winner. Satyamev Jayate was an initiative to offer a public platform to issues that concern all Indians and it?s quite humbling to see these efforts being recognized," Uday Shankar, CEO of Star India said.

Satyamev Jayate was also nominated in the most influential entertainer of the year category for its innovative use of television as a medium for social change.

Satyamev Jayate was a landmark show in Indian television that set new benchmarks from the very first episode earlier this year. Star India was instrumental in helping conceive the show that also demonstrated how TV can be an effective tool to influence social change and empower people.

CNN-IBN Indian of the Year is one of the biggest and the most credible awards that are decided on the basis of votes from the general public as well as the eminent citizens of India. The award has been recognizing outstanding contributions by Indians to nation- building for the past seven years.

The winners were selected through a four-tier process that began with selecting nominees in different categories by senior editors of Network18 which is ratified by a jury consisting of Padma awardees and concluded with polling by citizens from across the globe to choose their favourite Indians.

Satyamev Jayate reached a third of India?s population, airing simultaneously in multiple languages. It was the most-talked about show during its 13-week run, questioning social mores, helping shape mindsets and leaving an imprint on the minds of people with compelling tales from everyday life.

Mumbai : BIG CBS SPARK, the ultimate music destination, gave an exclusive opportunity for the fans of teen singing sensation Justin Bieber to meet the star in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the singer?s world tour to promote his latest album ?BELIEVE?. For the same, BIG CBS SPARK launched a digital contest, ?The Bieber Fever? that was sponsored by Air Asia, Asia?s largest and pioneering low-fare, no-frills airline. Through the contest, Air Asia gave the winners a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly down to Kuala Lumpur and meet their favorite pop star Justin Bieber and watch him live in concert. With this campaign, Air Asia further emphasized on its promise, ?Now Everyone Can Fly?.

?The Bieber Fever? contest was a digital property wherein to participate, Facebook users needed to upload a video of themselves singing their favorite Justin Bieber track and share it with their friends and ask them to vote for their video. An Air Asia branded photo tagging app was also introduced where users scored points based on the number of friends they tagged. The tagged picture got updated in the users album visible to all his friends hence increases reach. The winners of the contest were declared on the basis of maximum votes they received from their friends for their videos and their score of the photo tagging app.

In order to create a buzz about ?The Bieber Fever?, BIG CBS SPARK, in association with Air Asia, launched a 360 degree promotional campaign for the contest. Going beyond television, BIG CBS SPARK enabled great visibility and brand connect for the contest across various online as well as offline mediums. The campaign was executed by BIG CBS SPARK, in association with Air Asia, on the social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter through daily posts, quizzes, updates and tweets. Fun hashtag like #IfBieberWereIndian started during the campaign was trending on Twitter at #2 in India for over 4 hours. The offline activations were carried out in some key youth-centric locations like shopping malls and Caf? Coffee Day & McDonald?s outlets across metros.

The campaign was an immense success as it surpassed the committed campaign digital reach by more than 100%. Estimated numbers show the total campaign digital reach was 22,20,000. The campaign not only fulfilled its expectations of creating awareness about the contest and Air Asia?s association with the same, but also increased the engagement ratio with audiences by 3 folds on Facebook. The contest was promoted across all other platforms such as television, BIG FM radios and outdoor promotions to drive maximum participation and increase brand awareness for the property.

Commenting on the campaign and contest initiative, Anand Chakravarthy, Business Head BIG CBS said, ?We are pleased with the overwhelming response that the contest has received. For Air Asia, we had conceptualized the campaign in a way that would aid the airline in establishing a connect with the right TG. And given that a large portion of their TG is the youth, we decided to fashion the entire campaign around the concert of teen star Justin Bieber. This contest was the right fit for Air Asia as it involved flying the winners to Kuala Lumpur to watch the singer live in concert. As a result of this integrated campaign we have successfully helped Air Asia gain greater visibility and brand recall.?

MUMBAI: Bisleri, a brand that pioneered the concept of mineral water, bottled with its distinct green label, today, announced the launch of a new marketing campaign ?Kiss to Drink?. The idea behind launching this campaign is to focus on the 500ml bottle size which serves as a personal pack making it more convenient and hygienic for the consumer.

Mr. Ramesh J. Chauhan, Chairman and Managing Director, Bisleri said, ?Bisleri commits itself to suit everyone?s needs and ensure consumer satisfaction. The 500ml pack size offers convenience and economy to the users?.

Meridian Communication has developed the new outdoor campaign for Bisleri 500 ml bottle. Speaking on the campaign, Mohit Ahuja, Vice President, Account Management, Meridian Communication says, "The new ?Kiss to drink? outdoor campaign not only aims to position the Bisleri 500ml SKU in the ?personal? space of the consumer, but also add some youthful energy to the brand. This campaign is based on the insight that most of us do not prefer to drink water with our lips to a bottle, because it is often shared. The new campaign challenges this behavior and exhorts the user to get his or her own bottle, as 500 ml is enough for a single user.

The outdoor campaign will be launched across tier 1 & 2 cities in a span of one month starting mid-December.

MUMBAI: Diners Club International, the first multipurpose charge card in the world celebrates the success of Ang Lee?s latest film ?Life of Pi?, a movie chronicling the journey of a boy who travels across the ocean in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. In celebration of its success, Diners Club and Talenthouse India, a part of Reliance Entertainment, invite aspiring photographers to submit a photograph that captures a poignant life journey.

Offering a life changing opportunity to photography enthusiasts, this creative invite is open for submissions till 3rd January 2013 on www.talenthouse.co.in

All entries received will be judged by Diners Club International, cinematographer Claudio Miranda and renowned photographer Andy Anderson. The winning entry will be announced on February 6th 2013, with the photograph featured in an upcoming Diners Club International advertisement. In addition, the winner will receive prize money of $5,000 and prominent exposure for their submission on Diners Club International?s website and social media channels. One second place winner will receive prize money of $2,000 and will be promoted on Diners Club International?s website and social media channels.

Diners Club International?s judges will also select two runners-up, who will receive prize money of $500 along with promotion on the Diners Club International?s website.

All submissions also stand a chance to win the People?s Choice Award. The highest voted entry will receive prize money of $1,000 and his or her work also stands a chance to be promoted on Diners Club International?s website. The photographer who garners the second and third highest number of votes will individually receive prize money of $500.

Mr. Arun Mehra, CEO, Talenthouse India said, ?Creative crowdsourcing has no boundaries and this time around Talenthouse India is extremely delighted to bring an opportunity to showcase a wondrous visual palette like the film Life Of Pi giving budding photographers a chance to highlight their work on a global stage and be associated with renowned creative personalities and brands.

Log on to www.talenthouse.co.in and submit your master piece.

MUMBAI: Guruvaram, a series of profiles in teaching excellence, introduces exceptional mentors in various fields of academics, sports, dance and music and gives character close-ups through first person accounts of their experiences as teacher, their approach to coaching and the current state of their specialty.

Amrita TV?s tribute to exemplary Gurus, both celebrated and unsung, Guruvaram is a grateful acknowledgement of their services to society in fashioning entire generations of students. It is telecast every Saturday at 5.30pm as part of Vidyabhyasa Varthagal and repeated Monday mornings at 9.30 am as an independent segment.

Vedic India?s Gurukul tradition is an ancient residential system of learning , notable for the unique spiritual bond between the guru and his disciple. The Guru, literally one who dispels darkness and leads to light, was accorded reverence next only to God and was totally responsible for the pupil?s physical, marital, emotional, philosophical and cultural development while the shishya, had to maintain strict discipline, complete obedience and total commitment to his master. Guruvaram presents a handful of teachers who safeguard this priceless heritage.

Technology ushered in a different learning order as information edged out knowledge and wisdom; i-pads and playbooks became the new agegurus which could summon data at the touch of a finger. But as the young generation surf themselves into a surfeit of sites, it is becoming evident that facts, figures and statistics cannot stand in for knowledge and that Google & Yahoo cannot mould character and shape the personality of a generation who have to be torch bearers of the nation. It?s in this context that Guruvaram assumes significance.

Distinguished teachers such as Jnanpith Award winner, lyricist and poet, Professor O.N.V Kurup, writer and critic Dr. Professor M Leelavathy, Director of Anert, Professor R.V. G Menon, former cricket all-rounder Paliath Ravi Achan, Kendra Sahithya Academy Awardee and winner of this year?s Ezhuthachan Puraskaram Atoor Ravi Varma etc have already been featured in the show. Waiting their turn in the weeks to come are Malayalam?s best known contemporary poet Professor K.G Sankara Pillai, academician, poet and playwright K. Satchidanandan, Kathakali maestro Kalamandalam Gopi who popularized the art form globally, ace football coach T.K Chathunni who coached players like I.M Vijayan, Mohiniyattam artiste Kalmandalam Kshemavathy and so on.

Guruvaram, in which a generation of mentors sketch their self portraits from the palette of their experiences, is a visual documentation of a vanishing tribe of great gurus. In an era of commercialized education, it helps the present generation of teachers to know at close range a line-up of dedicated personages who have imbued the real significance of the term ?Guru? and were role models to their students; introduces students to selfless souls who played a pivotal role in chiseling character and colored the thinking of their shisyas. Guruvaram has recorded for posterity the exponents of a great educational tradition that has no known parallels in the world; it may also help to apply the skids to this hallowed tradition?s slide to slow oblivion.