MUMBAI : The best crime drama, NCIS LA is back with its thrilling new third season. The high octane drama series about the high stakes of undercover surveillance at the Office of Special Projects (OSP) continues with the mystery of Hetty‘s disappearance as Callen, Sam, and Kensi seek answers in Romania.

With the team of highly trained agents; Agent "G" Callen(Chris O‘Donnell) and Special Agent Sam Hanna(LL Cool J) the series never ceases to impress even as it enters the thrilling third season that premiers on AXN on 11th October, 2012 at 10pm.

Season Three of NCIS opens on a melancholy note, as the Naval Criminal Investigate Service team headed by the iconoclastic Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) mourns the death of team member Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Shana Alexander) at the hands of ruthless terrorist Ari.

Another new regular is introduced in the series; Lauren Holly as NCIS director Jenny Shepard, who replaces former director Tom Morrow when the latter joins the Homeland Security department. Jenny‘s arrival adds a whole new dimension to the series, as she had previously been the partner?and lover?of Leroy Gibbs.

The season has viewers on the edge of suspense with the team pulling off bold moves and dangerous missions. NCIS, LA Season 3 premieres 11th October, 2012 at 10 pm exclusively on AXN.

Mumbai: Forbes India, seen as the champion of entrepreneurial capitalism since its launch in 2009, announced the names of the awardees at the second edition of the much awaited Forbes India Leadership Awards in Mumbai on Friday, Sept 28th. Celebrating transformational leadership, this year Forbes India honoured outstanding leaders who?ve epitomized success in their fields and are the visionary champions in creating a sustainable future.

After a meticulous, exhaustive screening process and discussions later, the short listed nominees were then scrutinized by the powerful jury panel comprising industry veterans like KV Kamath (chairman of the jury), Adil Zainulbhai, Zia Mody and other prominent business personalities. The FILA 2012 award winners are:

• Outstanding Start-up ? Manish Khera / Rishi Gupta - FINO
• NextGen Entrepreneur for the Year ? Vinod Ramnani, Opto Circuits
• Best CEO ? Public Sector ? MD Mallya, Bank of Baroda
• Best CEO ? Private Sector ? N Chandrashekharan, TCS
• Best CEO ? Multinational ?Nitin Paranjpe, HUL
• Woman Leader for the Year ?Mallika Srinivasan,TAFE
• Entrepreneur with Social Impact ?William Bissell, Fabindia
• Entrepreneur for the Year ? Kumar Mangalam Birla, Aditya Birla Group
• Conscious Capitalist for the Year ?Kamil Hamied, CIPLA
• Lifetime Achievement ?E Sreedharan, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

The awards were given out at a glittering ceremony attended by the who?s who of corporate India. Undoubtedly, the highlight of the evening was the three-minute talk given by some of the most illustrious names in the industry on the topic ?The one thing that will change everything for people in this room, except that they haven?t heard of it? Needless to say, all speakers presented brilliant and thought provoking views.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group stated that globalisation as we have come to understand it in the last decade and a half has been rolled back partially. He stated "The unfortunate thing is that the business is being accused of being non-inclusive and working for the benefit of only a few strata of society. This hampers industrial growth and hence growth of the society as a whole. The consequence of this that the State has a much bigger role to play going forward than it has had in the recent past.?
Nitin Paranjpe, CEO, Hindustan Unilever Limited spoke about why corporate profits and sustainability will no longer be two discreet topics and what this means for companies in the near future. He stated that trust and confidence in business are at a new low, which is ironic since business over the last many ages has contributed more to improve the quality of life of people through innovation and enterprise. He stated, "The model of capitalism we follow today is being questioned as narrow and not addressing the larger interests of the society. It is also ironic that if the world ever needed business to contribute, recreate growth and stimulate the economy, it is now.....If we simply have to reinvent the model of business as we know it, it is simple. We just have to get the purpose of business back to its centre. Purpose must lead, profits will follow."

Adil Zainulbhai, MD, McKinsey & Co, India aptly stated that all leaders need to consider humility as an important personality trait. He also mentioned that leaders must also remember other leaders who were humble to help them when required.

William Bissell, MD, Fabindia spoke about how we need new methods of measuring progress as conventional ones have failed. He also pointed out that what?s going to change in the future is how we define success and benefit.

Karl Slym, MD & CEO, Tata Motors spoke about the future of transportation. How about living in an age where smart cards actually drop you right at your doorstep? More greenery and more open space is the road ahead. He also stated that the speed of decision-making is the key for leadership.

For more details on the awards /jury/ winners / nominees, please visit http://forbesindia.com/leadershipawards/index.html
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Gurmeet Singh, CEO, Forbes India said, ?The response we have received for the second year of Forbes India Leadership Awards is tremendous and very encouraging. We are delighted with the wonderful and out-of-the-box ideas shared this evening and hope that this platform inspires new and more absorbing conversations to be taken forward?.

The presentation ceremony was concluded with a fireside chat between Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha foundation and KV Kamath, non-executive chairman, ICICI Bank and chairman, Infosys. In this chat anchored by Indrajit Gupta, Editor - Forbes India, the duo explored some of the key challenges facing Indian business leaders over the next five years. They also further discussed how business leaders prepare themselves and their organisations for this journey.

MUMBAI: Yahoo! India has announced the third edition of Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Awards India 2012. Entries are now invited from advertising and media agencies in India to showcase their very best work, across seven categories. Registration is free and is now open on the awards? official site: https://bigideachair.in till October 12, 2012. The Awards will be announced at a gala event in November 2012.

Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Awards is a global initiative from Yahoo! recognising outstanding work in the online creative and media community, celebrating the power of creativity, innovation and imagination. Introduced in India in 2010, this industry award has recognized breakthrough digital innovations from advertising agencies for their India work on brands across creative, media, digital and social executions.

Announcing the event, Nitin Mathur, Senior Director & Head of Marketing, India & South-east Asia, Yahoo! said, ?Online advertising has come a long way from an extension of offline marketing campaigns to becoming a powerful driver of brand engagement. Brands are now looking to explore the unique attributes Internet offers ? innovation, flexibility, reach and relevance. India?s digital advertising canvas has witnessed a wide sweep of brilliant ideas and innovative execution. At Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Awards India, we are going to recognize some of the front-runners leading this transformation.?

Last year, a whopping 287 entries were submitted with participation from 80+ brands and 57 agencies. Continuing the trend of lauding truly exceptional creativity and innovation in online advertising, Big Idea Chair Awards India 2012 calls for entries across 8 categories:

1. Best Use of Display Advertising: This will evaluate most creative and innovative use of display advertising.

2. Best Online Video Advertising: On line video ads or series of videos created for the digital medium.

3. Best Use of Social Media: Innovative use of social media for brand advertising

4. Best Use of Technology: Innovative use of technology for digital advertising on the internet or mobile (includes technological innovations such Augmented Reality, applications, blufi, other tools).

5. Best Use of Mobile Advertising: Campaigns that use mobile as a medium for digital advertising to effectively communicate the brand message, engage consumers or meet a brand objective.

6. Best Use of Search: The award will recognize creative and innovative use of search in a campaign.

7. Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Award: This is the flagship award. This award recognizes advertising campaigns which combine a great idea with impact, relevance and creativity to create impactful digital advertising campaigns that drive and achieve the desired marketing objectives.

8. Digital 360: This award recognizes campaigns that strategically used digital as the core medium and implemented all digital channels including display, search, social, and mobile.

The entries will be judged by a panel of eminent leaders and professionals from diverse sectors within the marketing and advertising world.

For more information regarding Big Idea Chair, please visit https://bigideachair.in/index.php

MUMBAI : NDTV organises a series of campaigns in education and sports in addition to significant campaigns on the environment and its protection. In continuation of this role to raise awareness on national issues, NDTV is now launching an initiative to support University Cricket and Hockey in association with the AIU (Association of Indian Universities).

AIU and NDTV together will aim to revitalize and restore University Cricket and Hockey. The purpose is to ensure widespread participation of University students in sports and to raise standards of fitness. The Minister of HRD, Mr. Kapil Sibal will chair an organising committee to promote sports in universities which will organise national level tournaments in Cricket and Hockey.

Commenting on this development, the Minister for HRD, Mr. Kapil Sibal said ?Universities are the repositories of both academic and sporting talent in our country and we are proud of them. It is crucial for all of us to work towards nurturing sports talent and raising the bar of university sports. This is a great start with hockey and cricket?.

On partnering AIU for this initiative, Dr. Prannoy Roy, Co-Chairperson, NDTV said ?NDTV?s focus on education and fitness related campaigns has been very successful and fulfilling. We look forward to carrying this further by supporting university sports?.

University sports have played a key role in nurturing and promoting extraordinary sporting talent in several countries which excel in sports at a global level. A national level university league tournament in India will offer a great platform for outstanding college sportsmen and revive the spirit of education with sports.

NEW DELHI: This weekend, TIMES NOW ? India?s No. 1 general English news channel presents its viewers with a special episode of ?Frankly Speaking?. In a candid interview with TIMES NOW‘s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, India?s God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, discusses his retirement, memorable moments of his career and shares exclusive insights into his personal life.

In the interview Sachin reacts for the first time to statements made by Sunil Gavaskar that state how he has been bowled twice consecutively and how that is a bad sign for the batsman. Sachin responded to the comment saying, ?Sunil Gavaskar has also said positive things about me. When there have been a lot of positive feedback as well, why keep harping only on the negative comments? Ultimately, if I am out, I am out. I can‘t get stuck on one article about me and try to create something that the person is hoping to create out of it. I need to stay focused on the game and constantly keep finding ways to improve myself. There is no stage in which one ceases to learn about cricket. One remains a student of this game for ever.

On being asked about his plans for retirement, Sachin shared, ?I am 39 and I don‘t think I have plenty of cricket left in me. But it depends on my frame of mind and my physical ability to deliver. At this stage, I don‘t think I will be playing the next World Cup.?

Commenting on the match versus Pakistan in 2004 where he hit 194 not out when the match was declared, Sachin shared, ?I was asked a question in a press conference just after the match if I was surprised by the declaration. I said yes. Then I was asked if I was disappointed. I said, "Yes, I‘d be lying if I said I wasn‘t disappointed." But that is all that I had said. After the declaration, I got to the dressing room, quietly put my bat aside and sat down. I had my pads on. After a couple of minutes, I washed my face, went up to John Wright, our coach then and said, "I will take some time to get back on the field because my back is a little sore. I will go after a while." That is all that happened.?

Discussing the test match versus Pakistan in 1999 where India lost by 12 runs, Sachin said, ?It was disappointing. Yes I cried. I felt bad because we were so close to winning the match but couldn‘t cross the final hurdle. I have to admit that I was not able to receive the Man of the Match award then because I was in tears.?

Responding to accusations about playing the game only to continue commercial endorsements associated with him, Sachin said, ?My manager tells me that there were a couple of articles about this issue. As a matter of fact, there was an article in The Economic Times? I‘d call this irresponsible journalism by a journalist who has vested interests.?

MUMBAI: The kids‘ entertainment channel in India from Turner International, achieved a milestone by successfully completing 1 year as the leading kids‘ entertainment channel in India. It was in October 2011 when POGO attained the number one spot and since then has successfully managed to hold on to its place at the top.

POGO has the highest average relative share of 22% amongst audiences (CS: 4+ | Kids Genre | October 2011 - September 12 | All India | Source: TAM) and also achieved the highest GRP of 174 in the last 5 years for any Kids channel. (CS: 4-14 | Kids Genre | Week 18 of 2012 | All India | Source: TAM).

The contribution of Chhota Bheem towards making POGO the No. 1 kids‘ channel is noteworthy. An award winning series, Chhota Bheem has managed to earn the title of kids‘ favourite character on television (Ormax Media). The channel‘s most entertaining show, Chhota Bheem is currently the top show in the kids‘ entertainment genre, consistently garnering over 1 TVR on an average. The Chhota Bheem movies aired on POGO have rated amongst the highest rated movies in the kids‘ genre beating all competition in their time slots.

POGO‘s success is also attributed to other popular shows such as Chaplin & Co., Mr. Bean, Kumbh Karan, etc. which are thoroughly adored & enjoyed by the kids. In fact, Mr. Bean is the no. 1 program in its time slot across the kids genre. The Mighty Raju movies have also helped to boost the channel‘s popularity.

Commenting on the accomplishment, Monica Tata, General Manager, Entertainment Networks, South Asia, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. said, "We are extremely proud of our achievement and look forward to retaining the number one rank in the coming years as well. With this new benchmark; we will continue to strive to entertain kids with quality and exciting content."

The growth of the channel has enabled POGO to leverage the brand across other business verticals as well. POGO commands almost 30% of the ad sales pie in the kids‘ genre and today, has around 180 clients, both in the traditional and non-traditional categories. Pogo.tv gets over 5 million average unique views per month* and is the leading website in the kids‘ genre.