MUMBAI: Becomes the 3rd largest single country mobile services operator in the world and 6th largest single country integrated telco in the world

Announces a series of Network augmentation and Customer service initiatives

• To roll out over 100,000 BTS sites across the country
• To establish a State of the Art Customer Service Management Centre
• 100,000 Airtel Service Centres to be set up in rural India by March 2010

Bharti Airtel, Asia‘s leading Integrated Telecom services provider, today announced that it has crossed the 100 million customers mark. This milestone makes the company the 3rd largest single country mobile services operator and sixth largest in-country integrated telecom operator in the world.

"The Indian Telecom sector, seen as providing the most affordable services in the world, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade. We are proud to have led the telecom revolution that made a positive impact on the lives of people in every corner of the country as well as the Indian economy. This remarkable journey to 100 million customers is a testament to the vision and commitment of a company that benchmarks itself with the best in the world", said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises. "We dedicate this achievement to the nation. This milestone reiterates the emergence of India as one of the world‘s top telecom markets and we are delighted to be at the forefront of its growth. On this occasion, we would like to thank all our customers, partners and the Government of India for their constant support."

The company had crossed the 75 million customer mark in August 2008 and 50 million mark in October 2007, making it one of the fastest growing telcos in the world. The first 25 million was achieved in July 2006.

Bharti Airtel announced a series of network augmentation and customer service initiatives. On the network front, Airtel will roll out 100,000 BTS sites by this year end to set up wider and deeper network coverage across the country. This will improve network quality and resilience; build redundancies and business continuity, to ensure that Airtel customers continue to experience a world-class seamless network for voice and data services. The company is planning to transform its entire fixed line network to IP/Broadband over a phased manner. This transformation will enable Bharti Airtel‘s transformation to Next Generation Networks, offering advanced services like High-speed internet, Triple Play, Media-rich VAS, MPLS, VPN for both Retail and Business customers.

On the customer service front, Airtel has started a set of initiatives to empower the customer and currently its Self Service Option over SMS already has over 100 million hits in a month. It is also leveraging cutting-edge technology to build a state of the art Service Management Centre which will dynamically monitor and manage services to ensure that customers are always kept informed proactively.

Around 60% of Airtel‘s customer additions come from rural areas. For the rural customers, Airtel has already set up 14,000 Airtel Service Centres and going forward the company is looking at having over 100,000 such centres across the country by March, 2010.

MUMBAI: Walk down memory lane with the kids of Amul Voice of India ? Mummy Ke Superstars! This Saturday, the kids are all set to make you nostalgic with chartbuster retro songs of 70?s and 80?s. Creating new challenges on the show and with eight participants left for the final battle, this week the judges pair up the kids to perform on a duet song to test the compatibility between them despite growing competition. Catch the kids celebrating the retro era only on Amul Voice of India Mummy Ke Superstars on Saturday, May 16 @ 9pm only on STAR Plus.

Saturday?s episode opens with the hosts Akriti and Ali rocking with the retro hit song Disco Station and setting the stage for the kids to take over. The first kids jodi to open the duet special act are the Bengali girls- Trishita and Swastika who recreate the magic of 80?s classic song Pyaar Karnewaale from the film Shaan. Next to hit the floor are the boys jodi- Yash and Shivish - who charm the judges with the all time hit song? Saara Zaamana from Yaarana. Judges are delighted with of each of the performances. To add to the excitement, our judges also get into the groove by paying a tribute to their icon RD Burman and electrify the atmosphere with their version of Bachna Aye Haseeno after which the kids also join them and perform on Dard-e-Disco.

Join the kids as they bring back the foot tapping retro hit songs with their soul ? stirring performances on everlasting blockbuster songs on Amul Voice of India, Mummy ke Superstars on Saturday, May 16 @ 9pm only on STAR Plus.

The Amul Voice of India team has scouted the mother-child pairs from across many cities in India. They are P. Bhavini (Bhopal), Soham Himanshubhai Naik (Navsari), Yash Bharatkumar Shah (Baroda), Sayali Kishor Kambli (Mumbai), Swastika Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai), Trishita Maitra (Satna), Shivish Soni (New Delhi), and Vaishnavi Tyagi (New Delhi).

Produced by SOL, Amul STAR Voice of India ? Mummy Ke Superstars, not only continues to celebrate a child?s intrinsic talent on a nationwide platform, but viewers will enjoy a special theme and famous celebrity judges on every episode of Amul STAR Voice of India.

MUMBAI: The ?Fashion?able hunk Arjan Bajwa made a lot of jaws drop and knees wobble when he recently appeared as a special guest on Zing?s Cornetto Anchor Hunt, the show in search of 3 fresh faces who?ll become the channel?s new anchors. The contestants couldn?t help but gush and rave about his obvious good looks and impeccable style.

Turning on their charm faucets, they took turns at impressing Bollywood?s latest heartthrob. While Arjan was quite impressed with their presentation skills, he wasn?t too kicked about the excuses some of the girls made when asked to speak in Hindi.

He gave them a piece of his mind when he said, ?It?s very sad that some of us consider speaking Hindi downmarket. You?ve got to know your national language. Ever heard of the French or Spanish shying away from speaking their own language?? Well said, Arjan.

Good to know there?s a mature head resting on those broad shoulders! Catch Arjan Bajwa on Cornetto Anchor Hunt on Zing at 11 AM and 7:30 PM on Sunday, 17th May.

MUMBAI: BIG 92.7FM‘s BIG Goemkar Awards, a first-of-its-kind initiative to acknowledge and applaud the individuals that bring laurels and pride to Goa, gets set to take centre stage yet again, though as the Gera BIG Goemkar Awards 2009. The awards, now in its 2nd leg are back after meeting with much support from the people of Goa. The nominees will be put forth by listeners via SMS, email, on ground etc., beginning 11th May 2009 and the winners will be awarded amidst much pomp and fanfare through a mega on ground event on June 6, 2009.

This year, the awards ceremony only gets BIGger and better as BIG 92.7FM joins hands with Gera Developments to felicitate the fresh, new set of Gera BIG Goemkars for 2009. The process remains the same with listeners being asked to nominate via SMS, those people who they think deserve the title of the "Gera BIG Goemkar". Organizations and institutions are also being approached to send in their nominations, via forms that will be sent by snail mail.

A select panel of judges, that will include Nitin Kunkolienkar, President, GCCI and Dr. Pramod Salgaocar, Chairperson, Women‘s Commission, will then have a closed door session where they will in concurrence narrow down the entries to the finalists. The finalists will then be put forth to listeners who will be asked to vote for the selected candidates and based on the number of votes from the people of Goa the winners will be selected. The judges however, will be given the power of final veto.

A select panel of judges, that will include Nitin Kunkolienkar, President, GCCI and Dr. Pramod Salgaocar, Chairperson, Women‘s Commission, will then have a closed door session where they will in concurrence narrow down the entries to the finalists. The finalists will then be put forth to listeners who will be asked to vote for the selected candidates and based on the number of votes from the people of Goa the winners will be selected. The judges however, will be given the power of final veto.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Richard Dias, Station Head, BIG 92.7 FM - Panjim said, "The response that we received last year from the BIG Goemkar Awards was stupendous and we have brought it back on popular demand. The local populace has acknowledged the influence and impact an award of this magnitude can have on the youth of the city and we are hosting the 2nd leg as a further encouragement. Through this offering we wish to recognize those youth who have done exemplary contribution and can act as role models and positive influencers, to inspire more youth to come forward and make a difference in society. We are thankful to Gera Developments for coming on board as partners to this initiative."

Also speaking on the occasion, Ms. Jaya Deshmukh, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Gera Developments said, "Gera Developments has always been focused on innovation, community service and environment friendly initiatives. We have always looked to encourage and support individuals who have worked in this regard, while acknowledging and applauding their efforts. Therefore, we find it a privilege to be associated with Big 92.7FM on the Gera Big Goemkar Awards 2009."

MUMBAI: With Counting Day around the corner, the political scene is rife with speculation as to who the next Prime Minister would be. With the elections throwing up a new surprise everyday, who will be the next Prime minister of India is anybody?s guess. But your guess may just make you richer.

CNBC AWAAZ presents ?Guess the next PM? SMS contest where the participant needs to predict the next PM by sending PM <PM Name> <own name> to 51818. A grand winner will get the prize of Rs.1 lakh, sponsored by CNBC AWAAZ and other lucky participants will stand a chance to win exciting prizes.

Details of the Game:

• Viewers need to guess the PM and send an SMS to 51818
• Mega Prize of Rs 1,00,000 sponsored by CNBC AWAAZ will be awarded to a grand winner
• Over 60 other lucky participants to win exciting prizes sponsored by Tupperware
• The draw will be announced after the declaration of the PM on May 16, 2009

MUMBAI: Nagendra Karri, a talented young man of Indian origin, is finally doing what he was meant to do. Karri is the maker of the psychological thriller ?Where are you Sophia?? which premieres at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival on 13 May. The film is officially getting screened at the Marche du Film Market at the festival.

Says Karri, ?I am very excited and extremely honoured to be part of one of the most respected events of the international film fraternity. ?Where are you Sophia?? is my debut as a filmmaker and Cannes gives me a very strong platform to showcase it to the world.?

Karri is not the only Indian component of ?Where are you Sophia??. The music of the film is by Raju Rao, who has worked on chartbusters from movies like Raaz, Saaya and Gunaah.

?Where are you Sophia?? is the true story of a local newspaper columnist from a rural town called Highlands where she mysteriously disappears and ends up meeting Charlie, a young handsome man from Jersey Shores. She takes him on a journey where he is introduced to the realms of the unknown which only he can unravel as he faces the mysterious forces in the evil town of Highlands.

The movie produced by Karri?s production house Eternal Mind Productions features Amanda Boyd as Sophia and Peter James Elias as Charlie.