MUMBAI: The Indian growth story has been chronicled by many, and at its heart has been the sometimes elusive, and sometimes exclusive, the Indian consumer. This March, India‘s No. 1 business medium CNBC-TV18 along with the most renowned worldwide firms in research, Boston Analytics will introduce the CNBC-TV18 Boston Analytics Consumer Confidence Index, that is conceived with an objective of providing, policy makers, corporates, market participants, researchers, industry leaders and trend watchers, an in depth insight into the minds of the Indian consumers.

The Customer Confidence Index (CCI) is defined as the degree of optimism on the state of the economy that consumers are expressing through their activities of savings and spending. The world‘s first CCI was introduced in the USA in 1985, and has a sample of 5000 people. It is a crucial tool that enables the user to understand the consumer‘s mindset and thus make an informed assessment about the future course of the economy. The CNBC-TV18 Boston Analytics Consumer Confidence Index is carefully designed to reflect the aspects of the Indian economy like employment, inflation, savings, spending and real estate through the eyes of the Indian consumer.

The CNBC-TV18 Boston Analytics Consumer Confidence Index will be released every month and shall be based on a sample size of 10,000 respondents spanning 15 cities in India, thus making it the largest Consumer Confidence Index in the world. The index will be based on the level of consumer confidence over time on various parameters like Current Situation, Future Expectations, Inflation, Employment, Consumer Spending, Savings and Real Estate.

Speaking on the series, Mr. Neel Chowdhury- Vice President, Marketing, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ said, "The CNBC-TV18 Boston Analytics Consumer Confidence Index is a testament to the unparalleled leadership of both the brands, and will be the largest in the world. The CCI will not only add a totally new dimension to our programming mix, but more importantly it will provide India Inc. with a tool to gauge consumer sentiment, a subject that holds the key to their fortunes."

Rashid Bilimoria, CEO, Boston Analytics commented "We, at Boston Analytics, are very excited to collaborate with CNB- TV18 in releasing India‘s first monthly consumer confidence index. Any market driven economy is vastly influenced by consumer spending. For instance, in India, consumer spending accounts for over 60% of the GDP. This definitely explains the need to track consumer confidence in this country."

As a lead up to the launch of the Consumer Confidence Index, CNBC-TV18 will present two introductory episodes (1st at 10:30 PM on 22nd February and 2nd at 10:00 PM on 28th February) and the first findings of the Index will be presented on CNBC-TV18 on 3rd of March, 2009.

MUMBAI: In October 2008,Amrita TV had launched its novel reality show, Best Citizen Journalist-2 on prime time with 15 ordinary,but inspired citizens,competing with each other for the top spot.

Spread over 64 episodes(Mon-Thu 9.30 pm),contestants filed independent stories in diverse segments, such as, Story Round ,Investigation Round, Anti-Corruption Round, Crusader Round and Special Story Round.

The countdown from 15 contestants to five finalists was done through a process of public voting and jury panel scores?the jury comprising Mr Sasikumar, Chairman, Asian College of Journalism and Mr. M.G.Radhakrishnan, Asst.Editor , India Today, as also celebrity judges who were eminent persons from different walks of life.

At a tightly fought grand finale at Trivandrum ,each of the five citizen journalists held the jury and audiences spellbound with their amazing stories and scoops complemented by breathtaking footage ,some being sting operations .

The chief of jury panel, Ms Sugathakumari, renowned poet, environmentalist & social activist along with the two permanent jury members had a tough time in finalizing Shaijumon.A as the contestant to wear the crown of Best Citizen Journalist-2 .and bagged a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakhs . Shaijumon. ,27, a postgraduate in Education, works as a lecturer in a BE.d. College in Kollam

The second prize winner, Seena.H.,28 ,an Assistant in Kerala Government Secretariat at Trivandrum , walked away with a cash prize of Rs 75,000.

Mr Sasikumar while announcing the winners complimented Amrita TV to hold the first ever citizen journalist reality show on Indian television, and persist with this initiative into the second season and telecast it as a weekday prime time show

Ms Sugathakumari commended the courage,insight and passion of the CJs for following leads across the length of the state, in search of stories that none had dared to tell ,‘breaking news‘ with every report. .The prizes were given away by Mr. Mullakkal Rathnakaran, Honourable Minister for Agriculture,Government of Kerala

The Grand Finale also became the platform for Amrita TV to to honour five veteran journalists for their lasting contribution to journalism,- Ms Leela Menon Mr.B R B Bhaskar ; Mr T V Achyutha Warrier ,Mr.T Venugopal and Mr.V P Ramachandran.;each of whom was bestowed with a memento and cash offering

The exciting Grand Finale of ‘Best Citizen Journalist-2‘, which will be telecast on Feb 21,2009 at 8 pm(IST) on Amrita TV, was held before an elite audience, well sprinkled with IAS and IPS officers and media persons.

MUMBAI: India‘s only international music and lifestyle channel and Rayban, jointly present their 3rd endeavor of Rayban Vh1 Global Music Xpress. Conceptualized by Viacom Brand Solutions, Global Music Xpress is India‘s biggest music initiative ever! With the back to back success of tours with British R&B artist Jay Sean and British singer Laura Critchley, Rayban Vh1 Global Music Xpress moved a step further and invited the very popular Indie rock and pop band ‘Goldspot‘ to India! Goldspot kick started their India tour on 18th February in Mumbai and will be followed by Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore on the 20th, 21st and 22nd February respectively.

Goldspot, a Los Angeles based band is led by Indian born Siddhartha Khosla (songwriter and lead singer). Hailed as "the best band to come out of America in years", they are a classic mix of Bollywood, the U.S. west coast and British guitar pop. And that‘s not it, Goldspot have also done the soundtrack for the popular motion picture ‘The President Is Coming.‘ Their songs ‘Rewind‘ and ‘Friday‘ have been used in various soundtracks of hit shows like The O.C., Gossip Girls, etc. An alternate version of "Tally" was released commercially in June 2007 featuring A. R. Rahman‘s Bollywood Orchestra, and was received with plaudits from UK press like Q magazine and The Guardian. The band has also played at the Glastonbury, O2 Wireless, and V Festivals throughout the summer of 2007 and performed in India at the One Tree Festival in February 2008. To add to glitz, in 2008, Goldspot received a nomination for Vh1 India‘s "Favorite Indian Artist" award.

Says lead singer, Siddhartha Khosla, "We are very excited to tour across India. I want to thank you -- all of our fans in India -- for all the support you‘ve given us. It‘s because of you that our songs ‘Friday‘ and ‘Rewind‘ and our album ‘Tally of the Yes Men‘ are such a success in India. We‘ll be playing all the music that you love, plus brand new tracks from our upcoming album (to be released this year) and a surprise song in the set! Keep a track of us at www.myspace.com/goldspot and find us on facebook for all updates. I also want to thank Vh1, and Ray-Ban for bringing us out to India."

Speaking on the initiative Ferzad Palia, Associate General Manager, Vh1 India says, "Our partnership with Rayban has been triumphant and we are delighted to successfully bring down International talent that we believe in. Goldspot is an immensely popular international band with India roots and we‘re bringing them home for a 4-city tour. I‘m sure Indian audiences across the country will find Goldspot a treat to their eyes."

On the association, Sudhanshu Arora, Marketing Manager, Ray-Ban Sun Optics India Ltd. says, "Rayban, ‘the official style partner of the music fraternity‘, is proud to be associated once again with RayBan Vh1 Global Music Xpress. It has always correlated itself with music aficionados who display power, passion and energy for the music culture. We are taking this partnership one step forward and presenting an upcoming talent in global music- Goldspot. Rayban will continue with its legacy of exposing the best in music talents across all genres through this partnership."

Aditya Swamy, Senior Vice President, Viacom Brand Solutions, says, "GMX is a platform we have specifically designed for Ray Ban which allows the brand to connect with urban cool audiences while leveraging the international equity of Vh1. Ray Ban gets to engage with their consumers in a real ‘touch n feel‘ manner in a high energy environment, while for Vh1 it is an opportunity to reinforce our position as the ultimate authority in international music. All of this while Goldspot gives the crowd a memorable evening with their unique sound. These set of gigs will definitely be something to remember."

MUMBAI: Johnnie Walker Classic, the premier golf tournament of the Asia Pacific, will be available live and exclusive on Ten Sports, the most watched sports channel in the Sub-continent.

American superstar Anthony Kim and Scotland?s Colin Montgomerie, who was recently announced the new European Ryder Cup captain are the latest players to add their names to the star-studded cast, which tees off from February 19 at The Vines Resort & Country Club in Perth, Western Australia.

Kim, World No9, and Montgomerie, the most successful player in European Tour history, join players like the legendary Aussie Greg Norman, World No8 Camilo Villegas of Colmbia, and England?s World No11 Lee Westwood, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter.

Live telecast of the tournament on Ten Sports starts at 11:00 am IST on Thursday, February 19, while the weekend rounds starts 8:30 am IST.

The lone Indian challenge in the tournament will be in the form of Shiv Kapur, who did well last week at the Malaysian Open.

The Johnnie Walker Classic?s tradition of attracting fields of the highest calibre has meant that past winners read like a who?s who of golf. Since 1990, the tournament has been won by the likes of Nick Faldo (1990 & 1993), Ernie Els (1997 & 2003), Retief Goosen (2002), Norman (1994), Adam Scott (2005), and Tiger Woods (1998 & 2000).

With the confirmation of so many talented players the 2009 event, which holds the unique status of being tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian and Australasian Tours, promises to be no different, with the field boasting some of the best golfers from around the world.

Over the past 19 years, the Johnnie Walker Classic has been played in eight different countries ? it was held in India at the DLF Golf & Country Club last year ? and 13 different golf clubs around the Asia Pacific region.

MUMBAI: NDTV Profit in association with Car India and Bike India will host the fourth Car and Bike Awards, 2009 on 20th February at ITC Hotel, Mumbai, to felicitate the best of the best in the automobile industry. The award seeks to recognize and reward the best design, unmatched technology, style and performance in the automobile industry.

Since its inception in 2006, the awards have grown not only in strength but also in reputation. The awards are benchmarks for auto excellence in India and are widely trusted by consumers, manufacturers and auto experts alike.

Announcing the awards, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-Auto, NDTV Group said "Over the last 4 years, NDTV Profit Car & Bike Awards have emerged as the most coveted awards in the automobile industry - which stands for credibility and a sense of fair play. There is complete transparency in what we endeavour to put out - since we have a responsibility to our viewers and readers to carefully assess, select & recognise the best automobiles of the year".

The Car & Bike Awards are unique in a number of ways. It rewards environmentally friendly work done by the industry with the Green Award and recognizes Marketing and PR efforts of the players which contribute to the product‘s success with the CNB-AAA awards. The categories in this include Best PR & Communications Team, Best Integrated Campaign 4 Wheeler, Best Integrated Campaign Two Wheeler and Brand Ambassador of the Year. Nominees for the Best Brand Ambassador this year are Priyanka Chopra (Hero Honda), Saif Ali Khan (Chevrolet), Shah Rukh Khan (Hyundai), Hrithik Roshan (Hero Honda) and Farhan Akhtar (Maruti).

Last year, a ground-breaking rule was introduced allowing the previous year‘s winners to come back and defend their crown - welcomed by the industry as well. As a consequence, the 2008 Car of the Year - Hyundai‘s i10 and Bike of the Year - Bajaj 220DTSFi will also compete for the 2009 awards.

The Car & Bike Awards are the only awards that reward viewers by offering them the chance to drive home a new car or bike through the categories: CNB Viewers‘ Choice Awards Car and CNB Viewers‘ Choice Awards Bike.

To ensure a foolproof and fair selection process, the eminent jurors assess and award each nominee in complete isolation to other jurors. Each car and bike nominated are tried and tested by the jury along with a detailed research on each nominee‘s specifications, its market performance and its immediate competition. The process is monitored by our auditors Mazars who then tabulate and document all votes by the jurors.

The jury consists of an expert panel of auto aficionados with an eye for detail and extensive knowledge of car design, performance analysis and testing. Jury members for both Car and Bike category include, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-Auto, NDTV; Amit Chhangani, Assistant Editor, Car India; Aspi Bhathena, Executive Editor, Car India & Bike India; Rayomand Banajee, racing driver and Sam Katgara, former ace rallyist and racer. The jury also includes H S Billimoria, the creator of NextGen Publishing and Nawaz Sandhu, ace lady rallyist for the car category and Bunny Punia, an automobile journalist for the bike category.

MUMBAI: Accolades, Applause, Awards and A.R. Rahman are synonymous. First Indian to win the prestigious golden Globe for his score in Slum dog Millionaire and dedicate it to his country, he has done India proud.

This shy music maestro has a penchant for creating the most unconventional music and has reinvented himself time and again and come out in flying colors with each new composition. Recognition and appreciation is still following and he has been awarded the Bafta Award too, for best musical composition for the same film.

The film has also bagged 10 nominations at the Oscars scheduled on the 22nd Feb and Rehmaan is a very strong contender for it.

B4U Music congratulates A.R Rahman on his historic win at the Golden Globe and Bafta., and sends him best wishes for his nominations at the Oscars.

To honor the musical genius, B4U Music is extremely proud to dedicate the entire fortnight starting 16-2-09 to 1-3-09 by creating a special programme called A.R.Rahman Best Hits through the day.

The programme has an array of versatile compositions from the latest block busters such as Delhi 6, Ghajini, Slum dog Millionaire, Yuvraaj, Jaane tu Ya Jaane Na. A blend of slow romantic melodies to foot tapping numbers it‘s a complete treat to watch.

Tune in every day on B4U Music and cheer the accomplishment of this talented composer.