MUMBAI: With the economic meltdown, there has been a debilitating effect on property in many major cities.  Keeping in mind the instability and the depreciating value of what was once thought of as the best source of investment?Does property as a means of investment loose its value?? These debates throw up questions like HOW does one search and invest in residential property and how does one guard himself from defaulting real estate dealers.

To answer all the above, in the first segment of this weeks episode of REAL ESTATE, UTVi‘s experts will guide Feroz Shaikh in his search for property in the IT city, Hyderabad followed by a session on quick investment tips for residential property by Shobit Aggarwal from Jones Lang La Salle - Mumbai, a Global Real Estates services firm.

Moving on, the real estate experts of our channel will give details on the best and most affordable options in Bangalore while our expert property lawyer Sujoy Kumar will analyse the case of Anjali Bhardwaj and suggest ways of getting 100% money back from the defaulting builder of the Zirakhpur project.

Further on, the show will also focus on ‘budget homes‘ and will do a reality check on the Vasai-Virar stretch in Mumbai. And lastly, our Architect Sonali Rastogi will show practical yet easy ways of revamping small basement space into an efficient office area.

A must watch for all the people who have been struggling for space and looking for accommodation around the country. To get your update on the essential know-how before you think of investing your precious time and money in buying a house, tune in this Saturday 24th January at 9 am only on UTVi!

MUMBAI: International digital entertainment festival, Digit All Movement (DAM), will take shape in Pune for the second time from February 1st-3rd, 2009. The fest that debuted last year is conceptualised and organised entirely by the students of Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC), Pune. This year DAM Fest widens its horizon to include not just digital films, but art, photography, music in the digital medium as also animation and digital gaming.

"The best thing about going digital is that almost anyone with a creative eye and minimal knowledge of technology can express their ideas with this medium," says Shagufta Ahmed, coordinator of the DAM Fest 2009. Last year, the fest received a wide response from several Indian and foreign film makers and digital medium enthusiasts. Some of the industry experts who spoke at DAM last year were filmmakers Ms. Tanuja Chandra (of Dushman fame) and Ms. Bhavna Talwar (Dharm), and documentary filmmaker Ms. Madhusree Dutta among others.

The list of eminent speakers this year are filmmakers Kunaal Roy Kapur (The President is Coming), Dibaker Banerjee (Khosla ka Ghosla), noted documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, K. Hariharan, Ex-Director of LV Prasad Film & Television Academy, regional filmmakers, Bipin Nadkarni (Marathi) and Ringo (Bengali), celebrated film critic Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN, animation filmmaker Arnab Chaudhri (‘Arjun‘ to be released in mid-2009) and VJ-turned-actor-turned-director Luke Kenny (of Rock On! fame), who will screen his directorial debut, 13th Floor, at the fest.

Apart from seminars and workshops by industry experts, DAM 2009 also invites entries for its competitive film (fiction, non-fiction and animation) category. "We expect a substantial rise in the number of competition entries, especially from the Middle East, South Asia and Europe. Last year, we had over 75 entries, from across the world," says coordinator Ahmed.

The highlights of DAM 2009 include mobile phone filmmaking competition, graffiti wall art, Counter Strike gaming contest, open air film screenings, among others. Nearly 500 students and industry professionals are expected to be present on the new 300-acre campus of Symbiosis at Lavale, near Pune. Competition entries can be sent to register@thedamfest.com. The last date to receive entries is January 29. For more details, visit www.thedamfest.com.

MUMBAI: 36 illustrious nominees across the six categories of the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008, the biggest and the most credible awards in the Indian media have been announced. IBN18‘s editorial team went through a stringent ratifying process to shortlist those Indians who have left an indelible mark with the depth of their vision and helped raise standards with their dynamism.

The unanimous choice for this elite nominees list, they have brought new ideas to the field of governance, won sporting laurels for the country, married social consciousness to business strategies, stretched the boundaries of entertainment, dedicated their lives to a bigger cause and left an unmistakable Indian mark on the globe. Together, they define a brand new India - one which is upbeat, resurgent and dynamic.

Some of the most successful names from the various spheres of life find a place as the category nominees of the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008:

Category- Politics: Luminaries such as Nitish Kumar, Omar Abdullah, Pranab Mukherjee, Raman Singh, Sheila Dikshit & Shivraj Singh Chauhan have set shining standard in the art of governance with their reaching vision complemented by unmatched perseverance and spirit culminating into the most deserving for this category.

Category- Sports: Through their stupendous grit, relentless hard work and insatiable hunger for glory, Abhinav Bindra, Jeev Milkha Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar & Vijender Singh & Vishwanathan Anand have made the country proud in a range of sporting disciplines including shooting, golf, cricket, badminton, boxing and chess.

Category- Business: Towering personalities like Aditya Puri, Baba Kalyani, C B Bhave, Ramadorai, Ratan Tata & Uday Kotak have set a new trail through world-class products and management practices, exemplary leadership skills and have the knack for charting growth stories under adverse economic conditions, making them the best suited for this category.

Category- Entertainment: Be it the world of cinema, television, music or the phenomenon called IPL, dream merchants like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, A. R. Rahman, Avika Gor, Katrina Kaif & Lalit Modi have brought in a fresh wave with their imagination and innovative ideas and have turned life a little more delightful for billions of Indians in the process.

Category- Public Service: They have enriched other people‘s lives through innovative ideas and hard work and made a real difference to the society at large, without ever being concerned for personal fame or gains. The nominees are: Baba Ram Dev, Janaagraha, Madhavan Nair, Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani, RK Singh and Pratyay Amrit &Vijay Mahajan

Category- Global Indian: By fitting their deep rooted Indian sensibilities on to a global matrix, nominees like Arvind Adiga, Ashley Tellis, Dev Patel, Sanjay Gupta, Salman Rushde &Swaraj Paul have attained success at the biggest possible stage. In essence, they symbolise a contemporary and inclusive way of life that mirrors a new world order.

So, get ready to applaud the achievers who - with their unflinching dedication have emerged as the best in their respective fields. Three mechanisms have been set up for the citizens to cast their franchise as follows:

SMS - IOTY to 52622
Call- 505 2622 04 and 12555 26 (for BSNL and MTNL users)
Log on to- indianoftheyear.com
Voting closes on January 22nd mid night

Simultaneously, an electoral college consisting of eminent personalities will vote for their choice. An elite Jury of Padma awardees will then select six individual winners of all six categories and decide who amongst the six will be honoured with ‘CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008‘.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN18 Network said, "The procedure undertaken for selecting and short listing the nominees for CNN-IBN Indian of the Year ‘08 awards underlines complete transparency. The chosen nominees are an astute choice in their respective categories and we hope the best win!"

"CNN-IBN Indian of the Year ‘08 awards nominees comprises of Indians whose hard work and achievements in the past one year have earned them applause and acclaim. The elite editorial body had to go through a rigorous exercise to ratify these nominees. We look forward to honouring and awarding these achievers." added Mr. Dilip Venkatraman, Convener - CNN-IBN Indian of the Year and CMO - IBN18 Network.

MUMBAI: IDEA Cellular, one of the leading telecom operator in the country, has bagged the prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2008 for its innovative product, ‘My Gang‘, at the "19th World Congress on Total Quality" held at Mumbai recently.

IDEA‘s ‘My Gang‘?the first ever Community User Group on prepaid, targeted at youth for creating and sharing Identities in the Cyber & Mobile space, was declared the Most Innovative Product winning the Golden Peacock Award 2008.

Receiving the award Mr. Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer, IDEA Cellular said, "IDEA has constantly endeavoured to bring the most innovative, affordable, and customer friendly services for mobile users in India. The Golden Peacock Award is a recognition of our innovative product and service offerings for the youth of the country. ‘My Gang‘ Community User Group has changed the way the youth communicate and stay in touch, resulting in IDEA‘s domination of the youth segment".

This is IDEA‘s second win at Golden Peacock Awards, having won an award earlier in 2002 as well.

IDEA was selected as the winner under the ‘Innovative Product & Services‘ category after an extensive quality audit of its processes, research and development, and systems. The Award is designed to encourage systemic innovation in organisation to make products and services required in the new century. The key parameter that was assessed includes exploitation of current technology to achieve maximum customer satisfaction at minimum cost. The process of awards finalization included months of rigorous evaluation by a panel of judges from the industry and Government.

Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD) are the holy grail of corporate excellence in quality, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, innovation, training, environment management, ecological leadership and business leadership. They provide not only worldwide recognition and prestige but a competitive advantage in driving business in this tumultuous world. A large number of public, private, non-profit, government, business, manufacturing and service sector organisations participate in this prestigious award.

MUMBAI: The spirit of Republic day - ‘of the people, for the people, by the people‘ will echo on Hungama TV as viewers decide what they wish to watch on the channel on 26th January. Hungama TV will bring to life its reign as the only kids channel which is ‘for the kids and by the kids‘ by airing a marathon of the show that emerges as the ‘elected‘ one through a viewer poll on the channel. In addition to the mad, irreverent fun entertainment, Hungama TV strives to involve kids with the content not just as viewers but also as decision makers.

Devika Prabhu, Associate Director Programming, Walt Disney Television International India, says, "Hungama TV‘s programming philosophy encourages kids to choose what they want to watch on the channel. Kids are clear about their choice of entertainment and this is evident in the huge number of votes that are already pouring in."

Don‘t miss the chance to exercise your voting rights this Republic day only on Hungama TV!

MUMBAI: Known for winning accolades not only for its on-air and on-ground initiatives and being recognized as the leader in private FM space, Radio Mirchi 98.3FM, India‘s hottest Radio station has added yet another feather to its hall of fame. In the recent survey conducted by Metrix Labs & AC Nielsen to determine the Website of the Year 2008, www.radiomirchi.com has been acclaimed as the most popular Radio and TV website.

Organized by Metrix Labs & AC Nielsen since 2004, the ‘Website of the year 2008‘ awards aims to capture the framework and user understanding that the site has embodied in its design, deployment of technology and content.

‘Website of the year 2008‘ awards had invited polls from internet users across India to vote for their favorite website on the parameters of Content, Navigation and Design. The results of the poll indicated that over 1.5 million internet users have voted www.radiomirchi.com and that the portal has scored the highest average with users acknowledging that the Radio Mirchi website is both entertaining and engaging in terms of content, easy and simple to use and attractive in presentation.

Expressing his happiness on the declared result, Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio Mirchi said, "We are thrilled that the fanatical community of Radio Mirchi listeners assigns such high value to our website, especially when compared to the other entertainment portals. We are proud that our passion and innovation beyond our programming has brought about our newly achieved recognition in the internet space. We believe that Radiomirchi.com is setting a benchmark for Indian entertainment websites and we are confident of repeating this success in the future as well."

Elliot Stechman, the Radio Mirchi website designer, further added, "The creation of the Radio Mirchi portal in sync with our programming philosophy has added a new dimension to the website while moving it to a different paradigm altogether. It gives us pleasure that the polls for the Website of the year 2008 award soundly reaffirm Radiomirchi.com as an outright winner even in the internet space. Armed with a smart colour palette, the fresh feel of the entire content, Radiomirchi.com provides its users an absolutely clean and easy to use interface with all the features that one might desire at their fingertips."

Based on the Radio Mirchi‘s programming philosophy, www.radiomirchi.com offers market specific interactive and entertaining content exclusively for its listeners. The website has innovative features like RJ‘s corner, programme guide, club Mirchi, requests, countdowns, downloads, fun@mirchi, events chat options and much more.

The results can be viewed at http://www.websiteoftheyear .co.in /winners.php and for the first hand experience of the hottest Website of 2008, please log on to www.radiomirchi.com