MUMBAI: In recognition of NDTV Labs? development of superior media software, NAB International Broadcasting has announced NDTV as the winner of the prestigious NAB International Broadcasting Excellence Award, 2008.NDTV Labs will be awarded this honour for developing its product, the nX Paint software. Earlier this year, nX Paint software won accolades after bagging the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association‘s CBA-IBC Award for Innovative Engineering.

NAB is an international organization, based out of the United States. It was established in 1995 to recognize broadcast organizations world over that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing the broadcast industry and the services they provide to their community and audiences.

On the award being declared, Rahul S Deshpande, CEO NDTV Labs, said ?This award is very encouraging for the team. I thank NAB for recognizing our efforts in creating top quality media software products and services for broadcasters world over. NDTV has again emerged as an undisputed leader, incubating world-class technology. nX Paint software adds another milestone to NDTV?s pioneering initiatives in superior quality innovation in the field of broadcasting.?

The Awards will be presented during the International Reception held at NAB‘s spring convention in Las Vegas in April, 2008. The award will be accepted by Kawaljit Singh Bedi, Software Architect, NDTV Labs Ltd.

MUMBAI: HT Media Limited, India‘s premier media house, and Kohinoor Foods Limited today marked a spectacular entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the World‘s Largest Biryani weighing 14,060kgs.

The biryani cooking was flagged off by Honorable Chief Minister of the state of Delhi Smt.Sheila Dixit. ‘I feel this is a great activity explored by HT and Kohinoor to revive the feasting and celebration associated with biryani in India. I‘d say there‘s reason enough for Delhiites to rejoice - this is yet another platform for Delhi and moreover India to be noted and recognized throughout the world‘.

The elaborate vegetable biryani was created under the supervision of 60 executive chefs and a head chef at the Outer Grounds of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium. The activity saw 3000kgs of Kohinoor basmati rice, 3000kgs of vegetables and 6000 liters of water being used to prepare the magnificent biryani. Moreover, the magnanimous 16-feet handi used for the cooking of the biryani was set over a 3-feet high furnace with a base diameter of xx-feet.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr.Anand Bhardwaj, Business Head, New Media initiatives, HT Media Limited said, ‘We are glad to be a partner for this event. Its truly a remarkable achievement to have carried off the task with extreme caution and finesse and I would like to congratulate all the people who have made this a success.‘

Mr.Gurnam Arora, Managing Director, Kohinoor Foods Limited added, ‘This event is a one-of-its-kind endeavour which is not only matchless with any other culinary activity ever done in the past but also truly magnified to the grandeur. We are very proud to be organizing an activity of such scale and magnificence‘.

The event was set in a rich and colorful ambiance of heritage, festivity and fun with the grounds decorated in traditional Rajasthani theme with folk performances throughout the day. The highlight of the day was the elaborate lunch spread which was a choice of varied rice delicacies. Also displayed were different varieties of rice.

The event saw a huge public turnout which added to the cheer and the festivities.

MUMBAI: In the reality of vastly increasing television universe with many channels and new genres, Zee Marathi has strengthen its power day by day and proved to be the King in Maharashtra market, as per TAM reports.Year 2008 is undoughtedly a successful year for Zee Marathi, which Zee Marathi garnered good GRPs from week 1 to week 8th consecutively. In the week 8, Zee Marathi gained in CS 4+ all Maharashtra market with highest GRPs of 336 and 9.9 market share in Marathi speaking market. In this year, Zee Marathi has clearly surpassed Star Plus in the overall GRPs with respect to almost all the target groups of television viewers continuously. In female 25+ ABC the overall GRPs of Zee Marathi are 547 and Star Plus 308 where as in female CS 15+ ABC GRPs of Star Plus are 296 and Zee Marathi is ahead of Star Plus by 209 points. Zee Marathi has successfully captured 505 GRPs in female CS 15+ ABC and in male CS 25+ ABC Zee Marathi is 401 and Star Plus is 238 whereas in CS 4+ Zee Marathi is 336 and Star Plus is 244 only.

Zee Gaurav Puraskar, a most glorious and glanderous award function in Marathi Industry, was the major contributor of this achievement. In week 8, in CS4+TG the Zee Gaurav Puraskar, garnered 8.3 TVRs whereas Star Plus got 1.5 and ETV Marathi got 0.6 from all Maharashtra. And in CS+25 female, Zee Gaurav gained 11.3 TVRs against Star Plus 2.3 and ETV Marathi 0.6 only. The Zee Gaurav, reached to approximately 48.3 lacs viewers (TAM cs 4+). During this slot, Zee Marathi pulled 33.9% absolute channel share among all channels as against Star Plus?s 6% and ETV?s 2.3 % in Marathi category. Among Marathi Channels this grand event garnered 85 % relative channel share for Zee Marathi. In top 50 programs from Marathi genre, there are 38 programs from Zee Marathi, 12 from ETV, but DD 10 and Mi Marathi could not hold a single.

Not only that, Zee Marathi?s dance based reality show Lux Ekapeksha Ek (Wed- Thurs) biweekly programme contributed good TRPs for the Zee Marathi. Lux Ekapeksha Ek has garnered excellent numbers for Zee Marathi from day one. And it has effectively captured the audience from Star Plus.

Among prime time dailies, Vahinisaheb, Avghachi Sansaar, Ya Sukhanno Ya, Kalat Nakalat and Asambhav are fetching higher ratings compared to competition.

MUMBAI: Doordarshan will telecast the feature film in Hindi titled Vaada and Apna Sapna Money Money on Friday, 29 February and Saturday, 1 March at 9.30 pm on DD National.

Vaada has been directed by Satish Kaushik and music is by Himesh Reshammiya. Arjun Rampal, Amisha Patel and Zayed Khan are in the main cast.

Apna Sapna Money Money has been directed by Sangeeth Sivan and music is by Vishal Dadlani. Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Ritesh Deshmukh, Riya Sen, Celina Jaitley, Koena Mitra and Chunky Pandey are in the main cast.

Vaada is the story of Rahul and Puja who are married and totally devoted to each other. One day they meet with a terrible accident and Rahul loses his eyesight. On a business trip abroad Rahul meets a friend Karan. Impressed by his dynamism and business acumen, Rahul asks him to join his business. They return to India and Puja is stunned to see her husband with her friend Karan. Rahul‘s love for Puja is blind and unquestioning. Karan‘s love for Puja is obsessive and uncontrollable. Puja is trapped between a blind husband and a sighted lover.

While Apna Sapna Money Money revolves around a bunch of madcap characters that eat, drink, sleep and worship money. A fast-paced situational comedy, is glorified by an ensemble of assorted and interesting characters. The story revolves around a mechanic, a conman, a club dancer, an upright cop, an obsessed father and his homely daughter, a tabela owner, a ruthless gangster, a deadly don and his moll and an unpredictable dog. A journey filled with rib-tickling moments throughout. If one runs after money, the other runs after love and the one who runs after love eventually runs after money. A hilarious journey of 11, a limitless quest for money, and a twisting and turning tale of love; the money swings around them and creates amusing and maddening circumstances. A dramatic turn evolves when all the characters starts looking for the hidden diamonds that are worth a lump-sum! Greed. Craze. Obsession. Fun. Takes over. And a madcap comedy of crime, love and complete zaniness continues... don?t be too surprised if by the end it turns into your own SAPNA! Money Money!

MUMBAI: NDTV, India‘s largest news and infotainment network, will offer a host of special shows on its three leading news channels NDTV 24x7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit on February 29, the big day of the Union Budget. The shows will provide a lucid analysis of the budget that will help viewers understand the impact on the economy and their personal finances.

Immediately after the Finance Minister presents the Union Budget, Dr. Prannoy Roy will bring the Budget Special of the interactive show, ‘Good, Bad & Ugly‘ on NDTV 24x7. The show will have eminent guests like Ruchir Sharma, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley, T N Ninan, Editor and Publisher, Business Standard and prominent industry leaders interact with students from different colleges on the Union Budget. Other than this, Budget-related shows will be hosted by discerning NDTV journalists like Shivnath Thukral, Abheek Barman, Pankaj Pachauri, Vinod Dua, and Dibang.

The budget programmes on NDTV Profit will continue to cover the Union Budget extensively with industry experts giving inputs on its impact on corporate India with discussion based and interactive programmes. Apart from the live coverage on the budget from BSE and CII, Delhi, the shows lineup will include ‘The Lobby‘ and ‘INDIA‘S BUDGET‘.

NDTV 24x7‘s budget specials shows like ‘Good, Bad & Ugly ? Budget Special‘ and ‘Simplify The Budget‘ will scrutinize the budget with experts to make it simple and understandable.

The line-up of shows on NDTV India will focus on making the budget analysis relevant to the public across generations and their needs, while taking their ideas and views into account. The lineup of shows will include ‘Budget India Ka‘ and ‘Janta Ka Budget‘.

MUMBAI: India‘s largest and most comprehensive business and consumer platform,CNBC Universe will offer a comprehensive lineup of dedicated programming on the budget day led by the nation‘s business news channels, CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ.

Starting in the morning, CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ will line up an array of experts, business leaders and corporate captains through the day as initial expectations and subsequent impact of the budgetary proposals of the FM are analyzed threadbare. Expert opinions, industry reactions, citizen demands, market implications and informative bulletins will comprise the main content focus of the 2 channels.

Speaking on this, Ajay Chacko, Director, TV18 Business Media added "We have had a month long intensive focus on the state of the Indian economy, growth agenda and policy imperatives faced by the government as a precursor to the budget. Budget day is an opportunity to provide a befitting finale to our loyal viewers with the best of perspective, information and insights. Our strong content lineup coupled with interactivity and analysis should ensure that even this year, CNBC channels will set a new benchmark in budget coverage"

Before the Budget speech, the CNBC channels will do a comprehensive policy & economy wrap including an analysis of sectoral expectations, industry demands, views from a cross section of consumers & institutions as well as an insightful update on the policy directions that the economic survey, presented the previous day, would have revealed. Post that, CNBC channels will telecast live and uninterrupted coverage of the FM‘s Budget Speech from 11 am -1 pm. During the speech, the channels will showcase on the minute implications and impact of budgetary proposals as they are presented in parliament.

CNBC Tv18 will have a battery of experts, sitting in the studio who will be analyzing the measures announced and its ramifications for the Indian economy. Post the speech, CNBC-TV18 will undertake a series of power packed Budget Bulletins, which shall delve into the fine print. Some of these bulletins will comprise of high power panel discussions broadcast live from India‘s leading trade chambers such as CII & FICCI, and will involve expert comments from the nation‘s top business leaders and policy minds. Towards the evening, CNBC-TV18 will roll out a special Personal Finance show that shall take a focused look on the individual taxation, saving and investment impact of Budget 2008 apart from special shows on Taxation implications from the fiscal policy announcements. CNBC-TV18‘s acclaimed primetime bulletins ‘Business Center‘ and ‘India Business Hour‘ will have special budget editions namely ‘Budget Center‘ and ‘India Budget Hour‘ which shall take a comprehensive review of the day events and reactions from various quarters.

On CNBC Awaaz, the budget speech will be relayed in Hindi, to ensure a better understanding by the common man. Post the speech, the CNBC AWAAZ Special Budget Jury comprising of the corporate heavyweights like Venugopal Dhoot--CMD--Videocon Industries Ltd-, Subhash Lakhotia--Tax Consultant, Ashvin Parekh- Partner- E&Y, Anand Rathi- Chairman- Anandrathi Securities, Kishor Biyani- CEO- Future Group, Mr. Anjanikumar Choudhari-President-Farm Equipment Sector -M&M will assess the budget on various parameters- that will have impact on the country‘s economy. The discussion by the expert panel of Juries will de-mystify and analyze the budget for the common man; there will also be special emphasis on the impact of the Budget on various sectors including markets and Personal Finance. Post the budget jury there will be 6 half hour power packed panel discussions by the top experts of the nation on the impact of the budget on - the tax and PF, families, corporate, markets, Small traders and SMEs.

At the end of budget day, to provide a holistic and comprehensive perspective on Budget 2008,a flagship Network18 show ‘FACE THE BUDGET‘, hosted by Raghav Bal, Editor-in- Chief, Network 18 will be telecast live on CNBC-TV18,CNBC Awaaz and CNN-IBN from 10.00 pm -10.30 pm.

CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ will of course telecast a special FM interview, as in earlier years, that shall provide Indian business viewers, investors and market participants an opportunity to interpret fiscal policy measures directly from Mr. P.Chidambaram himself.

The CNBC Universe will focus strongly on adding value to the viewer experience and building interactivity on the day of India‘s most important economic event. Starting with budget updates and news on 52622 to benchmark contests, the universe will be a hub for user interactivity. As in earlier years, the most acclaimed Budget Bonanza Challenge will return on CNBC Channels. This most popular budget trivia contest rewards viewers for answering on the hour questions related to the budget. In this year‘s edition, viewers can stand to win Rs.1 lac every hour, on answering a simple budget question asked on air on CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ. . Viewers would be able to participate in the Budget Bonanza Contest by sending in their answers via SMS BB to 52622. The contest will run from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm on the budget day only.

In addition to the Budget Bonanza Challenge, the highly successful online simulated stock market game, ‘Moneybhai‘ returns on budget day for a special edition Budget Moneybhai. The game will involve registered users starting with a notional portfolio value of 25 lacs, which they can invest in the stock market (Stock values linked to the actual prices).The game will run from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm (Market hours) on budget day. The top portfolio owner at the end of the budget day, stand to win holiday packages to Malaysia,1 lac in cash, while the other winners get exciting gifts like DVD players etc. To participate in the contest players can log on to www.moneybhai.com and register.

Post budget day, CNBC-TV18 has lined up special review and impact shows such as ‘Budget Breakfast‘ which shall comprise leading market experts in an engaging discussion on the way forward for the equity markets, policy impact in the short term and any long term implications if applicable. Moreover, CNBC-TV18 will be hosting a series of corporate taxation events, as in earlier years, called ‘Talking Taxes‘ which will comprise of India‘s leading corporate tax experts discussing the way forward from Budget 2008 for India Inc in terms of corporate taxation and levies.

The CNBC Universe will also ensure that viewers get a chance to review and understand key measures of Budget 2008 through a release of a special CD title on ‘Budget Highlights‘ under the Bestsellers brand of CD‘s and DVD‘s from Network18.