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Category: eNews

  • Child Rights Award ’17: A call to broadcasters

    MUMBAI: ABU, CASBAA and UNICEF are calling for entries for the 17th Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award from broadcasters and producers in the region.

    Programmes both for children and about children are eligible and can cover any children’s rights issue. Entries can include documentaries that detail the plight of children, dramas that help break down stereotypes and discrimination, or animation that teaches and entertains.

    Entries must have been broadcast between June 2016 and June 2017 and must be received by 30 June 2017. The Award will be presented during the CASBAA Convention in Macau in early November 2017.

    Eligible countries/territories: Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, DPR Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand , Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

    This competition is open to all ABU and CASBAA members in the Asia-Pacific region. A full list of countries can be found on the website.

    To join the competition, please submit your entries) online at https://goo.gl/vKWqd5

    ABU is a non-profit, non-government, professional association of broadcasting organizations, to facilitate the development of broadcasting in the Asia–Pacific region. CASBAA is the association for the multichannel audiovisual content creation and distribution industry across Asia. UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child.

  • Ayaz Memon appointed as mentor for DigiOsmosis’ Sportswallah

    Mumbai: Senior journalist Ayaz Memon has been roped in as the mentor of sportswallah.com – the latest venture by digital media firm DigiOsmosis. Memon, who has been writing and reporting on sports for over three decades will now present a unique combination of sports and lifestyle news to the masses. Ayaz will also be reporting live on various sporting events on the Sportswallah.com and aims to keep fans up-to-date on all the action.

    Apart from focusing on innovative segments like social sporting trends, nostalgia, gossip, legends, statistics, live scoring and much more, Sportswallah will partner with lifestyle experts and create content that centres around the trends, looks, fashion and lifestyles of not just the athletes but also teams and even the games themselves.

    Commenting on the partnership, Memon said, “Interest in sports is undergoing a massive change globally and particularly in India. While serious sports content — driven by quality reportage and trenchant analyses — is still highly coveted, the younger generation is also keen to find out more about what’s going on in a sportsperson’s life in a 360 degree prism. Sportswallah aims to meet the demands and expectations of all factions of sports followers.’’

    DigiOsmosis CEO and co-founder Manish Kumar said, “Sports in India has grown to become a large and multi-faceted industry. There are a number of sports and franchisees that are now important to the audience and not just one. The ISL, Kabaddi League, Badminton League, and even the NBA and FIFA Under-17 World Cup are only some of the tournaments that come to mind. Media consumption in India has gone digital in a big way and there is a large gap when it comes to sports lifestyle and sports gossip. We aim to fill that gap.”

  • Kerala becomes first Indian state to declare access to Internet a human right

    NEW DELHI: With internet access being declared as a human right, the Kerala government feels nobody in a country rapidly heading towards hassle-free governance and a cashless economy should be at pains to acquire internet connectivity.

    In the state budget presented recently, the CPI(M)-led government earmarked a special fund aimed at providing Internet connections to two million families either at subsidised rates or completely free of cost.

    The state plans to install a new high-speed optical fibre network called K-Fon which will run parallel to the existing electricity board network. “If everything goes well, almost all governmental transactions will be available online by 2018. So, we have to equip all the citizens to meet this standard,” Finance Minister Thomas Issac said.

    High-speed internet connectivity is a basic right in most developed nations. In 2010, Sweden became the first country to make broadband Internet a legal right for every citizen. Canada followed suit last year, ensuring that every resident was entitled to Internet access at a minimum speed of 50 Mbps.

    Kerala plans to launch a big campaign on the lines of its ambitious e-literacy programme – Akshaya – to empower those deprived of Internet connectivity.

    Launching a literacy campaign in the early 2000s, Kerala quickly rose to become India’s most e-literate state by 2016-end.

    Isaac said the new firm will be floated with the help of the state electricity board to oversee the revolutionary scheme. “First we have to ensure that adequate infrastructure is put in place. We will take a Rs 10 billion loan from the Kerala Infrastructure Development Fund Board for the purpose. After that, we will speak to telecom providers in this regard,” he said.

    The government plans to provide free Internet connections to people from economically backward sections, and at subsidised rates to others. “We hope to achieve 100% connectivity in a year’s time. At least one person of a family will be given access initially,” the finance minister claimed.

    A tribal settlement in Malappuram was declared as the country’s first digital tribal colony last December. The district administration achieved this by training 100-odd families in carrying out cashless transactions.

    In 2016, the United Nations said depriving people of Internet connectivity was a human rights violation running contrary to international law.

    Internet connectivity is a human right in Sweden, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Estonia and Canada.

    According to a study conducted by Committee to Protect Journalists, the worst violator of this ‘right’ is North Korea (where only 4 per cent of the population have Internet access) – followed by Myanmar, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Syria, China and Pakistan. India ranks at 47.

  • Ambani advocates ‘Keep in India’ agenda for PM

    NEW DELHI: Industrialist and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, has made a strong pitch for “Keep In India” – an addition to the to-do list of the Modi government after Make in India, and Digital India

    Speaking at the India Today conclave in Mumbai over the weekend, Ambani spelt out a vision for how technology can provide solutions to the most challenging problems that India is facing –from education, financial inclusion, healthcare to job creation and entrepreneurship.

    But, he said, there was need to protect Indian data as India emerges as one of the leaders in steering the fourth industrial revolution. “As we enter the digital age, we must remember data and information is power. If the benefits of the Indian technology revolution are to be fully captured –we need to ensure that data remains in India…like Digital India, Make in India, we need Keep in India initiative to ensure data remains within India.”

    He said: “We cannot be arrogant about technology, it has to always serve the common man and we have to learn from the common man.” Apart from connecting 99 per cent Indians digitally, Ambani will be focusing on the education sector, along with his wife Nita Ambani in 2017.

    In his wish list for the prime minister Narendra Modi, Ambani said the challenge is now for execution. He said that India’s lack of existing physical, digital infrastructure is a boon. It takes away the burden of replacing or upgrading existing technology. The most challenging problems facing humanity in India will be solved using technology.

    He felt that India could be a leader in the fourth industrial revolution but the time was now to seize the opportunity to make India a prosperous nation.

    The real impoverishment he said is the denial of opportunity. “We should not allow any Indian to suffer from that poverty.”

  • Need to examine legalising sports betting, says Law Commission chairman

    NEW DELHI: Gaming 360, All India Gaming Federation’s one-stop portal for gaming related news and activities across India and around the globe, was launched here today to bringing the industry together and providing it with a platform where the stakeholders can make their voices heard.

    This was stated by AIGF CEO Roland Landers at the India Gaming Conclave here. He said, “We appreciate the presence of such dignitaries at the inaugural event and are hopeful that in the coming years it will witness more such powerful presence to help us make a difference.”

    Landers said India Gaming Conclave would now be an annual event for the stakeholders to converge and discuss on working towards a legalized and regulated gaming industry in India. The event aimed at educating and creating awareness on all aspects of gaming.

    Law Commission of India chairman Justice Dr. Balbir Singh Chauhan underlined the need to examine legalising sports betting by studying the social, economic and moral implications of any such move specifically under a liberalised regime. The myths and negative opinions on these issues have to be cleared, he emphasised.

    Delivering the keynote address at the Conclave (IGC) organized by FICCI jointly with All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), Justice Chauhan said individual freedom was the basic right “which we all look up to but the vulnerable sections of the society need protection at the same time”. While those in favour of legalising betting believe in the need to protect individual autonomy and minimum state interference, those disfavouring it believe that preserving societal order and morality was also important. Therefore, there was a need for reforms that aim at flexibility while ensuring freedom of choice for the consumers. Hence, there was a need to strike a balance between freedom and choice.

    He said that any attempt at legalising gambling and betting has to be made in the backdrop of this socio-economic reality. There was a grave risk that legalising this activity might adversely affect the social fabric of India. There were chances that people in a bid to earn quick money through gambling might resort to unlawful means. A comprehensive analysis of the socio-economic circumstances in light of the constitutional guidelines was thereby essential before framing an umbrella legislation that legalises gambling.

    There were certainly several adverse effects of gambling. The first problem with gambling was when a person becomes addicted and loses control over his/her gambling activities, resulting in financial losses that have an adverse impact on his/her personal, economic and social life. The second problem relates to the social repercussions that are a direct consequence of gambling. One fallout could be increased crime, loan sharking (taking loans at exorbitant rates for gambling), worsening of the living standards of the poor and lower middle class and changes in behavioural norms and social ethics.

    Justice Chauhan said that it must be kept in mind that these adverse effects arise not from gambling per se, but are a result of excessive gambling which results in addiction. Harm resulting from excess is not something which is limited to gambling alone, as an excess of anything may negate its benefits. A common analogy would be alcohol, which when taken in moderation causes no great harm to the individual or society and may help people to socialise and relax. However, if a person develops a habit or addiction to drunkenness, it will cause health problems for him, as well as adverse consequences for the society at large, such as increased crime, violence. The response of the state in such a situation should be to regulate the activity, not seek to stop it completely. Legalisation would give the government the opportunity to bring gambling out from the dark corners of the society, impose some controls and extract some revenue. Perhaps as importantly, if betting were legal then a huge chunk of money that, at the moment circulates only round the black market, would quickly become available.

    FICCI Director Rahul Chakravarty said sport and gaming were one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy with a lot of money flowing in the sector. Gambling regulation was not new to India with lotteries already being regulated business under state control.

    FICCI launched the debate on regulating online sports betting and lottery in India in 2012. This regulation was not just to restrict the illegal activities but could create a scope of revenue for the government to invest in social sectors apart from sports.

    He said that FICCI and AIGF will take forward the feedback on safety and security pertaining to gaming as well as other relevant issues. He added FICCI believes that this conclave will not only help in exchanging ideas and information but will initiate further policy work.

  • Amazon’s Amit Agarwal promoted as SVP in parent company

    MUMBAI: Amazon.com has promoted its India country head Amit Agarwal to the level of senior vice-president. Agarwal, who will continue to remain the India head for now, was the vice president at Amazon earlier. The company confirmed the news in an emailed statement.

    “This indicates how excited Amazon is about the progress the company is making in India, and the opportunity Amazon sees ahead,” it added.

    Amazon CEO and president Jeff Bezos recently included Agarwal in a senior leadership team that reports directly to him.

    Amazon entered India in June 2013, years after Flipkart (2007) and Snapdeal (2010) started. It has made more than $3 billion investments in the country and has $2 billion in its plan.

    Competition is further heating up as the Chinese e-tailer Alibaba gears up for a stronger play in India through Paytm.

  • Microsoft enables video calling on Android with Office 365 in 19 languages

    MUMBAI: Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced the general availability of Microsoft Teams, the company’s new chat-based workspace in Office 365. The new tool for team collaboration is now available to Office 365 business customers in 181 markets and 19 languages.

    Customers worldwide are choosing Microsoft Teams to enable collaboration within their organizations. Since announcing the preview in November, more than 50,000 organizations have started using Microsoft Teams, including Alaska Airlines, ConocoPhillips, Deloitte, Expedia, J.B. Hunt, J. Walter Thompson, Hendrick Motorsports, Sage, Trek Bicycle and Three UK.

    “In a world where information is abundant and human time and attention remain scarce, we aspire to help people and groups of people be more productive, wherever they are,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Office 365 is the broadest platform and universal toolkit for creation, collaboration and communication. Today we are adding a new tool to Office 365 with Microsoft Teams, a chat-based workspace designed to empower the art of teams.”

    Office 365 is designed to meet the unique workstyle of every group with purpose-built, integrated applications: Outlook for enterprise-grade email; SharePoint for intelligent content management; Yammer for networking across the organization; Skype for Business as the backbone for enterprise voice and video; and now, Microsoft Teams.

    According to Trek Bicycle vice president of global customer service Laurie Koch, “Microsoft Teams is already streamlining the company’s work by providing assets and tasks in context: “Across Trek’s global teams, the integrated collection of Office 365 apps serves up a common toolset to collaboratively drive the business forward. We see Microsoft Teams as the project hub of Office 365 where everybody knows where to find the latest documents, notes and tasks, all in line with team conversations for complete context. Teams is quickly becoming a key part of Trek’s get-things-done-fast culture.”

    Microsoft has introduced more than 100 new features to Teams since November, including: an enhanced meeting experience, with scheduling capabilities; mobile audio calling, with video calling on Android now and coming soon to iOS and Windows Phone; email integration; and new security and compliance capabilities. The company has also delivered new features to make Microsoft Teams accessible, such as support for screen readers, high contrast and keyboard-only navigation. Guest access capabilities and deeper integration with Outlook, and a richer developer platform are targeted for June of this year.

    Microsoft Teams brings together people, conversations and content, along with the tools that teams need. It’s integrated with familiar Office applications and is built from the ground up on Office 365 and Microsoft’s global, secured cloud. Microsoft Teams is built on four core promises:

    · Chat for today’s teams. Microsoft Teams provides a modern conversations experience, with threaded, persistent chat to keep everyone engaged. Team conversations can be either private or visible to the entire team, and users can access multiple teams, making it easy to switch between projects.

    · A hub for teamwork. The Office applications and services that teams use every day — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote and PowerBI— are all built-in, so people have the information and tools they need.

    ·Customization for every team. Microsoft Teams offers the ability to customize work spaces with tabs, connectors and bots from third-party partners as well as familiar Microsoft tools like Microsoft Planner and Visual Studio Team Services. Today, more than 150 integrations are available or coming soon, with companies like SAP, Trello, Hipmunk, Growbot and ModuleQ building on the platform.

    · Security teams trust. Microsoft Teams is built on the hyper-scale, enterprise-grade Office 365 cloud, delivering the advanced security and compliance capabilities our customers expect. Teams supports global standards including SOC 1, SOC 2, EU Model Clauses, ISO27001 and HIPAA.

  • Actors Apply associates with Vijayta & Lakhia for projects

    MUMBAI: ActorsApply.com is helping cast key characters for Apoorva Lakhia’s next, a romantic-thriller web series to be shot partially in India and London. The online system is also on the lookout for a debutante to star in Vijayta Films’ next, a much-anticipated venture starring Sunny Deol’s son, Karan Deol.

    From helping to find for actors for Ajay Devgn’s ‘Shivaay’ in New York, to helping discover actors for casting director Bharat Jha for ‘Housefull 3’ to further assisting Parag Mehta find talented actors for his biopic venture ‘Sarabjit’ and upcoming Bollywood film. The company has also helped search for talented actors for Dev Patel starrer ‘Hotel Mumbai’, an American-Australian thriller film.

    ActorsApply.com guarantees a seamless and secure screening process for actors as well as casting directors and filmmakers. While the latter have the option to release castings to actors and receive preferential submissions directly from them, actors can use the platform to gain industry insights on casting, auditioning techniques, tutorials and other useful information that can help them kick-start their careers.

    The ActorsApply app is further made available on IOS and Android.

    ActorsApply.com director Kartikaye Jhalani said, “It is an honor to work for the prestigious Vijayta Films as well as to associate with Apoorva Lakhia for his web series venture.”

    About his experience, Ajay Devgn said, “We were searching for a child actor for the character of Gaura for Shivaay and I was amazed at how quickly they turned our enquiry into auditions.”

    Lakhia said, “I cast supporting characters for my upcoming feature with their help and now I am hunting for over 100 characters for my web series ‘Kab Ke Bichde’.”

  • India takes significant initiative to secure cyber space

    MUMBAI: Extending the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign to the cyber world, the minister of electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has launched the Cyber Swachhta Kendra–Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre for analysis of malware and botnets that affect networks and systems. 

    This is a part of MeitY’s Digital India initiative aimed at creating a secure cyber space by detecting botnet infections in India and to notify, enable cleaning and securing systems of end-users to prevent further infections. The centre is operated by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).The Centre aims to enhance coordination between the Government and industry in order to encourage cyber hygiene among all end-users and to create a secure and safe internet ecosystem in India.

    Speaking on the occasion, Prasad said, “India is going to take a lead in the digitization process of the world. India today joined the distinguished club of countries that have malware cleaning systems for the use of its citizens. As of now, we have 13 Banks & internet service providers using this facility. With the expanding digital footprint in the country, I see a surge in start-ups in the area of cyber security by the end of the year.”

    “With the expanding role of Information and Communication technology across sectors and growth in volume of transactions and data exchange via internet, Cyber Security as reiterated by the prime minister, has emerged as the most critical factor when we move towards Digital India. Combating cyber threats is not something that can be done just by the government or an organisation or an individual alone. It requires a partnership approach. This centre being launched today will work in coordination with the Internet Service Providers and Industry. This Kendra will also enhance awareness among citizens regarding botnet and malware infection along with measures to be taken to secure their devices”, added Prasad.

    The minister made the following announcement at the launch of Cyber Swachhta Kendra:

    · The National Cyber Coordination Centre to be operational by June 2017
    · Sectoral CERTs to be created, that would operate under CERT-In
    · CERTs are to be set up in the state level as well
    · 10 more STQC (Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification) Testing Facilities to be set up
    · Testing fee for any star-up that comes up with a digital technology in the quest of cyber security, to be reduced by 50%
    · Empower designated Forensic Labs to work as the certified authority to establish cyber crime

    The Centre will operate in close co-ordination and collaboration with Internet Service Providers (ISP) and Anti-Virus companies. Whenever an infection is detected, the Centre will send alerts on the infected IP addresses to the Internet Service Providers, who in turn will inform the end-user about the malware and botnet infections on their system. The Centre will also work in close collaboration with the Banks to detect malware infections in their banking network and enable remedial actions. The launch of the Centre will help the Internet service providers and the banks to keep their networks clean and prevent cases of cyber fraud and theft.

    Ministry of electronics and information technology Aruna Sundararajan said, “With the increased penetration of ICT infrastructure in our country, the threat of cyber security has become more serious and visible. Today, the common man is confronted with hacking, spamming, malware and loss of data, yet public awareness about these issues and how to protect themselves is extremely low. There is a need to collaborate and come forth with solutions like the Cyber Swachhta Kendra in order to ensure a safe and secure cyber world for the citizens of India.”

    With the growth in digitalization and proliferation of broadband and mobile internet, security of end users’ systems is vital for enhancing their trust in ICT and online transactions. User information from the computer and the mobile devices can be compromised if systems get affected with Bots. Users therefore need to practice a rigid cyber hygiene regimen to prevent malware infections on their systems and to ensure security of their systems through suitable anti-malware tools. The Cyber Swachhta Kendra will provide free tools for detection and removal of malicious programmes. More than 3500 users have currently downloaded and tried the free bot removal tools till date. The end-user can log on to the Cyber Swachhta Kendra Portal (www.cyberswachhtakendra.gov.in) and clean their systems using the free cleaning tools. Users can also educate themselves about the various cyber threats and get information on the security tips in order to secure their computers, mobiles and prevent infections in their systems.

    Given below are details of some of the tools released for citizens:

    · USB Pratirodh -A desktop security solution, which protects from USB mass storage device threats.
    · AppSamvid – A desktop solution which protects systems by allowing installation of genuine applications through white listing. This helps in preventing threats from malicious applications. 
    · M-Kavach – An indigenously developed solution to address the security threats in mobiles.

    Also Read:

    Rs 12 billion budgeted for ‘Digital India’ ’17-18

    Cyberbullying may lead to depression in Asian kids

    India, US renew commitment to work on cyber security

  • ‘Budget’ on mobile: Engagement highest among 20-24-yr olds, says Kantar IMRB & MMA study

    MUMBAI: Kantar IMRB, along with Mobile Marketing Association (MMA India), jointly studied the impact of Budget 2017 on mobile platforms. Kantar IMRB’s Mobi Track smartphone usage panel was used to analyse consumption of budget related content in the weeks leading upto and during the Budget 2017 presentation. 

    Coming in the wake of demonetisation, the 2017 Budget was an eagerly anticipated event. As a result, News platforms saw a surge in traction driven in large part by the budget related narratives. A steady diet of budget forecasts contributed to an increase in overall time-spent in the days leading up to the Budget presentation. This was followed by a massive spike in engagement on 1 February, the day of the Budget announcement. 

    A second spike in traction was witnessed over the weekend following the budget, as readers caught up on in-depth analyses and the long term implications of the budget announcements.  News aggregators drew the lion’s share of engagement among smartphone users — the top two aggregators accounted for almost 60 per cent of total time-spent on news related content. 

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    TOI was the most popular of the standalone platforms with twice the traction of its nearest competitor Zee News. Platforms such as Dainik Jagran, Inshorts, and Aaj Tak saw the highest gains in traffic during this time.

    “Looking at the data from Kantar IMRB’s Mobi Trak smartphone usage panel—the surge in budget-related news consumption confirms people’s attention and interest in the event. Engagement levels were expectedly highest among the digital generation i.e. 20-24 year olds — they accounted for the highest Reach and Time Spent  across all demographics. The desire for multiple points-of view was evident in the strong preference for news aggregators, a stark contrast to the behaviour of offline-readers who tend to limit their reading to a handful of print publications”, said Kantar IMRB MD – media | digital & chief strategy officer Hemant Mehta.

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    “News consumption is undergoing two fundamental shifts across the globe including India. One is the rise in the news audience accessing news via their mobile devices, the other is the increase in people who read or watch news through social platforms. The multiple spikes during 2017 budget showcases how fast Indians have adopted reading news not just in English but also in multiple languages (15+). It is important to note the second spike post budget day – the time spend is actually higher during the weekend and indicates that apart from short news Indians also reached out to various mobile news sources for longer in-depth analysis post the budget day. With rapid changes in the mobile landscape it is important to keep a continuous pulse on the way consumers interact and these passive probes and insights on mobile usage in India by MMA and Kantar IMRB are of critical importance to the modern day marketers as they acknowledge Mobile as the 3rd largest advertising medium in India, after TV and Print. Mobile Ad spends estimated to be Rs.4200 crore in 2016 are expected to grow to Rs.10,000 crore in 2018 [Source: Mobile Ecosystem and Ad-Sizing Report India 2016]”, said MMA India manager Preeti Desai.