Category: iWorld

  • Facebook-FICCI to promote social sector innovations

    Facebook-FICCI to promote social sector innovations

    NEW DELHI: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Facebook have joined to augment the Millennium Alliance (MA) initiative.

    Facebook has joined hands with FICCI as an Outreach and Knowledge partner to support and expand the development of the social enterprise sector in India. Both share the commitment to promote replication and scale of the selected social enterprise innovations across the South Asia and Africa regions in the identified priority areas of sanitation, education, health care, clean energy and agriculture.

    Facebook and FICCI together will also engage in organizing regular workshops & webinars for shortlisted applicants to promote the effectiveness of Facebook as a tool for promoting business and social innovations apart from helping them reach out and connect to relevant resources globally.

    The Millennium Alliance is an inclusive platform to leverage Indian creativity, expertise, and resources to identify, scale and expand the outreach of innovative solutions being developed and tested in India to address development challenges that will benefit ‘base of the pyramid’ populations across India and the world.

    The Millennium Alliance (MA) was launched in July 2012 jointly by the Technology Development Board of the Department of Science and Technology; USAID and FICCI to recognize India’s role as a global innovation laboratory, by identifying, testing and scaling solutions that leverage private and public sector resources and expertise to reduce the cost and increase the reach of development improvements in India and around the world. ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, ICCo Cooperation, UKAID, WISH Foundation & World Bank subsequently came on board as Program Partners. The MA aims to create significant developmental impact at the base of the pyramid population. So far, MA has funded 62 projects, dispersing close to Rs. 55,00,00,000 in its key focus sectors.

  • Facebook-FICCI to promote social sector innovations

    Facebook-FICCI to promote social sector innovations

    NEW DELHI: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Facebook have joined to augment the Millennium Alliance (MA) initiative.

    Facebook has joined hands with FICCI as an Outreach and Knowledge partner to support and expand the development of the social enterprise sector in India. Both share the commitment to promote replication and scale of the selected social enterprise innovations across the South Asia and Africa regions in the identified priority areas of sanitation, education, health care, clean energy and agriculture.

    Facebook and FICCI together will also engage in organizing regular workshops & webinars for shortlisted applicants to promote the effectiveness of Facebook as a tool for promoting business and social innovations apart from helping them reach out and connect to relevant resources globally.

    The Millennium Alliance is an inclusive platform to leverage Indian creativity, expertise, and resources to identify, scale and expand the outreach of innovative solutions being developed and tested in India to address development challenges that will benefit ‘base of the pyramid’ populations across India and the world.

    The Millennium Alliance (MA) was launched in July 2012 jointly by the Technology Development Board of the Department of Science and Technology; USAID and FICCI to recognize India’s role as a global innovation laboratory, by identifying, testing and scaling solutions that leverage private and public sector resources and expertise to reduce the cost and increase the reach of development improvements in India and around the world. ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, ICCo Cooperation, UKAID, WISH Foundation & World Bank subsequently came on board as Program Partners. The MA aims to create significant developmental impact at the base of the pyramid population. So far, MA has funded 62 projects, dispersing close to Rs. 55,00,00,000 in its key focus sectors.

  • Voot launches show on 2016 urban marriages

    Voot launches show on 2016 urban marriages

    MUMBAI: Voot, Viacom18’s digital VOD platform, has added one more feather to its original shows’ hat. It has announced the launch of their new web-series, It’s Not That Simple. Slated to go online from 6 October, the six-part show is a first of its kind relationship drama that explores the complexities of urban marriages.

    Written by Charudutt Acharya and directed by Danish Aslam, the story is about a school reunion, which along with fond memories also brings back a little part of Meera that was lost in the process of just being a wife. Tempting her to go on a journey to find her lost self again, is an unfinished love triangle from days bygone. The story further develops based on the decisions the lead protagonist takes.

    “The one box that digital content needs to check is being relatable to the viewer. And relationships & marriage in India are going through a dynamic change from the classic interpretation we are used to. We really wanted to take a closer look at urban marriages in 2016 with all their pressures and challenges… because at the end of it, marriage is the one choice that is life altering, good or bad, it’s really not that simple,” said VOOT head programming Monika Shergill.

    The starcast of the show includes Swara Bhaskar as Meera, along with Vivan Bhatena as Rajeev, Akshay Oberoi as Sameer and Karanveer Mehra as Jayesh.

  • Voot launches show on 2016 urban marriages

    Voot launches show on 2016 urban marriages

    MUMBAI: Voot, Viacom18’s digital VOD platform, has added one more feather to its original shows’ hat. It has announced the launch of their new web-series, It’s Not That Simple. Slated to go online from 6 October, the six-part show is a first of its kind relationship drama that explores the complexities of urban marriages.

    Written by Charudutt Acharya and directed by Danish Aslam, the story is about a school reunion, which along with fond memories also brings back a little part of Meera that was lost in the process of just being a wife. Tempting her to go on a journey to find her lost self again, is an unfinished love triangle from days bygone. The story further develops based on the decisions the lead protagonist takes.

    “The one box that digital content needs to check is being relatable to the viewer. And relationships & marriage in India are going through a dynamic change from the classic interpretation we are used to. We really wanted to take a closer look at urban marriages in 2016 with all their pressures and challenges… because at the end of it, marriage is the one choice that is life altering, good or bad, it’s really not that simple,” said VOOT head programming Monika Shergill.

    The starcast of the show includes Swara Bhaskar as Meera, along with Vivan Bhatena as Rajeev, Akshay Oberoi as Sameer and Karanveer Mehra as Jayesh.

  • YuppTV set to close Rs 100-crore plus funding

    YuppTV set to close Rs 100-crore plus funding

    MUMBAI: The OTT video space is slated to get hyper-competitive with a slew of broadcaster-led players and even deep-pocketed telcos haring into it. YuppTV, one of the early movers, has now decided to fortify its financial resources in a bid to face the onslaught.

    The company – led by Uday Reddy – says it is on the threshold of closing its second round of funding which will see it adding funds running into three digit crore to its kitty. Speaking to Hindu BusinessLine, Reddy said that the company has already pocketed $15 million in its Series A, and was about to close its next round of fund-raising.

    Reddy sees the market heading toward consolidation. “We are contemplating acquiring a firm to strengthen our leadership,” Reddy informed BusinessLine. YuppTV has also appointed the Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu as its brand ambassador.

    It offers a bouquet of services including 200 TV channels, seven-day catch-up TV, 100-plus TV shows, and 5,000 plus movies as a VOD service. Its subscription packages vary from Rs 5 a day to Rs 30 a week to Rs 99 a month.

    YuppTV is taking a major step with making Babu the ambassador. Babu is a big name of Tollywood, and it is sure that the collaboration will work great for the promotion of the channel.

    The web portal of YuppTV was established in 2006, offers more than 898 Indian TV Channels in 13 languages that include Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, Gujarati, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Urdu and English. The best part of YuppTV is it allows access through 25 devices to six screens, Internet STBs, connected TVs, PCs, smart phones, smart BluRay players, gaming consoles and tablets.

  • YuppTV set to close Rs 100-crore plus funding

    YuppTV set to close Rs 100-crore plus funding

    MUMBAI: The OTT video space is slated to get hyper-competitive with a slew of broadcaster-led players and even deep-pocketed telcos haring into it. YuppTV, one of the early movers, has now decided to fortify its financial resources in a bid to face the onslaught.

    The company – led by Uday Reddy – says it is on the threshold of closing its second round of funding which will see it adding funds running into three digit crore to its kitty. Speaking to Hindu BusinessLine, Reddy said that the company has already pocketed $15 million in its Series A, and was about to close its next round of fund-raising.

    Reddy sees the market heading toward consolidation. “We are contemplating acquiring a firm to strengthen our leadership,” Reddy informed BusinessLine. YuppTV has also appointed the Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu as its brand ambassador.

    It offers a bouquet of services including 200 TV channels, seven-day catch-up TV, 100-plus TV shows, and 5,000 plus movies as a VOD service. Its subscription packages vary from Rs 5 a day to Rs 30 a week to Rs 99 a month.

    YuppTV is taking a major step with making Babu the ambassador. Babu is a big name of Tollywood, and it is sure that the collaboration will work great for the promotion of the channel.

    The web portal of YuppTV was established in 2006, offers more than 898 Indian TV Channels in 13 languages that include Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, Gujarati, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Urdu and English. The best part of YuppTV is it allows access through 25 devices to six screens, Internet STBs, connected TVs, PCs, smart phones, smart BluRay players, gaming consoles and tablets.

  • Spuul expands Punjabi content library

    Spuul expands Punjabi content library

    MUMBAI: Video-on-demand platform Spuul has expanded its Punjabi content library with a collection of over 100 movies. It has added movies from leading Punjabi content producers and distributors such as Lokdhun, Unisys, Daddy Mohan Records, Speed Records, Kumar Films, Yellow Music, etc.

    As one of its firsts, the platform will be showcasing the exclusive premiere of Atishbaazi Ishq starring Mahie Gill and Roshan Prince within a week of its theatrical release early next month.

    “We enjoy the patronage of a large number of Punjabi users across the globe. Adding Punjabi language content to our already vast Hindi catalogue is a natural progression. Considering the huge improvement in the quality of Punjabi films being produced today, they are appealling to a much wider audience. We are excited to provide to our 18 million viewers across India, Pakistan, Canada, Australia & NZ, UK, US and Middle East with better, newer and fresher Punjabi content,” said Spuul India CEO Rajiv Vaidya.

    It also exclusively showcased Jimmy Shergill’s Vaisakhi List for the first 2 months of its digital release.

    The other popular & highest grossing titles in the Spuul catalogue are Jatt & Juliet 1&2, animated blockbuster Chaar Sahibzaade.

  • Spuul expands Punjabi content library

    Spuul expands Punjabi content library

    MUMBAI: Video-on-demand platform Spuul has expanded its Punjabi content library with a collection of over 100 movies. It has added movies from leading Punjabi content producers and distributors such as Lokdhun, Unisys, Daddy Mohan Records, Speed Records, Kumar Films, Yellow Music, etc.

    As one of its firsts, the platform will be showcasing the exclusive premiere of Atishbaazi Ishq starring Mahie Gill and Roshan Prince within a week of its theatrical release early next month.

    “We enjoy the patronage of a large number of Punjabi users across the globe. Adding Punjabi language content to our already vast Hindi catalogue is a natural progression. Considering the huge improvement in the quality of Punjabi films being produced today, they are appealling to a much wider audience. We are excited to provide to our 18 million viewers across India, Pakistan, Canada, Australia & NZ, UK, US and Middle East with better, newer and fresher Punjabi content,” said Spuul India CEO Rajiv Vaidya.

    It also exclusively showcased Jimmy Shergill’s Vaisakhi List for the first 2 months of its digital release.

    The other popular & highest grossing titles in the Spuul catalogue are Jatt & Juliet 1&2, animated blockbuster Chaar Sahibzaade.

  • Amazon Prime to air ‘Baahubali’ animation series

    Amazon Prime to air ‘Baahubali’ animation series

    NEW DELHI: The magnum opus ‘Baahubali’, a film that earned over Rs 6000 million in worldwide box office collections, is now being turned into a new multi-episode animated series titled – “Baahubali: The Lost Legends”.

    This was announced by Amazon Prime Video which has tied up wth acclaimed filmmaker SS Rajamouli, Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks.

    “S.S. Rajamouli is one of the most visionary movie minds in current times and we are thrilled to have him launch this exclusive series, Baahubali: The Lost Legends,” said Amazon Prime Video India Director and Country Head Nitesh Kripalani in a statement, adding, “The animation series will allow our customers to discover hidden stories and legends from the Baahubali world. And now for the first time, customers can watch the exclusive trailer first on www.Amazon.in”

    “What we managed to showcase in the film was just the tip of the iceberg,” said director Rajamouli. “From the minute I started working on this story, I knew the world of ‘Baahubali’ cannot be encompassed into a film or two, simply because there is so much more to tell and animation is another way to do that.”

    Graphic India Co-Founder & CEO Sharad Devarajan feels that filled with political intrigue, betrayal, war, action and adventure, the animated series will take audiences on new adventures beyond the film.

    As a part of festive celebrations, customers can watch the exclusive teaser trailer of `Baahubali: The Lost Legends’, the animated series, exclusively on www.Amazon.in only on 1 and 2 October 2016.

    The animated series was conceived by S S Rajamouli, Sharad Devarajan and Arka Mediaworks, who will all be producers along with Jeevan J. Kang, Graphic’s EVP Creative and the lead character designer for the new animated series. Graphic’s senior animation writer, Ashwin Pande, will also be a producer.

    According to Arka Mediaworks CEO Shobu Yarlagadda, “Having created so many iconic stories and characters, there is no one more equipped than Graphic India, to take the story of Baahubali forward. We are very excited for what’s to come.”

    Baahubali: The Lost Legends is set before the Kalakeya invasion depicted in the movie, when Baahubali and Bhallaladeva are still both young princes of Mahishmati. Two brothers competing to rule the greatest kingdom of its age and the epic adventures they must endure to prove they are worthy to one day wear the crown. Under the watchful eye of Sivagami, and the warrior Katappa, one shall rise to be King of the throne, while the other shall become King of the people.

    The animated series will feature new, never before revealed stories about the characters from the film including Prince Baahubali, Bhallaladeva, Kattapa and Sivagami as well as dozens of new characters that will expand the world of Baahubali and reveal hidden secrets for millions of fans, an official statement stated.

  • Amazon Prime to air ‘Baahubali’ animation series

    Amazon Prime to air ‘Baahubali’ animation series

    NEW DELHI: The magnum opus ‘Baahubali’, a film that earned over Rs 6000 million in worldwide box office collections, is now being turned into a new multi-episode animated series titled – “Baahubali: The Lost Legends”.

    This was announced by Amazon Prime Video which has tied up wth acclaimed filmmaker SS Rajamouli, Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks.

    “S.S. Rajamouli is one of the most visionary movie minds in current times and we are thrilled to have him launch this exclusive series, Baahubali: The Lost Legends,” said Amazon Prime Video India Director and Country Head Nitesh Kripalani in a statement, adding, “The animation series will allow our customers to discover hidden stories and legends from the Baahubali world. And now for the first time, customers can watch the exclusive trailer first on www.Amazon.in”

    “What we managed to showcase in the film was just the tip of the iceberg,” said director Rajamouli. “From the minute I started working on this story, I knew the world of ‘Baahubali’ cannot be encompassed into a film or two, simply because there is so much more to tell and animation is another way to do that.”

    Graphic India Co-Founder & CEO Sharad Devarajan feels that filled with political intrigue, betrayal, war, action and adventure, the animated series will take audiences on new adventures beyond the film.

    As a part of festive celebrations, customers can watch the exclusive teaser trailer of `Baahubali: The Lost Legends’, the animated series, exclusively on www.Amazon.in only on 1 and 2 October 2016.

    The animated series was conceived by S S Rajamouli, Sharad Devarajan and Arka Mediaworks, who will all be producers along with Jeevan J. Kang, Graphic’s EVP Creative and the lead character designer for the new animated series. Graphic’s senior animation writer, Ashwin Pande, will also be a producer.

    According to Arka Mediaworks CEO Shobu Yarlagadda, “Having created so many iconic stories and characters, there is no one more equipped than Graphic India, to take the story of Baahubali forward. We are very excited for what’s to come.”

    Baahubali: The Lost Legends is set before the Kalakeya invasion depicted in the movie, when Baahubali and Bhallaladeva are still both young princes of Mahishmati. Two brothers competing to rule the greatest kingdom of its age and the epic adventures they must endure to prove they are worthy to one day wear the crown. Under the watchful eye of Sivagami, and the warrior Katappa, one shall rise to be King of the throne, while the other shall become King of the people.

    The animated series will feature new, never before revealed stories about the characters from the film including Prince Baahubali, Bhallaladeva, Kattapa and Sivagami as well as dozens of new characters that will expand the world of Baahubali and reveal hidden secrets for millions of fans, an official statement stated.