ITV

Tag: Ahmedabad

  • DAS extension: Karnataka HC reserves order till 16 April

    DAS extension: Karnataka HC reserves order till 16 April

    BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: The Karnataka High Court is set to decide on 16 April whether the stay on Digital Addressable System (DAS) roll-out in Bengaluru and Mysore will continue after the hearing in the matter concluded today.

    The HC reserved its order after hearing arguments of Union of India represented through Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), which had impleaded itself in the case on Monday.

    Earlier, the HC had heard arguments from petitioners Karnataka State Cable TV Operators (KSCOA) and Mysore Cable TV Operators Association (MCOA) and Multi System Operators (MSOs), the respondents in the case.

    The interim order restraining MSOs from disconnecting analog signals continues in both the cities.

    The KSCOA and MCOA had filed petitions, which were later clubbed together, seeking relief in digitisation deadline due to shortage of Set Top Boxes (STBs) and lack of clarity on STB ownership.

    The MSOs and IBF have sought the dismissal of petition on the ground that a large number of homes have already been seeded and there is no need for an extension to seed STBs in the remaining homes.

    Hearing in Gujarat adjourned till 16 April

    Meanwhile, the hearing of digitisation extension case in the Gujarat High Court could not take place as the court was pre-occupied with other matters. The HC has adjourned the case till 16 April which means that the stay in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara will continue.

    The Cable Operators Association of Gujarat (COAG) had filed a petition seeking postponement of digitisation due to shortage of STBs. The COAG through its president Pramod Pandya has filed a rejoinder to an affidavit filed by I&B ministry.

    Pandya said STBs ordered from China has failed to arrive because of internal problems in that country and therefore the local cable operators (LCOs) should be given more time to seed STBs in all the homes.

    The Government has already switched off analogue signals in the remaining 30 cities that were covered under phase II of digitisation beginning 1 April.

    Along with Karnataka and Gujarat, digitisation has also been stayed in two cities of Andhra Pradesh – Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam – where the hearing is expected to commence next week.

    Also read:

    Stay continues in Karnataka and Gujarat as courts adjourn hearing to 10 April

    IBF joins MSOs to oppose DAS extension in Bengaluru and Mysore

    Stay continues in Bengaluru and Mysore as HC pushes hearing to 8 April

    DAS Phase II: Karnataka HC extends hearing to 5 April, stay to continue in Bengaluru

  • Stay continues in Karnataka and Gujarat as courts adjourn hearing to 10 April

    Stay continues in Karnataka and Gujarat as courts adjourn hearing to 10 April

    NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The stay on digitisation of cable television will continue in six cities of Gujarat and Karnataka as the High Courts in both the states decided to continue hearing tomorrow of the petitions filed against the digital addressable system (DAS) on the ground of shortage of set top boxes (STBs).

    The stay on switching off analogue signals has been put off till further orders in the cities of Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara as the counsel for the Union of India could not appear for the hearing due to personal reasons. The matter has been adjourned for tomorrow.

    Justice Rajesh Shukla of the Gujarat High Court directed the petitioner Cable Operators Association of Gujarat through its president Pramod Pandya to file by tomorrow his rejoinder to the affidavit filed by the Information & Broadcasting ministry.

    Justice S Abdul Nazeer of the Karnataka High Court also extended the stay in Bengaluru and Mysore after the hearing writ petition filed by the Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association (KSCOA) remained inconclusive. The hearing will continue tomorrow.

    The petitioners, Karnataka State Cable TV Operators (KSCOA), and one set of respondents -the MSOs‘ legal representatives – finished their arguments in the matter that ran throughout the day.

    It is now the turn of the other respondents – the Union of India through I&B ministry and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) to present their arguments against the writ petition tomorrow.

    The IBF has impleaded itself as a party in both Gujarat and Karnataka, primarily to argue that there should be no delay in implementation of DAS.

    In its petition, the Cable Operators Association of Gujarat has said that there is shortage of set top boxes and no clarity on acquisition of these boxes.

    The Government has already switched off the analogue television signals in Phase II from the midnight of 31 March.
    Pandya said over phone from Ahmedabad that STBs ordered from China had failed to arrive because of internal problems in that country and therefore the local cable operators could not be penalized for this.

    As reported earlier, KSCOA filed a writ petition against the implementation of the second phase of the Digital Addressable System (DAS) that was to be implemented on 1 April onwards in Bengaluru. Other petitions filed against DAS in Mysore and some other LCOs were clubbed together.

    Meanwhile, digitisation has also been stayed in Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam and the case is coming up for hearing before the Andhra Pradesh High Court next week.

  • I&B sec Varma: “DAS Phase II roll-out smooth”

    I&B sec Varma: “DAS Phase II roll-out smooth”

    NEW DELHI: India‘s historical march towards cable television digitisation has taken a giant leap forward with the government expressing satisfaction over the implementation of Digital Addressable System (DAS) that covered 38 cities and towns in phase II.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said that analogue signals had been switched off in 33 of the 38 towns at the stroke of midnight of 31 March.

    A confident Varma expressed that the success of the first and second phase of digitisation has strengthened his resolve that government‘s digitisation initiative was on track to be completed before the 31 December 2014 deadline.

    Five cities in Gujarat and Karnataka have been left out since there was a stay by Gujarat and Karnataka High Courts on DAS. Overall 75 per cent of the television homes in these 38 cities have been digitised, said Varma.

    In Gujarat, digitisation in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot has reached 50 per cent with Vadodara leading the pack with 70 per cent digitisation.

    Varma also asserted that seven cities including Hyderabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Allahabad out of the 38 had 100 per cent digitisation, while another nine had achieved over 75 per cent.

    However, he did confess that towns like Srinagar, Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore were slow in seeding of STBs. Around 12 million of the 16 million TV households had been digitised, he said.

    He said the Ministry was keeping a watch on the situation with regard to STBs and said his information was that there were enough STBs at present for all the 38 cities in fourteen states and one union territory.

    “It was a mammoth task and I am happy that the switch-over had been smooth, without any law and order problems,” he said in a candid conversation.

    Asked about the 48-hour cable TV blackout in Delhi, Varma brushed it aside by saying that it has been an abject failure. He, however added that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will look into the grievances of the LCOs.

  • PVR Director’s Rare to re-release Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay on 22 March

    PVR Director’s Rare to re-release Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay on 22 March

    MUMBAI: PVR Director‘s Rare is all set to re-release Mira Nair‘s multiple awards winning film, Salaam Bombay on 22 March in its zest to commemorate twenty five years of the film that brought innumerable accolades to India.

    Speaking on the re-release, PVR Ltd JMD Sanjeev Kumar Bijli said, "I am immensely pleased to announce the re-release of Salaam Bombay through PVR Director‘s Rare. The movie is a stunning chronicle that opened doors for Indian cinema globally. Through our platform PVR Director‘s Rare, it is an excellent opportunity to revive Salaam Bombay for today‘s audiences. Mira Nair has effectively captured the struggle of the street children and the true essence of a city like Mumbai. We hope to continue bringing such meaningful cinema to our patrons in the future too."

    Salaam Bombay is a gritty tale set in the red light district in Mumbai and chronicles the day-to-day life of street children, drug-pushers, pimps & prostitutes. It follows the life of a young kid Krishna who has come to the big city to earn Rs. 500 and is nurturing the dream of going back to his mother someday. The actors in the movie were real prostitutes and the street kids of the city.

    It won the National Award for Best Film and 25 international awards, including two at Cannes- the Camera D‘Or and the Prix Publique (the most popular film in the festival). It was selected as one of the best 1,000 movies ever made by a leading publication in New York. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for best foreign language film.

    The film will release on 22 March in PVR Cinemas and Cinemax at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune and Gurgaon through the PVR Director‘s Rare banner.

  • PVR to celebrate 85th Academy Awards from 15-21 Feb

    PVR to celebrate 85th Academy Awards from 15-21 Feb

    MUMBAI: PVR, the leading entertainment company in India, will be celebrating the 85th Academy Awards by showcasing popularly celebrated movies at the Oscars at PVR multiplexes from 15-21 February in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad.

    The multiplex brand, PVR intends to keep the movie lovers hooked with an interesting showcase of movies like Silver Linings Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, Life of PI, Les Miserables and The Impossible.

    PVR JMD Sanjeev Bijli said, “We feel delighted to showcase the Oscar nominated movies known for its excellence in cinematic achievements at PVR cinemas. With the film fraternity looking up to the Academy Awards for its quality cinema and global outlook, it is a feeling of pride to celebrate the Oscars.

    “Over the years, PVR has offered to its movie aficionados an interesting mix of movies, satiating the appetite of entertainment of different classes. We at PVR cinemas intend to bring quality entertainment to our audience so that it does not have to wait to catch its favorite stars, action and drama for long.”

  • Cinépolis eyes expansion in India

    Cinépolis eyes expansion in India

    NEW DELHI: Cinépolis, which is said to be in talks for acquiring Cinemax, has served six million patrons in India within less than three years of operations.

    The world‘s fourth largest cinema chain and India‘s first international exhibitor is driven by progressive international technology such as 3D screens with Real-D technology, Dolby 7.1 surround sound and 100 per cent digital 2k screens across its outlets in India.

    Cinépolis India MD and country head Milan Saini said, “Our phenomenal growth has inspired us to bring further entertainment options to the country like launching India‘s first Cinépolis VIP, our pioneering luxury cinema brand at Ludhiana. This underscores the acceptance and appreciation of International cinema experience and Cinépolis as a brand.”

    Cinépolis has over one million member strong loyalty programme called ‘Club Cinépolis‘.

    Cinépolis India exhibition head Ashish Shukla said, “Our constant endeavour is to reach the next level and offer our cinegoers the best end to end cinema experience. We have connected with our patrons through their preferred communications channel, facebook even before we launch in the city and include their feedback and expectations in our plan. This has worked magnificently for our cinemas.”

    At present, Cinépolis operates in eight Indian cities namely Amritsar, Patna, Thane, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhopal, Ludhiana and Bangalore. The company plans to open 500 screens in the country by 2016.

  • Cinépolis launches multiplex at Ludhiana

    NEW DELHI: Cinépolis today launched a five-screen, fully digital multiplex at Ludhiana with a seating capacity of 1,376 seats.

    The cinema will bring together Real D, the world‘s best 3D technology, Hollywood standard 2k digital screens and 7.1 Dolby digital audio. After Amritsar, this would be the second Cinépolis in Punjab.

     
    Cinepolis India managing director and country head Milan Saini said, “We are pleased to open the biggest cinema of Ludhiana. Our patrons can look forward to a state of the art movie going experience that will feature our world class service, a great ambience and the latest and most advanced audio and video technologies.”

    Cinépolis currently operates at Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Patna and Surat. Starting 2011 with 4 screens, Cinépolis now has 37 screens across all four geographic zones.

  • UTV Spotboy to release Kai Po Che! on 11 Jan

    UTV Spotboy to release Kai Po Che! on 11 Jan

    MUMBAI: UTV Spotboy will release Kai Po Che!, the adaptation of Chetan Bhagat‘s bestseller ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life’, on 11 January next year.

    ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life’ is the story of three friends based in the city of Ahmedabad. The plot sees a young boy in Ahmedabad named Govind dream of starting a business. To accommodate his friends Ishaan (the central character) and Omi‘s passion which is cricket, they open a cricket goods and training shop.

    However, each has a different motive: Govind‘s goal is to make money; Ishaan desires to nurture Ali, a gifted batsman; Omi just wants to be with his friends. The events that transpire against the backdrop of all that occurred in the city during that time, change the lives of each of the friends in different ways.

    The film, containing dollops of fun, friendship and masti, highlights the coming of age of a group of three middle-class youth. It will star Sushant Singh Rajput, Raj Kumar Yadav and Amit Sadh in the lead.

    The film is being shot extensively in Gujarat – Ahmedabad, Porbandar, Sabarmati, Vadnagar and Diu.

  • Bond film shooting in India gets I&B nod

    Bond film shooting in India gets I&B nod

    MUMBAI: Giving a reprieve to thousands of James Bond fans who were dejected because the producers of the next installment of the film couldn’t get permission to shoot in India, the Information & Broadcasting (I & B) ministry has given its nod to the makers to shoot across the country.

    The I&B ministry has given permission to the producers to shoot the latest Bond film Bond 23 in places like Daryaganj, Sarojini Nagar market and Ansari Road in the capital. As per the makers request, they have been given permission to shoot in North Goa with the exception of the tunnel at Dudhsagar (south-eastern railway) and Zuari rail bridge over Zuari river (Konkan railways) due to security concerns.

    In Ahmedabad, the producers had sought permission to shoot near the Navagam area that is close to installations like Torrent Power limited, ONGC and IOC. The ministry has asked them to ensure that permissions are taken from the railway ministry and the state government. It is said that talks with the railway ministry were on regarding these particular locales.

    Bond 23 will be the latest addition to films that have already been given permission to shoot in India. Twenty-two films including the Tom Cruise-starrer Mission Impossible, Life of Pi, Singularity and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel have already got clearance to shoot in the country.

  • Zee Business, SBI to launch Emerging Business Forum

    Zee Business, SBI to launch Emerging Business Forum

    MUMBAI: Zee Business, in alliance with the State Bank of India, is launching a show, Emerging Business Forum, on 17 December.

    The show will highlight the success of SME clusters and empower emerging business enterprises to achieve growth and development.

    The 13-part series will focus on crystallizing concerns, identifying and addressing local environment as well as eco systems issues. The forum will propose financing strategies for competitiveness in the global economy and facilitate regional hubs to imbibe quality management processes and IT innovation for business growth.

    Emerging Business Forum will be in the format of a panel discussion that will be conducted across ten important cities of India which include Agra, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur, Indore, Ludhiana, Meerut, Moradabad, Pune and Tirupur.

    Zee Business head Raktim Das said, “Our objective is to empower India’s SME clusters and look at the key challenges and imperatives to enable them become world class business hubs.”