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Tag: Amar Chitra Katha

  • Age-appropriate ‘safe’ content is taken from Nat Geo Kids, Sony & Amar Chitra: Shirsa

    MUMBAI: Shirsa, a company specialising in enabling content publishers to engage-new age kids online and offline, has taken care of parental concerns on content and safety over internet and time spent on digital devices. The contents are age-appropriate and are based on user behaviour from renowned content partners such as National Geographic Kids, British Council, Amar Chitra Katha, Sony Music India, TED Ed and more,” said Shirsa co-founder and CEO Sukhada Tendulkar.

    As the kids’ television time is shifting to internet based devices, the time spent by them on the online devices is continuously on the rise. At the same time parents want their kids to learn from every interaction on the internet. This encouraged Tendulkar and Mandar Desai to start Shirsa as a ‘Kids Engagement Company’ which is primed to encourage children to be curious and have fun.The opportunity Shirsa sees is engaging kids globally, through interactive edutainment which includes entertaining content with educational value, gamification, interactive features offered through multiple platforms.

    While it all starts with the brain, Shirsa has consciously correlated itself to being curious and as we know – Curious is fun. There is no better way to get kids involved in learning than getting them curious. Curiosity is nothing but an appetite for knowledge. It is the spark behind ideas, ideas that ignite reasoning and great learning. Today’s children or the ‘digital natives’ (children of digital era, always surrounded by technology) have access to technology at their fingertips. Digital music, video players, mobile phones, video games and the like have changed the way we receive and process information! Fundamentally, they ‘think’ differently than the previous generations. And that’s a greatest challenge as well as a boon when it comes to building educational tools for kids. Challenge – because the content has to compete with the round-the-clock ‘edutainment’ kids live with and be exciting and engaging enough to grasp the attention of the kids. And a boon – because kids love anything digital and anything that come through a laptop, a tablet or a phone, they are happy to experiment with.

    Shirsa is currently engaging children aged 6 to 15 years through innovative plus safe digital products and services in collaboration with parents, educationists and partners. Each online platform is created basis a deep understanding of the transforming nature of knowledge consumption in order to gratify the ever-changing needs of hungry young minds.

    PlanetOfGui.com is a social platform that inspires kids aged 6 to 15 years to be curious learners while having fun with engaging content. While Newspik.in is a digital newspaper sharing bite-sized news, city events and non-fictional articles for children. The news topics range from nature to science and technology, from entertainment to sports stories from across the world.

    Both the platforms are gamified wherein every activity of the child is rewarded with Geekos, our virtual currency. These Geekos can then be redeemed against buying real products, unlocking social features, customizing avatar, and getting freebies at your doorstep.

    Shirsa Enhance is the co-scholastic solutions vertical of Shirsa Labs that specializes in developing products that are child friendly, real-world relevant and easy to implement in schools. Our life skills product will make the child ready for the future along with preparing him or her to tackle any challenges in their life.

    Shirsa Engage is the events vertical of Shirsa Labs, specializes in conceptualizing and organizing large-impact kids events & school contact programs for brands. It creates engaging experiences for students, parents and educators through the help of brands. Shirsa Connect is the digital vertical of Shirsa Labs, specializes in enabling content publishers to engage digitally with kids aged 6-15 years through its multiple products. As Children’s preferences are evolving, it wants to cover the relevant Digital & Tangible touchpoints of a kid’s life through branded content engagement.

    Tendulkar said, “The Shirsa Parent App allows to set-up time duration for the child to be online. They can also monitor their growth, inclination and learning style through the App.”

    It’s the time when digital revolution is entering every aspect of life. It’s only prudent to let our children explore and experience the full learning potential of digital medium, within a safe and protected environment. With educational platforms like PlanetofGui and Newspik; children, parents, teachers and brands are to benefit equally from the innumerable fun ways to engage and enlighten the young minds.

  • Giving information effectively a major challenge: Naidu

    Giving information effectively a major challenge: Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said information is “ammunition to fight social evils such as corruption, poverty, illiteracy and terrorism”.

    To ensure last mile reach and keep pace with the changing communication paradigm, the government communication needs to incorporate innovative and out of the box ideas. Innovative ideas such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat and the MoU signed with Amar Chitra Katha for comic books on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan influenced the masses at large.

    Naidu was addressing the Indian Information Service Officer Trainees of 2015 batch currently undergoing at training at Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC) here, who had called on President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday. Minister of State for I and B Rajyavardhan Rathore and senior officers of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.

    Naidu said to effectively design communication strategy for various government programmes and flagship schemes was a major challenge for government communication managers. He added that communicating success stories about developmental programs like Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India campaign) would inspire and motivate citizens and would engage them as stakeholders in the governance process.

    The Minister emphasized on the need for India Information Service (IIS) officers to learn and adapt to the new technologies, tools and techniques to enhance reach of the government; especially in the age of social media.

    “The social media perspective has changed the way we communicate and govern today, which provided challenges and opportunities for the officers to enhance government outreach,” Naidu said.

    In his interaction, the Minister emphasized on the need to be progressive in thought and take pride in the role and responsibility assigned to each officer. He specifically mentioned the initiative taken by the Ministry to institutionalize capacity building through appropriate training programs at different career levels. Naidu also assured the officer-trainees that the quality aspect associated with capacity building issues in the training programs would be improved to meet the communication challenges.

    Rathore advised the officer trainees that there was a need to continuously learn and add value to their skills as well as the organization where they would be working.

    IIS Officer Trainees also shared their experiences of the past nine months of training with the two Ministers.

  • Giving information effectively a major challenge: Naidu

    Giving information effectively a major challenge: Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said information is “ammunition to fight social evils such as corruption, poverty, illiteracy and terrorism”.

    To ensure last mile reach and keep pace with the changing communication paradigm, the government communication needs to incorporate innovative and out of the box ideas. Innovative ideas such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat and the MoU signed with Amar Chitra Katha for comic books on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan influenced the masses at large.

    Naidu was addressing the Indian Information Service Officer Trainees of 2015 batch currently undergoing at training at Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC) here, who had called on President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday. Minister of State for I and B Rajyavardhan Rathore and senior officers of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.

    Naidu said to effectively design communication strategy for various government programmes and flagship schemes was a major challenge for government communication managers. He added that communicating success stories about developmental programs like Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India campaign) would inspire and motivate citizens and would engage them as stakeholders in the governance process.

    The Minister emphasized on the need for India Information Service (IIS) officers to learn and adapt to the new technologies, tools and techniques to enhance reach of the government; especially in the age of social media.

    “The social media perspective has changed the way we communicate and govern today, which provided challenges and opportunities for the officers to enhance government outreach,” Naidu said.

    In his interaction, the Minister emphasized on the need to be progressive in thought and take pride in the role and responsibility assigned to each officer. He specifically mentioned the initiative taken by the Ministry to institutionalize capacity building through appropriate training programs at different career levels. Naidu also assured the officer-trainees that the quality aspect associated with capacity building issues in the training programs would be improved to meet the communication challenges.

    Rathore advised the officer trainees that there was a need to continuously learn and add value to their skills as well as the organization where they would be working.

    IIS Officer Trainees also shared their experiences of the past nine months of training with the two Ministers.

  • Comic Con India’s Free Comic Book Weekend to be held in June

    Comic Con India’s Free Comic Book Weekend to be held in June

    NEW DELHI: Enthusiasts and fans can download a host of Indian comic book titles for free straight on their desktop during the third edition of Free Comic Book Weekend in India.

     

    Presented by Comic Con India, the weekend will be held on 6 and 7 June. The comics will be available on phone or Tablet (iOs, Android & Windows Store) across the country.

     

    The main publishers participating in the third edition of Free Comic Book Weekend are Amar Chitra Katha, Campfire Graphic Novels, Pop Culture Publishing, Sufi Comics, Diamond Comics and Meta Desi amongst others.

     

    Free Comic Book Weekend was initiated in India by Comic Con India in 2013, with an aim to expand the scope and access of comics across India. Online digital content marketplace Readwhere.com has been partnering with Comic Con India since the very beginning to promote this initiative and allow comics enthusiasts download Indian comics for free. This year also, Readwhere.com will be providing the platform to serve free digital comics to fans across India.

     

    Comic Con India founder Jatin Varma said, “Over 15,000 comic book fans joined the event last year. Comic Con India has plans to make this event grow bigger and better. With an ambition to triple the number, we plan to have a wider outreach and more publishers joining hands.”

     

    Readwhere would be offering more than 1000 titles, from over 50 comic book publishers. Users will have the option of choosing any five for free. The rest will be available at a nominal price as a bundle. Purchases via the Comic Book Store will receive a cashback of maximum Rs 100 in the Readwhere wallet.

     

    Readwhere.com co-founder and director Manish Dhingra said, “Through Free Comic Book Weekend, 2015, we hope to reach audiences in all corners of India, to get addicted to comics and relive their childhood, or buy comics for their Kids. Digital presents the best medium to read and share comics.”

     

    The titles featured this year will be a mix of iconic and latest. This year’s spectrum of comic books includes Stan Lee’s Chakra Boy, Sab Ke Comics, Vrika- Dawn of the Wolf and Angry Maushi by Abhijeet Kini. Besides this the other publishers including Pran’s Features, Campfire Graphic Novels, Pop Culture Publishing and Amar Chitra Katha, who have always been around with their classics and the contemporary.

     

    Fans can download, purchase the comics via web (http://www.readwhere.com) or the Readwhere app on Android (http://rdwh.re/androidapp) and iOS (http://rdwh.re/iosapp). 

  • Amar Chitra Katha appoints Sanjay Dhar as president – corporate solutions group

    Amar Chitra Katha appoints Sanjay Dhar as president – corporate solutions group

    MUMBAI: Amar Chitra Katha has appointed Sanjay Dhar as president, corporate solutions group. Dhar will be driving the new ‘value added brand solutions’ initiatives at Amar Chitra Katha which will combine the formidable creative resources, content capabilities and existing media properties like Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, National Geographic Magazine and National Geographic Traveller India, using all media verticals which includes print, digital, TV, and on-ground activation.

     

    Amar Chitra Katha CEO – publishing Manas Mohan said, “I am delighted at the appointment of Sanjay. Over the years, he has contributed immensely to the industry and I am confident that his holistic business acumen, network and strategic thinking will continue to be of immense value.”

     

    Prior to joining Amar Chitra Katha, Dhar was the business head – production and sales with Sunshine Pictures. He has two decades of experience spanning ad sales, programming, content production, operations and business development across verticals – TV, digital, films, OOH and events. Dhar has worked with leading media companies like Nimbus, UTV, B4U and Turner International for leading brands like HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network and Pogo. He has also had a successful stint as an entrepreneur in the broadcast and media sales business.

     

    “It gives me great pleasure to accept this assignment. I am excited to work with Amar Chitra Katha and its iconic brands. I look forward to joining the superb team and in taking this venture to new heights,” concluded Dhar.

  • ACK Media elevates Manas Mohan as CEO – Publishing

    ACK Media elevates Manas Mohan as CEO – Publishing

    MUMBAI: The ACK (Amar Chitra Katha) Media Group which is expanding its portfolio of media business and creating new paradigms of growth, has elevated Manas Mohan to the role of CEO-Publishing.

     

    In his new role, he will continue to report to ACK Media CEO Vijay Sampath.

     

    The publishing vertical of ACK is growing at an exponential pace with several initiatives in the pipeline and the elevation will provide strategic leadership and growth momentum to the vertical.

     

    Prior to this, Mohan was the COO at the company and oversaw the direct marketing and e-commerce business, The National Geographic business, licensing and merchandising, advertising sales and the strategic marketing leadership of the brand. It was in January 2012 that he was elevated to the post of COO.

  • NGTI launched their Summer Holiday Special Issue

    NGTI launched their Summer Holiday Special Issue

    MUMBAI: National Geographic Traveller India (NGTI) magazine from the house of Amar Chitra Katha Pvt Ltd, the publisher of India’s, and the world’s, most widely read travel magazine launched their Summer Holiday Special Issue. The ultimate travel companion, NGTI holiday special offers readers a buffet of ideas to plan a family holiday during summers.

     

    With focus on experiential holidays for Indian families, NGTI is the only travel magazine, which has dedicated its cover page to the kids. This summer special issue helps their readers to plan an unforgettable family holiday along with great photographs of the ultimate travel destination.The issue also features international locations that will provide the readers a global holiday experience.

     

    Manas Mohan, Publishing Director, NGTI Magazine said,”With this Summer Special issue we have focused on content that is family driven. NGTI is known for creating an experience for the family with its unique storytelling quality. This also provides a huge platform for the advertisers to reach out to its target audience. We are glad that NGTI has been enhancing, expressing and inspiring travel for Indian families. We have always emphasized on developing quality content and making it a lot more than a travel magazine. We hope that our efforts of bringing together the legacy and culture of a travel experience will be appreciated by our readers.”

     

    “The summer season is synonymous with fun and summer special issue is full of ideas for lively experiences. The holiday buzz makes us feel the need to gather some friends and take a road trip, plot a family outdoor break, even brave the heat of the jungle to see a big cat. Our suggestions for active escapes will inspire joyous vacations whose memories will last all year long. Besides, we’ve got the Nat Geo Traveller Best of the World list which features destinations, from Argentina to Oz, to hang out in 2014” says the magazine’s Editor Niloufer Venkatraman

     

    Over the years, National Geographic Traveller India has given the Indian families the best travelling experience through best photographs, stories, features and much more.

     

    So get ready to pick up your copy of National Geographic Traveller India’s new Summer Holiday Special issue and plan your getaway this summer with your family.

     

    National Geographic Traveller India’s summer holiday special issue will be available at all book stands from 1st March @ Rs 120

     

    To subscribe, log on to www.natgeotraveller.in and explore new places, read travel blogs, participate in photo contests and step into a world of inspiring travel.

  • ACK announces Tinkle school and stationery products

    MUMBAI: Publishing house Amar Chitra Katha has announced the foray of its comic book brand TINKLE in the back-to-school and stationery product categories.

    ACK is in talks with business partners, distributors and manufacturers for the franchise. The Back to School and Stationery franchise from Tinkle is slated to hit the market in mid 2013.

    Tinkle has hugely popular characters Shikari Shambhu, Kalia the Crow and Suppandi and has been in circulation for 30 years.

    ACK CEO Vijay Sampath said, “With Tinkle expanding its presence in television, feature films and digital products, the clamour for Tinkle products is growing every day. Through the Tinkle back-to-school program, we will provide high quality, competitively priced and child friendly products, which are true to our values and extend the imagination of children.”

    ACK Media business head Prakash Batna said, “The Tinkle Franchise is a rare opportunity to participate in one of India‘s most popular and fast growing consumer franchises. Leading distributors, business partners and manufacturers have evinced interest in the Tinkle franchise. We want to associate ourselves with the best partners in India and adjoining markets, to make Tinkle a market leader in this category.”

  • ZeeQ acquires rights of Amar Chitra Katha

    MUMBAI: Edutainment channel ZeeQ has acquired 26 episodes of Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) from Ideas Box Entertainment, an independent subsidiary of Amar Chitra Katha.

    ACKs episodes capture the Indian heroes from the comics of Amar Chitra Katha and create a first-of-its-kind comic format which is fresh and interesting. This program will help children develop values and harbour integrity in edutainment way.

    To name a few, the bouquet of 26 episodes on ZeeQ will consist of Birbal the wise, Ashoka, Prithviraj Chauhan, Chanakya, Shivaji, Vivekanand, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Mother Teresa and the likes. Every episode will explore two heroes and Itihaas, the voice of history, will tell the tale.

    ZeeQ Business Head Subhadarshi Tripathy says, “ZeeQ has acquired this property of ACK from Ideas Box for three years. ZeeQ had planned to bring the class room lessons of history in engaging animated format on small screen and ACK is the first step in that direction.”

    Created by Anant Pai, Amar Chitra Katha is available in 20 Indian languages and is one of the largest selling book series. In a comic book format, it has captured the great Indian epics, mythology, history, folklore, and fables.