ITV

Tag: Kanpur

  • Stirred not shaken Fortune whips up India’s next culinary creators

    Stirred not shaken Fortune whips up India’s next culinary creators

    MUMBAI: Some recipes call for more than just salt and spice, they need a pinch of purpose. As part of its 25-year celebration, Fortune Foods served up a piping hot opportunity with its first-ever Fortune Influencer Masterclass, aimed at turning everyday food lovers into full-blown digital culinary creators.

    Launched on 10 February 2025, the campaign received an overwhelming 50,000 plus registrations from across India, ultimately narrowing the field to 25 winners who were recently felicitated in a lively Meet & Greet in Ahmedabad. Each winner took home content collaboration deals worth up to Rs 2 lakh, but the real prize was the transformation of passion into profession.

    Backed by industry heavyweights like Meghna Kamdar (Forbes Top 100 Digital Star), Vinayak Grover of Lost and Hungry Studios, and Nimisha Rao from Influencer.in, the initiative was more than a class, it was a crash course in digital storytelling. With modules on scripting, plating, video editing, animation, and content strategy, the program mentored aspiring influencers in every dimension of online food content creation.

    From a pool of 250 semi-finalists, selected after an initial assignment round, the top 25 were chosen following a multi-stage process judged by Masterchef winners and industry experts. Criteria ranged from recipe innovation and aesthetic appeal to editing finesse and storytelling strength.

    The finale in Ahmedabad was a feast for the senses. It featured a special plating demo by Meghna Kamdar, games, and a fireside chat titled ‘The Ingredients of a Great Food Content Creator’, with insights from Mukesh Mishra, joint president at AWL Agri Business Limited, Sunil Chawla, co-founder of Social Beat, and Kamdar herself.

    Mukesh Mishra explained the vision behind the campaign, “This wasn’t just about product placement. It was about placing belief in people especially homemakers and food enthusiasts who had creativity but lacked digital confidence. We’ve seen these creators bloom, and we’re thrilled to champion their voices.”

    One such voice was Harshika Lalwani from Kanpur, whose journey resonated with many: “As a homemaker, I had quietly shelved my passions for years. This campaign gave me visibility, value, and most importantly my own voice. When I made it to the Top 25, I felt seen for who I am, not just the roles I play.”

    The Fortune Influencer Masterclass is more than a marketing campaign, it’s a movement that’s helping shape India’s digital creator economy. It’s where food meets fame, where community meets creativity, and where Fortune truly favours the bold.

     

  • IBN7’s Independence Day special

    IBN7’s Independence Day special

    MUMBAI: As the nation gears up for the 68th Independence Day, IBN7, the channel of Impact comes up with an array of special programming to denote this special Day. With Narendra Modi’s pledge to clean the Ganga, all the focus is now on the desecrated and polluted holy river. This Independence Day, IBN7 will bring to its viewers seven hours of extensive programming solely dedicated on river Ganges, an exclusive initiative taken by any news channel till date.

     

    The Independence Day special programming on IBN7 will start early morning with the live coverage of Prime Minister Modi’s address to the nation direct from the Red Fort. An eminent panel of guests in the studio will discuss and scrutinize this much anticipated speech which is likely to be Modi’s first address to his countrymen since he became the Prime Minister. From 12 noon till 7pm in the evening, the channel’s entire focus will be on Ganga. The long 7 hours of programming will highlight the plight of the holy river. IBN7’s OB vans will be stationed at various banks of Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi and Ganga Sagar in West Bengal. The channel’s reporters will do on-ground reporting from there and try talking to the localities aiming to showcase the horrifying condition of the sacred river and its banks. The reporters will also be joined by local activists, environmentalists, priests along with an elite panel of guests at the studio, who will try to analyze the various aspects of River Ganga and nuances related to this issue.

     

    At 7.30 PM, the last episode of Saving the Ganga series will culminate with a half hour special followed by another special show on Ganga where the experts will share their insights on the concern. From 9 pm onwards, the channel will discuss the PM’s speech and its significance in detail.

     

    Don’t miss the day-long Independence Day special programming, on Friday, 15th August, starting 7.30 a.m. only on IBN7.

  • Halonix makes the streets of India safer through its outdoor campaign

    Halonix makes the streets of India safer through its outdoor campaign

    MUMBAI: It is a well documented fact that there is a strong correlation between crime and darkness. The incidences of crimes like rape, muggings, carjackings etc are higher post sunset. Given this, Halonix – a leading lighting brand – hit upon an ingenious idea of converting advertising billboards (Hoardings) and bus shelters into street lights post sunset. The hoarding would carry an advertising message by day. By night, the lights of the hoarding would be turned outwards, pointed towards the street rather than just on the advertising message. So a dark, potentially dangerous street could be turned into a bright, well-lit one.

     

    To kickstart the effort, Halonix invited the citizens of Delhi to name streets or area in their neighbourhood that needed better lighting. The facebook page of Halonix registered many such suggestions. The top suggestion was identified by a poll. As a test run, a Halonix hoarding was put up in VasantKunj. Encouraged by the response, the company installed hoardings at more locations in Delhi.

     

    Given the encouraging feedback from Delhi, Halonix has co-opted outdoor companies to take this idea across cities. Currently Halonix has made some streets in Delhi, Mohali, Jalandhar, Kanpur, Mathura, Allahbad, Lucknow, Trivandrum and Chennai feel safer through this initiative. More cities are in the offing.

     

    Speaking about the initiative, Mr Rakesh Zutshi – Managing Director, Halonix Technologies Ltd said “We at Halonix believe that brands need to have a conscience and should continuously attempt to make the world a better place. Our brand idea – The Right Light – is not limited to the fact that we pursue excellence in our products and their quality. It represents a broader view of impacting life and society positively through the use of light.”

     

    Nima Namchu – Chief Creative Officer of Cheil, Halonix’s advertising agency, who came up with the idea added “This is a great example of the medium becoming the message. The power of the idea lies in the fact that, without spending a penny extra, every brand that takes a front lit or back lit hoarding, can implement this idea and make our cities feel safer. We hope more brands and outdoor agencies take this idea forward.”

     

    To know more about the safer city project visit:  www.facebook.com/halonixsafercity

  • I&B minister Manish Tewari’s update on Phase II digitisation data

    I&B minister Manish Tewari’s update on Phase II digitisation data

    New Delhi: The level of cable television digitisation in 38 cities in 14 states and one union territory of Phase II has touched 89.8 per cent, including 28.33 per cent DTH homes as on 21 April, three weeks after analogue switch-off.

    Thus, a total of 14,379,454 digital set top boxes have been seeded out of a total demand of 16,013,059 total TV households. The houses where STBs have been installed include 4,536,676 DTH subscribers.

    According to a report presented to parliament by information & broadcasting minister Manish Tewari yesterday, the total number of TV households has been computed by making provision of twenty per cent for multiple TVs in offices/shops or homes.

    Pointing out that a toll free number receives complaints from subscribers and others, Tewari said these are normally forwarded to the multi-system operators in the area concerned.

    14 cities have already crossed the 100 per cent with Hyderabad at the top with 191.07 per cent followed by Ludhiana (175.91 per cent), Allahabad (160.46 per cent), Faridabad (142.69 per cent), Chandigarh (119.23 per cent), Meerut (112.24 per cent), Jaipur (111.84 per cent), Varanasi (111.78 per cent), Amritsar (111.03 per cent), Thane (109.33 per cent), Jodhpur (107.94 per cent), Aurangabad (103.37 per cent), Indore (102.29 per cent), and Nasik (101.75 per cent).

    By the government’s own claim, Ghaziabad, Pune and Kanpur have crossed the 90 per cent mark.

    Srinagar stands at the bottom with 22.28 per cent seeding of STBs, with Visakhapatnam at 29.61 per cent, Coimbatore at 29.74 per cent, and Jabalpur with a DAS reach of only 45.32 per cent. All the other 17 cities have crossed the 57 per cent mark.

    The ministry had announced earlier this month that analogue signals has been completely switched-off in the five states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

    DAS continues to be stayed in the cities of Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam. The Karnataka and Gujarat High Courts had learlier this month quashed petitions seeking extension of DAS thereby paving way for the analogue signals to be switched-off. In addition, stay continues in Chennai which was part of Phase I because of court case.

    The Supreme Court is expected to hear tomorrow a special leave petition by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation seeking to quash all pending cases in various high courts and also ensure there is no postponement of the date of digitisation.

  • Delhi High Court directs MSM to reconnect signals of Kanpur MSO

    Delhi High Court directs MSM to reconnect signals of Kanpur MSO

    New Delhi: The Delhi high court today directed Multi Screen Media to reconnect the signals of a multi-system operator in Kanpur after it was argued that Broadcast Engineering Consultants (India) Ltd (Becil) was the only authority to certify the genuineness of a digitized set up for cable television. Justice Rajiv Shakdher directed that Becil should give its report by 17 May when the case will be heard.

    Vishal Mishra of Vishal Cable Network of Kanpur had filed the case after MSM cut off the signals without any notice on the ground that the MSO had not digitized his operations.

    Vikram Singh, counsel for the MSO argued in Court that Becil was the only authority to take a decision on such issues. In any case, he said that notice should have been issued to the MSO.

  • Entire studio on hire for shooting schedule of Dabaang 2

    Entire studio on hire for shooting schedule of Dabaang 2

    MUMBAI: For the first time in Bollywood, an entire studio has been booked exclusively for a film. Kamal Amrohi Studios at Jogeshwari (East) has been booked for the shooting of the Salman Khan-starrer Dabaang 2.

    This means that the studio that houses 12 units will not be given out on hire till the first schedule of Dabangg 2 concludes, making it a first in the 55-year-old studio’s history.

    If that were not enough, producer and director Arbaaz Khan has deputed 80 security personnel to guard the sets, that resembles pockets of Kanpur.

    “This arrangement is exclusive to Salman. Till date, we haven’t extended such privileges to anybody. We are very close to him and his family. But please don’t ask me about the rates. We don’t discuss that on public platforms,” head honcho of Kamal Amrohi Studios Tajdar Amrohi has reportedly said.

    In another move, 80 bodyguards have been selected to man the studio for the entire shooting schedule. Earlier, the studio was booked for Rakesh Roshan’s Koyla and Subhash Ghai’s Khalnayak and had top security, but other units at the studio were given out for shoots of television shows.

  • Disney unveils its first branded apparel store ‘Disney Jeans’ in Mumbai

    Disney unveils its first branded apparel store ‘Disney Jeans’ in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Disney India has the launched the first of its non-character franchise stores ‘Disney Jeans’ in Mumbai.

    This is the first of 20 exclusive ‘Disney Jeans’ stores that Disney, along with Indus Clothing plan to set up between now and end-2007

    As reported earlier, Disney and Indus Clothing have inked a licensing agreement wherein the latter would be pumping in approximately Rs 210 million towards the setting up of the stores.
    The Disney Jeans concept will soon be followed by three more stores to be launched in Delhi with another two more opening in Mumbai. next on the list are Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Kanpur.

    The first phase of expansion will target the Northern and Western regions while the Southern and Eastern markets will see Disney Jeans stores by spring next year.

    The core denim range is complimented with tees, fleece, jackets, woven shirts, woven bottoms and accessories in for kids between the age of 4-14 years. Elements such as adjustable waist bands which loosen and tighten according to the child’s growth, hook buttons that are easy for children to manage, offer a casual and fun option. T-shirts and tops will be priced from Rs 99 onwards while the range of jeans will be priced between Rs 800 – 1300.

    Explaining the rationale for introducing non-character merchandise as opposed to the much loved Disney characters, Softlines – Disney Consumer Products (DCP) Regional Director Lester W Lee said, “The non character market is seven to eight times larger than the character market, comprising almost 85 per cent and therefore we see this as a big opportunity for us. From packaging, labels and tags the range will bear the Disney identification.”

    The Disney Jeans product range will however, have cartoon strips and comics on the inner pockets and undercuffs of jeans. This range will also extend to accessories lie bags, hats, socks and footware.

    “We wanted to create a non-character apparel brand that kids like. Ultimately the range will evolve, to provide a total head-to-toe fashion experience for kids through diversification into footwear, eyewear, watches and innerwear,” added Lee.

    “The launch of Disney Jeans is an exciting milestone as we continue to build the depth and breadth of Disney brand among new consumers in India,” said The Walt Disney Company (India) MD Rajat Jain. “We are focused on delivering internationally successful products that appeal and offer great quality, “fashionability” and functionality and are appropriately customized for the local consumers.”

    Eyeing the ‘tween’ market as having great potential, Lee added, “Tween consumers are a key segment, they will be the new generation of spenders as they determine the trends in the market.”

    The Kids branded Apparel and Accessories market in India was at $ 600mn in FY’05 and is estimated to grow to $ 850mn by 2010. The Softlines revenue generated from Asia is pegged at 300 million, China making up for 40 per cent and India 10 per cent of overall revenues.

    “Indus Clothing continues to be the front-runner in the organized Indian fashion business. Our mission is to lead the apparel industry through a superior product portfolio, innovative technology and an unrivalled commitment to customer driven excellence. We have aggressive marketing and promotional plans to build and strengthen our portfolio of brands in India,” said Indus Clothing managing director HP Singh.

    In addition to an extensive retail push, ICL plans innovative marketing initiatives to drive optimum product visibility for the consumers. ICL also plans to invest around 210 million rupees to set up the exclusive ‘Disney Jeans Stores’ by the end of 2007. The number of Disney Jeans Stores is expected to be increased to 50 by year 2008.

    The brand is already present in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium. The range will be launched shortly in North America and other parts of Europe. In Asia, the brand is currently available in Taiwan, Thailand, China and in Hong Kong the store as even been extended to include adult merchandise.