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Tag: Kapil Sibal

  • Rahman dedicates new album ‘Raunaq’ to women empowerment

    Rahman dedicates new album ‘Raunaq’ to women empowerment

    MUMBAI: Music maestro AR Rahman launched his latest album ‘Raunaq – A Conversation of Mystery and Poetry’ on 29 September in Mumbai dedicating it to the Vogue Empower, a social awareness initiative that focuses on women empowerment.

     

    With lyrics penned by Kapil Sibal, the album comprises of seven songs. The song ‘Ladli’, sung by legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar was revealed at the music launch. The visual of the song is directed by Bejoy Nambiar and the cinematography is done by Sanu John Varghese.

     

    The other songs in the album include ‘Sach Kahoon’ sung by KS Chithra and Rahman, ‘Geet Gaon’ by Jonita Gandhi, ‘Kismat’ by Shreya Goshal, ‘Aa Bhi Jaa’ by Jonita Gandhi, ‘Kho Jaayein Hum’ by Shweta Pandit and Jyoti and ‘Khatta Meetha’ by Mohit Chauhan.

     

    Rahman, who was influenced by the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma wanted to incorporate the concept in his album and accordingly, developed concepts for the visuals. He has even played the role of a visual storyteller in the song ‘Aa Bhi Jaa’ in which Yami Gautham plays the lead.

     

    Vogue India launched #VogueEmpower on its seventh anniversary, a social awareness initiative that aims to raise awareness and encourage people to think, talk and act in ways big or small on issues that draw attention to women’s empowerment.

  • DD, Prasar Bharati sign MoU with Korea’s Arirang TV

    DD, Prasar Bharati sign MoU with Korea’s Arirang TV

    MUMBAI: In September 2012, when Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar led the Indian delegation to the General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union at Seoul, he called on the then President of  Korea and other dignitaries. Since then the Korean Broadcasting System and Prasar Bharati have on-going partnerships.

     

    However, a new partnership was sought to be made between the Korean International Broadcasting Foundation, Arirang TV and Doordarshan for which Sircar and CEO of Arirang TV Jie-Ae Sohn renewed correspondence recently in November, 2013.

     

    And now the two stations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will allows them to share content. The CEOs from the two stations met in New Delhi on Friday and agreed to an exchange that will foster cultural ties between Korea and India.

     

    The Korean Minister expressed hope for a deeper cultural understanding between India and South Korea. One of the officials was quoted as saying on the Arirang News website, “Through this exchange of broadcasting and broadcasters, we can jumpstart this cultural exchange between two very strong culturally rich countries.”

     

    The deal took shape when ministers from both the countries were meeting to sign an MoU on Mutual Recognition of Digital Signature Certificates for Efficient E-Governance/Cross Border Trade Facilitation. Minister for Communications and Information Technology, India Kapil Sibal and Minister for Science, ICT and Future Planning, Republic of Korea Mun-kee Choi were present there.

     

    Under the agreement, Arirang and Doordarshan aim to make their global channels available on satellite platforms in both nations by 2014. Both parties will even explore co-production opportunities related to matters of mutual interest and share TV programmes in the cultural, educational, scientific, agricultural, entertainment, sports, news and any other possible fields. The MoU will be valid for a period of three years from the date of signature and will be automatically renewed for every following three years, unless terminated by either party by giving a written notice of three months.

    Interestingly, as the MoU was being signed, a documentary produced by Arirang TV was being aired on Doordarshan throughout India. The documentary explains the vision for the “creative economy” that President Park Geun-hye has advocated since the very beginning of her term last February.

     

     

  • Juhi Chawla takes a route to social causes

    Juhi Chawla takes a route to social causes

    MUMBAI: If the promos of her upcoming film, Gulaan Gang, are to go by actor Juhi Chawla looks fresh and ready to reclaim the silver screen once again. She just seems apt for the role. And if the promos of the film are grabbing so many eyeballs, it only makes sense for the actor to create the right buzz with doing all things right.
     
     
    on a recent trip to Delhi, the actor took out some time from her busy schedule and attended an event for the NGO Routes2Roots, which promotes building peace through cultural integration. Juhi interacted with the children who are part of the ‘exchange for change’ program and was seen in great enthusiasm for the initiative. 
     

    The actress was seen in western attire for a change and we must say she was looking as ravishing as she does in her counterpart Indian dresses.

  • Sibal says some nations are indulging in cybercrime

    Sibal says some nations are indulging in cybercrime

    NEW DELHI: Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal says some nations are found to be indulging in cybercrime, or are employing individuals who are not directly linked to them for carrying out such practices.

     

    Sibal said: “Now, what is happening today is that we know for a fact that nations have organised themselves to indulge in cyber crime. We know for a fact that they work sometimes through individuals far removed from them and from spaces that may not be even cited in their own country and part of the attack may come from somewhere else.”

     

    Speaking at an IT-ITeS body Nasscom event here, the minister said that there is a need to create a global standard to fight cybercrime. “Now, the internet world today does not allow us to find where the attack came from and who attacked us, nor does it allow us to disclose the identity of the attackers. We need to develop global rules for that. We need a global accord for that and we then need a system of cyber justice,” he added.

     

    Sibal said it is important to evolve rules so that internet freedom does not deteriorate into lawlessness. “So in that situation how do we evolve rules to deal with those issues? If we don’t do that we will have lawlessness. Freedom and lawlessness are two sides of the same coin. If freedom is not exercised with a sense of responsibility, then it results in lawlessness. So, freedom becomes its own enemy in the absence of accountability. It is a very dangerous proposition and we can’t let that happen,” he added. 

  • The Economic Times unveils telecom news portal ETTelecom.com

    The Economic Times unveils telecom news portal ETTelecom.com

    MUMBAI: One of India’s leading business & economy news website, The Economic Times announced the launch of ETTelecom.com, a comprehensive news portal catering exclusively to the telecom sector.

    Launched by the Union Minister for Information Technology & Law, Kapil Sibal today in a press briefing at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, and this initiative is a part of The Economic Times commitment to the telecom sector. ETTelecom.com has been launched with an objective to keep industry professionals updated with a comprehensive and focused round up on the telecom sector news – locally and globally; breaking new stories and in-depth analysis across varied topics such as technology, voice, VAS, and allied sectors.

    ETTelecom.com aims to redefine a new generation of focused business vertical news, information, data, tools and services to professionals in the telecom industry. The exclusive coverage by the portal, will be complimented by a daily mobile-friendly newsletter to its subscribers – updating them with the latest and trending stories across telecom sector, every morning.

    To facilitate deeper industry-engagement, ETTelecom.com will provide an interactive platform for the telecom professionals via forums and live discussions with the decision makers in telecom industry.

    Telecom minister Kapil Sibal congratulated The Economic Times and said that it was an important step for the sector and as well as nation.

    “I believe that the telecom and IT sectors are the infrastructure of empowerment that apply to all fields of human activity, because there is no field that is left out of cyberspace. This is a big challenge for us, while you provide the platform we will have spate of information on that platform that we will have to respond to,” he said.

    “There is a lot of information, and it should be analysed on a daily basis and put out on a right kind of platform so that there is informed decision making on the other end. The Economic Times has taken a step forward, and I congratulate the team on of ETTelecom.com,” added Sibal.

    “ETTelecom.com would be a quality news and information resource for people involved in India’s fast-growing ICT industry. We are extremely delighted to have such a dynamic and focused news portal catering to the entire telecom sector, and wish their team the very best in their endeavours,” said Telecom Commission DoT and chairman secretary MF Farooqui.

    “Our objective is to make ETTelecom.com a one-stop destination for industry leaders who want to keep themselves updated about the telecom sector in India. The portal will not only focus on voice and VAS, but also networks, broadband, DTH, IPTV, handsets and all related information. The Indian telecom industry is at a perfect stage of development now and with 3G and smart phones gradually taking the centre stage, it will have a lot of stories to tell in the coming time. As Internet access is poised for a dramatic turn, we see Times Internet diversifying into B2B news and adopting an aggressive strategy to redefine content delivery with a sector-wise approach said Times internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

  • TRAI sticks to its recommendations on reserve price

    TRAI sticks to its recommendations on reserve price

    NEW DELHI: Even as Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said the reserve price for the spectrum auction would go down in December auction, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has said the Reserve Prices for 1800 MHz and 900 MHz will remain unchanged and at the level already recommended by the Authority.

     

    Since the recommendations on the reserve price obtained for different LSAs follow, in logical sequence, from the valuation through adoption of different economic methodologies, the authority did not find any scope to “reconsider” the reserve price, as suggested by the Department of Telecommunications.

     

    TRAI had sent its recommendations on “Valuation and Reserve Price of Spectrum” on 9 September to the Department of Telecommunications which had on 11 October sought clarifications/ reconsideration on some of the recommendations.

     

    After considering the comments given by the DoT, the Authority has furnished its response to the Government. The authority has reiterated its earlier recommendations with detailed reasoning.  Thus TRAI has reiterated its recommendation regarding no reservation/priority in the 900/1800 MHz band in order to have an open, transparent, objective, responsive, unrestricted and successful auction of 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum and to ensure a level playing field amongst bidders.
    Other recommendations reiterated by TRAI are:

     

        In order to correct the present urban-centric bias in the roll-out obligations as also to harmonise the roll-out obligations with the objectives of NTP 2012, the authority has reiterated its recommendations on roll-out obligations to enhance rural coverage.

        The DoT has conveyed its in-principle acceptance on spectrum trading. Accordingly, the authority will shortly work-out the detailed guidelines on spectrum trading.
        On auction of 800 MHz spectrum, the Authority has again recommended that the Government must first explore the feasibility of adoption of the E-GSM band before reaching any hasty conclusion.  

        On Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC), the Authority has reiterated its recommendations for a graduated transition from the existing regime with its many limitations, to a more balanced, equitable and rational system.

     

  • Lex Witness Presents The 2nd Annual Edition of Media, Advertising & Entertainment Legal Summit

    Lex Witness Presents The 2nd Annual Edition of Media, Advertising & Entertainment Legal Summit

    Lex Witness- India’s 1st Magazine on Legal and Corporate Affairs today hosted a well-conceptualized The 2nd Annual Edition of Media, Advertising & Entertainment Legal Summit (MAELS) 2013 at Hotel Le Mridien in New Delhi. The daylong summit saw over a 100 proficient industry veterans including media professionals, Law Firm partners and teams, In House Counsels and stakeholders engaging in an interactive discussion on increasing business complexities being faced by the Media, Advertising and Entertainment sectors rising due to changes in and regulations.

     

    In an official message sent for the initiative;

     

    Kapil Sibal, Honble Minister of Law and Justice, shared that the Indian Media, Advertising and Entertainment industry plays a pivotal role in India’s economic growth through its magnificent channel of reach. However, the industry has been subject to various strides of regulations which affect the businesses and require discussions and debates to understand their impact. Further Mr. Kapil Sibal conveyed his greetings and best wishes for the success of the Summit.

     

    With all the media and legal professionals under one roof, Mr. Amarjit Singh Chandhiok, Additional Solicitor General of India felicitated Dr. Lalit Bhasin, President, SILF; for his outstanding contributions to the legal industry of India. Mr. Bhasin is one of the most respected authorities on legal matters in India and has recently completed 50 years as a successful personality in the fraternity.

     

    Over the past few years, the alignment of entertainment, information and telecommunication have increasingly affected India’s Media, Advertising and Entertainment business. According to the latest CII-PwC Industry report, release on 13th Sept 2013, India’s Entertainment & Media sector is expected to exceed INR 224,500 Cr growing at a CAGR of 18% from 2012 to 2017. However, despite of the growth patterns the M&E fraternity is witnessing various regulations and grey areas in the law revealing a different set of challenges to its members.

     

    Lack of clarity on the practical and commercial implications of the amended Copyright Act 2012, absence of direction on the issue related to royalty, its payment and distribution has left all the industry in a state of perplexity. Also, the regulatory changes have made it difficult for the existing business ecosystems to sustain with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) ad cap mandate, high carriage fees and below par subscription revenues. Furthermore, the process of regulation regarding content and over objectionable advertisement for TV, Radio and Internet too falls under grey area and has no apex body to monitor or dictate guidelines.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, PBA Srinivasan, Editor-in-Chief, Lex Witness said, Though the Indian media and entertainment industry is eyeing robust growth, yet there are legal challenges affecting the big business. Areas like contract management and arbitration in media fraternity, Technological and IPR issues associated with entertainment and advertising sectors require special attention.

     

    The summit gave a stage to all the panelists to share their expert viewpoints on implications of The Copyright Amendment Act 2012, its impact on business due to Royalty Payments, Change in Tax Laws, Business and Legal solutions for Performers, Authors, Producers, Broadcasters and Content Aggregators, Regulation of content and Advertisement Perspective and views from Regulators, Current challenges and issues, Proposed amendments to Cinematograph Act and impact, Carriage and Distribution Regulation Revenue squeeze with ad caps, Resolution on current differences between LCO, MSO & Broadcasters, Competition Act Implication for Media and Entertainment Industry, Contracts and Dispute Resolution, Arbitration Clauses and Industry Practices and other regulations passed.

     

    The expert speaker’s panel at MAELS 2013 included, Vir Sanghvi, Member, BCCC Shailesh Shah, Secretary General, IBF Nishith Desai, Founder & Managing Partner, Nishith Desai Associates Amarjit Singh Chandhiok, Additional Solicitor General of India, Supreme Court of India Vineet Magan, Regional Tax Manager, BBC Gowree Gokhale, Partner, Nishith Desai Associates Abhishek Malhotra, Partner, TMT Law Practice Avnindra Mohan, President (Legal & Regulatory), Zee Network Ajay Thomas, Registrar, LCIA India Amit Arora, Executive Vice President, IndiaCast Media Distribution Private Limited Narayan Ranjan, Chief Financial Officer, Viacom 18 Anil Lale, Associate Vice President Legal, Viacom 18 Lalit Bhasin, President, SILF Preet Dhupar, CEO, BBC Zameer Nathani, Head Legal, Balaji Telefilms Limited and Balaji Motion Pictures Limited Ayan Roy Chowdhury, Senior Manager Legal, Sony Entertainment Television Rajesh Simhan, Head International Tax Practice, Nishith Desai Associates Ashish Chandra, Head Media & Technology, Reliance Industries Rajiv Khattar, President Projects, Dish TV M.M. Sharma, Head-Competition Law and Policy, Vaish Associates Advocates Kunal Rajpal, AVP Legal & Secretarial, Viacom 18 Kaushik Moitra, Partner, TMT Law Practice

     

    Commenting on the significance of the Summit, Shyam Grover, Group Editor & CEO, Lex Witness said, The Indian Media & Entertainment industry is essentially being driven by augmented digitization, growth of regional media and emergence of new media for content virality. But at each stage, the industry is facing challenges affecting their future growth. MAELS 2013 is our attempt to bring the thought leaders together to interact and confer on these issues and develop their legal and business response strategies.

     

    The 2nd Annual MAELS 2013 initiative was supported by IBF as Principal Partner, SEPC as Official Summit Council, TMT Law Practice as Gold Partner, Nishith Desai Associates as Legal Partner, Vaish Associates Advocates as Associate Partner, Deepak Sabharwal & Associates as Kit Sponsor, Blackpen LCC as Litcom Partner DMAI, SILF, LCIA India, ICCA as Fraternity Partners, Ad Gully as digital Partner, Lawyers Club India as Online Media Partner and Indian Law Journal, Indian National Bar Association, NAI Press, IOD as Supporting Partners.

  • Sibal scribes lyrics for a Dilli Gang

    Sibal scribes lyrics for a Dilli Gang

    Minister Kapil Sibal’s penchant for writing poems is well-known. He has now penned the lyrics for a Bollywood film based on the life of senior citizens. And will also appear on screen reciting his lines.

     

    After publishing a book of SMS poems, reciting his composition Aankh khuli aazad thi main as a tribute to women at the Star Parivaar Awards, taking on the murky side of IPL through writing, Sibal, through his poem, expresses his view on the issue of senior citizens’ safety in upcoming film Dilli Gang, which is based on true instances of crime against senior citizens, who sometimes get robbed or murdered when their children leave them.

     

    With a special poem composed for the film, which he recites in the beginning and towards the end of the movie, Sibal urges people to be compassionate towards their ageing parents. Karenge jo maa baap ki seva, Bhagwan unke saath rahega…, is what Sibal will be seen and heard saying in Dilli Gang.

     

    Talking about his compositions and poems, Sibal says social issues are his favourite subjects. “I have written poems on multiple social issues, especially on daughters. When the director and producer told me that the movie is about old people, I agreed to write a poem immediately. These topics touch my heart. The cultural transformation in our society, where children don’t respect parents and refuse to look after them, is a major issue to be addressed besides women’s safety,” he says.

     

    Sibal plans to continue his Bollywood innings. “Cinema is a medium which reflects the reality in society and is trying to raise hope. For people who think for the betterment of the society and want to express their views, Bollywood is the right channel. I am going to do more of this work,” he ends.

  • Prasar Bharati spectrum issue may go to TRAI for final decision

    Prasar Bharati spectrum issue may go to TRAI for final decision

    NEW DELHI: An internal panel of the Department of Telecom (DoT) has recommended that the note from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry seeking exemption from auction for spectrum to be allocated to Prasar Bharti be referred to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

     

    Prasar Bharati said “Spectrum to Prasar Bharti would be allocated on rates fixed by Government of India.”

     

    Meanwhile, a committee has been set up to examine the conditions for allotment of airwaves through routes other than auction, according to Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Milind Deora.

     

    The DoT panel will examine various issues related to allotment and pricing of spectrum, “Including conditions which need to be satisfied in order to adopt auction as the preferred/sole mode of allotment of spectrum, conditions and types of spectrum for which administrative allotment of spectrum should be adopted as the norm,” Deora said in Parliament earlier this week.

     

    Telecom minister Kapil Sibal had earlier said that adopting auction route every time for allocating spectrum “does not make sense” and that the cabinet would decide on the issue based on the committee’s report.

     

    It is also learnt that the DoT may seek sector regulator TRAI’s views on the process to be adopted for allocation of spectrum to telecom operators without auction, following the draft recommendation in this regard by its internal committee.

     

    The last spectrum allocation through administrative process for mobile telephony was done in 2009. But later it was put on hold following series of controversial reports regarding spectrum allocation made in 2008 for 122 2G telecom licenses. Later, the Supreme Court in its judgment on February 2, 2012 cancelled these licenses and asked government to allocate the freed spectrum through auction.

     

    DoT formed an internal committee to look into conditions where auction cannot be always suitable for spectrum allocation. This is especially in cases like allocation of small amount of airwaves to telecom operators who were earlier allocated 4.4 megahertz of frequencies to bring them in sync with new rules of five Mhz spectrum allocation, or for duration in between their license period of 20 years.

     

    DoT’s Committee on Allotment/Assignment and Pricing of Spectrum, in its draft report, is learnt to have suggested that the department seek recommendation of TRAI on the matter of spectrum assignment and allocation meant for commercial use without auction. The committee in its report said the reference to TRAI be made on “terms of reference of the committee – conditions which need to be satisfied in order to adopt auction as the preferred or sole mode of allotment/assignment of spectrum for the services.” The committee, however, has suggested that airwaves frequencies allocated to organisations for internal use need not be referred to the sector regulator.

  • Next version of Aakash tablets to be ready by January 2014

    Next version of Aakash tablets to be ready by January 2014

    NEW DELHI: The government has finalised specifications of next version of low-cost tablet Aakash which would be ready by January 2014, Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal has said.

     

    “The generation four Aakash is ready, all the specifications are frozen,” Sibal said while addressing at the Telecom Summit.

     

    The minister also said that around 12 manufacturers from around the world are ready to make the tablet in India.

     

    “There is no problem in terms of manufacture. In fact lines are ready for manufacture, what they need is orders. Now that specifications are frozen, we hope that the Aakash will be available to the people of India by January 2014,” he said.

     

    The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) will start the process for orders, he added.

     

    Under the proposed specifications, the latest version of Aakash should be capable of supporting 4G services, phone calling features, 4 GB in built storage and Bluetooth connectivity.