ITV

Tag: Narendra Modi

  • MyGov.in to increase government-citizen interaction

    MyGov.in to increase government-citizen interaction

    NEW DELHI: A new portal, MyGov.in, a platform for the people, especially the youth, to connect with the government actively, has been launched by the central government.

     

    Department of Electronics and Information Technology secretary RS Sharma said that the portal, managed by the National Informatics Centre, empowers people to contribute towards good governance through various tasks and discussions. 

    Citizens can upload documents, case studies, pictures, videos, other work plans etc. on the platform. They can volunteer for various tasks and submit their entries. These tasks would then be reviewed by other members and experts. Once approved, these tasks can be shared by other members on MyGov. Every approved task would earn credit points for completing the task. Thus, MyGov presents an opportunity to the citizens to participate in multiple theme-based discussions and to share their thoughts and ideas with a wide range of people.  

    The platform has been divided into various groups namely Clean Ganga, Girl Child Education, Clean India, Skilled India, Digital India, Job Creation etc. Each group consists of online and on-ground tasks that can be taken up the contributors. The objective of each group is to bring about a qualitative change in that sphere through people’s participation. 

    Sharma said the platforms ‘Discuss’ and ‘Do’ will take feedback from the community and improve on a continuous basis. He said his department has plan to have a mobile app for mygov.in, for people to contribute while on the move and enable them to send theme-related pictures, report in-context problems and issues etc.

     

    The platform may even be extended to act like public audit platform for government projects. For example, citizens giving feedback on status of completed infrastructure projects, on availability of various social sector programmes etc.

  • Two more Union Ministries join Twitter

    Two more Union Ministries join Twitter

    MUMBAI:  Following up on the push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking all his ministers to join twitter, two more union ministries debuted on the platform today.  The Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be tweeting from their handles; @MoHFW_INDIA  and @TexMinIndia

     

    Twitter has emerged as the platform of choice for the NDA government to communicate with the citizens of India with the PM leading the charge with his personal handle (@narendramodi), complimented by his office’s official handle (@PMOIndia), to share updates.

     

    The Prime Minister’s cabinet is flocking to twitter, with nearly 40 ministers and ministries already sharing daily updates with their followers about the goings on in their respective ministries.

    Earlier the Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) and the Home Minister’s Office (@HMOIndia) had joined twitter, with the Railway Ministry even live tweeting the rail budget on their debut.

  • CNBC-TV18 tops the chart on Budget day

    CNBC-TV18 tops the chart on Budget day

    MUMBAI: Upholding their legacy of 15 years of leadership, CNBC-TV18 has once again emerged decisively as the No.1 channel during Budget 2014 with 67 per cent market share on Budget Day.

    As pioneers of coverage of the Union Budget, CNBC-TV18 has always provided viewers with a comprehensive programming line up. This time was no different; with a one month long focus on the channel about key expectations from the industry, banking and financial sectors as well as policy changes anticipated from what was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s maiden Union Budget.

    Yet again, India’s leading business news channel has proved that they are specialists of the genre –  through differentiated Budget coverage, aimed at helping viewers achieve an incisive understanding of the Budget and what lies ahead, presented by an editorial powerhouse.

    CNBC-TV18 led across the following programming pegs & time bands during the Union Budget in July 2014:

     

    1.    Budget Day (24 hrs) in all India: CNBC-TV18 leads with 67 per cent relative share followed by ET Now with 22 per cent, NDTV Profit is at #3 with 11 per cent and Bloomberg TV has 1 per cent viewership.

    2.    Budget Week (24 hrs) in all India: CNBC-TV18 leads with 65 per cent relative share followed by ET Now with 27 per cent, NDTV Profit is at #3 with 7 per cent and Bloomberg TV has 2 per cent viewership.

    3.    FM Speech (11:01 to 13:13 hrs) in all India: CNBC-TV18 leads with 58 per cent relative share followed by ET Now with 29 per cent, NDTV Profit is at #3 with 13 per cent and Bloomberg TV has no viewership.

    All these figures are for the core audience group of CS AB Males 25+.

    In addition to the above data points, CNBC-TV18 also lead across all markets and target audiences, in all parameters pertaining to Budget coverage.
    CNBC-TV18 has always been at the forefront of covering business, political and economic news and bringing quality journalism to its viewers. This strong performance reiterates CNBC-TV18’s undisputed leadership and legacy in coverage of key economic events for the past 15 years.
    CNBC-TV18 Managing Editor Shereen Bhan said ‘I have firmly believed in the power of specialisation and this overwhelming verdict confirms my belief. Being the first in Business news is not just a tagline for us, it is our core strategy. Our Budget coverage is a reflection of our deep expertise and experience. It also showcased our ability to stay ahead of the curve with new programming which included our reporters travelling around the country from Nashik to Ahmednagar to get an in-depth look at how Government Schemes like the NREGS are performing. We brought together the most influential voices from India Inc, the markets, Foreign Investors and Tax experts to find the devil in the details. CNBCTV18 was also the channel of choice for the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his Budget team including the Finance Secretary and Revenue Secretary as they laid out the roadmap for economic revival.’

    Commenting on CNBC-TV18’s impactful Budget coverage and viewership, Anil Uniyal (CEO, CNBC Channels) said, “We have consistently sought to bring content of value to our viewers and this is what has reinforced our No. 1 position in Budget 2014. I’d like to thank our viewers for making CNBC-TV18 their channel of choice for the Budget and also for the past 14 years, which encourages us to stay ahead and continue to strive for excellence.”

  • Lok Sabha passes TRAI amendment bill

    Lok Sabha passes TRAI amendment bill

    NEW DELHI: The appointment of former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Nripendra Misra as principal secretary to the Prime Minister got legislative sanction in the Lok Sabha when it passed the amendment to the TRAI Bill to remove the clause which bars appointment of former TRAI officers in government posts.

     

    The amendment was passed despite protests by the Congress. The Nationalist Congress Party which is an ally of the Congress had over the weekend said that it would support the amendment as this was not the first case of a retired government servant being re-employed in the government. The Trinamool Congress which had initially said it would oppose the bill decided to support it.

     

    The Bill replaces the ordinance issued on 28 May by the Bharatiya Janata Party which said it was based on merits while the Congress has criticised the government for showing undue haste in bringing a person specific ordinance.

     

    Under Parliamentary procedures, any ordinance has to be replaced by an Act within six weeks of the session that commences after the promulgation of the ordinance.

     

    The government strongly defended the move. Law and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government is in “full power to bring the bill” and the effort was to bring TRAI on par with other similar organisations like the Competition Commission.

     

    Misra, a 69-year old 1967-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre who retired in 2009, joined the Prime Minister’s Office the day the ordinance was promulgated. Before the Ordinance was promulgated, the TRAI Act prohibited its chairman and members from taking up any other job in central or state governments after demitting office.

     

    The TRAI Act 1997 says: “The chairperson or any other member ceasing to hold office as such, shall (a) be ineligible for further employment under the Central government or any state government or (b) not accept any commercial employment for a period of two years from the date he ceases to hold such office.”

     

    The amended section now reads: “The chairperson and the whole-time members shall not, for a period of two years from the date on which they cease to hold office as such, except with the previous approval of the Central government, accept “(a) any employment either under the Central government or under any state government; or “(b) any appointment in any company in the business of telecommunication service.”

     

    Although the BJP is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha, the Bill is expected to be passed in the Upper House as the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party apart from NCP and TMC are also supporting it.

     

    The bill will become a law after it is passed by the Rajya Sabha and assented to by the President.

  • Germany Wins FIFA World Cup 2014

    Germany Wins FIFA World Cup 2014

    MUMBAI: In a nail biting finish, after 64 matches spanning a period of one month, Germany on Sunday night was crowned FIFA World Cup 2014 champions. It won thanks to a lone goal, courtesy from substitute Mario Goetze who scored smoothly during extra time, anointing the Germans as the first European team to win the title on South American soil.

     

    In the 113th minute, Gotze took a pass from the left from Andre Schurrle, trapped it on his chest and swiveled it past Sergio Romero and effortlessly kicked it into the net. This was enough for the Germans to start celebrating and Argentina to begin wailing.

     

    For Goetze it was dream come true as he expressed “I’m more than happy and I’m happy with the team and what happened here in Brazil. I guess it’s more or less indescribable how I feel. It is absolutely sensational.”

     

    While Messi and the Argentineans’ had the best early chance, the Germans were too strong in every way with the best all-round collection of players. But for Messi there was some rejoicing, as he was declared the Best player of the Tournament receiving the Golden ball. Germany’s Manuel Neuer received the Golden Glove as he was declared the best goalkeeper.

     

    In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh both tweeted about the World Cup match. While Modi wished both Argentina and Germany for the final, Yuvi congratulated Germany and said it brought back the 2011 world cup final memories for him.

     

    The most mentioned players on twitter from the winning team were, Mario Gotze, Manuel Neuer, Christoph Kramer. From the Argentinan team it was Lionel Messi, Gonzalao Higuain and Javier Mascherano.

     

    This wasn’t the first time the two giants have met in a final. In 1986, Argentina beat Germany in the final in Mexico. Four years later, Germany was crowned world champions after beating the South Americans in Italy. Sundays match again saw the two lock horns with Germany winning their fourth title besides winning in 1954, 1974 and 1990.

     

  • Government takes legislative step to accommodate Nripendra Misra in PMO

    Government takes legislative step to accommodate Nripendra Misra in PMO

    NEW DELHI: The change of government always brings about a shake-up of senior executives in various posts, and this is done even if it necessitates changing laws to accommodate an individual or an individual’s chosen one.

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is being amended so that former TRAI chairman Nripendra Misra – a 1967-batch IAS officer who is now 69 years of age – can be appointed as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

     

    A bill in this regard was introduced in the Lok Sabha to replace an ordinance brought out by the government to amend the act which prohibited its chairman and members from taking up any other job in the central or state governments after demitting office.

     

    Some Congress members told indiantelevision.com that this would open the Pandora’s Box as it would be used by every successive government to bring their favourites to key posts. Furthermore, this precedent may lead to amendments in other organisations where similar restrictions have been put in place.  

     

    With the Bharatiya Janata Party issuing a whip to its members to support the bill, it is bound to be passed. However, it may face a tougher task in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP does not have a majority.

     

    The TRAI (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was debated in the House today.

     

    According to the present TRAI Act: “The chairperson or any other member ceasing to hold office as such shall (a) be ineligible for further employment under the central government or any state government or (b) not accept any commercial employment, for a period of two years from the date he ceases to hold such office.”

     

    The ordinance amends this section to read as: “The chairperson and the whole-time members shall not, for a period of two years from the date on which they cease to hold office as such, except with the previous approval of the central government, accept “(a) any employment either under the central government or under any state government; or “(b) any appointment in any company in the business of telecommunication service.”

     

    Misra is an IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre and his appointment as principal secretary will be co-terminus with the term of the PM or till further orders, according to an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel. The principal secretary to the PM is a key post and acts as main link for coordination among Prime Minister’s Office, cabinet secretariat and secretaries of ministries. 

  • Terrestrial TV to be opened for private participation: Javadekar

    Terrestrial TV to be opened for private participation: Javadekar

    MUMBAI: Is the Modi government likely to pry open terrestrial television to private broadcasters?  Terrestrial TV has been the exclusive turf of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, apart from a short stint where it leased out a programming block to Ozzie broadcaster Kerry Packer around 12-13 years ago.

    It is quite likely to, if one goes by the response of Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar to a question in the Parliament on 9 July. PTI quotes him as saying that Doordarshan is digitising its analogue terrestrial network.

    “Consequently the number of digitised channels would go up. DD would thereafter be in a position to invite private free-to-air TV channels for meaningful business plan in this regard,” he added.

    This was one of the options provided by the Sam Pitroda committee earlier this year.  The committee had recommended two options: one to totally move the pubcaster to satellite transmission via DD Direct. And, two, to upgrade its analogue terrestrial network to DVBT2 to meet its need to deliver content meeting both national and regional coverage needs.

    The report had recommended that DD could opt for selected use of DVB-T2/DVB-NGH terrestrial  technology in partnership with private players if commercially feasible in order to enhance the capacity of each transmitter to eight to 10 channels.

    The committee, however, had cautioned that DD would have to transform itself into two separate companies handling content creation and managing infrastructure to allow private participation. Additionally, it had added that DD would have to provide a subsidy to increase the affordability of DVBT2/DVB-NGH receivers as they are not readily available at affordable prices in India.

    Even the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had in 2005 recommended that terrestrial television should be thrown open to private sector participation as is the case in most countries.

  • Government to invest Rs 100 crore in Kisan Television

    Government to invest Rs 100 crore in Kisan Television

    MUMBAI:  The much awaited budget from the new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has begun and the first announcement for the media industry is in the form of the proposed new TV channel for farmers- Kisan Television dedicated to the interests of the agriculture and allied sector.

     

    While presenting the Budget 2014 in the Parliament, Jaitley stated that the government will be investing Rs 100 crore for the channel that will give real time information on new farming techniques, water conservation, organic and farming etc.

     

    A few weeks ago, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar had stated that Kisan Television will be launched soon and Jaitley’s announcement reaffirms the government’s commitment to it.

     

    The 24 hour channel, to be called DD Kisan, is being worked upon with the help of Prasar Bharati. Prior to winning the election, BJP had stated that if it came to power, it would explore setting up of regional Kisan TV channels.

     

    Soon after the announcement, Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka tweeted “Kisan TV for farmer education was a good one!!”

     

    Added PricewaterhouseCoopers leader- entertainment & media practice India Smita Jha, “Announcement of launch of Kisan TV and Aruna Prabha TV are also welcome in the context of their respective situations but hope these channels are commercially viable and do not add further burden to Public Service Broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, which is already under severe financial pressure.”

  • Cable digitisation to increase tax collection: Economic Survey

    Cable digitisation to increase tax collection: Economic Survey

    MUMBAI: The Economic Survey for 2013-14 that was tabled by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley shows that both the centre and the state governments will benefit from the digitisation of the cable TV industry in India because of the increase in tax collection from it.

     

    Jaitley in Parliament said, “Preliminary data from the state governments show that there is already two to three fold increase in entertainment tax collections.” The transparency in the subscriber base is set to add to the manifold increase in tax collection.

     

    Due to digitisation, opportunities are being created for the domestic manufacturers to delve into more set top box (STB) production. It stated that over three crore STBs have already been installed in the eight metros and 36 cities of the phase I and II of digitisation. The deadline for complete digitisation (phase III and IV) has been set to 31 December 2014.

     

    India has nearly 16 crore TV households with nearly 800 channels. Also there are 88 teleports. However, the benefits of digitisation are yet to kick in even in the phase I and phase II markets with only a few cities being billed as per the rules. Uneven and high entertainment tax is an issue that all the stakeholders including DTH, MSOs and broadcasters are standing up to and urging the government to look into and provide them relief. DTH operators are double taxed as they also have to pay a service tax apart from the entertainment tax.

     

    While DTH operators are adding 10 lakh customers each year, the government has also allowed two more operators to provide services through headend-in-the-sky (HITS) system. Effects of digitisation are already visible on film exhibition where 95 of the big screens are now digitised and the sector is ‘poised for buoyant growth in the long run.’

     

    The survey also stated that the media and entertainment industry has had tremendous growth and according to a FICCI-KPMG report, it is expected to touch Rs 1,78,600 crore by 2018. However, piracy remains a big challenge for the film industry and the government has approved an anti-piracy plan to combat it through legal methods.

  • News channels reform before Modi’s big Budget 2014

    News channels reform before Modi’s big Budget 2014

    NEW DELHI: The presentation of the general budget on 10 July morning by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will perhaps be the most keenly watched analysis of the financial shape of the nation since the early 90s when the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh presented his budget.

     

    This is also perhaps the first time in recent years that the budget is being presented by a man from the legal profession.

     

    Although only Lok Sabha TV has the permission to cover the budget live from inside the portals of Lok Sabha, almost every channel in the country – and certainly every business channel – will be taking the beam from Lok Sabha TV and then adding its own analysis programmes.

     

    CNBC TV18, Doordarshan News, Times Now, and most other News channels plan to commence the discussion on the budget from around 8.00 am with experts talking about expectations, and then beaming the live presentation from 11.00 am onwards.

     

     The entry of websites like moneycontrol.com and economylead.com streaming the budget and by social media will be an added feature this year, as many websites have already announced plans in this regard.

     

    With the new dispensation in place, the aspirations of the common man are soaring high and many are wondering whether the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will live up to its slogan of ‘Acche din aaney waley hain.’

     

    The presentation is expected to be followed soon after by the reaction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Doordarshan and Lok Sabha TV and an exhaustive interview of Jaitley about his budget on Doordarshan.

     

    In addition, channels will cover live the press meet by senior Finance Ministry officials in the afternoon about the various facets of the budget.

     

    The coverage on CNBC TV18 will be led by Shereen Bhan, on Times Now by Arnab Goswami, and on NDTV 24×7 by Prannoy Roy. Times Now has articulated its standpoint by saying ‘Everyone deserves a piece of this super budget. Get Yours.’ The channel though also warns that it may be a bitter pill.

     

    Other channels like CNN-IBN, Aaj Tak, ABP News, Sahara Samay, P-7, News X and others have also lined up experts who will analyse the budget. The channels will also have teams that will go to Parliament House premises to get the reactions of various political leaders.

     

     For the business channels, it will be a particularly exhaustive day as they will also have a link with the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange to get the latest ups and downs.

     

     Zee Business which is a Hindi business News channel will telecast the pre-Budget discussions and analysis from 7.00 am onwards and will bring in live and uninterrupted coverage of the Budget Speech. The channel will articulate, analyse and keep the common man abreast of all the impacts that Budget is going to have on their daily lives.

     

     Interestingly themed as the ‘Abki baar, sapne sakaar,’ Zee Business will have expert panels, business leaders and corporate captains throughout the day to give their expert advice. After the Finance Minister’s speech, Zee Business will undertake a series of power packed Budget Bulletins. Some of these bulletins will comprise high power panel discussions and will involve expert comments from the nation’s top business leaders and policy makers.  Some of the key Ministers holding important portfolios have already appeared and shared their views, and will also do so during post-Budget analysis programmes. They include Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

     

    Special shows have been conceptualised with thorough research from the industry point of view without losing the ground reality and its impact on the common man. Expert opinions, industry perspective viz–a–viz market reaction and informative bulletins will be telecast.

     

    Zee Business will also organise a viewer’s engagement programme throughout the day from different parts of the country where commoners get a voice to air their reaction and feedback on the pertinent issues on budget.

     

     Zee Media CEO Samir Ahluwalia said, “With clear understanding of the expectations of the India Inc. as well as indications of the common man, Zee Business is poised to present a comprehensive Budget coverage. Through special programming and initiatives focusing on budget expectations, analysis and impact, Zee Business will once again ensure specialised coverage on Budget Day.”

     

    Added CNBC-TV18 managing editor Shereen Bhan, “The key question we will be asking is if the budget will be able to deliver. There will be a sharp focus on market reactions, the stance taken by other countries giving India a thumbs up and about investment in domestic capital. We will analyse the long term and short term ideas the government has as well as the reforms that will be taken up to revive the economy.”