Tag: Times Network

ET NOW celebrates the indomitable spirit of Indian entrepreneurship at the 6th annual ‘Leaders of Tomorrow Awards’ 2017

MUMBAI: ET NOW, India’s leading English Business News channel, hosted the 6th edition of the ‘LEADERS OF TOMORROW’ (LOT) awards. India’s most coveted awards for MSMEs, ‘LEADERS OF TOMORROW’ (LOT) awards recognises and celebrates MSMEs who are shaping the future of Indian economy.

‘LEADERS OF TOMORROW’ awards 2018 was presided by Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas; Minister, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India as the Chief Guest. Pioneers from various industries including Mr. RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, Mr. R Chandrasekar, President, NASSCOM and Mr. V Vaidyanathan, Founder & Executive Chairman, Capital First felicitated the winners of coveted ‘LEADERS OF TOMORROW’ awards across ten categories.

Delivering the keynote address at ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ Awards, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas; Minister, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, Dharmendra Pradhan, said, “A lot of economic activities in India are based on emerging entrepreneurial models. But the challenge in the Indian scenario is that we do not have any formal financial leakage accountability. We should assess our requirements and know our strengths. We have to create a technologically driven world. I congratulate ET Now for this great initiative and I’m sure that the thinking group will jot down a new pathway for new aspirations and youngsters of this country.”

Commenting on this occasion, Times Network, MD & CEO, MK Anand said, “It takes determination and passion to bring alive an idea and no one knows this better than entrepreneurs. Through the LEADERS OF TOMORROW awards, we celebrate and salute the indominable spirit of MSME leaders, who have not only led their organizations to the pinnacles of success, but also are a source of inspiration to others. We firmly believe that India’s most coveted awards for MSMEs, will inspire new stories of entrepreneurial success.”

The glittering awards night saw a large number of high profile dignitaries like Gopal Krishna Agarwal, Member- MSME Task Force, Ministry of Finance & National Spokesperson- Economic Affairs, BJP, Gaurav Kapoor, Senior Head – Industry Partnership, CSR, Media and Advocacy at National Skills Development Corporation, Sunita Singh, Senior Director, National Entrepreneurship Network, Archana Garodia Gupta, Chair- MSME Committee, FICCI, Chandrakant Salunkhe, Founder & President, SME Chamber of India, Hiru Bijlani, Managing Director, Leadership Management

International, India, Vineet Nayar, Former CEO, HCL Tech & Founder, Chairman, Sampark Foundation, to name a few.

In association with ET NOW, the LOT Awards has had five successful editions and organised the 6th edition on March 8th, which received 1000 nominations from across the country. In this season of ‘LEADERS OF TOMORROW’, the winners of the most inspiring MSMEs were shortlisted after a country-wide selection process, where their extraordinary contribution to the sector has been appropriately acknowledged. This year, the Presenting Partner Capital First, Associate Partner LMI, Supported by MSME department and Knowledge Partner SME Chamber of India ensured complete process compliance and veracity of the data received from nominee MSMEs.

Catch the Indian entrepreneurs’ undying spirit on the most definitive MSME platform which will as 2 part Awards special on ET NOW – India’s leading English Business News channel on March 21st and 22nd.

March 14, 2018
Romedy NOW brings award winning and celebrated edgy comedy show ‘Shameless’ to Indian television screens for the first time

MUMBAI: India’s favourite English Entertainment channel, Romedy NOW brings to Indian audiences for the first time ever on Indian television, the award winning and celebrated American comedy-drama series – ‘Shameless’ premiering this Friday, 16th March at 11pm on Romedy NOW’s ‘After Hours Binge’.

Adapted by John Wells, this fiercely engaging and fearlessly twisted series depicts the dysfunctional family of the Gallaghers who live in the South Side of Chicago. Chicagoan Frank Gallagher played by Oscar®-nominated William H. Macy is the proud single alcoholic dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who leaves his kids to fend for themselves. When Frank is not at the bar spending the little money he has, he’s passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.

Speaking on the launch of the new show, TIMES NETWORK, EVP & Head Entertainment Cluster, Vivek Srivastava said, “Shameless will be a break through show for the channel as the content of the show is extremely bold and edgy which is a change from our usual programming line-up. Known to be synonymous with love and laughter, the channel has historically been India’s favourite rom-com destination showcasing the happiest television series & movies. Like ‘Shameless’, the quality of content that we will be showcasing on the channel is an attempt to widen our audience base. We as a channel are committed to provide all round entertainment and therefore are working towards including a mix of different emotions in all our shows. I am confident that Shameless will have an equal fan following in India as overseas.”

Through its distinctive international content, Romedy NOW is known to strike an emotional chord with audiences by offering them their daily dose of love and laughter. With the Indian television premiere of ‘Shameless’, the channel will be now foraying into edgier and quirky content apart from romance and comedy.
Have no shame and tune in to catch the immensely entertaining comedy series – ‘Shameless’ premiering this Friday, 16th March at 11pm on Romedy NOW’s ‘After Hours Binge’.

March 14, 2018
Times Network announces the 4th Edition of the india economic conclave

MUMBAI: As the Indian economy is taking giant strides, it is opening up new challenges as well as opportunities for businesses to Rise With India. Introducing the 4th edition of The India Economic Conclave 2018, a 2-day conclave to be held on 29th and 30th March, 2018 at the Taj Diplomatic Conclave, New Delhi. The conclave is an insight-hub of some of India’s most influential leaders and global business icons, where the conversation will be channelized towards one aim alone: unearthing Actionable Business Intelligence that business leaders can easily and successfully implement.

A Landmark Initiative of the Times Network, the 4th edition of India Economic Conclave will address pressing issues and quandaries in the minds of business leaders on the direction of the Indian Economy, Reforms, Policy Changes & Government Initiatives, Growth Strategies & New Market Prioritization, Geopolitical Issues and their Business Impact, Technological Upheaval & Innovation, and many such conversations which can help businesses plan present and future strategies.

With big change comes bigger opportunities. However, all opportunities only present themselves within a finite window of actionable time. Timely information and insights from those in the know will be the key differentiator and value-generator of the India Economic Conclave 2018.

To register for the event, please log onto www.indiaeconomicconclave.com.

The India Economic Conclave 2018 will air on ET NOW, India’s No.1 Business News channel.

March 8, 2018
Binge on your favourite movies with ‘Anthology Weekends’ on MNX

Mumbai: When it comes to movies, we all have our favourites we love to binge watch! Offering its viewers their favorite movie franchise, MNX, the new age Hollywood channel for Young India from Times Network, presents a series of cult classics titled ‘Anthology Weekends’, every weekend, until March 25, 2018. Airing every Friday to Sunday @ 9p.m.,‘Anthology Weekends’ features some of the most noteworthy franchise movies of all times. From evolving into a superhero to protect your city from crime or following a life altering journey to reclaim your city from dragons to looking into a dystopian future with simulated reality, ‘Anthology Weekends’ promises uninterrupted entertainment with an eclectic mix of popular, edgy and distinctly entertaining movies, including ‘The Matrix’, ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Rush Hour’.

Anthology Weekends movies includes:

‘The Matrix’ trilogy which will air from March 2- 4, is a science fiction action cult classic about heroes fighting a desperate war against machine overlords that have enslaved humanity in an extremely sophisticated virtual reality system.

‘Star Wars’ series is a cult favourite across all age groups will be shown over two weekends with ‘A New Hope’, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return Of The Jedi’ will air from March 9- 11 and ‘The Phantom Menace’, ‘Attack Of The Clones’ and ‘Revenge Of The Sith’ airing from March 16- 18. Written and directed by George Lucas with some of Hollywood’s biggest names such as Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, viewers will be privy to saving the galaxy from evil forces at its very best in the ultimate cult classic ‘Star Wars’.

‘Rush Hour’, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who overcome cultural differences to fight crime in the American buddy cop action comedy film will air from March 23- 25.

Cherish the most loved and legendary movie franchises of all time with MNX’s ‘Anthology Weekends’ every Friday – Sunday until 25th March

February 22, 2018
Debates continue to reap rewards for Eng news channels on prime time

MUMBAI: Prime-time shows on Indian English news channels have struggled to budge from their reliance on the debate format. In spite of access to new technologies, the content of the programming during the slot has largely remained the same. Even the allure of virtual reality (VR) and the latest production techniques have failed to wean viewers from the formulaic nature of debates.

It was NDTV that was the first to make use of VR videos online. In July 2017, Republic TV followed suit. The news broadcaster announced its intent to form a VR production studio to create a set of 10-series VR news stories for digital. Soon after, Times Network also began to take rapid strides in that direction with 3D 360-degree video-based VR and Google’s 180-degree VR format. Moreover, in December 2017, NDTV came up with a turnaround plan to improve profitability that involved reducing the workforce by up to 25 per cent and increasing its reliance on accessible technology such as mobile journalism.

Times Now with the Newshour Debate, hosted by Rahul Shivshankar, and Republic TV with The Debate at 9 pm, steered by Arnab Goswami, touch upon current, political and social issues that take place in the country with eminent personalities from diverse fields on the panel.

Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani says that the channel’s primetime format is giving them an edge over others. “Our primetime format is working beautifully for us and giving us a leadership against all of the channels. When Arnab is on air, we have 45-60 per cent market share between 9-11 pm. We have an overall market share of 35-45 per cent which is better than other channels’ primetime shows also. Republic is also working in building the second line at 8 and 8:30 pm shows with other big anchors like Parikshit Lutra and Shivani Gupta.”

Mirror Now has made an entry in the top-five list of Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) all India data in week 6 this year for the first time. The channel’s primetime shows include The Urban Debate at 9 pm and The Last Word at 10 pm. At every stage of the debate, viewers will poll on whether they agree with the panellists or not. The show zooms in on and discusses the problems faced by the citizens of the country, including topics ranging from civic apathy and crimes against women.

At the time of the launch of The Last Word in November last year, Mirror Now executive editor Faye D’souza said, “The idea behind our new 10 pm show is to raise issues that are pertinent to viewers and force the authorities to answer and act. We have cultivated a loyal viewership by showcasing subjects that affect day-to-day lives of urban Indians.”

CNN News18 has a different approach to its primetime show called Viewpoint hosted by anchor Bhupendra Chaubey. He explores the top-five news stories and interacts with a panel that provides its opinions. Furthermore, he also connects with viewers through social media to get their inputs. The other show Epicentre is hosted by Shreya Dhoundial and Marya Shakil where they present the latest issues and talk to experts and prominent individuals.

Chaubey said that the show will be driven by graphics and facts. “We are trying to bring the focus back to facts and we are hoping that, over a period of time, it will grow. Once people get used to the offerings that we have, the CNN News18 primetime will go a long way in just establishing the channel’s share. Right now, our market share for the primetime slot is 20-30 per cent.”

India Today TV at 9 pm has a show called News Today, wherein they compile the latest social, economic and political news of the day. The next show is Newsroom wherein Rahul Kanwal, the host, presents the latest social, economic and political news from across the world.

NDTV 24X7 has a show The 9 o’clock News where it shows news devoid of debate and covers all the top stories of the day, including politics, sports, cities, the world and business. The next show at 9:30 pm is Reality Check, which aims to bust myths.

It seems like the debate show at the prime-time slot works better than any other format. BARC data reflects that four channels in the top-five list have debate shows in their prime-time slot. It is quite unlikely that the Indian audience will move away from the debate format any time soon given the entertainment they generate.

Also Read:

Making the news: A look at what news broadcasters did in 2017

Mirror Now aims to be no. 2 Eng news channel in 2018: Faye D’Souza

BARC week 5: Aaj Tak and Republic TV lead in respective genres

February 16, 2018
Times Network evokes the ‘hero’ in viewers with its Republic Day movies line-up

Times Network, a part of India’s largest media conglomerate, The Times Group, commemorates the 69th Republic Day of India through a specially curated line-up of movies on its channels MOVIES NOW and MNX featuring big screen heroes who save the world from dark forces. With movies such as ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ ‘Valkyrie’, ‘Ben-Hur,’ and ‘The Dark Knight’, Times Network’s English movie channels, MOVIES NOW and MNX, bring to its viewers a formidable line- up of Hollywood blockbusters that celebrate guts, glory and action.

Movies NOW through its property ‘Badge of Courage’, celebrates heroism & passion this Republic Day from 9am to 9pm with an array of Hollywood blockbusters like Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, Marvel’s The Avengers, Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Ant-Man. Movies NOW has assembled all its super heroes to ignite the spirit of nationalism amongst Indian audiences who in their quest to save the world from destruction, exude courage and valour which are symbolic of what Republic Day is all about.

Likewise, MNX through their line-up seek to inspire audiences with films that celebrate resilience, bravery and commitment, values which are characteristic of any hero to the nation. Viewers will be privy to films where the good guys undergo hardships to emerge triumphant in the end be it Valkyrie (overcoming Nazi rule), London has Fallen (fighting terrorism), Ben-Hur (reclaiming lost honour) to The Lone Ranger (capturing rogue outlaws) to name a few.

Wear your badge of courage this Republic Day and tune in to catch the movie line-up on Movies NOW and MNX on Friday, January 26^th

January 24, 2018
Times Network copartners Autocar India for the Autocar Awards 2018

MUMBAI: Times Network, a part of The Times Group, co-partners Autocar India for the Autocar Awards 2018 for the third year. The event witnessed distinguished corporate leaders and personalities, who came together to salute the achievers from the automotive sector.

India’s automotive industry witnessed anencouraging business trend during 2017, the industryobserveddouble-digit growth backed by strong sales of passenger vehicles. Last year also saw a slew of new models & variants hitting the roads across categories,alluringboth first time as well as refresh segment of costumers.

Commenting on the industry’s most coveted event, Times Network MD & CEO, MK Anand said,“We are extremely excited to present Autocar Awards 2018. As the Auto Industry readies itself to brace the seismic changes that technology is bringing with it and adapts and evolves, we promise to partner the industry by recognising excellence and putting the spotlight on the best and brightest in the Indian market and showcase them to our discerning audience.”

Anant Geete, Union Cabinet Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises, “The automobile sector has delivered significant growth and development; and is aligned with our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s mission of ‘Make in India’. The global automobile sector is witnessing a measured shift towards electric movement. India need to admit this change and move forward together.’’

The Autocar Awards for the past 15 years have been zeroing in on and honouring the best bikes and cars sold in India. It is only after astringent process of evaluation, ample testing, and of course thorough deliberation, that the contenders and winners for each award are adjudged.

India’s leading automakers, all vied for top honours at the Indian automotive industry’s most coveted awards.The awardswereadjudged by an esteemed panel of auto experts, who graded automobiles on the basis of performance, price, features, design and specification.The collective experience of the panel remains unmatched in the industry.

The Autocar Awards 2018 will air on Times Now and ET Now in January, 2018.

The winners of 2018 Awards are:

January 13, 2018
Content segmentation defines English entertainment, movies in 2017

MUMBAI: It was the year of HD for English entertainment in India. Add to it, the bump up in the number of movie premieres and series that you could now see in better quality. Increased adoption of HD set top boxes encouraged broadcasters to go for HD.

Content segmentation has emerged as a big success for English entertainment and movies channels. Consumers today are evolved in their choices, they are abreast of the latest titles and keep track of their favourite stars and directors.

Times Network, with seven movies channels, garners one-third of the English viewership in India. It launched a channel named Movies Now 2 in 2016 and in July 2017 it was rebranded to MNX. In its inaugural week, MNX topped the chart with 2814 impressions (000s) sum. MNX was unveiled with the telecast of its first big bang movie- Mad Max Fury Road on 15 July 2017.

Times Network EVP & head- entertainment cluster Vivek Srivastava said, “2017 has been a busy and exciting year for Times Network’s English entertainment channels. We have maintained leadership of existing brands and successfully launched new brands and created lively consumer proposition. Movies Now has maintained leadership in the category. MNX has been the most successful launch from the cluster, maintaining a very healthy lead above HBO. MN+ and Romedy Now continue to maintain a high share of mind in their respective categories.”

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) and Sony Pictures Television (SPT), in October 2017 announced that they have entered into a first pay features deal bringing a range of premium films to Indian audiences.

As part of this, Zee will have the first access to Sony Pictures releases over the next few years. The new pay one deal marks the first between SPT and Zee Entertainment Enterprises in India and includes blockbusters as Spider-Man: Homecoming, Blade Runner 2049, Baby Driver, The Emoji Movie and Life, among others.

In September, Zeel launched a new English channel named &Privé HD with the tagline ‘Feel the Other side’. &Privé HD also introduced a unique technology on its social platforms – the world’s first twin screen trailer. This distinctive technology enabled viewers to experience the other side of cinema with the help of a second device in a fun and engaging manner.

For the premiere of Moonlight, the channel created a larger-than-life installation of a gun on a rainbow coloured platform, and for the premiere of Pelé, &Privé HD paid an ode to the legendary footballer with a magnificent installation of a life-size goal post with the numbers 1281 made out of multiple footballs depicting the total number goals Pelé scored. In December 2017, the channel celebrated the master storyteller, Steven Spielberg’s 71st birthday with a festival of some of his most notable films – Bridge of Spies, Amistad, Catch me if You Can, The Terminal, Super 8, etc.

Branded content is being added to channels to increase the viewership pie. The addition of subtitles has enabled Indian viewers to follow the flow of American, British and other unfamiliar English accents. Thus, viewership is impacted positively, and hence, English SLS (same language subtitling) became the norm on all English language TV networks.

Star World has an interesting line-up of new shows for 2018, including season two of the American Crime Story which features prominent international stars such as Penelope Cruz and Ricky Martin, and season one of the American supernatural sitcom Ghosted.

Sony Pix will bring an assortment of movies like the 2017 American erotic romantic drama Fifty Shades Darker, The Fate Of The Furious, which is the eighth instalment of the car-based action franchise, Despicable Me 3, a 3D computer-animated action comedy about mischievous minions and Gru, and the musical comedy Pitch Perfect 3.

In October, Disney launched a GEC Disney International HD Disney. The English GEC has 100 per cent exclusive and original content and caters to the age group of 14-25 years. According to Disney India country head Abhishek Maheshwari, kids grow out of animation after 14 years.

The year ended with a blockbuster deal where the Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox’s film and television studios for $52.4 billion. After the acquisition, 21st Century Fox will separate the Fox broadcasting network and stations, Fox News channels, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network into a newly listed company ‘Fox’.

With one merger out of the way, the big studios remaining are Warner Bros, Universal, Viacom’s Paramount, Sony Pictures and The Weinstein Company.

The English movies TV channel market in India is worth Rs 4.5-6 billion and the viewership of English content on HD channels is on the rise. In 2015, India had five million HD STBs, which saw a 160 per cent increase over the past three years. Today, India has around 10.8 million HD STBs.

“English movies have always been about smart acquisition and smart scheduling. Consumer segmentation will dial up the next level of growth for the cluster in 2018. Social media has played an important role, getting consumers closer to their content. As long as the platforms have a distinct offering and stay true to their content, viewers will be there”, Srivastava added.

January 11, 2018
Combination of brand, process and team the real superstar: MK Anand

MUMBAI: The year is coming to an end on a satisfying note for the Times Network. 2017 threw up several challenges right from the start of the year with demonetisation, top-level changes in the editorial team and the tough competition between Times Now and the newly launched rival Republic TV, run by the Times’ former iconic anchor Arnab Goswami.

The two big events at the Times Network this year were the rebranding of ET Now from a full-time business news channel to a general news channel and the launch of Mirror Now. The former has broad-based itself beyond 5 pm in a bid to offer holistic news for business.

Times Network CEO & MD MK Anand says the channel has had a good streak lately. “It’s indeed a very satisfying December at the end of an eventful year with multiple challenges and multiple high points. The top-level change in Times Network’s editorial team last year pleasantly cascaded into a series of structural corrections unleashing innovation, synergy, asset optimisation and the sheer release of creative energy. The results are there for the world to see,” he says.

He highlights that digital will be a major thrust area for Times Now next year. Furthermore, the channel shifted its editorial team to Delhi in the second half of 2017 in order to centralise news operations.

Anand says that Times Now kept its primacy intact with style. “In spite of some desperate stunts by competition, India’s No 1 English news channel majestically marched along. Not once missing step,” he states. In the midst of the news hullabaloo, it launched and stabilised Times Now HD. “With that, we effectively proved that the combination of brand, process and team is the real superstar,” he adds.

For ET Now, the channel came up with an exciting developmental debate concept. The concept puts a new responsibility on the team to focus on areas that lead to India’s growth and give direction to the economy.

The same team, using almost entirely in-house resources, gave birth to Mirror Now in the middle of the battleground that 2017 was. The new channel climbed up the charts and carved a clear and differentiated niche for itself with reach/ viewership comparable with other major English news brands. It has also thrown up an extremely promising primetime star. “Mirror Now’s steady growth will upset the order in 2018 and I look forward to it being India’s second rank English news brand,” he adds.

Anand expects the news genre to be more active and exciting in 2018. “And with better market conditions, now that GST and demonetisation are behind us, the overall English and news space is poised for a truly great ride through the new year,” he predicts.

Also read:

Times Network hosts Digital India Summit and Awards 4.0

Times Now leadership continues, new launches notwithstanding, says MK Anand

ET Now revamps to offer both, business and general news

December 27, 2017
Times Network hosts Digital India Summit and Awards 4.0

MUMBAI: Times Network, a part of The Times Group, launched the fourth edition of its ‘Times Network Digital India Summit and Awards 4.0. Attended by some of the most valued dignitaries in India, the summit aimed at deliberating on key challenges and laid out key imperatives and framework for turning the vision of ‘Digital India’ into a reality, through a series of panel discussions and deliberations.

The summit kicked off with the keynote address by the Chief Guest, Honorable Union Minister for Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad. The participants at the first session of the panel discussion themed “Digital India- Where Do Things Stand? A Real Time Assessment” were DoT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan; Nasscom President Designate Debjani Ghosh; Union Bank of India MD & CEO Rajkiran Rai; Bain & Co India Chairman Sri Rajan and IBM India MD Karan Bajwa.

Talking extensively about the growth, opportunities and possibilities of the digital connectivity in India, Honorable Union Minister for Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad stated, “Digital India which is a flagship initiative the government is designed to empower and to help the poor and the underprivileged. We are focusing on providing the affordable and inclusive digital media to the masses. Today we have well over 1 billion mobile phones in the country with 350 million being smartphones which defines the digital identity of the nation. Low cost technology for inclusive growth is crucial.”The Honorable Minister also touched upon the benefits of digital India in the wake of enrolling Aadhaar. He added “With enrollment of 1.18 billion Aadhaar cards, we were able to save 49,000 crore of the exchequer which was previously looted by the middlemen in the public distribution system.” Further talking about the inclusion of the digital resources, he highlighted that India has digital aspiration, appetite and customer. We are heading towards a revolution of digital media in this country.”

“Technology is an enabler in bringing women to work and this will add 60 per cent to GDP by 2025,” says

NASSCOM President Designate Debjani Ghosh.

Commenting on Times Network Digital India Summit 4.0, Times Network MD & CEO MK Anand said, “Over the last 3 years, Digital India Summit & Awards, has enjoyed tremendous response from both delegates and particpants alike. With unwavering focus on building a digitally empowered India, the 4th edition of Digital India Summit is another step towards bridging the ‘digital divide’ and finding solutions and opportunities to create a robust security architecture.”

Union Bank of India MD and CEO Rajkiran Rai said, “Digital India is one of the biggest government programs in the world to bring about sustainable and inclusive societal transformation using digital technologies. The process of making India into a trillion-dollar digital economy has begun and Digital India is making this dream a reality. We at Union Bank are committed to help India achieve its digital vision. We are proud to partner Times Network for the last 3 years in this impact initiative.”

In the intriguing session on ‘Digital India- Where Do Things Stand? A Real Time Assessment’, DoT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan, said, “Digital India is an aspiration. We are focused to enable digital opportunities to reach to the masses and leverage them”. She additionally highlighted the issue of data protection in the discussion as she stated, “We are planning a robust data protection framework to empower the digital mandate. Data protection is beyond Aadhaar; issue of privacy is a global threat.”

Stating the issue of data protection in the digital domain, Nasscom President Designate Debjani Ghosh said, “Critical end to end data policy is a must. The emerging technology needs solid building blocks of data privacy which will enhance the dependency on the digital media. Digital solutions can enhance the employment in the rural areas if we cater it to the most underprivileged parts of India.”

COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews speaking on the vision of 5G in India emphasized on the periphery of competitive landscape of the telecom industry. He said, “We need to position ourselves in the telecom industry with the spectrum auctions pricing methodology. We need more spectrum in the upcoming time to leverage the last customer of a telecom company.”

Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Secretary TP Krishnan addressed a panel discussion on the theme of ‘Developing A Digital Workforce- The Ground Realities’. He said “Skills acquisition needs to be more aspirational. Our jobs are not aspirational. Soft skill developments programs including life skills and ITI which are the game changers under the Skill India campaign of the government can play pivotal role in shaping the skill development sector in this country.”

The summit had discussions on the relevance of 5G in India, how Fintech has helped in the growth of Digital India and discussed the importance of data security in India.

The ‘Digital India’ Awardees are:

The session extensively talked about the opportunities and challenges in the digital world when the country is looking for economic independence.

December 18, 2017