TDSAT issues notice to govt on alleged ad violations by TV channels

w Delhi: Broadcast tribunal TDSAT on Monday issued notice to the government over alleged violation of the cable television network rules by the broadcasters which permits only 12 minutes advertisement in a television programme of one hour.
The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) issued notice seeking response from the ministry of information and broadcasting over the alleged violation of the cable television network rules.
The TDSAT bench headed by its chairman Justice SB Sinha directed the government to file its reply within two weeks and listed the matter on 14 February for next hearing.
Tribunal’s direction came over the plea of an NGO ‘Utsarg’, alleging violation by all leading broadcasting houses and channels by exceeding the limits of the commercial timing in their TV programmes.
“12 minutes per hour is the maximum duration for telecasting the advertisements but almost all the Broadcasters operating in India are violating the same,” said the NGO in its petition filed by its counsel Vikram Singh.
It further submitted that despite the broadcasting houses getting the subscription amount for their channels from their subscribers, both in addressable (DTH and IPTV) and non-addressable platform (cable network), they were violating the guidelines.
The NGO further submitted that it was very cruel on the part of the channels to totally ignore the interests of the viewers, by not giving complete telecast of the live cricket matches and other programmes, “just to make more money”.
The NGO also alleged that during the telecast of one programme, the advertisement of some other programme also blocks the TV screen.
It further said that almost half of screen is blocked with advertisements in some of the local cable TV Channels.
“While telecast of one programme, ...advertisement of some other programme also blocks the TV screen which is in complete violation of the Rules.”
“... in the Local Cable TV Channels, almost half the screen is blocked with some or the other advertisements and Government and the Regulating Authority is just acting as a Silent Spectator since very long,” the NGO said.
It further said that the broadcasters cannot be expected and allowed to violate the ‘Rules and Downlinking´ guidelines so much so to irritate and punish the viewers with forced advertisements when they are watching their favourite programmes.
The petitioner also sought direction to Centre to formulate a policy and set up an organization to implement and check violation of the cable television network rules.

                                     niraj kumar
                                    pgdm-2nd sem.

Expert take: Why currency options make for good investment

The world has gotten global. Your fortune sitting in India can change when there has been an interest rate hike or an inflation scare in another country because our currency has changed its value. Corporates, SMEs, all of them have exposure to foreign exchange and they want to hedge it. Traders and retailers have all gotten savvy and they have a view on the market. They want to play but how does one go about it?

Here is a quick heads-up on what currency options are:

An option contract is defined as a right but not an obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset at a pre-determined price at a specified time.

Main advantages:

• Upside unlimited
• Downside limited

For example, a buyer and a seller enter into specified contract. The contract is to buy USD INR at Rs 47. This is the strike price. The contract expiration will be by end of the month and contract size USD 1,000. The buyer pays the seller an option premium of Rs 0.33 per dollar, which is paid upfront.

DEEPAK KUMAR PGDM

2ND SEM

Foreign funds outflow in equities markets tops $1 bn in 2011

MUMBAI: Foreign funds, which were a major factor in the rally of Indian equities markets in 2010, have contributed almost equally in the current weakness at the bourses, having sold scrips over $1 billion in 2011 till Friday. 

Foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth $283.47 million in the last trading week alone, according to data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI )). 

A combination of factors have led to this withdrawal, with analysts mainly pointing to the increasing hawkish attitude adopted by the Reserve Bank of India for FIIs looking for greener pastures in other global markets. 

In a bid to tame prices, which has kept annual food inflation hovering around double digits, India's central bank last month hiked its short-term lending and borrowing rates by 25 basis points and hinted at more tightening in the coming months if inflation did not come down. 

In the past few days, unrest in Egypt, which led to global crude oil prices spiking to around $100 a barrel, has also raised the uneasiness of investors in economies like India which are mostly dependant on imported oil. 

Though, prices of petrol were recently hiked by state-run oil marketing companies in India, a further hike in the fuel cannot be ruled out. Also, the government may not be able to hold off an increase in prices of diesel -- it still controls pricing of the fuel, unlike petrol. 

Given this scenario, FIIs are looking to book profits in Indian equities markets, which last year had seen benchmark indices rally more than 17 per cent, fuelled to a large extent by the $28.83 billion inflow of overseas money. 

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which ended Dec 31, 2010 at 20,250.26 points, has fallen over 11 per cent in five weeks of trading. The Sensex closed Friday at 18,008.15 points.


DEEPAK KUMAR 
PGDM 2ND SEM

India must not rest on BPO achievements: Indian-origin deputy mayor Read more: India must not rest on BPO achievements: Indian-origin deputy mayor - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/news/India-must-not-rest-on-BPO-achievements-Indian-origin-deputy-mayor/articleshow/7443637.cms#ixzz1DLLr0C9y

FRANKLIN (NEW JERSEY): India "cannot rest on its past accomplishments" in the BPO industry since China and the Philippines are "threatening India's leadership position", says Rajiv Prasad who has been appointed deputy mayor at a US town.

He adds: "Many jobs are created in the US due to Indian companies investing in America."

Sixty-year-old Prasad, an alumnus of Hindu College, New Delhi, was appointed deputy mayor of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, a month ago. Prasad is working as assistant vice president at Mahindra Satyam BPO Ltd for the Life Sciences markets.

He expressed his concern about India's position as the global leader in the BPO industry. "Although India pioneered the industry it cannot rest on its past accomplishments when China and the Philippines are gaining and threatening India's leadership position," Prasad told IANS in an interview.

The senior executive said the BPO industry in India needs to be innovative and evolve to the next level of Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), provide high-end services, entire functions and complicated processes supported by professionals rather than the commodity call center services.

These KPO services will also generate higher revenues, without getting mired in commodity price wars and low profits, he added.

On the impact of the Indian BPOs in the US job market, he said: "It is hard to give precise figures, as the exact impact of the Indian BPOs on US jobs is unknown."

"It makes for great political rhetoric especially in a campaign year. Finding the least cost alternative is inherent in the US free economy since the 1960s.

"On the other hand, many jobs are created in the US due to Indian companies investing in America. The lower operating costs have also increased the availability of money for investment and growth in employment in the US," he said.

Talking about his new role, Prasad said as a deputy mayor he has to enact ordinances and pass resolutions. He said that the challenges of the office would have been similar in India in terms of campaign financing and fund raising. However, in the US one is expected to know a lot more about the issues before voting upon them.

On the opportunities for the Indian community in the state of New Jersey over the next couple of decades, he said that "the Indian community would have an opportunity to play a far more active role in local governance, on the merits of what they have to offer without changing their identity or religion to gain acceptance with the electorate". 

NARENDRA KUMAR NIRAJ
PGDM 2ND SEM
IIMT

Sony India and Airtel digital TV to expand Flat Panel TV market

India Infoline News Service / 19:30 , Feb 03, 2011 Get airtel digital TV with a 3-month Economy Sports Pack on Sony Bravia series Airtel digital TV, the DTH service from Bharti airtel and Sony India have come together to expand the Flat Panel TV market ahead of the sports season this year. Customers of Sony’s Bravia range of LCDs can take this opportunity to experience the magic of next generation MPEG4 DVBS 2 DTH technology on airtel digital TV. With sale of TV sets having a direct positive impact on the growth of the DTH category, this partnership aims to make a powerful impact in the marketplace this season, which starts with an action packed 90 day long high velocity international cricket action. NARENDRA KUMAR NIRAJ PGDM 2 ND SEM

As rules of the advertising game change rapidly, online or digital marketing market size in India is estimated to touch close to Rs 2,000 crore in the next two years from a Rs 1,400 crore now, say management experts.

At the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference on 'Best Marketing Practices', experts felt that no company could now possibly ignore the power of social networking sites in creating today's brands."Apart from search engines like google.com and yahoo.com, the next top sites in India are social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, Twitter and Linkedin. Facebook users have increased nearly nine folds during last year, and now companies are sitting up and taking notice of the importance of advertising through such websites, especially when it is possible now to do hyper local marketing targeted at specific customer," said Mahesh Murthy, founder Pinstorm, a leading digital marketing firm.

He added that with revenues worth Rs 800 crore, Google India is bigger than any television channel in the country.

It gets 100 million unique users every year in India, of which 70 million are on desktop, while the rest access it through mobile phones.

As online marketing opens up newer avenues and prospects of acquiring new clients, even major banks like HDFC have jumped on to the bandwagon. Soma Sharma, head, liability campaigns, HDFC Bank said that they launch 100 to 200 new online and digital campaigns every month.

"Nearly, 20-25 per cent of our new customers come in through online sources, either they visit our website or through any banner advertisements that we have put up at relevant websites. And if we talk about the quality of these new customers, they are almost two times better compared to those we acquire through offline modes like branches and agents," she added.

The business of buying online railway tickets is worth Rs 5,500 crore in India, while that of airline tickets is close to Rs 12,500 crore.

Experts felt that companies would have to increasingly come up with ways to manage the perception of brands more efficiently, and one has to do that continuously as perceptions and brands today change much faster than they used to.

"Earlier, we had time to test a creative for a soap commercial or campaign for three months, now three months can be the entire product lifecycle," Murthy said. He recalled one mobile handset company's demand of coming up with a creative within a week.

DEEPAK KUMAR

PGDM 2 ND SEM

Casio India aims 40 pc sales growth, to launch e-dictionary

NEW DELHI: Japanese electronics firm Casio today said it is looking to launch electronic dictionary in India, besides ramping up its camera and watch businesses here with a target of 40 per cent sales growth next fiscal.

"We are doing a feasibility study for introducing electronic dictionary in India. It is very popular in Japan. We are right now studying how to introduce it and at what price," Casio India Head (Sales and Marketing) Kulbushan Seth told PTI. 

He said the company was working to enhance its brand building activities for its camera and watch segment with plans to enter large number of small towns and cities. 

"In the coming years, camera and watch segments are our focus. These categories currently contribute about 27 per cent to our overall turnover. Going forward, we expect it will increase," he said. 

In the watch segment, Seth said the company was focussing on the ladies watches and plans to introduce more products. 

The company, which expects a total sales of Rs 185 crore by the end of this fiscal, said it has been growing at the rate of 40-50 per cent in the last four years. 

"We expect a 40 per cent increase in our sales by next fiscal. Our focus now is to enhance our infrastructure and sales force. We are working on distribution channels and new products for the Indian market," he said. 

At present, Casio operates in five product categories including musical keyboards, calculators, watches and cameras.


DEEPAK KUMAR 
PGDM 2ND SEM