Government to issue advisory over usage of social media

NEW DELHI: The government is expected to issue an advisory/circular with respect to government usage of social media over the internet.
 
This was indicated by additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain in the Delhi High Court during the hearing of a public interest litigation by former Bharatiya Janata Party leader K N Govindacharya challenging the use of private American-based sites such as Yahoo and Gmail for sending out government information.  
 
Jain said, "Service categorised as sale of time and space for advertisements over Internet was earlier in negative list but with effect from 1 October 2014, it has been put back on the positive list and is now a taxable service."

He said that he would on the next date of hearing on 28 November  make a categorical statement with respect to taxation issue raised in the petition.
 
Meanwhile, the Court has asked why the use of private email accounts like Yahoo and Gmail by government officials should not be stopped as it would lead to public/official records being taken outside the country which is a violation of the law.

Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul said, "Public records are going outside India. Are you (Centre) willing to say there is no difficulty in government documents going to US servers? You should stop usage of non-NIC email accounts by government officers.

"On the one hand we are complaining against National Security Agency (of US) snooping and on the other hand, we are allowing it (public records) to go out."
 
The court, however, took on record the submission of additional solicitor general (ASG) Sanjay Jain that "immediate steps will be taken to ensure there is no violation of Public Records Act with a view that all electronic official communication is not taken out of India, insofar as email communication of public records is concerned".

The ASG also submitted in court that a draft email policy of the government has been finalised for presentation before the Cabinet in two to three weeks, and it only needs approval of the minister concerned.

The submissions were made in response to the query regarding the status of the government's email policy and what would be the interim measures that would be put in place to prevent official records from going outside India till all the government departments are provided accounts in servers run by National Informatics Centre.

The ASG also said that they have increased capacity of NIC servers to handle one million accounts from the earlier limit of five lakhs and would be further expanding the same.

The Court agreed with contention of advocate Virag Gupta, appearing for Govindacharya that the Public Records Act does apply in the present case. "You cannot have it (public records going outside India), its against the law," the bench said to the ASG.

Govindacharya in his PIL has sought that the government be directed to use only NIC servers for sending official emails, instead of using the services of foreign sites like Google and Yahoo.

The petition has contended that government departments like Delhi Police and the Indian Railways are not entitled to create accounts on social networking sites.
 
It has also sought recovery of taxes from the websites on their income from operations in India.

The petition has also alleged that the sites have no mechanism for protection of children from online abuse, claiming that children below 18 years are entering into an agreement with the social networking sites to open accounts, which is against the Indian Majority Act, the Indian Contract Act and also the Information and Technology Act.

Facebook and Google had earlier submitted affidavits in the court detailing the protective measures available on their sites to ensure their product is not misused. They had said their statement of rights and other terms and conditions prohibit children below 13 years of age from registering an account and creating more than one personal account.

They had said they also have strict policies in place to delete any objectionable or misleading content they come across on their sites.
 
The petition has alleged that due to non-verification of users, more than eight crore of Facebook users across the world were found to be "fake", which the website admitted before a US authority. 
 

131 MSOs get ten year licences under DAS for specified areas

131 MSOs get ten year licences under DAS for specified areas

NEW DELHI: A total of 131 multi-system operators (MSO) all over the country have been granted permanent registration for ten years to operate the digital addressable system (DAS).
 
The MSOs had been given provisional permission earlier. The latest list is as on 7 November.
 
The MSOs who have received permission after the last list released as on 21 August include Skynet Digital Services for the state of Uttar Pradesh except the cities of Agra, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi; Crystal Transmission for Chennai Metropolitan area, Sanghvi Digital Network for Bokaro district in Jharkhand; Vortex Digital Network for Delhi; Yerraguntla Cable Network for Kadapa District Andhra Pradesh under Phase III and IV; and Royal Services Diginet Vision for Hamirpur District, Mandi District and Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh.
 
Others include Silverline Entertainment the state of Uttar Pradesh except Agra, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi; Hathway New Concept Cable and Datacom for Delhi; ACN Digital for the state of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra under under Phase III and IV; Koduri Satyanarayana, Sri Sai Star for Khammam District of Telengana; Abhilash Communications for  Notified Areas of Phase  II and Phase  III cities pan India; JPR Channel Mumbai (Phase I) and Phase II areas in Maharashtra and Gujarat; Operator Digital Tamil Nadu for all the cities, towns and villages of Phase II,III and  IV in Tamil Nadu; V K Digital Network for Cities/Towns/Areas occurring against Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, Phase IV; Saga Entertainment Network In Tamil Nadu; Talacher TV Home Cable Network for  Angul District and Dhenkanal District, Odissa; Voice and Vision Club for Phase III and  IV of Madhya Pradesh and Sonebhadra Districts of Uttar Pradesh; Den Satellite Network in Maharashtra; and Venkata Sai Media for district of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Visakhapatanam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore in the state of Andhra Pradesh and in the district of Greater Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medak, Nizamabad, Mehaboob Nagar, Warangal, Sangareddy and Khammam in the state of Telangana.
 
The list of MSOs who have been refused permission has gone up from 16 to 22.
 
MSO sources, however, said that the approved list was in addition to the 140 whose names had been approved earlier in March last year.
 
The Ministry website mib.nic.in has listed the areas and the date from which the MSOs have been given permission.

SET explores human relationships with ‘Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar’

SET explores human relationships with ‘Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar’

MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is all set to present yet another modern and mature take on love and marriage with the launch of its new series - Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar.
Exploring the intricacies of human relationships, it features Ronit Roy and Pallavi Kulkarni Nerurkar in lead roles. Produced by Balaji Telefilms, the show aims at reinstilling faith in the institution of marriage.

Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar is the story of a couple, Nachiket Khanna (Neil) and Ragini Patel, who are driven apart, ironically because of the intense love they shared. Neil, a doctor and Ragini, a nurse have four kids together but their marriage breaks due to a misunderstanding. Post the divorce, Neil moves to America with two of their kids and Ragini stays back in India with two kids.

Over a period of time, staying away from each other has made Neil an indifferent man, whereas Ragini is still trying to run away from the ghosts of her past relationship. They are constantly reminded of their broken marriage because of the children who are a sign of their past love for each other. However, fate has different plans sketched out for them and their children become the pivotal reason for them to start a new chapter in life. The story is now taken forward by the children, who attempt to bring together their separated parents and rediscover love after 15 years.

Speaking about the show, SET chief creative director Ajay Bhalwankar said: “It is always a pleasure to work with Balaji Telefilms as its concepts are unique, innovative and extremely relatable. Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar is bound to appeal to all our viewers with its engaging storyline and creative content. We are sure the audience will appreciate this unique take on love. Sony has been a pioneer in presenting mature love stories like Bade Acche Lagte Hain which have been immensely appreciated by the audience and Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar is another such show.”

Balaji Telefilms producer Ekta Kapoor said: “We at Balaji are really excited about our latest offering which explores the intricacies of human relationship. Through this show we are attempting to bring alive a unique love story between an estranged husband and wife. I am extremely delighted to extend our relationship with SET and I am sure the series will create magic on Indian television.”  

 The show not only marks Roy’s return to daily soap after three years but also Kulkarni’s comeback to television after seven years. The other cast members include Darshan Pandya, Avinash Mukherjee, Induben Mehta, Kirti Sualy, Jyoti Joshi, Falguni Desai, Aarav Patel, Rhea Sharma, Rohan Shah and Shilpa among others.

According to SET SVP head - marketing Gaurav Seth it is the biggest fiction show for the channel, not only in terms of casting but also with the storyline.

When asked the reason behind putting the show at 10.30 pm, Seth replied: “Our previous show Bade Ache Lagte Hai had done wonders for us at this slot. Moreover, as per the research, compared to other slots, a lot of audiences are available especially in the bigger towns.” Also, with 10 pm airing Maharana Veer Pratap which is doing decently well for Sony, it wants to create a strong 10 - 11 pm band with the new offering.

On the marketing front, the channel is aggressively promoting the new offering on all the platforms. According to Seth, at every platform the treatment is very different but the main highlight is the chemistry between the lead couples. “It is not a traditional but a classical love story,” adds Seth.

The promotions are designed and customised depending on the medium. On digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter, it has created a special motion video designed exclusively for the digital audiences. Moreover, there are emotion posters and apps running on the family.

On radio, being the audio medium, the channel has tried to capture on the thoughts of the two individuals. On the advertisers front, the call to have brands on-board will be taken very soon.

The series starts from 18 November and will air every Monday-Thursday at 10.30 pm.
 

ASCI upholds complaints against 79 out of 100 ads in September

MUMBAI: In September 2014, Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 79 out of 100 advertisements.
 
Out of the 79 advertisements against which complaints were upheld, 49 belonged to personal and healthcare category, followed by the education category with 18 advertisements.
 
In the personal and healthcare category, the CCC found the claims in advertisements of 48 advertisers to be either misleading or false or not adequately/scientifically substantiated and hence, violating ASCI’s code. Some of the health care products or services advertisements also contravened provisions of the Drug & Magic Remedies Act and Chapter 1.1 and III.4 of the ASCI code.
 
Complaints were upheld against advertisers like Vini Cosmetics’ advertisement of White Tone Face Powder that shows instant fairness of the skin on using the product which is misleading by exaggeration. The advertisement of Perfect Clinic claims to give hope for childless couples, helps to get sex life back and enjoy married life.
 
Agro Tech Foods’ advertisement of Sundrop Heart claims that research conducted on consumers proves the product has worked in 100 per cent of the people tested on. The duration of the supers in the advertisement does not stay for 6 seconds and contravened ASCI’s guidelines for supers.
 
The advertisement of Richfeel Trichology Centre claims to provide the Best Hair Transplant at Rs 55,000. It further claims to have “Full time Aliesbury Certified Surgeons and staff perform the procedure”.
 
In the education category, complaints were upheld against 18 advertisements. For instance, the advertisement claims that RKDF College of Engineering is the best engineering college in Central India. Sri Venkateswara Institute Of Technology claims that it provides guaranteed placement or else refund of fees.
 
In the other categories, Hindustan Unilever Ltd advertisement claims that “various powders were tested, and in machines, Surf Excel Matic provided the most effective cleanliness”, qualified with a disclaimer “based on lab test on select fabrics versus ordinary powders” is misleading as the comparison is made versus ordinary powders not meant for machine wash. The subject matter of comparison was not considered as a like to like comparison.
 
Star India’s TVC promo of Gumraah season 3 presents criminality and directly or indirectly encourages people – particularly minors- to emulate it or conveys the modus operandi of any crime.
 
In the Food & Beverages category, Red Bull India advertisement without justifiable reason shows dangerous practices and manifests a disregard for safety. Similarly, Bacardi India is promoting its liquor product – Bacardi Breezer through the radio advertisement. The advertiser had violated the brand extension advertising code. The radio spot contravened Chapter III.6 (a) (b) of the ASCI Code and the guidelines for brand extension products or services. 

ASCI upheld complaints against 134 out of 147 ads Recent report

The CCC found the claims in health and personal care product or service ads of 56 advertisers, released in the press to be either misleading or false or not adequately/scientifically substantiated and hence violated ASCI’s code. Some of the health care products or services advertisements also contravened provisions of The Drug & Magic Remedies Act, Chapter 1.1 and III.4 of the ASCI code.

The complaints were upheld against L'Oreal India’s advertisement claims that Garnier Colour Naturals provides nourishment to hair for eight weeks. ITC’s YouTube advertisement derides colour as a dark skinned girl is shown as not being confident and suffering from an inferiority complex due to her complexion. It shows that only after applying Vivel cream does she appear confident enough to sing in public. Similarly, Marico advertisement, which stars Rahul Bose, claims that Livon Hair Gain helps to stop hair fall within 90 days. The claims on the product pack were not consistent with those in the advertisement.

The personal and healthcare category was followed by 61 advertisements in the education category.
International Institute of Hotel Management advertisement claims to be India's largest hotel school chain and Asia’s 100 fastest growing private educational institutes with 100 per cent global placement record. Prestige Institute of Management advertisement claims that Prestige Institute of Management is ranked among the top 1000 B-schools in the world by Ed-universal official selection, Paris. It further adds that Prestige is rated A++ among Management Institutions by Business India, November 2013 issue and ranked 16th among Management Institutes in India by Higher Education Review, 2014. In addition, the advertisement claims to be truly number 1 B-school in Central India.

In the automobile category, Hero MotoCorp advertisement for Hero Xtreme shows an everyday activity being performed on the bike in an irresponsible manner. The advertisement contravened Chapter III.3 of the ASCI code (“Ads shall not, without justifiable reason, show or refer to dangerous practice or manifest a disregard for safety or encourage negligence.”). The complaint was upheld. Similarly, TVS Motor Company advertisement for TVS Phoenix 125 shows actor Nazar asking for a lift by standing in the middle of the road. When asked for lift, actor Mahesh stops the bike in the middle of the road. The CCC viewed the TVC and concluded that the visual promotes unsafe practices. The advertisement contravened Chapter III.3 of the ASCI code. The complaint was upheld.

Sony strengthens its fiction line-up

MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television seems to be strengthening its fiction line-up. The channel that believes in content being the king, keeps exploring with different storylines.  With not-so-strong fiction line-up, the Sony is all set to launch a new show which showcases the story of a man’s struggle to strike the perfect balance.
 
Come 1 September, the channel is will break the stereotype with Hum Hain Na. The Indian woman has always been the epitome of tradition and values in our society, but can the men be left far behind? Every mother has expectations from her son; every wife wants attention from her husband, every sister is possessive about her brother! But will the perfect man be able to live up to these expectations?
 
The new series dabbles with the subject that gets many women thinking – ‘kya ek perfect beta, ek perfect pati bhi ban sakta hai’?
 
Produced by DJ’s Creative Unit, Hum Hain Na is set in the beautiful town of Benaras and follows the life of a young and charming boy, Shivprasad Mishra aka Bunty (Kanwar Dhillon). An ideal brother, son and friend, he is the blue eyed boy of his family. His entire world revolves around the three women in his life – his amma, badi didi and chhoti.
 
In any given situation, he has quick fixes to brighten up the mood of each of his family members. But in a bid to keep everyone happy, Bunty’s own personal life is always in trouble. His life takes a turn when his elder sister makes him promise not to get married until she is married off. Being a true Benarasi, Bunty vows to never go back on his words but is stuck at the crossroads when he bumps into his dream girl, Saagarika (Pratyusha Banerjee), at a family wedding. Saagarika, raised single-handedly by her father who is unaware of a woman’s needs after her mother’s  death, sees a complete contrast in Bunty who is full of affection and is sensitive towards women. When these two opposites meet, what follows is a series of interesting and heart-warming events.
 
Sony chief creative director Ajay Bhalwankar believes that Indian television has always appreciated women’s contribution to a family, but this time it is celebrating a man’s role in bringing the family together.
 
“Hum Hain Na is a refreshing yet modern take on how Bunty balances the different women in his life seamlessly. Our protagonist, Bunty transitions from being a doting brother and a caring son to a sensitive boyfriend so impeccably that it seems as if he is almost unreal. His sensitivity and emotional nature might make one feel he is metrosexual, but in reality his heart belongs to the values of the place he belongs to,” adds Bhalwankar.
 
DJ’s Creative Unit producers Deeya and Tony Singh asserts: “Hum Hain Na is a story very close to reality. It's about a boy who is a perfect son and a perfect brother, he wants a wife who will embrace his universe which consists of his family. And a girl who wants to be the universe of her man, she desires to have a perfect husband who is sensitive to her needs as a woman. And. Now the question is can a boy who is a perfect son and a perfect brother also be a perfect husband? Will this become a perfect love story?”
 
The new emotional love story will air four days a week at 9.30pm. It is going to have a tough competition with other popular shows like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai on Star Plus,Qubool Hai on Zee TV, Rangrasiya on Colors, Tumhari Pakhi on Life OK and Badi Door Se Aaye Hai on Sab.

News Headline | Sony seeks ‘Pal’ in housewives

MUMBAI: “I will be seeking the moon,” says Multi Screen Media CEO NP Singh, as he announced the launch of the network’s much talked about new Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), Sony Pal. The network which had conceptualised the new channel last year is very confident about the channel, its offerings and the packaging. “Now we will see how viewers respond to it,” adds the optimistic Singh.
 
Targeted at women, mostly housewives, in the age group of 15-34 years, in SEC BCDE, Sony Pal was a dream for Singh, which is now finally taking shape. The target audience was chosen after the result of the research which showed that 88 per cent of viewership for a GEC comes from housewives. “The new channel will complement our other offerings,” he says.    
 
“Today’s women have started realising that they can not only contribute to the society, but also augment family income. Through Pal, we will celebrate these women,” says Singh.
 
The network did an extensive research before deciding on the content, the channel packaging and the target audience. “Our research showed that there was latent demand for a content which was progressive and positive,” he informs.
 
The channel is based on the theme ‘Yeh Pal Humara Hai’. “This is the moment to shine, to evolve, to excel and achieve. This moment belongs to her and her alone,” says Sony Pal and Sab senior EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor while adding that this is not a generic promise, but a personalised one.
 
The channel will go live from 1 September, with actor Juhi Chawla as its brand ambassador and with content which is empowering and that showcases positive aspects of modern India, while presenting the traditional aspect. “We will showcase family togetherness and not strife, which is what most channels today showcase,” adds Kapoor.
 
When asked the reason for roping in Chawla, the duo say, “She is a person who is empowered, successful and yet approachable. She was the first name that came to us, and we stuck with her.”
 
The channel logo, which dons colours pink, purple and yellow and has diamonds, a woman’s best friend, has been designed by an Australian agency.
 
Sony Pal for Kapoor is mature and the shows will help connect the audience with a life that is beautiful and not a struggle. The channel will initially go on air with three hours of original content, which will be aired from Monday to Saturday between 7:30 pm-10:30 pm. Also, it will have two hours of original programming on Sunday evening. “After a month, we will launch the Balaji Telefilms’ show at the 7pm slot, thus taking original content to 3.5 hours,” informs Kapoor. The slot for the Sunday programming has not yet been disclosed.
 
The channel launches with nine shows, these include: Simply Baatein which is produced by GR8 Entertainment and  anchored by Raveena Tandon, Dil Hain Chotasa Choti Si Asha, produced by SOL Productions and hosted by Ragini Khanna and Jay Soni, Shashi Productions’ Ek Rishta Aisa Bhi, Miloni Films’ Khushiyon Ki Gullakh Aashi¸ Singhasan Battisi by Creative Eye, Pia Basanti Re by Rashmi Sharma and Pawan Kuma, Tum Sath Ho Jab Apne produced by Sphere Origins, Sister Didi by DJ’s Creative Unit and Yeh Dil Sun Raha Hain by Balaji Telefilms.
 
All the series are infinite and the channel will take a call on the number of episodes based on its performance. While no advertisers have currently come onboard, the network is positive about its content. “We have showcased our product to them and they have responded positively. They first want to see the shows and the channel and then decide. And we are in no hurry too,” says Singh.
 
The channel will look at afternoon slots later. “There is a lot of ground to be covered. This is just the beginning,” adds Kapoor. The shows while initially will be shot at outdoor locations of Patiala, Baroda, Lucknow and other HSM cities, will later move to sets.
 
The soon-to-go air channel is not free to air and will be available on all the four major multi system operators, DEN Networks, Hathway Cable & Datacom, Siti Cable, Digicable and Fastway in Punjab and all the direct to home (DTH) operators.
 
On the marketing front, a 360 degree campaign has been designed, which will go live from 10 August. “We have designed a five week campaign with a lot of fresh initiative. One of this is forming women’s club, through which women can identify their talent and can celebrate life,” informs Kapoor.
 
Manjit Sachdev will be the programming head for the new launch. According to an industry source, the investment in the channel could be anywhere close to Rs 90 crore- Rs 110 crore, including marketing spends. As for the ad rates, a media planner says, “Considering all the shows have been brought in the prime time slot, the ad rate for a 10 second slot could be anywhere close to Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.”