(IANS) A website promising to offer clear and non-judgemental information to the young on safe sex, homosexuality and other sex-related issues has been launched, it was announced here Friday.
The site has two versions -- lovematters.info in English and lovematters.in in Hindi -- and was launched by Dutch international public broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
Apart from the website, people can access the information on their mobiles too.
"Before coming to India, we conducted a survey in Delhi and Mumbai and a majority of the 300 people interviewed said they wanted such information, but preferred if they got it on their mobiles," Michele Ernsting, coordinator of Love Matters, told IANS.
"Though it's a sensitive subject, the response in India was overwhelming so we decided to launch the sites here," added Ernsting.
The website offers personal stories, blogs, news and studies tailored for the Indian audiences and the information can be accessed without registering.
"The Hindi version of the site shall offer not only translations but adaptations as well. It is the first time that information on sensitive issues would be available in Hindi," Vithika Yadav, web editor of the site, told IANS.
According to Ernsting, the site is different because it's neither pornographic nor bland like a medical portal. "We want to spread the message of safe sex but also want to encourage people to enjoy sex," she said.
RDW has been in India for the last five years and has partnered with the All India Radio, Gyaan Vani radio channels promoted by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and several local FM channels.
2011/10/4 11:10:43 Men outnumber women in buying grocery items online, revealed a survey of online buyers.
"Males are more inclined to shop for groceries online with women contributing to only 37 percent of buyers," said the report titled the State of Online Grocery Shopping (SOGS).
The report revealed that online groceries shopping was dominated by the age group 36-45 years old.
"As compared to other segments where youth comprises large chunk of buyers for groceries, women in the age group of 36 to 45 years is the largest shoppers segment," the report said.
The survey was conducted by online retail portal Aaramshop, which allows buyers to shop for daily items online while the delivery is taken care of by the local grocery store.
The study is based on actual online shopping done through 100 retail partners for groceries and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands across 29 product categories in the National Capital Region (NCR).
According to the report, changes in lifestyles and hectic schedules have encouraged people to opt for online shopping of groceries.
"Its not just latest gadgets, accessories, apparels and home appliances, the male is buying groceries online to help his better half with household works," the report added.
It said male online shoppers opt to buy grocery between 4.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. while women tend to shop throughout the day. (IANS)
The GGMC is working on a pilot project whereby Building permission would be granted online. The practice is now in vogue in a couple of cities like Pune and Ahmedabad.
The plot project would commence from the New Year.
The GHMC is getting the software ready and it will take about two month. Applicants seeking house and building permission will have to apply online after paying the prescribed fee. Permission will be grated online in a very short period of time.
UTV Motion Pictures has announced tie-ups with three portals that will premiere their two forthcoming film releases online.
The Vikram Bhatt directorial ‘Fear’ premieres on August 10 across three portals. The film will be released online without a theatrical release, a first for an Indian film. Further, Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘The Blue Umbrella’ also releases online on August 10, the same day as its theatrical release in India.
This is especially targeted at audiences in markets like US, UK, South East Asia and the Middle East. Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV Motion Pictures says, “Our overseas audiences have lesser access to our films as compared to audiences in India. Using the internet as a medium of distribution is the way to combat piracy.”
Some UTV films you can see online include ‘Swades’, ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Taxi No 9 2 11’, ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ and ‘Life in a Metro’.
2008/4/8 8:31:54 Good news for all bus passengers. The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is introducing online booking from April 11. Passengers can now make reservations from any place to any place on the RTC network from the comforts of their home or office. The online booking can be made using a debit or credit card.
The APSRTC is also calling for tenders for the construction of a big shopping mall at its MD’s office in the busy RTC cross roads in Hyderabad. The mall will consist of four to five cinema halls, several food courts, international stores and much more.
Bollywood films are made keeping theatrical release in mind, though we have heard of some films being premiered on the small screen.
Now, UTV, in collaboration with Rohan Sippy, is all set to start a new trend by releasing Vikram Bhatt’s film Fear, not in theatres or on the small screen but online.
Yes, the film will released only on the Internet and the producers are gearing up so that those watching do not face any technical difficulties.
“Right now we are doing it really on an experimental basis. So we are not looking at large numbers coming in. We don’t expect that there will be huge revenue in this medium. But we do want to be there when that happens in the market and we have always been pioneering as far as exploiting new revenue streams are concerned,” said COO, UTV Motion Pictures, Siddharth Roy Kapoor.
For regular download, the online charges will be about Rs 400 and for premium it will be about Rs 800.
Fear is a small-budget horror film with new actors and that’s the reason producer Rohan Sippy is all set for this experiment.
“I think it allows you to be more innovative. Always what happens is that the as the budget becomes bigger you become more conservative in your approach because risk is increasing. But the corollary of that is that let’s try and innovate and spread the film through different medium. The idea is so no matter where you are fear will be coming into your house,” said Rohan Sippy.
We are not sure whether Fear was actually made keeping online release in mind but with Vikram Bhatt’s eight flops in a row we guess Internet release is a safe bet.
2011/11/1 10:41:49 The State Government on Tuesday informed that the online fresh registrations for scholarships to students pursuing college courses for the academic year 2011-12 will commence from November 2. The last date for registration will be November 21.
The scholarship process has been made fully online by the Social Welfare Department. Under the online system, no student can enter his/her name, Student records will be fetched from SSC / Inter servers based on the application / SSC ID.
For the academic year 2011-12, students can apply online for fresh scholarships on the e-pass website from November 2 to 21st. All students belonging to SC/ST with family income of less than Rs 2 lakh per annum and BC students belonging to BC / EBC / DW / MW with family income of less than Rs 1 lakh per annum are eligible to apply for scholarships. All students shall submit an income declaration form to the MRO to obtain an income certificate.
The detailed instructions have been posted on the website which can be accessed at http://epass.cgg.gov.in/ (INN)
2011/9/27 12:47:16 In order to advocate the importance of safe sex, Bollywood actor Prateik has become a member of the Mumbai Districts AIDS Control Society (MDACS) and will promote the cause.
The 24-year-old has taken a vow to promote the cause throughout his life and will take part in the process of creating awareness about the importance of safe sex.
"I hereby pledge my support to this society. I want to spread their message so that more and more people get aware and practice safe sex. This is the least I can do for the country I live in," Prateik told IANS.
An autonomous body registered under Charitable Trust Act, the MDACS was established July 27, 1998 by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Mumbai.
On the film front, Prateik is looking forward to the release of his upcoming film "My Friend Pinto", Oct 14. (IANS)
In a bid to curb the sale of blood in black, the government is planning to set up the details of the availability of blood online. The Andhra Pradesh Aids control society will maintain the details of blood available and post it online. The society will collect the details of availability of blood at various blood banks on a daily basis and update the information on its website.
This will not only help save time for the needy but also make information available at your fingertips thereby making it that much easier to find out the availability of blood at the nearest blood bank instead of running from pillar to post. .
2011/11/2 5:20:44 Washington, Nov 2 (IANS) Interacting with websites involved in lending and auctions can trip you into taking risky financial decisions, an Indian origin researcher says.
"Emerging evidence indicates that online community participation impacts many aspects of consumer behaviour, and our findings reveal that this impact extends to financial decision-making," said study author Utpal Dholakia, professor of management at Rice University.
In a field experiment involving more than 13,000 eBay customers over a two-year period, those who joined the online community engaged in riskier bidding behaviours by placing more bids on each item and spending more for items they won.
Such participants tend to believe that the community will support them in difficult situations. This perception causes them to make riskier financial decisions, the Journal of Marketing Research reports.
The more active the participants are within the online community, the riskier their financial decisions tend to be.
"These communities are different from social networking sites like Facebook, because the individuals involved are usually strangers whose identities are unknown to the consumer," said Dhokalia, according to a statement from the university.
Dholakia likened it to individuals who join an online support group run by a hospital, foundation or advocacy group or members of an online adolescent club.
"This may lead to patients choosing riskier treatment options or engaging in high-risk behaviours, some of which could prove detrimental," he said.
"If, for example, members of a discount brokerage firm's online community invest more aggressively by buying riskier stocks that perform worse than market averages, this would affect them adversely and also hurt the firm's standing and brand name," Dholakia stated.
Premiere of latest films on the internet, simultaneously with their release in cinema halls, seems to be fast becoming a vogue in Bollywood! After Sooraj Barjatya's Vivah and Milan Luthria's Hattrick, Anurag Basu's forthcoming Shilpa Shetty, Shiny Ahuja, Kay Kay Menon-starrer Metro will also have its online premiere on May 11, the film is released the world over.
Metro will premiere on rajshri.com, which started the trend of premiering premium Bollywood movies online with the online release home production Vivaah simultaneously with the film's theatrical release.
''We are delighted to announce the online premiere of UTV's eagerly anticipated film, Life In A...Metro on May 11 alongside its worldwide theatrical release,'' says Rajshri Media managing director Rajat Barjatya.
The online release of Basu's Life In a Metro, that deals with ''the thrills and shrills'' of being a metro citizen, is seen as a move on part of the UTV to tap the International audience, including South Asians settled in various parts of the globe, in keeping with the film's universal theme that cuts across international barriers.
"With the online premiere of Life In A... Metro we are mainly targeting the south Asian diaspora," UTV senior vice president marketing and communication Siddharth Roy Kapur says.
Featuring Shilpa Shetty, Shiney Ahuja, Kay Kay Menon, Konkana Sen Sharma, Sharman Joshi and Kangna Ranaut, the film charts the journey undertaken daily by those staying in metros across the world be it Delhi, Mumbai, London or Melbourne - from the euphoria of a fast paced life, to the breakdown of a short-lived relationship.
A chopper carrying Karnataka MP Anil Lad has landed in a paddy field in Darmavaram in Anantapur district today as it develops some technical fault. The pilot and the MP are safe. Chopper is also safe. People thronged the place to have a close glimpse of the chopper.
Online passport application facility in Vijayawada
2008/4/9 23:40:06 The regional passport officer G Balabhaskar inaugurated the permanent office of RPO at Vijayawada on April 8. The regional sub-centre will start functioning immediately. The bio-metric system is being introduced to curb fake passports and tampering of passports. The online passport application system will come into force from May 1. This will eliminate the long queues outside the passport office to a great extent.
Sathyaraj is an actor known for his bold and open attitude. At an audio launch function held recently, he said that the designation of 'safe star' is more convenient than the precious one 'superstar'!
Seena Thana 001 audio was launched recently in Chennai in the presence of many film personalities. The film is produced by Mid Valley Entertainments, of Thambi fame. It features Prasanna and Sheela in the lead and is directed by T.P.Gajendiran, the director known for his hilarious comedy films like Budget Padmanaban.
It is a remake of Dileep's Malayalam hit CID Moosa and is a comical version of James bond type movies. Veteran actor Sathyaraj released the audio CDs and Cassettes and handed them to KRG, the President of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce.
Excerpts from the actor's speech: "In Tamil Cinema, everyone is trying to become a superstar like Rajinikanth sir. The young and upcoming actors are trying to reach the place of Vijay. But practically, it is not possible. However, it is possible to be an actor in a safe place. Every actor should try to get a safe place in the film industry. Even superstars like Rajini and Vijay could have faced some trouble. But an actor in the safe position will never fall into trouble.
This is my own experience. I thought the hero of the film Prasanna is also in safe position. I wish he becomes a good star in the industry like the late Makkal Kalaignar Jaishankar." Deva scores the music for the film. Among the guests present were Vikranth, Riaz Khan, directors S.A Chandrasekhar, Kasturi Raja and others.
2007/10/15 8:53:23 The new hyper and super markets in the country import fruits from many counties. And apple from America are the favorite at the store in Hyderabad too. However, it has now been reported that the apples are not safe. About 100 types of germs have been detected in them.
The report comes after a through investigation by the London based Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International. It may be recalled here that mangoes exported from India were rejected by the American officials citing them to b unsafe as they contained high residue of pesticide. Now when it comes to apples form the US, the matter not getting the serious attention it deserves.
2011/10/8 9:33:44 A series of photographs showing Madonna topless have been leaked online.
The images, taken during a shoot for W magazine three years ago, show the then-50-year-old Material Girl with no make-up, in a blonde wig, black knickers and a transparent, skin-coloured bra as she sits on a couch, reports dailystar.co.uk.
Another photograph shows her topless reflection in a mirror as she changes into a strappy black dress.
The photographs leaked Thursday were snapped as Madonna prepared for a photoshoot with her then-lover, model Jesus Luz, in a hotel room in Brazil. (IANS)
2008/1/5 6:49:32 It is time to switch off your TV and log on to the Internet because the country's first online serial would be launched very soon.
It is time to switch off your TV and log on to the Internet because the country's first online serial would be launched very soon.
"The serial should be launched by early mid of next year. It will be a revolution in the online medium," says Puneet Johar, MD, Tangerine Digital Entertainment, the brain behind the concept.
What is also new about the online serial is that the cast and crew would be selected through an online talent hunt.
Johar adds that the winners of the talent hunt under various categories will come together to write the script, act and direct the online serial under the guidance of the Tangerine staff.
"The online talent hunt itself is new. We have launched it on our social networking site Campus 18 which offers a wide choice for today's youth to interact, make friends and showcase their talents, all in one," says Johar.
Campus 18's hunt called the Digistars - War of Videos for the India's 'Best Video Talent' includes prizes for film making, acting, editing and more.
The winner for the Best Video will get a contract to make 10 short films on Campus18 and a Cash Prize of Rs 25,000.
While the winner of Best Performance will get a contract to make his/her own stand up show on campus18 & Cash Prize Rs 25000.
The winners of other categories will get a chance to create online interactive serial which will be showcased on Campus18. The winners will be selected by a nationwide poll with a jury vote having equal weightage and the last date for entry is January 16.
"Digistars is our first such attempt to identify and reward the talented story tellers; be it via acting, editing, writing, music or direction. Many more such initiatives will follow soon," says Johar.
While critics point out that online serial is a far fetched idea since only very few people in India have access to internet, Johar refutes such claims and adds that since, social networking sites are already a hit among the youngsters of the country, the serial promoted to such a channel would also be a success.
Bollywood actress Rakhi Sawant who participated in the reality show, Nach Baliye says that though new shows and ideas keep springing up on TV, the internet medium continues to be unexplored.
"Television in inundated with reality shows. Orkut and other such networking sites are popular and may be the serial might just make it big provided there is a good team working behind it. It is a new concept and only time will tell whether it works or not."
Selection of winners for Digistars - War of Videos will be undertaken by the Campus18 editorial team along with a panel of judges from entertainment field.
"Social networking sites along with other sites where one can upload their own videos are popular among youngsters. Campus 18 is a combination of all and hence we are tapping into this market," says Johar.
He adds, "Though talent shows have been a regular affair on TV, we are just giving them an alternative."
Though Johar refused to give out any story ideas for the serial he said that everything from writing the script to conceptionalism and final production would be handled by the winners.
"The serial will definitely be different from what is currently available on TV and would also be in sync with what today's youngsters want to watch on TV," Johar adds.
Bollywood No.1 hero Salman Khan and Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif, who are now in Turkey for shooting of their 'Ek Tha Tiger' movie, are safe from the devastating earth quake that claims more than 1000 lives. Currently, the unit is in Istanbul shooting some song sequences on the lead pair. Director of the film Kabir Khan has said since they don't see any problem in their area they will continue their shooting according to schedule. Later, the unit will move to Iraq for further shooting.
If there is one actor who keeps a safe distance from the media it is none other than Meera Jasmine. The actor is currently the hot favourite with a number of films on hand. She is doing three films Tamil one in Telugu and four in Malayalam. She however is always silent and looks after her own things when she is free.
When all other actors are busy courting the media, she is exactly the opposite. She rarely speaks to the media. The reason is this. She has landed up in a number of controversies that have soured her relationship with both her family and her friends. So she wants to keep a safe distance from the media.
Being present online seems to be the new 'mantra' and this was confirmed by the sweet and charming Amrita Rao, who is working on her own website. The pretty lady who had come to inaugurate her friend and ace lensman Mahinder Soni's site, said, "I already have a website, but I never really took interest in it. But now I am really working on it and trying to come up with a good one," said the actress. "I have come to realise that it's the need of the hour. It was like an SOS signal," she added.
Talking about the same, she further said, "I think it's very essential so that people get to know about you when they want. Let's say someone wants to know what I am doing and my recent updates, they can just check the website and it's all there." She further added, "A website could be helpful in getting many more assignments. I would not mind doing international projects." With Ash and Celina going the Hollywood way, it doesn't seem like Amrita will be far behind.
The actress is currently shooting for Anil Kapoor's next production Shortcut –The Con is On, where she stars with Akshaye Khanna and Arshad Warsi. She will also be doing Shyam Benegal's Mahadev right after this movie. You sure are on line, Amrita!
Ram Gopal Varma is a man who is known to court controversies. He also gives the impression of a man who is brave and one who never succumbs to threats.
So the film Rakta Charitra raised expectations among the people - more so in Rayalaseema.
Everyone wanted to know how Varma had portrayed the different players – Paritala Ravi, Maddelacheruvu Sri, Obul Reddy etc.
Varma stuck to the facts that are well known. There are no surprises in the film at all and this is in a way shows that RGV did not want to take risk and so he played it safe.
Men outnumber women in buying grocery items online, revealed a survey of online buyers.
In order to advocate the importance of safe sex, Bollywood actor Prateik has become a member of the Mumbai Districts AIDS Control Society (MDACS) and will promote the cause.
A series of photographs showing Madonna topless have been leaked online.
