Multiplexes likely to gain from 3D boom in 2011

Close to 40 3D films are likely to hit the screens this year with the rise in the 3D movies being released in 2011, the multiplex owners expect a rise in the average revenue per user (ARPU) by 10-15%. Close to 40 3D films are expected to hit the screens this year. This implies that multiplexes can expect to earn 50% more profits. The total estimated market share of 3D movies in 2011 is expected to be 10% of overall Indian box office.

Half of the revenues of 3D films come from Hollywood films dubbed into Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Out of the 2010 collections of movies, approximately 65% revenue came from 3D versions as per industry reports. Sunil Punjabi, CEO of Cinemax India says that 2011 will by far be the largest in terms of 3D films. "This year didn't have large 3D releases but has contributed 3-4% of the total collections for 2010 for us. Going forward for 2011, the releases line-up is strong with franchises like Harry Potter 7, and 22 3D English studio releases with all major franchises like Spiderman et al," he said. However, Timmy S. Kandhari, India leader entertainment and media practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says that the revenue earned has been minimal compared to the estimated market potential. "Unfortunately the number of theatres to screen 3D movies is less. Of course revenue can be generated through high ticket prices but that is also limited," he said.

India has seen a stark increase in the number of movies released in 3D format driven by customers willing to pay for the enhanced experience as the ticket prices are as high as Rs 500-800 compared to Rs 100-300 for normal multiplex movies. There are, currently, approximately 3,000 digital cinema screens in India put up by UFO Moviez and Real Image for 3D viewing. "We plan to convert 1,000 screens (into 3D) by 2012," said a source in UFO Moviez. With the success of Avatar, 3D cinema in India has received momentum. "On account of Hollywood movies doing well we are making a live 3D sequel ­expected to release by the end of 2011," said Siddharth M. Jain, head of animation, Adlabs films.

The number of 3D screens in larger and smaller towns has leapt significantly. "There are close to 100 cineplexes in India that are 3D enabled. I see the numbers go up at least 5 times by the end of 2011 with the release of Bollywood 3D movies," added Ranjit.

"Currently we have 28 3D enabled screens. We are likely to close the year with double the number of digital screens," added Sunil Punjabi. "Indian Production Houses are shooting their next movie in live action 3D. The only thing to see is how smartly do Indian directors and production houses work on storyboards and shots that will be suitable for 3D live action," added Ranjit.

16 January 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.

Fly to Agra at night from this month

Tourists may now regularly fly to Agra as the the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture has cleared night landing of flights at Agra's Kheria airport starting from this month. The move aims to promote tourism in the city of the Taj Mahal. At present, Agra has only one domestic flight by Kingfisher in operation.

According to the ministry officials, it's been a pending demand of the tourism industry to allow flights, particularly international, to land at night in Agra. The Kheria airport, which is a Civil Enclave controlled by the Indian Air Force, is currently partially used for civilian flights.

At present, Agra has only one domestic flight by Kingfisher and that too may be suspended after February.

"Foreign tourists are surprised when told Agra, the most important tourist destination in India and land of the glorious Taj Mahal, does not have a civilian airport. The main problem is that they do not allow parking of planes," said Federation of Tourism Associations president Rajiv Tiwari.

Lack of equipment to facilitate night landing has been one of the major reasons behind the delay. Local Congress leaders and representatives of the tourism industry met party general secretary Rahul Gandhi in December to look into the matter.

Airport Authority of India's general manager, public relations, G.S. Bawa, said, "Now three flights can operate at the same time. One is already operational so from now onwards, we can handle two more flights simultaneously. Airlines are most welcome to bring additional airlines as soon as they complete the required formalities with the DGCA." There are 28 civil enclave airports in the country out of which 20 are operational in tourist spots. "Only when there is a need to build or work towards controlling air traffic we build additional airports apart from civil enclaves in small towns," added Bawa.

However, some airlines haven't considered flying to Agra. "Although we continually evaluate sectors that we can add or enhance on our network, at the moment Jet Airways may not have plans to fly to Agra," said the spokesperson of Jet Airways.

AAI has undertaken the development of 58 airports which includes 35 non-metro and 23 airports in three-tier cities. Work has been completed in 27 airports which include tourist places like Amritsar, Dehradun, Jaipur, Shillong, Port Blair, Srinagar and others.


9 January 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.

Hindi channels a bigger hit on DTH

People watch more Hindi movie channels on Direct-to-home (DTH) than cable channels and the Analog space. In absence of Cable Channels on the DTH platform, reach for Hindi Movie Channels has increased to about 34.5% on DTH as per statistics provided by aMap — Audience Measurement and Analytics — an overnight TV Audience Measurement System.

Cable Channels get a 29.3% reach and Hindi Movie Channels garner about 26.5% reach in the Analog space. The reach for the same set of Hindi Movie Channels has increased to about 34.5% on DTH. Even the time spent has increased for this genre on DTH. These include channels like Filmy, Set Max, Star Gold, UTV Action, UTV Moviez and Zee Cinema.

"The Hindi Movie Genre reach is much higher in The DTH space for both mid-size towns and metros. Distribution issues are eliminated on the DTH platform and hence, these channels have a better reach on the DTH platform," said Jinti Shah, Vice President, aMap, Audience Measurement and Analytics. "DTH platform gives better clarity and the audio and video perception is much better. Digital clarity enhances the view and customers experience superior quality viewing," said Sanjay Behl, chief executive of Reliance BIG TV.

TAM Media Research's, TV Viewership analysis firm of India, spokesperson agrees that the reach in terms of minutes is more for the DTH space than cable and satellite homes, "Average weekly time spent by viewers watching Hindi movies is 190 minutes for the cable and satellite homes and 218 minutes for the DTH homes."

9 January 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.

Register online and adopt a child

People wanting to adopt children will be able to register ­online from January 2011. The Central Adoption ­Resource Authority (CARA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, has developed a web portal, "Carings" to ensure more transparency in domestic and inter-country adoptions.

"The portal will provide provisional online registration of Indian parents for domestic adoption and also status tracking by parents," said an official from the ministry.

"The main agenda is to encourage domestic ­adoption in the first phase of the project. Through Carings we will be able to provide a better platform to parents to register themselves with adoption agencies. Since it is the first phase we are focusing on registered RIPAs (Recognised Indian Placement Agencies). This website will help in numerous ways: channelising adoption procedures since relevant data will be managed by CARA; registration of parents will become systematic; delays will be taken care of; post adoption information from each parent will be monitored. We will also be able to track agencies in remote areas. If any agency does not follow the mentioned guidelines, its licence will get aborted. Parents will be able to view the details of the children only after the right match has been found depending on their background and requirements," said Anu J. Singh, secretary of CARA.

2 January 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.

www.adoptionindia.nic.in

CBSE gives students more options

Those CBSE school students who are not very academically inclined will be able to study any of the following professionally oriented courses: hotel management, healthcare, design, fashion, journalism, garment technology, heritage craft, visual and graphic arts, travel and tourism. These courses will be elective.

Courses that are popular and have a higher scope of employment opportunities have been given preference.

"Children should be given more options to choose from subjects according to their taste and aptitude," said Vineet Joshi, chairperson of CBSE.

The CBSE will form ­suitable syllabi with the help of the tie-ups it has with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for healthcare, National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFT) for fashion design, and Hotels Association of India (HAI) for hotel management.

Cynthia Manoharan, manager of St, Thomas School, New Delhi said, "It is an excellent move by the board to encourage students to explore options beyond medicine and engineering. We already have a professional course in food and nutrition for Classes XI and XII where students' performance is excellent. Professional courses are like stepping stones for children and will set a firm ground for them to decide which course they would want to pursue after school."

"It is a 101% successful and positive step towards creating a better future for children. Vocational courses should be included in schools as no student is interested in doing a plain BA these days. Earning money is the main criterion for children. Students who are good academically should opt for these courses as this will help them get a wider choice of career alternatives," said Neelam Bali, a senior ­psychology lecturer in St. Bede's college, Shimla.

The CBSE has also teamed up with the National Stock Exchange for a joint certificate programme in financial market management.

"We also plan to introduce courses like web technology, biotechnology, multimedia and creative writing soon," said a CBSE official who wanted to remain anonymous.

2 January 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.

Green train toilets likely to have 90% success rate

Environment-friendly toilets will be built for trains to ensure better waste disposal. The Ministry of Railway has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for joint technology development using the bio-digester technology developed by Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE).

Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur have jointly built suitable designs for the project, based on the bio-digester technology, known as the zero discharge toilet system (ZDTS). Zero discharge toilets means nothing is discharged on the track or anywhere else. ZDTS has the added advantage of lower capital cost and higher net present value as compared to conventional wastewater treatment system.

K.H. Muniyappa, Minister of State for Railways, said in the Lok Sabha recently, "Trials of vacuum retention toilets on Shatabdi trains are also underway. Suitable technology option for Indian Railways operating conditions are yet to be established." An official from the RDSO said that with the growing railway network and increase in the number of passengers open discharge of waste has become a big problem, "When we initiated this concept in 2006, infrastructure and funds were prominent issues. The results of the trials in railway coaches today are satisfactory with 90% success rate."

Dr Vinod Tare, a professor working on the project at IIT, Kanpur explained the benefits of such toilets, "It will avoid filthy conditions on the track; prevent corrosion of the underside of the toilet portion of the coach and rails leading to substantial savings; and maintain hygienic conditions. The estimated cost is approximately Rs 10 lakh per coach, and the annual operating and management cost is Rs 35,000 per toilet."

He added that the Railways would have to spend a substantial amount to ensure that proper infrastructure is in place. "It will be successful as we have already done trials on one coach on a train running between Chennai and Lucknow, and Chennai and Jammu Tawi. We have to build capacity for large scale adaptation, which will take one or two years. We have been given orders by RDSO to implement the ZDTS on 14 coaches of a train from the southern region," he said.

19 December 2010 — The Sunday Guardian.

Delhi wants poor quota, schools want fees

The Delhi government has announced that under no circumstances will private schools be allowed to increase their fees after implementing the 25% admission quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS). As per the Right to Education Act (RTE), it is mandatory for schools built on public land allotted to them at throwaway prices by the government to provide "freeships" and reserve 25% of seats for the EWS. Some private schools have opposed the step, contending that providing 25% reservation for the EWS category this year is difficult.

The schools also said that if the quota had to be imposed, then private school fees should be increased.

Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely has said that 25% quota in private schools "will be implemented at any cost and action will be taken against any school which increases the fees without prior permission from the education authority".

On the other hand, Public School Association ­president R.C. Jain said that the 25% quota in private schools should not be applied at all. "Under the Act and the court decision, schools can increase their fees provided they give ­appropriate justification. However, the main ­problem is that there are no new schools being built for students who will not be given admission in these schools. Government is saying that it will ­reimburse the amount

but there are other ­maintenance expenses as well. We have sent 80,000 fax sheets from across the country to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to protest against this quota system in the private sector. Government had given land to only 250 schools and the remaining 1,700 schools were built on private land. It will be easier for the owners to shut down schools and sell the land at a profitable price in the future if the quota system is implemented forcefully," he said.

M.I. Hussain, the ­principal of Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, however, said that RTE was the wake-up call to address the inequality in the education system: "Fees should not be increased. There should be no segregation between children from the weaker sections and other students as every child has the right to basic education."

12 December 2010 — The Sunday Guardian.