Awards
Jalandhar judged best kendra at DD Awards 2002
MUMBAI: Jalandhar Kendra walked away with the best Doordarshan Kendra award at the second edition of the DD Awards held at the Goregaon Sports Club in Mumbai on Saturday evening.
Instituted to recognise and encourage in house talent, the DD awards picked out the best of the technical and creative brains behind some of the best shows shown on various DD channels during the past year. DD Jaipur bagged the maximum awards by a single station – for the best editing (Inside Pushkar), best science and technology show (Surya Kiran), best serial (Bhor), best agriculture show (Ujjas Batan Gaon Gaon Ri) and best wildlife and environment show (Ab Nahi Roothenge Badal).
I&B minister Sushma Swaraj was the chief guest at the star studded function, while Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal presided. Anchored by media personality Sachin Pilgaonkar along with former Miss World Yukta Mookhey and three DD comperes, the awards ceremony was interspersed with performances by various artistes including Shaan, the Colonial Cousins, Kavita Krishnamoorthy and Jaspinder Narula.
Defunct channel DD News also managed a few awards in the news category with Neelam Sharma taking the best news anchor award, Avinash Acharya bagging the best news producer award and Bharat Bhushan and Dharini Mishra walking away with the best news editor trophy. The newly instituted news category also included the best news cameraperson trophy was won by TS Shiva Kumar of DD Bangalore, while Dheeraj Kakadia won the best live despatch award for DD Ahmedabad. Bashir Malik and Sanjit Khajuria won the best regional news unit award for RNU Srinagar and Jammu respectively. DD Srinagar was also the joint winner of the best news producer award, bagged by Dr Nazeer Ahmed Bhatt.
PS Srivastava of DD Delhi won the best engineering contribution to news award, while Devika Mokthan of DD Delhi won the best news report trophy for her indepth investigation of child labour.
Among the technical categories, Bangalore bagged the trophy for the best maintained kendra, while Gwalior was adjudged the best maintained high power transmitter (HPT). Pilani was judged the best maintained DD maintenance centre and Gangtok the best maintained HPT studio. Mundargi won the award for the best installed LPT/VLPT award, while the best installed project (J&K) went to Kupwada.
Chief engineer Ram Singh was awarded the best technical innovation award, while B Sundersan bagged the award for the best technical paper (Delivery of interactive services via DTT networks).
DD Mumbai was the winner of two awards – one for the best TV Spots, bagged by Vijay Bhingarde for his ‘anti smoking’ campaign, and the other for the best women’s programme (Kavadase), bagged by Meena Pansare. Programme producer Chandrakant Barve of Rajkot station won the best telefilm award for Dharmayoddha and for the best innovative show (Boss is Always Right). The best cinematography award was bagged by D Thangaraj for Kunjedati produced by DD Thiruvanthapuram, while the best documentary award was bagged by PTS Nambisan for Silachayathile Prathiroopangal for the same station. Sachindra Chaudhari of DD Kolkata bagged the best children’s show of the year award for Aar Ek Bampi.
The best graphics award was bagged by Samir Das for Amrit Vichar, a show on DD Lucknow , while Yashpal Sharma of DD Delhi won the best live event, OB award for covering Pakistan president Musharraf’s visit to the Taj Mahal.
Among the Director General’s special awards, Vijay Laxmi Chabbra of DD Mumbai and Usha Bhasin shared the award for best exemplary work, while Subhash Chander and MCS Rao won the best administration award.
Awards
Ajay Kakar to chair jury for ad:tech Honours Awards 2026
Industry leaders join jury as nominations surge for marketing tech awards
NEW DELHI: The ad:tech Honours Awards 2026 are gearing up for a bigger second edition, with Ajay Kakar, head of corporate branding at Adani Group, set to chair the jury for India’s technology-focused marketing awards.
Organised in partnership with the International Advertising Association India Chapter, the awards celebrate the growing influence of technology in shaping modern advertising and marketing outcomes. This year’s edition has drawn a strong response from across the industry, signalling rising momentum around innovation in marketing technology.
The organisers say the nominations reflect a wide range of ideas and approaches, highlighting how brands and agencies are increasingly leaning on platforms, tools and data to sharpen their campaigns and connect with audiences more effectively.
Leading the evaluation process, Kakar will head a jury made up of senior leaders from across brands, agencies and technology platforms.
The jury panel includes Amaresh Godbole, CEO, digital technology business at Publicis Groupe; Bishwajeet S, head of marketing and PR at Volkswagen India; Carol Goyal, executive director at Rediffusion and CEO of Aesthetic Intelligence Lab; Kushal Sanghvi, director at Komerz; Lara Balsara, executive director at Madison World; Rana Barua, group CEO India, sea and North Asia; Deepak Oram, senior vice president growth marketing and martech; and Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi, head of marketing and creative solutions at Amazon Ads India.
The ad:tech Honours Awards aim to recognise not just creative campaigns but the smart use of technology that delivers measurable impact and business results. Categories this year reflect the rapidly evolving digital landscape, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, data-driven marketing, content ecosystems, automation, martech and adtech integration, and commerce-led marketing.
The winners will be announced on 17 March 2026 at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi during ad:tech New Delhi 2026. The event is expected to bring together leaders from brands, agencies, platforms, creators and technology partners for an evening celebrating the ideas and innovations shaping the future of marketing.iconductor industries.
