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Dasgupta Ficci co-chairman, vows to increase govt. involvement in TV sector
MUMBAI: The television sector can hope for a faster redressal of its ills with the appointment of Sony Entertainment Television India CEO Kunal Dasgupta as the co-chairman of the Ficci Entertainment Committee.
The committee has been chaired for the last few years by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra.
At the Ficci SCaT India 2003 conference on the Indian cable and satellite sector held in Mumbai on Thursday, Dasgupta said his appointment highlighted the fact that Ficci now recognises the television sector as a significant part of the entertainment industry.
His aim, he said, would be to increase government involvement in industry’s views and to facilitate the faster rollout of various services that would enable revenue growth in the industry in a major way.
Industry growth, he noted, be it ground distribution, home distribution, broadband or telephony, would have to be systematic to benefit all parties concerned, else it would end up as chaotic as the implementation of conditional access system (CAS) in the country.
The CAS chaos
While CAS, or “addressability”, as Dasgupta prefers to call it to rid it of negative connotations, is still the cornerstone of growth of the home entertainment sector in the country, it has to be understood as a long term gain and not a quick fix solution, he said.
Referring to Chennai, the only city that has seen a scheduled CAS rollout thus far, Dasgupta said his company’s research had shown that while 96 per cent of the city’s denizens did not care for Hindi programming, almost 40 per cent were keen on sports and English content. However, till 15 October, only 6,432 set-top boxes (STBs) had been sold in the city, which means only one per cent of cable homes in Chennai currently watch pay TV channels.
The reason for the low rate of STB penetration, he said, was the political uncertainty about the future of CAS, lack of clarity on the cost of STBs as well as pay channels and the option of watching sports channels in pubs and hotel lobbies instead of opting for a STB at home.
Declaring that “the consumer has been turned off by the rollout of CAS,” Dasgupta said addressability can only be ensured by seeding STBs – by offering them at easy rentals or even free of cost, or by offering reasonable packages of pay channels and introducing localised interactive services that will add to the attraction of the boxes.
“CAS was a means to bring addressability to the incumbent network, which was cable. That did not happen, mainly because we failed to provide the value adds, which would have made it an attractive proposition to the consumer,” Dasgupta said.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
