News Headline
DD deploys digital watermarking to combat piracy
MUMBAI: National broadcaster Doordarshan has taken the lead on a trial basis to apply technology to strengthen worldwide efforts to identify video pirates.
The trial with Doordarshan was initiated by First Serve Entertainment, which represents USA Video Interactive Corp, and exclusively markets and sells MediaSentinel technology in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and non- exclusively in other parts of the world.
According to First Serve Entertainment Inc. COO Munish Gupta, Doordarshan’s recent decision to deploy digital watermarking in a three-month trial puts the world on notice that India isn’t among nations content to simply wring their hands and do little more than decry the theft and unauthorized reproduction of movies, television broadcasts and similar digital products.
Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma says, MediaSentinel’s digital watermarking technology will provide Indian and international law enforcement officials an effective means of tracing and catching pirates.
“Prasar Bharati’s initiative to watermark media broadcast on Doordarshan should stimulate a wave of interest, not only across China and the rest of Asia, where piracy is believed to cause billions of dollars of losses, but also in the US, which suffers many of those losses,” Sarma said. “We are pleased to have this trial period underway to demonstrate the value of this technology to media producers everywhere.”
“Hollywood and the world’s other media centers have basically been sitting back and complaining that something needs to be done,” Gupta says.
“Doordarshan is first among the world’s large networks and the only nationally run public broadcaster that’s stepped up to the plate to respond to the challenges of media piracy with robust technology that places a unique digital watermark on every single frame of a movie or television broadcast. The message they’re sending to the world by implementing MediaSentinel, an anti-piracy workstation developed by USVO, is ‘we hear you and help is on the way!’”
India has long been on the US Trade Representative’s Special 301 Priority Watch List, as a result of generally weak enforcement of intellectual property laws.
According to a 2005 Watch List report, piracy of motion pictures and other intellectual property in India cost the US media producers alone more than $500 million in 2004.
India is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one point one billion. The Indian film industry’s output is the largest in the world in terms of number of films produced and in number of tickets sold.
“Bollywood,” the informal name for the popular Mumbai-based film industry in India, is a strong part of popular culture in India and the rest of the Indian subcontinent, as well as the Middle East, parts of Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, and among South Asians worldwide.
During the last 10 years, the Indian government has deregulated electronic media by allowing private and even limited foreign investments stimulating the launch of nearly 100 television channels.
These new channels uplink from India and are beamed via satellite into the country and carried via cable and Direct To Home (DTH) systems. Also, India’s film industry today enjoys growing investment by foreign financiers, foreign co-productions and significant revenues from overseas exploitation of films.
Information and Broadcasting ministry is planning to set up three high powered expert committees to prevent the growing menace of video piracy of feature films.
“We are pleased that the government-owned Doordarshan network, one of the most important broadcasters in the world, has stepped to the forefront to make India a leader in watermarking as forensic tool for anti-piracy efforts,” said USVO CEO Edwin Molina.
“This is an important move that will likely spur Hollywood and the movie and video products industries in other nations to replicate as a means of furthering worldwide intellectual property rights enforcement in the near future, adds Molina.
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.
