Hail Sobhagya, PR agency of the year!

Here is a collahge of media coverage for Sobhagya which has been awarded PR Agency of The Year at PRCI awards during the 10th Global Communication Conclave held at Kolkata on Jan 22 & 23, 2016.

Breaking News @ PRCI Conclave: Railway broadband to reach 500,000 homes in 2 years

This story by IANS on our 10th Global Communication Conclave has been well received by media from across the world with over 2,400 web sites carrying it.

RailTel Aims to Connect 500,000 Households With Its Broadband Project

Indo-Asian News Service , 27 January 27il

Carving a niche for itself in the Connected India-2020 project, Railtel Corporation's broadband will reach 500,000 households through its Railwire network providing a host of services at the block level in the next two years, a top railway official has said.

The Broadband Highway will involve a three-layer network - state capitals to district headquarters, district to sub-divisional and then to gram panchayats which will be joined to the National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN), Pradeep Kumar, executive director (East) of RailTel Corporation of India, told a Global Communication Conclave in Kolkata.

The Conclave, 10th in a series organised by the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), conducted a knowledge forum with the theme 'Digital Now- What Next'.

(Also see:  Google, RailTel's Free Public Wi-Fi Service Launched at Mumbai Central)

Pradeep Kumar said Railwire network architecture provides the answer for 'What Next' as it will empower the people at village level with knowledge, skill development and core competencies. "This will lead to good governance and transparent, corruption-free governments."

RailTel's pan-India optic fibre network covers 4,400-plus railway stations across 44,300km.

Railwire has also begun to tap the local cable operators focussing on pure-play broadband and VPN services, content and application-driven network. "Our aim is to become a hub of local information and tool for rendering communication, infotainment, education, health and community services to the masses," Pradeep Kumar said.

In Eastern India alone, RailTel seeks to cover 36,000 gram panchayats and the broadband services include emails, online newspapers, online passport application, tele-medicine, examination results and net surfing for students with a minimum 2Mbps speed.

The company's pilot projects at Panisagar and Girania in Tripura have aroused a lot of interest and enthusiasm, Pradeep Kumar said.

For the Railways itself, RailTel provides mission-critical services such as computerised passenger reservation and ticketing system.

West Bengal Women's Welfare and Child Development Minister Sashi Panja, who inaugurated the two-day conclave, focussed on communicators' role in ensuring the safety of women and children. In this context, she appreciated PRCI for setting up an internal compliance cell as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act makes it mandatory for all organisations to have such cells.

Explaining the significance of the conclave theme, PRCI national president and veteran media professional B.N. Kumar said it was important for communication professionals to keep themselves updated with the latest technology trends to be able to meet ever-increasing challenges.

PRCI also focuses on skill development for communication professionals by expanding its operations and network not only across India but globally as well, he said.

PRCI chairman emeritus and chief mentor M.B. Jayaram said it was high time that the PR professionals thought big, embraced emerging challenges and converted them into opportunities and moved towards a digital-first approach. The organization will soon initiate collaborative programmes with various business and technology forums to help the professionals upgrade their skills.

PRCI, on the occasion, felicitated national achievers from among communication professionals with its coveted Chanakya awards, inducted senior practitioners into PR Hall of fame and presented a host of collateral awards at the conclave.

Ujjivan Financial Services won the Corporate Citizen award, while Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals was given the innovative leadership award. Dainik Bhaskar Bhopal was given the excellence in social leadership award while Businessworld fortnightly was adjudged the Magazine of the Year.

The World of PR in City of Joy

                         10^th Global Communication Conclave attracts good traction

KOLKATA: The two-day 10^th Global Communication Conclave hosted  by Kolkata, the City of Joy, was indeed a joyous experience.

Held on January 22 -23, 2016, the Conclave had a large number of PR, media, HR, Advertising professionals, mass communication academicians and students attending.

West Bengal Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development Ms Sashi Panja was the chief guest who along other dignitaries  such as Swami Jitatmananda Maharaj, Vice President, Ramkrishna Math, lighted the traditional lamp to mark opening of the Conclave.

The Conclave paid glowing tributes to late PRCI Governing Council Chairman N D Rajpal who passed away recently. His daughter Shweta fondly recalled his memories and said he was a great family man while he was always busy with his professional commitments. The delegates observed silence as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

Conclave vice chairman and PRCI East Zone Chairman B K Sahu and organising committee chairman Ravi Mahapatra, who also heads Kolkata chapter of PRCI, welcomed the guests.

Ms Sashi Panja, West Bengal Women welfare and child development minister, who inaugurated the two-day conclave, focused on the communicators’ role in ensuring the safety of women and children.

In this context, she appreciated PRCI for complying with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act makes it mandatory for all organizations to have Internal Compliance Committees.

PRCI Chairman Emeritus and M B Jayaram referred to the Conclave theme – Digital Now-What Next – and stressed the need for all PR professionals to be abreast with the fast developing technology to be able to meet ever increasing communication challenges.

PRCI Governing Council chairman R T Kumar said the organization is spreading its pan-India network and at the time spreading wings globally. ORCI recently formed its UAE chapter and will soon set up units in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Germany and the US.

PRCI National Executive president B N Kumar disclosed that the Guest Faculty Pool set up by the Council is becoming popular among institutions teaching mass communication. PRCI will focus on skill development among upcoming communication professionals and periodic knowledge forums.

YCC Chairperson Geetha Shankar said the organization has launched a special drive to involve the student community and planned youth summits in Mumbai, Bangalore and Mysore.

Kolkata Calling - on You Tube

Here is the video slide show of select pix taken during the 10th Global Communication Conclave, taken from my ipad Mini.

Pl allow some time for the pix to download (by clicking on the play button). For better view, select Cinema Mode (the second icon from the right, on your screen) and for sharp quality pl select HD by clicking on options (the wheel icon).

Now enjoy viewing.....larger pic on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpJUuX0_nsQ

Percussionists in action at Kolkata Conclave

And the Chanakya Awards go to.....also PR Hall of Fame List - 2016

Here is the list of the coveted Chanakya and prestigious Hall of Fame awards presented at the 10th Global Communication Conclave held at Kolkata on January 22 & 23, 2016

National Chanakya Awards 2016

S No	Chanakya Award	Organisation/Person	Designation
1	Corporate Citizen of the Year	Ujjivan Financial Services, Bengaluru
2	Excellence in Project Management	NTPC Ltd, New Delhi
3	Innovative Leadership	Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkota
4	Media Personality of the Year Print Media	Susmita Mukherjee	Senior  Editor Times of India, Kolkota
5	Communicator of the Year- Corporate Communications	Mr.Indrajit Bose	Executive Director (Corporate Communications &Branding) IndianOil, Marketing Division Mumbai
6	Communicator of the Year- Documentary Films	Maya Chandra	Maya Films Bengaluru
7	Communicator of the Year- Art & Culture	H.A. Anil Kumar	H.O.D, Department of Art History, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru
8	Social Leadership	Dainik Bhaskar	Bhopal
9	Entrepreneur of the Year	Dr. Mohan Krishna	Founder, Cheers Group
10	Business Communication Trainer   of the Year-International	Vinod  Menon	Art of Living International Center, Bengaluru
11	Business Communication Trainer   of the Year- National	Dr. K.V. Nagaraj	Professor,Mass Communication, Mizoram University MIZORAM
12	Business School of the Year	International School of Business&Research	Bengaluru
13	Business Leadership of the Year	Canara Bank	Bengaluru
14	Magazine of the Year	Business World	MUMBAI
15	Publisher of the Year	Delhi Press Magazine	NEW DELHI
16	Academic Excellence of the Year	Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge	Secunderabad
17	Best PR Agency of the Year	SOBHAGYA Advertising	Kochi
18	Most promising PR Person of the Year	Sanjoy Kumar Mukherjee,	Senior Public Relation Officer, Kolkata Port Trust, Kolkata
19	Most promising PR  Agency of the Year	PR 24X7 Network Ltd	Indore
20	Most promising young Entrepreneur of the Year	Saurabh Uboweja	Founder, CEO & Chief Brand Strategist  Brands of Desire Delhi
21	Juries Special Award Communication through Yoga	Aurum Media Pvt Ltd	Lonovala
22	Juries Special Award  PR Person –Corporate Communication	Latha	PRO KSRTC Bengaluru
24	Juries Special Award for International Academic Excellence	Sunil Kannath	Director & CEO  Europe Study Centre Pvt. Ltd Kochi
25	Excellence in HR	Sunil Munshi	Director (Personnel)  Andrew Yule and Co. Ltd Kolkata
26	Communicator of the Year- Crisis Communication	Prashanth Pathrabe	Director Film&Television Institute of India, Pune
27	Juries Special Award for Photo  Journalism	Amitabha Bandyopadhyay	Special Correspondent, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Kolkata
28	Juries Special Award for Business  Journalism	Shri Dilip Bisoi	Special Correspondent, Financial Express, Bhubaneshwar
29	Juries Special Award for Economic Journalism	Shri Jyant Gupta	Assistant Editor, Times of India, Kolkata
30	Excellence in good governance and Administration	Dr Shalini Rajneesh IAS	Principal Secretary, Backward Classes Welfare Department. Govt of ktka,  Bengaluru
31	NRI Awards Indians who brought name to the country abroad	Biju Kassim	Managing Director Gadgets International& Sirius Retail Solution, Dubai
32	NGO Of the Year	IDL Foundation	Bengaluru
33	N.D. Rajpal Memorial Award Communicator of the Decade	Deepak Jolly	Vice President Venturing and Emerging Brands Coca Cola India&South West Asia
34	Dr K.R. Singh Memorial Award	L.R. Sailo	Former Director of Information& Public Relations, Government Mizoram, Aizwal
35.	Media Personality of the Year Electronic Media	Ms Shweta Rajpal	NDTV, NEW DELHI

HALL OF FAME 2016

S.N	Name	Designation
1	Ajay Pawar	Senior General Manager (Corporate Communications) Godrej Properties Ltd.
2	B.K. Asmita	Facilitator- Brahmakumaris
3	Ajay Sharma	Founder & CEO Storynomics
4	Asok Kumar Gangopadhyay,	Senior Public Relations Officer  Eastern Railway
5	V. Chandrasekar	Ex Senior Assistant General Manager, Air India
6	Himanshu Kapadia	Sr. Vice President, Corporate Communications and CSR, Aditya Birla Group.
7	Naresh Kumar	Asst. GM, Corporate Communications (POWERGRID)
8	Sanjay Tripathi	Mr. Sanjay Tripathi, Dy. General Manager (Corporate Communications), IndianOil, Western Region
9	Sabitha Natraj	Head of Corporate Communications, Southern Region, IndianOil