The BBC World Service Trust, a charitable arm of the BBC‘s World Service, is setting up a production partnership with Prasar Bharati to campaign for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention‘s
The project is being undertaken on behalf of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and will concentrate on the low-prevalence northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana. The Beeb is now seeking senior creative personnel from India to head the year-long project, likely to be started by December this year.

The project will involve TV programmes targeted at youth, the most vital audience for an HIV / AIDS campaign, according to the BBC. One of the programmes envisaged an ‘exciting‘ weekly half hour show aimed at 15-30 year olds watching Doordarshan from Delhi, Lucknow and Jaipur. There are also plans for broadcasting thrice-weekly short-form drama series at peak viewing times, from Doordarshan Kendras in Delhi, Lucknow and Jaipur. ‘The series will engage the audience in a stimulating storyline that opens up the issues of relationship responsibility, sexual health and AIDS prevention‘, sources say. Plans are also afoot for launching an innovative phone-in show for young people on FM, with repeats on the main channel. This is scheduled to be the centerpiece of an AIR campaign on HIV/AIDS prevention from Lucknow.

CNBC India and Home Trade have launched investor camps across the country to enlighten retail investors on the basics of successful investing.
The series of camps, which will span 10 - 12 cities throughout India, kickstarted in Delhi today. According to the organisers, the camps will attempt to cut through the clutter of investment myths and financial fallacies to empower the average investor with tools and knowledge needed for wise money management. A panel of experts comprising Rajeev Vij, CEO, Templeton Investments, Sanjay Sachdev, MD, IDBI Principal, Dr Ajay Shah, Derivatives Research Head, among others, will discuss the different aspects of investing and investment research and analysis.

The panel will also boast CNBC India‘s anchors, Senthil Chengalvarayan and Udayan Mukherjee who will moderate the sessions. The speakers will delve into fundamental issues like risk and return, asset allocation, financial ratios, equity Vs debt, mutual funds, etc. and elaborate on how to use the knowledge to invest successfully. All presentations are to be followed by Q&A sessions with the audience.

The camps are purportedly the answer to a long standing demand from the channel‘s audiences across the nation. These camps will also set the pace for Home Trade to launch innovative consumer-centric financial products through continued interactions with retail investors. They are, according to a press release, part of Home Trade‘s objective to address specific challenges facing the retail investor.
According to Hiren Gada, Senior Vice President, Home Trade, "The investor camps are among the first of a range of financial experiences that Home Trade plans to introduce in the near future. Our alliance with CNBC India reflects our commitment to partner with the best to give the consumer the best".

Scientific-Atlanta, a leading global supplier of digital content distribution systems, has added another feather to its cap. The 2001 Women of Color Technology Awards Conference has conferred the award Technologist of the Year upon its vice-president and general manager Subscriber Network Services, Sherita Ceasar.The presentation, which takes place today, salutes people who have made advances in the fields of math, science, technology and engineering. Scientific-Atlanta will host the "Success and Empowerment Forum" at the conference.

Ceasar is being recognised for her tremendous contributions to America‘s cable industry, which is gradually gaining an interactive feel. Over the course of two decades she has been an important figure in the field of engineering.

Speaking on the award, she said: "This is an exciting time in the cable industry, with unprecedented changes occurring in the way consumers can interact with their televisions. Scientific-Atlanta has been on the forefront of this movement for nearly a decade, and it has been rewarding for me to help cable operators launch new interactive TV services."