Lashkara, part of the eight-channel bouquet of Reminiscent Television Network (RTV), has just completed two years in existence and is currently the No.1 Punjabi language channel, a company release states.

Lashkara has a C&S penetration of 80 per cent in Punjab and just under 50 per cent in Delhi, the release states, quoting AG Nielsen's TAM data.

"In this short span of two years, Lashkara has not only emerged a market leader amongst Punjabi channels but has also carved out a niche for itself with the non-Punjabi audiences all over the world. This has been a remarkable achievement for us and we plan to build further from here, by focusing on mainstream entertainment programming in the near future," says Subhash Menon (managing director, India operations, RTV).

Some of the brands associated with Lashkara include Pepsi, Coke, Colgate, Wipro, Marico, Johnson & Johnson, Dabur, Tata Tea and Cadburys, according to the release.

The channel has also announced the presentation of its first ever annual Punjabi music awards - the 'Lashkara Punjabi Music Awards 2001', to be held on 22 June at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.

RTV beams in Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu and Tamil and also reaches South East Asia, Africa, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

In India only the Lashkara and Gurjari (Gujarati) channels are available.