Gulzar gets Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2013

NEW DELHI: Veteran film lyricist and director Gulzar has been chosen for Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema given annually by the Indian government for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.

Gulzar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2004 for his contribution to the arts and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. He has won a number of National Film Awards. At the 81st Academy Awards, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" (shared with A R Rahman), for the film Slumdog Millionaire. On 31 January 2010, the same song won him a Grammy Award in the category of Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

A committee consisting eminent personalities from the Indian film industry is appointed to evaluate the award.

Introduced in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema, the award is given to recognise the contribution of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema and for distinguished contribution to the medium, its growth and promotion.

Geo Tez’s 'Burka Avenger' wins Peabody Award

KARACHI: Geo Tez's Burka Avenger has won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award which honours achievements in electronic media.

Burka Avenger is a cartoon series about a mild mannered teacher with secret martial arts skills who uses a flowing black burka to hide her identity as she fights local criminals seeking to shut down the girls’ school where she works.

The Urdu language show is the brainchild of one of Pakistan's biggest pop stars, Aaron Haroon Rashid — known to many as simply Haroon — who conceived of it as a way to emphasiase the importance of girls' education and teach children other lessons, such as protecting the environment and not discriminating against others.

Other prominent winners of the Peabody Award are Breaking Bad, House of Cards and CNN’s ‘Parts Unknown.’

The awards ceremony will be held in New York on March 19.

Pakistan to award 3G licenses soon

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has said that the introduction of 3 G technology will usher Pakistan into a new era of Information Technology.

On Thursday he met a three-member delegation from the telecom industry comprising Jo Lender CEO, Vimplecom, Augie K Fabela, co-founder and Chairman Emeritus and Rashid Khan CEO and President Mobilink.

He said the government had embarked on an aggressive privatization policy and wanted to facilitate businesses, according to an official statement.

The government is looking to give the economy some momentum by awarding 3 G licenses. Mr Sharif said that the 3 G licenses will be open to national and international competitors and it will be awarded in a transparent manner. He expects international bidders to also compete for 3G licenses.