Indian Olympic Association today announced the schedule for the 1st South Asian Winter Games to be held in Uttarakhand from 7^th to 19^th January, 2011. In addition to the host country India, all other SAF nations, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are expected to participate in these games.

The skiing event for South Asian Winter Games 2011 will be held at Auli from 7^th to 12^th January, 2011, while Dehradun will play host to the Ice Skating and Ice Hockey events from 14^th to 19^th January, 2011. The opening and closing ceremonies of the winter games will be held on 7^th and 19^th in Auli and Dehradun respectively.

Shri. Randhir Singh, Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association announced that, “India is extremely happy to host the first ever winter games at Uttarakhand. The state-of-the-art, newly built infrastructure will witness the best ever haul across SAF nations. Our main aim is to promote winter games and sporting culture and I am sure that these games will give a new boost to the future of winter sports in India.”

Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Uttarakhand & Chairman, Organising Committee Winter Games said, “Uttarakhand is extremely delighted to host first ever South Asian Winter Games. We were given a mandate to create infrastructure for these Games and we are happy that the newly built winter sporting facilities are at par with any global infrastructure. The games will also provide a huge boost to the tourism industry in the state. Uttarakhand is all set to offer the best ever experience, which will be cherished by all participants and visitors alike.”

On the occasion, Brig. SS Patwal (Retd.), President of the WGFI said, “The infrastructure created at Auli for the skiing competition has got excellent slopes in terms of distance and vertical drop which has been homologated by the Federation of International Skiing. The artificial snow facility has given us a freedom to double the skiing time to 90 days. While the ice skating facilities at Dehradun are of world class standards and we have already tested the ice making there.”

“I am sure the 1^st South Asian Winter Games will pave the way for budding winter sports enthusiasts and will offer an international exposure to the professional sportspersons. These games will also help position India on the international winter sporting calendar and will give a new boost to our sportspersons to train and participate in more international events.” added Brig. Patwal.

“Bharal”, the Himalayan blue sheep, has been chosen as the mascot of SAF Winter Games. Keeping in view its agility, strength, sure-footedness and adaptability for survival in the snow-covered high altitude areas, the basic qualities of a skier, the WGFI chose Bharal as its mascot for 1st South Asian Winter Games 2011.

As a part of the 30 days to go celebrations for South Asian Winter Games, Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) will organise the coaching camps from December 7^th to 16^th at Auli for skiing and from December 14^th to 23^rd at Dehradun for ice skating and ice hockey. Winter sportspersons from SAARC countries are also invited to participate in these coaching camps.

In addition, there will be an Open Skiing Championship from December 18 to 23 in Auli and Open Ice Skating Championship from December 25 to 30 in Dehra Dun. Men, Women across senior, sub-junior and junior categories can showcase their skills at these Open Championships. 

The South Asian Winter Games 2011, Auli Open Ski Championship will include three event categories: Alpine Skiing, Nordic and Snow board. The Alpine Skiing Competition will include Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G.

The South Asian Doon Open Ice Skating Championship will include Speed Skating (Men & Women); Figure Skating (Single – Man & Woman); Figure Skating (Pair – Man & Woman) and Ice Hockey (Men).

Miss eWorld 2010, the first of its kind innovative online International beauty pageant is all set to change the format of talent hunt across boundaries.  US based leading media and entertainment player, Lafango, the owner of world’s biggest online multimedia talent platform which has launched Miss eWorld 2010, has brought revolutionary changes in the business of spotting right talent across categories.

Lafango’s “Miss eWorld 2010” contest is different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion.

Any female contestant between 18 to 40 years of age from across the world including India is welcome to enter this free of cost contest and win the crown of Miss eWorld 2010 together with prize money of $10,000. The “Miss eWorld 2010” contest will be open for submission till September 2, 2010. Contestants can register at www.misseworld.com or http://lafango.com/miss-eworld-2010-beauty-pageant to submit their entries.

Davinder Singh, the US based CEO and Founder of TalentTrove Inc. said, “With the sheer passion to nurture talent, Lafango has been instrumental in offering a unique way to showcase hidden abilities. Miss eWorld 2010 beauty pageant is another step in this regard and it has changed the traditional style. Miss eWorld 2010 has made it open to girls across the world to share their talent with akin contestants, keeping aside all other barrier. We are hopeful that this is the beginning of a new era and the true talent will be the winner.”

Jatinder Singh, President, TalentTrove Inc. and Managing Director, TalentTrove India said, “India has an immense pool of untapped talent and not many opportunities galore for them. We at Lafango wishes to provide a global platform to talent in India. “Miss eWorld 2010” is all set to transform the process of selecting a world class beauty. The verdict by the voters and simplicity of the participation process with no entry fee involved makes “Miss eWorld 2010” a unique contest to watch for. Moreover contestants have chance to directly compete and get noticed with participants from across the world.”

For the first round contestants need to submit 4 photographs each including one head shot, one frontal body shot and two photographs of her choice. Shortlisted 100 contestants then need to submit 3 photographs each for the round two and thereafter 50 selected contestants making it for third round need to upload 3 photographs each for full body shot, side ways shot and photo of contestant choice. The top 10 contestants chosen for the fourth and final round will have to submit a video. This video must be in response to a question that will be provided just prior to the start of this final round. The voter’s choice final contestant with highest numbers of votes will be crowned as Miss eWorld 2010 and will be awarded a prize of $10,000.

US based leading media and entertainment player, Lafango, the owner of world’s biggest online multimedia talent platform has launched first of its kind innovative international beauty pageant, “Miss eWorld 2010”.

Any female contestant between 18 to 40 years of age from across the world including India is welcome to enter this free of cost contest and win the crown of Miss eWorld 2010 together with prize money of $10,000. The “Miss eWorld 2010” contest will be open for submission till May 15^st, 2010. Contestants can register at www.misseworld.com or www.lafango.com to submit their entries.

There will be four rounds in total, with number of finalists being reduced after each round by way of online voting by the Lafango community. Contestants need to upload their photos. The requirements for these photos will vary for each round and will include; Evening Wear, Casual, and the contestants choice.

Jatinder Singh, President, TalentTrove Inc. and Managing Director, TalentTrove India said, “India has an immense pool of untapped talent and not many opportunities galore for them. As a part of our commitment at Lafango, we wish to provide a global platform to talent in India. “Miss eWorld 2010” is all set to transform the process of selecting a world class beauty. The verdict by the voters and simplicity of the participation process with no entry fee involved makes “Miss eWorld 2010” a unique contest to watch for. Moreover contestants have chance to directly compete and get noticed with participants from across the world.”

Davinder Singh, the US based CEO of TalentTrove Inc. and Head of International Operations said, “With the sheer passion to nurture talent, Lafango has been instrumental in offering a unique way to showcase hidden abilities. Miss eWorld 2010 beauty pageant is another step in this regard and it has changed the traditional style. Miss eWorld 2010 has made it open to girls across the world to share their talent with akin contestants, keeping aside all other barrier. We are hopeful that this is the beginning of a new era and the true talent will be the winner.”

For the first round contestants need to submit 4 photographs each including one head shot, one frontal body shot and two photographs of her choice. Shortlisted 100 contestants then need to submit 3 photographs each for the round two and thereafter 50 selected contestants making it for third round need to upload 3 photographs each for full body shot, side ways shot and photo of contestant choice. The top 10 contestants chosen for the fourth and final round will have to submit a video. This video must be in response to a question that will be provided just prior to the start of this final round. The voter’s choice final contestant with highest numbers of votes will be crowned as Miss eWorld 2010 and will be awarded a prize of $10,000.

Lafango’s “Miss eWorld 2010” contest is different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion.

Lafango.com is wholly owned by TalentTrove Inc., a three-year old company in the US, which boasts of 5 million online hits per month and holds the biggest global multimedia platform for talent and talent seekers who scout such communities to find the next big star. Lafango aims to strengthen on the largest internet user base here in India.

Lafango is putting together the required technology to effectively leverage the strong mobile phone user base in India. The company has 24×7 Lafango Radio and Lafango.tv that features only original content uploaded by registered members.

TalentTrove Inc. can be visited on the web at www.lafango.com.

Young adult and children’s books publisher, Ponytale Books, made its formal debut in the world of books with eleven titles at the 19th World Book Fair being organised by the National Book Trust, India at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, from January 30th to February 7th 2010.

Announcing the launch of Ponytale Books, Pranav Singh, Publisher & CEO, said, “Our research pointed to a dearth of India context reading material for mid-level readers, generally in the age-group of 8 to 15. Therefore, our publishing programme aims to provide some options to keep alive a young minds love for books and their own environment.

“We publish books on Indian history, culture and tradition, as well as universal values that entertain, educate and inform. Ponytale Books offers a wide range of books from original fiction on contemporary themes to inspirational non-fiction, and translations of best of literature from Indian languages for young adults. We are confident that our books will appeal to the schools and parents and be loved by children.”

Ponytale Books’ portfolio spans genres as diverse as literary classics, environment, sports, adventure, mysteries and ghost stories, mostly in Indian settings.

Ponytale Books has also translated works of renowned authors such as Munshi Premchand’s classic short stories from Hindi and Sahitya Akademi President, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay and Samaresh Basu from Bengali, all brimming with adventure.

US based leading media and entertainment player which owns world’s biggest online multimedia talent platform has launched first of its kind innovative singing talent hunt “Bollywood Singer- 2010”. Whether you are a practiced singer, a budding singer or an individual looking forward to showcase your singing ability to the world, every singer will have chance to display their singing flairs.

“ Bollywood Singer-2010” winner will get prize money of Rs.5 Lakh. The “Bollywood Singer-2010” contest has started on February 1^st, 2010 and will be open for submission of singing talent till April 1, 2010. Contestants can register with TalentTrove.com to submit their entries.

“TalentTrove Bollywood Singer -2010” contest is different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the singing talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion. TalentTrove is looking for everyone’s bollywood singing performances- funny or serious. Do not miss a moment and film yourself at a club, a bar, at home, or even in front of your computer using a webcam and register with TalentTrove.com to upload your audio or video files.

Jatinder Singh, President, TalentTrove Inc. and Managing Director, TalentTrove India said, “India has a vast pool of untapped talent. As a part of our commitment at TalentTrove, we wish to provide a global platform to talent in India. Bollywood songs have become an integral part of day-to-day lives of Indians and people having interest in Indian songs and music “TalentTrove Bollywood Singer-2010” will open new vistas for the singing talent in India. A talent no longer has to wait for opportunity; we plan to reach at the door steps of millions of bollywood lovers to offer them a chance to be discovered. Just sit in front of your web cam and our technology at TalentTrove.com helps you cut a video or audio of your talent.”

TalentTrove offers a unique and much credible way of selecting any talent. “TalentTrove Bollywood Singer-2010” winners will be selected by the registered members and visitors at the TalentTrove.com. There will be eliminations after first round of voting. In addition, the experienced judges from the industry will rate the final short listed entries. This is perhaps the best possible way to have an insight into the talent community perspective rather than leaving the fate of any talent on voting by the public at large, perhaps majority of them have no skills to judge that talent.

With the announcement of “Bollywood Singer-2010”, TalentTrove has launched its biggest global online multimedia platform for talent and talent seekers in India. TalentTrove has vision to make India as hub for films production, TV content creation and professional talent management services. The company also plans to launch a 24X7 dedicated online Hindi radio for India.

Davinder Singh, Chief Executive Officer, TalentTrove Inc. “Not many opportunities galore for the talent based at smaller and remote areas, while these regional markets beyond metros with their divergent cultures and demographics offer tremendous talents. We aspire to occupy a pivotal position in nurturing talent from these new areas as well. We look forward to regional TV production partnerships and regional events to present superior prospects to the talented people living across India.”

“TalentTrove India’s online multimedia platform will focus on music, dance, art, photography, fashion, acting, cooking, sports, comedy, how-to, visual arts, writing and production. India has world’s fourth largest internet user base of over 81 million people with a growth rate of 20% per month. With the launch of our platform in India, TalentTrove expects to grow its talent base by more than 300% in next two years,” added Mr. Singh

TalentTrove a three-year old company in the US, which boasts of 3.5 million online hits per month, owns the biggest global multimedia platform for talent and talent seekers who scout such communities to find the next big star. TalentTrove aims to strengthen on the largest internet user base here in India.

TalentTrove Inc. is putting together the required technology to effectively leverage the strong mobile phone user base in India. The company has 24×7 TalentTrove Radio and TalentTrove.tv that features only original content uploaded by registered members.

TalentTrove Inc. can be visited on the web at www.TalentTrove.com.

A writer based in Chicago looking for a musician, designers in Mumbai scouting for international models, a composer in Italy looking for a violinist or a photographer on his tour to London looking for like-minded people to share the work. All the talented people from different walks of life have got a new destination to success at TalentTrove.com. The world’s leading stage for talent and talent seekers has presented new platform for people with differing talents based at different locations across the globe and still share a desire to get noticed by the peers and prospects. The TalentTrove.com has launched an unparallel live collaboration system, CollabLab™.

CollabLab™ provides a chance to share work, experience and talent with other contributors from same or different categories. Besides, CollabLab™ offers an opening to the new highs and avenues to explore the potential. TalentTrove.com CollabLab™ has knocked down the old hurdles of reaching out to right talent and sharing views, thoughts, ideas and work is no longer restricted to cities and countries.

TalentTrove.com has always promised to create a level playing field for all setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion. CollabLab™ is the new leap to the new era of international collaboration projects across talents. With a promise to maintain the passion and focus, TalentTrove has opened its doors for talent to seek help from the TalentTrove community to make their talent successful and even share the collaborative talent work at TalentTrove.

Now on, forget waiting for the opportunity to knock at the door, change your fortune and write a new chapter in life by sharing the talent with other talents across categories and geographies to realize your dream. With CollabLab™, TalentTrove has started partnered many to relish their dreams come true. Now if you are a part of TalentTrove revolution, you can dream to become an internationally acclaimed singer, a cross boundary composer, a model working with multicultural designers or an actor working on an internationally recognized project.

What more can you ask from a company that was started with true artist in mind coupled with a vision to bring change in the lives of many such artists.

Gone are the days when reality shows producers had to look out for talent across cities in India and yet facing barriers to spot the right talent based at locations beyond reach. TalentTrove has brought revolutionary changes in this business of spotting right talent across categories like singers, actors, dancers, model and many more. US based TalentTrove provides world’s biggest multimedia platform for talent and talent seekers. Talenttrove has acknowledged the power of internet and supplemented its multimedia platform with a dedicated online radio and online tv for its registered talent and talent seekers. Moreover, TalentTrove offers a level playing field for all setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion.

From a talent seekers perspective, TalentTrove extends a one-stop encyclopedia of talent, professionally placed in different categories, making it easy to locate undiscovered talents best suitable to their needs. At the same time TalentTrove helps, talent hunters and reality producers to cut down on the costs of projects, marketing and advertising expenses and offers an online talent database comprising artists even from remote locations making it a true representation of talent from India or any other part of the world, as requisite.

Moreover, unlike Dance India Dance, Indian Idol, Sare Ga Ma Pa or India’s got talent; TalentTrove offers a unique and much credible way of selecting any talent. The registered members and visitors can grade the talent and projects at the TalentTrove.com, which in turn facilitates talent seekers to spot the most sought after talent. This is perhaps the best possible way to have an insight into the talent community perspective rather than leaving the fate of any talent on voting by the public at large, perhaps majority of them have no skills to judge that talent.

While for an aspiring talent, TalentTrove serves as a true marketplace to showcase their talent to millions of viewers and offers at par chances to wide spread talent across India. Through TalentTrove, artists now have a fair and quicker chance to get right exposure and be discovered by the talent seekers. TalentTrove caters to artists of all types and allows them to submit video, audio, image and text files. For instance, poets and journalists can upload writing samples. Photographers can submit pictures. Musicians can submit either video or audio files, and their work is automatically featured on TalentTrove’s radio station, which streams 24/7 on iTunes.

TalentTrove is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between talent and talent seekers through its innovative solutions. TalentTrove has started playing a pivotal role in discovering and offering the right talent to the world and it will surely be the most wonderful one stop stage for talent in India too.

The growing impact of internet has offered new avenues for the aspirants to highlight their worth at the market place. Unlike past years, a web presence has now become the best marketing and advertising tool ever. According to internet world stats, as on September 2009, there is a 546% growth of internet users in Asia as compared to 304% in rest of the world from the year 2000 onwards. Asia that amounts for 43% of the total internet users across the world has a penetration of just 19.4% and the numbers are improving day by day. China tops the tally with 338 million users followed by Japan at 94 million and India at the third place with 81 million internet users. In India itself, internet user base has grown by whopping 1520% from 5 million in year 2000 to 81 million in the year 2009. This tremendous increase in the internet user base has thrown open new market to cash on.

In today’s world, a website is more than an adjunct to any business or information. However, what needs to be understood in this jumble of websites is that having a website no body can find is as good as having no website at all.  Search engines act as marketing muscle behind any web venture, with the optimum utilization of web marketing and identification techniques any website is just a click away from million of potential customers. Chetanya Prakash, Director – KVC Info Pvt. Ltd., a leading Delhi based web marketing and SEO Company said that, “We are into a new leap of challenges and growth prospects with the internet world being wide open for any one to participate. Web marketing has immerged as one of the strongest tool to run any business in to profit across boundaries. The growth of social media has opened new vistas for the companies and organizations to closely target the prospects.”

Nine out of ten web surfers use a search engine to find a website, similar is the case with other networking sites. If any website does not come up in the first few hits of any search, then it is immaterial of the fact that your company is the leading in that arena and has best of the products. The web surfers move on to another destination to fulfill their urge. One can edge out richer, larger, mightier competitors simply by outmaneuvering them on any internet search. “A perfect blend of customized approach is required to leverage platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google and other search engines. We expect the web marketing, search engine optimization and networking business to grow in leaps and bounds in the years to come,” add Chetanya Prakash.