Car
India, Bike India & CV Awards
It was something we had
decided to do right from the initial concept
stage of CAR INDIA - honour and celebrate
the best in the Indian automotive world.
All very good when doing a paper run in
late May 2005 but thinking about an event
of the magnitude it eventually turned
out to be was daunting at its best. Heck,
we would be just six issues old in January
2006, we surmised then, and having given
away the better part of a year only because
of our date of conception, we knew we
had to play it just one way: right, straight
and true.
The awards concept gained momentum and
impetus when we inked an agreement with
the dynamic NDTV Profit business television
channel. NDTV’s news channels (in
English and Hindi) need no introduction
- they are simply in a class of their
own. Ditto for NDTV Profit which is the
leading business channel in the country.
It made sense for both partners in more
ways than one to align themselves together,
especially given the fact that Next Gen
Publishing Ltd. has the country’s
only genuine stand alone automotive mags
for two-wheels and four - CAR INDIA and
BIKE INDIA while NDTV Profit’s automotive
programme is the aptly named CAR &
BIKE SHOW (plus a Hindi version titled
‘Raftaar’). There is so much
talk of convergence these days in so many
walks of life and here was a classic case
of the same happening among two go-getting
organisations.
The convergence factor didn’t stop
at just Next Gen and NDTV but it also
roped into the boiling cauldron an organisation
which thrives in its core endeavour to
keep the environment cool. Especially
the living area in an automobile - its
cabin. Enter Subros Auto Air conditioning
Systems who threw in their mite to back
the cause espoused by Next Gen and NDTV.
Adding their own support to the game were
Sony Xplod and HDFC and when such names
get involved, the onus of playing right,
straight and true only got heightened
and magnified.
Then there was the simple aspect of forming
a jury. No not a kangaroo court of jesters
but one which was noteworthy, unbiased,
knowledgeable, highly experienced and
fearless with no affiliations. To that
end we assembled a team of 14 to make
up the jury: four of these came from Next
Gen and its UK associate EMAP, two from
NDTV, one from Subros and the rest from
within industry, the sport and the profession.
We based our judging criteria on proven
lines and had an independent auditor (PWC)
validate votes and declare the results.
The awards event has
now completed four successful editions
and the automotive industry now looks
forward to the January 2010 event.
1 Ndtv
Profit CAR India and BIKE India Awards.
2. Digital
Imaging & Technology Exposition
3. The
Smart Photography Awards
4. FHM
100 Sexiest Women in the World
5. FHM
Style Icons of the Year
