He further said spoke about giving Shankar credit he deserves for changing the way sports is viewed in India. He credited him for bringing sports such as hockey and Kabaddi to the fore in a country where cricket is a religion. He also congratulated the other nominees of IMPACT Person of the Year for their achievements in the media and advertising world. “India’s media and entertainment industry registered a growth of 11.8% over the previous year and touched Rs.918 billion as per the report by FICCI-KPMG. It has been projected that the industry will grow at 14.2% to more than 1.78 trillion in the next four years. The various segments of the Indian media and entertainment industry such as film, television advertising, print media, music and digital among others witnessed tremendous growth in the last few years. Importantly the industry has touched the lives of all citizens and all sections of society,” said Rao. He further added, “As a man from politics I have watched with a great admiration and sometimes with trepidation the role of media in the making and in some case breaking of political icons. You love it or you hate it but you cannot ignore the media in today’s world. Thanks to the power and influence of media Indian democracy received worldwide admiration for its vitality and journalism from across the world.” He further showed praise for Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison World, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director – South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather India, Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, McCann WorldGroup APAC & CEO for being drivers of the country’s most recent (BJP) political campaign that was highly successful from the strategic advertising and media viewpoint. He said they had the power and potential to create benchmarks in the world. He concluded by saying, “The industry must safeguard the consumers from misleading advertisements and keep them informed about the choices in the market place. I have a special word of praise here for the exchange4media group for instituting the IMPACT Person of the Year and IMPACT Person of the Decade Awards that are the highest standard for recognition in the media and advertising industry. To sum up I wish to say I see a bright future for the media and advertising industry. I want to see the Indian media industry becoming a global leader in the years to come.” A senior BJP leader from Telangana, he took oath as the Governor on August 30, 2014. He has had an illustrious carrier having served as a Union Minister of State for home affairs and subsequently as Union Minister of Commerce and Industry in the government led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpai 1999 to 2004.
Source: Exchange4media.com
