The staggering growth and influence of India’s youth population has the potential to power the country’s vibrant economy to new heights in the coming decade. Beginning March 18, 2007, CNN’s week-long Eye on India: Generation Next will center on this powerful youth demographic and will provide CNN’s global audiences a comprehensive look at the country’s youth.

Announcing the launch of the special programming week, Rena Golden, Senior Vice President, CNN International, said, “More than half a billion people under the age of 25 or one in twelve people in the world is a young Indian. They are a potent economic and cultural resource on the world stage and CNN will aim to offer viewers a unique perspective and a greater understanding of this demographic.” She added, “I am delighted that we have CNN-IBN as our partners in this landmark programming initiative. Together, the CNN and CNN-IBN newsgathering resources will deliver exclusive coverage of the Indian youth and their changing attitudes and values to CNN’s audiences in more than 200 countries around the world.”

Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, said, “India is today 60 years young…, in this 60th year of independence, we at CNN-IBN are proud and privileged to be associated with CNN. The collaboration of India's number one English news channel with the world news leader is a natural fit, and we hope that the Eye on India series will provide an opportunity to showcase a rising nation to the world. Both CNN and CNN-IBN have a commitment to quality and journalism, and we will aim to strengthen this partnership.”

The Eye on India week will kick off with CNN Connects: India’s Generation Next on Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 19:30hrs IST, an hour-long programme co-produced with CNN-IBN, and anchored by CNN-IBN’s Rajdeep Sardesai and CNN’s Monita Rajpal. The program will feature a distinguished panel of young Indian celebrities, business leaders and commentators, and an audience of over 100 young Indians. The diverse panel will include Rahul Bose (Actor), Vasundhara Das (Actress & Singer), Vikram Akula (SKS Microfinance), Anupam Mittal (CEO of People Group – Shaadi.com) and Omar Abdullah (Member of Parliament). The interactive show will debate four main themes - The Power of Youth; Love: India Style; The Caste Challenge and India Pride.

As part of Eye on India, Talk Asia will interview noted young Indian film maker, Karan Johar , and Indian TV moghul, Ekta Kapoor.

Through the week of March 19, 2007, CNN and CNN-IBN teams will report from various locations around India for World News Asia (16:30 hrs IST/18:30 hrs IST) and CNN Today (10:30 hrs IST-13:30 hrs IST), expanding on the themes explored on CNN Connects: India’s Generation Next and other issues such as Youth and Religion, Growing Up Gay/Traditional Values.

CNN’s anchors and correspondents including Satinder Bindra, Seth Doane, Mallika Kapur, Anjali Rao and Monita Rajpal, supported by CNN-IBN’s Suhasini Haidar, Vidya Shankar Aiyar, Sagarika Ghose, Smitha Nair, Anubha Bhonsle, Paromita Chatterjee among others will report and showcase a series of specially produced packages from across India. The reports will cover a wide range of topics including Religion, Education, Homosexuality, Arranged Marriages, Youth Icons, Reservation, etc. The week’s programming will also include results from a survey, conducted by CNN-IBN and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). Organised by age, the survey was commissioned to find out attitudes on issues, relevant to Indian youth.

In India, Eye on India: Generation Next will be promoted extensively through an aggressive, 360 degree marketing campaign. Aimed at generating awareness and drive appointment viewing, the campaign will include a comprehensive mix of trade and consumer advertising both in print and online, promotional television spots on CNN’s Asia Pacific and Europe/Middle East/Africa feeds, online consumer contests, etc.

In a unique marketing roadshow activity called ‘Express Yourself’, CNN branded vehicles will travel around Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, encouraging youth to express their views on issues relevant to them. To make the week further interactive, viewers from around the world can submit their stories, photographs and videos capturing their impressions on India to CNN’s innovative i-Report. For details, viewers can log on to www.cnn.com/eyeonindia/.

Eye on India is sponsored by Aditya Birla Group, Kirloskar Group, ITC Welcomgroup Hotels and Tata Consultancy Services.

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About CNN

CNN is the world's leading global 24-hour news network and one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN brand is available to two billion people via 25 CNN branded TV, internet and mobile services produced by CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System Inc and a Time Warner company. CNN International is the international directorate of CNN Worldwide and distributes news via 14 services in seven different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 200 million television households and hotel rooms in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, including 32.6 million households, hotel rooms and specialized outlets throughout Asia Pacific region with almost 31.9 million households on a 24-hour basis.

For any queries, please contact:-
Raman Swain
CNN South Asia
Tel. +91 11 41699129
Email: raman.swain@turner.com