Launch of Baap Wali Baat

New Delhi, 10 October 2014 – On the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child, and as part of the second phase of the #ENDviolence campaign launched recently with the slogan #ItStartsWithMe, UNICEF India unveiled the Baap Wali Baat song, which presents a positive scenario free of violence where girls can thrive and develop to their full potential.

“It is a song that stresses the importance of valuing girls for whom they are, of empowering them through education, protecting them and upholding their role as a human beings and citizens of our society,” said Louis-Georges Arsenaultat the launch event.

The anthem of the #ENDviolence campaign talks to men of different age groups, inviting them to follow a role model that decides to stand out of the crowd and to do everything possible to ensure his daughter gets an education, is safe and dreams of a future where she can take her own decisions regarding her life. A father who does not care about the social pressure that other fellows may play on him, as valuing his daughter is his mission.

“Like this man, any man can undertake this mission and do their bit to empower, value and protect their daughter, sister, friend or any girl,” stated Mr. Arsenault.

The International Day of the Girl Child was declared to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. This year, the theme is Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence.

Rebecca Reichmann Tavares, UNWOMEN Representative in India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, referred to the challenges faced by women and girls in India. “There is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women and girls is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable. Every woman and every girl has a right to freedom from violence and freedom from fear of that violence. Today is a step towards breaking the silence on this very important issue,” she pointed out in her speech.

Frederika Meijer, UNFPA Representative in India and Buthan highlighted the importance of investing in and empowering adolescent girls in order to prevent and eliminate t he various forms of violence that adolescent girls experience. “Ensuring the human rights of the girl child and providing quality education and opportunities for a healthy development are critical steps to reach to her full potential. With these investments she is more likely to marry later, delay childbearing, have healthier children and earn higher incomes. Consequently, she can invest in her family, society and the nation. Let every girl be a part of the nation’s development agenda and she will do her part,” she said.

Besides reinforcing the value of girls in society, the second phase of the #ENDviolence campaign aims at raising awareness about different forms of violence, including physical, emotional, sexual and child marriage. It builds on the idea that every child has the right to a happy childhood free of violence and for that to happen we all play an important role.

Breaking away from social messages that transfer the onus of action to everyone out there, this initiative’s umbrella theme cut across the us and them divide and talk in first person: I can #ENDviolence because #ItStartsWithMe.

Ending violence against children is a challenging task as often they suffer in silence and many times adults turn a blind eye to the problem. It can only be ended by collective realization and empowerment by speaking out, reporting cases and not adopting violent practices. Surely, this needs to be associated with efforts to: strengthen a comprehensive package services for survivors of violence, including child and women friendly justice, health and counselling services; to raise awareness in all contexts; to ensure safety of women and girls.

“Violence against women and children is one of the most pressing challenges of our times, and I believe that it is our responsibility, as the future of this nation, that we shed light to this issue and help change the structures that facilitate this systemic oppression. It is a pre-requisite for our development, as a society, to help build an egalitarian system where the oppressed half of the population is given their rightful due. I am glad that this campaign is focussing on raising awareness on the same and hope that the ensuing discussions will lead to tangible solutions on ground,” concluded Akhil Kumar, Senior Editor at Youth Ki Awaaz.

Note to the editors:

The campaign is supported by a series of partners that will contribute to disseminate the Baap Wali Baat song as well as other campaign materials through their respective networks and platforms. PVR Nest (social program and registered foundation of India’s cinema exhibition company, PVR Ltd) will promote it on digital channels; AROI will leverage radio time of private FM channels; Blogadda, will act as blogging community partner; Rocketalk and Line will share the video on their mobile platforms; Claym Media will collaborate to maximize the reach of the song on mobile platforms; YouTube will feature the anthem of the campaign on their social media channels. Other organizations like Youth Ki Awaaz, Protsahan and Nine is Mine will also help to spread the word among the youth.

Watch the song here:

http://unicf.in/BaapWaliBaat

For more information about the #ENDviolence #ItStartsWithMe campaign:

Website: http://www.unicef.in/Unicef/Itstartswithme/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unicefindia

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UNICEFIndia – #ENDviolence and #ItStartsWithMe

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do.  Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org andwww.unicef.org/india

For more information, please contact

• Maria Fernandez,  Communication Specialist,  UNICEF India

Tel: +91-995 817 6291, Email: mfernandez@unicef.org

• Geetanjali Master, Communication Specialist, UNICEF India

Tel: 91-981 810 5861, E-mail: gmaster@unicef.org

• Sonia Sarkar, Communication Officer- Media, UNICEF India

Tel: +91-981 017 0289, E-mail: ssarkar@unicef.org

Caption:

On the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child, and as part of the second phase of the #ENDviolence campaign launched recently with the slogan #ItStartsWithMe, UNICEF India unveiled the Baap Wali Baat song, which presents a positive scenario free of violence where girls can thrive and develop to their full potential.

Sonia Sarkar

Communication Officer (Media) , UNICEF India

Tel (+91) 9810170289,9891861445;

Email: ssarkar@unicef.org

OCTOBER 10, 2014 LEAVE A COMMENT EDIT

Dear Mr. Sagar In my column ‘Retrofit’ that appeared in Mail Today on 8th October I argue that the Swatchh Bharat campaign is indeed laudable. But it can be sustained only if our economy grows more rapidly and our people are productively employed and empowered. This could be the focus of future ‘man ki baat’ programs. Your feedback and response will be truly appreciated. Best regards Rajiv Kumar Hifi, Wifi and Safai A few days away from Delhi, the newspapers and all known TV anchors, in the calmer, dare I say saner environments of Kumaon hills, brings on a fresh perspective. Most importantly, it renews one’s optimism about the future of our country, based almost entirely on the remarkable degree of innovative skills, resilience and capacity for creative activity of ordinary Indians. This was on display everywhere. From the women’s cooperative for producing woollen textiles near Almora; to an elderly couple having trained themselves in Switzerland and now selling quality chocolates near Mukteshwar; to an old couple running a small tea shop and freshly made samosas in Bhaisuli village, near Binsar, having rejected Delhi as a place for retired life after working there for two decades. Invigorating Despite these remarkable examples of human spirit amidst invigorating and cleansing nature, and perhaps because I am an economist, a peddler of the dismal science, some nagging questions would not leave me. Will our people not do far better if public governance could be improved? Could we not successfully synergise the people’s capabilities with good governance to complete our ongoing triple transition that we have so audaciously embarked upon? Can we continue our business with the usual mindset and still avert the social disaster that will overtake us if our young people, who constitute 65 per cent of our population, do not get absorbed in productive employment? All these questions came rushing up when a young man, who had given up his regular job to start his own dhaba-cum-provision store, asked us if Prime Minister Modi will ensure he gets at least 12 hours of electricity each day and that will highways be repaired and improved so that more tourists stop by his canteen. Having run a hugely successful Presidential-style election campaign, Modi is now seen by the people as being exclusively responsible for improving their lives and of their children. He has aroused huge expectations and now has to carry the burden of these expectations. He had asked the people to give him 60 months to improve their destiny and they handed him a mandate beyond all expectations. I doubt if people will accept any pleas in case their lives could not improve because the Opposition ran the particular state government. Therefore, the question that Mr. Modi must answer for himself is: how can he be seen and heard by the people as trying to deliver on his electoral promises. Initiative The ‘Man ki Baat’ radio initiative is a good step in this direction by the prime minister talking directly and regularly with the people. This will encourage them to place greater trust in him and dilute their cynicism. People will accept being told what to do and be reminded about their responsibilities during these sessions, which will hopefully be on television channels as well. But sooner than later, Indians want to hear news about positive outcomes and prospective development that will touch their lives in a positive manner. Thus, it is important for the PMO to gather success stories from all parts of the country, irrespective of whether those states are governed by the NDA or the opposition parties, for the PM to mention them in his ‘man ki baat’. People want to be enthused about India’s future. They like to emulate success if they are told about it. And there could be no better method to do so than to devote a part of the program to these positive stories. It will also be important that there is a genuine attempt to respond to at least some feedback right from the ground during these sessions. This will ensure a two-way communication during ‘man ki baat’ and not merely a sermon session. One person per district could suffice for the PMO to gather feedback.This small step will make the prime minister’s invitation to write on his website appear more sincere, for those who don’t have access to laptops. It is good to remember that the internet coverage is still only 30 per cent in India. Cleanliness The prime minister has so far used his direct communication with the people to emphasise the virtues of and the need for cleanliness. I can assure him that the vast legions of Indians strongly desire clean homes and environment. Otherwise, could the metros in Kolkata and Delhi have remained as clean as they are? But people can achieve cleanliness only if they have the material basis to do so. A manual rickshaw puller or a woman carrying bricks on her head the whole day and then having to cook for her family, after collecting the firewood, cannot remain clean or keep their environment hygienic. We should be grateful to the prime minister for his honest effort to raise the civic consciousness in our people. We now look to him to afford us the material basis for putting it in practice. May I therefore, with all humility, suggest to the PM that he uses his subsequent ‘man ki baat’ sessions to tell the countrymen about his plans for generating 12 million jobs each year that are needed to absorb the entrants to the workforce; about the measures to achieve higher efficiency in the highway building program so that hopes are raised in Binsar and Koshi; and about greater availability of coal and electricity that will allow the children in Bageshwar to study for their upcoming exams. Safai will happen only and only if there is an increasing availability of bijli, Wi-Fi and Hi-Fi – hopefully he will focus on these in the coming session. Author is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. He is also the Director ofPahle India Foundation and his most recent book is Exploding Aspirations. 31st Youth National Basketball Championship – Days Three and Four: Posted on October 10, 2014 by sagarmedia #5: 31st Youth National Basketball Championship – Days Three and Four: Mixed luck for Chandigarh teams (Vishnu Ravi Shankar) Chandigarh, 9th-10th October 2014: The Delhi boys continue their unbeaten streak in this year’s youth national basketball championship with a comfortable 88-50 win over the Andhra Pradesh team today morning. The Delhi boys have now topped their pool and have qualified to the quarterfinals. Home team Chandigarh registered a win and a loss in the boys and girls categories respectively. The Chandigarh boys had no troubles beating the Jammu and Kashmir team in the last match of yesterday as they breezed to a 58-35 victory. The Chandigarh girls team, however, lost a tight game to Andhra Pradesh 68-66. Yesterday evening saw an exhilarating contest between the boys teams of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The teams were neck and neck coming down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but Madhya Pradesh pulled away for a 84-77 victory, thanks to Rishab Sharma’s 35 points. A complete list of results of the matches held after 5.30 p.m. on 9th October 2014 up to 11.30 p.m. on 10th October 2014 is as follows: Girls: 9th October 2014 (5.30 p.m. to end of day) Haryana (Surya 29) bt Madhya Pradesh (Sakshi 38) 72-66 (15-16, 10-8, 23-19, 24-23) Andhra Pradesh (S. Biju 18) bt Jharkhand (Usma Singh 12) 42-30 (17-9, 18-6, 2-9, 5-6) Rajasthan (Asha 16) bt Odisha (Jayshree Baskey 17) 42-40 (8-13, 5-8, 15-11, 14-8) 10th October 2014 (beginning of day to 11.30 a.m.) Kerala (Nivya Raj 21) bt Punjab (Avneet Kaur 13) 61-23 (12-4, 29-3, 11-7, 9-9) Andhra Pradesh (Sharom 31) bt Chandigarh (Amrit 20) 68-66 (5-8, 14-18, 21-19, 8-21) Delhi (Mansi Tyagi 18) bt Himachal Pradesh (Sakshi Thakur 11) 50-27 (14-12, 17-3, 12-7, 7-5) Karnataka (Lopamudra T. 20) bt Maharashtra (Shruti Sherigar 15) 73-61 (24-12, 19-13, 17-17, 13-19) Boys: 9th October 2014 (5.30 p.m. to end of day) Madhya Pradesh (Rishab Sharma 35) bt Karnataka (Guru Prasad 32) 84-77 (14-18, 16-19, 28-14, 26-16) Chandigarh (Amit 16) bt Jammu and Kashmir (Abhisar 12) 58-35 (17-7, 18-11, 12-7, 14-10) Himachal Pradesh (Ashish 15) bt West Bengal (Gopal 22) 51-42 (13-14, 18-7, 8-11, 12-10) Odisha (Vishal Bagh 16) bt Puducherry (Ishaan 10) 67-27 (11-8, 28-10, 11-8, 17-1) Mizoram (Eddie Z. 10) bt Assam (Sanju B. 13) 45-29 (17-8, 12-4, 8-8, 8-9) 10th October 2014 (beginning of day to 11.30 a.m.) Delhi (S. Singha 16, V.K. Gupta 16) bt Andhra Pradesh (Neeraj Kumar B. 20, Salman S.M.A. 12) 88-50 (20-9, 17-20, 28-6, 23-15) The tentative schedule for matches being held after 11.30 a.m. on 10th October 2014 is as follows: Date: 10-10-2014  (FRIDAY) Court – 1 No Team “A” Vs Team “B” Group Timing 67 HARYANA Vs MAHARASHTRA BA 11.30 AM 68 TAMIL NADU Vs MADHYA PRADESH GB 01.00 PM 69 RAJASTHAN Vs KARNATAKA BB 02.30 PM 70 CHATTISGARH Vs HARYANA GB 04.00 PM 71 CHANDIGARH (D1) Vs TAMIL NADU (E1) BOYS 05.30 PM 71 PUNJAB Vs MADHYA PRADESH BB 07.00 PM Court – 2 No Team “A” Vs Team “B” Group Timing QUALIFYING MATCHES 72 CHHATTISGARH (C1) Vs ODISHA (F1) BOYS 11.30 AM LOSERS KNOCKOUT (QUARTER-FINALS) 74 GUJARAT (C2) Vs BIHAR (E3) BOYS 1.00 PM 75 UTTARAKHAND (E2) Vs GOA (C3) BOYS 04.00 PM 76 W/O ASSAM V. MIZORAM (F2) Vs WEST BENGAL (D3) BOYS 05.30 PM 77 L/O ASSAM V. MIZORAM (F3) Vs HIMACHAL PRADESH (D2) BOYS 07.00 PM Court – 3 No Team “A” Vs Team “B” Group Timing LOSERS  KNOCKOUT (QUARTER-FINALS) 80 GUJARAT (C2) Vs ASSAM (E3) GIRLS 03.00 PM 81 JAMMU AND KASHMIR (E2) Vs GOA (C3) GIRLS 04.30 PM 82 RAJASTHAN (F2) Vs BIHAR (D3) GIRLS 06.00 PM 83 ODISHA (F3) Vs UTTARAKHAND (D2) GIRLS 07.30 PM About the 31st Youth National Basketball Championship The Youth National Basketball Championship is an annual basketball tournament for the U-17 teams of boys and girls from various states of the country. This year’s tournament, being the 31stversion, is taking place in Chandigarh from the 7th to the 14th of October, 2014. The tournament is being held under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India and IMG-Reliance and is being conducted by the Chandigarh Basketball Association. The venue for the tournament is the recently constructed multi-facility sports complex in Sector 42, Chandigarh along with two other basketball courts located in the Government College for Women, Sector 42, Chandigarh and the Gurunanak Dev Public School, Sector 36, Chandigarh. There are 25 boys teams and 24 girls teams taking part in this year’s championship, which will witness 130 matches in all. Last year’s tournament, in the boys category, was won by team Delhi, with Rajasthan finishing runners up. In the girls category, team Kerala were last year’s winners and Tamil Nadu finished in second place. About Basketball Federation of India The Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honor of Arjuna Award. More information atwww.indiabasketball.org About IMG Reliance IMG Reliance Pvt Ltd., is an equal joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India’s largest and most recognized private sector company, and IMG Worldwide (IMG), the world’s leading sports marketing and management company. The joint venture company will develop market and manage sports and entertainment in India. Its current assets include India’s premier fashion event, Lakmé Fashion Week and South Asia’s only ATP World Tour event, the Aircel Chennai Open. IMG Reliance has entered agreements with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to create a new professional basketball league and manage all aspects of the commercial rights to the game in India and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), to improve, popularize and promote the game of football throughout India, from the grassroots to the professional level. IMG Reliance has also created a scholarship program to identify and train talented young Indians from sports including – basketball, soccer and tennis at IMG’s world-class sports training facilities at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida. For media queries please contact: Ekalavyas: Vishnu Ravi Shankar (+91 8826072221) Email: vishnu@ekalavyas.com Posted in sports | Leave a comment | Edit Online community networking for ‘Swachh Bharat’ launched Posted on October 10, 2014 by sagarmedia Online community networking for ‘Swachh Bharat’ launched By sagarmedia on October 10, 2014 | Leave a comment | Edit New resource “Update and Your Ideas” in [Swachh Bharat] Ministry Of Urban Development To Me Today at 1:30 PM Ministry Of Urban Development (Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan) Ministry Of Urban Development (Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan) shared a new resource in “Swachh Bharat”. Subject: Update and Your Ideas. Dear All:We are happy that you are one of the 170,000+ citizens who care about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Yesterday, we have formally announced our association with LocalCircles on the Abhiyan: http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=110405We will soon initiate work on the local Constituency/Neighborhood circles on Swachh Bharat and will start placing you in the appropriate circles as they become available.We are currently seeking your inputs on the two subjects. 1) Solutions for Garbage Management 2) Ideas to Drive Cleanliness at WorkplacesPlease respond with your views by going on the respective posts and posting your comments. Also, yesterday the Make Railways Better Circle has prepared a Whitepaper on Cleanliness and submitted to the Railways Ministry. It is available for your reading at: https://www.localcircles.com/a/index/core?thoughtleadership If you have any ideas/inputs on subjects related to Cleanliness and Sanitation that should be reviewed by citizens in this circle and submitted to the Government for action, please share them as a response to this post. Thanks for your participation! Ministry of Urban Development Online community networking for ‘Swachh Bharat’ launched 1,70,000 citizens already joined the national online circle Urban Development Ministry ropes in social media organization ‘LocalCircles’ Seeking to convert ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ into a ‘Jan Andolan’, the Ministry of Urban Development has enabled an online platform to enable the citizens network with each other locally and at national level to collectively take up cleanliness activities. In this regard, the Ministry is taking the help of ‘LocalCircles’, a community social media platform. A national circle, ‘Swachh Bharat’ has been launched and already 1,70,000 citizens have joined this circle. This social media platform enables citizens to easily come together, exchange ideas on cleanliness, take up appropriate cleanliness activities in their neighborhoods, share pictures of collective efforts, engage with elected representatives and take the cleanliness campaign forward. The National Circle ‘Swachh Bharat’ enables participants to know about the best practices for adoption. Further, it also enables considered and collective inputs to the implementing agencies on a regular basis on issues like garbage collection and disposal, promotion of civic sense and interventions, if any, required from the concerned agencies. To access the ‘Swachh Bharat’ circle, citizens can visit ‘http://www.localcircles.com’ and use INVITE code-SWACHHBHARAT. Online community networking for ‘Swachh Bharat’ launched Seeking to convert ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ into a ‘Jan Andolan’, the Ministry of Urban Development has enabled an online platform to enable the citizens network with each other locally and at national level to collectively take up cleanliness activities. In this regard, the Ministry is taking the help of ‘LocalCircles’, a community social media platform. A national circle, ‘Swachh Bharat’ has been launched and already 1,70,000 citizens have joined this circle. This social media platform enables citizens to easily come together, exchange ideas on cleanliness, take up appropriate cleanliness activities in their neighborhoods, share pictures of collective efforts, engage with elected representatives and take the cleanliness campaign forward. The National Circle ‘Swachh Bharat’ enables participants to know about the best practices for adoption. Further, it also enables considered and collective inputs to the implementing agencies on a regular basis on issues like garbage collection and disposal, promotion of civic sense and interventions, if any, required from the concerned agencies. To access the ‘Swachh Bharat’ circle, citizens can visit ‘http://www.localcircles.com’ and use INVITE code-SWACHHBHARAT. Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment | Edit Ericsson white paper: Mobile Broadband to drive India’s digital vision Posted on October 10, 2014 by sagarmedia White Paper talks about the role of government and industry towards bringing the Networked Society to life in India by the year 2020 India can reach 600 million mobile broadband subscribers with 20 percent of mobile broadband subscriptions on 4G in 2020 Data share in overall revenue of telecom operators to rise from 10-12 percent in 2013 to 35-40 percent in 2020 Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today released a White Paper entitled “India 2020: Bringing the Networked Society to Life” on the role of government and industry towards making ‘Digital India’ a reality by the year 2020. According to the Ericsson White Paper, to fulfill the Indian Government’s Vision for broadband inspired growth, operators will need access to more spectrum from the government and will themselves need to build new network capabilities and new revenue models so that a viable, long-term strategy can be evolved. Heterogeneous networks with a mix of macro cell sites, small cells and Wi-Fi hotspots will be fundamental to manage coverage, capacity and quality of performance for users. Smartphone prices are expected to fall by 40-50 percent over the next three years. As a result, the number of subscribers able to afford smartphones and services are expected to reach over 700 million by 2020, up from 110 million in 2013. The number of mobile broadband subscribers is expected to grow from 70 million in 2013 to 600 Million subscribers in 2020, with 20 percent of the mobile broadband subscriptions expected to be 4G in 2020. The increasing number of subscribers, growing affordability of smartphones, and government initiatives such as the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) will drive internet connectivity in India. User demand for internet access will drive WCDMA/HSPA population coverage from 20 percent in 2013 to 90 percent in 2020. Ericsson estimates that the estimated blended data usage per subscriber in 2020 will be 600-850 MB. The revenue mix of Indian operators is expected to evolve to include a higher contribution from data-driven 3G and 4G service revenues in future. Data revenues will represent an increasing proportion of the total, and are expected to rise from 10–12 percent in 2013 to 35–40 percent by 2020, driven by a growth in data subscribers as well as usage per subscriber. Opportunities in emerging services such as m-health, m-education, m-commerce and m-banking are expected to have long-term potential as operators, regulators and other value chain players (such as device vendors, content providers and app developers) increase their focus and take initiatives to promote health, education and financial inclusion among the population. Fueling and sustaining mobile broadband growth in India will require access to additional radio spectrum; it is the basic resource required for building efficient networks able to serve large numbers of subscribers generating large amounts of traffic. Ajay Gupta, Vice President and Head of Strategy & Marketing at Ericsson India, says: “Mobile Broadband will be the platform on which the ‘Digital India’ vision can be delivered. For this we will need the release of additional spectrum in the relevant bands. This will contribute to affordability of services, and harmonization of spectrum will allow a lower-cost device ecosystem to evolve. Operators in India have far less spectrum than their peers globally with high mobile broadband penetration. Spectrum will play a key role in driving mobile broadband growth in India in the long run, and will be an increasingly important driver of capacity, user experience, and quality.” The White Paper proposes that the Indian government’s broadband penetration target of 600 million connections by 2020 can be achieved if sufficient spectrum is made available in a timely way in globally harmonized bands. Additionally, industry and government must work together to ensure contiguity of spectrum to deliver higher bandwidth per user. The availability of sub-USD50 handsets, accelerated and streamlined spectrum allocation process, differentiated 3G and 4G networks based on high speeds, attractive data packages and good user experience will be critical to driving demand in India. NOTES TO EDITORS Download high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video atwww.ericsson.com/press Ericsson is the driving force behind the Networked Society – a world leader in communications technology and services. Our long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, businesses and societies to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future. Our services, software and infrastructure – especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud– are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities. With more than 110,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries,we combine global scale with technology and services leadership. We support networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers. Forty percent of the world’s mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. And our investments in research and development ensure that our solutions – and our customers – stay in front. Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2013 were SEK 227.4 billion (USD 34.9 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York. www.ericsson.com www.ericsson.com/news www.twitter.com/ericssonpress www.facebook.com/ericsson www.youtube.com/ericsson