P Hanumantha Rao, president of AIFPM, categorically stated during a press conference that the awards will be decided strictly by merit, by a panel of distinguished professionals from the graphic art community. He felt the government had ignored the industry far too long. Rao spoke of the many firsts that the print industry had recorded in the country and stated that the six-colour scheme would soon be introduced in the print media.

According to Bikash Sarkar, chairman of the federation, the selection would be made from more than 1.5 lakh printers in the country, though the target number of entries is pegged at 4,000. ``We would also like to invite the production managers of newspapers to enter thecompetition,'' he said.

Sarkar felt that an awards programme like this would encourage domestic players to match up to international quality standards. In fact, winners of the awards could compete at the global level, too, he said.

V Subramanian, co-chairman of the awards, said that the identity of the entrants would not be made known to the judges. Using a system of coding, the selection would be most impartial, he said.

While the winners and the runners-up in each of the categories would be given awards, the rest of the participants would be given Participation Certificates. The entry fee for the award is Rs 500, and the last date for entry is September 30, 1998. The awards ceremony will be held in Delhi on January 9, 1999.