While the trophy went to Doordarshan for good reporting on the Orissa drought, Mr Shah was elected vice-president of the ABU during the executive borad meet in Manila, Philippines. It was for the first time that an Indian had been elected to the post, Mr Shah said.

The seat in the ABU administration came as a surprise to India, according to Mr Shah, with tough competition coming from countries such as Turkey and Korea. ``But, after Australia proposed India's name, Japan seconded it. Then we got support from Malaysia, Iran, Fiji, China and even Pakistan.''

This position in the ABU means a lot for India, said Mr Shah. The immediate implication is that India is suddenly in a central position. ABU has already asked India to structure training programmes for Asian broadcasters. In fact, said Mr Shah that it would be a two-way arrangement. It means that Prasar Bharati and other Asian broadcasters would exchange people for various training programmes. More importantly, an executive post in the ABU would mean that the Indian view of the world would be more visible now.

From the business perspective, India would be in a better position to negotiate on telecast rights for various sport events like Olympics and Asian Games.

ABU was founded in 1964 and now has 102 members in 50 countries, including a number of associate members in Europe and North America. The two most significant functions of ABU are: It runs Asiavision, a daily exchange of news by satellite; and in sports, ABU negotiates TV sports rights for its members and provides them with the coverage of these events.

Among other things, ABU is involved in programme exchange, whereby it facilitates exchange of radio and TV programmes among members. It also plays a vital role in offering technical help to its members. It provides consultancies to ABU members needing help with technical problems or development of their services.

Apart from that, ABU runs training courses, seminars and workshops on many aspects of broadcasting. It publishes two bi-monthly magazines and books from time to time. Then there are contests, at the end of which obviously are prizes. The ABU prizes are prestigious awards given annually for radio and TV programmes telecast by the national broadcasters of the member countries.