Luxury retail demand boom in Bangalore

Luxury or top-end retailing is arriving in Bangalore and those looking for such space are emerging as a well-defined demand segment.
As a result, the commercial space market is getting more and more organised and quality conscious, setting new quality benchmarks incorporating international look and appeal. Such demand is leading to expansion of the list of "Do's and Don'ts" that builders and sellers have to follow. The prime considerations for buyers are sufficient space for large format stories.
In other words, micro space for boutiques is not what is needed. In addition, buyers want enough parking spaces for high-end spenders, a good retail mix in the neighbourhood and sufficient distance between shops. A large luxury store must be near to other such stores but not bang next to one another.
Builders have woken up to this demand and have begun to address issues, which have made large luxury shop owners look away from malls and traditional high streets.
This new demand has led to the emergence of non-CBD areas like Koramangala, Indiranagar, Malleswaram and Jayanagar as potential locations for such stores. It is in these areas that new development and fresh construction are taking place.
Such developments are happening despite the commissioning of four malls, Forum, Garuda, Sigma and Prestige Eva, totalling one million square feet of retail space. All these have come up in and around the traditional prime shopping areas like Commercial Street, Brigade Road and M G Road.
"All these developments are leading to emergence of luxury retailing in Bangalore," said Mayank Saksena of TrammellCrow Meghraj. The city's retail real estate prices across CBD, non-CBD and peripheral areas, have seen an appreciation in rental and capital values of 10 to 15 per cent in 2006, compared to 8 to 10 per cent in 2005. The prime high-street location of Brigade Road, MG Road, Commercial Street (all in CBD) has been stable and witnessed about 15-20 per cent appreciation. On the other hand, the non-CBD areas like Koramangala, Indiranagar, Malleswaram and Jayanagar have witnessed appreciation of up to 15 per cent.
"The way market is shaping-up in Bangalore, it is hard for CBD to sustain at these levels," said Saksena.
On the supply side, the city witnessed 5,00,000-6,00,000 square feet of leasing activity across all the micro markets in 2006 and an equal amount is expected in 2007, he added.
Supply is rising but at a slow pace. Most of the retail projects are behind schedule because of land conversion hassles. The emerging non-CBD areas were largely residential till a few years ago and change in bylaws are needed to re-designate them for commercial use, said Shivram Malakala of Habitat Ventures.
The Hundred Feet Road in Indiranagar has been re-designated, resulting in an explosion of new shops. Where such conversion is taking longer time, most of the retail space which will become available in 2007 will be through re-positioning of office space into retail space, he added.

Source : Rediff

A spectacular climax for Republic Day

NEW DELHI: The curtain came down on this year's Republic Day celebrations in the Capital on Monday evening with the traditional Beating Retreat ceremony. While the usual peach-tinged sunset may have been missing this time round when the bands came marching in, the music more than made up for the dull weather.
An elaborate annual ceremony that keeps alive the centuries-old tradition of troops withdrawing from the battlefield at the end of the day, "Beating Retreat'' is all about the art of standing still. From straight-backed guards looking like toy-soldiers standing at attention to tall and proud camels all dressed up frozen still, the ceremony is literally like stepping back in time.
Kicking off with ``Fanfare'' by the buglers, the first march of the massed bands was to the familiar old tune of "Hindustan Hamara Hai... .''. With the audience only just settling down in their seats, it was a chance for many who knew the tune to hum along.
Dressed in earthy colours, the pipes and drums of the country's defence services introduced a bit of whiff from the highlands. Swaying to the rhythm with their silver-edged batons twirling in the air, they marched to "Veer Bharat... .'', "Aaj Diya Rati... .'' and "Mili Juli... .''.
While adults soaked in the spectacular ambience, tiny tots craned their necks forward to savour the ceremony from close range. If the parents could be heard grumbling about the crowded parking outside and the elaborate frisking by security guards before the invitees for the show were let in, restless children seemed interested more in getting the best view of the action.
Turning from the earthy tones to cooler hues, the Navy band and the Air Force band brought with them "Vayu Shakti... .'' With a bag full of new tunes this time round, the emphasis was on "desi'' music. Apart from a whole lot of fresh sound, Beating Retreat this year also saw the bands of the three defence forces coming together for the "Drums Call''. This is a tradition that is expected to continue.
Bringing in some elements of the sea with their music, the bands of the Navy and the Air Force played the soulful "Gateway Lullaby... .'' before marching off to the "Sound Barrier'' composed by J. A. George.
Ending on Iqbal's "Sare Jahan Se Achchha... .'', the ceremony concluded on a bright, colourful note with illumination of the grand old Central Vista down the road from Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The ceremony was watched by a distinguished audience led by President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Defence Minister A. K. Antony.

Source : Hindu

Corporate India’s profits boost govt’s tax kitty by 46%

Corporate Performance: Wages, however, grow by a modest 13.4%
MUMBAI, JANUARY 29: With the corporate sector churning out encouraging results for the third quarter, the government has become richer too.

Trailing the leap in profits, taxes in the third quarter have taken the biggest ever high jump. While the net profit of 935 companies shot up 57.8 per cent, tax outgo rose 45.8 per cent to Rs 8,785 crore in the third quarter ended December 2006. The rise in Q3 of 2005 was 18.4 per cent, while profit showed a 17.7 per cent increase.
But tax provisions of companies were rising quarter after quarter in the last three years. “I hope the government will reduce the corporate tax in view of the surge in tax mop up in the budget next month. The government should encourage companies so that it too can benefit,” said the chief of a finance company. Taxes have grown by 137 per cent, from Rs 3,695 crore in the third quarter of 2002 to Rs 8,785 crore in the last quarter.
Compounded, the biggest growth among income, profits, taxes, interest and wages during the third quarter of the past five years has been in net profits, followed by taxes. While turnover has jumped by 2.2 times, net profits have raced ahead by 3.3 times with taxes at 2.38 times. Interest costs, even while rising sharply over the past two years, have lagged, growing 1.44 times during the period. Wages too have stayed relatively behind at 1.79 times.
Ankit Miglani, director, Uttam Galva Steels, says, “The last nine months have been exciting for us. We’ve been able to make inroads into various global markets, along with consolidating our domestic market.” Corporate honchos say Q3 of 2006-07 was one of the best they had ever seen in recent times with both top and bottom line showing huge increases.
Growing consumerism from a 300 million strong middle class is actually driving bottomlines of companies connected with them, said Rishi Sahai, director, IndusView. From a household perspective, simple things like refrigerators and cars, considered a luxury for several years, are now within affordable reach thanks to the easy finance available. This has pushed demand and even expanded market in a big way, as is reflected in the financial results of the companies.
But there are warning signals. Interest costs of India Inc are also shooting up. Figures show that 935 companies paid Rs 31,748 crore as interest costs for the third quarter of 2006 against Rs 23,632 crore in the same period of last year. This 34.3 per cent rise in costs has to do with the rise in interest rates in the last one year. In the third quarter of 2005, the rise was 21.5 per cent, which came after a fall during 2003 and 2004.
India Inc is expecting further rise in interest rates after Wednesday’s credit policy review by RBI.
“The predominant market expectation this time is that of the reverse repo rate hike of 25 basis points. A hike in repo rate only from 7.25 per cent would widen the corridor between reverse repo and repo, will push up the cost of overnight funding from RBI and the signal on northward movement of rates will be taken,” said an analyst with BNP Paribas.
Even then, corporates are optimistic about the coming months. “Indian economy is poised to sustain its accelerated growth momentum led by an impressive performance of the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors,” said an official of construction major Larsen & Toubro.

Source : Indian express

Accenture to raise India staff to 35,000 by August

By Sumeet Chatterjee
BANGALORE (Reuters) - Consulting firm Accenture Ltd. plans to raise its staff numbers in India by 30 percent to 35,000 by August, overtaking the United States as its biggest employment hub, Chief Executive William Green said on Monday.
The expansion underscores India's growing importance as a destination for outsourcing.
Accenture, one of the world's largest consulting companies, currently employs 27,000 people in India, spread across six cities -- Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai, accounting for about 19 percent of its global workforce.
It has about 30,000 employees in the United States. "At 35,000 people at the end of our fiscal year, India will become the largest country for Accenture, passing the United States," Green told reporters.
"India has become such an essential component of Accenture and the men and women here are very important to our success, to our future," he said.
Green, who joined Accenture in 1977, said the global outsourcing demand continued to be strong as companies look to improve quality and service by cutting costs.
"I think the momentum you have seen in our business over the last 4-5 quarters... you will continue to see that kind of momentum going forward," he said.
In December, Accenture forecast net revenue in the current quarter, its fiscal second, of $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion after topping analyst expectations with a 32 percent rise in net income in the November quarter.
India's low-cost, English-speaking engineering workforce has attracted a slew of global companies like IBM and Electronic Data Systems Corp., which outsource services such as supply-chain management, payroll processing, and financial analytics.
Their growing presence in India present stiff competition to Indian software majors such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Technologies Ltd.
In June last year, IBM said it would invest $6 billion in India over three years as part of its move to increase outsourcing services and client management from Asia's fourth-largest economy.
Texas-based Dell Inc., the world's leading personal computer maker, said in March it planned to double its staff in India to 20,000 over three years.

Source : Reuters

Shilpa Shetty wins Celebrity Big Brother

Monday, January 29, 2007 (London, New Delhi):


Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty has emerged as the big winner of the British reality show, Celebrity Big Brother.

Now richer by Rs 85 lakh, Shilpa walked out of the Big Brother house and into what many say is a new career as a global celebrity.

According to Shilpa's new agent, she now stands to earn millions of pounds from new contracts over the next few months.

The actress, who won the show with 67 per cent votes going in her favour, has been the favourite of bookies, besides riding high on a sympathy wave.

Popularity charts

From being one of the first to be up for eviction, Shilpa's popularity has climbed steadily. And as news of her victory emerged, her fans were ecstatic.

"I think she deserved it. She handled it all in the right way, the whole drama. She handled it the best way she could really, she deserved to win definitely and made all of us Indians really proud," said a fan.

"All the things she's gone through, she's got such a good heart. She is such a forgiving person. She's got great decorum, she has," said another.

Little had she anticipated that her stay in the house of Big Brother would make political headlines. Audiences watched in horror as she was humiliated by fellow housemates Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd.

Political support

Even the political leadership of India and Britain voiced their concern. Shilpa had been oblivious to the goings on in the world outside and was in a forgiving mood.

"I really didn't know how things were perceived by people outside the Big Brother House. I saw the footage of the first time and it looked pretty ghastly. And I am someone who likes to look forward in life and I want to put it behind me," she said.

"It wasn't a very pleasant episode. But not in Jade's defence and I a m not trying to be politically correct here. It may have seemed like it was bad, but I can say that Jade is not a bad person, and she didn't really contrive to be like that she is just young, and people a fallible. So there is nothing in my heart, the day we hugged it was all gone and forgotten really," she added.

And then she sought to put it all behind her.

"I just want to thank them for all their support and I'm very proud to be an Indian and very proud of my colour. And I just want them to know there is no reason to feel what they feel as long as you carry yourself well with dignity, with kindness in your heart it can never go wrong," said Shilpa.

"So it really doesn't matter what people think of you and perceive of you. I think everything in the Big Brother house is really magnified. I just want them to understand that it was just a game. It's over; it's out of the way. Let's move on," she added.

Goody's apology

After Jade's earlier apology, it was Danielle Lloyd's turn to apologise.

"Yeah I'd like to apologise to everybody for the words that I have said. They were never ever ever meant in a racist way whatsoever. And I'm not a racist. I think Shilpa's a fantastic, beautiful lady, and I'm very very sorry Shilpa," said Danielle Lloyd, Contestant, Celebrity Big Brother.

Shilpa was intent on moving on. "I just want to say, whatever happened I don't really want to blame anyone especially not Danielle."

From exclusive television interviews to irresistible film, television and endorsement offers, Shilpa's career clearly seems to have been reborn.

Source : NDTV

Vande Mataram ..........Developed India

Happy Republic day to all my fellow Indians.............Marching towards India 2020...

Missing India ............Good clip to watch out

A good clip to watch on Jan 26 th by Every Indian

Here is a good clip for all of us to watch for

Kalam says economy poised for 10 pct growth

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's economy, Asia's fourth-largest, is poised to expand by 10 percent annually thanks largely to strong demand and increasing foreign investment, the president said on Thursday.
The economy has expanded at an 8 percent clip for the past three years and is expected to grow at a faster pace in the financial year ending March 2007.
In the first half of the 2006/07 fiscal year, the economy grew at an annual rate of 9.1 percent and is expected to expand by 9.0 percent over the full year.
"Our gross domestic product which stands at $729 billion is poised to grow at 10 percent annually," President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said in his Republic Day eve address to the nation.
Since 1991, India has gradually opened its economy to more competition and encouraged freer international trade.
Industrial output in November grew at its fastest annual pace in more than a decade, suggesting the economy was maintaining the brisk growth rate of the latest quarter.

Source: Reuters

IIT takes up Rs.8-crore project

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Madras, as part of a consortium of eight institutions in the State, has taken up a "cyber security" research project with Rs.8 crore funding from the Central Government.
While the objective is to ensure "smart and secure environment," the three-year project is expected to come out with tools and techniques that will ensure a working environment free of hacking and intrusion and provide self-protection to users.
S.V. Raghavan, Professor and Head of Network Systems Laboratory, IIT-Madras, told The Hindu here on Thursday that Rs.1 crore was being given to each partner institution involved in the project. He was here to take part in a conference on `Computational Intelligence and Information Security,' organised by the Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE).
Dr. Raghavan said the consortium would dwell into all issues related to user behaviour and multi-dimensional changes taking place in networking.
The institutions involved in this project are: IIT-Madras, Anna University, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, Madurai Kamaraj University and Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, P.S.G. College of Technology, Coimbatore, Pondicherry University and Alagappa University, Karaikudi.
`Kargils in technology'
Earlier, addressing the delegates, Dr. Raghavan said, "there are several potential weak points in computer environment and in technology plane.
"There are several Kargils in view of the threats from adversaries to erase the country's database," he said.

Source : Hindu

4 more reactors for Koodankulam

NEW DELHI: India and Russia on Thursday signed a "memorandum of intent" to add four units to the nuclear power plant under construction at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu and build an unspecified number of nuclear power reactors at new sites as well.
The memorandum was one of the nine signed in the presence of the visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who held talks on a wide range of issues as part of their annual summit meeting at Hyderabad House here.
In a joint statement on cooperation in "peaceful uses" of atomic energy, both countries committed themselves to further developing international cooperation to promote the use of nuclear energy.
Noting their cooperation at Koodankulam, the statement said the countries would work together to expand civilian nuclear energy cooperation aimed at enabling India to realise its goals of promoting nuclear power and energy security in a self-sustaining manner.
"With the objective to implement these intentions, an agreement between... India and the... Russian Federation will be signed on cooperation in the construction of four additional units at Koodankulam. [This understanding was reflected in Thursday's memorandum of intent]," the statement read.
Russia, like France, has positioned itself to enter the Indian nuclear power sector in a big way by signing the memorandum of intent on four additional reactors for Koodankulam and for new sites as well.
The expectation is that the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will soon lift restrictions on nuclear commerce with India.
IAEA safeguards
"India undertakes that reactor facilities and nuclear fuel supplied by Russia shall remain under the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards during the entire period of their actual use in accordance with the agreement on safeguards, which shall be concluded between the Republic of India and the IAEA," the statement said.
"Russia will continue to work with participating governments of NSG in order to create conditions through amendment to its guidelines to facilitate expansion of civilian nuclear energy cooperation with India."
Further, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency would work out in 2007 a "comprehensive programme of cooperation" for the peaceful use of atomic energy, the statement said.
The Prime Minister said at a joint press appearance with Mr. Putin that New Delhi appreciated Moscow's support for lifting international restrictions on nuclear cooperation with India and in "assisting us in the expansion of our nuclear energy sector."

Source : Hindu

Do the impossible: Kalam

NEW DELHI: When little Rahul Chourasia — a six-year-old who displayed tremendous courage when two men attacked and killed his mother — handed over flowers to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Tuesday, it was a chance for him and other National Bravery Award winners to get closer to their "hero."
Paying tributes to the brave children who lost their lives trying to save others, Mr. Kalam said, "We would first like to remember these three great children. They are not with us, but we will all remember their courage and what they have done for society."
Mr. Kalam told the children that Gandhiji, at the age of 12, was once told by his mother: "If you can in your entire lifetime save or better someone's life, then your birth as a human being is a success."
"Fortunately you have touched a human life, especially the three children who are no more," Mr. Kalam told the children. In an attempt to encourage the children to go ahead in life and accomplish bigger "miracles," Mr. Kalam also asked the children to take an oath to have the courage to do the impossible.
Asma Ayyub Khan, munching her sandwiches, could not believe that she had actually seen the President. Asma had saved 35 children from drowning at the Additional Bal Griha in Mumbai.
Stand up comedian Raju Srivastava was also present, as his daughter Antara got an award. Antara and 23 other children will receive the National Bravery Award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a function here on Wednesday.

Source : Hindu

Mehta's Water nominated for Oscars

Mumbai, January 23: Deepa Mehta's Water, a story about the plight of Hindu widows in 1930s whose shooting in India had to be scrapped following protests from Sangh Parivar outfits, was nominated for the Oscar Awards in the Best Foreign Film category from Canada.

The film, starring John Abraham, Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas among others, made it to the final five. Other entries in the category include Pan's Labrinth (Mexico), After The Wedding (Denmark) and German Cold War drama The Lives of Others.
"I am so thrilled with this news. This film has meant so much to me, we have seen so much, that to have it all end in such a way is best thing I could have asked for," Mehta said over phone from her residence in Canada.
The movie, which has a dominantly Indian cast, stars John Abraham, Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas and others and is the last in Mehta's triology, which include Fire and Earth.

Source : Indian express

Indian firm to help construct Zambia power station

LUSAKA (Reuters) - A subsidiary of India's Tata Group will construct a $150-million power station in Zambia in partnership with Zambian state power utility Zesco, the companies said on Tuesday.
Zesco and South African-based Tata Africa Holdings (PTY) signed a cooperation agreement on Tuesday to build the 120 megawatt Itezhi-Tezhi station, which is needed to meet rising power demands from Zambia's mining sector and other industries.
The plant will be located on the Kafue River, about 350 kilometres west of the capital Lusaka.
"The main drivers of the power demand are the copper mines, where old mines are being recapitalised and new mines are being opened," the companies said in a statement.
Zambia and other southern African countries are on the cusp of an energy crisis that threatens to clip industrial growth and stymie plans to deliver electricity in the region, home to some of Africa's fastest growing economies.
Zesco and Tata are currently working on financing for the project, which will be constructed in three phases and will be commissioned in 2009, according to the statement.

Source ; Reuters

Russia ready to sell India fighters, build reactors

By Sumeet Chatterjee
BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - Russia will pitch its MiG-35 combat jet for an Indian tender for 126 fighter aircraft, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday, adding that Moscow was willing to boost nuclear cooperation.
"The Russian Federation is going to actively participate in the tender for supply of 126 light fighters," Ivanov told reporters in Bangalore.
Ivanov, on a three-day visit to India ahead of a trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week, said Moscow would be sending its cutting-edge MiG-35 fighter to an international air show in Bangalore next month.
He also confirmed reports Moscow was ready to construct four new nuclear reactors in India, in addition to two already agreed.
India and Russia have close military and diplomatic ties, and Moscow is the biggest supplier of hardware to the Indian military, including combat jets, submarines, transport aircraft and tanks.
India's air force, one of the biggest in the world, plans to buy 126 new fighters to upgrade its combat fleet which includes ageing Russian MiG-21s and British Jaguars.
This would be one of the biggest orders by any air force for combat jets in recent years.
The MiG-35 has the frame of an earlier Russian fighter, the MiG-29, but is more agile and has better avionics as well as an increased flying range.
"These aircraft are equipped with superb engines and can easily be manufactured and maintained in India," Ivanov said.
Sweden and India's new ally, the United States, are also keen to meet the Indian Air Force's demand for new fighters.
The Americans are pushing their F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters built by Boeing Co. as well as their F-16s. The Swedes are promoting their JAS-39 Gripen, built by Saab, media reports say.
The French are keen to sell Dassault's Rafale fighter.
India and Russia are also expected this week to sign a cooperation agreement for making multipurpose transport aircraft, Ivanov said.
NUCLEAR HELP
The minister said it was possible that Russia could construct new reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power station in Tamil Nadu.
"Russia stands ready not only to construct four new reactors in Kudankulam but also to perform other activities in the Indian market," said Ivanov.
"I can't exclude that in the course of the Indo-Russian summit meeting that will be carried out in a couple of days (that) there could be some documents signed with respect to this issue."
India, Asia's fourth-largest economy, is eager to secure oil, gas and power supplies as energy consumption soars. Moscow is seeking to boost arms, energy and nuclear sales to India.

Source : Reuters

Karthikeyan scores A1 Team India's 1st pts in A1 GP

Narain Karthikeyan scored A1 Team India's first ever points in A1 GP on Sunday, finishing seventh at the New Zealand Grand Prix at Taupo Motorsport Park in Taupo.
On a tight and twisting track, with limited space for overtaking, Karthikeyan brought the national flag liveried car home in seventh place from 10th on the grid in the Feature race to collect four points.
Karthikeyan, who made his debut with A1 Team India in New Zealand, performed consistently throughout the weekend, to achieve India's best ever qualifying position, Sprint and Feature race results and the second fastest lap of the day.
In his first rolling start in some years, Karthikeyan made up three places to move up the running order to seventh.
But after the first start was aborted, the 22 A1GP cars reformed the original starting order to make a second rolling start and in the melee, the A1 Team India car fell down to 12th.
After climbing back to 10th, Karthikeyan demonstrated his true racer instincts, battling for the final four laps of the race to pass Italy and Great Britain for 8th place.
However, on the narrow Taupo circuit and with few laps available, the India racer was unable to find a way past and had to settle with his original grid slot.
Commenting on his first A1GP event, Karthikeyan said, "we leave with the first points for A1 Team India, so I'm really pleased. That was what I wanted, and we couldn't really have expected anything more with such little track time and data from the car.

Source : Ht

Bollywood-style happy ending for Shilpa Shetty

LONDON: To Shilpa Shetty it must have seemed like another typical Bollywood-style happy ending as Jade Goody, who reduced her to tears with her rude behaviour and occasionally racist jibes, paid the price for it with British television viewers voting with their feet to evict her from the Celebrity Big Brother show in a head-to-head clash with the Indian actor on Friday night.
The widely-predicted outcome was a tame end to an ugly episode, which sparked a near-diplomatic row with New Delhi and forced liberal Britons to confront racism that non-whites face in daily life.
Ms. Goody, who had been forewarned of what to expect as the voting began, tried to put on a brave face when the result was declared and she was told: "Jade, you'll be leaving the house shortly."
But as the reality of having been kicked out by 82 per cent of the viewers dawned on her, she struggled to hold back her tears while fellow contestants, including Ms. Shetty, took turns to offer comforting words — and that farewell mandatory hug.
Looked shocked
At a post-eviction "debriefing" by Channel 4, Ms. Goody looked shocked as clips of her behaviour and the reaction to it were played to her.
"I look like a complete and utter nasty small person — the sort of person I don't like myself," she said but denied allegations of racism. "I am not a racist and I sincerely, with my hand on my heart, apologise to anyone I have offended out there," she added sounding intensely contrite in a replay of her kiss-and-make-up conversation with Ms. Shetty earlier in the day after it became certain that, come evening, and she would be out.
Her act of contrition was seen as a desperate attempt to save her career after a perfume named after her was removed from shops and she feared losing more sponsors. "I don't know what to do," she said in between sobs.
Before the eviction, Ms. Shetty and Ms. Goody were summoned together to speak to the Big Brother. With Ms. Goody by her side, Ms. Shetty again clarified that her allegation of racism was the result of a "misunderstanding". "The air is clear now," she said prompting Ms. Goody to ask the Big Brother for a bottle of champagne to celebrate the occasion.
Hate figure
Twenty-five-year-old Ms. Goody, a mother of two, became such a hate figure in recent days as visuals of her antics were seen around the world that Channel 4, fearing for her safety, took the unprecedented step of banning crowds outside the CBB house.
``From hero to zero''
"Jade lurches from hero to zero" declared The Times amid a continuing torrent of condemnation of her behaviour towards Ms. Shetty. A poll in The Guardian showed that 55 per cent of the people believed that her conduct was "not typical of modern Britain."
There was also widespread criticism of Channel 4 for standing by and watching as Ms. Shetty was subjected to racist bullying. More than half of those polled said the channel had "engineered the clashes to gain viewing figures."
May go to India
Meanwhile, there was speculation that Ms. Goody could end up going to India to do a reality show — possibly appear in the Indian version of Big Brother, Big Boss — to boost its flagging viewership.

Source : Hindu

Now, pay bills from your mobile

TECHNOLOGY MERGER: Homepage of the website PayMate India.
Bangalore: The twin technologies of e-commerce and mobile phones have finally come together in India. Over 2,500 online selling sites have now tied up with mobile commerce solutions provider, PayMate India, to offer Web shoppers the option to make payments by a short message service or SMS.
The PayMate-powered sites include popular destinations such as Rediff, Jeevan Sathi and Naukri; online malls like Fabmall and Indiatimes and travel portals like MakeMyTrip, ClearTrip and TravelMart India.
The service can also be used outside of the Internet — to settle bills with PlanetM, the multi-city music store, and with service providers like VSNL or taxi operators like Mumbai Gold Cabs.
"Seijo and the Soul Dish" a popular restaurant on Waterfield Road in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai recently became the first eating place in India where one can pay the bill by a simple SMS message from a mobile phone.
PayMate is currently being offered to Citibank customers and credit card holders who need to sign up with the bank for this free service. Once registered they will receive a PIN number which they can send to authorise any payment. Both the merchant and the customer will receive a confirmation message from the bank approving the transaction. The payment model is said to be very secure as no credit or debit card information is exchanged. It has been built by Ernst Y& Young, which has put in place the security features.
India-based banks
Ajay Adiseshann, PayMate India's founder and Managing Director, says the technology to link up with 14 other India-based banks is in place and they will be added to the PayMate in a phased manner.
A list of all establishments in India which accept payment via PayMate has been placed on www.paymate.co.in. They range from apparel and astrology providers to florists and booksellers.
Whether clearing your bills at Taj, Kempinski, Ramee or Royal Orchid hotels or making a donation at the famous Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai, your "manthra" for 2007 might well be "my phone is my wallet!"
Welcome to the e-world.

Source : Hindu

Tata Motors says start building new plant

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd. said on Sunday it had begun initial construction of a small car plant in West Bengal, where locals have protested against the planned transfer of agricultural land for the project.
Tata Motors, the country's top bus and truck maker, has faced protests in the state over the government's acquisition of nearly 1,000 acres of privately-owned farmland for the company's car making plant in Singur, 50-km north of state capital Kolkata.
The work has started with the consent of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and is expected to create employment in excess of 10,000 jobs for locals within the region, Tata Motors said in a statement.
"Tata Motors, through its contractors and its sub-contractors will deploy appropriate and necessary people from the Singur area on various unskilled jobs and also skilled assignments, like masons, fitters, as per the project's needs," the company said.
The company said it had also started training locals for employment at its 10-billion-rupee ($226 million) plant.
West Bengal, which has the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, is wooing foreign and domestic investment after years of focusing on land reforms and empowering poor peasants.

Source: Reuters

ICICI Bank Q3 net up 42 pct, beats f'cast

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's second-largest lender, ICICI Bank, posted a 42 percent rise in quarterly earnings on Saturday, beating forecasts as it rode surging demand for loans, and gained from fees and the sale of equity investments.
The New York-listed bank expects to maintain its profitability and grow its loans despite a steady increase in lending rates, as wage increases have provided more room for borrowers.
"There has been very strong growth in fee income," Kalpana Morparia, joint managing director at ICICI Bank, told reporters. "We have not seen any slowdown."
Investors are bullish on Indian banks as they see them as a proxy for growth in an economy growing at more than 8 percent.
Demand for loans from firms to expand capacity and individuals to buy homes and cars is expanding at about 30 percent a year, even after the central bank raised lending rates by 100 basis points in 2006 to fight inflation pressures.
ICICI said net profit rose to 9.1 billion rupees ($205.4 million) for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 from 6.40 billion rupees a year earlier. A Reuters poll had forecast for a net profit of 8.18 billion rupees.
Its net interest income rose 32 percent to 17.09 billion rupees from 12.96 billion rupees a year ago.
Fee income -- mainly derived from selling insurance and mutual fund products -- surged 53 percent to 13.45 billion rupees, from 8.81 billion rupees a year earlier.
EQUITY GAINS
A strong equity market also helped it benefit by selling some stakes in a few companies.
"A large portion of treasury income is from capital gains in equity investments," said Morparia, adding that treasury gains were more than 3 billion rupees.
She said the bank hoped to maintain its net interest margins at around 2.6 percent, but expected interest rates to be under pressure.
"I don't rule out the possibility of a rate hike," said Morparia, adding that a 25 basis points increase was unlikely to influence borrowing decisions.
The central bank is expected to raise rates during its review on Jan. 31. as inflation is at a two-year high of 6.12 percent.
However, Morparia said she expects home loans growth to slow to about 25 to 30 percent, from 30-35 percent, due to a steep rise in real estate prices.
Shares in ICICI Bank rose 27 percent in the December quarter, outpacing a 10.7 percent gain in the BSE's main index and a 17 percent gain in the banking sector benchmark.

Source : Reuters

Guru opens with a big bang in US

Mani Ratnam's Guru has not only received great reviews from the mainstream American press but also made $843,200 over the four-day weekend, one of the biggest opening grosses ever for Indian cinema in this country.
Comparing the normal Friday-Sunday gross, the new Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai starrer opened better than India's official entry to this year's Oscars, Rang De Basanti, and Krrish with Hrithik Roshan in a superhero act, according to boxofficeguru.com.
The New York Times followed up its story Sunday hailing the film's glitzy red carpet premiere as heralding "not only the arrival of a movie, but also a growing cultural phenomenon" and followed it up with a review suggesting Guru exalts India's rising influence.

The New York Post gave it three out of four stars, the highest grade it has ever bestowed on a Bollywood film, and Los Angeles Weekly called it the best Bollywood film since Lagaan. Even Time magazine reviewed the film.
"You might think it would be difficult to fashion an entertaining account of the life of a polyester manufacturer, even a fictitious one. But the Tamil director Mani Ratnam, known for intelligent political dramas, has done so with Guru, an epic paean to can-do spirit and Mumbai capitalism," said Andy Webster in his review in the New York Times.
"Ratnam's experience shows in his gorgeous compositions and fluency with pacing and effects; the inevitable, though unobtrusive musical sequences display a similar command," he said in the review titled "Polyester and Power at Play for a Mogul and His India".
Richard Corliss of Time magazine said a ritzy premiere like the one in New York "would typically take place in Mumbai (Bombay) or in Ratnam's home town Chennai (Madras). But Bollywood films have eyes to be as popular in America as in India, Indonesia, the Middle East and North Africa, where they dominate cinematic culture".
"For movies to celebrate an entrepreneur is rare - usually you get exposés -but not wrong. Guru's nearest equivalent might be "It's a Wonderful Life", except that this small businessman has to cope with success, not failure.
"And there's no denying the dramatic oomph of the climactic courtroom scene, with Gurukant defending himself and the class he stands for. Still, it doesn't seem like a natural weave for Mani Ratnam. This Guru is more like a fine polyester," he said.
The LA Weekly said, "Ratnam's enthralling and eventful new picture Guru is one of his best yet; in fact it may be the best Indian commercial (Bollywood) movie since the Oscar-nominated Lagaan (2000)."

It added, "The flamboyantly gifted Indian moviemaker Mani Ratnam has an epic romantic temperament, like a reform-minded 19th century novelist, with a great eye and a trunk full of Panavision lenses."Lou Lumenick of The New York Post said: "Mani Ratnam's often absorbing Guru is sort of a Bollywood Citizen Kane, a decades-spanning drama with a compelling Abhishek Bachchan as a ruthless Indian business tycoon who refuses to take no for an answer.
"Gorgeous superstar Rai's several lavish musical numbers, while entertaining, seem to belong in another movie," he said describing the film as "resembling a lavish Hollywood prestige film of the 1960s".
Murphy's Movie Reviews said what Mani Ratnam "has crafted in Guru is a superb film that profiles a man driven to succeed".
While Guru is not quite on the same level as Orson Welles' masterpiece Citizen Kane (after all, what is?), said the reviewer, "it does rank pretty close in its depiction of the life of a man consumed by his business pursuits and his dreams".
"The film is anchored by Bachchan's terrific performance. As always, Rai is lovely to look at, but she doesn't make much of her character," it added.

Source: HT

Govt bans AXN channel on grounds of good taste

Deepa Mehta's film Water about the plight of widows in 1930s India has been shortlisted in the best foreign film category for the Oscars.However, India's official entry to the Oscars Rang De Basanti has lost out in the race for Best Foreign Film in the shortlist ahead of nominations for the category.
Directed by Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra, the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film has performances by Aamir Khan, Atul Kulkarni and Soha Ali Khan among others.Five years ago, another Aamir Khan starrer film Lagaan made it to the final five nominations for Oscar for best foreign film, but lost out to Bosnia's No Man's Land.Mehra’s film was one of the 61 entries vying for the coveted statuette in the Best Foreign Language Film category this year.
Deepa Mehta's Canadian film, which stars John Abraham and Lisa Ray, finds place in the list along with the acclaimed Black Book from the Netherlands and Volver from Spain, reports Variety.com.
Other films in the list are Days of Glory (Algeria), After the Wedding (Denmark), Avenue Montaigne (France), The Lives of Others (Germany), Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico) and Vitus (Switzerland).On Tuesday, January 23, the Academy will announce the final five nominees for Best Foreign Film Oscar, along with the other nominations.
The Oscar awards ceremony will be held on February 25.

SOURCE: Reuters

Deepa Mehta's film Water about the plight of widows in 1930s India has been shortlisted in the best foreign film category for the Oscars

Deepa Mehta's film Water about the plight of widows in 1930s India has been shortlisted in the best foreign film category for the Oscars.However, India's official entry to the Oscars Rang De Basanti has lost out in the race for Best Foreign Film in the shortlist ahead of nominations for the category.
Directed by Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra, the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film has performances by Aamir Khan, Atul Kulkarni and Soha Ali Khan among others.Five years ago, another Aamir Khan starrer film Lagaan made it to the final five nominations for Oscar for best foreign film, but lost out to Bosnia's No Man's Land.Mehra’s film was one of the 61 entries vying for the coveted statuette in the Best Foreign Language Film category this year.
Deepa Mehta's Canadian film, which stars John Abraham and Lisa Ray, finds place in the list along with the acclaimed Black Book from the Netherlands and Volver from Spain, reports Variety.com.
Other films in the list are Days of Glory (Algeria), After the Wedding (Denmark), Avenue Montaigne (France), The Lives of Others (Germany), Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico) and Vitus (Switzerland).On Tuesday, January 23, the Academy will announce the final five nominees for Best Foreign Film Oscar, along with the other nominations.
The Oscar awards ceremony will be held on February 25.

Source: HT

Bangalore wi -fi

Bangalore: Untethering Internet access from wires and cables might well be 2007's biggest technology blimp — and India is in the frontline of nations who are sensibly complementing the purely corporate roadmap with earthy aspirations for the rural hinterland.
This is one of the key findings of the first-ever comprehensive study of Wi-Fi (the local area wireless Internet technology) in India, released here on Wednesday. Commissioned by the United States-based Wi-Fi Alliance, the 300-strong global trade association of wireless local area network industry, the three-month study was carried out by the Indian communications analyst, Tonse Telecom.
Interestingly, two secondary metros, Bangalore and Pune, are first off the starting block when it comes to creating city-wide Wi-Fi networks.
The Tamil Nadu based telecom provider Aircell is expected to announce on Thursday, details of its plan for Bangalore — expected to be a mix of Wi-Fi and the longer range `back end' technology, WiMax. In Pune the Municipal Corporation has taken the lead, in partnership with Intel, to link a Wi-Fi-WiMax combo to the national Internet backbone, in time for the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in the city in 2008.
Three States not generally recognised to be tech-savvy — Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — have chosen to harness Wi-Fi and WiMax to help provide Internet connectivity in rural areas.
Sridhar Y. Pai, Chief Executive of Tonse Telecom explained that the explosive growth in the use of laptop PCs, was one of the key reasons why the Wi-Fi market in India was so bullish. The total hardware and services opportunity was expected to cross $800 million by 2012.
Frank Hanzik, Managing Director of the Wi-Fi Alliance said today's Wi-Fi speeds of 56 megabits per second maximum was set to be booted up fivefold when the new standard known as 802.11n was promulgated in mid 2007.
Once that happened, notebook PCs, even smart phones and other consumer devices could access the rich content riding on the back of wireless broadband.

source: Hindu

Indian state airlines in merger

India's two main state-owned airlines are to merge in an effort to compete more effectively with private carriers.
Air India and Indian Airlines will join forces by the start of April, ministers said - adding that the merger would not result in any job losses.
Officials said the deal would make the new entity more competitive, yielding annual savings of 5bn rupees ($113m).
Privately-owned rivals such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines have taken market share from the duo.
'Appropriate step'
The Indian government hopes that the combined firm will become one of the world's top 20 airlines.
"Everybody feels the process of merger is appropriate," said Praful Patel, India's civil aviation minister.
Set up in 1932, Air India is the country's flagship airline, serving more than 40 destinations worldwide.
Indian Airlines is focused on the domestic market.
Air travel has been growing rapidly in India as income levels rise and long-established players such as Air India and Indian Airlines have been challenged by more recent entrants.
There are now four budget airlines operating in India.

Source : BBC

Bollywood's Aishwarya Rai to wed Abhishek ...........

Former Miss World and leading Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and fellow star Abhishek Bachchan are engaged to be married, it has been confirmed.
Ms Rai's secretary Hari Singh confirmed to the BBC a ceremony had taken place on Sunday evening at her home in the city of Mumbai (Bombay).
The confirmation ends frenzied speculation in the Indian media about the couple.
Rumours were sparked when the stars visited a Hindu temple in November.
Time magazine
Mr Singh confirmed the families of both actors were present at the ceremony.

Abhishek Bachchan is the son of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
The families have been tight-lipped about the relationship. Even after the small engagement ceremony, both parties were maintaining their silence.
Indian television channels showed pictures of crowds gathered outside Mr Bachchan's residence, waiting to catch a glimpse of either of the stars.
Ms Rai is one of the top Bollywood actresses and has had several hit movies over the past few years.
She was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2003 as Bollywood's leading lady and was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman.
Abhishek Bachchan has starred in several successful films and was voted the sexiest Asian man by a British newspaper last year.
The actors have starred together in several films.
In the past, Ms Rai has been linked to other Bollywood actors, including Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi.
Abhishek Bachchan was engaged to former actress Karisma Kapoor but the marriage was called off.

Source : BBC

Tata Consultancy Q3 net up 48 pct, beats f'cast

By Devidutta Tripathy
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS), India's top software services exporter, said on Monday quarterly profit rose 48 percent, beating expectations, as it won large outsourcing deals from foreign clients.
TCS officials were upbeat about growth in the months ahead.
"All the clients are ramping up so we see good growth," N. Chandrasekaran, global head of sales and operations, said.
He said the company expected several new contracts.
"The deal pipeline is fantastic and they are from different geographies. We have 10 deals in the pipeline," S Mahalingam, chief financial officer told reporters.
Ahead of the announcement, shares in TCS ended up 0.2 percent to 1,327.90 rupees in a Mumbai market that rose 0.5 percent.
The company, part of India's salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, said net profit rose to 11.16 billion rupees ($252 million) in the fiscal third-quarter ended Dec. 31 from 7.53 billion rupees in the year ago period.
That compared with a consensus net profit of 10.9 billion rupees on revenue of 47.91 billion in a Reuters poll of 10 analysts.
"The numbers are quite good. At every level, the company has beaten expectations," Tejas Doshi, head of research at Mumbai brokerage Sushil Finance, said.
"The company has been able to expand their margins on a sequential basis despite the rupee appreciation. I do expect some more margin improvement in the current quarter."
India's booming software firms have been winning large outsourcing deals from western clients, but a stronger rupee was a concern.
The rupee rose almost 4 percent against the U.S. dollar in October-December, slowing revenue growth in a $23 billion software and back-office services exports industry that earns nearly 60 percent of its business from U.S. clients.
India's number-two software exporter, Infosys Technologies Ltd., last week reported a 51.5 percent rise in quarterly profit and slightly raised its forecast for the full year to March as it won more business in Europe.
Mumbai-headquartered TCS said it added 55 new clients in the December quarter that included a $140 million outsourcing deal from a Latin American private bank for five years.
India's software and back-office industry, which earns 90 percent of its revenue from overseas clients, expects exports to rise 27-30 percent to $29-$31 billion in the year to end-March.

SOURCE : Reuters

After Corus, Tata may eye other firms

Irrespective of the outcome of the current bidding war for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, the Tata Group has set an aggressive target to have 30 million tonnes of steel production capacity by 2015 worldwide – which means other big efforts to buy out companies are not ruled out.
The group is also racing to meet a 2010 deadline to make Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) enter the global top 10 in the industry.
The largest business house in the country is looking at opportunities in overseas markets for several reasons among which are a desire to diversify and mitigate economic and political risks.
According to key strategic documents of the group made available to the Hindustan Times, the group has a clear intention to access strategic assets like production facilities, distribution, branding and technologies.
In the vision documents dated January 12, the group has set an ambitious internationalisation strategy. The vision is also to make TCS, the largest IT company in the country, part of global top 10 companies by 2010.
While internationalisation is the group imperative, the Tata Group will continue to invest in high growth domestic sectors.
"We have two guiding arrows. One points overseas where we want to expand markets for our existing products. The other points right here, to India, where we want to explore the large mass market that is emerging – not by following but by breaking new ground in product development and seeing how we can do something that hasn't been done before," chairman Ratan Tata said in a statement.
Sources aware about the know-how of the Corus deal said that Tata Steel will revise its bid once more by eight to 10 per cent. However, a Tata Steel spokesman said that they were 'studying the position'.
Besides the overseas expansion, the vision outlined Tata Steel's grand plan in the domestic market where it will add 23 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in production capacity.
Of this, Jharkhand will account for 12 MTPA, followed by, Orissa (six MTPA) and Chhattisgarh (five MTPA).
Since 2000, the group, under the different companies, has made more than 20 acquisitions or strategic alliances in the overseas markets, entailing an investment of over $3 billion.
In 2005-06 (April-March), the group reported international revenues of $6.7 billion as against $4.4 billion in 2004-05, a growth of 51 per cent.

source : HT

Indian shares hit new peak

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares rose 0.52 percent on Monday to a record close, led by top private firm Reliance Industries Ltd. and construction and engineering firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
The 30-issue benchmark BSE index ended up 73.11 points at 14,129.64, with 20 components gaining, after hitting a lifetime peak of 14,202.12 in morning trade. The previous high of 14,070.88 was set on Friday.
"There is some amount of warehousing being done with expectations that FII allocations for 2007 could be better," said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Emkay Share and Stock Brokers Ltd.
Foreign institutional investors (FII), who bought nearly $8 billion of stocks on 2006, have been net sellers to the tune of $240 million in early 2007.
"Once the surprise element is out we'll see the market settling down," Gorakshakar said.
The mood was positive in the broader markets with 1,741 gainers outpacing 903 losers on volume of 392 million shares.
The 50-issue NSE index rose 0.64 percent to 4,078.40 points.
Top private firm Reliance Industries, which has the largest weighting in the main index, rose 1.8 percent to 1,364.65 rupees ahead of its quarterly results on Thursday. The company is expected to post a 26 percent rise in quarterly earnings, a Reuters poll showed.
Larsen & Toubro gained 2.2 percent to 1,499.75 rupees. Both Reliance and L&T hit record highs.
Top private steelmaker Tata Steel rose 3.9 percent to 485.70 rupees. The company, which is in a takeover battle for Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus Group Plc, on Monday said it bought 100 percent stake in a privately-held ferro alloy firm that has a plant in eastern India.
Top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services, which is expected to post a 49 percent rise in quarterly earnings later on Monday, gained 0.2 percent to 1,327.90 rupees.
Elsewhere in the region, Karachi's 100-share index rose 0.77 percent to a one-month closing high of 10,505.85 points. Colombo was closed for a holiday.
STOCKS THAT MOVED
* Software firm CMC Ltd. surged 30 percent to 907.35 rupees after its December quarter net profit jumped 79 percent from a year ago.
* Tata Sponge Iron Ltd. rose 20 percent to 124.80 rupees after its quarterly net profit jumped from a year earlier.
* Shares in telecoms services firm Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. rose 6.8 percent to 465.15 rupees after media reports said it was in talks to buy Sri Lankan private telecom operator Suntel.
* State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd. rose 10.2 percent to 99.85 rupees after India's steel minister said it will invest more than $20 billion to expand its annual output to 40 million tonnes by 2020.
MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME
* IFCI Ltd. on 55.2 million shares
* Reliance Natural Resources on 15 million shares
* Steel Authority of India Ltd. on 8.3 million shares

Source : Reuters

" GURU" is one of the finest films in India film industry

Meet India's most powerful man, screams the headlines. You want to believe the statement primarily because the man at the helm of affairs is none other than Mani Ratnam, one of the finest talents India has produced. Irrespective of how his films are received by the paying public, you cannot deny the fact that a Mani Ratnam film is special.So when GURU, Mani's new film, makes claims such as the one mentioned above, the viewer saunters into the cineplex with real big expectations.Mani's impressive repertoire includes a few bio-pics and now GURU is a welcome addition to the club. This time around, the supremely talented storyteller narrates the story of a man who rises from zilch and becomes the premier industrialist of the country through sheer hard work, determination, passion and grit.

As a story, GURU is tremendously inspiring and makes you feel all the more confident to encounter challenges and hurdles that may crop up in a journey called life. But by no means is GURU a documentary, as a section of the film industry/media would want us to believe. Sure, GURU chronicles several vital facets of an industrialist's life, but the marriage of enlightenment and entertainment is brilliantly executed here.With GURU, Mani proves that he's indeed the guru when it comes to narrating stories. Note the poignant moments in the narrative -- Guru's thorny relationship with his father [Rajendra Gupta], his relationship with a newspaper publisher [Mithun Chakraborty], Guru's brother-in-law Jignesh [Arya Babbar] staging a walkout and creating a rift between Guru and his wife Sujata [Aishwarya Rai], the confrontation between the journalist [Madhavan] and Guru at the publisher's residence, Guru's emotional moment in the hospital when his trusted aide [Manoj Joshi] attempts suicide and of course, the finale.

The graph of GURU escalates gradually and reaches its crescendo in the concluding reels. Guru's monologue in a packed courtroom -- where an enquiry commission is looking into the complaints against Guru's companies -- gives you goose bumps. The simpleton from a village in Gujarat roars like never before and the impact it creates cannot be described in mere words. All you want to say is, it's the most fitting finale for a fabulous film!Mani's choice of the protagonist -- Abhishek Bachchan -- is equally worthy. You ought to be enormously talented to understand the nuances of the character and Abhishek deserves the highest praise for reliving a complex role. You smile when he smiles, you cry when he cries… you relive every single emotion that the character experiences. Only goes to show that the actor involves you at every step with a stupendous performance.In a nutshell, GURU packs in a solid punch in those 2.45 hours. The year 2007 may have just begun, but one can confidently state that this Mani Ratnam film will rank prominently amongst the bests of the year when we go into a flashback mode later this year. Put your hands together for one of the most courageous attempts on the Hindi screen. GURU is a film not to be missed!

In a small village of Idar in Gujarat, a young man dreams of making it big some day. His father [Rajendra Gupta], the headmaster of the village school, tells him that dreams never come true. But Gurukant Desai [Abhishek Bachchan] dares to dream!Set in 1951, GURU tells the story of a ruthlessly ambitious villager who moves to Turkey first and Mumbai later with his wife Sujata [Aishwarya Rai] and brother-in-law Jignesh [Arya Babbar] to fulfill his dreams.In Mumbai, truth dawns upon Guru that the business world is a closed community ruled by a handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called Shakti Trading and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace.Manik Dasgupta aka Nanaji [Mithun Chakraborty], who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. But when he learns that Guru's means to make it big are not right, he along with the Editor of his newspaper, Shyam [Madhavan], decide to expose Guru's unjust ways.Even though GURU is a bio-pic, the serpentine twists and turns in the screenplay are the mainstay of the enterprise. You may have heard of a few incidents, but the life sketch of the leading industrialist makes for an interesting celluloid experience.From the writing point of view, while GURU holds your attention at most times, there are a few loose ends, though negligible, that you cannot overlook. The tiff between Guru and his bro-in-law Jignesh is one of those tracks. What actually brings about a rift between the two and why doesn't Jignesh reappear anywhere in the story later is not explained.

Another track that doesn't really hold your attention is the one between Madhavan-Vidya Balan. Although the emotional sequence between them is a highpoint [the smooch that follows is aesthetically filmed], you still wish there was some more meat in this sub-plot.Moreover, the film can do without a song 'Ek Lo Ek Muft' [appears soon after Guru and his wife are blessed with twins] and also the pacing could've been tighter in the second half.GURU ranks amongst Mani Ratnam's finest attempts. In fact, it wouldn't be erroneous to state that the film is at par with his most accomplished works like NAYAKAN, AGNI NAKSHATRAM, GITANJALI, ROJA and BOMBAY. Every sequence in GURU bears the stamp of a genius and the outcome is tremendous.A.R. Rahman's music is in sync with the film. 'Maiya Maiya' at the start of the film [Mallika Sherawat] is sizzling, while 'Barso Re' [Ash's introduction] and 'Tere Bina' are melodious to the core. Rahman's background score is also topnotch. Rajiv Menon's cinematography is of international quality. The lensman captures the 1950s look, right to the present day setting, with flourish. Vijay Krishna Acharya's dialogues are of superior quality. The writing in the last twenty minutes is fantastic.

Reserve all the awards for Abhishek Bachchan. No two opinions on that! His performance in GURU is world class and without doubt, a shade above his career-best work in YUVA. From a sharp teenager in Turkey to the biggest entrepreneur of the country, Abhishek handles the various shades this character demands with adroitness. He takes a giant leap with this film!Aishwarya Rai too stuns you with a powerful performance. Known for her angelic looks all the while, the actor will make people sit up and notice the reservoirs of talent in GURU. Also, the chemistry between Abhishek and Aishwarya is electrifying. Mithun Chakraborty is in form after a long, long time. And it's a pleasure to see the veteran deliver a natural performance from start to end.Madhavan's role could've been stronger, but he enacts it with élan. Vidya Balan too suffers due to a weak characterization, but makes up with a confident performance. Arya Babbar is first-rate in a brief role. The film has a number of characters, but the ones who register a strong impact are Roshan Seth, Manoj Tyagi and Sachin Khedekar.On the whole, GURU is one of the finest films to come out of the Hindi film industry. At the box-office, its business will be excellent at the multiplexes as compared to the single screens. In fact, the business at the multiplexes [which are performing 12/14/18/20 shows a day] will be enough to make the film a success story in days to come. Strongly recommended, go for it!

Source : India fm

Gear up! F1 coming to India in '09

Germany: India could host a grand prix in Delhi as early as 2009, a close Indian associate of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Friday.
Leading businessman Vijay Mallya said after signing a sponsorship agreement between his Kingfisher Airlines and the Toyota team that he was confident the sport would come to the sub-continent.
"It has always been my dream to bring Formula One to India," he told a news conference on the sidelines of the launch of Toyota's new TF107 car.
"The government of Delhi I think really wants Formula One in India and I am optimistic that maybe we will be able to host our first race in 2009." Ecclestone said last year that he was in negotiations with a regional government in India to build a race track, without identifying which one.
The Briton is keen to expand the sport's reach further in Asia, with South Korea already promised a grand prix for 2010 and Singapore hoping for a street race as well. India, with a booming economy and more than 500 million people under the age of 20, is a strong candidate.
The country had a first Formula One driver in Narain Karthikeyan, now a Williams tester, in 2005.

Source :IBN

Rent-a-DVD, Hollywood-style, Now in India

The American Dream Factory is doing what it does best: business. Distributors of Hollywood movies are wooing video rental firms, which normally use copies of movies strictly meant for home use, to instead use legit copies for renting out.
Sony Pictures recently rolled out Rental Express in Indian metros: rental companies can pay an annual licence-fee that will legally allow them to buy Sony's movies for rental in India. The fee ranges from Rs 7,500 per year to Rs 50,000, depending on the reach of the companies; so while small DVD rental kiosks will pay the lower end, online movie-hire companies will pay the higher end.
Chander Lall, a lawyer representing the Motion Pictures Association of America, says that Hollywood loses $80 million every year due to illegal renting in India. It is tough to stop this trend, feels Anupam Sengupta, head of marketing, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. "So we decided to make them partners." Sony has hired an agency to get 500 such rental firms to sign up in the first year.
Around three million Indian households have DVD players. By 2010, says PricewaterhouseCoopers, that will go up to 13 million. And the home video viewing market will grow four-fold to Rs 2,100 crore, from Rs 550 crore currently.
Excel Home Entertainment, the Indian distributor of 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney, started a licensing programme in October and has, so far, signed up 80 outlets in Mumbai and 140 in New Delhi.
It released DVDs of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest to its 'partner' video outlets two weeks before the retail launch.
The move worked. "Many of them came forward to be a part of it," says George Anthony Joseph of Excel. A Saregama India official added that his company too is working on a similar model. Saregama distributes DVDs for Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

Source : HT

‘India’s growth rate makes most European countries jealous’

IT to biotech, Portuguese PM looks at technology partnership with India
The forthcoming visit to India of Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva is his first outside Europe. Ritu Sarin was among the Indian journalists invited to Lisbon to meet the President for a free-wheeling pre-visit interaction. Excerpts:

What do you want to achieve during your forthcoming visit?
I want to contribute to the consolidation of the excellent political relations between Portugal and India and build a sustainable relationship for the future. Our trade and investment relations are very limited and we want to make India a privileged partner. India is now the third or fourth largest world economy and has a growth rate, which makes many European countries jealous. So I want to contribute to a dramatic change in the present limited economic ties. The two countries have strong cultural and historic links and there already exists a sense of proximity.
What is your stand on Indo-US nuclear agreement?
We are aware of the agreement but will react to it only after its official presentation before the international community and after it has been examined by the Portuguese Government. It is not for the President of Portugal to comment on the agreement. We feel India, as the world’s biggest democracy, should play an important role in the international arena and we were among the first countries to support its candidature for the UNSC.
Are there reservations in Portugal on proposed extradition treaty?
It is under discussion at the final stage and we hope it will be signed during my visit. I know about the gangster (Abu Salem) who was extradited to India and we don’t want any more gangsters here. Some people feel Portugal has soft immigration laws and only six months ago, we have a new law and regulations. We hope there are no loopholes in the law.
What’s on the economic agenda between the two countries?
I am accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen and will be attending three economic seminars in India. Portugal can be a platform for Indian businessmen for Europe and our Prime Minister will be visiting India later in the year for the Indo-EU summit where more progress can be made. Portugal is moving away from traditional areas of production like footwear and textiles to areas of high technology, biotechnology and information technology. These are the niche areas India and Portugal have to focus on for enhanced economic cooperation.
What are the thrust areas you see in economic ties?
We have to translate traditional political relations into concrete action in other areas as well. For instance, in enhanced cooperation between universities. There are already some agreements between our universities but there should be more. There are a lot of possibilities in tourism. India has all the conditions of attracting many thousands of Portuguese tourists. Then there is the infrastructure area, motorways. Portugal is now undertaking huge infrastructure projects in countries like Israel.
Do you think India has an edge over China?
We also have a privileged relationship with China but India, after all, is a democracy. Another factor is the quality of Indian human resources. China also has cheap labour but the number of qualified professionals, of engineers in India is impressive. India has a condition for sustainable growth and is in a position of taking advantage of its knowledge-based society. China is also a huge market but they are different.

Source : Indian express

Rs 4,49,000 crore windfall for Gujarat

The Vibrant Gujarat summit, in which investors from across the globe took part, ended in Ahmedabad on Saturday. And the curtains dropped with the participants promising to pump in investments worth Rs 4,49,000 crore – a record – over the next three to five years.Addressing the valedictory function on Saturday evening, state Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced that a total of 308 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed with entrepreneurs during the two-day event.He also said that the 330 projects that these MoUs have given birth to would generate employment for nearly 12 lakh youngsters fromGujarat."As many as 15 of the projects are expected to increase the human resources available at medical, nursing and marine engineering colleges, and pharmacy institutions," Modi said.He added that human resource development is of vital importance, since the projects on the anvil cannot be implemented without adequate manpower.The other sector that has been stressed upon is infrastructure, said the Chief Minister. "Infrastructure is the sector that will attract investments in the future."

SOURCE : HT

Manirathnam remakes Indian rags-to-riches story,Much awaited GURU Launched this friday worldwide

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Dhirubhai Ambani is India's best known rags-to-riches billionaire, but the makers of a new Bollywood film about a villager who rises to the pinnacle of the corporate world insist the movie is not about him.
"Gurubhai", the name of the lead character in "Guru", rhymes uncannily with the name of the deceased founder of the Reliance group, and both men come from a poor village.
On their journey to the top, both founded their companies in 1958 in India's financial hub of Mumbai and displayed a penchant for getting things done without taking a 'no' for an answer.
One of the promo lines of the film reads: "Think big. Think ahead. Think fast", which matches word-for-word the corporate motto of Ambani.
But the film's director Mani Ratnam told reporters "Guru", which opens on Friday, was largely fictional.
"It is about the journey of a man at a point of time in India who is trying to reach where he wants to reach," Ratnam said.
"When you pick a film you pick it because there's an idea which you think will make a film. A lot of stories have a real-life feel and are related to the common man."
The hero in "Guru" is the son of a school teacher who travels from a village in the western state of Gujarat to Mumbai and, after much struggle, breaks into the Indian corporate world which until then remained an exclusive, elitist club of bluebloods.
That is also the story of Ambani.
BUSINESSMAN OR MANIPULATOR?
The third of five children of a poor school teacher, Ambani left home when he was 17 to join his eldest brother in Yemen, where he worked as a petrol station attendant, and later as a clerk for an affiliate of Burmah Shell, all the while dreaming of one day owning an oil company.
He achieved that and more.
Ambani created an industrial empire that includes Reliance Petroleum, which operates the fifth-largest refinery in the world, and Reliance Industries, a synthetic fibre and petrochemical manufacturer.
Reliance's remarkable growth also prompted accusations that Ambani's success owed as much to manipulation of government policy as to shrewd business decisions.
Ambani -- who died in 2002 leaving a conglomerate with a market value of $9 billion -- attributed the criticism to his lowly beginnings.
In "Guru", the protagonist shrugs off similar accusations of immorality and manipulation with a quip: "If people say bad things about you, you must be doing something good."
"Guru" stars Bollywood's macho lover Abhishek Bachchan, who says he had to put on a few pounds to develop a paunch, quite like the barrel-chested business baron looked.
Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World who is reportedly Bachchan's fiance, plays Guru's docile village wife.

Source : Reuters

Vodafone open to Indian partners in Hutch bid

Vodafone Group plc, the world’s largest telecom company by revenues, is not averse to partnering Indian shareholders in Mumbai-based cellular firm Hutchison Essar in its bid to take over the fourth largest cellular firm in the country.
Mumbai based oil-to-steel conglomerate Essar controlled by the Ruias family, owns 33 per cent in Hutchison Essar, and Delhi-based industrialist Analjit Singh and the target’s chief executive Asim Ghosh hold minority stakes in the cellular company, valued at $17 billion by investment bankers.
“Essar is our natural partner. We are also talking to Analjit Singh and other parties,” Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin told reporters. Sarin is in Delhi for meetings leading up to a potential takeover of Hutchison Whampoa’s stake in the Indian cellular company. He met Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Finance Minister P Chidambaram earlier on Wednesday.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa wants to sell its controlling interest in Hutchison Essar and has started talking with interested suitors like Reliance Communications.
Vodafone representatives have started a due diligence exercise on the target. Hindujas, the London-based non-resident Indian business family, have also expressed interest in the sale.
Completion of the due diligence is a “couple of weeks away”, Sarin said. “India is a growing market, it will help us to expand our operations. India fits in very well in our plans.”
On the option of selling the 10 per cent stake it holds in Bharti Airtel, India’s biggest cellular operator, Sarin said there was “no reason to start talks on disengagement at this stage”.

Source : HT

Sania Mirza stroms in to Hobart International semis

Sania Mirza entered the semifinals of the Hobart International Tennis tournament with a straight set win on Wednesday.The Indian beat her doubles partner Australia's Alicia Molik 6-4, 6-1.The World No 65 Mirza will play either Russia's Anna Chakvetadze or China's Jie Zheng in the semi-finals on Thursday.Molik, currently ranked 165, is a former World No 8. The two will team up later on Wednesday for the doubles quarterfinals.It was a sign of things to come in 2007 Sania Mirza upsetting world number 21 Na Li of China in the Asian games in Doha in December 2006.Good showSince then Sania almost took India to the finals of the Hopman Cup along with Rohan Bopanna and now her first singles outing of the year has turned into a semi-final appearance.Sania reached the semis after Dowing local favourite Alicia Molik. The Australian is now down to 165 in the rankings but wins like this one over Maria Sharapova in 2004 had taken her to a career high of 8 as recently as 18 months ago before injuries took over.This is the first time Sania has reached the semi-final in an Australian WTA event. The tournament is a build up to the year's first grand slam, the Australian Open that gets underway o Monday.Sania beat Maria Kirilenko and Romina Oprandi, both ranked higher than her, in the earlier rounds.Sania's semi-final opponent is Russian Anna Chakverdatze - the top seed and world number 13.Sania could have played Serena Willimas at this tournament but the seven time grand slam champion playing after four months lost in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Sania can also focus solely just on her singles semi-final clash against the top seed since she and her doubles partner Molik lost in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Source :NDTV

PSLV-C7 launch a success

SRIHARIKOTA: In a "wonderfully" successful multi-mission, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) majestically took off at 9.23 a.m. on Wednesday from its beachside launch pad at Sriharikota and injected four satellites one after another into precise orbit.
Two satellites belong to India and two are from abroad. This is the PSLV's ninth successful launch in a row, proving that it is a trusted workhorse of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
A highlight of the mission is that one of the four satellites called the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) will be recovered on January 22 when it falls into the Bay of Bengal after staying in orbit for 11 days. This is the first time that the ISRO is attempting to recover a satellite — a technological challenge on several fronts.
Morale booster
The PSLV-C7 success is a tremendous boost to the morale of the 15,000-strong ISRO community after the failure of its Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) on July 10, 2006.

A jubilant G. Madhavan Nair, ISRO Chairman, said he had "no words" to describe the success of the "text-book mission." He added: "We have done it... We have put all the four satellites into required orbits. Our boys have done it. It has helped to capture back the confidence of the country in our space missions."
Dr. B.N. Suresh, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, which built PSLV-C7, said: "Four satellites being injected into orbit with the same vehicle is a unique experience for us. There will be four or five launches this year from Sriharikota. This success has given a firm foundation to the launches planned this year."
Of the four satellites, the ISRO's Cartosat-2 is for mapping purposes and its SRE will be a forerunner to the ISRO mastering the re-entry, recoverable and re-usable launch vehicle technologies.
During its stay in orbit, the two payloads on board the SRE will help conduct experiments in micro-gravity.
The two satellites from abroad are LAPAN-TUBSAT, a joint venture of Indonesia and the Technical University of Berlin, and the Pehuensat-I of Argentina.
With the failure of the GSLV at the back of the mind of the PSLV-C7 mission team, the atmosphere was tense in the Mission Control Centre at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. To everybody's relief and joy, the 52-hour countdown went on smoothly without any hold whatsoever. Then, on the dot at 9.23 a.m., the four-stage, 44-metre tall PSLV, which weighs 295 tonnes, fired into life, rose from the first launch pad and cut a path into the clear sky, riding on flames and smoke, and emitting a deep roar that rolled across the island.
All the PSLV-C7 systems functioned with clockwork precision. The four stages, including the six strap-on booster motors, ignited and jettisoned at precise moments. One could see with naked eye the separation of the strap-on motors. A beautiful ball of smoke formed when the first stage hived itself off.
Finally, the fourth stage started injecting the four satellites into the orbit.

Source : Hindu

13-year-old student's bio-diesel project is a winner

TAMBARAM : An eighth standard student, who created a project on bio-diesel as a viable alternative to fossil fuel, came up winner at the recently concluded State-level students' meet at Madurai.
Shameena Banu's project on bio-diesel secured the first place in the Industry and Environment category for students in the sixth-eighth standard category at the 33rd Annual Jawaharlal Nehru Science and Maths competition held at Madurai.
The 13-year-old student of Zion Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Selaiyur, near Tambaram, secured the first place when her school hosted the Chengalpattu Education District-level competition last month and was selected for the State-level meet. She would soon be visiting Bangalore to compete in the South Zone meet.
Daughter of Jawahar Sulaiman, working in the Southern Railway in Tambaram and Seema Banu, a housewife, Shameena said she was interested in working on deriving a fuel from Jatropha for about one year now. It was with the support and encouragement from her parents, teachers and school authorities that she was able to put in place what she had dreamt of.
Briefing mediapersons on her project, she said bio-diesel was extracted from the seeds of Jatropha, commonly known as 'kattamannaku.' As it adapted to all climatic conditions, the tropics being the most suitable, it could be cultivated on arid land that was unfit for cultivation.
Jatropha seeds were first cooked in the presence of steam, crushed to get vegetable oil and filtered through industrial cotton, she explained. Then, methanol and a catalyst were added to produce methyl ester with glycerine as derivative. After a few other processes, such as recovery of methanol, washing and removal of moisture, the refined methyl ester — the bio-diesel — was obtained.
A basic unit would cost around Rs. 20,000 and it could make 1,500 litres of bio-diesel. Shameena said a litre of this alternative fuel would cost about Rs. 20. Its advantages were almost nil presence of sulphur, reduction of soot emissions and ability to decompost easily, among others.
Another student from Tambaram area who would be joining Shameena at the Bangalore meet is V.Nandakumar, a ninth standard student of Government Higher Secondary School in Peerkankaranai. His project `Single Cell Protein: Algae as alternate food' won the first prize in the environment category for ninth-tenth standard students at the Madurai meet.
According to his schoolteachers, Spirolina was the selected single cell algae and Nandakumar demonstrated how protein could be derived from it to prepare healthy food.
At the district-level and State-level events, Nandakumar had prepared some dishes made from Spirolina, teachers said.
K.Ramanujam, chief educational officer of Kancheepuram District, said it was a rich haul of byschools coming under the jurisdiction of the Chengalpattu Education District.
Students from St. Paul's School in Tambaram Sanatorium and CSI Corley Higher Secondary School in East Tambaram won prizes for their projects on Transport and Environment. Prema Joseph of Peerkankaranai Government Higher Secondary School won the overall best teacher prize for ninth and tenth standards, Mr. Ramanujam added.

source : Hindu

Sania steals the show

India's Sania Mirza has caused an upset at the Moorilla International in Australia, beating fourth seed and world number 29 Maria Kirilenko in the singles draw.Thereafter, teaming up with Alicia Molik to win her first round doubles match as well. Also in action at the tier 4 event is Serena Williams who returns after a long injury lay off.Rastogi jumps up Meanwhile, another Indian tennis player enjoying a good start to the new season is Karan Rastogi.The 20-year-old has jumped a huge 109 spots to his current ATP rank of 371, that after Rastogi's win over higher ranked Thiago Alves in the Chennai Open last week, though he did go on to lose to Rafael Nadal in the pre-quarter finals.Rohan Bopanna is still the highest ranked amongst the Indian men at 290.

Source : NDTV

More global MF players to enter India in 2007

Mumbai, January 8: Indian stock market is expected to witness the entry of more global mutual funds in 2007. As many as five leading global asset management companies are planning to enter India’s mutual fund industry in the face of the spectacular 65 per cent growth in 2006.

American International Group (AIG), JP Morgan, AXA Investment, Korean financial services major Mirae Asset Group and a Japanese company are planning to foray into the MF business in India in 2007. “This year at least four to five international players should come in. The more the merrier,” AMFI chairman A.P. Kurien said.
With the Indian MF industry witnessing sustained high growth, the foreign players are eyeing the huge Indian opportunity. Existing foreign funds like Franklin Templeton, Merrill Lynch, Fidelity and HSBC made good returns in 2006. Out of 30 AMCs in the country now, nine are predominantly controlled by global players.
US-based AIG is operating in 130 countries and is a major global player in financial services space. Global investment manager JP Morgan is currently operating in 50 countries with assets under management of $1.3 trillion. AXA Investment has operations in Europe, America and Asia. In Asia it has bases in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and Singapore and is now looking for entering the Indian sub-continent. South Korean Mirae Asset Group has big plans for the Asia Pacific region and India is now on its charts.
On consolidation in the mutual fund industry, Kurien said besides the talks of Standard Chartered trying to exit its AMC business, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda were looking at strategic partners for inorganic growth. Standard Chartered is reported to be mulling exiting its AMC business and a large number of domestic and international players are in the fray.
The mutual fund industry, from December ‘05 to December ‘06, received 90 lakh fresh investment orders, taking up the total investment folios to 2.57 crore, the AMFI chairman said. However, the penetration of mutual funds was still not widespread and millions of households needed to be tapped, he said.
The MF regulator has created 55,000 AMFI registered distributors and is hosting an online examination for certifying mutual fund distributors in 35 cities. It is also hosting written examination in over 30 centres for people aspiring to enter the mutual fund industry. On increasing MF presence in rural areas, Kurien said that it would be a phase-wise process as fund houses extend operations from metros and Tier I,II cities into those areas.
“Unit Trust has already started some schemes in rural areas and others would follow,” he added.
—EEB

SOURCE :INDIAN EXPRESS

'Bangalore Envy' - new phrase of 2007

Not long ago, the neologism 'Bangalored' made the word 'layoff' redundant and now trend-spotters have come up with a new phrase 'Bangalore Envy' which they claim would shape people's lives in the US in 2007.
Bangalore Envy, a "now" expression referring to movement of much of the world's smart money to where many of the world's smart people are, is one of the 10 new phrases that find place in Next Now - a book compiled by marketing guru Ira Matathia and trend-spotter Marian Salzman.
A new Silicon Valley is rising in India as companies like Google set up shop in that country and beyond, they said.
However, the authors feel the phrase would add to the anxiety of people back in the US, as they grow increasingly scared for their jobs and their future.
The book's co-author Marian Salzman is credited with turning the term 'Metrosexual' into a global phenomenon.
Other phrases in the list include 'Brand Sluts' - a term used in the blogosphere meaning an obsession with consumerism.
However, the author uses it to define consumers who flirt from one brand to the next with no sense of fidelity to anyone.
While the connotation is negative, brand sluts are in fact savvy consumers, the author believes.
'Churchonomics' - business of religion - is another entry to watch for and refers to corporations securing grand-scale sponsorship deals with churches with worshippers serving as word-of-mouth promoters and a built-in distribution channel.
'Cougars' is another term that redefines romance as we know it, with Sadie Frost and Demi Moore dating men 16 years younger than them. For men, the attraction would lie in the emotional and financial maturity of older women, Salzman says.
The authors expect another term "She-E-Os" to hold the centre-stage for women carrying two Blackberries, or a mobile phone and a PDA so she can manage her personal life with the same attention to detail with which she manages her work life.
She has a personal trainer and an executive mentor, along with a house cleaner and a pet sitter. They are the "friends and family" who ensure that her career stays in tip-top shape -- firm body, sharp mind, savvy people skills.
'Gastroporn' is another expression that refers to transformation of the mundane chores of preparing, cooking, tasting and eating food into voyeuristic pleasures, while other 'now' phrases include 'Adultescence', 'Microgeneration', 'Truth Lite' and 'Unilanthropy'.
Explaining Unilanthropy, the authors says: "Angelina Jolie has orphans, Bono has AIDS, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue it vigorously" instead of skimming like a stone across the ethics pond.
The book is expected to hit the stands on February 8.
Salzman, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of the world's oldest and the largest US-based advertising agency JWT Worldwide, said: "As time becomes increasingly valuable in our busy lives, we rely more heavily on catch-phrases to quickly express new ideas and concepts."
The 10 'now' phrases serve as snapshots of our near future," she added.
Salzman is also credited for popularising words like wigger, singleton and most recently, metro-sexual.

SOURCE : REDIFF

Petrol pumps to sell train tickets

Sunday, January 7, 2007 (New Delhi):Now, train tickets at petrol pumps! With the Railways deciding on sale of tickets at petrol pumps, long queues in front of reservation counters may become shorter.The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has tied up with Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) to launch an e-ticketing initiative to help people book tickets at BPCL outlets like petrol pumps and LPG distributor locations.A Memorandum of Understanding for setting up e-ticketing facility at BPCL outlets throughout the country would be signed by IRCTC Managing Director P K Goel and BPCL Executive Director (Retail) Sanjay Krishnamurti on Monday. The service would initially be started at 38 locations in Delhi and Mumbai and would be extended "very quickly" to 80 locations, Goel said.

Source :NDTV

Diamond giant aims big

Antwerp, the diamond destination of the world, could soon face a new challenger: Mumbai.A Finance Ministry panel headed by former revenue secretary MR Sivaraman has drawn up a blueprint to catapult Mumbai into the position of the world's diamond hub. It has also recommended a new fiscal regime for the gem and jewellery industry so that it rises up the global pecking order. The Commerce Ministry has urged Finance Minister P Chidambaram to incorporate the recommendations of the panel in the Union Budget for 2007.
India is no minnow in this sector. The diamond industry in India accounts for 80 per cent of the world’s total exports of gems and jewellery. It employs close to 10 lakh artisans and workers, both directly and indirectly. This industry is concentrated mainly in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh says India's position in the industry has earned it the prestigious position of Vice-Chairman of the Kimberly process with the possibility of being chairman in 2008. The Kimberly Process is a global initiative which certifies rough diamonds.
"But its exports are stunted by depending entirely on imports be it rough diamonds, gold or coloured gemstones," says Ramesh. The country now imports close to $8 billion of rough diamonds and nearly one million artisans are engaged in polishing them.
What is the way out? India is lobbying for "win-win" partnerships with African countries — offering to build their local industry through technical assistance in exchange for permission to tap its immense reserves of rough diamonds, says Ramesh. India will also provide technical assistance to African countries to ensure that they meet with the Kimberly Process certification standards.
Ramesh says he has had detailed discussions over the past three months with the ambassadors of a number of countries including Russia, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Ghana, Angola, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Venezuela. "Negotiations with Alrosa of Russia are in an advanced stage and we could expect the finalisation of a joint venture in 2007. The forthcoming visit of President Putin to India will added momentum to this process," he said.
The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has also prepared the Vision-2015 roadmap for the industry. It outlines threats and opportunities in great detail. Growing competition from China, rise of new materials like palladium and steel, development of synthetic diamonds, consolidation in the world diamond industry and growth of new cost-effective cutting techniques are all possible scenarios for which India has to plan, it says.

Source : HT

India has now emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, says Manmohan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's booming economy has created opportunity for greater flow of trade, capital and technology, the prime minister said on Sunday as he urged the 25 million-strong diaspora to invest in the country.
Manmohan Singh also told a conference that India planned to set up a body to provide investment advice to overseas Indians.
India needs $1.5 trillion investment in next five years to improve infrastructure, and raise manufacturing capacity and farm output to sustain 8-10 percent growth.
About $72 billion has to come from abroad, as the cash-strapped government needs to spend more on social projects like education and health.
"India has now emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. I would like overseas Indian communities to take full advantage of these opportunities," Singh said.
"I would like you to reach out and invest in a new India."
India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an annualised 9.1 percent during April-September, and policymakers expect it to grow on an average 9 percent in the next five years.
About 1,200 non-residents are in New Delhi for the annual event, which aims at encouraging the diaspora spread over 130 countries to contribute more to India's development.
"Invest not just financially, but intellectually, socially, culturally and above all emotionally," Singh said.
MORE BENEFITS
Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, said India planned to offer more benefits to those who are part of an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) scheme -- currently numbering over 90,000.
"I am happy to announce three new benefits: parity with Indians on inter-country adoption, parity in domestic air fares and parity in entry fees for national parks and wildlife sanctuaries," he said.
The scheme does not give full citizenship rights as the Indian constitution does not allow for dual nationality, but allows OCI's to invest in assets like stocks, property and non-agricultural land.
Ravi said the government was also looking at other benefits, including allowing overseas Indian doctors to practise in India.
India has signed an agreement exempting Indians working in Belgium on a contract of up to 60 months from making contributions in the host country, he said.
This would make Indian companies more competitive since exemption from contributions in respect of their employees would substantially reduce costs, the minister added.
Last week, India announced it would amend laws to allow Indian passport holders living overseas the right to vote. Currently, only passport holders resident in India can vote.
While delegates welcomed the new initiatives, they said India needed to do more.
"We are proud of India ... and we feel good that we are being encourage to participate, but if we are to invest then the red tape and bottlenecks need to be done away with," said a United States-based manufacturer of sanitary products.

Source : Reuters