Experian set to enter Indian market

Mumbai, March 27: Global information solutions provider Experian is all set to enter the Indian market with an over USD one million initial investment and is scouting for partners to fulfil FDI guidelines, company officials said here today.

"We have started preliminary discussions with potential local partners," Experian Managing Director Richard Fiddis said here without taking names.

The country has the potential to earn twice as much revenue as compared to its us market in the next 10 years, Fiddis said.

"India is a great potential market. It could be twice as big in terms of revenue as compared to our biggest revenue generating country, the US," he said announcing the opening of the company's first office in the country.

Experian earned USD 1.6 billion from its US operations, about 58 per cent of its USD 3.1 billion turnover, in the last fiscal.

If the country continues its credit and GDP growth there is no reason why India cannot be its biggest revenue generator, he said, adding that it has the potential to become "our largest global market player in the long term".

Source: ZEE

Anand extends lead in second overall

Francisco Vallejo Pons gave a tough fight but Viswanathan Anand managed to blank the Spaniard 2-0 in the eighth round to be placed second in the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess tournament underway in Monaco.

After a rather subdued start, the victory against Vallejo enabled Anand to narrow the gap between him and sole leader Vladimir Kramnik of Russia by 1.5 points.

The Indian ace, however, stretched his lead to a full point in the rapid section over nearest rival Levon Aronian of Armenia.

Kramnik continued his domination in the blindfold section and this time his friend Boris Gelfand of Israel was on the receiving end against the wrath of the Russian in this variant of the game where only the last move played is visible to the players on an empty chess board.

The seventh victory in eight games in blindfold victory took Kramnik to 7.5 points in this section and it seems there is little chance of catching up with him here. In the rapid section Kramnik has 4.5 points out of a possible eight that makes his overall tally 12 points.

While Anand is on 10.5 points with three rounds or six more games in the unique annual event, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, who suffered a jolt at the hands of Magnus Carlsen of Norway, is now in sole third spot a half point behind the Indian in overall standings.

Another half point behind is Aronian and Russian Peter Svidler who defeated Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan in both games.

Source : NDTV

'Indian films crossing over and finding audience in west'

New Delhi, March 26 (PTI): Celebrated film-maker Mira Nair, currently basking in the success of her latest release 'The Namesake', on Saturday said the uniqueness of Indian stories was their USP and they were crossing over and finding an audience in the West.

"Specifically local stories have been able to cross over to the universal. 'Monsoon Wedding' was about a family flock in Delhi... I didn't make the film to educate anyone about my country... But the film, released post-9/11, provoked dialogue and understanding between two different worlds," Nair told the India Today Conclave here.

She said her latest film 'The Namesake', which has entered the top 20 list in the US, despite being a film about a Bengali family living in America, dealt with the larger issue of what it was like being an immigrant.

"Our uniqueness is our distinct advantage," said Nair, who has made hugely successful films like the Oscar-nominated 'Salaam Bombay'.

Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, who was the other speaker in the session on 'Is Cinema the New Global Language', said Indian cinema was the leading export of the country not only in terms of economy but also in terms of culture.

The audience in the session included Abhishek's family members -- parents Amitabh and Jaya, sister Shweta, fiancee Aishwarya Rai -- as well as family friend Amar Singh.

Abhishek said the three constants of Indian cinema that held it in good stead were its rich heritage, artists of charisma and its connect with Asia and other parts of the world such as the US and the UK.

Moderating the session, the highly successful film-maker Karan Johar said Indian films had changed drastically over the last two decades and the cinema from the country had found a foothold overseas on its own terms.

He, however, said a lot remained to be achieved in terms of Indian films making an impact in the US.

Johar said while Indian movies were now getting big releases in the UK and other parts of Europe, the films were still managing a very limited release in the US.

Source: Hindu

Nokia re-categorises products

CHENNAI: Nokia has created a new retail format globally to accord a richer mobile experience for its customers. The first of this kind in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is being opened in Chennai. This new retail format is based on the industry's largest and most comprehensive customer segmentation study conducted by Nokia recently to understand the needs and drivers for mobility for different segments of the market.

Sunil Dutt, Director (Sales), Nokia India, told The Hindu that the customer segmentation study polled 42,000 people in 16 countries with a focus on identifying and addressing the specific and different needs of customers. Based on this study, Nokia had categorised consumers into four distinct segments — live, connect, achieve and explore. This categorisation was based on the impact that lifestyle choices and attitudes had on the purchase decision of mobile devices. Keeping this research in mind, Nokia had re-categorised its entire product portfolio.

Mr. Dutt said as a million users joined the mobile revolution everyday, mobile handset providers needed to address the diversity in consumer aspirations and their demands from mobility.

Nokia had taken a lead in addressing the entire spectrum of consumers, be it first time buyers or seasoned mobile users, and this initiative was in line with the same.

He said the Chennai outlet would exhibit the entire range of Nokia's models that were available globally. This outlet would also provide the consumers a one-stop solution on Nokia products. The consumer would get the complete experience of the product and knowledge on technology aspect of it as well at the Chennai retail centre, he added.

Mr. Dutt said the mobile market was evolving and consumers were upgrading their mobiles from basic models to next levels.

The market was experiencing mobility and functionality and it had become more application-oriented.

The main objective of Nokia was to improve its profitability with increasing competition.

For which, the company had decided to expand its product portfolio that catered to all segments of the society. He said today, young and tech-savvy population drove the market. Some of its successful models were `N-seriers' and `E-series', which had multimedia and business mobility applications.

He said nearly ten models that were marketed in India were locally manufactured. During January-December 2006, it had shipped nearly 25 million pieces. Of this, nearly 80 per cent were sold domestically and the balance shipped to South East and West Asian countries.

Source: Hindu

Rowdy drivers beware!

Delhi, according to many is a city of road hogs. Drivers have no manners, many are habitual drunken drivers, while some of them would even kill to get where they want to go.


In the wake of growing unruly behaviour on city’s roads, the Delhi high court announced on Monday, a range of fines on those violating the traffic rules. Rs 1500 for using mobile phones behind the wheels, Rs 600 for not wearing a seat belt, Rs 600 for unauthorized parking and many more.


However, is the step enough to ensure orderly traffic behaviour on the city’s roads?


Traffic Security Expert and IIT Delhi Professor—Dinesh Mohan, DG - Bureau of Police Research and Development—Kiran Bedi, former member of Bangalore Agenda Task Force—V Ravichandar came together on CNN-IBN’s India 360 to debate the issue.


Traffic fines hiked in Delhi: Can fines alone ensure better traffic culture in India?


The court also raised fines for traditional traffic violations — like driving through red lights or failing to halt at a stop sign — noting that the paltry sums don't act as a deterrent in a country where people have grown richer with the booming economy.


Favouring the stand, Kiran Bedi said that higher fines would definitely regulate the traffic behaviour in our country.


“Traffic is made up of three Es — engineering, education and enforcements. If these three are made effective, it will certainly have an impact,” she said. Fines must be revisited periodically every 2-3 years so that the deterrence continues to grow higher and higher, said Bedi.

Source: IBN

Paes-Damm continue winning run

Winners of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells last week, Leander Paes and Martin Damm rallied to advance into the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters on Tuesday.

The Indo-Czech duo were stretched into a match tie-break before they prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (1), 10-6 over Austria's Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer in the second round.

The sixth seeds, winning their seventh match in a row, are second in the ATP Doubles Race, behind Mike and Bob Bryan.

Paes-Damm will face top seeds Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus, who beat Czech duo Frantisek Cermak and Jaroslav Levinsky 6-3, 7-6(4) to remain on course for a hat-trick of titles.

Earlier on Monday, the US Open champions beat Spaniards David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo 7-6(5), 6-4 in the first round.


Source: Rediff

India must "go global", says Rohit Bal

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian designers need to "go global" and make Western outfits with indigenous embroideries to woo global buyers rather than traditional garments which do not sell internationally, Rohit Bal, one of the country's top designers said.

"India's fashion has to literally go global," Bal, who designed clothes for the Indian businessman Arun Nayar and an outfit for Elizabeth Hurley during their traditional wedding at a fort in Rajasthan, told Reuters.

Bal was talking during India Fashion Week, one of the country's top fashion events.

"All of us have to make international clothes but we also have to cling on to our roots because buyers want to buy Western clothes which have Indian spirit."

Indian fashion has traditionally been made of saris and other regional outfits with beautiful embroideries, exquisite patchwork and minute detailing.

Clothes with experimental cuts and silhouettes, though worn by more wealthy Indians, are rare in more traditional India where controversy surrounds too much exposure of a woman's body.

"International buyers will not buy our saris, heavy outfits, as their clients, much used to skirts and gowns and flowing light dresses, will not be able to carry them off," Bal said.

Bal said the only way Indian fashion and its designers can make their presence felt outside the country was by packaging and selling elements which were exclusively Indian.

"We have to showcase our wide palette. Ours is a country of colours and tradition and we must show it. We have beautiful embroidery and we must flaunt it globally".


SOURCE : REUTERS

Mastek to hire 5,000 IT professionals

New Delhi: IT company Mastek needs 5,000 IT professionals for its new campus at Mahindra Industrial Park in Chennai. During the first phase the company will recruit over 1,100 professionals, it said in a release.


The company listed by Forbes Asia as the ‘best under a billion’ is into designing and integrating business applications. The company’s new centre at recently launched Chennai facility is set to acquire competencies in mainframe software technology in the insurance vertical, said the release.


The recruitments for this unit are under process, the company release added. During the recent times, IT and ITES industry has seen sudden spurt in India. Even European entrepreneurs are now recognising India as a bold, hungry market that is likely to assert itself in new ways and eclipse much of the west in the coming years.


According to figures provided by Microsoft Learning Services the total number of IT professionals in India have grown tremendously from 1999 to 2007. In fact in the year 2009 there might see a shortfall of around 2.5 lakh IT professionals, says company’s survey.


Another survey by NASSCOM reveals that India’s IT industry is poised to become US $ 70 billion market within next two years.

SOURCE : IBN

Chennai in the throes of mall rush

Chennai: Only three malls in the last 13 years but 20 in the next three, that's how Chennai's retail landscape is set to change with 81 lakh square feet of additional retail space.


The new malls want to cash in on Chennai's increasing cosmopolitan nature.


Says MD, Ampa Center One Mall, Ampa Palaniappan, "We had to refuse a lot of large brands. We have about 80 retail stores in the mall out of an an enquiry base of about 450 which have actually come to our office."


The reason for this demand could be that Chennai has only three malls or 8 lakh sq feet of retail space, so brands targetted at youngsters like McDonalds and Apple are waiting to make their debut in Chennai's new malls.


But why the sudden rush to build malls in Chennai? Well first, it's practically virgin mall territory with only three malls, among the lowest numbers for an Indian city.


Mumbai has 45 malls, the National Capital Region 42, Bangalore and Pune eight each and even Kolkata has six malls. So why has Chennai been late to catch up?


Experts say it was the conservative image of the city which had prevented malls from coming up. Now, that's being replaced by images of affluent youngsters working in the new economy.


Says Regional Director, Trammell Crow Meghraj, N Ananthanarayanan, "The service industry has picked up and it has given scope for a lot of young people to earn money at a fairly young age and they all want to spend."


The Tamil Nadu government estimates more youngsters will move to Chennai in the next three years, at least 5 lakh to work in the city's I-T, electronics manufacturing and automotive sectors. This would change perhaps not just the image but also the shopping habits of the city.

source : IBN

Paes-Damm win Indian Wells title

Leander Paes and his Czech partner Martin Damm captured their second ATP title of the season, beating sixth seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel 6-4, 6-4 to claim the doubles crown at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California.

The fifth seeded Indo-Czech pair, which shocked top seeds Bjonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in the semifinals, carried on their sublime form in the summit clash to win the USD 3.16 million event in their third final appearance of the season.

Paes and Damm converted two of the six break points that came their way while saving all five they faced in the one hour and 27 minute match.

The Indo-Czech pair had earlier won the Rotterdam title and reached the final in Doha. Since teaming up last year, they have a winning record of 4-2 in finals.

"Our partnership is 15-month-old and all the hard work we put in the beginning of last year is really coming together now," a triumphant Paes said after the victory.

"The results really take care of themselves but we are playing like a team that's been together for a few years. I am really enjoying the partnership. It's nice," Paes said.

Source: Rediff

Hutch launches cell back up service

Mumbai: There is good news for Hutch consumers. Hutch has launched a phone back up service, which will not only help customers save critical phone book data, but also preserve SMSes, MMSes, ringtones, games, photos and videos.


The service will ensure a seamless transfer when you are tired of that old handset. All you have to do is send an SMS to the operator and you will be provided a username and password to access the data through the Internet.


Says Hutch Marketing Director, Harit Nagpal, "For non-GPRS users, this service operates through SMS. In that case, you will have to update the phone book with us every time you change the phone book. However if you are a GPRS subscriber your phone book and gallery is synchronised with us and every time there is a change it will get synchronised with our server."


Data privacy is not a cause for concern because Hutch says all data is safely under electronic lock and key.


"Your data which is lying with Hutch is secure as is all personal data and transactions. This data also goes through the same degree of security and scrutiny as the other data of our subscribers," says Nagpal.


But nothing comes free of charge, so if you want to access this service, GPRS users will be charged Rs 50 per month while Non-GPRS users will be charged Rs 30 per month.

Source: IBN

Not by GDP alone, says the President

NEW DELHI: Calling for a healthier and happier "National Prosperity Index", President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on Monday said though the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was growing at nearly 9 per cent per year, the economic growth was not "fully reflected" in the quality of life of a vast number of people in rural and even urban areas.

"We have evolved what is called National Prosperity Index which is a summation of: a) annual growth rate of GDP; b) improvement in quality of life of the people, particularly those living below the poverty line; plus c) the adoption of a value system derived from our civilisational heritage in every walk of life which is unique to India," said Dr. Kalam at a special function organised to mark the 81st Annual Day of Delhi University's grand old Shri Ram College of Commerce.

Recommending that the students take up a study for implementation of the Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) programme as a business proposition in different States around Delhi, he urged them to become "creative leaders".

Creative leadership


"For success in your missions you have to become creative leaders. Creative leadership means exercising the vision to change the traditional role from commander to coach, manager to mentor, director to delegator and from one who demands respect to one who facilitates self-respect. For a prosperous and developed India, the important thrust will be on the generation of a number of creative leaders," said Dr. Kalam.

It was full house at the college with the audience listening to the President in rapt attention. Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley (who is an old boy of the college), SRCC Governing Body Chairman Ajay Shriram, Principal P. C. Jain, teachers, students and parents attended the function.

Mission for SRCC


Sharing the features of a PURA complex that he had inaugurated in Chhattisgarh, Dr. Kalam said the mission for SRCC was to assign a three-month project work to a group of four students to come up with a detailed project report and implementation plan for PURA in consultation with their respective State Governments and district authorities.

Stating that he had proposed this concept to the Union Government, he suggested that the SRCC faculty members facilitate a discussion among students for deriving "comprehensive parameters" that should be included in NPI and asked them to correspond with him regarding this through e-mail.

Focus on research


Focusing on the need for more research in the country, Dr. Kalam said: "Good teaching emanates from research... Any institution is judged by the level and extent of the research work it accomplishes... Shri Ram College of Commerce with its core competence in commerce, economics and business management should now enter into Ph. D. programmes in these subjects."

`Difficult' questions


After his address, Dr. Kalam fielded "difficult" questions from students ranging from his interest in spirituality and religion to improving the country's agricultural situation, from the States' role in Special Economic Zones to his expectations from the youth.

Asked if there was any clash between his personal views and the high office he occupied, Dr. Kalam said the nation's growth was more important than anything else and that the country was bigger than the political parties.

Role of corporates


In response to a query on the role of corporates in society, the President said both private and government-owned corporates had a social responsibility.

"Each corporate can take up a cluster of villages and develop employment potential of people living there and ensure that health, education and all such amenities are provided to them."

He administered a three-point oath to the youngsters with emphasis on acquiring knowledge and contributing to the realisation of the vision of India in 2020.

All the students who posed questions to the President got a photo-op with Dr. Kalam at the end of his address.


source: Hindu

The Namesake --- Mira's Hollywood super hit

Best of luck .............India world cup

World cup India good luck song...........

ICC World cup

India Cricket TV Commercial

Inspire India AD featuring indian team, 1983 stars

'Mentor' India to teach biz to China

Hyderabad: The Indian School of Business (ISB) will groom the winning teams from China, Thailand and Singapore at the Asia semi-final of a high profile global competition for scripting innovative business plans and setting up social ventures.
The Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship (WCED) at the ISB will mentor them to strengthen their business plans by revising their strategy, refocus on the plan and network with people in the relevant industry, said a statement by ISB on Wednesday.
The Asia semi-final of the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) held at the ISB, had 215 registrations with a total of 118 business plans sent in from 25 schools in China, Taipei, Singapore, Dubai and Thailand.
GSVC is one of the most high profile competitions in the world for scripting innovative business plans and setting up social ventures that have clear and quantifiable social objectives and are financially sustainable.
It began in 1999 and is a student-led initiative pioneered by the Haas School of Business, Columbia Business School and the London Business School.
"Social ventures have the power to not only promote entrepreneurship but also make a high social impact. Some of the projects mentored by us in the last two years have won various types of resource support and are currently being implemented," said executive director, WCED, V Chandrasekar.
Teams "Doctor Seed" from China and "Verdacure" from Thailand were announced as the winners.
The plan submitted by the Chinese team was on deployment of a plasma seed processor that would result in higher germination rate, resilient plants and higher yields of crops. The Thai team proposed a project for the production of high quality affordable medicines developed from herbs available in Thailand with an oral care product being the first to be developed.
The award for the most innovative social return on investment analysis was given to the team from Singapore "Sarvodaya" for its proposal of facilitating cultivation of Aloe Vera in marginalised lands through self-help groups and non-government organisations, setting up processing facilities, thereby ensuring viability of model and increased income for marginalised farmers.

source: IBN

Shyamalan to find form with new apocalyptic thriller

MUMBAI (Reuters Life!) - U.S. filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan will return to his provocative, dark Hitchcockian style with "The Happening", a thriller about a natural calamity that threatens to wipe out humanity.
After making a successful debut with "The Sixth Sense" in 1999, Shyamalan found little commercial success with critics panning his last two films, including "Lady in the Water" for which he received the Golden Raspberry Award for worst director.
But the 37-year-old filmmaker, who shares Alfred Hitchcock's custom of making cameo appearances in his films, says "The Happening" will be a return to form.
"I want people to be scared after watching the film," Shyamalan, who is of Indian origin, said in a video conference from Philadelphia late on Wednesday.
"It is my darkest and most Hitchcockian. They should be afraid of what they see."
Shyamalan describes "The Happening" as a paranoia movie from the 1960s on the lines of 'The Bird' and 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. The film is slated to open in June/July 2008.
It deals with a family's attempts to survive a global disaster. Shyamalan is shooting in Philadelphia - his hometown - and the U.S. east coast.
The movie, written by Shyamalan, is being co-produced by 20th Century Fox and Mumbai-based Bollywood production company, UTV Motion Pictures, which will equally share the $57 million budget and all revenue streams.
"I always had a desire to do something in India, and stay connected to India," Shyamalan said, referring to the collaboration with UTV, whose credits include India's foreign-language Oscar entry this year, "Rang De Basanti".

source: Reuters

Indian wages to rise fastest in Asia in 2007 - survey

By Saikat Chatterjee
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Wages in India are expected to rise by 14.5 percent in 2007 from 2006, the fastest rate in Asia, as companies pay top dollar to attract and retain talent, a survey showed on Thursday.
Hewitt Associates, a human resource consulting and outsourcing firm, said in their annual survey that this would be the fourth consecutive year that Indian salaries have notched double-digit growth.
India's economy is expected to grow 9.2 percent in the 2006/07 fiscal year to March 31 -- its fastest pace in 18 years.
"Due in large to the effects of globalisation, the war for talent is becoming increasingly fierce in India," said Sharad Vishvanath, a business leader at Hewitt in India.
Demand for experienced bankers and traders far outstrips supply as firms from Lehman Brothers and UBS to Goldman Sachs expand their teams in India, where investment banking revenue jumped 23 percent to $413 million last year, according to market data firm Dealogic.
Hewitt surveyed 600 companies across 21 industries in five different employee groups, and said it expected salaries in the financial sector to grow the fastest this year.
"Salaries in India continue to rise and will most likely reach the same levels as more developed economies in Asia in the near future," Vishvanath said.
RISING PRODUCTIVITY
Rising salaries have fueled demand for real estate and consumer durables, and helped push inflation higher.
Annual wholesale price inflation rose to 6.73 percent in early February, its highest in more than two years, and the government and central bank have taken a number of policy steps to check price pressures.
Among different employee classes, the middle management and the professional sector received the highest salary increases and this trend was likely to continue, Hewitt said.
"Wage differential at the professional levels between India and the rest of the Asian region and other developed nations continue to be huge given the productivity levels," said Sandeep Chaudhary, another business leader at Hewitt told Reuters.
"Admittedly, salaries at the top management level are at very competitive levels. Still, we see a 15-20 percent headroom from current levels," he said.

source: reuters

"The Namesake "- Indian Stunner,' the headline in the New York Post

Indian Stunner,' the headline in the New York Post reads, followed by a glowing review for Mira Nair's adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's bestseller The Namesake. Giving the film three and half stars out of four, reviewer Lou Lumenick ends the piece: You don't have to be Indian to love The Namesake.

It would not have surprised many that The New York Times gave The Namesake a good review. But that's not the only one. New York Daily News and New York Post also raved about the film. The box-office numbers on Sunday was also good. Playing on just six screens, the film grossed a strong $250,000 for an awesome per screen average of $41, 794 which will encourage distributor Fox Searchlight to give the film a firm wider release in the coming weeks.

On March 16, the film will open in Boston, Chicago, DC, Denver, Philadelphia, San Jose, Seattle, and Vancouver. And on March 23, it will be also be showing in Dallas, Detroit, Hartford, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, Oakland, Phoenix, San Diego, and St Louis.

The same day, it will be it will be released in India on 92 screens.

"At the going rate, it could reach the saturation point of 400 screens in North America in about six weeks," said the executive producer of the film Ronnie Screwvala who is in Hollywood to attend the release of The Namesake and another film produced by his company I Think I Love My Wife, starring Chris Rock.

"In India, we are giving it a big push even though it is an English language film. We believe that everyone can relate to the film and enjoy it, and be moved by the story of parents and children. Language is not important then," he adds.

As for breaking the North American records for Indian-themed movies, The Namesake will have to go a long way. First, it will have beat Water's $5.5 million gross, Bride & Prejudice's $6.8 million gross in 2004, and then Nair's own film Monsoon Wedding which grossed over $13 million six years ago. And then there is Bend it Like Beckham which garnered about $32 million five years ago

Among the best reviews, The Namesake received is the three and half star review from USA Today. The New York Times review, by Stephen Holden, said that the film is awash with colours and good performances. He added, '...expresses a reassuring faith in family solidarity.'

A handful of reviewers including the one in Time Out New York gave the film an average or downbeat review. The Time Out critic faulted the film for being too sweet and cloying, complaining he often felt it was time for insulin shots.

'Nair tries to shoehorn too much of a big novel into a small two-hour movie. But her ardor for the material matches her ambition,' declared Peter Travers in Rolling Stone while giving the film three stars (out of four). 'This is a generational family saga everyone can relate to, and Nair gives it her special magic.'

The performances of Tabu and Irrfan Khan as the beleagured immigrant couple and Kal Penn as their rebellious son who slowly comes to realise the importance of connecting to one's roots came for praise from most critics.

In giving the film an A-grade and noting it is ' is sometimes too sketchy -- you want more of the episodes,' Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly ended the review: '...it's a movie that will speak to anyone who has ever felt pulled in different directions by his own heart.'

Nair has received plenty of praise for casting Kal Penn in his first truly dramatic part.

'It was bold of Nair to cast Penn, the deadpan comic star of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, in the complex role of Gogol, whose love-hate, push-pull relationship with his heritage forms the spiritual core of the story,' Entertainment Weekly wrote. 'Penn turns out to be a fantastic actor. His sexy, cool surface works for the film -- Gogol is a Bengali American who knows, righteously, that he's as homegrown as Mickey Mantle -- yet Penn's eyes are full of fury and desire, and they mirror the film's primal question: In a country where we can invent ourselves anew, how does family define us?'
In the coming weeks, as the film rolls out to medium sized cities and smaller cities in the Bible Belt, we would know if there are many people who will see their own immigrant experiences reflected in the film. Or for that matter will embrace it for what it is: A heart-warming, soul stirring drama with at least three mesmerising performances.

source: Rediff

From hippy hang-out to casino capital : Goa

The atmosphere is electric. A Russian belly dancer shakes her body on one end of the floor. On the other, a Caribbean band sings effortlessly.
Between them are men and women from various parts of India and beyond, enjoying a gambling night out.
This is Goa's own Las Vegas.
The entertainment cruise ship, Caravela, sits majestically on the edge of the River Mandovi.
On board, dozens of men and women join in live games of American roulette, poker and Black Jack.
'Casino Goa'
Goa is on the road to becoming the casino capital of South Asia, trying to take advantage of the uncertain political climate in the present casino hub, Kathmandu in Nepal.
But there are mixed feelings about the new tag.

Entertainment industry bosses and pleasure-seekers were disappointed by the state government's recent decision to open only five new off-shore casinos, as opposed to the 10 which were originally proposed.
Amit Shah, who lives in the US, visits Casino Goa on board the Caravela every year.
He says he would have preferred more of them: "You tend to get bored of playing in the same casino. If there were more casinos we would have hopped from one to another and would have had more fun."
But religious and anti-gambling bodies are unhappy.
"We see it as a problem. The church has apprehensions about the multiplication of casinos," said Father Loila Pereira, the spokesman for the state's influential Catholic Church.
Entertainment taxes
The government's proposed new casinos are an attempt to attract high-end tourists.
Goa's existing casinos (five inside five-star hotels) are believed to have added to the foreign tourist traffic, which has gone up to over 320,000 a year, an increase of 20% over the last two years.
It is estimated that there are 2.2m domestic tourists who visit Goa annually.

The casinos bring in revenue for the state government. Each off-shore casino has to pay an annual $1.1m licence fee. This is exclusive of entertainment taxes.
But critics fear that they will bring in all the vices associated with gambling.
The leader of the opposition and the former state Chief Minister, Manohar Parikkar, says casinos are "criminal-oriented, prostitution-oriented and gambling cannot deliver good tourism".
Immorality
But Narendra Punj, the director of Casino Goa, says the vices associated with the casinos are a myth perpetuated by Bollywood. He says that it was during Mr Parikkar's regime that his casino was launched six years ago.
"The criticisms don't worry me. If you are operating fairly and following the rules you should not worry," he said.
"Bollywood portrays casinos in a negative light. The myths need to be exploded. We have done that to some extent."
Amit Shah laughs at the suggestion that casinos are a den of vice or that they promote immorality in society.

"I have come here with my family," he says pointing out his wife and other relatives in Casino Goa, "and I feel comfortable coming here with my family. Gambling is a stress buster for me."
Mr Shah, a self-proclaimed staunch Hindu, says gambling is an integral part of the ancient Indian culture.
"In the Hindu mythologies, gambling has been mentioned since the time of the Mahabharata. Kings and queens have always indulged in gambling. The only thing is if you come to a casino you should know where to draw the line."
From a hippy capital of the world to the casino capital of India, Goa seems to have gone for an image make-over.
The authorities have been trying hard to make this tiny former Portuguese colony into a high-end tourism destination.
The push to bring in tourists with deep pockets has seen the state organising carnivals and film festivals.
Ongoing controversy
Father Loila Pereira doesn't want the casino culture to filter through to ordinary Goans.
"If you are a foreigner and come to a casino in Goa I have no problem with that. But what we don't want is the promotion and proliferation of casinos in Goa among Goans."
Indeed, most of the visitors come from outside Goa.
I met three men from the northern Indian city of Lucknow visiting the casino for the first time.

"I have come here with my family," he says pointing out his wife and other relatives in Casino Goa, "and I feel comfortable coming here with my family. Gambling is a stress buster for me."
Mr Shah, a self-proclaimed staunch Hindu, says gambling is an integral part of the ancient Indian culture.
"In the Hindu mythologies, gambling has been mentioned since the time of the Mahabharata. Kings and queens have always indulged in gambling. The only thing is if you come to a casino you should know where to draw the line."
From a hippy capital of the world to the casino capital of India, Goa seems to have gone for an image make-over.
The authorities have been trying hard to make this tiny former Portuguese colony into a high-end tourism destination.
The push to bring in tourists with deep pockets has seen the state organising carnivals and film festivals.
Ongoing controversy
Father Loila Pereira doesn't want the casino culture to filter through to ordinary Goans.
"If you are a foreigner and come to a casino in Goa I have no problem with that. But what we don't want is the promotion and proliferation of casinos in Goa among Goans."
Indeed, most of the visitors come from outside Goa.
I met three men from the northern Indian city of Lucknow visiting the casino for the first time.

One of them, SK Verma, says: "It's a very good experience to be in a casino for the first time. If coming to a casino is bad then it's as bad as going to a disco or a bar."
Mr Parikkar says if his party comes to power in the May assembly elections the policy would be reviewed.
"I don't like any new casinos in Goa," he said.
Whatever, the arguments, everyone agrees that casinos are good money earners. But in the light of the controversy, no one is willing to bet on the expansion of the casino culture in Goa.

Source: BBC

European drinks firms keen on India, seek tax cuts

MUMBAI (Reuters) - European drinks makers are keen to increase their presence in India's fast-growing $1.8 billion alcoholic drinks market, but want better trademark protection and lower tariffs on imported wines and spirits.
The European Union is pressing for lower duties on wines and spirits, which it says are as high as 550 percent on spirits and 264 percent on wines due to federal and state levies.
"India also has an interest in solving this problem because it affects how we do trade," EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel told reporters.
"The taxes put our wines and spirits at a huge disadvantage. If we do not see a clear sign from India, we are considering raising a panel for dispute settlement," she said.
If the World Trade Organisation forms a dispute settlement panel and rules against India, the EU could impose retaliatory tariffs on imports from India.
Diageo Plc., Pernod Ricard and LVMH's Moet Hennessey are among European firms setting up operations in India.
Moet Hennessey's local unit imports about 50,000 cases of champagne, cognac and wine annually, and the firm plans to double sales in three years.
"We believe India will be among the top 10 champagne markets for us," said Yves Benard, director of Moet Hennessey's champagne activities and wine resources. "Maybe not No.2 or No.3, but in the top 10."
Moet Hennessey has a minor stake in Indian wine maker Grover Vineyards, and may consider making wine in India, he added.
"India is a wine producing country and it could be an interesting proposition for us," Benard said.
ZERO TOLERANCE
India's spirits and beer market is dominated by the UB group, which is close to acquiring Scottish spirits maker Whyte & Mackay to bolster its portfolio of premium brands.
But the head of the Scottish Whisky Association, which has Whyte & Mackay among its 53 members, cautioned that if UB became a member, it would also have to take up the association's fight to protect trademarks and intellectual property rights worldwide.
"We look forward to having (UB's) Vijay Mallya join us. It will give us a different perspective," SWA Chief Executive Gavin Hewitt said. "But, along with the privileges, are responsibilities and obligations, and we have a zero tolerance policy."
The SWA has opposed the registration of UB's popular McDowell's whisky brand, and pursued other local Indian brands for using names that suggest a Scottish lineage. It recently won a case against an Indian brand called Red Scot, Hewitt said.
"It took us 20 years to win that, but we are very clear: no Scottish names, no tartan, no stag's head," he said.
UB, whose United Spirits Ltd. is the world's third-largest spirits maker by sales, wants the EU to relax the description of whisky to permit Indian whisky, made from molasses, to be labelled as whisky in Europe.
But Hewitt is firm.
"We have no difficulty with Indian whisky coming in, but it must be labelled as that."
"Just as we are providing you with market access, we want you to be able to go to a shop here and be able to buy a Scotch whisky at the same price as your local whisky."

Source: Reuters

India leads Asia billionaire club

India has the most billionaires in Asia with a total wealth of $191bn between them, according to the Forbes magazine annual list of richest people.
With 36 billionaires, India has overtaken Japan's 24 billionaires, after two decades of Japan topping the Asian rich list.
Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal leads the Indian billionaire club, with a net worth of $32bn.
Globally, there are a record 946 billionaires, up from 793 last year.
"It was a sizzling year in Asia. Both India and China saw huge gains, " Forbes associate editor Luisa Kroll was reported as saying by the AFP news agency.
China and Hong Kong together have a total of 41 billionaires, according to the list.
Lakshmi Mittal, 56, is the fifth richest person in the world, according to the magazine.
The other Indians in the list include Mukesh and Anil Ambani of Reliance, Wipro chief Azim Premji, Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla.

India has recorded impressive economic growth in the past few years, though critics say the poor have been largely left out of the process.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates holds the top spot for the 13th year in a row in the world list of billionaires with a net worth of $56bn.

Source: BBC

50% of online Indians buy travel products

The latest usage-cum-brand tracking study conducted by JuxtConsult on 'online shopping' notes that 50 percent of all online Indians have bought a travel product online.
Air tickets with an average transaction size per person per month at Rs 4,860 are the most searched and bought item online, followed by train tickets with the average transaction size per person per month valued at Rs 1,890.
Thereafter follow books, magazines with average transaction size per person per month valued at Rs 650 and CDs / DVDs at Rs 465.
Mobile phones / PDAs and cameras are highly searched for but have the worst search-to-buy conversion ratios online with an average transaction size per person per month valued at Rs 3,500.
Incidentally, the online buyers' base is growing at a much higher rate than that of internet users.
"The online buyer base is growing at a higher rate of 33 percent as compared to the internet user base," said Sanjay Tiwari, director, Juxt Consult.
Also, contrary to popular perception credit card misuse is not the biggest issue among those who already buy online. Delayed delivery and product quality are much bigger issues.
As for website preferences, Ebay significantly dominates the top of mind brand recall among both searchers and buyers with 47 percent of all online shoppers.
The study noted that 2 out of 3 online buyers have a credit card and 2 out of 3 searchers do not have a credit card. However, only about 50 percent of searchers say that do not buy online because they do not have a credit card.

Source : Rediff

Gopichand sees bright future for young Indian talent

By Sanjay Rajan
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Former all-England champion and national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said India's emerging talent was bridging the gap with the world's top players.
"All of them are ranked pretty high and have had good wins in their careers," the 2001 winner at Birmingham told Reuters.
"We have players like Saina Nehwal who has beaten higher ranked players consistently. All it takes is two good days and you are in the quarter-finals, really," Gopichand said ahead of the all-England open, which begins on Wednesday.
Anup Sridhar, at 49 the third highest-ranked Indian in the world, reached the semi-finals of the German Open last week with victories over German world number 20 Bjoern Joppien, 23rd ranked Korean Park Sung-hwan and Denmark's world number 32 Kasper Oedum.
The 23-year-old lost to China's world number one Lin Dan 21-14, 21-12 in the last four.
Three Indians are in the top-50 of the men's rankings while 16-year-old Nehwal is 32nd among women, with Trupti Murgunde 18 places further down.
Gopichand expected his players to start making it to the quarter-finals more consistently in tournaments around the world.
"The bright side is that they have fought and lost to higher-ranked players in close matches," said Gopichand, who took over as national coach last May.
Gopichand is only the second Indian to have won the prestigious all-England, doing so 21 years after Prakash Padukone achieved the feat in 1980.
Nehwal made headlines last year when she captured the Philippines Open after beating German top seed and world number four Xu Huwaien in the last eight and then Malaysian Julia Wong in the final.
Nehwal and men's world number 27 Chetan Anand are in the main draw of the all-England while Sridhar, Nikhil Kanetkar and P. Kashyap will start in the qualifiers on Tuesday.
Gopichand has high hopes for Nehwal.
"She is very strong, especially mentally. Everybody gets chances to win, but taking it on the given day is what is important," he said. "Saina goes for it."

Source: Reuters

Moser Baer to invest $250 M

NEW DELHI: Moser Baer, maker of computer compact discs, on Monday said it would invest $250 million over the next three years to set up a thin film solar fab.
The company had entered into a technology partnership with the U.S.-based Applied Materials to build the unit at its existing SEZ at Greater Noida, Moser Baer Chairman and Managing Director Deepak Puri said here. The project would help generate 200 MW of solar energy by 2009, he added.
"According to market figures, the thin film based solar modules market is expected to reach a size of $5 billion globally by 2010 with a demand of 2 GW,'' Mr. Puri said.
The unit would be commercially operational by March 2008 and the construction would begin next week, he said. "The company will start with a capacity of 40 MW, which will be increased to 200 MW by 2009,'' company's CFO Y. B. Mathur said. We would focus on global markets initially to sell our product, he added. Moser Baer is also expecting government incentives under the recently announced semiconductor policy.
Applied Materials CTO Mark Pinto said, "India holds tremendous potential both as a worldwide hub for solar panel production and as an end market for photovoltaic electric power.'' Applied Materials posted a turnover of $9 billion last year and employs about 13,000 people worldwide, including 800 in India. — PTI

Source : hindu

Jindal to invest $2 bn in Bolivia

In what could be the single largest investment made by any country in mineral-rich Bolivia, Jindal Steel today said it would invest $2.1 billion (Rs 9,500 crore) there to set up new steel plants. The Indian steelmaker said it has reached an agreement on El Mutun iron ore mines in the South American country.

“We will invest around $ 2.1 billion on setting up a 6 million tonne sponge iron plant, 10 million tonne pellet plant and 1.7 million tonne steel plant in the country (Bolivia),” said Jindal director for finance, Sushil Maroo.
Jindal successfully bid for the mines in June last year but the agreement was held up as consensus could not be reached on fuel price and tax concessions. The El Mutun mines, believed to contain one of the world's biggest iron-ore reserves, contain an estimated 40 billion tonnes of ore of medium-grade quality.
Jindal would have access to 50 per cent of the reserves.
Bolivian President Evo Morales and Jindal's senior management led by chief executive Vikrant Gujral agreed on the tax rate and natural gas prices for the iron and steel project. According to the pact reached, Jindal would get natural gas at $3.91 per million units for steel making. A definitive contract will be signed with the Bolivian government within 45 days.
The company would also be setting up the supporting infrastructure for the proposed projects, including a 450 MW power plant.
“In June 2006, JSPL emerged as the only company which met the qualifying criteria set by the Bolivian government to exploit 50 per cent of the El Mutun reserves,” Maroo said.
“This was followed by negotiations with the government on various clauses.”
He said the project would allow Bolivia to develop a steel industry and the proposed investment was the single largest in Bolivian history.
“The investment will create gainful direct jobs in the iron ore mines and the steel plants. The mines are located in the south east of Bolivia and about 50 km from the Brazilian border,” he said.

Source : Indian express

Rental video market comes full circle

The neighbourhood pizza guy could soon have competition from an unlikely source when it comes to delivering on time: the video rental home delivery service.When sports marketing and entertainment biggie Nimbus enters the home entertainment rental market, its USP will be delivering DVDs in 30 minutes flat.
Nimbus’s rental video service plans may be nascent but they’re not small. Says Harish Thawani, chairman: “We hope to pump in close to Rs 150 crore and offer at least 60,000 movie titles across 56 cities. Our services will be accessible through SMS, phone-in facility and the Internet.”
The home entertainment rental market has come a long way from its early beginnings when neighbourhood video ‘libraries’ trotted out scratched and often dodgy quality prints.
Today, customers are likely to log onto rental sites and feed in a list of movies they want to watch from a library of over 20,000 titles. The films are generally home delivered, two at a time, with no late fees. And the cherry on the icing? Rentals for quality DVDs are as low as Rs 199 for four films a month.
A recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers study shows that the home video market is growing at 30 per cent annually; over 12 million branded DVD players were sold in 2006 alone."The rental segment will only benefit from this growth, since customers don’t always want to buy DVDs," says Subhanker Sarker, COO of Seventymm.com that has 10,000 customers in Bangalore and another 3,000 each in Delhi and Mumbai. Madhouse.in, another emerging player that opened shop only a few months ago in Chandigarh and Delhi, with plans to launch in Mumbai soon, already has a customer base of 3,000. Mumbai-based Clixflix.com, barely a year old, has over 10,000 members."Our goal is to reach the 25,000-mark in each city across India," says Sarker. The break-even point for the company is 25,000 across the country. Clearly, it’s a market for the big boys.Seventymm recently raised Rs 50 crore, including a Rs 31-crore investment by venture capitalists Matrix Partners. Madhouse has received Rs one crore from various investors. "Big investors bring in both money and professional expertise," says Sameer Guglani, CEO, Madhouse.
Ironically, says Guglani, pirated prints have only “whetted the appetite of the home video audience, who now want original, quality DVDs at affordable prices”.
All the major players have ensured ground support. Madhouse has call centre and cellphone facilities and has tied up with 50 stores in Delhi as delivery points. Seventymm has plans to woo consumers through road shows. It also offers customers free rental incentives if six referrals sign on as members.
"You can’t beat the convenience of logging in on the computer or simply SMSing your movie choices," says Anahita Bendre, 36, a Delhi-based advocate. "It takes care of my family’s weekend movie-watching."
The future looks bright for couch potatoes. Sarkar said, "By 2010, the entire home video industry should be worth around Rs 2,140 crore. And the top three players in the rental video circuit could be worth at least Rs 300 crore each. Of course, it will mean the survival of the fittest."