Should G8 be extended?

G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany(June 6 – 8) is concluded with some positive notes and Germany chancelor hailed it as a success ( Its matter of debate that what success she is pointing to). The group comprises the most powerful and developed nations of the world and the newest entrant of the group is Russia ( still trying to cope up with step behavior of the rest ). In the summit, growing economies China, India, Brazil , SA and Mexico were also invited to discuss the various issues faced by world political economy. The outcome was...

• G8 and O5: Permanent co-operation



• A good climate for the climate



• Africa - a continent of the future



• Global trade: Creating opportunities for all



• Working on things together: The spirit of Heiligendam
  

Now the as one of the outcome of the summit is the realisation of the need of the permanent cooperation between G8 and O5 (Heiligendamm process), The question arises, why this Group cannot be extended? Why the Other most developing countries cannot be added into the elite club. Its now evident that these growing nations has enough impact over the world and no decision global influence can be made without taking these into confidence .
It’s the high time that the G8 member extend their hands to befriend the growing nations like India China and invite them to actively participate in G8 activities as these countries has the one third population of the world and are market driven economy. Without the inclusive participation of these, the G8 can not come up with any solution of the global problems. Consent of these is equally if not more important on any policy change and decision which may influence the world.
On the other hand one may argue whats the need of joining the G8 , if at all the group itself didn’t achieve its goal and objective. The world is not just about these developed nations. The other developing countries can form their own group, as opined by the president of the one of the groing nation, Brazil. Delhi quickly discarded this opinion of new G5 citing a new group cannot be a solution to the restricted G8, rather developing nations have to show their will and integrity on policy and decisions so that the elite group may bound to include them. And the recent invitation is the fruition of this belief. It may be a matter of few years when the G8 will be no longer G8 and will extend their hands to include the nations who deserve to be one of them. India and China are the firsts in the queue
If the terrorism was not enough, world is facing a new threat in the name of Global warming and Environment degradation. (Although its not new but the danger is of the mark and it require imminent and immediate action). Today the leading industrialised nations can no longer meet many of the challenges they face on their own. The big emerging economies - China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa (the so-called O5) - have an increasingly important role to play. Merkel hit the nail on the head: "We can't get along without each other."

Amit

Should sting operations be banned?

Sting operation is again making news. This time its NDTV, which has conducted a well researched and deliberate sting operation to expose some unscrupulous interests of R K Anand (who is defending Sanjeev Nanda, the main Accused of BMW hit and run case) and special public prosecutor I U Khan. Both were trying to influence the primary witness of the infamous BMW hit and run case, Sunil Kulkarni and caught red handed by the NDTV journalists.
Govt. has proposed a draft code for television in which, suggestions to ban the sting operation is given and after this the debate over the sting operation is again on.
The sting operation has come of age from the Defense deal scandal (TAHELKA) to casting couch episode (India TV) to MP bribery expose (AAJ TAK). It have always been said that the sting operation is unethical whatever may be the motive and outcome of the same. It’s mere an entrapment and cant be justified. There’s no gainsaying that justice should not be denied but why the media using this mode to wake people up ? And it’s not the media’s job at the first place. More often than not, the victim of sting operation is entrapped the media presents half baked stories as a gospel truth to increase the their TRP. Media’s laziness is at best with sting operations, the 24 hr channels has nothing to serve spectators and so they sensationalize every thing and when they don’t get enough stories, sting operation spring up as their savior. The argument of Sting Operation supporters that they expose the wrong doing seems specious too as the fine line between investigative journalism and Voyeurism is increasingly blurred.
The other side of the debate is, who are these politicians to decide what is ethical and what is unethical. Probably they have something to hide. And when we talk about freedom of expression why don’t we allow to use journalists their own mode of journalism after all they want to expose the flaws of the system and society that is surely facilitating in waking people up and more informed, which in turn facilitate limiting corruption is one way or other (fear of public rage or the social blot associated with expose).
To sum it up, it will be a good idea to introduce some law and clauses so that the sting operations do not come up just for sensationalisation and sure the voyeurism should be avoided by media, but it shouldn’t be banned as it is some how exposing the wrongs of the system and society.

Inspiration: TOI

Spiderman 3- The Greatest Battle Lies Within

What Spiderman is doing in this blog? Well the very fact that it’s the one of the highest grosser sequels at the box office across the world and the earth shattering opening record made by not only the foreign flick but by any Indian movie in india too, earns more than enough points to make an appearance on Amit’s Blog.

“3” was about Love, about Friendship, about the battle within and much to the chagrin of Indian spectators was too less about the heart beat stopping stunts and miraculous special effects (The emotions of Hollywood are not much impacting for Indians).
First time Spidey started using his powers for himself. He used his power for his own vengeance, for making money for himself, for making Marry Jane Watson jealous, for his own promotions. First he was dancing on the streets, taking advantage of his powers over his landlords daughter and daughter of NYPD officer. He was proud of himself and yup! He kissed a girl other than his girlfriend.

This all was quite nice to watch and the special effects used for Sandman and for fight sequnces between spidey and his friend (or better say foe) was awesome. There was a funny dialogue when he take on to sandmam and after sandman’s dissappearnce when

"he takes off his mask, has sand all over his face after just fighting the Sandman] ... Where do these guys COME from? [takes off a shoe, tips it upside down, sand continously pours out]” .
The news Reader speaks abt spider with tears in her eyes was a scene full of emotions “This could be a tragic day for the people of New York... Could be the end of Spider-Man... “
Ultimately Harry died and has given a lesson or two to Spidey.
It was heartning to see that ultimately the red Spidey appeared and won against all odd situations ( the black spidey was looking so ugly doesn’t he?).
At last a lifetime dialogue comes up from Spidey’s mouth

“Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be the best of himself. It's the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what's right”.

Dyversified Gyan for Erudite Persons

UP underwent electiom process previous month. The election commission carried out the whole process with a great panche and the overall six phases of elections carried out for over more than a month of time, was fair and peaceful. Pollsters, Election Pundits and all psephologists announced the hung assembly once again and people thought, the 14 year long coalition govt history will would not change this time too .
But MAYAjaal did the trick, the results of election paved the way for the sworn in ceremony of Mayawati who few days back sworn in as the chief minister of UP fourth time and the first time with majority .
It’s a cliché now that the UP politics is the door to enter into the center, and rightly so as it’s the most populated state of the country and have highest no. of Loksabha seats. Now , as the mayawati is chief minister of UP, the political arena of india is abuzz with speculation and analysis of the aftereffects of BSP win. The imminent effect will be seen in the presidential elction as the Mayawati will play a decisive role.
What faciliatated mayawati won this much seat? The social engineering and political fabric she weaved , uniting the two most neglected and pole apart castes due to rise of OBCs ,has given her party the edge over the others and now as she has advocated the reservation for economically weaker people of high caste clearly depict her stand ( which is obviously a U turn for Maya) and its really a welcoming stand. What will be the reaction of other parties on this is remain to be seen but the Mayawati’s victory and her new stand is going to have deep impact on UP and hence on Indian politics. Keep watching her move...

SEZ policy

To boost up the FDI in India and with a view to provide internationally competitive and hassle free environment for export, Indian government had introduced SEZs in India on lines of SEZs in China, where it had been a good success (Shenzhen).SEZs are the geographical area which is treated as the privileged area provided with incentives in taxes and other favorable conditions to bolster the exports and industrialization. The SEZ units may be set up for trading, export, manufacturing, reconditioning and repair and for services activities. There are around 14 SEZs established in India which are either multipurpose or specific SEZ. These are established either in partnership with public or private sectors or state govt. With announcement of SEZ policy in 2005 around 150 more units have been given go ahead. According to a survey these SEZs may create around 5 lacs more jobs and may attract the FDI in tune of 6 billion USD.Besides there benefits SEZs have been a matter of contention due to vague acquisition policy and inadequate compensation payed to the land owners. After the Nandi gram incidence, in which 12 protestors have been killed and several injured, the Govt. is under pressure to relook the policy. We should not forget that unlike China we are world's largest Democracy and what is successful in China may not be the same story here. If a SEZ boosts FDI why don't we convert whole India into a SEZ. Nandi gram incidence is a caveat for Govt. There had been statements in both favour and against of SEZs, after the unfortunate Nandi gram incidence as Mr. Narayan Murthy, chief mentor said "we should not acquire the lands of farmers without their will " and Mr Kamal Nath said "Govt. is committed for SEZs" , but the UPA govt and their left allies are in constant pressure of relook on the policy. Hitherto flourishing SEZs announcements are now feeling a halt for time being and the SEZ cannot be set up without taking landowners into confidence which seems to be hard nut to crack as voices against SEZ are raising now from other parts of the country like Kerala too after WB.

8.2/10 AMIT

NAXAL ATTACKS

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Previous week, there were two different incidence (in fact accident) occurred within time span of 12 hrs, The Nandi gram Police firing incidence and the Naxalite attack on police quarter in Chhattisgarh. The former gathered heavy response across the length and breadth of India, and the later sounded a routine activity of Naxalites. Both incidents were very severe former claimed 16 lives however later claimed more than triple lives than the former.
The premeditated and cold blooded massacre of policemen and villagers by left extremists was a deplorable and heinous crime. This is just reverse of what naxal ideology say. Moving towards violent direction, naxalites are uprooting their own base and the sympathy they have gathered. This kind of violent protest against system and state will end up terming them terrorists at par with Kashmir separatists.
Naxalites or left-wing extremists, especially in the 165 districts characterized as ‘Naxal-affected’ are most severe presence in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, however they had make their presence felt in parts of MH, AP and Orissa also. The constituents of Naxal mercenaries are tribal, Dalits and other oppressed caste people who feel that violence is the only way to get their right as they believe that the state is in hands of rich people who are enjoying the success, growth and resources of India depriving them with their share. But they are ending up with robbing and killing their own people as the rich may bye security. Recent trend shows that they have started killing common villagers after the formation of SALWA JUDAM, an SPO.
The severity of attacks shows that they are getting assistance from somewhere else probably from their counterparts in Nepal, if not monetary then atleast morally after their success in Nepal. The ease with which they killed JMM leader mahto , and the well researched new petrol bomb they used, shows the severity of the problem.As Prime minister said in his speech, Naxal violence is the biggest threat to India now. He is rightly said as it’s the internal threat and can be overcome only once we will develop a system in which every Indian have their share of participation in every area. And then only we will be real democratic

" China Offers express Visa to Indians"

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As the Indian economy roaring, seems the another Asian economic power house, China, has realized that there's no permanent friend, no permanent foes, only permanent interests. The Launch of Indo-China business Alliance can be termed as the extension of yeteryear's visit of Hu Jintao and reopening of Nathu- la pass at the border of the two countries. Under the aegis of india's economic chamber ASSOCHAM, the ICBA will work to facilitate the business men from both sides. In the launching Mr. Yuxi announced that in a bid to closely knit business synergies of China and India, the Chinese Embassy would be issuing `Express Visas' that are recommended by the ICBA to Indian businessmen. The express visa will help both side as both are the fastest growing economies and to sustain the growth of same its better to cooperate against to vie. The cooperation will facilitate bilateral retail trade to grow upto$50 billion from the current level of around $20 billion in the next few years,This move can be seen as good Confidence building measure and of high importance in the way of PM manmohan Singh's forthcoming visit to China, which may give us some more exciting and good business announcements.

7.1/10 AMIT

TATA wins CORUS

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When Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata house, announced the bid to acquire Anglo-Dutch steel maker CORUS during 2006 Diwali, Indian media was gung-ho about the deal and it was hailed as the biggest blitzkrieg of all time in the Indian corporate world. Tata has estimated the deal to be of 8billion USD, but as the time changed a new rival came into the picture in the name of Steinbruch’s Companhia siderugica nacional, or CSN and it challenged TATA and questioned his estimated deal. The battle was set up and TATA Steel was also ready to clinch the deal. So one fine day Tata beat his Brazilian rival steinbruch in a closely contested auction. In 8 round bidding Tata finally clinched the deal with 12 billion USD at 608 pence per share against CSN’s offer of 603 pence per share.
In one go Tata steel leapfrogged from 30 to 5th rank in the biggest steel makers’ list.
Several analysts are suggesting that TATA has gone overboard in trying to best CSN. But given TATA’s previous record it would be a matter of argument. Tata is known for his splendid comeback after each slide down due to acquisition of some big company or some landmark announcement. Also Tata has did rightly so as the acquiring a established firm was easier than establishing and expanding the new business in India specially in steel industry as acquiring land in steel rich states is hard nut to crack. However Tata steel’s share has fallen considerably just after the announcement of deal.
Acquiring CORUS will give Tata the new market in the name of Europe and it will be the leading steel making company and why not as the latest trend in the steel making industry is consolidation (Mittal- Arcelor).
The market reaction was a short term reflection as Ratan Tata said in a call with journalist "Hopefully, in the future somebody will look back and say we did the right thing."
Being an Indian i hope so…Do you?

Budget 2007 - A NOTE

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As P Chidambram was unfolding the Budget 2007 on 28th feb. , industries, corporate and academicians were keen to analyze the SWOT for their interest. It’s really a tough job to comment on annual budget of second largest growing economy of the world, that too in very brief and succinct manner. For corporate crunchers, here’s the news - E&Y has come up with 87 pages analysis report whereas their counterparts from KPMG, ICRA and CRISIL have tried to concise the report but couldn’t help and end up with 50, 17 and 8 pages report. But I am going to give you the hint and mood of the budget in extremely brief and terse way.
The Annual budget looks to have struck balance between fiscal consolidation and the need to spend, especially in key areas such as agriculture, the rural economy and social services.
Fiscal and revenue deficit, both come down from the previous FY and are 3.3 and 1.5 % of GDP respectively. Total spending in 2007/08 seen at 6.81 trillion rupees ($154.6 billion); non-plan expenditure next year seen at 4.35 trillion rupees.
Its matter of irony that just before the budget day the results of Punjab, UT and Mizoram legislative elections were declared and INC tasted defeat in the same. INC supremo blamed it to inflation rise and so the effect of this is clearly visible in the budget as she asked the Govt. to rein in the spiraling inflation. Leading the way is a reduction in customs and excise duties for a number of commodities. Notably the Agriculture sector is a key focus reflecting the sector’s central role and socio-economic-politco importance . Reforms have also got slow down because of Sonia influence. Tax exemption for some sectors have cut down too especially for IT and ITES sector.
On the other hand Govt. has increased the budget allocation for farm credit and education to name a few among other rural and social issues.
Bottom-line is policy making and budget allocation is good to priorities for key sector to maximize sustain growth, but effective implementation of policy and efficient use of allocated budget for the growth is the area to stress upon. Eleventh five year plan is to be start from this year and achieving the target is a challenge for the country.

"India has maximum number of Billonaries in Asia"

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Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people is out and India dethroned Japan from second spot which has 24 billionaires against that of 36 from India. India is second in terms of total no. billionaires in top 20 with 3 second only to US which has 4 candidates in top 20. Indias bandwagon of billionaires is headed by LN mittal who is on 5th spot followed by ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil on 14 and 18 spot respectively. Wipro head Azim Premji is on 21 spot , who once had been the only Indian to make in the list.Though India snatched second spot from Japan in terms of Billiaonaires but its still way behind in per capita income. This fact unfolds the ground reality behind the curtains. This shows that the chasm between rich and poor is insreasing in India. Rising no. of billionaires will stimulate big companies to launch their niche products in India, which are meant for supoer richs only in this way Bentley have already announced to launch his premium multicrore cost car, Some real estate companies are planning to offer homes with all the luxuries of world.If we see positive side of the story, its the result of growing Indian economy or may be former is the result of later.Although the list make Indians proud but not happy. It will be happy and proud both if the no. will rise further and the effect of this will be visible in growth of common Indian .

Amit 7.7/10

Merger of IA and AI

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Much awaited and touted megamerger of two state owned carriers Air India And Indian (formerly Indian Airlines) has received cabinet nod on 2nd of march. This maha merger will bringforth a globaly and domestically competitive edge to the airlines. Civil aviation minister said this will take another 4 month to practically exist the merger and he promised not to cut jobs.This merger will allow state to reap up benefit of 6 billion INR in next 4 years and It will be one of the biggest airlines of Asia with 122 carriers in his kitty. On the other hand workers and employees of AI and IA are apprehensive and worried about their future inspite of MR. Patel's promise.The Govt should try to allay this feeling in the days to come and the time should be utilised by reducing the lazyness of employees and boboodome.Given that seven new carriers have sprung up in the past four years in India's liberalised skies, once dominated by the state-run airlines, and another five have applied to take off, it will be interesting to see how this merger will reap up profits in the highly competitive indian aviation sector.

A 7.9/10

" Indian Team for World Cup "

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Sixteen teams, forty seven days, fifty-one matches and one CUP, welcome to the 2007 world cup cricket in Caribbean. Sixteen members squad of India, riding high on the hopes and prayers of millions Indian cricket fans is confident enough to win the World Cup, thanks to the recent series win of Indian team over Sri Lanka..Selectors have tried to chose the best from what the good they had. In fact they have nothing much to chose from. Selectors lead by Dileep vegsharkar has shown their confidence in experience over the young blood this is pretty averred with the inclusion of Kumble, Zaheer and sehwag. There has been some question raised over noninclusion of kaif , who could have been an asset at the fierce newlymade pitches of west Indies.India has indeed a best batting lineup in the world and the very experienced one. Undoubtedly the maestros like Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid can turn the outcome of any match. In addition to this If Dhoni and yuvrajhas cracked, it's the doomed situation for opponents. In fact Dhoni and Yuvraj are turning out to be a good finishers.Bowling, the recent form of Zaheer is looking promising with the add of aggressiveness of Srisanth can be good combination of pacers. Whereas the spinners like Kumble and harbhajan has proven their wirth at many occasions. However the bowling attack of India has some loopholes and fifth bowler will be problem. It will be interesting to see how Skipper overcome this problem and how judiciously he use the options available.Come to fielding, this is the area where Indian team seems to be vulnerable. There is dearth of young blood in Team and only few are world class fielders. Kaif is not in the team and Yuvraj is coming out of injury. So it will be loophole again.Bottomline is India can win the cup provided the batsmen have to click and score high. And prayer of millions of cricket fans can work what a eleven players' team cannot, so destiny and toss can play a vital role too. If the ace three members of the team to be believed, India is going to win the cup second time. Wait and watch .

Amit 8/10

ICICI Bank raises retail lending rates

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ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank and second-largest lender overall, has hiked its retail lending rates, including home loan rates by 50 basis point (100 basis points = 1%). This move is obviously come up after announcement of RBI's hike of CRR by 50 basis point which in turn has done so to curb the northward movement of inflation. Although the new rates will be applicable to the new customers but the impact on burgeoning middle class will be twofold. First, the rising inflation and skyrocketing prices of essential commodities are cause to worry and now the hike in retail lending rates both fixed and floating will ccause double trouble for consumers. The recent unrealistic spurt in the real state and stock market led the RBI to take monetary measures like hiking standard asset provisioning on retail loans. But it has abstained in hiking rates however the private players has gone a step ahead and they increased the PLR.Analyst have their own arguments in for and against the move , as the hike may slow down the growth in the housing market but the real impact is remain to be seen as the India's economy is growing like never before and this obviously prompts the more spurt in real state and housing market.

"Mobile Giants Plan Rival to Google"

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When an ant get a grain of sugar, the whole lot of other ants come
to break into the pie of the former's gain. Same is the case can be
perceived with
the rumour of Telcos plan to come up with a mobile search engine to
rival googal, yahoo.
The bigwigs of the telecommunication, Vodafone, France Telecom,
Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Hutchison Whampoa, Telecom Italia and
Cingular and the likes are going to meet in 3GSM to discuss the
possibility to come up with their own search engine on mobiles.
Reason is very obvious, call revenues are declining and every
telecommunication company is looking to generate extra revenues with
one means or other. According to research and marketing firm
Informa Telecoms & Media, is growing dramatically. Informa predicts
that by 2011, nearly 50 percent of all mobile phone subscribers
across the world will be browsing the Web from a mobile handset,
making the associated ad deals valuable indeed. and the
announcement of google's revenue has prompted them to think on this
aspect.

If, it is not a threat, definitely it make sense to google which
announced good ad revenues on the mobile search and who is clearly a
winner in the search engine market. And it seems they have already
sniffed the threat as Google and Yahoo have already started
developing a similar service for mobile phones with individual
telecommunication companies as the mobile internet market looks set
for take off over the next five years.
Whether it will be a blast in mobile search engine market or just a
wet cracker, is remain to be seen but if telcos come up with their
own search engine . it will sure end up with facilitating consumers.

Hrithik is the next superstar

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The industry, the media and the masses are always waiting for a superstar. They have always created one and carried him on their shoulders as long as they want or believed the superstar should be carried. They give some of them a long life. They give others time till they don’t get on their nerves because of their standing as superstars. They have dumped some of the best of them whenever they have behaved in ways other than the ways they want them to and left them to fight their own battles to survive and then look for other superstars.


There have been times when there have been more than one superstar like there was the time when the trio of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor ruled. There was a time when there was just one Rajesh Khanna. Then there was a superstar like Amitabh Bachchan who is a superstar among superstars even after 30 years. There is Shah Rukh Khan, the King or Baadshah Khan as they call him now but the King has suddenly found competition. For a time it looked like there would be a tough competition between Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan and there were bets laid on who would emerge the winner at the end of the year but with 'Dhoom-2' Hrithik has clearly emerged as the superstar today and for a long time to come.


Hrithik has been a very careful and cautious player. He proved that he was a star with his very first film 'Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai', which was a golden jubilee hit. He proved that he was a bigger star who was also a very good actor in 'Koi Mil Gaya'. He showed the first major signs of being a superstar when he grew into a cult figure with Krrish. And now with 'Dhoom-2' he has just sailed through and staked his place and even claimed it as the next superstar. There are experts who claim that he has taken the place of the King. This talk started when Hrithik was the first ever star to sign a 36 crore contract for three films with a leading corporate company, a fact that took the industry by storm.


His performances, his personality and the élan and ease with which he has carried himself in a daringly different role for the Hindi film hero and despite the competition from Abhishek, the other contender for the throne, he has made his intentions clear without making any overtly and conscious efforts.


Hrithik has all the other qualities that go to make a superstar. He has the patience. He has hardly had ten releases during his less than ten-year-old career. He has steered clear of all controversies and gossip. He is unanimously accepted as the most well-behaved, disciplined and knowledgeable star. He is in no hurry to grab films. Surprisingly he has just one film on the floor, Jodhaa Akbar when other stars of his generation have them by the dozens.I always knew Hrithik would make it big and I am happy that he has proved me right. He is the biggest young star today, you can call him the next superstar who can take on challenges even from Hollywood and give some of the best actors a run for their money. So, isn’t it time to welcome the new superstar and give him the place he has earned for himself?

Clarification

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sowwie, was having some prob at home so cudnt post in. in fact will be dormant in days to come as loads of exigent wrk ahead. bear with me.
Yup the poll stands cancel, as when i have posted the poll, that was an inchoate poll and with the passage of time the things changed . Release date of Dhoom2 and UmraoJaan postponed (perhaps because of tough competition or may be post production delay or as consequence of good understanding berween distributers and directors of the movies). and Jaan-E-Mann vied with the DON, the release date of which was nt in the picture at the time, poll started off..
However here is the result Dhoom2 is clearly emerged as the winner and UmraoJaan is on astonishingly on second spot, The picture might have been diffrent if the Jaan e mann wud have been in the poll.
Selection Votes
DHOOM-2 Back in action 56% 5
DON - The chase begins again 11% 1
Umrao JAAN 33% 3

9 votes total

thanx to everyone who actively on inactively participated in the poll.
will be back in action very soon.

Anil Ambani gets go ahead for DTH

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Nothing can beat the relaxed hours one spends before a television
after an office/school rigour. Be it a bloody battle between Brazil
and Argentina (people call it football!!) or be it the Devil's
Advocate with Karan Thappar at his articulate best, everybody enjoys
watching TV. However here and there, a middle class wife will fight
with her husband around 28th or 29th of every month to cancel the
cable TV subscription pointing to the ever-burgeoning cable cost and
the dip in the quality due to illegal usage. Well here is an answer
to all the problems abovementioned- DTH expanded to Direct To Home.

When DTH was first introduced in the late nineties by private
players, the Government was not in all favours citing security
problems. However the idea was revamped in 2001 and Rupert Murdoch
owned iSkyb launched he first DTH service and the government too
forayed with the DD direct plus. Now the market has become
competitive with the entry of R-ADA into the broadcasting setup.

If one has followed the recent activities of Anil Ambani he/she
wouldn't be surprised with this move. Anil has began to expand his
grip over the Indian market by including diversity in his ambit and
it is evident from his investment in joint ventures with PVR and
Adlabs in building multiplexes, in FM radio channels and in
producing films in synergy with high network bollywood people.

A smart businessman that Anil is, has been fast in realizing the
growth potentials one has in the broadcasting market.
PricewaterhouseCoop er has predicted a manifold increase in the
number of DTH subscribers. From a mealy 3.25 millions to 15 millions
in two years is a real growth if PricewatrhouseCoope r is to be
trusted. Further more Anil could also make his viewers subscribe to
his multiplex shows or listen to his FM if he can gain a strong hand
in the DTH market.

This R-ADA foray into DTH market may make profound implications on
1) The market cap of Reliance
2) The competitors' interest and
3) The public

Despite the split of the Reliance Empire, Reliance stocks still soar
high and Anil's strategic moves have been instrumental in
maintaining the momentum. The latest arrow from the Ambani quiver is
Reliance Blue Magic the subsidiary, which will deal with the DTH
market. With only four major private players viz IskyB of News Corp,
Dish TV of Zee groups, Sky TV- an 80:20 venture of Tatas and Star TV
and the South Indian major SUN Network, much is at the offering and
Anil has displayed immaculate entrepreneurial skills in setting up
this DTH service providing venture. With the Midas touch that he
has, no doubt Reliance Blue Magic will hit the target and bring in
more revenue to Reliance Energy, the parent organization of Anil
Dhirubai Ambani enterprise.

The Cable TV operators' honeymoon is going to end soon with CAS and
DTH's taking over. Zee is offering its DTH services at Rs 200/- and
the package includes eventy five channels. Star offers similar
number of channels for Rs 180/-. These charges do not include the
setting-up charges and with the entry of RBM will only make the
setting more interesting and it will be a good spectacle to watch
how these competitors battle it out.

With all these private parties engaging in a gripping combat, the
viewers will be promised the best of the quality, making TV watching
a pleasant experience. The viewers now have a wide choice of service
providers to choose from, with the package from each being more
attractive than the competitor's in one way or the other. Gone are
the days of illegal usage and cable operators' escapade from higher
entertainment taxes.

Having done all the formalities and with the LoI of the government
in its kitty, RBM is all set to make its presence felt in the DTH
services. Anil's strategy to win the battle will also be a thing to
watch out and having seen him all these days I am sure it will be
unique and successful as usual.

H k

HDFC to raise Rs 3240 cr from FDI

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They say, "When it pours, it pours heavy". It is indeed pouring
heavily in India. Apart from the torrential rains the FDI is also
pouring into the country, which is expected to quadruple in the next
seven years. Gone are the days when the government was reluctant in
allowing foreign companies to enter the Indian market. These days
India and China are branded as the best places to invest for at
least another 25 years and no surprises foreign organizations are
competing big time to be a part of this FDI spree. The latest
participator is the housing finance leader HDFC. The proposal of
HDFC o invest a staggering Rs 3240 crore ($720 mn) into the Indian
real estate business has been a given an affirmative nod by the
Cabinet Committee on External Affairs.

India is currently holding the position, which was
formerly held by the US (in the post war years) as the best place to
invest thanks to the burgeoning economy and scrupulous economic
planning. The Real Estate Market of the country deserves a special
mention, which is expected to grow from the current $12 bn market
position to an Himalayan $90 bn in the next decade, courtesy Merrill
Lynch. May be that will be an eye opener for those who wonder at the
reason behind giants Farallon Capital Management, Morgan Stanley,
Merrill Lynch and GE Commercial Finance Real Estate craving to
dominate the Indian real estate space, needless to mention the local
players. Now HDFC has forayed into the market by registering India
Offshore Real Estate Investments, a fund raising company in
Maurtius, which will invest in the Indian real estate. Its inviting
International Banks, Financial Institutions and high network
Individuals to invest in the fund for a minimum period of three
years.

This investment plan of HDFC has direct implications on
1) Its own revenue
2) The "home country" economy and
3) The market capitalization of local players

HDFC has made many smart moves in the past, joining hands with SBI,
being one such and this investment plan is another strategic move,
every economic pundit would say. The Indian government has signed a
treaty not to tax the Mauritius investors, which will directly
benefit HDFC. The stock value has already increased by 3.07% in BSE
and the future looks really rosy for the organization.

The liberalization and the globalization binge have benefited
the country largely with its economy growing at a breakneck speed.
This approval by CCEA will attract other international players to
pour in investments and thereby adding to the FDI revenue. It's a
win-win situation and surely India would cash in by making use of
these opportunities.

The real problem is for the Indian players who with their
already fragile investment now should meet this external pressure
from the foreign investors as well. If only they stand tall in this
competition, it would make the market positions more exciting and
the investors more interested. Companies like UB group of Vijay
Mallaya have the financial cushion and they can offer stiff
challenge to HDFC and only time will decide the winner.

Harish Krishnan

Google Offers Classics for Free

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Books are no doubts " treasures of knowledge and wisdom" , and making
them accesible in this way via internet has really helped the
information on net to be gathered in organised form,all credits to
Google.Getting a printed copy is now going to be less expensive than
to pay the cost of toner and paper.The Google mechanism,would also
beuseful for a book that's hard to find.

By taking this huge step forward Google has helped realising words of
'Charles W. Eliot ' who said "Books are the quietest and most
constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of
counsellors, and the most patient of teachers", google has helped in
realising these word into physical world with this step. The step
taken by google in this direction is really a big step which is not
only going to help the current generation but is also going to add
feathers in knowledge of future generations who'll have very easy and
free of cost access to all hidden knowledge of their past and
future.This step also has added to the reputation of expanding google
as a big-wig under the leadership of 'Larry Page',Sergey Brin' and
'Eric Schmidt' who have allready prooved Google's brilliance in
fileds like Search Engine,Google Earth,Mail,Chat,Video's ,Image's etc
etc. the step taken by google can now help an avid reader to scan
through his list of books on internet and see what is available
easily.


Though the other side of google step may sound little bit shaky as
formainstream publishers It's certainly going to hurt a little bit, but
one should be surprise to see if it hurts very much.Google has also
tried it' best to make it's critics silent by not allowing access to
books still under copyright, for them only bibliographies are
available along with limited extracts Also for books made available
toGoogle via publisher, including editions from Oxford University
Press,Penguin, and Dover the viewer would only gets only a "limited
preview"of a few pages. In other cases, where Google believes that a volume
might be in copyright, but has no relationship with the publisher,
Google provides an even more restricted "snippet view."

I guess the step taken by google should be really appreciated as it
has tried its best to save the interest of both the publisher's and
ofcourse the readers.
Gurpreet

Volvo in talks for stake in Ashok Leyland

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Today's market is full of competition, with one firm trying to
usurp another.Competition brings out the best in anybody and it has
direct implications in all kind of markets. The partnership talks
between two automobile majors, Volvo and Ashok Leyland is only a
testimony for the aforesaid.

Volvo has been India for the past eight years, doing decent
business by selling buses and trucks to both government and private
parties. In Volvo's perspective, entering into the medium commercial
vehicle market is very crucial for its expansion. The medium
commercial vehicle business has not been in its ambit as far as the
Indian market is concerned and this partnership would suffice its
needs to gain a stronghold. Volvo was forced to payback a sum of
$2.2 bn due to recent pressure from its shareholders and this has
made it inquisitive in making acquisitions and adding to its
repertoire. So this alliance would and could prove to be beneficial
to the Swedish giant.


On the other hand, Ashok Leyland would consider this partnership
as a filling of gap caused due to the quitting of IVECO Fiat, the
Italian player. With IVECO Fiat- the heavy truck arm of Italian
automobile giant, having joined hands with rivals, Tata Motors after
selling its 15% stake in LRLH, the Hindujas are all set to enter
into a partnership with Volvo. LRLH, the holdings firm of the
Hindujas family who now hold 51% of Ashok Leyland, requires
technology for its own betterment and it would expect the much
needed technology exchange would happen in this partnership. With
global conglomerates like Daimler Chrysler, International Truck &
Engine Corporation and MAN Nutzfarhzeuge vying the Indian Market and
Tata Motors planning to introduce world truck range in 2008 Ashok
Leyland has to try every trick to be competitive enough in the
market.

Though the fiscal dealings haven't been disclosed yet, this
partnership would certainly be fruitful to both the parties. The
salubrious competition would also bring the best out of the people,
as said before and when two firms, best in their business, tie up,
it is needless to say it would benefit the people and the nation at
large.

KRISHNAN