India developed world's low cost lap top

India has come up with the world's cheapest laptop, a touch-screen computing device that will cost just $35.India have reached a developmental stage, that today the motherboard, its chip, its processing, connectivity, all of them cumulatively cost around $35, including memory, display, everything.The touch-screen gadget was packed with internet browsers, PDF reader and video conferencing facilities, but its hardware was created with sufficient flexibility to incorporate new components according to user requirement.The Linux-based computing device was expected to be introduced to higher education institutions from 2011, but the aim was to drop the price further to $20 and ultimately to $10.

The device was developed by research teams at India's premier technological institutes, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institute of Science.India spends about three% of its annual budget on school education and has improved its literacy rates to over 64% of its 1.2 billion population, but studies have shown that many students can barely read or write and most state-run schools have inadequate facilities.

India occupied seventh positioned in world automobile

India With an annual production of about 2,632,694 cars in 2009, India is now the seventh largest vehicle producing nation in the world. It is a milestone the country achieved six years ahead of the set target.The Indian automobile sector is also one of the fastest growing markets globally. India aims to become the small car hub of the world by dethroning Japan, the biggest maker of compact cars, a majority of which is consumed domestically.Last year, India pipped Brazil to become the second-largest producer of small cars.India also aims to be among the top five vehicle producers by 2020. India was home to 40 million passenger vehicles by the end of 2009, with auto sales of over 1.5 million cars. This rapid pace of growth has made India the world's second fastest growing automobile market.

India is projected to have the largest number of cars in the world -- 611 million to be precise -- by 2050. According to the third BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) report by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.

Australia wants economic cooperation with india in infra,food processing and tourism

Australia is keen on broadening economic cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, food processing and Tourism with India, its top diplomat said here today. The core areas being looked at are infrastructure, education, tourism and food processing, Australian High Commissioner to India Peter N Varghese said. Australia will seek to broaden economic relationship. Though trade relations look impressive, they are narrowly based to coal, Gold and Copper, constituting 87 per cent. Kerala and the rest of India are going in for various infrastructure projects and Australian companies have very good exposure in building pipelines, food processing and Tourism, Varghese said.

India and Australia have a very fast growing trade relationship. The bilateral trade relationship has grown at the rate of 25 per cent a year in the past 5 years, the top diplomat said. India is Australia's third largest export market and Australia is fifth largest trading partner of India, he said. We are now seeing large investments from Australia in resources sector and we look forward to much more Indian investments in Australia'. Australia had recently concluded an import deal of 20 billion with energy major Petronet for supply of gas Gorgon (in Australia) from 2014. An Australian company, Leighton, had also laid pipelines for Kochi Refinery, he said. Education and Film industry is another area Australia was looking at India, Varghese said. There are attractive destinations for Bollywood film and Malayalam films to be made. However, there were no plans to offer subsidy or incentives to the film industry, he said. A feasiblity study on Free Trade Agreement (FTA), conducted jointly by the two countries, has recently been concluded and was before consideration of Indian cabinet, he said. "Australia sees India as a country which is going to play pivotal role not only in the region, but also in whole world.

Nobel peace ceremony goes ahead, with empty chair

New world superpower China tightens its grip on dissidents at home, dignitaries in Norway celebrate this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, imprisoned Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo, with solemn ceremony — and an empty chair.

Liu won't be able to collect the prestigious $1.4 million award at the Oslo ceremony on Friday — the first time in 74 years that it has not been handed over.

Nobel committee secretary Geir Lundestad said Liu will be represented "by an empty chair ... the strongest possible argument" for awarding it to him.

China was infuriated when the prestigious prize was awarded to the 54-year-old literary critic, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence on subversion charges brought after he co-authored a bold call for sweeping changes to Beijing's one-party communist political system.

Beijing described the award as an attack on its political and legal system and has placed Liu's supporters, including his wife Liu Xia, under house arrest to prevent anyone from picking up his prize.

On Friday, uniformed and plainclothes officers guarded the entrance to the compound in central Beijing where Liu Xia has lived since the October announcement that her husband would receive the prize. China also tightened a wide-ranging clampdown on dissidents and blocked some news websites ahead of the awarding ceremony.

China has also pressured foreign diplomats including India to stay away from the Nobel ceremony. China and 17 other countries have declined to attend, including Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. At least 46 of the 65 countries with embassies in Oslo have accepted invitations. Serbia, which had said it would stay away, announced Thursday that it had changed its mind and would now attend.

Lundestad said countries gave various reasons for not attending, but some were "obviously affected by China."

China warned that attending the ceremony would be seen as a sign of disrespect.

"We hope those countries that have received the invitation can tell right from wrong, uphold justice," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said In Beijing.

WikiLeaks founder arrested

The Australian born founder and CEO of the controversial internet site “WikiLeaks”who leaks us military documents throughout the world , Julian Assange, turned himself into the British police yesterday over allegations of supposed sex crimes he committed during the month of August in Sweden. Julian Assange has been under fire lately for the enormous amount of data his website released and continues to release into the public domain and the highly classified documents that were contained therein, however it is said that this new development and Assange’s arrest are completely unrelated to the WikiLeaks controversy.It is unclear if Mr. Assange will fight extradition to Sweden but according to the British Police statement Julian Assange is “accused by the Swedish Authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation, and one count of rape”. It was also announced by District Judge Howard Riddle, the judge hearing the sex crimes allegations that Mr. Assange would be denied bail and be remanded in custody by the British court because there is apparently the risk that he would fail to surrender. There is still some speculation as to the nature of the charges, but it seems that Assange is being charged with sex crimes against two different women, in both cases two of the charges are based upon allegations that Assange was not wearing a condom during sex when he was asked to by the women. These allegations provide the grounds for both sexual molestation charges by both women against Mr. Assange who, through his lawyers, continues to deny all of the charges against him.

India, France sign nuclear power deal

India and France signed a multi-million dollar agreement on Monday to build two nuclear power plants in India as French President Nicolas Sarkozy worked to drum up business for his nation during his four-day visit here.
Areva SA, one of France's main nuclear power companies, will build two European pressurized reactors of 1,650 megawatts each at Jaitapur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The agreement, valued at about $9.3 billion, was signed in the presence of Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The deal marked the first two of 20 nuclear reactors India wants to build to meet its soaring energy demand.
Foreign governments have been courting India to try to get a piece of that lucrative market, but there have been concerns that India's recently passed liability law might prove too onerous for international companies to risk entering the market here.
Indian officials assured France that their liability laws were in keeping with international standards and the security of nuclear operators was ensured, a French official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Sarkozy and Singh later met to discuss regional security, trade and investment.
The talks were also expected to touch on plans for the structural reform of the world monetary system through the Group of 20 countries, currently headed by France.
Sarkozy, who arrived on Saturday, is accompanied by his defense, foreign and finance ministers and nearly 60 business leaders.
No defense agreements are expected during the visit, but Sarkozy is likely to push for French companies to win contracts to supply military hardware.
French companies are negotiating to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 jet fighters in the Indian air force. India is also in the market to buy 126 fighter jets, a deal worth $11 billion, and about 200 helicopters worth another $4 billion.
According to defense experts, India is expected to spend $80 billion between 2012 and 2022 to upgrade its military.
Sarkozy's visit also coincides with at least two important meetings with Indian business leaders. The French president is keen to attract Indian companies to invest in France, even as French companies are seeking a slice of India's booming economy.
Bilateral trade declined in 2009 due to global economic woes, but was on the upswing this year, said Vishnu Prakash, India's external affairs ministry spokesman. The two countries have set a trade target of 12 billion euros ($15.8 billion) for 2012.
Sarkozy is to visit Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, before returning home on Tuesday.

Pakistan is a sinking boat

Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed Western concerns over the security of its following the publication of more US State Department cables by anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks.

A fresh cache of US diplomatic cables released on Tuesday and Wednesday show widespread concern about the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons with worries stretching from Washington to Riyadh to Moscow.

A senior Pakistani government official familiar with his country's nuclear weapons program waved off Western handwringing.

A senior official in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency said the country's nuclear weapons were "the safest”, and that spent fuel rods in the nuclear reactors were "safe and secure”.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's office, in a statement issued after a meeting with the new US ambassador, Cameron Munter, said the revelations would not "have any effect on the strong, strategic partnership between Pakistan and the USA, as both sides were resolute to address the misperceptions in the interest of long-term cordial bilateral relations”.

WikiLeaks shook the diplomatic world on Monday when it published reports from more than 250,000 confidential cables in partnership with five Western newspapers, including The New York Times and the Guardian in Britain.


Noting that there were more than 120,000 people working in Pakistan's nuclear program in and around the facilities, "Regardless of the clearance process for these people, there is no way to guarantee that all are 100% loyal and reliable."

Nazarov fretted that people with "strict religious beliefs" had been hired to protect the nuclear facilities, giving extremist organisations more opportunities to recruit from within the program.

"Over the last few years extremists have attacked vehicles that carry staff to and from these facilities. Some were killed and a number were abducted and there has been no trace seen of them," he reportedly said.

Indian railway is one of the oldest reailway in thw world

THE FAIRY QUEEN : 1855, The year when the majestic Fairy Queen rolled out for the erstwhile East Indian Railway. For the first time after 1908, the Fairy Queen rolled again on Feb. 1st, 1997 from Delhi to Alwar. The steam engine is the oldest working engine in the world. Finding its pride of place in the Guinness Book of World Records and also capturing the National Tourism Award, this prestigious pristine beauty that graces the National Rail Museum, New Delhi, is steaming once again.

THE DECCAN ODYSSEY : is a special train modeled on the Palace on Wheels to boost tourism on the Konkan route. The route starts in Mumbai (Bombay) and travels to Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Goa, Belgaum, Kolhapur, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Ajanta-Ellora, and then back to Mumbai. It is a venture of the Maharashtra Government and Ministry of Railway, Government of India Indian Railways. In addition to being a train that touches tourist spots, this aims to be a complete 5-star hotel on wheels, with two restaurants and a bar, a sauna, business centre and other such amenities on board. In 2004, the Maharashtra government stopped its run of the Deccan Odessey, citing poor response, but may restart it after the 2005 monsoons.

HERITAGE ON WHEELS : Heritage on Wheels is yet another initiative by the Indian Railways to bring tourists closer to Indian culture. In association with the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, the Indian Railways have launched this luxury tourist train.

PALACE ON WHEELS : The Palace on Wheels was the first of four luxury trains on Indian Railways. It was launched to promote tourism in Rajasthan and has been highly popular since its launch. It is one of the top ten luxury trains in the world and following its success another luxury train is being launched on the same circuit. The concept of the Palace on Wheels was derived from the royal background of the coaches, which were originally meant to be the personal Railway coaches of the erstwhile rulers of the princely states of Rajputana, Gujarat, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Viceroy of British India.

MAHAPARINIRVAN SPECIAL TRAIN : The Mahaparinirvan Express is a special tourist train that takes passengers on a spiritual tour through Buddhist India, where Buddhism originated more than 2,500 years ago. The Mahaparinirvan Express is operated by Indian Railways using carriages from a Rajdhani Express train. This is a fully air conditioned train offering three different classes of travel (first class, two tier, and three tier). It's far from opulent, unlike India's luxury tourist trains, but then again pilgrimages aren't normally associated with luxury! Passengers are greeted with garlands, provided with luggage assistance, and given a welcome gift of a Buddhist guidebook. Security guards are present on the train, and tours are fully guided.

GOLDEN CHARIOT : he Golden Chariot is a luxury tourist train that connects the important tourist spots in the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa. It is named after the Stone Chariot in the Vitthala Temple at Hampi. The 19 coaches on the train are colored purple and gold, and sport the logo of a mythological animal with the head of an elephant and a body of a lion. The Golden Chariot operates weekly and had its maiden commercial run on March 10, 2008.

US welcomes India's leadership role

The U.S. on Tuesday said it welcomes a greater global leadership role for India, two days after its Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remark describing India as a “self-appointed frontrunner” for a permanent UNSC seat was leaked.

“We regret and condemn any unauthorised disclosures of confidential information and sensitive national security information,” U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said while reacting to the release of diplomatic cables by whistle-blower Website WikiLeaks.

“By releasing these documents front of World, WikiLeaks puts at risk the cause of human rights, the lives and work of dedicated individuals, and threatens our ability to conduct essential private and diplomatic dialogue ,” he said.

As part of its massive leak of a quarter million classified documents of the U.S. government, the Website released a “secret” cable issued by Ms. Clinton where she has described India as a “self-appointed frontrunner” for a permanent UNSC seat.

She had also directed U.S. envoys to seek minute details about Indian diplomats stationed at the United Nations headquarters, according to classified documents released by WikiLeaks.

Mr. Roemer said, “The U.S. welcomes a greater global leadership role for India and values its perspectives on how to meet common challenges, including countering terrorism, securing our maritime domains, and working together to promote democratic, political and economic development around the world.”

Indian student recalls attack in Australia

The 31-year-old man, who wants to remain anonymous, now bears a 26-stitch scar where doctors performed emergency surgery on his punctured bowel after the attack on November 5.

The Indian cookery student in Melbourne has recalled the night he was stabbed in the stomach by two men after he finished work in a South Yarra bar.

He said the two men approached him in Lovers Walk South around 11.10pm as he walked to a railway station.

They asked him for money, and when he said he had none "one punched me in the stomach, scolded me and said dirty words".


"I collected some courage and ran away."

It wasn't until he reached South Yarra rail station that he realised he was bleeding and that he'd been stabbed.

He hailed a taxi, which took him to The Alfred hospital where he was operated on immediately.

The victim, who has been in Australia for two years, spent the next 10 days in hospital, and only then did he let his parents in India know what had happened.

Senior Constable Emma Frankcom is appealing for witnesses to the attack to come forward.

"It was a very callous attack, and we want these two men off the streets," she told reporters.

She said the attack did not appear to be racially motivated.

"It appears to be a random attack," she said.

Bobby Jindal: Obama's India visit a positive sign

Louisiana's Indian-American Republican Governor Bobby Jindal says one of the things that he likes about Democrat President Barack Obama is his building an economic relationship with India.

"I think that when he went to India and made a strong relationship with the world's largest democracy, a free market economy. That was a positive sign," he told CNN Tuesday when asked to name one thing on which he agrees with Obama.

Jindal, who is generally highly critical of Obama, also said: "I agree with his refusing to bend down to the liberals that asked him to put an artificial ... to withdraw artificially before we're done in Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, in an interview on Glenn Beck's radio show, Jindal repeated his charge that at a meeting with the president during the gulf oil spill he and a parish official were told specifically by Obama not to go on TV and criticise him.

It was clear Obama was frustrated with the level of criticism he was getting, he said and went on to accuse Obama of caring more about perception and politics than actually cutting through the red tape and getting things done.

India can't get UN seat without China backing

Pakistan's permanent envoy to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon said India will never be able to secure a permanent seat at the UN Security Council unless China and Russia back it.

"Without veto power, India will not be of any threat to Pakistan even if it manages to enter UNSC as a permanent member," Haroon told reporters at Hyderabad in Sindh province.

US President Barack Obama's support to India's right to get a UN Security Council seat has not gone down well in Pakistan.

Many Pakistanis feel that India would ride roughshod over Islamabad if it got veto rights -- like the other five permanent Security Council members.

Haroon called for "judicious use of resources" to achieve financial stability in Pakistan, cautioning that China and India were the emerging powers in the region who would control and influence the decision-making processes in future.

The envoy said he had almost completed his stint in the UN and was not interested in continuing in the post. "I have written to the president that I want to return to Pakistan."

India begins building homes for displaced Sri Lankans

Ahead of foreign minister S M Krishna's visit to Sri Lanka, India has started work on construction of 1,000 homes for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the island nation. The construction of 1,000 homes is a pilot project for the commitment made by India to build 50,000 houses in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

An MoU was signed last week between Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL) under the administrative control of the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation and the ministry of external affairs for taking up the project. Krishna will leave for Colombo on Thursday where he will hold bilateral talks, call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as open Indian consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota. Krishna and his Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris will preside over the meeting of their Joint Commission in Colombo.

The Indian minister will inaugurate a housing project and rail links in Sri Lanka's north, which was the main war theatre. One of the railway lines will link Talaimannar and Madhu Church in Lanka's northwest and the other will link Omanthai and Pallai in north. While Colombo has almost completed the process of resettlement, Krishna is expected to take up the issue of devolution of power to the minorities, a commitment made earlier made by Sri Lankan leaders to New Delhi.

Indo - Canada Free Trade Pact To Boost Trading..

A free trade agreement between India and Canada would boost bilateral trade by 50 per cent and increase the two-way merchandise trade to USD 15 billion over the next five-years, a senior Canadian Minister said.

"Canadians are excited about the prospect of a free trade agreement with India. Canadian businesses and investors have long called for closer ties to the Indian market place, which is one of the most exciting anywhere in the world," the Minister told reporters here today during his visit to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

He said that a free trade agreement would lead to a 50 per cent boost in bilateral trade between the two countries.

"Both the Governments have set a target of increasing the mutual bilateral merchandise trade to USD 15 billion in the next five years. A free trade agreement will help us get there," he said.

Last year, the bilateral merchandise trade reached close to USD 4.2 billion, he said.

Stronger Indo-US ties not to counterbalance China: US

President Barack Obama's enthusiasm for a stronger Indo-US relationship is not to "counterbalance" China's growing influence over Asia, a top American official has said.



"I don't think you heard anybody say that in the course of the President's three-day visit (to India), we're looking to counterbalance China in any way," Robert Blake, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, told journalists in New York and Washington during a digital video press conference.

"The President repeatedly made clear that we want a positive, cooperative and constructive relations with China in the same way that India does," he said.

Blake asserted that Obama's trip was to support India's expanding role in global institutions and Asian institutions, but the backing is not at China's cost.

"I think this is much more about how to expand India's role in some of these global institutions and in some of the Asian institutions, and we expressed clearly our support for that. But we do not see that growing role as coming at the expense of China," he said, pointing that secretary of state Hillary Clinton had recently said that "we do not seek to contain China."

After Obama endorsed India's bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council, US media pointed out that this was to counterbalance China.

India cautions US over military aid to Pakistan

India on Monday said the millions of dollars worth of US military assistance to Pakistan was "disproportionate" to Islamabad's needs and warned that it could be misused against India.

Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters in New Delhi that he had raised India's concerns during meetings with visiting US National Security Advisor James Jones and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, last week.

Antony pointed out that the arms supplies were "disproportionate to the war on terror" for which they being provided.

"We feel there is every possibility of diverting this sophisticated equipment against India," Antony said after a function in the Indian capital.

Antony said Delhi was worried about Pakistan misusing the assistance to build capacity against India and asked Washington to set up a mechanism to monitor the supplies.

US military supplies to Pakistan are estimated to be worth more than 300 million dollars annually, local news reports said. Among the supplies are F-16 combat jets, missiles, heavy artillery guns and helicopter gunships.

Including funding and training as well as equipment, US total support to Pakistani security forces was over 1 billion dollars in 2008, just over 2 billion dollars in 2009, and was projected to surpass that amount this year, according to the US Department of Defense website.

Pakistan is central in Washington's strategy in Afghanistan as well as tackling Taliban and al-Qaeda militants concentrated in the ragged terrain straddling the border between the two countries.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have had hostile relations and have gone to war three times since their 1947 independence from Britain. India and Pakistan has been repeatedly accusing fighting with each other of whom India is constantly blaming Pakistan of backing Islamist rebels and separatist militants who carry out deadly attacks in India.

UN Code to Halt Indiscriminate Drain of Health Workers

The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a 'global code of practice' to stem the 'brain drain' of health-care workers from developing to high-income countries, which weakens health systems in the countries they quit.

Worldwide, there are around 60 million health workers. About two-thirds provide health services; the other one-third is management and support workers. Without them, prevention and treatment of disease and advances in health care cannot reach those in need.

Against this backdrop, WHO -- a directing and coordinating health authority of the United Nations system -- has drafted a Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, which is intended to achieve "an equitable balance of the interests of health workers, source countries and destination countries".

According to WHO, health-care workers, like workers in other sectors of the economy, tend to go where the working conditions are best. "Income is an important motivation for migration, but not the only one. Other reasons include: greater job satisfaction; career opportunities; the quality of management and governance; moving away from political instability, war, and the threat of violence in the workplace."

Brain drain is often stepwise. People tend to move from the poorest regions to richer cities within a country, and then to high-income countries. In most countries, there is also movement from the public to the private sector, particularly if there are considerable differences in income levels, states a WHO factsheet.

WHO points out that globalization has helped to trigger international migration. At the same time, demand for health workers has increased in high-income countries where not enough required personnel is being trained locally and where the existing workforce is ageing. Demand for health services is also increasing because of ageing populations and the rise of chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, especially in rural areas.

In a number of middle-income countries with good health education systems -- such as Fiji, Jamaica, Mauritius and the Philippines -- a significant proportion of students, especially in nursing schools, begin their education with the intention of migrating, usually in search of a better income. Some countries, notably the Philippines, are seeking to capitalize on the demand for imported health workers by deliberately training graduates for international careers.

Shale: A home remedy for India’s gas problem

Taking a cue from the US, India is seriously looking at the unconventional shale gas, which, if successful, could mean a substantial improvement in the country’s energy outlook within the next few years.

The government is gearing up with policy guidelines for shale gas exploitation and auction shale gas blocks within the next two years, even as various E&P players are moving ahead with their pilot projects. ONGC has tied up with Schlumberger for a pilot project in Damodar valley at a capital cost of Rs 128 crore. Similarly, Oil India has initiated a project in Assam, while Reliance Industries is active in Cambay basin.

However, the project timelines are not short. ONGC, which has been researching shale gas in India since 2006, is expected to spend the next two years gathering geological data in its Damodar valley field, followed by drilling and resource estimation by 2013. In 2014 the company will be able to assess the feasibility and consider production from this pilot project.

While state-owned players are trying to source shale gas technologies from foreign players, Reliance Industries has chosen to learn the trade by working on live projects. RIL has agreed to invest over $3.1 billion in two separate deals over the next four years to garner 3,08,000 acres of shale in the US.

Shale is a common rock found across the world and the petroleum explorers are well aware of hydrocarbon deposits trapped in it for a long time. But its exploitation was considered impossible due to the solid nature of shale that prevented hydrocarbons to flow up. With development of newer drilling techniques in the past few years, it has become possible to tap this energy reserve.

The US is today witnessing excessive availability of natural gas, which is depressing its imports, increasing its inventories and pressurising prices.

A number of Indian sedimentary basins, including the hydrocarbon bearing ones — Cambay, Assam and Damodar — are bestowed with thick sequences of shale. Though not all shales are good candidates for shale gas exploration, substantial potential for gas from shale is expected from these basins.

ONGC informed that parameters like productive shale volumes, gas content, thermal maturity, type and amount of organic matter, lithology & extent, mineralogy and saturation, need to be assessed before shale formation can be considered promising.

While learning the technology to exploit these shale gas reserves is a key hurdle, lack of transporting and storage infrastructure for natural gas and policy framework are other impediments. The entire shale gas exploitation process also carries a number of environmental risks which need to be addressed for sustainable growth.

Although it is too early, India’s ability to successfully exploit shale gas could go a long way in supporting its future growth. A home-grown remedy to domestic energy needs could indeed be the key in sustaining economic growth and strengthen India’s position in global economics.

India and Pakistan in first substantive talks since Mumbai

India and Pakistan next week take the first step in trying to revive a peace process broken off after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, but no one is realistically expecting dramatic progress.

The meeting comes at a time when India has sent in the army to control weeks of violent anti-government protests in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, at the core of its dispute with Pakistan.

The July 15 talks between the foreign ministers could see them framing a new format to replace a broad 2004 peace process, known as the composite dialogue, which India suspended after the Mumbai attacks which it blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

That new format could free up the peace process from a political bind: India could not be seen as reviving the old peace process until Pakistan punished the planners of the Mumbai attack which killed 166 people, a demand Islamabad has yet to meet.

At the same time, both sides have been under pressure from Washington to reduce tension because their rivalry spills over into Afghanistan and complicates efforts to bring peace there.

Before the 2004 talks stalled, they came close to agreement under the composite dialogue on a maritime border dispute in the area of Sir Creek estuary and on the Siachen glacier in the Himalayas.

The Kashmir protests may only remain on the margins of next week's meeting between India and Pakistan because the damage from raking up the issue may outweigh the long-term benefits of fruitful talks.

UP nod awaited to begin projects

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday the Centre had plans and projects for Uttar Pradesh but awaited approval from the state government for execution. Singh said his government would do all it could for the rapid industrialisation of the state and the city of Kanpur. He said the power crisis in the state was severe and detrimental to industrial growth.

The Centre, had finalised proposals for several major power projects in the state, two of them around Kanpur. Work will begin when the state government considers these proposals and gives approval

At IIT Kanpur, where he delivered the convocation address, Singh showed concern at the brain drain from India. He reminded students that they were morally bound to pay back the people of the country, which was still burdened with poverty, hunger and disease and advised not to give birth to these kinds of incidents like brain drain.

He gave importance to scientific innovations for sustainable development in agriculture, health care and energy. He said the IITs must collaborate with one another and the corporate sector for research.

Singh stressed higher education so that a pool of quality teachers could be developed. And he said the government was planning to set up a National Council for Higher Education and Research.

Omar says J&K needs political solution

To douse spiraling anger, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made his first visit to violent protest-hit Baramulla district on Monday amid security restrictions and curfew in most parts of Kashmir. He extended sympathy to those who lost lives and reiterated "that a political solution is required to address the Kashmir problem".

Addressing senior citizens, civil society and party workers in Baramulla, Abdullah said, "Time has come to go to the root of the problem in Kashmir and address it with all sincerity." After coming under fire from the media and the Centre for not reaching out to people in violence-affected areas, the chief minister has decided to hold meetings at tehsil-level to listen to affected people.The government is for the people and shall fight for their rights and address their issues.

Monday's meeting started with special prayers for those who have lost their lives. The Chief Minister appealed to the Union government that "while a dialogue has started between India and Pakistan at different levels, a political dialogue between the Centre and different shades of opinion within the state must also start in right earnest. He said the lines between the two countries (India and Pakistan) cannot be redrawn but they can be made irrelevant.

He urged the Centre to open the Uri-Muzafarabad road for all the people of Jammu & Kashmir living across the line of control. Abdullah said his government will work with the Union Government to strengthen the cross LoC trade and change it from a barter system to proper trade where the financial transactions actually happen through the banking system.

The chief minister said the democracy gives a right to opinion and expression. It is unfortunate that disturbances were affecting the education of the children, tourism, trade commerce and developmental activities.

Government is working to bring FDI in power sector

Indian government is working to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the power sector which is critical for the country's economic growth. Earlier, despite making provisions for 100%

FDI in the power sector under the Electricity Act, 2003, not much response was there since menerly 2-3 foreign investors came forward but now, government is working to help instil confidence in foreign investors and see the sector grow.

The government has already paid Rs.10,000 crore to Enron though the commitment was made by the previous National Democratic Alliance government. To fulfil the commitment, Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh is taking different steps as he doesn't want India's image to suffer. The ministry is on course to achieve the 78,700 MW target for the 12th plan and listed steps like enhancing the capacity of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).

Currently, India needs bigger generation capacity as it is aiming to achieve 1,000 units per capita consumption by 2012. At present, the country's per capita power consumption is 700-800 units.

Andhra Pradesh government has urged the union minister to speed up the clearances for the power projects in the state as the state is uniquely positioned to emerge as a power hub as it has abundant coal and natural gas reserves and also has Uranium reserves and the Uranium Corporation of India Limited has selected Thummallapalli in Kadapa district and Lampapur-Peddagattu in Nalgonda district for mining uranium.

Boeing is facing the problem of brain drain

These days, Boeing is facing the problem of Brain drain of its employees making the executives worried. Over the next decade, Boeing needs 21,000 aerospace workers to replace the tide of Baby Boomers getting ready to retire of whom, 22% of workers can retire at any moment because of their age have been reached 55. But the shortage of skilled aerospace are spread across all the aerospace companies which lost about 129,350 workers over five years. Only Lockheed Martin is running short of 140,000 workers because of this problem of brain drain.

According to Jim Albaugh, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the wave of retirements is “the intellectual disarmament” for the organisation since it doesn't have enough young people getting interested in math and science.

Young people around the world are either not interested in aerospace careers or don’t have the math and science skills for it. The problem doesn’t just start in college. Only about 8% of students in USA are interest in engineering as a career. There is no visionary statement to get younger generation interested in engineering and science.

The lack of interest also could be tied to a bad image of the aerospace industry, according to the Interagency Aerospace Revitalization Task Force. Layoffs, labor strife and outsourcing have tarnished aerospace’s reputation over the years. Eighty percent of aerospace workers who responded to a 2002 study said they wouldn’t encourage their children to pursue careers in the industry. On the outsourcing subject, the company says, once a core competency is outsourced to someone else, he decides that’s something he isn't going to compete on.

Despite the efforts made by Boeing to encourage people to get into aerospace careers, finding enough aerospace engineers and Machinists is a major part of this job for years to come as it’s only going to get more challenging.

Is India-Pakistan meetings important for bilateral ties?

According to an UAE newspaper, the meeting between the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers, fixed for July 15, would signify an important step towards resumption of bilateral ties between the two neighbours. It says, that with the shadow of the Mumbai terror attacks last year and the spectre of terrorism threatening to destroy whatever little trust exists between India and Pakistan, it is time for the respective parties to draw up a comprehensive agenda for dialogue and the speedy implementation of confidence-building measures.



The process of conversation which will, in all probability, be set on important and multiple agendas, should be cloaked in optimism and realism. Confidence-building measures are the need of the hour and the brittle nature of the current relationship should be fashioned by solidity. The international community should "step back" and allow the two "mature nations" to chalk out the dialogue process without any interference.

India and China togetherly are planning to protect tigers

In a recent news, India and China said they together want to work in order to protect their remaining tiger population from extinction.

“I would like to work very closely with the Chinese on tiger conservation. China is one of the reasons our tiger population is being decimated,” Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister told the Financial Times. According to estimates, there are between 800 to 1,300 tigers left in the wild in India.

He added that the tiger conservation was part of a proposed bilateral agenda on environment and natural resources that included sharing information and expertise on Himalayan glaciers and regional water resources.

Tiger trade has been a contested issue for both India and China. Tigers are illegally hunted for their parts to be sold and used in traditional Chinese medicine. This factor plus the rapid loss of original habitat have led tiger populations to rapidly decline.

So far, 15 tigers have been illegally killed this year based on a Wildlife Protection Society of India report. In 2009, 32 tigers were killed through poaching and seizures.

Related Reading

“Less Than 800 Tigers Left in India”
China Has 6,000 Captive Tigers, ‘Can Breed 1,000 Each Year’

The Indo - US Nuclear Civilian Deal: Dictate Or Deal?

The United States of America hailed the Nuclear Civilian Deal Agreement terming it historic. President Bush said "I am pleased that our two countries will soon have increased opportunities to work together to meet our energy needs in a manner that does not increase air-pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, promotes clean development, supports non-proliferation, and advances our trade interests."

The Indian Prime Minister said in parliament on similar lines on march 7th 2006, "The resumption of civilian nuclear energy cooperation would demonstrate that we have entered a new and more positive phase of our ties, so that we can finally put behind us years of troubled relations in the nuclear field".

The country's top nuclear scientists have expressed concern over the passing of the recent Indo-US nuclear civilian deal by the American Congress .The concerns are quite legitimate. The scientists have pointed out the provision of the deal seeks to cap India's right to conduct atomic tests. The former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman M R Srinivasan now a Member of the AEC, expressed concern over the provision in the "Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 which states that the US would terminate civilian nuclear cooperation if India were to conduct a nuclear test". This is something which no government of a sovereign nation can take as it clearly dictates in which a country's foreign policy should move.

"It is impossible to have a minimum credible deterrent without conducting nuclear tests. But the bill indicates that the cooperation will be terminated if this is done," former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman P K Iyengar said. For the Indian nuclear program to continue in a peaceful manner future test for having a minimum deterrent would be required. On top of that United States should not dictate us as to what we should do with our peaceful nuclear program.

The Indian External Affairs minister says, "India need not worry about the legislation passed by the US Congress as it is meant for the US lawmakers. India is obliged only to the bilateral agreement (123 Agreement),"He further stated in the parliament, "I would like to inform the House that the US Administration has categorically assured us that this legislation enables the United States to fulfill all of the commitments it made to India in the July 18 and March 2 Joint Statements and that this legislation explicitly authorises civil nuclear cooperation with India in a manner fully consistent with those two Statements. We fully expect the July 18 Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan to be reflected in the text of the 123 Agreement".

However question arises which both the CPI (M) and the BJP has pointed out rightly that there cannot be sea changes in the 123 agreement from what has been passed by the American Congress.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded that the Government reject the "Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006," passed by the U.S. Congress instead of "accepting the humiliating conditionalities contained in it." The former Union Minister, Yashwant Sinha said, "final product is now before us and it does not look good. The Act passed by the U.S. legislature leaves us in no doubt that the purpose of the deal is to bilaterally impose on India conditionalities which are worse than those in the NPT [Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty] and the CTBT [Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty]. This is why a slim four-page bill is now a 41-page document,"

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has said that the United States' legislation on the nuclear deal was "not acceptable," and asked the Manmohan Singh Government to discontinue talks with the George Bush administration, as the law contradicted most significant assurances given by the Prime Minister to Parliament. The statement of the Polit Bureau said, "Obviously, the U.S. administration is bound by the provisions of its Act while negotiating this agreement. This cannot be accepted by India, as it negates the most significant, if not all, assurances given by the Prime Minister to Parliament. Thus, further negotiations on this score must not proceed.''

The agreement will place a cap on India's nuclear program and will compromise not just India's weapons program but also the country's foreign policy. The goalposts which the Indian Prime Minister had spoken off in the Indian Parliament have shifted and the nuclear bill barters away India's right to explode a nuclear bomb. Another major concern which the Indian scientists have is that inspectors from the US will have access to India's nuclear facilities. This could be very dangerous for your strategic concerns as there is every chance of our nuclear secrets getting out and falling into the hands of the American establishment and this can be very dangerous for us in the long run. The very existence of our independent nuclear program would come under question. India cannot afford to have its nuclear program controlled by the Americans like that of Pakistan's

Another major concern is the fear that highly radioactive spent fuel will pile up if India is not allowed to recycle. On this issue the CPI (M) had to say this. "A major issue is that the civilian nuclear cooperation entails the right of India to sale of enriched fuel and reprocessing technique. The law provides for imposing restrictions and trade regimes, barring access to dual use nuclear technology. Thus India will be denied its full nuclear cycle." The BJP held the opinion that "the Act militated against full civil nuclear cooperation with India, the certification and reporting requirements continued to be rigorous and there was no assurance of uninterrupted fuel supplies for the civilian reactors. In fact, India could not reprocess the used fuel nor could it ship it back to the U.S. unless its Congress approved the reshipment".

This clause of the act is a major irritant for total cooperation in the nuclear field between the two countries as it negates the issue of equal parity. If accepted by India our nuclear program would get dependant of the supply of nuclear fuel by the United States .As the supply of nuclear fuel would depend on the whims and fancies of the US administration. The CPI (M) pointed this out in very clear terms when it said, "on the annual good conduct certification by the U.S. President the agreement would be in perpetuity, there was a possibility of the screws being tightened, if a Democrat, having different views on nuclear non-proliferation, came to power"

On a similar note the BJP pointed out "the certification and reporting requirements continued to be rigorous and there was no assurance of uninterrupted fuel supplies for the civilian reactors. India was forbidden from nuclear testing, even of the kind permitted by the CTBT, and the weapons program would be subjected to intrusive U.S. scrutiny. "The deal is more unequal than ever before. The principle of parity, on which the Prime Minister had placed so much emphasis, stands abandoned". The nuclear scientists of India have also pointed out that in this Indo- US deal, India will only get a limited supply of nuclear fuel and not a lifetime supply.

With objections being raised from all quarters the government of India should do a serious rethink on the whole deal itself. It should make the stand of India very clear to President Bush. The government of India argues that the agreement between India and the USA would be based on the "123 agreement" as such we should not be bothered about their internal legislation. The other four more agreements to follow were the Indian Safeguard Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the "123 Agreement" for bilateral cooperation with the U.S., the new guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Additional Protocol, also with the IAEA. As the BJP and the CPI (M) have rightly pointed out the other four agreements will flow from this Act.

The clause in relation to Iran is also a direct interference in our foreign policy. The CPI (M) has rightly pointed out "The agreement is between India and the United States and not for Iran. Even the preamble goes beyond nuclear cooperation and there is an attempt to bind India to U.S. strategic interests in the name of partnership."

The looking into the overall pact as of now it seems to be highly insulting for India to accept it in its present form. It would be prudent enough for the Indian Government to tell the Bush administration a point or two. To accept the deal in its present form would be suicidal for India She cannot afford to do this, as this would be at the expense of our age-old independent foreign policy. We cannot accept such dictation from Uncle Sam and company .Let us be clear on this once for all.

War Between Two Democracies

Soon after India and Pakistan were partitioned in 1947 from the British regime, the most violent outbreak of the sour relationship between the two countries came in 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and 1999.

War of 1947

The first war arose over Kashmir, in the year 1947. The ruling family of Kashmir were Hindus and most of its residents were Muslims, but what made the situation complicated was that Kashmir was also bordering on Pakistan. Both, India and Pakistan, wanted to include Kashmir to their countries while the ruler wanted to have an independent Kashmir. The majority of the Kashmiris were Muslims and therefore Pakistanis had their claim over Kashmir.

While the Indians claimed that since Kashmir's ruler was a Hindu and they also had support from the leader of Kashmir who were muslims they had their rights on Kashmir. The Pakistanis, to invade Kashmir sent army and mercenaries into Kashmir. The Hindu ruler appealed to India for aid, and he agreed in exchange to become a part of India under some specific terms which would give Kashmir more autonomy than the other Indian states.. India moved quickly to consolidate its position in Kashmir, and pushed out Pakistan's "volunteers" back.

The United Nations intervened and a cease fire was declared, with parts of Kashmir which Pakistan invaded remaining in their hands. India was able to hold a bigger part of the beautiful state which it annexed in 1957. India continues to claim its rights over Kashmir, while the Pakistan believes Kashmir to be its part. The Kashmir problem is still an unsolved issue and the official map of India shows the entire Kashmir to be its integral part including even the part which is in the control of Pakistan.

War of 1965

Since Partition of India in 1947, relations between Pakistan and India remained soured over several issues. Although the Kashmir conflict was the predominant one, other border disputes also existed, the most notable being the Rann of Kutch, a barren region in the western part of India in the state of Gujarat.

On March 20, 1965, and then again in April 1965, fight broke out between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch. Initially it involved only the border police from both nations, but the disputed area soon witnessed intermittent skirmishes between the armed forces of the two countries. In June 1965, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson successfully persuaded both countries to end up the hostilities and a tribunal was set up to resolve the dispute. The verdict, saw Pakistan being awarded 350 square miles of the Rann of Kutch, as against its original claim of 3500 square miles. This was a big success for Pakistan.

After its success in the Rann of Kutch, Pakistan started believing that the Indian Army would be unable to defend itself against a quick military offensive in the disputed region of Kashmir. India had suffered a heavy loss in its battle against China in the year 1962 which incited the Pakistanis to launch the offensive. Pakistan believed that the population of Kashmir was unhappy with Indian regime and that a resistance movement could be ignited by a few infiltrating saboteurs. Pakistan wanted to ignite a resistance movement by means of a covert infiltration which was codenamed ¨Operation Gibraltar¨. The Pakistani infiltrators were soon discovered by the locals and their presence was reported. The operation ended in a complete failure.

After the fighting spread to Kashmir and to the Punjab, in September Pakistani and Indian troops started crossing the partition line between the two countries and launched air assaults on each other. Pakistan and India, after heavy losses on both sides but India coming out as a winner with large parts of Pakistan land annexed, agreed to a UN-sponsored cease-fire and withdrew to the pre-August lines. Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and President Ayub Khan of Pakistan met in Tashkent, USSR (now in Uzbekistan), in January, 1966, and signed an agreement with an oath to continue negotiations and respect for the cease-fire conditions.

War of 1971 (Creation of Bangladesh)

Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated when a civil war erupted in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against the East Pakistanis demanding greater autonomy. The fighting forced huge number of (approximately 10 million) East Pakistani Bengalis to flee to India. When Pakistan attacked Indian airfields in Kashmir, it faced and attack both on East and West Pakistan. India occupied the eastern half of Pakistan, which later declared its independence as Bangladesh on Dec. 6th 1971. After Pakistan´s defeat a UN cease-fire was arranged in mid of December. Pakistan lost its eastern half known as East Pakistan, an army of 100,000 soldiers, and was thrown into political turmoil. Mujibur Rahman in East Pakistan emerged as the prime minister of Bangladesh. Tensions were alleviated by the Shimla accord in 1972 and by Pakistan´s recognition of Bangladesh in 1974.

The Kargil War

The 1999 war also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the district of Kargil in Kashmir. The cause of the war was infiltration of the Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into regions on the Indian side of the Line of Control, which served as the de facto border between the two states. During the war and even after, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely to the independent insurgents of Kashmir, but documents left behind by casualties and some statements made by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed a complete involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces. The Indian Army, supported by the Indian Air Force, attacked the Pakistani positions and, with international diplomatic support and eventually forced withdrawal of the Pakistani forces across the Line of Control.

The war is one of the most recent examples of a high altitude warfare which took place on the Great Himalayas. It posed significant logistical problems for both the combating sides. This was the first direct ground war between any two countries after both the nations had developed nuclear weapons. (India and Pakistan both test-detonated nuclear bombs in May 1998. The first Indian nuclear test was conducted in 1974.) The war led to heightened tension between the two countries and increased defense spending by India. The aftermath caused instability of the government and the economy in Pakistan and on October 12, 1999, a military coup d'etat by the military placed army chief Pervez Musharraf in power.

India China Border Dispute - A Perspective

China and India have been neighbours for as long as history. The two nations were separated by the Himalayas which was a barrier between the two nations. Though some Chinese travellers did came to India, yet because of this massive Mountain range the people to people contact was minimal.

Over the centuries the Hindus lost power and were successively governed by Muslim and British rulers. The Chinese did have a massive expansion but soon became insular and fell back economically and allowed themselves to be exploited by the Japanese and the Western powers. Thus both nations were not masters of their own destiny. In 1947 India won freedom with a non- violent movement led by Gandhi and Mao led a resurgent Red Army to complete domination by the communists and centralised power. Comparisons are odious-but the dawn of a new beginning for both was ominous. China started a campaign of consolidation and rectification of 'historical wrongs'. Tibet was the central piece with China invading and occupying the mountain region with the Indian leadership steeped in Gandhian philosophy of non violence unable to help the Tibetans. The Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet and was given asylum in India. This angered the Chinese who started a policy of oppression against the Tibetan people and more important against their culture.

The occupation of Tibet brought the Chinese power on to India's door step. India started a democratic process copied from Westminster and the leadership showed naivety by not laying stress on the northern borders with China and also allowed Tibet to be engulfed by China. Thus Tibet as a buffer was lost for ever.

Sensing that India could challenge China's supremacy the Chinese occupied vast tracts (30,000 sq miles) in Ladakh and did not accept the McMahan line as a frontier in the East. The Shimla pact of 1914 earlier attended by the representatives of Tibet, China and British on which India relied for an interpretation of the border with Tibet was ignored by the Chinese. Lack of clear strategic insight on the part of India cost India heavily and it was forgotten that even at that conference the Chinese did not sign on the dotted line.

Power rivalry led to the 1962 India China war and established China as the dominant power in Asia. The trend of keeping the fire burning and also as a reminder of China's great power status has led to the present Chinese incursions in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. India has not understood the game of power politics. The Chinese will not settle the border issue and at any time can stoke up the flames, as the Chinese have made assiduous plans and in contrast India appears as a weakling. A complete change in the Indian thinking and the further development of the Indian armed might can only deter China. Historical blunders and lack of a strategic concept to be a world power has cost India dear.

Impact of FDI in Retail in India

The opening up of retail trade for foreign direct investment (FDI) promises to usher in revolutionary changes to the Indian consumer market in the days to come.

Recently, in a significant step towards liberalising India's retail trade, the government had decided to partially open the retail sector by announcing 51 percent FDI in India in single brand retailing - a move that should pave way for big names like Nike, Versace, Addidas, Marks & Spencer to set up their own stores in India.

This means that foreign companies willing to enter the Indian market will now be able to invest up to 51 percent in setting up production facilities, distribution network and retail shops and the rest will come from Indian investors. But at the moment, the entry of retail giants of multiple brands like Wal-Mart is not allowed. The government is yet to announce the guidelines that will make the picture more clear.

However, experts are still divided on the problems and prospects of this move. Some say it will shrink employment opportunities, completely alter the retail distributional structure and deal a death blow to the corner shop structure.

The optimists, on the other hand, see a whole range of opportunities -- from improved collection, processing and better distribution of farm products to generation of more opportunities for the rural and urban unemployed.

Until now, global retailers were required to sell their products through franchises or wholesale trading. This move will help them setting their own base in India and will attract foreign capital along with better quality products and services for the consumers.

The Indian retail market currently estimated to be worth $250 billion is presently dominated by millions of mom-and-pop stores that cater to 97 percent of the total market.

According to a recent study, the Indian retail Industry is expected to grow at about 36 percent by 2008 and with the increase in foreign investment the industry is expected to do a business of Rs. 1.60 trillion by the year 2008.

With the new regulations in place, the debate is that what will happen to these stores? Will the entry of global retailers wipe out these local stores or will it make no impact? If we take China's example, the FDI in India in retail has little or no impact on the local retailers and they still dominate the retail sector.

Secondly, the decision may not trigger the FDI flow as such as single brand retailers who wanted to be in India like Nike and Reebok are already here through franchise and may find it tough to find local partners willing to invest in the business.

Indian retail sector is the second largest employer after agriculture in the country and the entry of foreign companies will not only increase the number of employment opportunities but also exports.

With foreign companies setting up their own stores in India, the consumer will get access to some of the major global brands. Entry of foreign brands would also improve the quality and variety of products, increase competition and expand manufacturing.

Organised retailing holds the promise of lowering the prices of foreign goods sold through these large stores. This also means that some of these retail chains will eventually have to start manufacturing locally or outsource from domestic manufacturers in order to be in the competition.

This is more so considering the fact super and corner markets are very likely to co-exist in the Indian market and it would make the latter more competitive and skilled in terms of operations.

Also, several Indian corporates such as the Tatas, ITC, the RPG Group and the Rahejas have already established their outlet chains. Others such as Viveks in Chennai have established multi-brand stores. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance, too, is reported to be planning a major foray into retail business.

All this promises to make the Indian retail market a real happening place in the days ahead while at the same time offering immense business opportunities to the domestic entrepreneurs. In fact, this is likely to transform the whole contours of the India market, making it a part of the overall global market.

Brain Drain in India

Indian education system is counted amongst the best in the world. The land of Aryabhatta has given many intelligent minds to the world.

The Indian system of education follows a smooth hierarchy from basics to perfection. The school drop outs in India are very less as compared to other parts of the world. But still there remains a huge uneducated population that sometimes nullifies the effect of the good things that the intelligent minds of India do!

After completing their education in India, people often leave for foreign countries in search of better working environment and pay package on account of unemployment. This concept of taking education in a country but earning for another is known as brain drain. Asian countries have been a victim of such concept since the west opened up job opportunities s for eastern countries. They get cheap and hardworking labor in this manner!!

Unemployment in India has been an overused excuse by the one's who are responsible for such brain drain and also by the ones who are desperately trying to contribute to the same. The opportunities inside the country suddenly seem small and worthless in front of the starry image of the west. More than anything else, better lifestyle and a developed country name to flaunt, has lead people into migrating their working areas from their native place to a western country. But the question remains is it really so starry as it seems? Are there seriously no "good" job opportunities in India? Well, had this question come a decade earlier the answer would have been a tragic yes, but today when many multi national companies are desperately trying to establish a branch in India, the verity differs!

Going to foreign countries to earn can be beneficial for your native land only in case you are sending back money in foreign currency and adding to the countries funds and also going with an intention of returning.

The patriotism should not be lost to personal fervor.

Be an Indian, support India!

One-Sixth of the World's Population - Talking About India

It is quite amazing the incredible innovation and growth that is being experienced in India. It is amazing how the standard of living is improving, the technology is improving, the education is improving, the infrastructure is growing, and the power, strength, and will of all Indians is showing light. What we basically have in India right now is1 billion humans on the fast track to prosperity, and they are undeterred, committed, and are dedicated to persevere no matter what it takes.

You may not realise this but India represents almost 1/6 of the world's population, and it is a major force and power in the world. Right now, most everyone is looking at China, and its fast growth. Still, to deny the reality that India is right behind them and could pass them should not be underestimated. Both China and India will be superpowers in the future; there is no stopping their potential.

Such fast growth obviously comes with additional challenges such as water supply, food supply, transportation issues, resources, and etc. nevertheless, India is meeting those challenges and problems head-on. Thanks to their investment in education and the help of their trading partners Indians are experiencing massive changes in their civilisation and society, with higher standards of living and quality of life.

There are about 1.3 billion people in China, and a little over 1 billion people in India. In India there is a higher birth rate than in China, and if this continues India will indeed pass China in population. As India continues the economic growth curve into the future, we should expect many great things and a lot of competition in the world making us all better and increasing the global domestic product. I hope you will please consider all this.

India - A Future Warehouse of the World

Abstract

India has the world's second largest population and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. India has a promising future, given the unprecedented growth in economy and its clout in the global issues. India is now riding on the wave of a gigantic boom in computer driven new economy. Many developed countries of the world are seeking the huge pool of English speaking talented software professionals in India. As the world is transforming towards knowledge society, India too is moving proportionately competing with the world. With the increase of Internet users and the advancement of information and communication technology in India had boasted the development towards e-commerce in global economic society. In IT sector India is booming as a super power. In the last few years India has made rapid strides in the IT sector especially in the software services and IT enabled services. In this paper we analyses the picture of IT industry in a very near future in India & contribution of India in world's Information Technology Sector.

Introduction

From the 1950s, IBM had a virtual monopoly of computers in India. The 360 series release in 1960s was the major workhouse of the large organizations. They even maintained a chain of programmers who could write down software's for their machines. However in 1978, when George Fernandes, ministry of industries at that time, commanded IBM to take local shareholders into its subsidiary, the company refused strictly and went back after winding up its all operations in India. Its ex-employees then set up Computer Maintenance Corporation, with the primary object of maintaining IBM computers.

During the period of 1995-2000, the Indian IT Industry has recorded a C.A.G.R. (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of more than 42.4 percent, which is almost double the growth rate of IT industries in many of the developed countries. For Details contact AMCHAM National Secretariat, New Delhi Foreign companies particularly American companies have played a vital role in making India an emerging IT super power in the world. These MNCs account for nearly 22 per cent of Indian software exports. According to the latest NASSCOM estimates, in 2001-02, multinational infotech companies exported software worth Rs. 6500 crore from India. Country's total software export was pegged at Rs. 29400 crore. In terms of investment and growth, U.S. companies like Cognizant Technologies (largest export revenue earning MNC) IBM, Oracle, GE, Cisco, Compaq, Intel amongst others lead the MNCs in the Information Technology sector. Nine out of top 20 Indian IT firms are from United States. These account for over 37% of the turnover of the top 20 firms operating in India. Despite their significant contribution to the IT sector, these companies have to face a number of procedural and operational problems in India.

However, the volume of e-commerce, in India, is far below the levels achieved in USA, which was about 1 percent of the total GDP in 1999. Further, the expected volume of e-commerce in India in 2001 (US$ 255.3 million) is also below the levels expected to be achieved, which in comparison to Australia (US$ 3 billion), China (US$ 586 million), South Korea (US$ 876 million) and Hong Kong (US$685 million) is quite less.

Time has changed the way businesses are carried out. What was supposed to be known to few and limited to the home towns, appears to be an ancient methodology of carrying out the work. The present day brands work on world wide scale, that is they are successful in not just one particular region but have deepened their roots to all the corners in the globe that you can think of.
Information Technology is what constitutes the most important sector in the present day trend of carrying out business. It is because you can not be present everywhere to monitor the work, but with networking and communications, you can always stay in contact with the other business sites of yours.

ICT Approaches of India

A spate of reforms-post-1991 economic crisis-have given impetus to the Indian economy, particularly to the ICT sector. As part of the reform agenda, the Indian Government has taken major steps to promote ICT including the creation in 1988 of a World Market Policy, with a focus on software development for export; telecommunications policy reform; privatization of the national long-distance and mobile phone markets; and development of a more comprehensive approach to ICT. Although India's success is commanding increasing attention and investment, it has yet to result in the distribution of social and economic benefits across a broader base of the population. Challenges-including the perception of an unfavorable regulatory climate, an overloaded judicial system, poor infrastructure and costly access, and limited use of ICT-remain. The emerging shift in government strategy, toward knowledge-intensive services, has created a climate more conducive to addressing enterprise, domestic infrastructure, education and the use of ICT to meet development needs.
Policy: India's focus on self-reliant industrialization in the 1970s and 1980s has been replaced with reforms aimed at positioning India in the world economy: the foreign direct investment process has been streamlined, new sectors have been opened up to foreign direct investment and ownership, and the government has exempted the ICT industry from corporate income tax for five years. These reforms have helped India to become increasingly integrated into the global economy through growth in the export of software and skill-intensive software services, such as call-centers.

In 1986, the Indian government announced a new software policy designed to serve as a catalyst for the software industry. This was followed in 1988 with the World Market Policy and the establishment of the Software Technology Parks of India (STP) scheme. As a result, the Indian software industry grew from a mere US$150 million in 1991-1992 to a staggering US$5.7 billion (including over US$4 billion worth of software exports) in 1999-2000-representing an annual growth rate of over 50 percent.

The establishment of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was a key step towards effective implementation of telecommunications reforms. In 1992, the mobile phone market was opened up to private operators, in 1994 the fixed services market followed, and finally in 1999, national long distance operations were opened to private competition. Prior to these reforms, the Department of Telecommunications had been the sole provider of telecommunications services.

In addition, to attract foreign direct investment, the government permitted foreign equity of up to 100 percent and duty free import on all inputs. Government-created technology parks also offered professional labor services to clients, a cost-effective program for India since ICT labour is so inexpensive by global standards.

Infrastructure: Teledensity in India has reached 3.5 percent of the population. Approximately 1 percent of households have fixed line connections, compared to 10 percent in China. The mobile sector has approximately 3 million users, growing at 100 percent per annum, and is expected to outstrip the fixed line market in the near future. The number of Internet accounts is around 1.5 million, growing at 50 percent per annum. India also has very high penetration rates of terrestrial TV, cable and radio. Voice and data wireless solutions, for both domestic and export markets, are increasingly produced and used locally.

Access to telephones in Indian villages has improved in the last five to six years through the introduction of the Public Call Office (PCO) run by local shopkeepers. More than 60 percent of the villages in India have at least one phone. This also includes over 800,000 Village Public Telephones (VPTs). Worldtel is undertaking a pilot in four states to secure financing to upgrade the Village Public Telephones so they will soon be Internet-accessible.

In some urban locations, India's Software Technology Parks (STPs) provide infrastructure, buildings, electricity, telecommunications facilities and high-speed satellite links to facilitate export processing of software.

India also has a number of progressive computerized networks in place, including a stock exchange, the Indian Railways Passenger Reservation System, and the National Informatics Centre Network (NICNET), which connects government agencies at the central, state and district levels.

Enterprise: India's well-established framework for protecting intellectual property rights has been an important inducement to business investment: well-known international trademarks have been protected by Indian laws, even when they were not registered in India. In 1999, major legislation was passed to protect intellectual property rights in harmony with international practices and in compliance with India's obligations under TRIPS.

Much of the initial domestic demand stimulus for ICT and ICT services industries in India has come from government: 28 percent of total IT spending to date can be attributed to government and public sector expenditure. Major areas of government expenditure include: financial services, taxation, customs, telecommunications, education, defense and public infrastructure. As a result of the growth in ICT use in India, the ICT industry itself has also increased its domestic economic activity, for example, a number of ICT companies have developed accounting and word processing packages in Indian languages. The potential impact of this growth on the domestic economy is much broader than developing software for export only.

Human Capacity: In spite of relatively low literacy rates among the general population, India has several key advantages in human capital: a large English-speaking population and world-class education, research and management institutions-a direct result of investment in self-reliance in science and technology. In addition to establishing Indian Institutes of Technology in various cities around India to create a large pool of technical skills, the government has a computer policy to encourage R&D in personal computers. The IT training sector continues to grow at a rapid rate: total training revenues in 1998 were estimated at US$225 million, 30 percent up on the previous year. However, one of the biggest challenges to the Indian software industry remains the difficulty in attracting and retaining talented professionals.

Content and Applications: India has a large population with great linguistic diversity. Creating and maintaining locally relevant content for a country with 418 languages is a challenge. Nevertheless, local language content is slowly making ICT more relevant and accessible to a broader cross-section of the population. For example, India's Center for Development of Advanced Computing has recently launched a scheme called iLEAP-ISP to create a free multilingual word processor to be made available to all Internet subscribers. On other fronts, some states such as Tamil Nadu have launched their own initiatives to support the standardization of local language software through interface programs that can be adapted to word processors, dictionaries, and commercial keyboards for use in schools, colleges, government offices and homes.

An emphasis has also been placed on the development of relevant e-government applications in India. Some states such as Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have started to introduce applications which allow citizens to have faster and more transparent access to government services-for example, the provision of information on laws and regulations, and the procuring of licenses and official documents online.

Strategic Compact: Public-private partnerships, catalyzed by the IT Ministry, have played a key role in India's ICT-related development. One of the positive results of this effort has been the IT Act of 2000, which was based on the recommendation of the National IT Task Force, and aims to set the overall strategy for the IT sector. In addition, the government and the private sector are starting to come together to foster ICT development. For example, a joint effort by the Computer Science Automation Department at the Indian Institute of Science and a Bangalore-based private company have developed Simputer-a cheap micro-computer that enables illiterate users to browse the Internet.
India's development and contribution in world's information technology sector is of highest reputation. Cities like Bangalore have become the favorite(most preferred) destinations of all the big banners like HSBC, Dell, Microsoft, GE, Hewlett Packard, and several Indian multi national firms like Infosys

Technologies, Wipro, and Microland who have set up their offices in the city. It is because the city offers good infrastructure, with large floor space and great telecom facilities. This can be judged on the basis of the high growth statistics of India and the changing outlook of the companies towards India .

It is because of this growth many popular brands that have not yet build up there rigid offices in the country are making it fast to have a destination in India too. For example, Sun Microsystems, a global IT major, announced in Bangalore to double the present workforce of the company's Sun India Engineering Center (IEC) from the present 1000 to 2000 in the next two years time. IEC, which is the largest R&D center for Sun outside the US , would also focus on developing products in India to suit the needs of the Indian market, which would be benchmarked globally.

This speedy growth of IT Sector is undoubtedly due to the efforts of Indian government and the other developments that took in the other parts of the globe.

The country has seen an era when after the IBM shutted its shop in India in 1950, the mainframes that were imported into the country were all from Russia .

Western computer could not be imported because of an American embargo on export of high-technology equipment to India , which was considered an ally of the Soviet Union .

Slowly, with the time the country could develop its first powerful parallel computer in 1991 known as CDAC, by connecting together a string of less powerful computers.

With time and the continuous growth across the world, the country continued struggling and came up as the world leader in Information Technology Sector.
The industry has grown up to US $ 5.7 billion (including over $4 billion worth of software exports) in 1999-2000, with the annual growth rate not sliding below 50 percent since 1991.

It exports software and services to nearly 95 countries around the world. The share of North America ( U.S. & Canada ) in India 's software exports is about 61 per cent.

The Indian labor is not only cheap but is technically skilled too to the world class level. It is due to the Indian Education System that includes in its course curriculum the practical knowledge of the latest technology that is developed in world along with the fluency in English Language that imparts compatibility in an Indian technician to communicate and work through out the world.

Further the geographical location of India serves it the advantage of being exactly halfway round the world from the US west coast, which is another reason why India is preferred destination of many big brands.

Also, The presence of a large number of Indians, especially engineers, in the US gave India an easy entry into the US software market.

What adds more to the dominance of India in Information Technology Sector is the government policies like the enactment of cyber laws to protect and safeguard the interest of software companies in India .

Setting up of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), by the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India and the International Technology Park in a joint project by the State Government, the TATA Group and the Singapore Consortium to promote and facilitate the software exports is another major step towards the growth of Indian Information Technology Sector.
Similarly an industrial park, known as Electronic City , was set up in 1991 takes more than a hundred electronic industries including Motorola, Infosys, Siemens, ITI, and Wipro, in an area of around 330 acres.

The Export Promotion Industrial Park , built near International Technology Park , gives an exclusive 288 acres of area for export oriented business. GE has its India Technology Center located at this park and employs hundreds of multi disciplinary technology development activities.

The other promotional activities that brought up India to this position include the IT Corridor project. Conceptualized by Singapore 's Jurong Town Corporation Private Ltd, the IT corridor Project was initiated by the Department of IT and the Bangalore Development Authority in order to develop state of the art facilities for the development of knowledge based industries.

Thought's of some World's IT leaders about India

"Economic growth will force better governance, and better governance will feed more economic growth" - SV, NYC, USA

The people and communities at large feel that they don't have the ability to make a difference - Juzar Singh Sangha, Bedford

India has to take more care of the village population who are still struggling to live properly - John Karondukadavil, India, Living in Poland, Jaslo

India can become a superpower if she concentrates on the technology market niche-Devyani Prabhat, Jersey City, USA

India must counter its skills and wage crisis-Pallavi, Sydney, Australia

Hopefully India will lead the world towards a more humane and tolerant future--Nilesh, Antwerp, Belgium

India needs to take strong and clear cut decisions to emerge as a global player-Nivedita Nadkarni, Madison, USA

India is a country gaining economic ground in the world-Justin, Bristol, UK

Indians now have to develop a sense of national pride-Leila, USA

India will never be a superpower, much less a global power-Jonathan, Boston, USA

India has had a sharp increase in the estimated number of HIV infections-Sezai, Eskisehir, Turkey

India's economic success is built on the sacrifices of previous generations-Shekhar Scindia, Edison, NJ, USA

While India's economic growth is encouraging, its sustainability is doubtful-Sigismond Wilson, Sierra Leonean in Michigan, USA

Conclusion

India is a perfect solution for all those companies, which seek for cheap, yet technically skilled labour who have innovative minds and state of art to work over a project. The ample of facilities provide in a perfect working conditions. For rest, cyber laws are there to monitor and safeguard everyone's interest related to IT sector.

All these reasons contribute for India to be as the most adored destination to many companies. . So we can conclude:

•India poised for an explosive growth in ICT
•India emerging as a global R&D Hub
•From brain drain to brain gain
•Millions of jobs will be created in ICT & other emerging technology areas
•Quality issues will have to be addressed
•Private Sector world class institutions will emerge with global collaborations
•India will reclaim its ancient heritage of the world's most advanced knowledge-based civilization called "Bharat".

India will become Warehouse of IT in the world
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References

1. Goodman, Seymour E.; Burkhart, Grey E.; Foster, William A.; Mittal, Arun; Press, Laurence I.; and Tan, Zixiang (Alex), The Global Diffusion of the Internet Project, Asian Giants On-Line, Chapter 3 (India) and Chapter 4 (China), The Global Information Technology Assessment Group, Fairfax, VA, November 1998.

2. Press, L., Developing Networks in Less Industrialized Nations, IEEE Computer, vol. 28, no. 6, June 1995, PP 66-71.

3. [http://www.stpn.soft.net]

4. An Indian Perspective on IT & Engineering Programs ,Vijay Bhatkar, International Institute of Information Technology, Pune, India

5. Nasscom

6. Anuranjan Misra " Software outsourcing from India" National Seminar on Strategies in Business Process Outsourcing", IIMS, Bareilly, INDIA, Dec. 08-09 2004.

7. Anuranjan Misra" India - An Emerging IT Super Power" International Seminar on India 25 Years and Hence, IIMS, Bareilly, INDIA, Fev. 08,2006