The Year That Was: 2006

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
9. Jaan-E-Mann

Director: Shirish Kunder
Starring: Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta
The beginning makes it work. A far cleverer film than most realised, this take on Bollywood romance pays tribute to the genre while deftly almost spoofing its very foundations. Debutant director Shirish Kunder was being unfairly touted as a Farah Khan me-too, his choreographer wife walking away with great applause a couple of years ago for her Main Hoon Na. Kunder continues in similar vein, cheeky to a fault, but adds a zingy love-story that coasts along effortlessly.

This is one of the films that shows just how underutilised Salman usually is. Here he's pushed and delivers pretty constantly, carrying the film well. Some inspired lunacy, great visuals and smart referencing keep the film sharp, and while the story steps into maudlin mush, the fresh visual treatment rescues it from being painful. And while Kunder's Broadway stylings must be appreciated, the film's highlight is Akshay. If there is one thing you'll remember from this zany film, it's that ridiculously infectious, goofy laugh.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
9. Krrish

Director: Rakesh Roshan Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah
Alright, so the script was really weak. But a million loopholes aside, this film needs to be applauded for taking Bollywood back into the land of superheroes. While Krrish isn't our first caped wonderboy, he's definitely our first superhit superhero, and that blockbuster mainstream success is a massive step for the tragically overlooked Fantasy genre in Indian cinema.

As superheroes go, he isn't a top performer. Krrish is a weakly written, derivative character that has no reason to click. Except, he's played by Hrithik Roshan. Fuelled purely by his fierce screen presence, Krrish becomes a character you like, enough to indulge in. It's a great film for kids, and while those of us wanting our superheroes dark and brooding may feel let down, it's certainly a landmark film giving birth to a new, appropriately big-budget Bollywood genre.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
7. DOR

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Starring: Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag, Shreyas Talpade
Curiously, this one is very directly related to The Best of 2005 list. Directed by Kukunoor, who had the #2 spot last year with his Iqbal, it's a reworking of director Kamal's overwhelming Malayalam film Perumazhakkalam -- last year's number one.
A heartbreakingly tragic story, beautiful in its symmetry. Ayesha and Gul play strangers, far-flung brides with husbands working in Dubai. One day they are hit by devastating news: Gul's husband has killed Ayesha's husband. Both girls are sucked into instant melancholy, but Gul sees a gleam of hope. She sets out, armed only with a picture of Ayesha and the fact that she lives in Rajasthan.

Nagesh has always been an eternal optimist. His story becomes more of a fable as we are asked to suspend disbelief and logic, and wait for this impossible quest to come to its fruition. It's a far lighter film than the original, and is visually Kukunoor's finest. Ayesha is brilliant, but Talpade does the star turn as a constant chatterbox, making this film truly special.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
6. Dhoom 2

Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Hrithik Roshan, Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai
This isn't merely a very cheesy film, but so riddled with plotholes that it'll make your head hurt. D2 is a collection of random moments, and is decidedly more music video than movie.
Dhoom: 2 is so unabashedly about style, it's ridiculous. Everything in the film is about The Look, as it leaps from high point to higher point with glee.
And, with Hrithik.

Alright, so Bipasha Basu, Uday Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan also officially star, but this is Roshan's vehicle, an astonishingly big-budget film focussing solely on that star and his undeniable coolth. And you can't blame the makers. Roshan fires up the screen with mad, effortless style, leaving women gasping breathlessly and men jealous, awed. From abs to Americanisms, Roshan has the X-factor down pat, and proves himself in a totally different league.

The director must be applauded, though, for turning Aishwarya Rai into a jaw-droppingly hot woman -- we don't even notice her dialogue delivery, we're so busy staring at her legs. Add to that Bipasha Basu in a terrific range of bikinis, and everyone's happy. But then Hrithik already took care of that. Whoa.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
5. Gangster

Director: Anurag Basu
Starring: Shiney Ahuja, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut
A goon and a singer, smitten by an irredeemable drunk. One of the tightest scripted thrillers in a long while, this one is low on budget but pretty darned intense. A very solid film with well-written characters, Gangster is a revelation, the kind of film that gives young/struggling filmmakers hope. It's gritty yet sophisticated, flawed yet often inspired -- falling just short of perfect.

Kangana Ranaut makes a dramatic debut in a film centring around her. With irresistible ringlets framing her troubled face, her character slurs in and out of lethal situations and high drama, glassy eyes and pout compellingly in place. Shiney delivers a near-flawless performance, high-strung and insecure, both powerful and helpless. And then there's Hashmi, who does well to underplay his character.

It's a well-shot film with smashing use of music, and a killer soundtrack. Some vivid, memorable visual imagery creates quite an impact, resulting in an impressive film.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
4. Khosla Ka Ghosla

Director: Dibakar Banerjee
Starring: Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Ranvir Shorey, Parvin Dabas, Tara Sharma, Navin Nischol, Vinay Pathak

A tremendous cast, a neat-but-twisty plot, superbly written characters and perfect detailing help make Banerjee's brilliant directorial debut. The most heart-warming surprise of the year, this is the indie film success we should all toast and recommend. And one with doubtless potential to gain enough momentum on television to become an eventual comedy classic. A small film that takes us back to the era of simple storytelling, Khosla is as delightful as achievements get.

The story of a middle-class man seeing his hard-earned plot of land usurped by a rogue builder, this isn't merely the film of a common man floundering to get his own back; it's also a magnificent, sarcastic ode to Delhi. The detailing is enormous, visible even in characters' accessories and shop signs, and the humour is simple yet terrifically laden with nuance. It's a very sharply written satire better watched than described, and boasts of the finest ensemble cast in ages. Kher is great, Shorey is a star, Pathak and Nischol create magic, and this is quite simply Boman's finest acting job ever. It�s the kind of film that would make Hrishida smile very wide indeed.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
3. Rang De Basanti

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Starring: Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Alice Patten, Soha Ali Khan
Talk about groundbreaking. Rakeysh broke the rules, moulding Aamir Khan into just one actor in an ensemble, mixing freedom fighters with graffiti, and legitimising anarchy.

The result? A film that incensed the MTV generation out of their apathy and made them take a stand, waking up to issues and taking them to the streets. While some misconstrued the film as an endorsement of violence, it wasn't a justification but a war cry. Voice dissent, voice assent, but just have a bloody voice.

The film is crafted with extraordinary polish. Rakeysh's band of brothers are great individual characters, each helping today's generation connect and relate. The film smartly shuffled through past and present, going from drinking beer at India Gate to Sukhdev's plans of rebellion. Particular applause must also go to Aamir, who bravely relinquished superstar status to be one of the guys -- the one playing to the galleries, by the way -- and walking over to let another lad raise the flag at the climax. A powerful message, packaged with genius.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
2. Omkara

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sensharma, Bipasha Basu, Vivek Oberoi, Deepak Dobriyal, Naseeruddin Shah

Now, this is a movie breathtaking enough to merit being taught in film school. Vishal Bhardwaj creates a dizzyingly intricate texture of style and tone, character and dialogue, music and feel -- and he does it all while remaining marvellously loyal to Shakespeare�s Othello. It's the Bard's tale, but it's overwhelmingly original.

Omkara is a mammoth achievement, a film of poetry and profanity. The dialogues, lewd on the surface and crackling with bawdy charm, can frequently be sourced directly from the 17th century masterwork. The characters are irresistibly raw and flamboyantly folksy, seductive and slithering and desi right down to their very roots. The performances are magical, as Saif breathes vile life into Iago and Konkona proves an Emilia to die for. Devgan plays a restrained Othello while Kareena's Desdemona is enchanting, fragile.
Bhardwaj being a do-it-yourself director to the fullest, his superlative soundtrack is arguably the year's finest album, lending itself to backdrop and foreground with equal ease, Gulzar's lyrics foreboding and relevant at every step. Subtly referential to the extreme, this is a film to revel in over and over again, a beautiful, brutal celebration of grand cinema.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

Top 10 Bollywood Flims, 2006
1. Lage Raho MunnaBhai

Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Vidya Balan
Scripts are very rarely this ambitious. Lage Raho combines humour, heightened emotion, bhai-speak, and Mahatma Gandhi in a unique, wholly original blend.

Munnabhai MBBS won raucous acclaim, resulting in Sanjay and Arshad acquiring their greatest alter egos ever, Munna and Circuit. It was always going to be a tough act to follow, but even if the sequel was half as good, it'd be a contender for film of the year.

But nobody expected this, a glorious celebration of the two title characters -- now virtually a desi Asterix and Obelix -- and their experiments with truth. It's a film that far eclipses the original, a tough ask. Treading a razor-sharp line, it handled hilarity and tears in the same scene, following it up with a super joke and alternating that with a message from the Mahatma. It's surreal, and the stuff cinematic dreams are made of: you watch the film in theatres unable to believe it can actually be this good. It is.

With the stunning script supported by an inch-perfect cast, Lage Raho is the rare example of a film where all quarters deliver, completely. As an angsty generation would agree, it's easier to make a dark, brooding film. This one, on the other hand, is drenched in hope and sunshine, and is unbelievably contagious. A don talking to the Mahatma and preaching non-violence -- on paper, the idea is preposterous; on screen, it's splendid.
The best Gandhi film ever.

mORE tO cOME !!!!!!!!

sOURCE: rEDIFF

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> India Shines on Global Map

India shines on the global map
The story began in the early 1990s when then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao along with his able finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh opened the Indian economy to globalisation and reforms. The journey still continues.
The economy grew at a scorching 9.2 per cent in July-September 2006, compared with 8.4 per cent in the same period last year. The sectors that registered significant growth are manufacturing at 11.9 per cent, construction at 9.8 per cent, trade, hotels, transport and communication at 13.9 per cent, and financing, insurance, real estate and business services at 9.5 per cent. Agriculture grew by 1.7 per cent in the same period.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram is confident that 2006-07 would be one of the best years in terms of growth.

Globally too India made big strides, as multinational companies from retail giant Wal-Mart to IT major Microsoft lined up plans to invest billions in either setting up an India arm or enhancing their existing units.

India also reported the highest average salary increase in Asia -- again -- at 13.8 per cent in 2006, compared to 14.1 per cent last year, according to the 7th annual Asia-Pacific Salary Increase Survey conducted by Hewitt Associates.
And, from being the undisputed king of business process outsourcing India is set to become a leader in the global knowledge economy by 2010.

The story does not end here. The Western media, for many years, went ga-ga over the China story, featuring India for all the wrong reasons. But that has changed. From New York Times to Financial Times to top magazines like Time and Fortune, India's development stories now routinely make the headlines.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/26yearmsg.htm

Text: Nandita Mallik Image: A shopping mall in Gurgaon, Haryana. Shopping malls are the new face of India

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> Sensex Crosses 14,000-mark

2006 saw the Indian market go on a roller-coaster ride. From touching dizzy heights to tanking 1,000 points in a single session, trading in the domestic market has rarely been so choppy.

The year opened with a bang, the Sensex touching an intra-day all-time peak of 9,457 on January 2.

After that it seemed there was no stopping the bull run. On February 7, the Sensex closed above the 10,000 mark and by December 5 it had crossed the magic 14,000 mark.

It took 135 days for the Sensex to go from 12,000 to 13,000, and 123 days to climb from 12,500 to 13,000, but it took just 36 days for the Sensex to scale the next 1000 points!

What prompted the bulls to charge like this through Dalal Street? India's economic stability, encouraging growth figures released by India Inc quarter after quarter, and the world waking up to the strength of this emerging market. Seen to be the fastest among all emerging markets, it is no wonder that foreign institutional investors pooled billions into Indian equity markets.
Although high oil prices spoiled the Indian party to some extent, they were not enough to stall India's progress.

It�s not just the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index that broke all barriers. The NSE Nifty too scorched past the 4,000 mark. As FIIs and domestic funds continue to pump in money, will the bulls streak past 15,000 too? Experts say it is possible before the end of the fiscal year.

Image: Stock dealers at Motilal Oswal Securities, Mumbai, exult as the Sensex crosses 12,000 points on April 20, 2006.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> IPO Scam Rocks Indian Markets

Even as the markets scaled dizzy heights, the Initial Public Offer scam came as a grim reminder that all is not well.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on April 27 barred 24 key operators, including Indiabulls and Karvy Stock Broking, from operating in the stock market and banned 12 depository participants from opening fresh accounts for their involvement in the IPO scam. It also banned 85 financiers from capital market activities.
How it all began: One Roopalben Panchal had applied for a public issue in her own name as the first applicant for 1,050 shares amounting to Rs 47,250, but apparently did not get any allotment.

However, a day after the shares were credited to the allottees, she received 150 shares each from 6,315 demat accounts totalling 947,000 shares. Of the 6,315 demat accounts, 6,221 entities had the same address and had bank accounts with Bharat Overseas Bank.

Sugandh Estates and Investments Pvt Ltd had received 150 shares each from 1,315 demat accounts totalling 197,000 shares.
Twenty randomly selected accounts had the same address and all of them issued cheques bearing continuous serial numbers drawn on Vijaya Bank, Ambavadi, Ahmedabad, towards payment for the application.

SEBI named Roopalben Panchal, Sugandh, Purshottam Budhwani and Manojdev Seksaria as beneficiaries in the dematerialised accounts scandal that used accounts with Bharat Overseas Bank, HDFC Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, ING Vysya Bank and Vijaya Bank.

The IPOs of six companies -- Suzlon Energy, Jet Airways, National Thermal Power Corporation, Tata Consultancy Services, Patni Computer System and TV Today Network -- were probed for scam.

In an unprecedented move, SEBI also called for revamping the management of National Securities Depository Limited and Central Depository Services Limited.
Several big banks and securities firms were hauled up for gross violation of know-your-customer norms and facilitating opening of fictitious accounts.

The danger is real: this year alone, around 40 companies have come out with IPOs to raise money from the market. In a bid to protect investors amid a rush for funds by corporate India, the government decided to scrutinise all the IPOs that garnered more than Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) in the last three years to ascertain that the funds were indeed utilised for declared purposes.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> Global CEOs Make a Beeline For India

As the world starts waking up to the rise of Asia, specially India and China as economic powerhouses, more and more MNCs are making a beeline for India with lofty dreams of soaking in the country's success story.

Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer, Microsoft, was recently in India to announce his company's strategy, including its plans to make Windows Operating System available in new local languages. Microsoft plans to spend $1.7 billion over four years to expand its India operations and hire more employees.

Patrick Cescau, Unilever's chief executive, is so enamoured by the India story that he wants Hindustan Lever to not only increase its share in the company's global revenue, but also invest more in R&D in India.

Europe's leading aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, plans to invest about $1 billion in India. Over the next 10 years it will set up training centres, maintenance, repair and overhauling facility, as well as an engineering centre and a design centre.
Investment bank UBS has big India plans. Its joint global head, Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, who was recently in Mumbai, said India is one of the most important markets for them and they wish to build a leading investment banking setup in the country. They also plan to set up a large wealth and asset management business.

John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems, hinted at setting up a manufacturing plant in India, which will include some of its mainline products like routers and switches.

A year back the company had committed an investment of $1.1 billion.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> The Amazing Infosys Story

As India basked in the glory of its achievements, Infosys Technologies, one of the companies that changed the way the world looks at India, completed 25 years of existence. The I-T major has many firsts to its credit, like being the first Indian firm to list on Nasdaq and the first to offer stock options to its employees.

The idea of Infosys was born on a January morning in 1981, when N R Narayana Murthy and six software engineers -- Nandan Nilekani, N S Raghavan, S Gopalakrishnan, S D Shibulal, K Dinesh and Ashok Arora -- sat in Murthy's apartment debating how they could create a company to write software codes.
Six months later, Infosys -- then known as Infosys Consultants Pvt Ltd -- became a registered company and Raghavan's house in Matunga, north-central Mumbai, became its registered office. However, the front room of Murthy's home in Pune was Infosys's first office, started with $250 that Murthy borrowed from his wife Sudha.

In 1983, Infosys moved to Bangalore when it got its first client, Data Basics Corporation from the United States.

After Murthy, Nilekani and his wife Rohini who moved to Bangalore. But they had no house to stay, so the Nilekanis stayed with the Murthys at their Jayanagar home.

While Rohini took care of Murthy's son, Sudha helped write software programmes for Infosys. There was no luxury, only struggle, day and night. They had no car, no phone. It was the passion to create something new and innovative that kept them going.

The first years of Infosys were not smooth. While Ashok Arora quit, the others decided to stay on. And thus the seeds of Infosys's enormous growth began to germinate.

The company crossed $1 billion in revenues for the first time in 2004.
On December 11, 2006, Infosys joined the Nasdaq 100 Index, the only Indian firm to figure in the prestigious club.

Image: The founders of Infosys.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> Lalu Prasad, MBA

And if Infy made its mark on the global IT map, a different kind of image makeover was happening at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

A quintessentially rustic politician, Lalu Prasad knows how to cleverly manipulate the perception of him outside Bihar.

The Union minister of railways and the president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal delivered a lecture to the management students and the faculty at IIM-A, explaining how he turned around Indian Railways from a loss-making operation to a public sector unit that stunned everyone by earning a profit of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) in 2005-06, and wowed the elite gathering.

Lalu's speech, in Hindi, at the IIM-A was politically cautious and peppered with hilarity and unpretentious wisdom.

Often derided for his mismanagement of Bihar during his party�s 15-year rule in the state, Lalu, during his three-hour lecture, shared with the business school students his vision on world-class stations, clean malls and providing good amenities for passengers.

The lecture was a closed-door session where around 90 students and faculty members were present.

He also announced the setting up of a Railway Chair (at IIM-A), which will be funded by Indian Railways and will undertake research on railway-related matters.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> Reliance Retail

After dilly-dallying for years, India finally jumped onto the organised retail bandwagon.

On November 3, Reliance Industries Limited formally entered India's retail market through its Reliance Fresh stores in Hyderabad.

The company's retail format for selling vegetables, fruits and groceries, offered an opportunity for neighbourhood stores and even push-cart sellers to source supplies at competitive rates making it a win-win situation for all.

Reliance Fresh marks the front-end of the company's much larger agriculture initiative that involves setting up farm product sourcing centres, supply chain and finally retailing.

After tie-ups with various companies such as Dabur, Sanyo, Godrej and Timex, Reliance Retail is talking to some more companies for roping them in as suppliers to its organised retailing initiative.

It plans to roll out 22 stores with one each at the Star City Mall in East Delhi, Noida, Paschim Vihar and Gurgaon among other locations.

The company is expected to kick-off its stores in Bangalore and Ahmedabad in December.

But the big story is the tie-up between the Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises and the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. The $3.2-billion Munjal family-promoted Hero group is also set to become the next big entrant in the Indian retail sector. Not keen to miss the retail bus, the A V Birla group too is honing plans to enter the retail space. And to counter all this competition, Kishore Biyani (owner of the Pantaloon brand) is drawing up ambitious, pan-India expansion plans.

Image: Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at the Reliance Fresh supermarket in Hyderabad.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> Car Launches !!!!!!!

Poor infrastructure, bad roads, traffic jams, lousy road sense... the complaints are never ending, and quite rightly so. But has that stopped global auto majors from launching new cars in India? The answer is a resounding 'NO!'

From our own homegrown Maruti to luxury car maker Daimler Chrysler, auto majors from Japan to the US have been extremely bullish on India. And Indians, encouraged by rising incomes and an array of car loans at comfortable interest rates, have lapped them up.

General Motors India launched three new cars this year -- premium hatchback Aveo U-VA (Rs 414,000), premium sedan Aveo (Rs 579,933) and Optra SRV (sports recreational vehicle).

While Aveo U-VA competes with Maruti Swift and Hyundai Getz, the mid-size sedan Aveo is left to deal with Honda City for survival.

All three have engine capacities in the range of 1.4 to 1.8 litres.
DaimlerChrysler India launched the Mercedes Benz E-280 (Rs 40,57,828) and the diesel variant, the E-280CDI (Rs. 39,31,361) in India.

The new E-280 (petrol) features trailblazing innovations and has even more enhanced capabilities as compared to its predecessor the E-240, while the E-280CDI sports a V6 engine.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor launched the 6th Generation Camry priced at Rs 21,56,900 for the Automatic Transmission Version and Rs 19,93,700 for the Manual Transmission Version. It also launched Innova variants -- the 8-seater G4 variant 2.5 litre diesel is priced Rs 843,000 and 2.0-litre petrol is priced at Rs 783,000. The new 7-seater G4 2.5 litre diesel is priced at Rs 837,000.

It also launched a limited edition of the world's best-selling car, the Corolla, in India. Corolla, which dominates the executive car segment in India, is now available in two dramatically different colours -- Metallic Red and Champagne Mica Metallic.

Hyundai Motor India launched its all-new Verna (Rs 652,133) in India. The car combines international styling, power-packed performance, luxurious interiors and high-end safety features.

Eight months after it was phased out from the market, Maruti unveiled the new Zen in December, sporting an all-new look and under a new name 'Estilo', pricing the base variant at Rs 319,000.

Maruti decided on an aggressive entry-level pricing to make it competitive in the market, against models like Hyundai Santro and Tata Indica.

Honda Civic with a Rs 11 lakh (Rs 1.1 million) tag, fits in neatly between the City Zx (Rs 800,000) and the Accord (Rs 17 lakh), and will offer stiff competition to similarly priced cars like the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Skoda Octavia.
And, 2007 will see the launch of 50 new cars!

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> Telcom Booms Too

If swanky cars are zipping across India, then ritzy mobile phones are also making their presence felt in a big way. From Nokia's N-Series to Motorola RAZR, India's mobile phone market is booming like never before.

India will have the third highest mobile phone subscriber base across the globe by early 2007 -- behind only China and the US.

The GSM subscriber base hit the magic 100 million mark in November -- making India the third highest GSM country after China and Russia. However with 36 million CDMA subscribers in November the overall mobile base in the country has hit a staggering 136 million.

And the SMS providers are doing roaring business too. After movie tickets and cooking gas cylinders, you can now book your airline ticket through SMS.
And if things work out fine, then rail tickets, stock alerts and weather reports too will be available at your fingertips.

With the coming of the third-generation mobile services and WIMAX, fast Internet and data services and wireless broadband Internet will soon be a reality in India.

Not only have rates of both mobiles and landlines come down, handset prices have also crashed. They are available for just Rs 1,500 and are expected to go further down to Rs 1,000.

However, the decision of the department of telecommunications to reject the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposal for the implementation of portability in mobile services by April 2007 will deprive millions of Indian customers the freedom to choose service providers without changing their phone numbers.

Image: Motorola unveils the first Indian Motostar with actor Abhishek Bachchan as brand ambassador.

prakash_dudes · Dec 31, 2006

The Business High Points Of the Year
==> Towards Full Rupee Float

India is relentlessly moving towards economic liberalisation, opening up its markets and loosening controls over many economic matters so as to integrate with the global economy.

Despite opposition from Communist parties, India's economic guardians, from the finance minister to the RBI governor, have acknowledged the need for total integration.

And taking a step in the right direction, the Reserve Bank of India recommended that India move to fuller capital account convertibility over the next five years.

The RBI-appointed S S Tarapore committee sought a ban on participatory notes as an instrument of investments in Indian equities, and near erasure of the distinction between non-resident Indians and foreign individuals for investments in India.

It further suggested lifting controls considerably on overseas borrowings by both companies and banks, doubling the limits for corporate investments abroad, and extending the same leeway for non-corporate businesses.
The present facility for individuals to freely remit $25,000 per calendar year has been sought to be raised to $50,000 in Phase I, to $100,000 in Phase II, and $200,000 in Phase III.

The effects of globalisation are also evident in India's real estate sector. NRIs are one of the key contributors to the growth of the $12 billion Indian real estate industry.

Real estate development in India is estimated at $12 billion and growing at 30 per cent every yea, with residential property alone constituting 80 per cent of this sector.

The government has virtually lifted all restrictions or approval required for an NRI to invest in properties in India from funds received in India through normal banking channels or held in Non-Resident External account/Foreign Currency Non-Resident account/ Non-Resident Ordinary rupee account.

This move is likely to spur the growth of India's real estate market, which in turn will add value to the already booming economy.

mORE tO cOME !!!!!!!!

Source: rEDIFF

mayur553 · Mar 20, 2007

thanks mate.............. thats great work u r doin there......... thanks again...

The Year That Was: 2006

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