The New York Times reviews the opening of 'Bombay Dreams' on Broadway and comes away unimpressed.
It says 'In a Broadway season notable for draining the flavor out of promisingly tasty musicals ... "Bombay Dreams" holds its own as an expensive model of blandness.'
It does like Ayesha Dharker though. 'Equipped with dangerous curves and a blindingly self-satisfied smile, Ms. Dharker's Rani exudes the deep superficiality that makes good send-ups of ego-driven stars so satisfying.'
U.S. Senate India Caucus. The co-chairs of the caucus are Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Gujaratis own about 20,000 hotels -- about 1 million rooms -- across the US. So says a Reuters article on the 'Patel-motel' phenomenon (via Forbes.com)
Problems like over-population and a neglected infrastructure have affected Bombay's standing as the pivot of the nation's economy (BBC).
Narinder Nayar, who lauched 'Bombay First' says that "Bombay is not competing with Bangalore or Hyderabad. Its competition is with Shanghai and Dubai." This sounds a bit naive. He and his organization will need all the help they can get (from politicians as well as the Mumbaikars) to restore the city's image.
Analysis of Indian and Chinese ecnomies and their prospects (Asia News Online).
It addresses issues like why India is more conducive to entrepreneurship and how China's authritarian nature helps its economy.
Seema Kalia an Indian-American has a political show on New York's PBS station
Photo gallery of 2004 India Fashion Week in New Delhi (Xinhuanet, China)
An auction of rare Mughal-era treasures from the personal collection of Robert Clive fetched £ 4.7M (Scotsman.com ).
A study of a few cases where US-based tech companies tried outsourcing to India and found that the negatives outweighed the benefits (NYTimes). All the companies analysed for this story had Indians at decision-making positions (CTO, Founder etc.). All found that certain types of work is best done close to the customer and the rest of the company.
The article also has input from Infosys which concurs that not everything benefits from being offshored and cites this as their reason for setting up a US subsidiary.
Delphi Bangalore wins Toyota supplier awards (AutoAsia)
Arundhati Roy's editorial on Kashmir (originally from The Hindu via Al Jazeera)
A long-term analysis (over the next 100 years) of rivers in northern India show that the glaciers feeding the main rivers (Ganga, Yamuna, Indus and the Brahmaputra) may be wiped out in 40 years (Xinhua, China).
A look at how outsourcing has affected British companies and call centers with some optimism that with the right marketing Mauritius can participate in the BPO frenzy too (l'express, Mauritius).
Years after her death, Phoolan Devi is still a factor In UP elections (BBC).
Commentary: Indian rupee emerges as Asia's new bellwether (International Herald Tribune)
Many Asian countries signed an agreement to build a a 140,000 km-long Asian Highway Network connecting connect capitals, major ports, commercial centres and tourist sites of Asian nations (Malaysian National News Agency).
The highway is to be completed by 2010 but what is quite amazing is that plans for the network were initiated in 1959. Now that is perseverance!
Indian American is president of Liz Claiborne
An analysis of CalPERS' decision to invest in India (see previous entry) amd what it means for corporate governance issues for Indian companies (Financial Express).
Perry Farrell, Michelle Branch and other musicians will perform with top Indian performers to raise money for the fight against the emerging HIV/AIDS crisis in India (LiveDaily).
The official website for the concert is www.onenightforindia.com
The growing market for Indian textiles means a revival for a once-great industry (Business Week)
A very interesting article about Indian enclaves in Bangladesh (and Bangladeshi enclaves in India) that exist from pre-Independance times because of wagers between kings (shades of 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi'). The people in Indian enclaves are technically Indians but hey don't pay taxes, don't enjoy administrative services, can't travel to India and have never voted. And since they can't vote, no one seems to care what happens to them.
Amul products are expanding abroad and there are discussions with Wal-Mart to stock and sell Amul products.
Amul's presence in Wal-Mart will give it instant access to a huge market and immediate brand recognition.
The next in the BBC's series on snapshots capturing the mood of voters around India.
Half the country has voted in the elections and the outcome is muddier than before (Asia Times Online).
What was supposed to be a landslide victory for the BJP may turn out to be a wafer-thin majority due to various recent setbacks. The sari stampede and the re-trial of the Best Bakery case put unwanted attention on the BJP and may have cost it some votes.
I hope there is more coverage of Bollywood stars casting ballots on local TV channels and print media (AP via Baltimore Sun).
It will not only raise awareness but also bring to light problems like missing names from voter rolls. Pooja Bedi couldn't vote because her name was missing.
BTW, Govinda is 45?!?
AP article on the Gandhis and how the family is ripped by tragedy, divided by politics (AP via San Francisco Chronicle).
A Canadian portfolio manager explains why he thinks that it's time to invest in India (Toronto Star).
The Guardian (UK) takes a frank-look at India and finds that there is definite progress but there is still a lot to do.
A sobering statistic: for all the hype about the IT industry it generates less than 2% of the national income.
California almonds, pistachios and other dry fruits have captured a big chunk of the $1 billion dry fruit market in India (Asia Times Online).
A number of factors including Afghanistan's recent troubles, fruit trading bans with other countries (due to fears of pests) and the large variety and good quality of Californian products has led to Californian produce getting the upper hand.
I never realised that we eat so much dry fruit. It seems obvious given our penchant for rich sweets and richly-flavored food but the numbers are still somewhat surprising.
An opinion on the decline and decay of the Congress Party. I think the source of the article - World Socialist Web Site - is more interesting than the article itself.
The World Bank is looking into resuming funding for large dams in India and that has worried many people including the International Rivers Network which is asking the Bank to re-assess its approach to solving India's energy problems. (Janmanch.org).
A fund manager with a hedge fund writes about how India is the place to be right now (TheStreet.com)
Thomas Friedman is raising the flag on America losing its competitive edge partly due to increased restrictions on foreigners put in place recently (HoustonChronicle.com but original from the NYTimes).
This ties in with the news item below about the US losing its allure as a destination for education and working. But Friedman goes so far as comparing this to the war on terrorism. He calls it the 'war for innovation' and says that the nation's attention to the other war means that the US is losing this one.
International fund managers very positive on India and believe that robust economic growth, healthy domestic consumption and good corporate earnings prospects will boost India's share prices in the medium- to long-term.
India's image in the international fund community got another boost this week when Calpers (California Public Employees Retirement System) which handles $165 billion in assets said that it could invest in India.
Remember seeing the road-side 'bookstores' near Fountain (Churchgate) and how they had the bestseller as well as technical books? Looks like the cops are starting to go after these "book bootleggers". The laws exist but backlogs in the judicial system mean that the counterfeiters are hardly prosecuted. That and the 'why should I care?' attitude of people who buy such books ensures that there will always be a market for these grey-market books.
BTW, the article makes the common mistake of using 'piracy' to describe copyright infringement.
A visiting Indian professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been jailed for sexual assault (Economic Times).
He reportedly told the police that he inappropriately touched the female student because of the way she was dressed.
This article says what I have been thinking for a while now - the the attractiveness of the US is going down in India (Asia Times Online). It is still the top destination for students and high-tech workers but more people are looking at alternatives and finding Australia and the US more interesting.
It will be interesting to see if the changes made by a possible new US administration will affect this.
April 22 is "the mother of all wedding dates" and 17,000 weddings have been planned in Delhi alone (Rediff).
Current Indian laws haven't slowed the outsourcing engine but the data protection laws will be tightened in the next parliamentary session to mollify Western companies and unions who are concerned about data safety in India (ComputerWeekly.com).
Not the wrestler but the man who was convicted of killing an Australian missionary is contesting the election from Puri (Orissa). Not surprisingly he is representing the Hindu Mahasabha.
Indian election rules allow prisoners to stand for seats, but not to vote.
I have never heard of branded haircuts till now but apparently a group is planning to introduce designer salons and branded haircuts in India.
I really hope this stupid fad fails miserably. If there is a trend in hair-cuts I would much rather wish for the 'dhoop-chhaoN' (the barber beneath the tree) guy to make a comeback.
As expected, there were quite a few articles on the elections in India including Election season begins in India (Boston Globe) and Indians brave militant attacks to vote in polls (Turkish Daily News) and this BBC feature with snapshots from all over India.
BCCI will launch an official website soon (GulfNews)
Welcome to the 90s!
There was a demonstration planned during Coca-Cola's shareholders meeting today protesting its business practices worldwide. The group accuses Coke of depriving communities of water, poisoning land and water and selling poisoned drinks in India.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is making sure that the turnout in the ongoing election is as high as possible. They have partnered with various retail outlets to setup posters and touch-screen kiosks that display information on the use of electronic voting machines. They have also approached all the cellular carriers to remind their subscribers to vote via SMS (Financial Express).
They plan to send two messages: one at 9 AM requesting you : "Please exercise your right to vote." and a reminded at 2:00 pm, saying: "Have you exercised your right to vote?"
It will be interesting to see the effect of these activities on the turnout.
The Air-India jet, Kanishka, which exploded over the Atlantic Ocean has been partially rebuilt and will be used in the ongoing trial. Since the reconstructed plane is too big to fit in the courtroom, the jury will go to the warehouse to see it.
This trial is the most expensive in Canadian history. I wonder if the Indian govt has offered to pay part of the costs.
The country's top politicians were locked in strategy meetings Wednesday ahead of the next round of voting on Thursday (VoA News).
Four Tibetan nuns who stayed in India for seven years of Buddhist study were detained for 20 days when they returned to Tibet (Radio Free Asia). Apparently this is quite common and the fact that they were let go after paying a fine suggests that capitalism has arrived in China in more ways than one.
A Nepali film company is planning to remake the 1957 epic 'Mother India' in Hindi and Nepali with Manisha Koirala playing Nargis' role.
India's tallest sailing ship, the Tarangini, finished its round-the-world voyage with a pilot as the captain (Dawn, Pakistan).
A recent ruling from the Election Commission of India requiring all candidates to declare their personal assets has revealed some interesting details. Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar is the richest candidate, Ram Jethmalani has a book collection worth Rs 4 million and Arun Gawli has declared assets worth Rs. 20 million (Asia Times Online).
Recent busts of call girl rings have revealed that many call girls are being flown into India from countries like Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Russia (Asia Times Online). The Indian fascination with fair skin is supposed to be the driving factor with the foreign girls able to command as much as $300 to $1,000 per night.
Three members of the Tibetan Youth Congress currently on a hunger strike in front of the UN building in New York City are getting a lot of support from various groups throughout India.
'If I were prime minister of India...' (BBC)
A look at the Gandhis, the Congress and the election (TIME Asia Magazine)
And another one with a focus on Priyanka (The Guardian).
Indian university develops herbal drug for piles but did they have to call it 'Thank God'?
Both the teams wore a red ribbons during the third test match to raise awareness about AIDS. The ICC partnership is the first between UNAIDS and an international sports body.
I had no idea that Bajaj was selling their two and three-wheelers in the US.
The photo gallery shows some pretty enthisiastic American users of Bajaj scooters. The three-wheelers page advertises the Bajaj 'tempo' and the auto-rikshaw (!) as reliable alternatives to light trucks.
I guess I will be seeing the rikshaw on local roads soon!
Vinod Khosla, a very successful venture capitalist is investing some of his own and also his firm's money into microfinancing projects in India and elsewhere.
The efficacy of microloans (very small loans typically given to women to help them start a business) was proven by the Grameen Bank project in Bangladesh and it is very intertesting to see it working in India too. The partnership with large established financial institutions can only mean good things.
The NYTimes' movie critic takes a look at Cinema India! Showcase 2004 a program showing various Indian movies and comes away impressed.
The program uses English translations for Indian movies which is sometimes unintentionally amusing. For eg. 'The Braveheart Will Take the Bride' is 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' (DDLJ) and is 'Kandukondain, Kandukondain' becomes 'I Have Found It'.
Apple cites Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Copyright Act, 1957 to force Sarovar.org to remove "PlayFair" from their servers.
A Village Voice article on how despite all the press on American jobs lost to outsourcing there seems to be little support for groups and movements that oppose outsourcing .
Butterflies Broadcasting Children is a project that gives street children a voice. A dozen or so kids record half-hour radio programs (on portable recorders) and 'broadcast' them from a cassette player placed on a rickshaw.
This interesting project is also profiled here and on the BBC site.
Backlog of Immigrant Paperwork Growing (LA Times via Yahoo!).
Another article in the New York Times on the same topic.
Shyoram Yadav has been trying to pass the SSC exam since 1969 and will be appearing for his 35th exam soon (BBC).
What makes his perserverance admirable is that he has vowed not to marry till he clears the exam.
More and more Westerners are going to India to manage outsourced projects and they are finding out the ">joys of living in India including full-time domestic staff and chaotic traffic (CNET News.com)
GE and Bechtel will buy Enron's 66 percent stake in the Dabhol Power Company project leading to hope among creditors that the company will re-start and they will be able to recover some of their money (Reuters.com)
Patni Computer Systems has appointed Michael Cusumano from MIT's Sloan School of Management as an independent director of its board (CNETAsia).
Periaswami Nadar, an expat worker from India went missing in the Maldives soon after his arrival (Haveeru Daily Online)
A very candid look at Pakistan's economy and how a South Asian Free Trade Agreement and increase trade with India will help Pakistan (Pak Tribune).
A couple of news items about Infosys today:
Infosys is setting up a subsidiary in the US. It also announced that its sales exceeded $1 billion for the first time.
BBC profile of Ramachandra Veerappa, a 94-year old incumbent MP who is standing for re-election from a seat in Karnataka.
Last week IBM's bought Daksh. Now Citibank is buying e-Serve, an outsourcing firm based in Mumbai (ZDNet UK).
Mulayam Singh Yadav's manifesto includes re-naming India as Bharat (Telegraph, UK).
Apparently, the Indian constitution already refers to India as Bharat making this particular crusade pointless. But the fact won't stop Mr. Yadav from using this as an election promise.
Another article on how regional political parties are gaining importance in India (VoANews).
NRIs in Dubai want to vote in the upcoming elections but the Indian Consulate doesn't seem to care. (Khaleej Times Online)
BTW, have NRIs in other countries tried to vote in Indian elections? What are your experiences?
Aon, the world's second largest insurance broker, is warning Western companies that India is a top target for terrorists. (Reuters via Forbes)
Aon says that Western firms who ask for insurance for their Indian operations typically do so cover the risk of their plants being confiscated by state or federal governments. Interesting...
BTW, a cynic would say that this statement by an insurance company is designed to scare Western companies into buying more insurance.
Playfair, a program to decode protected-AAC files bought from the iTunes music store was taken offline after Apple complained to SourceForge.net who was hosting it. The project is now on Sarovar.org, a SourceForge-like site for developers based in India.
This could be the beginning of a trend where software that runs afoul of US laws would move to India (or some other country) where it is legal.
Both BJP and Congress are using technology to gets their message out ahead of the elections. (Asia Times Online)
But the BJP seems to be in front (older entry) with a comprehensive campaign using email, SMS and online ads. The article mentions a couple of websites setup by the Congress but as of today one of them is non-existant (nationbetrayed.com, a nice idea to conter the 'India Shining' campain) and the other has only a placeholder image (http://aiccwarroom.net/).
A preview of an hour-long documentary on what life is like for civilians caught up in the violence between the Indian army and pro-Pakistani militants (Channel 4 News, UK)
'Unreported World: Killing of Kashmir' broadcasts on Channel 4 in the UK at 9pm April 8, 2004.
A energy crunch has forced Indian companies to form consortiums and take on a holding-company approach by looking for energy assets off the shores of Africa, Central Asia, the Far East and South Asia. (Asia Times Online)
There is an interesting defense-related aspect to having offshore assets and one analyst claims that many recent naval exercises are an indication of the country consolidating its naval presence to protect these overseas assets.
A news report on how the upcoming elections in India mean big business for many involved in publicity and other related fields (SiliconIndia).
An economist is quoted as saying that the billions of rupees spent in the election will help the economy since the increased spending means higher employment which means more consumer spending.
An opinion piece discussing the wide disparity between the 2 Indias created by the recent economic boom (The Korea Times)
Six years in active politics (and many, many more in the background) have not dimmed the 'foreigner' tag on Sonia (Hi Pakistan).
India has approved a genetically modified cotton seed for cultivation. (SeedQuest)
The seed is supposed to be resistant to a particular pest but a study shows that the pest quickly (6 years) develops resistance to the toxin in these seeds. What then?
A fawning look at a chic Indian model who is set to charm Malaysians (The Star, Malayasia).
In light of the improving relations between India and Pakistan, the daily lowering of the flags at the Wagah border will move away from "insolent salutes" and "aggressive poses" and will inculcate "friendly postures" (Daily Times, Pakistan). Both the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers will implement the changes.
Given IBM's push in India (it recently got a pretty big contract with Bharati Telecom), it makes sense for them to buy a local company rather than establish a group from scratch. They have done just that by buying Daksh , a BPO company based in Gurgaon.
USA Today article on the trend of asking Amerian workers to train their foreign (typically Indian) replacements
When India and Pakistan play ball, the planet smiles (International Herald Tribune)
The next goal is to improve relations with China.
In a speech at the Aligarh Muslim University Arundhati Roy took a dig at India Shining campaign and made an interesting remark about POTA.
India wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel was fined for dissent for "speaking out of turn" after his caught-being appeal was turned down.
Anyone know what 'speaking out of turn' actually means?
NRIs remitted a record $18 billion back home in 2003.
The recent one-day series between India and Pakistan is going to be released on DVD (Cricinfo).
No word on whether it will have additional commentary, analysis etc.
Sri Lanka's new PM seeks India help in reviving the peace process. (AP article via The Guardian)
It is currently unclear if he wants India to be involved diplomatically or militarily. The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission is already active in trying to settle the dispute though they have backed off due to a power struggle between the Sri Lankan PM and President. And given the IPKF debacle of a few years back, it is highly unlikely that India will consider any military assistance.
The new PM's statement could just be an indication that he is serious about settling the long-running problem and is willing to ask for external help. India may not need to get involved after all.
India has emerged as an important trading partner for Korea (The Korea Times).
Korean products made by Hyundai, LG and Samsung are very popular in India. Korea is also the fifth largest investor in India. The trade has been largely one-side but Tata motors' recent acquisition of a Daewoo unit signals the start of Indian investments in Korea.
The US National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) awarded their Businessman of the Year award to Abbas Sadriwalla, an Indian American
A cliche-filled article on experiencing India from the Toronto Star.
The article is unstinting in its amazement at the country and says India has everything. It is more than a vacation, it's an experience.
India adds 1.5 million mobile phone users every month! (BBC)
Amazing stuff
A report in the British medical journal, The Lancet says that suicide rates among the youth in South India are the higest in the world (Hi Pakistan).
The stats in the article are not really helpful because they talk of two different things but the numbers are high enough to cause concern.
The survey of 10 to 19 year-olds in the region around Vellore found that the average rate for women was 148 per 100,000, and 58 per 100,000 for men. The average suicide rate worldwide is 14.5 per 100,000.
News analysis on the growing importance of regional political parties with parochial agendas in India. (Hi Pakistan)
Washington Times article on how more and more American tax consultants are outsourcing (or offshoring) the tax preparation to Indian accountants. The usual concerns about data privacy and security are voiced.
Look for more of these articles as the April 15th deadlines nears.
The Indian cricket team is appealing to Indian doctors to help a 10-yr old Pakistani girl who is suffering from cancer. She has been recommended gamma knife surgery which is available only in India.
I don't understand what the cricketers want the doctors to do. They will obviously treat the girl if she is admitted (they have treated Pakistanis before) but someone will have to pay for the expenses. The report doesn't mention if the cricketers are willing to foot the bill or not.
The EU has sanctions that prohibit it from selling arms to China so they are all for making sure that India has the latest and greatest in EU arms technology. (Asia Times Online)
This also works well for India because the European Aeronautical Defense and Space Company (EADS), EU's arms company will partner with local companies like Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). HAL will supply parts and components and EADS will provide full systems.
Russia is probably wary of this coziness since India is one of their biggest arms buyers. If India starts buying EU stuff, they will have to look for newer markets elsewhere. And the arms race will go on...
India says no to retail foreign investment (United Press International, via the Washington Times). The stated reason is to protect Indian brands.
Maybe I am missing something but there are dozens are foreign brands in India. Maybe the current requirement is to have an Indian company market the brands (I don't know) but Indian brands like Onida and Videocon are already competing with foreign ones like LG and Samsung.
I hadn't heard of this conference before (not surprising since it is a very high level confab) but ths is the first time in 33 years that the Willamsburg Conference will be held in Delhi.
Apparently, the Williamsburg process is the forerunner of regional fora such as APEC and PECC. Today, it provides a distinctive forum known for the quality of the participants and of its off-the-record discussions.
Thousands take holy dip for Indian festival (Reuters via Khaleej Times)
A group of British MPs backed by a union that opposes offshoring are complaining that the Indian call centres 'pose security risk' and should be regulated. The Data Protection Act allows the data to be processed outside the country and the union claims that this could lead to serious crimes.
Bulgaria Dragged into Indian Arms Scandal (from novinite.com, a Bulgarian portal)
A lifestyle article from the Chicago Tribue on how the new prosperity enjoyed by India's middle class is affecting their lives.
From Indiana to India: Why 1 firm leapt (Chicago Tribune, registration required) tells the story of why Cummins Inc (the diesel enginemaker) opened a research center in Pune.
Many of the candidates in the upcoming elections are quite young and are foreign-educated. (Asia Times Online)
Most of these young Turks - Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, Rajeev Gowda, Jyotiraditya Scindia - are children of current political leaders and are contesting in 'safe' seats. Still it will be interesting to see what they do when they win.
The article notes that "the last time that several foreign and private school-educated people joined the political firmament was in the mid-1980s. ... Rajiv Gandhi co-opted several of his friends he met in the course of his education at the elite Doon school, England and then as a commercial pilot." It also goes on to say that their collective inexperience was to blame for Rajiv's downfall. Not strictly true but their naivete definitely played a role.
India's blistering growth in the last quarter of 2003 has people asking "Is India the new China?" (The Korea Herald)
The wide-spread interest in India's growth (the record numbers have been noted by newspapers all around the world) is partly due to China's impact on the global economy over the past few years. But David Burton, IMF's Asia chief, thinks that India will not have as big an impact mainly because it doesn't import as much. I find it interesting that he calls China 'more open' than India. He is of course referring to China's import policy but I find it interesting that he uses 'openness' as a comparison criterion when India is certainly more open in every other respect.
Salon is starting a series on the offshoring of white-collar jobs, reported on location in India. The first article is titled Salon.com "How India is saving capitalism".
Note that you need to subscriber or get a day pass (involves viewing a Flash ad) to read the entire article.
Wired had a cover story on the topic (also reported 'on location') in their Feb 2004 issue.
And NYTimes columnist Tom Friedman had a series of columns in Feb-Mar 2004 from Bangalore where he sang praises about Bangalore, India and outsourcing. Many of those colums have going into the pay-only archive of the NYTimes but I will try to find alternative links.
Reuters' article on how the soaring economy and India's cricket success make the BJP unbeatable in the upcoming elections.
Four Christian ministers recently joined the BJP giving rise to speculations that the party is courting minorities. (from AsiaNews.it, an Italian site focussing on Christianity in Asia)
The news article also has an interesting quote from Varun Gandhi (who also recently joined the BJP) that he will never criticise or campaign against his aunt (Sonia) or his cousins.