A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE · Mandela became the nation’s conscience as it healed from the scars of apartheid. His defiance of white minority rule and long incarceration for fighting

Vol: 22 | No. 2 | February 2014 | R20

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Cover Story

Mandela, the most famous follower of Mahatma Gandhi, is no more

End of an Era

O p i n i O n E x p r E s s 3 February 2014

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a practical politician, rather than an intellec-tual scholar or political theorist. According to biographer Tom Lodge, “for Mandela, politics has always been primarily about enacting stories, about

making narratives, primarily about morally exemplary conduct, and only second-arily about ideological vision, more about means rather than ends.” Mandela identified as both an African nationalist, an ideological position he held since joining the ANC, and as a socialist. His death after a prolonged illness as brought cur-tains on an epic struggle for human emancpialtion.

He served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African

nationalist and socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

Freedom fighter, prisoner, moral compass and South Africa’s symbol of the struggle against racial oppression. That was Nelson Mandela, who emerged from prison after 27 years to lead his country out of decades of apartheid. His message of reconciliation, not vengeance, inspired the world after he negotiated a peaceful end to segregation and urged forgiveness for the white government that imprisoned him. “As I walked out the door to-ward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison,” Mandela said after he was freed in 1990.

Mandela, a former president, battled health issues in recent years, including a recur-ring lung infection that led to numerous hospitalizations. Despite rare public appearances, he held a special place in the consciousness of the nation and the world. “Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” South African President Jacob Zuma said. “What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.” His U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, echoed the same sentiment. “We’ve lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good hu-man beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth,” Obama said. “He no longer belongs to us -- he belongs to the ages.”

Mandela became the nation’s conscience as it healed from the scars of apartheid. His defiance of white minority rule and long incarceration for fighting against segregation fo-cused the world’s attention on apartheid, the legalized racial segregation enforced by the South African government until 1994.

In his lifetime, he was a man of complexities. He went from a militant freedom fighter, to a prisoner, to a unifying figure, to an elder statesman. Years after his 1999 retirement from the presidency, Mandela was considered the ideal head of state. He became a yard-stick for African leaders, who consistently fell short when measured against him. Warm, lanky and charismatic in his silk, earth-toned dashikis, he was quick to admit to his short-comings, endearing him further in a culture in which leaders rarely do.

Former South African President F.W. de Klerk, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993 for transitioning the nation from a system of racial segrega-tion, described their first meeting. “I had read, of course, everything I could read about him beforehand. I was well-briefed,” he said. “I was impressed, however, by how tall he was. By the ramrod straightness of his stature, and realized that this is a very special man. He had an aura around him. He’s truly a very dignified and a very admirable person.” For many South Africans, he was simply Madiba, his traditional clan name. Others affectionately called him Tata, the word for father in his Xhosa tribe.

Mandela last appeared in public during the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa. His absences from the limelight and frequent hospitalizations left the nation on edge, prompting Zuma to reassure citizens every time he fell sick.

—Prashant Tewari , Editor-in-Chief

Mandela A fighter and a practical politician

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FEBRUARY 2014

C O V E R S T O R Y

IN NEWSDOUBLEDELIGHT

P5

P35

SECURITYHITECHWAYS

INDIA’S TOP CITIESP6-31

O P I N I O N E X P R E S S FEBRUARY 2014 I 5

In the 40-year-old history of ODIs, masterblaster Sachin Tendulkar became thefirst batsmen to score a double century.

The record was good enough for India tosnatch a 153-run win and a series victoryover South Africa.

Tendulkar smashed 200 not out off 147balls to help India post 401-3.South Africawere bowled out for 248 with AB de Villiershitting a defiant 114 not out in the day-nightmatch at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium.

Tendulkar struck 25 fours and three sixeson a ground with short boundaries in a spec-tacular innings that combined power, timingand enthusiasm with stunning strokeplay.

"The way Sachin batted, the way he con-tinued until the 50th over it was superb.Even when he was tired and he couldn't playbig shots, he used the pace of the bowlerquite nicely," India captain Mahendra SinghDhoni told the prize-giving ceremony.

The 36-year-old batsman reached 200with a single off Charl Langeveldt in the finalover. The capacity crowd erupted in joy asTendulkar looked skyward, kissed the crestof his helmet and raised his bat.

India lost opener Virender Sehwag fornine to left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell butTendulkar, who extended his record numberof one-day centuries to 46, proceeded to puton 194 for the second wicket with Dinesh

Karthik (79).Tendulkar reached his 100 with a single

and moved to 150 with a four off Parnell. Hewas in complete control of the attack afterhitting a century in each of the two testsagainst South Africa in the drawn test seriesearlier this month.

"It was a fantastic innings from Tendulkar,he took advantage of the conditions, he's aworld-class bat and he proved it again to-day," South Africa's stand-in captainJacques Kallis said.

Tendulkar holds the record for most runsin tests (13,447) and ODIs (17,598) andmost centuries in tests (47) and ODIs.

He put on 81 for the third wicket withYusuf Pathan (36) and 101 for the unbrokenfourth with Dhoni who blasted 68 off 35balls with seven fours and four sixes.

"It was one of the best innings everyplayed and it was great watching some of itfrom the non-striker's end," Dhoni said.

Tendulkar moved past the previousrecord score of 194 jointly held byPakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe'sCharles Coventry with a two off Parnell be-fore recording the first double century sinceinternational one-dayers were first played in1971.

AB de Villiers hit his fifth ODI hundred butSouth Africa could not recover after losingtheir first four wickets for 83 to Indian seam-ers.

IN NEWS

DOUBLE DELIGHTThe master blaster becomes the first bastsman to hit a ODI double ton

Tendulkar moved past the pre-vious record score of 194jointly held by Pakistan'sSaeed Anwar and Zimbabwe'sCharles Coventry with a twooff Parnell before recordingthe first double century sinceinternational one-dayers werefirst played in 1971.

CITYSCAN

Which are India’s top 20 cities? An indepthanalysis based on an extensive survey

COVER STORY

GURGAON-DELHIEXPRESSWAY IS A NEWLANDMARK OF THENATIONAL CAPITAL


Beginning 2005, good times prevailed in the real estate sector in India withthe market peaking in 2007. The Indian real estate story, however, experi-enced a revision in 2008, with the recession slowly making its mark on themarket. The revised market dynamic brought with it scope for speculation,a questioning of fundamentals and a bouquet of uncertainties for invest-

ment and development decisions. The experience of the past year has apparently made it clear that there is an in-

herent need to understand cities as complete entities. The real estate dynamics with-in a city are determined by the socio-economic and infrastructure development ofthe city.

COVER STORY

CITIES OF DREAM

COVER STORY

O P I N I O N E X P R E S S8 I FEBRUARY 2014

Delhi retains the number one position.New Delhi , the second largest me-tropolis of India, is its national capital.

Located on the banks of the Yamuna River,it is one of the oldest inhabited cities in theworld. The archaeological remains in Delhistand testimony to the ancientness of thiscity. It has a rich history of being a capital ofmany Indian empires of the medieval period.Delhi is the proud home of many importantgovernment offices, most importantly, theParliament of India. In the recent years, Delhi has attracted many immigrants, thus emerg-ing as a cosmopolitan city. Today, it is a prominent political and commercial center of India.The Delhi-Agra highway joins Delhi to the beautiful city of Agra, which is a major tourist at-traction. The world-famous Taj Mahal and many other great historical monuments like theAgra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and Sikandara are located in Agra. In the epic, Mahabharata, itwas mentioned as Paradise. The city is demonstrating the fastest transformation in thecountry, steadily moving closer to achieving the status of a global city by 2010 becauseof the Commonwealth Games. Some of the key developments enveloping the city includeDelhi's Rapid Mass Transit System (Delhi Metro), which is operational in most parts of thecity. By 2010, Delhi Metro will be world's second-largest network.

The Indira Gandhi international airport is being modernized with the introduction of newamenities to increase flight handling capacity. Road-widening projects are underway, withdedicated efforts to make the ring roads- the main arterial roads signal free. Flyovers, un-derpasses, pedestrian walkways, high capacity buses, hotels and townships are the oth-er elements that seem to dot the emerging cityscape.

1new delhi

CAPITALADVANTAGE


COVER STORY

2

mumbai

MAXIMUMCITY

Mumbai, a close second, scores better onthe business environment index. The city,however, loses to Delhi when it comes to

the infrastructure index. The pace of infrastruc-ture development in Mumbai has been slower,pushing down the city a notch. Capital city of thestate of Maharashtra, Mumbai is the financialcapital of India. Housing around thirteen millionpeople, it is the second most populous city in theworld. Mumbai houses the world-famous Hindifilm and television industry, Bollywood. Importantfinancial institutions such as the Reserve Bank ofIndia and the National Stock Exchange of Indiaare located in Mumbai. It houses the headquar-ters of several multinational companies and hasthus become an important commercial and en-tertainment center of India.

COVER STORY


Chennai, which ranks 3rd in thestudy, is the largest city in TamilNadu and is located on the south-

eastern coast of India. Chennai is alsocalled as the 'Gateway to South India'. Today,the city has gone through a tremendous change and is developing rapidly.Located on the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal, this capital city of TamilNadu is the home of around 7 million people. It was established in the 17thcentury by the British and formerly known as Madras. Chennai hosts an in-ternational airport, two major ports and five national highways stretching toother parts of the India. Its contribution to India's exports of automotive prod-ucts has conferred upon Chennai, the title, 'Detroit of India'.

3chennai

SOUTHERNGATEWAY


COVER STORY

4

bangaluru

SILICONTOUCH

Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position asthe nation's leading IT exporter. It is today Asia's fastest-growing cosmo-politan city. It is home to some of the most high tech industries in India.

The IT industry views Bangalore as the 'byte-basket' of India. Bangalore is alsohome to some of India's premier scientific establishments. Officially known asBengaluru, it is the capital city of Karnataka state and the third most populouscity of India. Bangalore houses some of the most recognized educational and re-search institutes of India. Numerous public sector industries, software, telecom-munication and aerospace industries are located in Bangalore. Its remarkablecontribution to the Indian IT sector has made it the Silicon Valley of India.

COVER STORY


Hyderabad, the fifth largest metropolis of India, is known for its rich history andculture with monuments, mosques, temples, a rich and varied heritage in arts,crafts and dance.

Hyderabad has developed into a major hub for the IT industry in India. It is the fi-nancial and economic capital of Andhra Pradesh. The city is the largest contributorto the state's GDP, state tax and excise revenues.

5

hyderabad

THE ITCULTURE


COVER STORY

Referred to as the 'Oxford of the East', thecity has gained significance due to a largenumber of institutions imparting quality

training across streams. Pune, by virtue of itsstrategic location near Mumbai and a suc-cessful regional setting, is an emergingeconomic hub for tertiary economicactivities such as services, tradeand commerce in the western re-gion. The city is the second-biggest commercial centre inMaharashtra.

Post 2000, there was a spurt ineconomic activity in the city withIT/ITeS, automobile and auto compo-nent industries being the primary growthdrivers. The city has the distinction ofhaving the first STPI unit in India. Pune is alsothe largest auto hub of India. The industry ac-counts for 54% of the total excise revenue col-lection of the district.

Kolkata is the main business, commercial and fi-nancial hub of eastern India and the northeasternstates. It is home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange -

India's second-largest bourse. Kolkata is the capital ofWest Bengal and one of the very important cities

in India. It has been a center of education, in-dustry and culture. However, it has under-

gone economic stagnation that continuedtill the recent times. It was after 2000 thatthe city witnessed economic growth. Ithouses the Salt Lake Stadium that islargest in Asia and the second largest in

the world. The Indian Institute ofManagement, one of India's most prestigious

management schools is also located in Kolkata.Victoria Memorial, located in Kolkata, is now a mu-

seum and remains a popular tourist attractionTrade & Industry in Kolkata plays a significant role in

developing the economical condition of West Bengal. Forthe last couple of years, Kolkata is showing tremendousperformance in the industrial sectors like informationtechnology, real estate, electronics, apparel and plasticproducts.

6

7

kolkataORIENTAL PUSH

puneOXFORD OF EAST

COVER STORY


Surat, the second largest city in Gujarat, is aport city situated on the banks of the Tapti riv-er. The city is largely recognized for its textile

and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the

world and the textile capital of India. Surat is alsothe third cleanest city in India after Chandigarh andGandhinagar.

Ahmedabad is the commercial capital of Gujarat.Historically, Ahmedabad has been one of the most impor-tant centers of trade and commerce in western India. The

city was once well known as the Manchester of India on accountof its flourishing textile industry. The city is considered as

a major industrial and financial center contributingabout 14% to the total investments in all stock ex-

changes across India and 60% to the total pro-ductivity of the state of Gujarat.

The city is an industrial base for sectors suchas chemicals, textiles, drugs and pharmaceuti-cals and agro and food processing industries.

Four major industrial estates within the city's mu-nicipal limits, namely Naroda, Odhav, Vatwa and

Behrampura, house various manufacturing, chemicaland petrochemical products, metallurgy, food products,

textile, paper, and leather companies. Prominent business conglomerates such as the Adani Group,

Reliance Industries, Nirma group of industries, Arvind Mills,Claris Life Sciences, Cadilla Pharmaceuticals, Shell, VadilalIndustries Ltd, Rasna, Bosch Rexroth (Germany), Stork andRollepaal (the Netherlands) have set up their operations in theseindustrial estates.

8ahmedabad

TRADING POINT

suratDIAMOND’S FOREVER

9


COVER STORY

The city houses over 15 industrial areas, 45 large and medi-um scale units and approximately 19,000 small scaleunits. IT/ITeS have also emerged as a prime sector in the

city.Being one of the cities of the Golden Triangle, it enjoys im-

proved connectivity and accessibility, with the National Capital

Region (NCR) and Agra, enhancing tourist footfalls. The upcom-ing bus rapid transport system, the Jaipur Metro and construc-tion of a 12-lane ring road is expected to provide further impe-tus to real estate and economic development of the city. ThreeSEZs have been proposed around the city to cater to a vast ar-ray of sectors and variety of customised products. There is a365-acre Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) set up atSitapura (Jaipur) provides manufacturing facilities to units in keysectors. f The expansion of the l Jaipur international airport i isdue for completion by 2015. The government is planning im-plementation of the Metro Rail project in Jaipur in consultationwith the Delhi Metro Rail i Corporation (DMRC).

jaipurCONNECTIVITY EDGE

10

11

chandigarhPLANNED MIRACLE

Chandigarh has moved upfrom 10th to the 9th rankin this year's EY City

Ranking. Known internationallyfor its architecture and urbanplanning, it is the first plannedcity of India.

The government is a majoremployer in Chandigarh withthree governments having theirbase here.

Chandigarh has a well devel-oped market and banking infra-structure.

Nearly all the major banks inthe country have registered theirpresence in Chandigarh. Theeconomy of Chandigarh de-pends for its revenue on theagricultural, industrial, animalhusbandry, fishing, IT, andtourism sector.

COVER STORY


Coimbatore is one of the most industrialisedcities of South India. The chief reasons be-hind the city moving up the ranking include in-

frastructure projects here such as widening of thenarrow bridges and flyovers at crucial transport inter-sections, a ring road around the city and plans to up-grade the Avanashi road between Uppilipalayam and Neelambur to a four-lane road. IT space is also coming up on Dr. Nanjappa Road and RajshreeItec on Avinashi Road. In addition to this, four IT parks are under variousstages of construction; while more than 10 are proposed aggregating sig-nificant supply in the region.

The city is expected to become one of the largest urbanagglomerations (among the other Tier-II cities) in thecountry by the year 2011. With the upcoming Lucknow-

Unnao industrial corridor proposed by the Lucknow IndustrialDevelopment Authority, the city and its surrounding areas arelikely to experience a growth in industrial activities.

The proposed industrial corridor, to be developed onan area of 2,000 acres, is likely to see invest-ments from national as well as international play-

ers. The upcoming metro rail network is expect-ed to improve connectivity of Kanpur Road,Sultanpur Road and Faizabad Road withHazratganj (CBD) and some other prominentcorridors within the city. Elevated expressway is

expected to improve connectivity with major cen-tres such as Kanpur, Rai Bareilly, Sitapur andSultanpur.

The Lucknow Development Authority and UPHousing Development Board in turn, are promoting affordablehomes for the low budget buyer. The UPHDB is promoting theIntegrated Housing Scheme wherein private developers will bepermitted to develop hi-tech townships on 25-100 acres ofland.

lucknowON ACCELERATOR

coimbatore

INDUSTRYADVANTAGE

12

13


COVER STORY

Infrastructure projects in Guwahati include the development ofInter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Kathabari, a flyover project onGS Road near Vangagar, an international trade centre, and an

athletics stadium at Saru Sajai. Modernisation plan is underwayfor the Guwahati airport (likely to be completed by 2010). On com-

pletion, Airports Authority of India plans to make Guwahati a hubfor air connectivity.

Guwahati is among 50 train stations identified for developmentas world-class stations. The key real estate developments are seenalong the GuwahatiShillong (GS) road, with most office space andretail (high street retail and large format malls) activities developedalong this corridor.

Satellite townships are being planned around Guwahati usingthe PPP route to accommodate a growing population and easepressure on the city centre.

guwahatiEASTERN SURGE

14

15

bhubaneswarREALTY SURGE

Bhubaneswar is witnessing sub-stantial real estate developmentactivity with national and regionalrealty players active in northern

and western India reportedly ac-quiring land. Key players include DLF, Unitech etc.Prominent IT/ITES players in the city such as suchas Infosys (46 acres), TCS (45 acres), Wipro (27aces), Mindtree (20 acres) and Satyam (2 mentacross the real estate spectrum, including resi-dential, hospitality, retail and IT office spaces.

COVER STORY


The key infrastructure drivers includethe Kochi Port, which is set for an ex-pansion with various green field infra-

structure projects, including theVallarpadom International ContainerTransshipment Terminal. The Kochi inter-national airport was the first Indian airportto operate on a PPP model with multiplestakeholders such as the government, air-line operators, financial institutions andnon-resident Indians (NRIs). "Aerotropolis"is an airportbased industrial park being de-veloped by the Cochin International AirportLimited (CIAL). The project is spread over450 acres of land under the ownership ofCIAL. The focus on developing Kochi as acentre for information technology has led tothe development of the Thrikkakara-Kakkanad belt. The "Smart City" project atan investment of Rs17 billion estimated tocreate 90,000 IT jobs has been on the hori-zon since 2007.

maduraiE-FFICIENT GOVERNANCE

kochiPORT’S TRUST

17

16The Corporation of Madurai (CoM) is undertaking con-

struction of toll roads through PPP to decongest the city.It has constructed a 27km, two-lane Inner Ring Road

(MIRR) between Kanyakumari Road and Melur road under thescheme. Infrastructure upgrade, such as robust e-governanceand proactive urban governance, has eased approval time-lines and increased operational efficiency.

City suburbs are being planned through participatory townplanning schemes (TPS). Various IT spaces, such as TidelPark, IT Park and software city, are planned by the state gov-ernment, and are expected to augment real estate develop-ment across the city.


COVER STORYThe strong commercial base and manufacturing hub with sever-

al large format industrial parks, is attracting the attention ofmajor corporate and foreign investors in the country.

Developments such as the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and AutoTesting Track in Pithampur, and IT Park at Khandwa Road are ex-pected to provide further impetus to the growth of the city. The cityalso has several industrial clusters such as pharmaceuticals, textile,

food, IT and auto components clusters. Key infrastructuredevelopments include the upcoming AB Indore Bypass

road that is expected to improve access to other ma-jor commercial cities (for example Mumbai) of thecountry, thus providing tremendous potential forreal estate and industrial investments. The upcom-ing Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is ex-

pected to enhance industrial activity around thesatellite towns of Pitampura and Dewas region. The

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is undertaking the up-grading of the existing domestic airport to an interna-tional airport.

indoreINVESTORS’ CHOICE

nagpurHEART OF VIDARBHA

18Nagpur has been the main center of commerce in the

Vidarbha region Nagpur's economy is now recoveringfrom past slowdown and city has attracted Rs 8,000

crore in investment post 2004.The city is important for thebanking sector as it hosts the regional office of Reserve Bankof India, which was opened on September 10, 1956. Sitabuldimarket in central Nagpur, known as the Heart of the city,is the main and major commercial market area ofcity.

The Butibori industrial area is the largest in allof Asia in terms of area.The estate's largest unitis of Indo Rama Synthetics, which manufac-tures synthetic polyester yarn. Other units inButibori include the power transmission com-pany KEC, Hyundai Unitech, ACC Nihon CastingsLtd.Koradi Thermal Power Station andKhaparkheda Thermal Power Station are the twomajor thermal power stations located near Nagpurand operated by MSPGCL.

19

Inputs from E&Y report, FICCI report and OEMCL News Bureau

Amritsar is anticipating in-creased penetration of or-ganised retailing in the

next two to three years with alarge inventory build-up of mallspace distributed approximatelyacross 10 malls. There arearound 1012 upcoming hotelprojects identified in and aroundthe city, which are expected toaugment the existing hotel roominventory across segments by800-1,000 rooms over the nexttwo to three years.20

amritsarRETAIL BOOM

COVER STORY


Roopa Purushothaman and RajeshShukla, the celebrated co-authorsof Goldman Sachs' famous BRICreport, which in 2003 had pre-dicted that by 2050 Brazil,

Russia, India, and China put together willhave larger economies in US$ terms thanthe G-6, consisting of the U.S., Germany,Japan, the U.K., France and Italy have col-laborated again to come out with a jointstudy entitled "The Next Urban Frontier:Twenty Cities To Watch." This time thestudy, though, has been prepared on behalfof their respective current employers,Kishore Biyani's Future Capital Researchand National Council of Applied Economic

Research's (NCAER).The study has identified 20 top Indian

cities, which though accounting for only10% of the country's population, generateas much as 60% of its surplus income and31% of its disposable income.

The authors have classified these 20large cities, which accounted for nearly$100-billion of consumption expenditure in2007-08, in three groups comprising;Megacities (8), Boomtowns (7), and NicheCities (5).

The eight Megacities that apart fromlarge population also have large consumermarkets are: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata,Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad,

Ahmedabad and Pune.The seven Boomtowns that have big pop-

ulation and high expenditure per householdare: Surat, Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow,Nagpur, Bhopal and Coimbatore.

The five Niche cities that are relativelysmaller in population but have above na-tional-average household spend are:Faridabad, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarhand Jalandhar.

According to the report, these 20 citiesdespite impending economic slowdown, forthe next eight years (2008-2016), will growat a healthy rate of 10.1% per annum, com-pared to other cities growing at 7.9% per an-num. In the past three years (2005-08), the

METRO WITH MONEY POWER: Mumbai’s skyline

POWER OF T-20India's top 20 cities account for one-third of disposable income


7.9% per annum. In the past three years(2005-08), the top 20 have registered agrowth of 11.2% per annum.

The increase in income levels will alsohave a direct impact on income profiles ofhouseholds. In the next eight years by2016, while, the share of middle-incomehousehold ($6,000 to $30,000 per annum)in these twenty cities will increase from cur-rent 39% to 55%, the share of high-incomehouseholds (more than $30,000 per an-num) will increase three-fold to 13%. Theshare of very low-income households (be-low $3,000 per annum) not surprisingly,would come down by half from 16% now to7% by 2016.

The changing household demographicswill no doubt bring about a major shift in de-mand pattern of different classes of goods.According to the study, there is a 52% in-crease in spending as households graduatefrom low-income to middle class segment.The demand for the durables, for example,may go up by a substantial 84%, says thestudy.

The report has also predicted that, evenon conservative basis, in the next 40-oddyears by 2050, share of the urban popula-tion in India will almost become equal(45%) to that of the rural population (55%).

Currently, the ratio is 30:70 in favour ofthe rural population. This rapid urbanisa-tion will mean an additional 379-millionpeople in urban India. Interestingly, thiswould mean adding more than the entirecurrent population of the US to urban India.

India's scale and rapid pace of urbaniza-tion presents an opportunity for new marketexpansion in the world's second fastestgrowing economy. Income distribution haschanged dramatically in certain cities. Afteradjusting for cost of living, the diamond hubof Surat is now the richest city in India.Between 2004-5 and 2007-8 Surat's mid-dle class doubled in size and its low incomecategory was reduced by a third.

The annual household income growth inIndia's 20 key cities averaged 11.2% be-tween 2005-8 and is projected to grow at10% annually over the next 8 years. In com-parison, annual household income for therest of India will grow at a much lower rateof 7.9% from now til 2016.

These 20 top centres of economic de-velopment together account for just under10% of India's population, but generate31% of disposable income and 21% of totalspending. It is estimated that in 2007-08,these cities fuelled just under $100 billionof consumption expenditure.

Out of the 20 cities, the number of high-income households in boomtowns hasgrown 19% annually since 2001-02,against 14% in the megacities. Today, thereare an estimated 90,000 high-income

households and 1.2 million middle classhouseholds across the boomtowns.

More than half (54%) of boomtowns' un-usual expenditure goes towards socialspending, while 28% goes towards health.Among the boomtowns, Surat has nearlythe population size of a megacity; it is theyoungest city in the entire group (with over64 per cent of the population below the ageof 30).

Surat is already a larger consumer mar-ket than Ahmedabad and Pune. In particu-lar, Surat stands out in apparel spending. Itis the largest apparel market after Mumbai,Delhi and Kolkata.

As a group, boomtowns have the highestproportion of "overstretched" households:more than a fifth of boomtown householdsspend more than their reported income,compared to 14% in niche cities and 11% inmegacities.

COVER STORY

India's scale and rapid paceof urbanization presents anopportunity for new marketexpansion in the world'ssecond fastest growingeconomy. Income distribu-tion has changed dramati-cally in certain cities.

Why India'stop cities

matterTheir citizens are most edu-cated, have highest incomesand highest share of savings

Rajesh Shukla

India's top 20 cities account for just10 per cent of the country's popula-tion, but this population earns morethan 30 per cent of the country's in-

come, spends 21 per cent and, so, ac-counts for just under 60 per cent ofthe surplus income. The next lot ofcities account for 20 per cent of pop-ulation, 13 per cent of income and un-der eight per cent of surplus income orsavings. Rural areas account for 70per cent of population, 64 per cent ofexpenditure and just a third of thecountry's surplus income. It's obviousthen that India's savings can grow onlyas the country's urbanisation rises.Given this, the promise of creatingmore urban centres would be a moreeffective tool in getting votes from ru-ral India.

The reason for this is quite clearonce you look at the data closely.NCAER's annual survey of householdsacross the country shows that around51 per cent of the households in thetop 20 cities have at least one gradu-ate (that means, at least a tenth of thepopulation in these cities consists ofgraduates);the figure is 38 per cent forother cities, and the number is just 15per cent in the villages. As a result,nearly 49 per cent of those employedin the top 20 cities tend to havesalaried jobs, and another 32 per centare self-employed. In comparison, theother cities and rural areas, whichhave a smaller proportion of gradu-ates, tend to have a much smaller pro-portion of either the salaried or thosewho are self-employed - 32 per cent ofthose in the other cities are salariedand the figure is just 10 per cent in vil-lages; in the case of the self-employedin non-agriculture, the figure is 30 percent for smaller towns and a mere 11per cent in rural India.

COVER STORY


salaried or those who are self-employed -32 per cent of those in the other cities aresalaried and the figure is just 10 per centin villages; in the case of the self-em-ployed in non-agriculture, the figure is 30per cent for smaller towns and a mere 11per cent in rural India.

Combining this occupation structurewith the big difference in earnings acrossthe top 20 cities and rural areas is whatgives us the difference in income and sav-ings levels. So, for instance, the latestNCAER survey shows us, the average grad-uate earned Rs 180,000 per year in thetop 20 cities as compared to just Rs91,000 in rural areas. The difference, infact, is higher for the illiterate as well - theaverage earnings of an illiterate was Rs70,000 per annum in the top 20 cities ver-sus just Rs 22,500 in rural areas.

In terms of those with regular jobs, theratio of salaries in rural areas to the top 20cities was 0.62 (Rs 96,500 versus Rs155,000); it was 0.38 in the case of theself-employed and 0.47 in the case oflabourers. As a result, the average earningof those in the bottom-most quintile in thetop 20 cities was Rs 44,000 as comparedto Rs 19,500 in rural areas; for the top-most quintile, the earnings were Rs302,000 and Rs 136,000 respectively.

An interesting finding is that the top 20cities are not any more unequal than rural

areas are, with the ratio of the earnings ofthe average family in the top quintile tothat in the lowest quintile being around6.9 in both the top 20 cities as well as inrural areas.

This is important to keep in mind be-cause, when looked another way, inequal-ity levels appear very high in the top 20cities - 53 per cent of households in thetop-most income quintile are to be foundin the top 20 cities. The figure is 30 percent in the other cities and just 12 percent in rural India. The Gini coefficient (thehigher it is, the more the inequality) for thetop 20 cities is 0.41 versus 0.43 for othercities and rural areas.

From the point of view of India's mar-keting firms, the top 20 cities and theirgrowth are clearly of paramount impor-tance. In the case of colour televisions, forinstance, 68 per cent of households in thetop 20 cities own these products, the fig-ure is a lower 47 per cent in the othercities and a mere 17 per cent in rural ar-eas. For cars, the figures are 23 per cent,five per cent and three per cent respec-tively; for refrigerators, the figures are 63per cent, 34 per cent and eight per centrespectively. With 67 per cent of house-holds in the top 20 cities putting theirmoney in bank deposits versus just 46 percent in rural areas, the impact on financialsavings is obvious.

Another interesting finding relates to theimpact of the slowing economy on incomelevels across the country. NCAER regular-ly uses data from its annual survey to getthe shape of the income distribution curveand then super-imposes this on GDP pro-jections to get estimates of the number ofhouseholds in different income groups.This showed the number of lower-incomehouseholds (those earning under Rs71,000 per annum at 2007-08 prices)would fall from 65 million in 2001-02 to46 million in 2007-08 - if GDP next yeargrows at under six per cent, this numberwill fall to 41 million.

The number of middle-income house-holds (Rs 71,000 to Rs 285,000) was pro-jected to rise from 109 million in 2001-02to 136 million in 2007-08 and this, undera lower GDP growth, will rise to just 141million in 2009-10.

The upper-income classes were project-ed to rise from 14 million to 37 millionand, under a lower GDP growth, will stillrise to 47 million in 2009-10. In otherwords, the lower income classes will con-tinue to fall at more or less the same paceeven if GDP growth falls, the upper incomeclasses will also continue to rise at moreor less the same pace; the middle classes,however, will see a slight slowing in theirgrowth with GDP growth falling.

(The author is Senior Fellow, NCAER)

MARVEL:BANGALORE’S

HEBBAL AIRPORT


Laveesh Bhandari

Cities are 24-hour market placeswhere a large group of people re-side and trade. The high concen-tration of people brings with it a

variety of tastes, preferences, wants, re-sources, products and services. Peoplefrom within the city and outside interact,thereby generating the necessary massfor trade to occur. And so markets andcities are two sides of the same coin.

The history of great civilizations is es-sentially the history of great cities. Thereis a direct relationship between humanprogress and dynamic and prosperouscities. India is well endowed with citiesspread more or less evenly across thecountry.

Like in other countries, cities in Indiatend to be located in areas with adequatewater and on trade routes. And like in oth-er countries, its cities also contain thebulk of the economic wealth.

Topmost Cities in India

Many think of large cities as those thathave a larger population. Since we con-sider cities as markets, where those livinginside or outside interact, the total marketsize is a better measure of the impor-tance of a city. But the term 'topmost'also incorporates other characteristics. Ifour focus is on where to locate our offices,then other issues become more impor-tant, such as presence of government,and also good quality infrastructure. Bythese criteria all state capitals should beincluded.

If on the other hand, we need to betterunderstand which are the most importantemerging urban locations, then we alsoneed to include emerging population con-centrations around large cities.

First, the top 100 urban areas of dis-tricts were sorted on the basis of theirmarket sizes. Next all the capitals ofStates and Union Territories were substi-tuted at the cost of those cities with thesmallest market sizes. In most cases thestates and UTs were already among thetop 100 cities. Last, the important urbanareas in the vicinity of the large metroswere identified, and these were also in-cluded at the cost of the smallest cities asper the market size.

CATEGORIZING THE TOP CITIES

But within this set of top 100 urban ar-eas there exists vast diversity. These arediscussed below under each of the 4 ma-jor classes of cities.

Alpha Cities - The Elite Club of 10

The alpha cities are the elite cities ofIndia. They are the elite not only becauseof their market size but because of the im-portant role they play in all aspects of hu-man endeavor. Among the most impor-tant cities of modern India, first, therewas Calcutta - the political, cultural, edu-cational, and economic capital of BritishIndia. Then came Bombay. Delhi slowlyregained its lost glory after the Britishmoved in, and Chennai steadily gained instature. At the time of Independencethese four were the elite cities of India.Sometime during the seventies,Bangalore and Ahmedabad also enteredcommon acceptance as being among thedriving forces of modern India. Eightiesand nineties have seen the emergence ofPune and Hyderabad into this select club.And the 2000s are pointing towards Suratand Coimbatore. Both have strongeconomies, have better governance thanmost other Indian cities, are located be-

tween other major centers, and are wellconnected. But most important, theyhave by their example shown how the gov-ernment and citizens can together turnadversity into an advantage and bringabout revolutionary changes in shortspans of time.

Beta Cities - On the Threshold

These are the cities that can be. Indeedsome among them will become elite citieseventually. Many of these cities are statecapitals such as Jaipur and Lucknow, ben-efiting from better infrastructure and pub-lic services. Some such as Indore havebeen threatening to break into the bigleague for many years, but never quitemanaged it. Some others such as Kanpurhave somehow lost their way. But what-ever be their current status, these areamong the largest urban markets and canat anytime break into the elite club theway Surat and Coimbatore have.

Another group of urban areas are al-

COVER STORY

The Diversityof Top 100

Cities of India

CHENNAI SURGIG AHEAD

COVER STORY


ready very large markets, some being evenlarger than the smaller alpha cities. But weinsist on retaining them in the beta club fora simple reason - they are not technically asingle city, rather a collection of smallercities clustered around each other and high-ly dependent on a neighbouring elite city.Three such sibling urban areas are:

Mumbai's sibling urban centers in Thanedistrict (containing cities such as Dombivli,Bhayandar, Navi Mumbai, Thane,Ulhasnagar and Virar) Kolkata's sibling urban centers in North

24 Parganas (containing cities such asBaranagar, Barasat, Dum Dum, Kamarhati,Panihati and including Salt Lake City) Chennai's sibling urban centers in

Thiruvallur district (containing cities such asAmbattur, Avadi and Tiruvottiyur)

Gamma Cities - Upcoming Cities

Goa, Vijaywada, andThiruvananthapuram are some examples ofthese cities that, either in recent years, orsometime in the past have come onto theirown. These are important regional or statecenters of economic activity. They areamong the top fifty urban centers in thecountry. As they progress they will createopportunities for citizens living in them andin surrounding areas.

Delta Cities - Budding Centers

This is a large group of 50 cities that arebudding, or have the potential to turn into,into much larger centers. Many are steadi-ly gaining the necessary scales in terms ofpopulation and market size. Capitals ofstates and UTs, such as Gandhinagar,Srinagar and Shillong, centers that are sib-

lings of larger cities such as Gurgaon andNoida, industrial centers such as Durg-Bhilai and Bokaro, historically importantcities such as Udaipur and Mysore, largeemerging centers such as Jamnagar, reli-gious cities such as Varanasi and Ajmer, areall included in this set.

Within these 100 cities, the top 50 ac-count for 45 percent of the urban popula-tion, and half the incomes, savings, expen-ditures, and assets. They also tend to ac-count for a large share of the urban com-mercial bank deposits and credit - about 70to 80 percent. The top 30 cities account formore than half of all urban credits and de-posits. This is not really surprising. Largercities do tend to have greater concentrationof economic activities. And even some re-siding in surrounding areas tend to dependupon the city.

However, this should not be interpretedas larger cities being more dynamic andgrowing more rapidly than smaller cities.Based on data from credit and depositgrowth as well as increases in population,we find a more complex pattern. The tablebelow presents figures that are indicative innature. The figures in each cell representthe median of the city wise growth rateswithin each group. In larger cities, depositsare growing more rapidly. However creditgrowth in very small cities is expanding at ahigher rate as well. Expected market sizegrowth is also not necessarily weighed onlyamong the largest cities.

The top 50 cities have about 54% of theSEC A households and 54% of all the urbanhouseholds earning greater than Rs.300,000 annually. The next fifty add mere-ly another 12 odd percent. More than theSEC characteristics it is income that showsgreater variations. We find that the low-in-

come groups are mostly in smaller cities. Ifon the other hand we were to add incomebreakups greater than Rs. 6,00,000 or Rs.12,00,000 chances are the top 100 citieswould have a significantly higher share.

THE CHARACTER OF THE TOP CITIES

Market size and demography are only twoaspects of a city. The presence of certainminimum infrastructure may define a city,but what is more important is the quality ofthat infrastructure and services that go ontop of it. Potholed roads, water supplymechanisms that work only once every fewhours or even days, electricity that is char-acterized more by its absence than avail-ability, a public transport system that is sopoor that few use it in most cities, taxi andauto-wallahs whose prices change depend-ing upon the whims of the drivers, parksthat are dumping grounds for trash andresting place for cattle, drains characterizedby stagnant water through the year andoverflows in monsoons. The list is long.

But living in a city is not only about infra-structure; it is also about pollution levels,temperature and temperature variations,rain, heath care and education facilities,and so on. A range of factors affectslifestyles of those living in a city. But sec-ondary data sometimes do not reflect thetrue conditions of a city. For this purpose asurvey of about 10,000 Internet usersacross 50 cities was conducted, the resultsfor the Top 10 are reported below.Perceptions of the better off reveal a lotabout the conditions of cities. This is so, asthe poorest sections face poor conditionsacross the country, and therefore there islittle variation in that segment. Though thiswas not a representative survey it does pro-

GAMMA CITY: GOA


the results for the Top 10 are reported be-low. Perceptions of the better off reveal alot about the conditions of cities. This isso, as the poorest sections face poor con-ditions across the country, and thereforethere is little variation in that segment.Though this was not a representative sur-vey it does provide a good glimpse of life invarious cities.

India is changing rapidly in many differ-ent ways. And the cities are changing evenmore rapidly. Typically, we find that mostnew changes in all spheres come aboutfirst in the metros, then spread onto otherlarger cities, and then eventually spreadacross whole of the urban landscape.

Many new technologies are associatedwith a westernized lifestyle and alsoEnglish. We do find that the topmost citiestend to be more westernized. However,there is a lot of variation. For instance,Surat and Coimbatore are among thelargest markets, but have low westerniza-tion levels. Similarly the cosmopolitancharacter tends to be greater in largercities but is not necessarily high in all largecities. Kolkata is a large city but not ashighly cosmopolitan as Nagpur. On theother hand a smaller city such asGuwahati is quite cosmopolitan being thegateway into the north-east. Apart fromAssamese, it boasts of a large number ofBengalis, Hindi speaking community, andmany from different states of the North-east.

EARNING, INVESTING, AND RESIDING INCITIES

It is not that the top cities in terms ofmarket size are necessarily the easiest tolive in. They tend to have much larger

economies and as a result offer greateroptions and choices for both income andconsumption for their residents. In orderto comprehensively assess the cities werate the top 100 cities in India at three lev-els. For this purpose three indices weredeveloped: (1) City Earning Index (2) CityInvesting Index, and (3) City Residing Index.

City Earning Index: A city thathas a good earning environment is onewhere employment levels are high, andwhere employment growth is high, whereper capita incomes are high, and onewhere job opportunities are high as re-flected through internet job sites.

City Investing Index: A city is agood place to invest in where others arealso investing. This is reflected in highcredit growth, and the extent to whichcredit is higher than deposits, and whereper capita credit to small business is alsohigh. A city where a large number of peo-ple are migrating in also reflects growingopportunities for all.

City Residing Index: A city is agood place to reside in where (i) publichealth, (ii) basic and higher education, (iii)utilities and transport, (iv) environment, (v)safety, and (vi) entertainment conditionsare good. Health is reflected in immu-nization and good quality hospitals, basiceducation through literacy rates, profes-sional education through MBA and engi-neering seats per capita, and safety is re-flected in murders, crime against women,and robbery and thefts. A good environ-ment is where pollution (as reflected inresidential SPM and N02 levels) is low,where temperatures are not too high,where temperature variations are also low.Adequate entertainment is also an impor-

tant criterion for residing in a city. Goodquality restaurants, malls, and locations tovisit in a city reflect entertainment options.

Public facilities perhaps make up a largepart of the overall residing friendliness ofa city. These include roads, safe drinkingwater, households electrified, and safedrinking water, and adequacy of parks.But this forms only one set. Inverses ofpower cut frequency, presence of inverter/generator, housing inflation levels, andgrowth in housing inflation also reflectoverall living conditions in a city.

Ranking among Top 10 Alpha CitiesTop 10 Cities Earning Index

Investing Index Residing IndexDelhi 4 7 8Mumbai 7 5 2Kolkata 10 10 4Chennai 9 3 3Bangalore 2 6 1Hyderabad 8 8 6Ahmedabad 6 9 9Surat 1 2 10Pune 3 4 7Coimbatore 5 1 5

Source: Indicus Estimates, City Skylineof India 2006

We find that though there is a significantcorrelation between the Earning andInvesting indices, the Residing Index hasno relationship with the other two.Locations that are good places to earn andinvest in tend to have greater levels of in-migration. These cities also tend to havehigher income levels. Both result in a high-er demand on utilities. In some cities thephysical and social infrastructure is betterable to keep up with this increase, than inothers. In those areas where it does, theResiding Index is higher. But not all citiesare able to respond. This in turn makesthem poor locations to live in.

CITY REGIONS - TWINS, SUBURBS ANDSIBLING CITIES

No work on the top Indian cities can becomplete without a mention of the suburbor the 'twin' cities around them. Typically,a suburb is a residential area or commu-nity outlying a city such that those living inthe suburb can commute to the main cityfor their economic needs. Internationallythe term suburb conjures up images of aquiet, relatively unspoilt, less densely pop-ulated and predominantly residential com-munity in the vicinity of a city. In India, it isdifficult to find such conditions.

Whether it is Gurgaon, or Salt Lake City,we find them to be economic entities quiteindependent from the larger city nearwhich they are located. For instance,

COVER STORY

SURAT: WEALTH CENTRE

COVER STORY


Whether it is Gurgaon, or Salt Lake City,we find them to be economic entitiesquite independent from the larger citynear which they are located. For instance,Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, andGurgaon are much more than mere sub-urbs of Delhi. But they are also not largeenough to be called Delhi's twins. Theseare younger cities, not large enough yet,but one day may even overtake Delhi.

There are quite a few such locations inIndia. There is Salt Lake near Kolkata,Navi Mumbai in Thane district close toMumbai, the communities on Bangalore-Hosur and Bangalore-Mysore routes inBangalore Rural District, Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune, and so on. Andthere are many more across the country,not as well known yet, but will be knownsoon enough. Why are these locationsimportant enough to study separately?What should we call them? How shouldwe define them? And how should wemeasure them?

These cities typically fulfill an importantneed that the larger city was unable to of-fer. In the initial phase they may havebeen uni-dimensional, however, over timethey have gained a distinct character andmomentum of their own. The lack of of-fice space in Delhi, the lack of new resi-dential areas in Kolkata, expensive real-estate in Mumbai have contributed to thegrowth of Salt Lake, Gurgaon, and NaviMumbai respectively. But now all threeare much more than merely a real-estatealternative to the larger neighbors. Theyare more like younger siblings of the larg-er city.

These sibling locations include com-munities that may be large or small,planned or spontaneously arisen, withand without quality infrastructure, some-times similar and sometimes quite dis-similar to the neighboring larger city, andso on. Indeed there is only one thing incommon between them - they are in thegeographical vicinity of a much larger city.Since we also require a 'workable' defini-tion, it should be possible to obtain dataon these locations from disparatesources.

Conclusion

There are very high levels of diversity inIndia in almost all spheres of our lives.And the same is true for our cities. Somuch so that it is difficult to identify com-monalities and patterns such that we caneasily categorize and fit cities in.

For the researcher interested in neatlycategorizing different cities in differentgroups, this poses a problem, as the onlycategorization that will work is related to

size. For the manager interested in acommon approach for her marketing ef-forts across cities, this poses an evenlarger problem. It will be difficult to imag-ine a common strategy for Mumbai andSurat - both among the 10 largest mar-kets in India and only a few hundred kilo-meters away. This diversity exists not onlybetween cities, but also within cities.

Whichever way we see it, India is a het-erogeneous country with cities that arealso heterogeneous. An appreciation ofthis heterogeneity needs to be built-in asan integral part of our understanding ofcities.

Another aspect of Indian cities needs tobe appreciated. No one single city domi-nates any large sphere - true Mumbaidominates the financial sector, Delhi thepolitical 'sector', but there is little else.

Almost as many movies are made out ofChennai as in Mumbai, the automobilesector is spread around Pune, Delhi,Chennai and many other cities. Andthough many of the large IT companiesare headquartered in Bangalore, citiessuch as Pune, Hyderabad are rapidlycatching up, not to mention the high lev-els of IT activity in Mumbai and Delhi re-gions. Whether it is an economic activity,or any other aspect of life, India is fortu-nate to have a large number of diverseand dynamic cities.

Delhi and Mumbai do not dominateIndia as much as, say, Mexico City domi-nates Mexico, or Sao Paolo dominatesBrazil. The top 100 largest cities only ac-count for roughly 50 to 60 percent of theoverall market. So as long as we arethinking of the Indian middle class, orthose at the bottom of the pyramid, thereis a large chunk spread much more finelyin the rest of the 5000 odd cities in India.These masses may not necessarily befrom the top educational institutes ofIndia, most may not be English speaking -but many of the highly educated and highincome earners are not necessarily onlyin the top 100 cities.

But the glass is half full. These top 100cities do contain the largest chunk of theIndian urban population and market. Forthose interested in covering the bulk ofIndia's urban population and market, con-centrating on these 100 cities can yieldrapid results provided enough flexibilityexists in their strategies to account for theheterogeneity.

OUT OF DELHI’S SHADOW: GURGAON IS NO MORE A MERE SUBURB

The lack of office space inDelhi, the lack of new resi-dential areas in Kolkata,expensive real-estate inMumbai have contributedto the growth of Salt Lake,Gurgaon, and NaviMumbai respectively. Butnow all three are muchmore than merely a real-estate alternative to thelarger neighbors.


COVER STORY

Manoj C. Benjamin, Chairman Royal Indian RajInternational Corporation (RIRC) Vancouver, Canada.The son of immigrants, 44-year-old Benjamin is ahighly successful local businessman who has takensome of the wealth he earned here and invested it in

India. He is considered a hawk in North America elite business cir-cle, who takes tremendous risk but with calculated plans and vi-sion to follow them.

Manoj C Benjamin a pioneer in the rapidly developing IndianInfrastructure & Housing Sector. Being among the first approvedFDI's in the Indian nation and recognized by India's, Business &Economy with a rank of 21 among the top 100 people for 2007.

RIRIC is launching multi billion dollar master planned townshipcommunities under its Royal Garden Villas & Resorts, RoyalGarden Cities and 135 hotels in various Indian cities under a pre-mium budget brand and a national chain of branded PGA golfcourses.

When India opened its economy to the world in 1991, Benjaminstarted on the path to realizing his vision and dream to build com-munities that would stand out on the world's stage as being pro-gressive and of the highest possible standards. Today, that dreamis becoming a reality and RIRIC is on the forefront of developingfirst-class resort communities and modern satellite cities in Indiaunder its Royal Garden City, Royal Garden Villas & Resorts and itshotel brands.

"We see the integrated township format as a key driver of futurehousing supply and as a catalyst for the much needed infrastruc-ture investments in the rapid urbanization of India. The Indian gov-ernment has spelt out key incentive policies to provide an impe-tus towards easing the flow of private investments and royal gar-den city is one of the first to have been conceptualized andplanned to meet this objective," says Benjamin.

According to Anil K. Agarwal, President of ASSOCHAM(Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India), leadinginternational investors like Royal Indian Raj International,Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Property Investors,Morgan Stanley and GE Commercial Finance Real Estate areshowing a keen interest and establishing their presence in Indianreal estate.

Few years ago Benjamin began aligning himself with venturepartners who also saw the potential for modernizing real estate inthe Indian market and committed them to RIRIC's objective of"Building India for the new millennium."

Over a projected 12-15-year program, RIRIC will inject an esti-mated $10 billion dollars into its premier real estate develop-ments under the highly-touted Royal Garden Cities projects and itsRoyal Garden Villas and Resorts' brand.

India is truly emerging as the quiet lion about to roar. Benjamin'sdrive and vision is to create an economic and technological con-nection between East and West. His company is playing an inte-gral part in the country's burgeoning infrastructure, finance anddevelopment sectors.

Manoj C Benjamin spoke his heart out during aninterview with PPrraasshhaanntt TTeewwaarrii, Editor-in-Chief,

touching wide ranging issues that includes his corebusiness to macro business situation in the world.

He is extremely bullish on India Inc story andpromised that all his words shall be followed with

constructive action...

Q. Real Estate was the buzz word prior to the current econom-ic tsunami, i remember you had rightly predicted doom for westand boom for east in 2005 during an interview session. Tell me itwas a guess or well thought off statement?

My statements were based on demographic expectations thatIndia and China with their vast markets and domestic markets hadthe weight and dynamism to transform the 21st -century globaleconomy. The closest parallel to their emergence is the saga of19th century America, a huge continental economy with a young,driven workforce that grabbed the lead in agriculture, apparel andthe high technologies of that era such as steam engine, telegraph,and electric lights. Now the pendulum is swinging back to the Eastand with it a need to transform the national physical and eco-nomic infrastructure over here.

ROYAL INDIA RAJBuilding India for the

new millennium QA&

COVER STORY


Q. Experts are betting heavily on Indiaand China with Brazil and Russia (BRIC) onboard to take the world out of recession,there are focused on economics without re-alizing the crucial value of internal dynam-ics like insurgency, population explosion,growth of religious fundamentalism, mount-ing external debt etc, do you think it is wiseto continue with the same set of mind topredict the final outcome in respect to eco-nomic growth of BRIC?

In 2003, Goldman Sacs coined the termBRIC to cover Brazil, Russia, India andChina pre-sagging a fundamental shift inthe global balance of power.

The group of four countries represent theenormous potential of the emerging mar-kets, and there populations will providemost of the worlds growth in the decades tocome .Indeed these nations represent fourof the world's largest emerging economies,representing 40% of the world's populationand 15% of the Global GDP estimated at 15trillion dollars and its going to grow .In com-parison to the USA economy which present-ly represents about 27.5% of Global GDP.The BRIC's having together greater eco-nomic weight than the traditional powers ofthe Group of Seven Industrial nations by2032.

At present trends by mid century it isconceivable that two nations China andIndia will account for half the worlds globaloutput. Indeed the troika of China, Indiaand the USA-the only industrialized nationwith significant population growth-by mostprojections will dwarf every other economy.

China and India will certainly be domi-nant global suppliers of manufacturedgoods and services and that of Brazil andRussia will be dominant suppliers of rawmaterials.

The BRIC'S nations will continue to growthey are characterized by all having largeand competitive domestic economies, largepopulations among emerging markets withIndia expected to hit 1.6B people mid cen-tury overtaking China .China and India havetwo of the fastest economic growth rates inthe world. All have strong natural resources,with Brazil and Russia being a cornucopiaof commodities and energy which in thepast have been inadequately exploited.Escalating energy and commodity pricing ofthe last five years has brought rapid growthto Brazil and Russia enabling them to de-velop active consumer sectors. Finally ac-cess to capital is strong with China sittingon foreign exchange reserves of more than$2 trillion, Russia has more than $500 bil-lion, India close to $300 billion and Brazilaround $200 billion allowing them great lat-itude in policies. China has recently an-nounced a $600 billion stimulus plan whichit can easily afford concentrating on a more

vibrant domestic market.However, internal dynamics like insur-

gency, population explosion, growth of reli-gious fundamentalism, mounting externaldebt etc certainly are factors to consider.Add to this several other factors such aseconomic structure, open economic poli-cies as well as cultural/political and legalenvironment not to mention ecologicaldegradation will have a role to play in thelevels and rates of growth. With this in thebackground is the somber reality that polit-ical ineptitude blunts growth. Now that theglobal downturn has hit , the four countrieshave diverged and some of the bright fu-

ture of the BRIC's might be derailed.Russia looks to be most at risk, with the

latest UN population projections suggestingthat its population may fall from 142 millionto 100 million by mid century. Russia hasbeen transformed from a emerging marketposting a growth rate of 8.1% in 2007 intoa corrupt kleptocracy without rule of lawand with only oil exports propping it up .Itsconsumer pricing are rising at a 14% clip ,itscurrency is collapsing -down by a third in thepast year-and stock prices are down by 80%from its high of last year.

Brazil will remain a successful growth sto-ry ,albeit at a moderate rate with only a 1.6growth rate in 2009 better than mostplaces ,interest rates at 12.5% inflationhigh at 6% -to high but at least it avoids de-flation and its stock market down only 4% in2009 ,which is more than investors can sayfor Wall Street with a budget deficit undercontrol. Large finds in off shore reserves ofoil which begin production in 2012 promiseto make Brazil a premier oil exporter.

India did well 2004-2008 largely due toreforms of the previous government.However the present government has madealmost no reforms with the Indian econom-ic machine showing clear signs of runningdown. 2009 growth rate was about 5% withthe budget deficit as high as 12% of GDP.But India is not China: It does not have thehuge foreign exchange reserves to financesuch a deficit yet Thus ,the rating agenciesare considering downgrading India's debt.Given the financing issues it may be likelythat any growth may be thwarted by lack offoreign exchange pulling us back to 3% to4% growth rates. A growth rate that'snowhere near enough to lift its India's rap-idly growing populations out of poverty Inwhich case the governments overspendingand opposition to reform of the last fiveyears will continue .India will then remain ina enormously frustrating enigma, a countrywith huge growth possibilities that is shack-led by a corrupt and incompetent govern-ment bureaucracy incapable of building theeconomic, legal and physical infrastructurethe nation needs.

China will remain the main engine ofworld growth despite -current difficulties theAsian giant appears to be having. It has aenormous stimulus plan of more than $600billion .However with roughly $2 trillion inforeign -exchange reserves, huge domesticsavings and a budget that is close to beingbalanced ,it seems likely that China can af-ford its stimulus. and by increasing domes-tic demand the stimulus will pull the nationout of recession. China is expected to grow9% plus this year as well China's shareshave risen by 20%.Its physical and eco-nomic infrastructure is robust attractingrecord FDI and its population growth rate incontrol.

The corruption index of TransparencyInternational reports however is not so flat-tering. Brazil, China and India sharing a low-ly 72nd place and Russia off the charts at143 rd place. They also have low ranking onthe World Banks "ease of doing business "index .China comes in best at 93rd in theworld, Russia at 96,Brazil at 121 and Indiaat 134.

So there Is a lot of work to be done by theBRIC'S here to improve efficiency which cer-tainly will bring growth. However despitemarkets going up and down there is sureto be many boom and harrowing bust cy-cles. However over the long haul these mar-kets will remain strong having survived ear-lier crises and have immense untapped po-tential. There rising consumer classes willdrive innovation and hopefully the real risksof social strife, war and financial crisis willbe managed properly.

Q. Royal Raj Corporation is investing

China and India will cer-tainly be dominant globalsuppliers of manufacturedgoods and services andthat of Brazil and Russiawill be dominant suppliersof raw materials


COVER STORYrowing bust cycles. However over the longhaul these markets will remain strong hav-ing survived earlier crises and have im-mense untapped potential. There risingconsumer classes will drive innovation andhopefully the real risks of social strife, warand financial crisis will be managed prop-erly.

Q. Royal Raj Corporation is investingheavily in India via dedicated India specif-ic fund created in USA in real estate sector,now that there is a slowdown in the real es-tate sector world-wwide though not so evi-dent in India and China, do your companyis planning to venture out in other vibrantsectors ?

The slowdown in the real estate sector inIndia will be temporary as natural popula-tion growth fuels demand along with thehuge Indian housing shortage. Our focusremains national Urban Infrastructure andHousing with Township development at itsfore-front .This brings with it a greater in-tegrated focus in the development ,con-struction, ownership and operation of in-frastructure covering green self sustain-ability, bio-degradable and environmentaltechnologies, ,water supply, waste to en-ergy generation, water and sewage treat-ment/management We are also develop-ing a greater depth in Pre-Fab constructionand road building and recycling and hopeto be active in these fields in the years tocome.

Q. How do you rate the future of Indiaand China economy in general and real es-tate sector in specific in the coming yearskeeping in view the current boom is large-ly fumed by government stimulate planswhich might be creating another assetbubble in the zone?

For the past two decades, China hasbeen growing at an astonishing rate of9.5% a year and India by 6% and has ben-efited from globalization. Given their youngpopulations, high savings ,and the sheeramount of catching up they still have to do,most economist figure that China andIndia possess the fundamentals to keepgrowing in the 7% to 8% range for decadesand will become 21st century heavyweights. Indeed by mid century, China cer-tainly will overtake the U.S as No#1 andIndia will vault over Germany to take 3rdplace. At present China's FDI inflows haveincreased to US $62bn, while India's FDIinflows are in the region of $6B a ratio of10:3 in China's case comfortably financingits stimulus plans. China's FDI 's successhas been primarily due to its large eco-nomic zones as well as the adequate in-frastructure, highly stream lined adminis-tration, cheap yet skilled labor force, flexi-

ble labor laws, low corruption, strong legalenvironment, better bureaucratic deliverysystem, and favorable regulatory and taxtreatments. This policy benefits the devel-opment of real estate infrastructure whereChina has been busy building new cities,bullet trains, industrial zones ,researchcenters ,roads, ports, etc. For example in1990 ,Shanghai seemed caught in a so-cialist time warp ,today Shanghai haserected enough high-rises to fillManhattan.

On the real estate sector analysis ,Indiahas a 27 million housing shortage today ,a population increasing by 180m every tenyears adding a requirement of 3 million to

5 million new homes annually and a popu-lation set to reach 1.6B by mid century,India has a incredible task in front of herneeding to address power, telecoms, retailand urban infrastructure and housing.Presently it is lacking the means of pro-duction to satisfy such large scale de-mands. Urban Infrastructure and Housingas a sector is still enormously inefficientand lacks the capital structure to prosperinternally although strides have beenmade in the residential mortgage marketwhile finance in the commercial market re-mains enormously difficult. This despite itscritical importance in attracting muchneeded FDI's and its vital role in buildingthe nation. So despite this based on de-mographics alone there is incredible up-side in the under represented real estateeconomy .As more reforms and refine-ment in this sector occurs a powerful cat-alyst for change develops as demand isthere. !

Q. Developed nations are amidst worstrecession since great depression, forcingmillions of people to change business pat-tern and lifestyle. You have a good expo-sure of western lifestyle and thoughtprocess; predict life after the current shockfor western block?

There is no doubt the recent Americanrecession has forced many to re-definebusiness patterns and rethink lifestyles inthe West. This brings with it a stronger em-phasis on practicality , affordability andsustainability. This re-assessment can beseen as a end to a cycle with establishednations particularly USA recognizing itsneed to break its bubble-and-bust cycleeconomy with a new way of thinking. Thisis resulting in the calling for a new eco-nomic foundation for these nations. In thecase of USA the leader of the developednations with 27.5% of the Global GDP thisfoundation would be built on betterschools, alternative energy, more afford-able health care and a more regulatedWall Street and financial markets.

An excerpt of this new way of thinkingis reflected by the American PresidentBarack Obama and The Times's DavidLeonhardt during an interview in the OvalOffice on April 14,2010

"But I actually think that there was al-ways an unsustainable feel about whathad happened on Wall Street over the last10, 15 years, and it's not that differentfrom the unsustainable nature of what washappening during the dot-com boom,where people in Silicon Valley could makeenormous sums of money, even thoughwhat they were peddling never really hadany signs it would ever make a profit. Thatdoes't mean, though, that Silicon Valley isstill not a huge, critical, important part ofour economy, and Wall Street will remain abig, important part of our economy, just asit was in the '70s and the '80s. It just won'tbe half of our economy. And that meansthat more talent, more resources will begoing to other sectors of the economy".

It will also be tempered by the competi-tive forces of the new global economy andits inter-relationships with nations like Indiaand China with their growth patterns pos-sessing the weight and dynamism to trans-form the 21-st century economy over a com-plete spectrum of consumer markets, in-vestors, producers and users of energy andcommodities providing a "future shock" tothe established nations. Along with thischanging pattern of behaviour will come aneed for new world economy . Globalizationand transformation will translates into lay-offs and lower wages for a changingAmerica. However everyday life will go onwith a little belt tightening in the West

There is no doubt the re-cent American recessionhas forced many to re-de-fine business patterns andrethink lifestyles in theWest. This brings with it astronger emphasis onpracticality , affordabilityand sustainability.

COVER STORY


a need for new world economy .Globalization and transformation willtranslates into layoffs and lower wages for achanging America. However everyday lifewill go on with a little belt tightening in theWest

Q. Royal Indian Raj InternationalCorporation has tremendous depth andgreat vision for future strategic businessplans but the company has restrain itself ingoing for aggressive branding in India.RRCis running huge projects and have evenlarger plans for future in India, do you fore-see continuation of same strategy or RRCwill be pro active and aggressive in comingdays to promote its brand, products andservices?

Our presence in North America and ourfocus on India, generally regarded as a de-veloping economy ,has routinely encoun-tered a cultural divide in the West with mis-conceptions around eastern customs, landownership practices, laws, norms ,long ges-tation times and bureaucracies in theIndian Urban Infrastructure and Housingsector as well as numbers and logistics un-fathomable in the west , .Progress can eas-ily be misconstrued by the developing na-ture of rules and regulations in the nascentIndian Realty sector and forces not under-standing the long gestation times, our anticorruption policy and the complexities suchlarge endeavors require in India .

For example our inaugural 12,000 CRInternational Township in Bangalore North,Karnataka India one of several was slatedto start in 2005 .Despite gaining FIPB per-missions from the Central Government in2005 the first in the nation to get FDI sanc-tion under the Integrated Township catego-ry and being heralded by the NRI Minister ofthat time Jagdish Tytler. Since then the proj-ect has been delayed at the State Level byzoning changes, four-failed state govern-ment, in-efficient state government bureau-cracy resulting in stalled RIRIC project per-missions. A second Royal Garden Villas &Resort project in the region suffers a simi-lar fate.

This can be construed and regarded bywestern sources as negative and derogato-ry to Bangalore and India. We have chosento be moderate on branding until such timeas full project permissions are gained toavoid this. We do anticipate project clear-ances shortly and at which time we will cer-tainly promote these exciting township proj-ects and others like this throughout Indiaand take active participation in "Building aNew India" .

Q What will be the key points as per yourview for Vision 2020 India?

India remains a country with huge

growth possibilities and can close in onChina and exceed it by building on its dem-ocratic legacy and creating a favorable en-vironment similar to that of China by repli-cating her extraordinary ability to mobilizeworkers and capital laying down the nationsphysical and economic infrastructure .Thiscan be achieved by institutional reforms in

a more accountable and transparent way,imperative for the country. It calls for thecreation of special economic zones, im-provement in urban infrastructure andhousing , policy stability, introduction of la-bor reforms, establishment of a strong legalenvironment, streamlining bureaucracy,and the elimination of corruption. This willaide in increasing larger FDI flows, helpingin the financing of large scale growth thenation is capable off achieving .This shouldnot be a daunting task if there is a adequatepolitical will with respect to the economy,laying down the ground work for decades ofnew growth. This will however requires anew way of thinking and electorate that hasthe force to counter the political ineptitudethat can blunt growth .

Population demographics will also has arole to play, India has nearly 500m peopleunder the age of 19 and has high fertilityrates. India's rising middle class expected tohit 700m between 2020 to 2030.By midcentury the population rises to 1.6B with220 million more workers then China.

Progress can easily be mis-construed by the develop-ing nature of rules and regu-lations in the nascent IndianRealty sector and forces notunderstanding the long ges-tation times, our anti corrup-tion policy and the com-plexities such large endeav-ors require in India

GROWTH BAROMETRE: Bombay Stock Exchange


COVER STORY2030.By mid century the population

rises to 1.6B with 220 million more work-ers then China. Opening power, tele-coms, commercial real estate and retailsectors to FDI's will lure big capital flows.Other factors can include harnessingthe Global NRI's and PIO,s Diaspora andthe Internet/information age may wellcontribute meaningfully to a new way ofthinking ,defining the management andgovernance of the Indian nation into thedecades to come..

Q. Is there any future plan to capital-ize Indian Stock Markets?

I think we may look at capitalizationon the Indian Stock Markets as it re-mains in our strategic plans 12 to 24months down the line after several of ourproposed Townships and a SpecialEconomic Zone (SEZ) get there finalclearances from the government agen-cies involved.

Q. Share information on the socialwork done by Royal Raj Corporation tohonor its corporate social responsibility?

RIRIC has a interest in poverty allevia-tion, adoption agencies ,homeless shel-ters, health clinics, missionary projects,peace organizations, libraries ,war on il-literacy, single mother's micro loans andmedical research leading to curing orcontaining disease .In the past we havebeen involved in schooling contributionto village children and mentoring and ed-ucating homeless peoples.

Q. Manoj C Benjamin is a recognizedbusiness name in corporate world, butlet us know about your political and busi-ness hero's and why do you admirethem?

On the business front great businessleader possess more than the celebrat-ed traits of charisma and an appetite forrisk. They have "contextual intelligence"-a profound ability to understand the zeit-geist of their times and harness it , tocreate successful organizations.Entrepreneurial innovation, savvy man-agement, and transformational leader-ship. Those that stand out in my mindare...

Jamsetji & Jrd , TATA , for being thecreator of modern Indian industry.Dhirabhai Ambani , Chairman andManaging Director of Reliance Industriesfor revolutionizing the Indian stock ex-change also named the IndianEntrepreneur of the 20th Century by theFederation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (FICCI) with TheTimes of India in 2000 voting him "great-est creator of wealth in the century". N.

Murthy ,Infosys a revolution in software, Azim Premji - Indian billionaire busi-nessman of the Wipro software compa-ny., Lakshmi Mittal - Mittal SteelCompany chairman for developing aworld wide steel conglomerate andForbes 2005 ,3rd richest man in theworld. Muhammad Yunus - Bangladeshieconomist and founder of the GrameenBank that has pioneered Microcredit.And Sunil Mittal for connecting India viathe telephone. Samuel M. Walton ,Wal-Mart the world's largest retailer incredi-ble vertical standardization,Walt DisneyDisney for making children laugh,William H. Gates III Microsoft for champi-oning the beginning of the informationage and a new world economy, Gordon E.Moore & Andrew S. Grove Intel for thePentium chip.Henry Ford ,Ford Motor &Alfred P. Sloan Jr. General Motors forstandardization and giving the world aride. George Eastman Eastman Kodakfor capturing the world on film,Asa G.Candler Coca-Cola for giving the world acoke , Howard Schultz ,Starbuck for

making water into liquid gold . John F.Welch Jr. General Electric for makinghome life easier. Raymond A. Kroc,McDonald's for giving the world a burg-er. Frederick W. Smith Federal Expressfor delivering things . John D. RockefellerSr. Standard Oil for fueling it all.

On the political front .....Gandhi ..forthe incredible and extraordinary conceptof satyagraha non-violent protest to hisbattle for right and wrong and its contri-bution to Indian independence.Mandela for his adaptation of this andhis certain knowledge of right in bringinga end to Apartheid in South Africa.George Washington and ThomasJefferson for the championing of democ-racy and the Religious Charter ofFreedoms freeing minds around theearth..Underdogs like , Ho Chi Minh .aleader of astonishing quality and organi-zational skills who lead his nation to vic-tory against two of the world's great pow-ers, France and USA. Winston Churchillfor his resolve and leadership duringWW2 .

MY HEROES: On the political front .....Gandhi ..forthe incredible and extraordinary concept of satyagrahanon-violent protest to his battle for right and wrong andits contribution to Indian independence. Mandela for hisadaptation of this and his certain knowledge of right inbringing a end to Apartheid in South Africa. GeorgeWashington and Thomas Jefferson for the championingof democracy and the Religious Charter of Freedomsfreeing minds around the earth..Underdogs like , Ho ChiMinh .a leader of astonishing quality and organizationalskills who lead his nation to victory against two of theworld's great powers, France and USA. WinstonChurchill for his resolve and leadership during WW2

CONCERN


DK Matai

Has the Greek crisis taken on a de-cidedly sub-prime feel followingrevelations that Wall Street in-vestment banks earned hun-dreds of millions of dollars over

the past decade from transactions thathelped the country mask billions of dollarsof debt? Apparently Greece wasn't the onlyEU government to use these types of deals,where a government would raise cash upfront in exchange for handing over the rightsto future income streams, to hide the extentof their budget deficit(s) and national debt.Such schemes were also popular in some ofthe other PIIGS countries.

Greece remains the main subject of dis-cussion for EU finance ministers currentlymeeting in Brussels. The EU appears tohave slept through the Greek use of ac-counting tricks to hide their deficits and ispresently engaged in a good deal of collec-tive self-recrimination for not paying closerattention to the true state of Greece's dis-mal public finances much earlier. As a re-sult, the EU is to send teams of experts fromthe European commission, the EuropeanCentral Bank and the InternationalMonetary Fund to police the Greek austeri-ty programme and rule whether the pack-age will achieve its aims. The meeting inBrussels was dominated by working outhow the unprecedented policing regimewould work.

Greek Finance Minister GeorgePapaconstantinou said his task was likechanging "the course of the Titanic."

SWAPS DISCLOSUREBrussels based European Union regula-

tors have ordered Greece to disclose detailsof complex derivative currency swaps afteran inquiry by the Greek Finance Ministry un-covered a series of agreements with banksthat may have been used to conceal mount-ing debts. The swaps were employed to de-fer interest payments by several years, ac-cording to a February report commissionedby the Finance Ministry in Athens that is be-ing examined by lawmakers. "While swapsshould be strictly limited to those that leadto a permanent reduction in interest spend-ing, some of these agreements have beenmade to move interest from the presentyear to the future, with long-term damage tothe Greek state," according to the Greek

Finance Ministry report.

Genesis of Swaps RequirementGreece's burgeoning budget deficit

caused it to fail the criteria for joining thesingle European currency in 1999. Membernations had to reduce deficits to less than3% of GDP and trim national debt to lessthan 60% of GDP to join. As a result, itjoined the euro in 2001. How did it manageto do that?

COMPLEX DERIVATIVESShortly after Greece joined Europe's

monetary union, Wall Street investmentbanks helped the government quietly raisebillions of dollars without immediate visibleimpact. Athens was thus enabled to contin-ue its free-spending ways while appearingto comply with the strict EU deficit regime,because the currency trades took the formof complex derivatives transactions ratherthan loans.

Christoforos Sardelis, head of Greece'sPublic Debt Management Agency from1999 to 2004, who joined Banca IMI, theinvestment-banking unit of Italy's IntesaSanpaolo SpA has revealed the following:The Greek government turned to GoldmanSachs in 2002 [other sources suggest thatthis began even before] to get USD 1 billionthrough complex derivative swaps.

The transaction consisted of a cross-cur-rency swap of about USD 10 billion of debt

issued by Greece in dollars and yen. Debtwas swapped into euros using an historicalexchange rate, a mechanism that implied areduction in debt and generated about USD1 billion of funding for that year. The agree-ment was restructured "a couple" of timesbetween 2002 and 2004. The fees, or thespread, that the investment bank was paidon the contracts was "reasonable."

The New York Times recently reported:Goldman Sachs made about USD 300 mil-lion from a swaps agreement with Greece.The firm's bankers, including PresidentGary Cohn, travelled to Athens in November2009 to pitch a deal that would push debtfrom the country's health-care services intothe future. Greece apparently rejected theoffer.Greek Government View of InvestmentBanks

George Papaconstantinou, the Greek fi-nance minister, has said that the roleplayed by investment banks such asGoldman Sachs and JP Morgan in strikingderivatives deals with the Greek govern-ment intended to conceal the true state ofthe public accounts was not unique toAthens. "Greece was not the only countryusing them [derivatives]."

Trust UnderminedThe revelation that Greece participated in

such Wall Street transactions has furtherundermined its credibility within the EU.

Enigmatic Greek SagaLooking into the mechanism of hiding government debt via complex derivatives


CONCERNTrust UnderminedThe revelation that Greece participat-

ed in such Wall Street transactions hasfurther undermined its credibility withinthe EU. Greece had already been criti-cised by the EU for supplying incorrectinformation about its budget situation inthe past.

RATING AGENCIESStandard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings

have just begun questioning the Greekgovernment over its use of the swaps.The rating agencies are doing the rightthing, but it may be too little too late.S&P, Moody's and Fitch all cut Greece'scredit rating in December 2009. S&P lowered the rating by one lev-

el to BBB+ from A- and the country'sdebt was put on negative credit-watch; Fitch cut Greece's rating one lev-

el to BBB+ from A-; and Moody's cut Greece to A2 from

A1.

FAULTY STATISTICSGreek officials last month pledged to

provide more reliable statistics after theEU complained of "severe irregularities"in the nation's economic figures. TheGreek Finance Ministry report blamed"political interference" for the collapse ofcredibility in Greece's statistics. Therewere "serious weaknesses" in data col-lection, especially with spending figures,as information often came from second-hand sources, the report found.Eurostat, the EU statistics office, has giv-en Greece until the end of the month toprovide more information on the swaps.

LEGALITYGreek Finance Minister George

Papaconstantinou visiting Brussels hassaid the country's use of swaps agree-ments was legal at the time. He alsosaid the contracts are no longer legaland Greece has stopped using them.

EU PledgeAfter meeting in Brussels last week,

EU political heads pledged to supportGreece, but they failed to detail whatmeasures they might adopt to rescuethe debt-burdened country. EU financeministers resolved to keep Greece underunprecedented surveillance as thecountry attempted to slash its budgetdeficit from its present level of 13 percent of GDP to less than 3 per cent by2012. EU finance ministers have alsodiscussed the type of financial assis-tance they could theoretically provide toGreece, such as direct loans, guaran-

tees of the country's debt, and purchas-ing Greek government bonds.

GERMAN VIEWVolcker Wissing, finance committee

chief in Germany's Bundestag, calledthe Greece swap deals a grave breach oftrust. The Greek efforts to mask the sizeof their debt may make it less likely thatthe Bundestag will be willing to endorsea debt guarantee or loan package forGreece.

Michael Meister, financial affairsspokesman for German ChancellorAngela Merkel's Christian Democrats,states: "Goldman Sachs broke the spiritof the Maastricht Treaty, though it is notcertain it broke the law. What is certainis that we must never leave this kind ofthing lurking in the shadows again."Chancellor Merkel's party within theGerman government coalition aims topush for new rules that will force euro-re-gion nations and banks to disclose bondswaps that have an impact on public fi-nances. Germany's Constitutional Courthas already issued rulings that prohibit -- or complicate -- any bail-out for EMUstates. German opinion polls suggestthat any PIIGS bailout would be equiva-lent to suicide for the coalition govern-ment.

DEFICIT CONTROLThe problem for Greece is that it now

finds itself under extreme pressure tocut its budget deficit by slashing spend-ing and boosting its revenues. EU lead-ers last week pressed Greece to get itsdeficit under control and vowed "deter-mined" action to staunch the worst crisisin the euro's 11-year history. But the re-sult of these past deals with Wall Streetbanks is that the Greek government hasalready handed over the rights to bigchunks of its revenues, such as airportfees and lottery proceeds, for years tocome. Greek Prime Minister GeorgePapandreou more than tripled the 2009deficit estimate to 12.7 percent afterousting two-term incumbent KostasKaramanlis in October.

DEFLATIONARY SHOCK

Is the EU incubating a "deflationaryshock" for all of Europe by forcing PIIGSnations to tighten fiscal policy in the mid-dle of The Great Unwind and The GreatReset without enough monetary stimu-lus to offset the effect? Do distinguishedATCA members detect an unfolding eerieparallel with the early 1930s?

Courtesy ATAC The writer is Chairman and

Founder: mi2g.net, ATCA, ThePhilanthropia, HQR, @G140

Greek Finance MinisterGeorge Papaconstantinou vis-iting Brussels has said thecountry's use of swaps agree-ments was legal at the time.He also said the contracts areno longer legal and Greecehas stopped using them.

COLUMN


TJS GEORGE

What happened to the world ageneration ago is happening toIndia now. When the Soviet

Union collapsed, America became theworld's only policeman and GeorgeBush put that status to diabolic use.With the BJP and the Communists writ-ing their own death warrants, theCongress is becoming the choicelessface of a unipolar India. The odious po-tential of this can be seen in the partyspokesman's proclamation that the

Congress triumphed in the latest bye-elections duesolely and wholly to Rahul Gandhi's "vision".The spokesman did not say that TyphoonPhyan spared Mumbai because of the fore-sight and perspicacity of Rahulji. For thismercy, much thanks.

Of course Rahul Gandhi is an asset to theCongress. He has gained experience anddoes not make vapid statements of thekind that marked his early days. But to seehim as the sole depository of wisdom is tobelittle the Congress and, worse, to signal anew phase of unrestricted, all-consumingsycophancy.

Film star Raj Babbar won in Firozabad becauseof (a) his star appeal and (b) people's disgust atMulayam Singh fielding his son first and thistime the son's raw, inexperienced wife - asthough Firozabad was a private fiefdomand the voters his vassals. To ignorethese crucial factors and attributethe Congress win there to the"Rahul factor" is self-deception.Where was the Rahul factor inthe nine out of eleven seatsthat Mayawati won despiteRahul's systematic campaignagainst her in recent months?

Mayawati will remain a bub-ble for a few more years. Buteven she must have realised bynow that she has no hope in helloutside UP despite the disburse-ment of vast sums of money. InMaharashtra this time she con-tested in 281 seats - and lost thedeposit in 252. Not thatMaharashtra's well-wishers havereasons to rejoice. For the MNS (Maharashtra Nava-rowdy Sena)has won some seats and alreadydemonstrated how they plan tohold the state to ransom.

Similarly the Reddys are holdingKarnataka to ransom. The cabi-

net, the civil service, the police force and the party highcommand have all been brought under the thumb of

one family which makes no bones about its intentionsto milk this once-proud state for its private profit.This is the most lurid evidence yet of the decline andfall of the BJP. With "new generation" leaders likeSushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley succumbing to thepulls of money power, there is no likelihood of theBJP finding a viable identity of its own in the fore-seeable future.

The most disappointing - and the least surprising -of political collapses is the CPM's. Not a single seat

won in West Bengal. Not a single seat won in Kerala.What a fall for a party built on the dreams of the mass-

es. Yet it surprises no one because the party of theproletariat had become the party of five-star lead-

ers. The Bengal leaders at least accepted theirdefeat and said they would try to correct their

ways. The Kerala leaders are justifyingthemselves by saying that the percentage

of their votes had gone up and that any-way it was all the fault of an abom-

inable media conspiracy.A new left force is what the hap-

less electorate of India badlyneeds. The first requirement forsuch a turn-around is the resig-nation of failed leaders likePrakash Karat, BuddhadevBhattacharya and PinarayiVijayan. Buddha perhapsmay be willing to leave.The other two won't. Sothe CPM will go downfurther in the daysahead. Which is an-other way of admit-ting that Rahulji

will remain the vi-sion for India. Watch

for the partyspokesman's take when

Typhoon Phyan comesour way next time.

India goes unipolar, yet again!The Congress is becoming the choicelessface of a unipolar India. The odious poten-tial of this can be seen in the partyspokesman's proclamation that theCongress triumphed in the latest bye-elections due solely and wholly to RahulGandhi's "vision". The spokesman did notsay that Typhoon Phyan spared Mumbaibecause of the foresight and perspicacityof Rahulji. For this mercy, much thanks.


SECURITY

Collectively, from our research, global experienceof 17 years in the Intelligence and Risk monitor-ing/Tactical Security Solutions business, and

writing this brief report looking forward for all coun-tries, we see a future with converging, connected, andaccelerating technology that will so increase choicesfor individuals and the ways we interact with technolo-gy, that the changes will affect our identity. The WWoorrllddHHoommeellaanndd SSeeccuurriittyy GGrroouupp CCeennttrreess ooff EExxcceelllleennccee (WHSCOE) throughout India will certainly be focusing; re-searching, training and monitoring all aspects whichcan help India increase the speed and safety of thesenew 21st Century technologies. There will also be anincreased global threat of terrorism which will requireall of us to be more alert and helpful with real factsso that we can make efforts to help our communities.In the months ahead we at World Homeland SecurityGroup (WHS Group/WHS COE) will be sharing securityand safety tips with all the OOPPIINNIIOONN EEXXPPRREESSSS readersso that more peaceful actions can be taken by all ofas we unite in making this and the next generationmore peacefully just.

F i v e Te c h n o l o g y A r e a sFive technology areas will be maturing in many ways by 2025

that will increase their impacts unlike ever before.

1. Biotechnology. We will see significant advances in a widerange of areas from biomanufacturing and information process-ing to robotics and cognitive enhancement. The body will becomeits own laboratory, as we will harness the ability to generate med-icines and necessary chemicals within our bodies. Possible ob-stacles to advances include the difficulty of obtaining funding fortruly innovative work, and the regulatory environment. Future de-velopments will also include the building of complex systems andthe addition of biological parts to engineering and electronic de-vices. Biotechnologies such as algae, programmed cells, bio-cat-

JO S BIRRING, HEAD OF WORLD HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP

Technologyguides our

security

SECURITY


neering and electronic devices.Biotechnologies such as algae, pro-grammed cells, bio-catalytic systems, andenzymes will play a role in alternative fuels,and the manipulation of viruses and bacte-ria could pose a potential threat.

2. Cyber-based technology. The growth oflow-cost, ubiquitous computing may shiftthe balance between the haves and have-nots, and will also empower developingcountries, as we are already seeing with ini-tiatives such as the "One Laptop per Child"program. As computers spread, communi-cation will become extremely cheap andwireless networking will become ubiquitous.Computer capabilities have already es-caped the confines of desktops, laptops,and servers. In parts of the developingworld where computers are currentlyscarce, programming mobile phones is in-creasing, skipping generations of tradition-al wired and computing infrastructure.Across the globe, hundreds of computerschatting with themselves in a single auto-mobile and with satellites for GPS is com-mon today and will create more cyber noisein the future.

The proliferation of virtual worlds will cre-ate an increasing number of personas-theonline "identities" we assume as we partic-ipate in different online communities andacross different parts of the internet-whichin turn will require us to create methods toauthenticate and manage them. Cyber-technology will become increasingly inte-grated with the human body, and this willraise the possibility that hackers may soontarget the cognitive or physical abilities ofindividuals or groups.

3. Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology willinfluence advancements in DNA sequenc-ing, bio-augmentation, performance en-hancement, energy generation and storage,and water purification. Positive benefits willinclude the ability to improve the environ-ment, as well as the health of the individual.We will soon develop the capability to buildmaterials with specific atomic properties,freeing us from working with the constraintsof the "natural" properties of materials.There is a real risk, however, that the U.S.will lose its advantage in nanotechnology,due to stricter regulations based on healthconcerns and a shrinking talent pool, to oth-er countries promoting science educationand investment.

4. Ubiquitous Sensing. By 2025, sensingwill be ubiquitous in many areas of theworld and technology will continue to drivecheaper sensors that consume increasing-ly less power. Nano particle-sized sensorscould be dispersed nearly anywhere, mak-ing it increasingly difficult to keep secrets oravoid detection. This may complicate future

conflicts as we may be unable to detectthese sensors and may thus be forced tomake decisions under the assumption thatadversaries are monitoring much of whatare doing. Benefits may include more accu-rate weather prediction, greater ease andsafety in exploring hazardous areas, and aproliferation of "mash-up" tools and busi-ness models dedicated to combining avail-able sensor data with a variety of personal-ized needs. Storage capacity, growth of re-lated algorithms, and growth of processingpower are three key technical factors thatwill affect the development of ubiquitoussensing in the future, while concerns overprivacy as well as international and nation-al regulations may limit growth.

5. Wild Cards. A "fifth technology area" wecalled "wild cards," representing develop-ments that do not fit cleanly into a single de-

finable technology area like the ones above.Three types of "wild card" in particular couldhave uncertain and potentially highly dis-ruptive effects:

(1) carbon-free or carbon-neutral tech-nologies, and the ensuing disruptions theywill bring as oil-dependent countries maybecome oil-independent; (2) "the next bigthing" in the field of physics - a future dis-covery or theory as fundamentally changingas Relativity Theory; and (3) the ability toleverage neuroscience and neurotechnolo-gy to directly affect the cognitive functionsof human beings from outside their bodies.The potential of such "wild card" scienceand technology developments, and others,could change society in myriad ways thateven the most forward-thinking analysts areonly now becoming able to understand.

F i v e Types o f I m p l i c a t i o n s

1. Economy and Wealth. Popular andprofitable products and services that willarise by 2025 will include various forms ofhuman enhancement, sensor-related tech-nologies and services, and privacy services-services that will allow individuals to "optout" or remain anonymous amidst an in-creasingly sensor rich environment. The de-creasing cost of hardware and software willalso change profit models for certain types

The growth of low-cost,ubiquitous computing mayshift the balance betweenthe haves and have-nots,and will also empower de-veloping countries, as weare already seeing with ini-tiatives such as the "OneLaptop per Child" program.


SECURITY

amidst an increasingly sensor rich environment. The decreas-ing cost of hardware and software will also change profit modelsfor certain types of technology, especially consumer electronics,where some products may become cheap enough to be virtuallyfree.

2. Energy and the Environment. Both the price of energy andconcerns about pollution will continue to pressure decisions overthe next 5 - 10 years until replacement technology matures.

Conflicts over precious resources, such as water or energy, will in-crease globally during this period spurring migration and popula-tion displacements. We will see advancements in different ener-gy technologies, however, that could fundamentally change somecountries 'energy production and consumption needs. In additionto increased conflict, the U.S.A government will also face chal-lenges in dealing with environmental problems caused by neigh-bouring countries, resource shortages, and related international

The attacks on Indians in Australia are not necessarilyracist but surely taking place because of inadequatepolicing which needs to be fixed, said a visiting 10-mem-

ber student delegation from Australia which arrived here un-der the banner of Australia-India Business Council onThursday.

The Australian delegation also includes members of Indianorigin.

There is a consensus among the members of the delega-tion that Indians are more vulnerable to the attacks than stu-dents from other countries like China be-cause they travel at night by public trans-port which is very unsafe and also be-cause they venture into the no-go areaswhich have shoddy track record vis-'-vissecurity.

Former president of National Union ofStudents David Borrow said lack of policepresence on the trains as the reason ofwhy Indians are attacked.

Indian are more vulnerable becausethey take up night jobs and they travel innight that is why they are attacked, saidDavid Borrow and further added thatIndian students are taking trains late atnight because of the type of jobs they haveto do in Australia

Harpinder Singh Chipra, an Indian stu-dent perusing MBA in Australia, said thatsecurity measures like CCTV on publictransport are in place but they are inef-fective. He also questioned the efficiencyof the police in stopping the attacks.

"We have seen attacks happening on CCTV in Victoria, ifsomeone is watching the attack why no prompt action is tak-en to stop the attack, asked Chipra, who moved to Australiatwo years ago.

Indians approximately has 100,000 students studying inAustralia, the largest group only next to Chinese studentsthere.

Most of the members of the visiting delegation haveslammed the Australian government for not establishing prop-er infrastructure in tune with the rising number of incomingforeign students.

Delegation members, however, disagreed that Indians aresingled out and they are the only community facing attacks.

But the members agreed that racism is a small factor,

which is triggering such attacks.Ruchir Punjabi, the managing director of digital media com-

pany, said that attacks on Indians get wide media coveragebecause Indians are reporting the abuse whereas peoplefrom other Asian countries like China are hesitant in reportingattacks to police. "I have heard that a Chinese lady was rapedbut the media did not cover it," said Ruchir Punjabi.

Indian origin Australian Karishma, who is living in Australiafor last 18 years, said: "People of other Asian countries likeChina, Philippines, Koreans might not report violent or non-vi-

olent incidents to the police like Indians,due to increased media coverage Indiansfeel more comfortable reporting to police."

Social adaptability and Integration intothe Austarlian society are also cited asmain factors behind the attacks.

Harpinder, another member of the del-egation said that Indians have to ac-knowledge that it is a different culture.

Indians have to be cautious and en-dorse their business culture; simplethings like standing in a queue or driving,he said.

According to Victoria-based JulianCampbell, foreign students are discrimi-nated by the government.

Foreign students in Victoria have to paydouble fare to travel in public transport incomparison to their domestic counterpart,said Campbell and added: "Foreign stu-dents are treated as second class citizensand they feel that this is the form of

racism which is endorsed by the government. This also upsetsforeign students and widens the wedge, which results inclashes."

While some members of the delegation opined that themeasures undertaken by the Australian authorities are notenough to stop further attacks while others believe thatAustralian authorities have taken some positive steps like put-ting a curb on small institutions offering private professionalcourses and monitoring of the bank accounts of the incomingforeign Students.

Members said that some of the states like Sydney andAdelaide might have fixed their security apparatus but Victorianeeds a complete overhaul because this is the place wheremaximum attacks on Indians have taken place.

Source: ANI

Attacks on Indians a resultof weak policing: Panel

Indian origin AustralianKarishma, who is livingin Australia for last 18years, said: "People ofother Asian countrieslike China, Philippines,Koreans might not re-port violent or non-vio-lent incidents to thepolice like Indians, dueto increased mediacoverage Indians feelmore comfortable re-porting to police."

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and related international humanitarian crises.3. Health and Demographics. The convergence of nanotech-

nology, biotechnology, and advances in IT infrastructure will leadto more remote healthcare services, perhaps making self-sur-gery possible within the home. In addition, developments in bio-enhancement, and the convergence of biotechnology and ro-botics, will create a digital divide between people in those soci-eties that can afford human enhancement and those that can-not. Our definitions of what it means to be "human" will be ques-tioned, and we may see the emergence of "post-humanism" andhuman-level artificial intelligence.

4. Infrastructure. Three drivers will have particular influenceon future infrastructure: a ubiquitous IT network, demassifica-tion of energy sources, and decentralization of many organiza-tions and entities. The convergence of developments in alter-native energy technologies, bio-generation technologies, infor-mation technologies and healthcare will allow people to live inincreasingly remote decentralizedcommunities. Infrastructure willalso become increasingly linkedinto the network, as technologicaladvances could continually im-prove peoples' ability to live "offthe grid."

5. Governance. As people areincreasingly connected across theplanet, they are sharing informa-tion and creating new bonds.Their affinities are multiplying andcould potentially shift. As virtualworlds grow in importance, loyal-ties born of those worlds will ex-tend into the physical realm, andmay compete with loyalties to thestate. Some believe these virtualworlds will need governance asthe economies they create be-come more substantial and cre-ate opportunities for both wealthand crime. Government-like struc-tures may arise to serve tempo-rary purposes, surrounding partic-ular issues, and serving self-form-ing communities that may formonline. In addition to local and issue governance, technology-en-abled nongovernmental organizations may grow to providemany services that have traditionally been provided by the gov-ernment.

P o t e n t i a l D i s r u p t i o n s

Thought leaders and executives see multiple drivers shapingour world between now and 2025; technology and their innova-tive applications are only one driver. Yet, technology and inno-vation are a key source of disruptions - both negative and posi-tive ones - as our social systems and economies shift during thisperiod of accelerating change. Now couple science and tech-nology developments with demographics changes, concernabout the environment and climate change, and proposed shiftsfrom fossil fuels to alternate sources of energy. And consider theconvergence of these forces.

During the same period, globalization will continue to accel-erate, driving complexity, innovation and a myriad of new op-

portunities and challenges. Many of these developments willcontinue to fuel knowledge-based economies and societies, dis-rupting industrial-age structures, organizations, and businessmodels. These disruptions can cause new conflicts and chal-lenges for some and create opportunities for others. The par-ticular technology developments we explored highlighted dis-ruptions at a different, more personal and social level. For ex-ample, with the expected developments of personalized bio- andnanotechnology applications and ubiquitous sensing capabili-ties, many thought leaders emphasized the potential impact onprivacy.

There could be an inverse relationship between technologicalcapabilities and societal permissiveness. New privacy laws andregulations will increasingly tie up the government in "a morassof red tape" as officials strive to catch up with technical ad-vancements. Thought leaders generally agree that the govern-ment will continue to fall behind the technology curve, causing

it to be perceived as unresponsive.As humans augment performanceand health with technology, somemay alter their view of technologyitself; others will not. In the past,technology was seen as an instru-ment or tool fashioned from sci-ence and engineering. Technologywas separate and outside us.Some say that food additives,steroids, drugs, contact lenses,knees, and stents are already com-mon technologies inside of hu-mans today. By 2025, many willhave much more technology insideof them and consider that normal,even "natural." Others will resist.Disruptions may manifest as largescale political and economic shifts,as pressures on social norms suchas privacy, and as personal distinc-tions. Maturing technologies willnot cause all these disruptions, butwe expect them to be relevant tothe decisions citizens and leadersmake.

The World Homeland SecurityGroup Centres of Excellence (WHS COE) throughout India willcertainly be focusing; researching, training and monitoring allaspects which can help India increase the speed and safety ofthese new 21st Century technologies. There will also be an in-creased global threat of terrorism which will require all of us tobe more alert and helpful with real facts so that we can makeefforts to help our communities. In the months ahead we atWorld Homeland Security Group (WHS Group/WHS COE) will besharing security and safety tips with all the Opinion Expressreaders so that more peaceful actions can be taken by all of yougood people.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to con-tact Opinion Express Editor team and we look forward to an-swering. For further details in regards to the specialized tacticalsecurity solutions we can offer your family and businessesthroughout the world please view the World Homeland SecurityGroup Inc website at www.worldhomelandsecurity.com andplease email [email protected]

www.worldhomelandsecurity.com

The World Homeland Security GroupCentres of Excellence (WHS COE)throughout India will certainly be fo-cusing; researching, training and mon-itoring all aspects which can help Indiaincrease the speed and safety of thesenew 21st Century technologies.


GoAir is India's leading low fare airlinebased in Mumbai and is the aviationforay of the Wadia Group. Positioned as'the Smart People's Airline', GoAir aimsat offering passengers a consistent,

quality-assured and time-efficient service through'pocket-friendly' fares. GoAir operates with 8 air-craft and today hosts the youngest fleet in Indianskies. The airline currently operates across 13 des-tinations through 596 weekly flights and 42routes. The airline uses the state-of-the-art AirbusA320 aircraft fleet. The GoAir route network as ofFebruary 2010, spans prominent business me-tropolis' across the length and breadth of theIndian subcontinent. This includes Ahmedabad,Bangalore, Chandigarh, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, Jaipur,Jammu, Mumbai, Srinagar, Guwahati, Bagdograand Indore. Through this route network GoAir en-sures a smart value-for-money option for both busi-ness and leisure travelers, without compromisingon either safety or service factors.

In addition to this, GoAir plans to focus on itsBusiness plan of inducting to its existing brandnew fleet of 8 aircraft, another 12 aircraft by 2012details of which will be shared in a phased outmanner. GoAir is also planning to relaunch its car-go services shortly under the brand nameGoCargo.

GoAir's distribution network has been well-re-searched and after thorough evaluation of theavailable mediums, the Airline has introduced agamut of service options designed to make ticketsvery accessible to a traveller. The airline has alsopartnered with Radixx International, a leadingtechnology provider of automated aviation andtravel related software solutions, for the use of itsAir Enterprise. The adoption of such technology so-lutions enables GoAir to achieve superior processefficiency, thereby helping transfer a greater por-tion of time savings to its passengers.

Q&A with RRaakkeesshh TTiiwwaarrii,

Director, CommercialQ. Global aviation sector is passing through its worst period in

the recent past but GoAir have managed to hold its ground firmlyin recessionary time, explain the secret of this unique achieve-ment?

Due to a churn in Market in 2009, Indian airline Industry suf-fered the most as they grew too big too fast and passenger loadfactor dropped consistently. Now that it is predicted that growthwill return to the Indian aviation industry over the next six monthswe are hoping to see drastic improvement in the Indian Aviationindustry especially on the domestic front as more and more peo-ple are travelling by air these days considering there is not muchdifference in the Train and Air Ticket prices. GoAir realized in 2005that the industry would take upto 3 - 5 years to turn healthy andas a result decided to increase its fleet strength only starting in2009. This strategy was critized by many as GoAir was consis-tently told that it is too small and that GoAir is not growing its fleetlike the other airlines. Today the same critics respect GoAir's strat-egy as we are the only airline not to return aircraft and not to re-trench people. On the contrary when most airlines are retrench-ing there staff and returning/subleasing there aircraft we are infact hiring people and bringing in more aircraft. In addition to thisGoAir has seen considerable improvement in its Load Factor andMarket Share for the last six months. GoAir has also one of thebest Cancellation rate as compared to other airlines and the high-est market share % per aircraft. GoAir plans to focus on itsBusiness plan of inducting to its existing brand new fleet of 8 air-craft, another 12 aircraft by 2012, completing its order of 20Airbus's which the company bought in the year 2007 for $1.2Billion USD. GoAir is planning to induct its 9th & 10th Aircraft bySeptember this year and the rest of the 10 aircraft by 2012. Todaywe are in a position to expand irrespective of the economic down-

FACE-TO-FACE‘Our’s is the only airline not to

return aircraft & retrench people’

FACE-TO-FACE


Billion USD. GoAir is planning to inductits 9th & 10th Aircraft by September thisyear and the rest of the 10 aircraft by2012. Today we are in a position to ex-pand irrespective of the economic down-turn, which we all know is temporary.GoAir is positioned as 'the SmartPeople's Airline'. Its captivating theme,'Fly Smart' is aimed at offering passen-gers a consistent, quality-assured andtime-efficient service through 'pocket-friendly' fares. Airline efficiency is at anall time high owing to the all new fleet inthe sky. GoAir operates with 8 aircraftand today hosts the youngest fleet inIndian skies(average age of 12 month).GoAir since inception endeavors to giveits customers value for money by launch-ing one of the most attractive innovativeoffers and being very competitivelypriced. GoAir currently offers three prod-uct categories as compared to one eachby the other airlines. The recent launch-es by the airline are GoBusiness whichgives the customers advantage to fly theComfort of a Business class at the priceof an Economy Class fare. Fly smart of-fers-Tickets booked 30 days in advancecan be bought at 0 base fare and GoFlexi -Passenger can change or returntickets in a day's time without having topay anything extra. Also all GoAir Pilotsand Aircraft are Cat IIIB compliant to nav-igate through foggy conditions success-fully.

Q What is the future of low fare airlinein India? Why a conventional airline isturning out to be a liability in Indian con-text?

The low cost carriers have undoubted-ly been the real innovators by keeping atight rein on costs all along. When thefirst LCC was launched in India, therewas enough debate around it. Industryexperts, analysts and stake holdersquestioned the significance of the LCCmodel for the Indian market for variousreasons like lack of secondary airports,absence of disparity in the airportcharges paid by the full service carriersand the LCCs respectively. However overtime, the low cost model has proved tobe a more viable option for the Indianmarket than the full service carrier mod-el. This is evident from the current mar-ket scenario, which further shores up thecase for the LCCs in India. No wonder,LCCs have carved their own niche marketat a rapid rate. While full service carriershad been adversely affected by risingcosts of operations, low volumes of traf-fic and overcapacity in a falling market -Low-cost carriers had notched highermarket share and are still giving a tough

time to full service carriers. It is evidentthat the airlines are battling with variousstrategies and value added initiatives tocombat their financial loses. The legacycarriers are now betting on no-frills asthey have realized that India is a low-costmarket. Liberalization of the Indian avia-tion sector lead to the emergence of theprivate airlines and the very successfulLow Cost Model in India has made airtravel an affordable mode of transporta-tion.

Q Cost of operations in India is growingrapidly in India that is putting pressureon even low fare airline, what specificstrategy is planned by GoAir manage-ment to counter this threat?

Due to a churn in Market in 2009,Indian Airline Industry suffered the mostas they grew too big too fast and pas-senger load factor dropped consistently.Now that it is predicted that growth willreturn to the Indian aviation industry overthe next six months we are hoping to seedrastic improvement in the IndianAviation industry especially on the do-mestic front as more and more peopleare travelling by air these days consider-ing there is not much difference in theTrain and Air Ticket prices. GoAir realizedin 2005 that the industry would takeupto 3 - 5 years to turn healthy and as aresult decided to increase its fleetstrength only starting in 2009. Thisstrategy was critized by many as GoAirwas consistently told that it is too smalland that GoAir is not growing its fleet likethe other airlines. Today the same criticsrespect GoAir's strategy as we are theonly airline not to return aircraft and notto retrench people. On the contrarywhen most airlines are retrenching therestaff and returning/subleasing there air-craft we are in fact hiring people andbringing in more aircraft. In addition tothis GoAir has seen considerable im-

provement in its Load Factor and MarketShare for the last six months. GoAir hasalso one of the best Cancellation rate ascompared to other airlines and the high-est market share % per aircraft.

Q Price of oil is a key factor to aviationindustry, with the inflation looming largeand price of oil is escalating to higherside what will be the GoAir specific strat-egy to mitigate this factor?

GoAir since inception endeavors togive its customers value for money bylaunching one of the most attractive in-novative offers and being very competi-tively priced. . Fly smart offers-Ticketsbooked 30 days in advance can bebought at 0 base fare and Go Flexi -Passenger can change or return ticketsin a day's time without having to pay any-thing extra.

Q Tell us about Go Cargo? GoAir, India's smartest airline has in-

troduced a dedicated air cargo business,branded Go Cargo from December 13,2009. The airline has outsourced 3rdparty vendor as its national partner forcargo business. The airline will connectall the 13 cities under the GoAir networkfor Cargo Business. Air Cargo traffic inIndia has been growing due to strong do-mestic demand and rising internationaltrade. According to the reports, the aircargo observed the highest growth in thecargo transportation sector in 2007-2008. Today, domestic cargo market inIndia offers a huge potential with a mar-ket share of approximately Rs 33cr permonth. The market will get a furtherboost with the recent raise of the FDI lim-its allowing up to 74 percent stake inIndian cargo airlines, as this will bring inthe much-needed capital and global bestpractices to the Indian air cargo industry.With Go Cargo, GoAir anticipates toachieve a market share of 10%.


MIDAS DOC

Dr Rajesh Khanna was born inChandigarh and raised in Delhi.Tenant of doctors, had an influ-ence on choosing a profession.

Good school with excellent teachers whohelped to guide us. The top from our classall chose medicine. Even though he gotadmission into five medical colleges in-cluding Maulana Azad ( MAMC), he optedfor Jawaharlal Institute of PostgraduateMedical Education and Research (JIP-MER), Pondicherry. During medical schoolhe had a rotation in Ophthalmology. Dr RK

was so fascinated by the colors in theeyes. Therefore I did a residency in KingEdward Medical College, amongst thebest in India.

Next phase of life was very interestingand fulfilling. Dr RK got a teaching post inTerna Medical College and was appointedat the youngest consultant at MahatamaGandhi Medical College.

He started private practice in NewBombay. At that time in one of the lectureshe was attending, he met a leading re-fractive surgeon from the United States.Talking to him he realized that how far ad-vanced US was in that field.

There was no such opportunity in Indiaat that time. So he embarked on a missionto win a fellowship or advanced training inthe United States. For this he had to writeand pass a series of exams called USMLE.On overcoming that hurdle he was ac-cepted into the University of Cincinnati fora Corneal and Refractive surgery fellow-ship.

Doc with Dr. Rajesh Khanna, MD

the

The Khanna Institute of Lasik, located inLos Angeles, was established with the

idea that people should be able to trust adoctor and the Institution for their vision.First do no harmwas the guidingprinciple

. KhannaInstitute is one ofthe most compre-hensive Lasik facili-ties serving the LosAngeles area. Ourmain locations in-clude Beverly Hills and Westlake village.Each one of our facilities includes the lat-est and most superior technology in eyeand patient care.

Khanna Institute specializes in provid-ing individualized vision correction carewith a calm and caring approach. All pa-tients are evaluated and personally caredfor by Dr. Khanna and his well trained, cer-

tified staff in our modern surgical facili-ties.

.The Khanna institute of Lasik hasserved thousands of individuals across

the globe.Including some upand coming moviestars such asCorbin Blue fromHigh SchoolMusical andBrenda Song fromDisney. World fa-mous celebrities

like Sharon Stone Smokey Robinson andbillionaire tycoon Richard Branson haveconsulted with Dr. Khanna. As well as thePresident of Jewish life television, he hadhis eyes operated on at our eye institute.Dr. Khanna has performed vision correc-tion procedures on nearly people from allprofessions and from age ranges of 5 toage 106.

Fixing eye is our mottoKhanna Institute of Lasik

Next phase of life wasvery interesting and fulfill-ing. Dr RK got a teachingpost in Terna MedicalCollege and was appoint-ed at the youngest con-sultant at MahatamaGandhi Medical College.

DR RAJESH KHANNA WITH RICHARD BRANSON

MIDAS DOC


The next 16 months he was able to in-teract with imbibe skills from corneal spe-cialists. Dr RK learnt Radial keratototomy,laser vision correction and advancedcataract surgery withPhakoemulsification.

Dr RK proudly narrates his achieve-ments in US, he said - “ I have been for-tunate that my surgical skills and hardwork has been recognized on many lev-els. The readers of Los Angeles Dailynews voted me the best LASIK surgeon.The patients’ have written numerousheartfelt notes of gratitude. I have hadthe honor of operating on physician col-leagues, my staff and family membersand celebrities. I have been bestowed theCongressional Medal of Honor. Today Iam the Team ophthalmologist for the USmen’s and women’s Water polo team.Numerous articles have been writtenabout me in the press. I have been inter-viewed on radio and television.”

Dr RK have presented numerous origi-nal research papers to my peers at theAmerican academy of ophthalmology andthe American society of refractivesurgery’s annual meetings. At the sametime he continually imbibes new surgicaltechniques.

The Khanna Institute of Lasik hasstrived to be one of the leaders in visioncorrection. Our facilities include the latestand most updated top of the line technol-ogy for vision correction. We use the lat-est, safest, and most precise FDA ap-p r o v e dtechnology.T h eKhanna in-s t i t u t eprides it-self in of-fering allc u r r e n ttechnologyfor refrac-tive sur-gery. Thisallows usto offerwhat is best for the patient, preventing usfrom doubting one technology as beingbetter than the other. We offer the latestvision correction as in Lasik, Superlasik,Lasek, Post Lasik and Lasek procedures.We also offer all laser Lasik vision cor-rection using the Intralase here in our fa-cility.

Custom Wavefront Lasik for the correc-tion of farsightedness or nearsightedness,Superlasik for individuals with thincorneas and LASEK individuals who mayhave had a previous refractive procedure,multifocal lenses, refractive lens ex-

change and ul-tra small inci-sion refractioncataract sur-gery. KhannaInstitute pro-vides each pa-tient with acustom proce-dure made tofit with that in-dividual’s dailylife and hob-bies.

All theCataract and PRELEX surgeries are donein an AAA HC and Medicare certified sur-gical center. People from all corners of theworld including Australia, Argentina, andIndia have flown in to have their eyes op-erated with us.

Coordinated by Opinion Express NorthAmerica Bureau

Custom Wavefront Lasik for thecorrection of farsightedness ornearsightedness, Superlasik forindividuals with thin corneas andLASEK individuals who may havehad a previous refractive proce-dure, multifocal lenses, refractivelens exchange and ultra small in-cision refraction cataract surgery.


MIDAS DOC

Dr Rajesh Khanna spoke with our editorPRASHANT TEWARI on wide rang-ing issues, including his personal life. Hetouched the basic instinct of a profes-sional with tremendous marketing skills. Q. “Do your Duty and Enjoy Life”, Dr RajeshKhanna is a dedicated professional with aninbuilt showman traits. How do you explainthis rare synergy?

Believing in the dictum that we have con-trol on our efforts but not the result. And be-lieving in karma- do good unto others andgood shall come back to you. Thereforewhatever project I undertake I give my 100%. I don’t get depressed if a particular proj-ect does not succeed. For it is better to havefought like a tiger and lost than to have runaway from a battle.Q. You enjoy your work because you arehappy in doing it but there are many peoplewho cannot fulfill their desired dreamshence seeking tips of art of living from suc-cessful person like yourself, suggest roadmap to them.

There is no substitute for hard work. Abalanced life with time devoted to work,family, sports and creativity or hobbies. It isfor sure that having a written schedulewhich one follows helps tremendously.Avoid binge eating or drinking.Q. What pioneering and innovative work isdone in your Khanna Instiute of Lasik andRefractive Surgery ?

Our main focus is on patient safety andexcellent results. So we keep absorbing thelatest technology and skills. A few yearsagowe introduced PRELEX surgery, where aperson above 50 years can see far andnear in each eye. Our goal is to makeKhanna vision synonymous with quality ofvisual surgery. We also offer the latest sur-gical treatment for keratoconus, wherecornea is weak.Q. It is said that eyes are the window toworld, Dr Rajesh Khanna is touching themost crucial part of the man’s imaginationhence do you feel super hero in you?

I don’t know about feeling a superhero,but I do feel utmost happiness when a cer-tified blind person can see again. That re-ward is so satisfying that all the hard workfeels worthwhile.

Q. Dr Khanna is obsessed with glamour orit comes naturally to you?

I don’t run after glamour. I am proud ofwho I am, my roots and background. I amnot pretentious. I think that is why

Hollywood celebrities feel comfortable withme. Happiness and glamour are like a but-terfly. The more you run after it the more itruns away from you. If you be patient theycome and sit on your shouldersQ. Living in west and earning name andfame must have given tremendous satis-faction to you, do you harbor any plan totake your skills to deprived people in Asia

and Africa for larger satisfaction? That is the ultimate lofty goal. I have re-

alized no one individual can do it alone. Wewould need the help of philanthropic busi-nessman to support the infrastructure andexecute the operations. Governmental andophthalmic Industry help would be neededtoo. In this environment the best surgeonsin the world can come and help the needy.Q. Now that India is growing and west is ingrip of severe recession, you have any com-mercial plans to touch base India in near fu-ture?

I think the recession in the US will end ina few years. India is special. The middleclass in India is the largest in the world. Andnow we have some of the richest people inthe world. The society and politicians arematuring too. I feel any commercial plan willhave to be linked with a charitable compo-nent.Q. What is the fundamental work differencebetween west and east in medical profes-sion?

The emphasis laid on evidence basedmedicine in the west is the significant dif-ference. Quality of surgery and the out-comes are stressed and appreciated in theUnites States.

I don’t know about feel-ing a superhero, but I dofeel utmost happinesswhen a certified blindperson can see again.That reward is so satis-fying that all the hardwork feels worthwhile.Dr Rajesh Khanna

WITHPAULAABDUL

Believing in thePOWER OF KARMA


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By Herman Silochan, Canada Bureau

Toronto: It is difficult to believe the beauty and technological ge-nius called Infiniti Essence, it is a concept car built by Infiniti to com-memorate the 20th anniversary of the Infiniti brand. The car is a hy-brid electric vehicle. The vehicle was designed by Infiniti design di-rector Takashi Nakajima.

The Essence concept is not expected to enter production, as itwas created as a brand icon to celebrate Infiniti's twenty years of his-tory.

It included a 3.7L V6 gasoline engine with twin turbochargers rat-

ed 440 PS (320 kW; 430 hp), an electric motor (called 3D Motor)rated 160 PS (120 kW; 160 hp) and 500 N·m (370 lb·ft), with com-bined rating of 600 PS (440 kW; 590 hp).The electric motor waspowered by lithium-ion battery at lower trunk area.

A three-piece Louis Vuitton luggage set fits in the trunk, and thefloor slides out when the trunk is open to access the luggage.

The Infiniti Essence also contains safety features to prevent col-lisions in the back and side that are known as Side CollisionPrevention (SCP) and Back-up Collision Prevention (BCP). Sensorson the sides and back warn the driver when it senses a vehicle, andbrakes are activated if the warning is ignored.

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DIASPORA

Krishna Avanti, a name that will godown in British history as the firstHindu school established throughstate and private funds to promote

high quality education within a frameworkof Hindu values and ethos.BBaacckkggrroouunndd ttoo EEdduuccaattiioonn iinn EEnnggllaanndd

There are some 17, 064 PrimarySchools, 3,225 Secondary Schools, 1,058Special Schools, 2356 IndependentSchools and 133 Academies. In totalthere are around 24, 737 schools of alltypes in England.

Of these, faith schools represent 6,384Primary Schools and 589 Secondaryschools.

Breaking this down further there are4,716 that are Church of England, 2,108Roman Catholic, 37 Jewish, sevenMuslim, two Sikh, one Greek Orthodoxand one Seventh Day Adventist. No Hinduschools.

It was the Labour Party when elected in1997 that brought in the law which for thefirst time allowed people of other faiths toalso aspire to have their own faith schools.Until then all state faith schools were

Christian or Jewish.TThhee RRooaadd ttoo KKrriisshhnnaa

The brain child is that of the I-Foundation, an organisation set up to es-tablish sustainable projects that furtherthe advancement of Vedic culture and phi-losophy. In pursuit of their aims, the foun-dation contributed around £2 million sothat if accepted by the Governments’ edu-cation department, they could then har-ness a subsidy of more than £10 million

to help build the school. It has also se-cured the support of its faith partner,ISKCON (UK) which will underpin the Vedicand Hindu values of the school.GGrroouunndd bbrreeaakkiinngg cceerreemmoonnyy

The road to Krishna led the foundationto Harrow. Harrow has the highest Hinduconcentration of any borough in theUnited Kingdom and home to over 40,000Hindus. This represents 19.6% of theHarrow population compared to 47.3%Christian, 6.3% Jewish and 7.2% Muslim.This makes Hindus the second largest re-ligious group in Harrow, and the largestethnic group. Yet, there was no faithbased schooling provision for the Hinducommunity in the locality.

Commenting on this the leading HinduPeer, Lord Dholakia, said, “It is simply notsustainable for Hindu parents to be ex-cluded from often outstanding faith-based educational opportunities alreadyavailable to Anglicans, Catholics,Methodists, Baptists, Jews, Muslims andSikhs. The I-Foundation’s plans offer theopportunity to put right this inadvertentwrong.”

Britain’s First Hindu School

By Kapil Dudakia

DIASPORA


Giving support was Cllr David Ashton,Leader of Harrow Council who said, "Wehave been pleased to support the estab-lishment of the country's first state fundedHindu primary school in Harrow, both atthe planning stage and then by offeringtemporary classrooms for its pupils whilethis outstanding site was built.”What about the name?

Did you know that during his presenceon this planet, Lord Krishna also went toschool? Yes of course, and it was in aplace called Avanti. Hence with the name'Krishna-Avanti’.

What did it take to build it?The whole project was completed within

15 months; it was on time and even moreinteresting, on budget also. The buildingwill get 70% of its heating from groundsource heat pumps – that is right, it will re-cycle heat from the ground so that it isused in the school.

The Temple is build from Makrana mar-ble carved in Makrana itself. It has won-derful teak doors and the altar is fromUjjain. The outside temple walls have carv-ings of Dasavatar and Krishna lila with theinside walls covered with carvings of sto-ries from the Srimad Bhagavatam.Facilities at the school

The School offers children an eco-friend-ly state-of-the-art building and facilities toencourage learning and play. The sedumroof classrooms are equipped on the in-side with the best of modern technology,including interactive white boards and lap-top access.

The classrooms are also designed to op-timise light, acoustic and ventilation levelsso that children have an ideal learning en-vironment all year round. It also houses adesignated ITC suite for distinct ITC les-sons and a special Creative Space lab, ide-al for cooking and science lessons. Allthese core teaching areas have been de-signed with the concept of seamless flowbetween classroom and outdoor teaching

provision. Pupils playing the playground

Music and drama form an important as-pect of the School's curriculum with a des-ignated music and drama room. This smallhall adjoins both the main hall (gym) andthe marble temple where collective wor-ship will take place on daily basis.

The main hall includes a theatricalstage, lighting and sound for school per-formances. Physical education for all

Sports facilities at the school are vastand cutting edge. There is a large allweather pitch ideal for football or rugby anytime of the year, a grass pitch for hockeyand tennis, an indoor gym for gymnastics,basketball and other indoor sports, andseveral different adventure play areascatered to the different key stage groups.For older classes, there is also a separate

girls changing area. The landscaping provides for various dif-

ferent learning facilities. Some of these fa-cilities include a pond, wildlife gardens andan outdoor amphitheatre.

The catering facilities include a kitchencapable of providing fresh, hot, healthyvegetarian meals for children of Krishna-Avanti, and other nearby schools if re-quired.What do people say about the school?

Nitesh Gor, the Chair of Governors said,“In only our second year, we had five ap-plicants for every two places. We com-bine the ethical values and moral disci-pline which accompany faith educationwith a willingness to engage with the worldbeyond and prepare our children to play afull part in British society.”

Lord Dholakia

The small temple is actually part of theschool building itself

Nitesh Gor – Chair

The Temple is build fromMakrana marble carved inMakrana itself. It has wonderfulteak doors and the altar is fromUjjain. The outside temple wallshave carvings of Dasavatar andKrishna lila with the inside wallscovered with carvings...


DIASPORA

Elena Beltran-Clarke (parent) said,“Krishna-Avanti School offers to our childthe rare opportunity to grow and developat all levels: socially, emotionally, aca-demically and especially spiritually."

The Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP (Chairman,Home Affairs Committee andChairman, Ethnic Minority TaskForce) said, “The Labour govern-ment made a historic decisionwhen it came to power in 1997 toopen up the faith schools sectorto people of all faiths. By doingso, it allowed for equality andequity regardless of one's faith.Krishna Avanti represents the re-alisation of the aspirations of theHindu community which hascontributed so magnificently tothe United Kingdom. It's aproud day for both the Hinducommunity and also for the nation to seesuch superb facilities being made avail-able within the ethos of Hindu values.”

The Conservative Party leader, DavidCameron said, “I'm in favour of choiceand discretion. I think that actually drivesup quality and standards in our educationsystem.

Faith schools often bring a culture andan ethos to a school that can help themimprove. I'm a supporter politically andpersonally.”

So all three political parties in the UKhave now come to a shared belief that al-lowing other faith communities to havetheir own schools is not only unavoidable,but positively a requirement for the bet-terment of educational provision in the

country.And what do I think?

As an ex-inspector of schools in the UK,and a Hindu advising a number of nation-al organisations - I of course do have aninsider view on the events that are un-

folding. Whilst there existed several thou-sand Christian and Jewish faith schools inthe UK, it was unacceptable to continuewith the practice of not allowing otherfaiths the same right under the law.Therefore giving this right was the firststep towards realising equality in practice.

Having a right is one thing, exercisingthat right for the betterment of society isof course a totally different challenge.Faith communities have a challenge ontheir hands to not only establish some ofthe best schools in the country, but toalso ensure that any particular faith ide-ology does not highjack the core educa-tional aims of a school. The Hindu com-munity is of course blessed in that thecore elements of Santhan Dharma are so

universal that the emergent core valuesand ethos will no doubt attract people ofall faiths.

The Hindu (Indian) community haveshown that when it comes to educationalexcellence, we are second to none and in

the vast majority of cases, ourchildren will normally top mostclasses. However, education forthe acquisition of paper certifi-cates and bragging rights of howmany degrees one has got is notin itself sufficient for a full andmeaningful life. The formation ofone’s character based on solidvalues is fundamental to how weas a society develop over thecoming decades. The world haslost its moral and ethical com-pass – maybe the children of to-morrow having gone through an

educational experience at one of the faithschools might be better placed to guidethe planet to a better future.

For the time being, Krishna Avantistands on the green fields of England.Proud of its tradition, cultural heritageand faith. Ready to meet the needs of thechildren and to contribute to the richnessof our diverse society and towards helpingto build good relations with all communi-ties.

(The writer is an Ex-Ofsted Inspector ofSchools in the UK. He is now an interna-tional business consultant working in di-

verse sectors such as infrastructure,trade finance, investment funds, com-

modities and health care. Email:[email protected])

Rt Hon David Cameron MP

I'm in favour of choiceand discretion. I thinkthat actually drives upquality and standardsin our education sys-tem. Faith schools of-ten bring a culture andan ethos to a schoolthat can help them im-prove. I'm a supporterpolitically and personal-

The Hindu (Indian) communityhave shown that when it comesto educational excellence, weare second to none and in thevast majority of cases, our chil-dren will normally top mostclasses. However, educationfor the acquisition of paper cer-tificates and bragging rights ofhow many degrees one has gotis not in itself sufficient for a fulland meaningful life. The forma-tion of one’s character based onsolid values is fundamental tohow we as a society developover the coming decades.


GOPIO NEWS

Rashad Hussain, White House lawyer and ahafiz of the Holy Quran, has been chosen byPresident Obama as America's special envoy

to the Organisation of Islamic Countries.Hussain 31, is entrusted with expanding part-

nerships with Muslims across the world, an impor-tant element of Obama's foreign policy and a meas-ure to repair the US' strained relations with theIslamic world.

As a hafiz - a person who has memorised the holyIslamic text of the Quran - Hussain is a respectedmember of the American Muslim community.

Hussain has also worked with the NationalSecurity Staff. He is currently the Deputy AssociateCounsel to the President and his work focuses onnational security, new media, science and technolo-gy.

In a neuroscience knowledge contest heldin Sydney, Uma Jha 14, of Perth's ShentonCollege beat over 4000

competitors from Australiato win the title.

The Australian Brain BeeChallenge is designed totest high school students ona range of topics includingintelligence, memory, emo-tions, sleep, Alzheimer's dis-ease and strokes. Studentsmust compete against otherstate winners in the nation-al final of the competitionthat also included a brain-teasing anatomy exam, doc-

tor patient diagnosis and a neurosciencequiz.

After the eventwinner Uma said thecompetition was atie till the end and itwas a nerve wrack-ing finish. She hasnever won a nationalscience competitionbefore and isamazed.

Uma will nowtravel to Californiafor the InternationalBrain Bee Challengein August.

Murzban F Shroff, Mumbai based authorwho spent sixteen years in the advertisingbusiness at a number of multinational agen-cies left, to create his own consultancy thatovertook his expectations for its measure ofsuccess. That overwhelming achievementapart, he says he lacked a deep down senseof fulfillment and decided to cross the chasmand return to his first love - writing.

During his seven years after returning tohis love of words, ideas, and the nuts andbolts of the author's slow and self torturousconstruction of a creative concept, this time abook, he published fiction in over 25 literaryjournals in the US.

He also published his fiction in severaljournals in India, Japan and the UK.

In 2008 his debut short story collection,'Breathless in Bombay' was published by StMartin's Press, USA. The work was also pub-lished by Picador India and received a raft ofcritical acclaim from various forums and re-viewers including the BBC Asian Network.

This year Murzban's 'Breathless inBombay' was shortlisted for the 2009Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the best firstbook category from Europe and South Asia.Murzban is currently at work on a novel and alarger-than-life India collection.

NRI appointedUS envoy to Org

of Islamic

Australia's brainieststudent is NRI teen

NRI author shortlisted forCommonwealth Writers' Prize

US President Barack Obama has ap-pointed Jhumpa Lahiri, IndianAmerican Pulitzer Prize winning author

as a member of his Committee on the Artsand Humanities.

Mr Obama stated he is proud that MsLahiri and five other individuals will serve hisadministration and enhance the vibrancy ofour society, inspire us and strengthen ourdemocracy.

Others appointed to the committee areChuck Close, Fred Goldring, Sheila Johnson,Pamela Joyner and Ken Solomon.

Lahiri's debut collection of stories'Interpreter of Maladies' received the PulitzerPrize, the PEN/Hemingway Award, theAddison M Metcalf Award and the New Yorker

magazine's Debut ofthe Year.

Her novel 'TheNamesake' was a New York Times NotableBook, a finalist for the Los Angeles TimesBook Prize and was selected as one of thebest books of the year by USA Today andEntertainment Weekly.

Her latest collection of stories'Unaccustomed Earth' won the FrankO'Connor International Short Story Awardand the Vallombrosa-Gregor von RezzoriPrize.

The film that was made on 'TheNamesake' incidentally starred Kal Pennwho is now working for the White House.

Lahiri's debut collection of stories 'Interpreter ofMaladies' received the Pulitzer Prize, thePEN/Hemingway Award, the Addison M MetcalfAward and the New Yorker magazine's Debut of theYear. Her novel 'The Namesake' was a New YorkTimes Notable Book, a finalist for the Los Angeles

US Prez appoints JhumpaLahiri to arts committee


GOPIO NEWS

Turner prize-winner AnishKapoor 55, has joined theranks of the UK's super wealthy

artists with a multi million pound for-tune.

In 2008 Kapoor made a profit of17 million pounds taking his art for-tune to 40 million pounds. He nowplans to add a 5 million pound coun-try house in the Berkshire downs tohis assets. He will be the first spe-cialist sculptor on the Sunday TimesRich List when the 2010 edition isreleased, joining artists as DamienHirst and Lucian Freud.

Kapoor whose giant sculpturesadorn squares from Chicago toNottingham is now engaged in theworld's largest commission, a 15million series of sculptures knownas the Tees Valley Giants, destinedfor five towns in northeast England.

Kapoor was born in Mumbai andthe main activity of his company,White Dark, is the creation and saleof art.

NRI sculptor on UK millionaire listArtist Anish Kapoor poses next to his major instillation artwork, entitled Shooting into the Corner, which fires red wax at the Royal Academy’s walls every twenty minutes

Blocks of snow slowly slide down Anish Kapoor’s sculpture called ‘Cloud Gate’, also popularly known by ‘the bean’


The Chief Executive Officer and CIO ofTimetunnel Consulting, South Africa Dr.Gaurav Pradhan was awarded with “Hind

Rattan Award 2010” by Mr. VilasraoDeshmukh, Union Minister for HeavyIndustries and Public Enterprise, Governmentof India at 29th International Conference ofNRIs.

This prestigious award is being presentedfor his outstanding services, achievementsand contributions in IT Industry globally andkeeping the Flag of India high. He is the firstNRI from South Africa to be awarded this pres-tigious award.

Dr Pradhan was honored with this award onthe eve of Republic Day, 25th of January 2010,at a glittering function in the presence of dig-nitaries from all over the world at Hotel Lalit,New Delhi.

Dr Pradhan has distinguished himself as an

Entrepreneur, a Management Consultant, anInnovator and a world class IndianProfessional.

Keeping in view his contributions in ICTIndustry, teaching and research for more than19 years, he was appointed as advisor tomany African Government and Companies.

Research accomplishments of Dr Pradhaninclude Green IT, Micro Generation and com-mercial projects running on Off Grid Power. Inhis career of 19 years in more than 50 coun-tries, he has been involved with and headedsome of the biggest IT projects.

Dr. Pradhan designed the Timetunnel GreenView and Timetunnel Unified Banking Engine.Both these solutions have near zero carbonfoot print, operate on Off Grid Power and arebased on FOSS Architecture. The TUBE canempower millions of people with affordableworld class banking.

Gauteng Treasury hired him to develop amodel that entails 15 provincial departmentscompiling their annual budgets on the web,online at real time. The project was the first ofits kind in South African public sector. He ledthe project team from conceptualization, vir-tualization and development. With his high-lev-el expertise, the project was adopted by theprovince at large and enabled on-line compi-lation, in time, less administrative processes,less costs. Recently he was heading thePassenger Rail Agency of South Africa - PRASASAP project.

At present Dr. Pradhan is working on an offgrid based green IT and Micro Generation proj-

ect for urban and rural users. He is also work-ing on the world first off grid based $100 mil-lion Green Sport Complex project for India.

His passion and mission is to light as muchhome as possible and make world class edu-cation & sports affordable to every child. In hisview, quality Education & Health is the funda-mental key to build a strong nation and econ-omy.

Dr. Pradhan, a keen golfer was born in asmall town Bareilly, UP, India. His detailed

profile can be downloaded fromwww.linkedin.com/in/gauravpradhan. His ba-sic schooling was at KV ASC Bareilly.

He is married to Ms. Maniksha, an engineerby profession and blessed with a 6 year oldson Jai, who only dreams to win awardsthrough his hard work and have a display shelfnext to his father’s one.

POSTSCRIPT

First NRI from SA to bagFirst NRI from SA to bagHind Rattan award

Dr Gaurav Pradhan

The objective of the GlobalEconomic Summit was to proj-ect the global trade and in-

vestment potential sphere headedby India which was achievedthrough a large extent with the sup-port of over 300 Business toBusiness meeting organized toforge global alliances and the pre-sentations made by the heads ofvarious regions, policy decisionmakers and special Envoys to Indiaprovided the perfect platform for in-vestors to assess the Investmentmarket globally. Over 35 countriesparticipated in presenting their in-vestment opportunities during the2-day Summit.

Mr. Subodh Kant Sahai, Ministerof Food Processing Industries,

Govt. of India in his inaugural ad-dress said, “Government has ap-proved the scheme for the estab-lishment of Mega Food Parks, forwhich Rs.50 crore worth grantwould be provided by the CentralGovernment for each Mega FoodPark. We will set up 10 such MegaFood Parks initially, out of the totalproposed 30 Mega Food Parks dur-ing the 11th Plan period.

Storage and logistics of the agri-produce is another major chal-lenge. World over logistics cost ofentire processing chain works outto be 6% of the product cost in caseof India it is as high as 11%. Hehoped that this cost would bebrought down.

Global Economic Summitconcludes successfullywith Global Alliances

L to R: Mrs. Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson and Managing Director, Export-ImportBank of India, Mr. Vijay Kalantri, President, All India Association of Industries(AIAI) and Vice Chairman, World Trade Centre, Mumbai , Mr. Chhagan C.Bhujbal, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra, Mr. KamalMorarka, Chairman, World Trade Centre, Mumbai, Mr Subodh Kant Sahai,Hon’ble Minister for Food Processing Industries, Government of India at theInaugural function of Global Economic Summit on Trade and Investment heldin Mumbai.

Documents

A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE · Mandela became the nation’s conscience as it healed from the scars of apartheid. His defiance of white minority rule and long incarceration for fighting