SouthAsiaBiz: April 2008 Archives

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Apr30	Bangladesh: Hot Weather and Increasing Consumption of Bottled Water Razib Ahmed April 30, 2008 Know More: Bangladesh Bangladesh, Water Bottled water or popularly known as mineral water is a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. In fact, I can remember that a decade ago, very few people used to drink bottled water regularly. However, this has changed a lot in the last five years. Now, drinking bottled water has become almost a part of everyday life in Dhaka. This culture is spreading across other cities too. It is summer time and extreme heat has helped its business to flourish in the streets of Dhaka. Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr30	SK Telecom Looking to Buy Teletalk Razib Ahmed April 30, 2008 Teletalk is the government owned mobile phone company in Bangladesh. Of all the six mobile phone operators, Teletalk is considered to be the weakest and it has least number of subscribers. Bangladesh government is contemplating on the idea of... Continue Reading Posted at 3:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Shoaib Akhtar in IPL?! Razib Ahmed April 30, 2008 It seems Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar’s rough patch is not yet over. Recently, the appellate tribunal of PCB upheld the five year ban imposed on Shoaib Akhtar last month. Following the five year ban, the fast bowler appealed against... Continue Reading Posted at 2:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Meet Tashi Group and Singye Group- the top business conglomerates of Bhutan Mehdi Hassan April 30, 2008 Though Bhutan is obsessed with Gross National Happiness, there is money in the valley of happiness and some serious money makers as usual. Meet Tashi Group and Singye Group, two largest business conglomerates of Bhutan. The interesting thing is, when... Continue Reading Posted at 4:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr29	Growing Indian Economy: How Long Can it Grow? Razib Ahmed April 29, 2008 You know that the American economy is going through a bad phase. There is a slow down in the American economy and it may create a bad effect for the global economy too. In fact, many people are worried... Continue Reading Posted at 3:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	India and Switzerland Contemplating a FTA Deal Razib Ahmed April 29, 2008 India and Switzerland are now trying to have a free trade agreement between them. There is optimism that this deal will come within one year. This is surely good news for both the countries. Switzerland is a very small... Continue Reading Posted at 2:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Etisalat Entering Indian Market? Razib Ahmed April 29, 2008 Etisalat is the leading telecommunication company of United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is one of the biggest telecom companies in Arab world. It has total market dominance in UAE, which is one of the richest countries in the world.... Continue Reading Posted at 2:41 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka : Coconut harvesting season veins life in the desiccated coconut industry Mehdi Hassan April 29, 2008 The Desiccated Coconut (DC) millers of Sri Lanka will start their production as the peak harvesting season of coconut is going to start from next month. Till now, shortage and high price of coconuts have forced the millers to shut... Continue Reading Posted at 8:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr28	Pakistan Steel: Expecting to make it a profitable year Mehdi Hassan April 28, 2008 Pakistan Steel (PS), the country’s largest steel mill, is expected to make a profit of more than Rs. 3 billion by the end of the current fiscal year. Due to price hike, there will be a decline in the production... Continue Reading Posted at 8:43 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr27	Nepal: Who will be the Next Prime Minister? Razib Ahmed April 27, 2008 Election 2008 has failed to produce any clear cut winner. The Maoists have emerged as the largest political force but they have bagged 220 seats out of 601 in the parliament. So, they have roughly got a bit more... Continue Reading Posted at 3:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Outsourcing: What about Pakistan? Razib Ahmed April 27, 2008 Krissy has talked about outsourcing to Pakistan in the blog BPO Tiger. BPO Tiger is a blog about Outsourcing and I strongly encourage you to visit the blog if you are interested about BPO.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pakistan: Potential for Clinical Trial Business Razib Ahmed April 27, 2008 Pakistan joined the outsourcing business a bit later than India. Now, Pakistan is trying to follow the Indian success story in this regard. One area that has good potential for Pakistan is clinical trial. India has already seen some... Continue Reading Posted at 3:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bhutan: Becoming more interested in ICT Mehdi Hassan April 27, 2008 Bhutan is probably the only country in the world that focuses on achieving Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than GDP. A small country in the Himalayan region, it just saw the establishment of its first democratic government. It is a... Continue Reading Posted at 5:02 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr26	Indian Call Center Workers: Money vs Healthy Life Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Call Center came as a great blessing for the educated people in India. This industry created thousands of jobs in Southern states. Indian workers provide support to US customers from the call centers situated in India. US companies sent... Continue Reading Posted at 3:45 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Why I love “Silly Traffic”? Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Seth Godin has written about Silly Traffic. By Silly Traffic, Seth Godin has meant those kind of visitors who come to a website or blog though social bookmarks or ‘even a typical Google search.’ Seth feels that these visitors would... Continue Reading Posted at 3:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Election 2008: Latest Update Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Nepal Election 2008 took place earlier this month. It is more than two weeks that the election took place and at last we have the final picture about the election results. The Maoists have emerged as the largest party... Continue Reading Posted at 3:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bangladesh: BASIS and Outsourcing Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 When it comes to outsourcing, Bangladesh is not exactly the destination that comes to our mind first. In fact, neighboring India has got most of the successes in outsourcing and India is perhaps the outsourcing capital of the world.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Controversy about IPL Cheerleaders Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 You may call them “sexy” or “vulgar” but IPL cheerleaders have surely caused a lot of excitement among Indian people. In every IPL match, you can find some foreign cheerleaders wearing very short dress and dancing. This idea of... Continue Reading Posted at 3:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Jackie Chan Looking for an Indian Movie Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Jackie Chan is perhaps the top Asian actor in Hollywood and he is one of highest paid Asian actors. Jackie Chan is mainly an action hero and he has a lot of fans in Asia. He has achieved a... Continue Reading Posted at 2:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bangladesh: Orange, SK Telecom and Etisalat Interested to Invest Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Mobile phone came into Bangladesh in the early parts of 1990’s. However, at first, one company had total monopoly over the sector and hardly anything changed until 1997. Three more companies were given the permission to carry out business... Continue Reading Posted at 2:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Oil Corporation receives Rs. 500 million from the government to clear its debt to Indian Oil Corporation Mehdi Hassan April 26, 2008 To clear the outstanding debt of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), last Friday, Nepal government has given Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Rs.500 million. Nepal buys oil from India but sharp increase in the demand and cut in supply has created an... Continue Reading Posted at 9:13 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Interview of Syed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director of aamra Group of Companies Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Syed Farhad Ahmed is one of the top names in Bangladeshi business. He is the Managing Director of aamra Group of Companies (previously known as Texas Group). aamra Companies is one of the top corporate houses in Bangladesh .... Continue Reading Posted at 1:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr25	Iyaan regains hearing: Maldives government have not given any compensation yet Mehdi Hassan April 25, 2008 Last month, I wrote about a four year old girl named Iyaan, who became deaf due to mistreatment of the doctors in Maldives and her parents sued the health ministry of the country and demanded a record high compensation of... Continue Reading Posted at 6:57 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr24	A 'Gurkha widow' still waits to meet her husband Mehdi Hassan April 24, 2008 Shantamaya Limbu believes that someday her husband will return. Call it love, devotion or superstition, this 81 year old Gurkha widow, whose husband went missing in the Second World War do not believe that her husband is dead. Shantamaya’s husband,... Continue Reading Posted at 7:13 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	India's software giants miss profit margin Mehdi Hassan April 24, 2008 In the face of continuing economic recession in the USA, IT giants in India are losing their profit margins. Tata Consultancy Service missed its profit margin in the last quarter.Tata consultancy Service (TCS), a subsidiary of Tata group, saw... Continue Reading Posted at 6:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	King Gyanendra will not leave Nepal. Mehdi Hassan April 24, 2008 Few days ago, news came out that Nepal’s former King, Gyanendra will leave Nepal and live in India in fear of his life from the Maoists. The latest statement from the King’s press refuted the claim. Gyanendra will not leave... Continue Reading Posted at 6:54 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr23	India: No Wheat Import This Year? Razib Ahmed April 23, 2008 I am sure that this news will give some comfort to many people in India. Indian people have been suffering from rising inflation in the last few months. The price of fuel in international market is increasing on a... Continue Reading Posted at 3:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr21	Sri Lanka: Ceylon Grain Elevators (CGE) going through a tough time Mehdi Hassan April 21, 2008 Lower sales, price control and rising cost of raw materials are causing loss to Ceylon Grain Elevators (CGE), a major poultry feed company in Sri Lanka. Chicken is brought under essential item by the Consumer Affairs Authority. As a result,... Continue Reading Posted at 4:40 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr20	Bhutan General Election 2008: Turnout of young Bhutanese male and female was high Mehdi Hassan April 20, 2008 Bhutan’s first democratic government election will remain significant in many ways in the country’s history. The first election saw more female voters than male voters. Except eleven constituencies, female voters out numbered male voters in all the other constituencies and... Continue Reading Posted at 7:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr19	6768 Nepalese pass the Korean Language Test for jobs in South Korea Mehdi Hassan April 19, 2008 6,768 (in Nepal News it was 6772) Nepalese candidates have passed the Korean Language Test exam held in Kathmandu. Out of 31,511 applicants, 31,175 appeared in the exam which was held at The Tribhuvan University on March 29 and 30.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:56 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr18	Asian Development Bank agrees to give financial assistance to build power projects in Pakistan Mehdi Hassan April 18, 2008 The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide $800 million to build power projects in Pakistan. If necessary, the loan will be extended upto $1200 million. However, majority portion of the loan will be given at Ordinary Capital Resource (OCR)... Continue Reading Posted at 6:46 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr17	Rising food price makes Bhutan unhappy Mehdi Hassan April 17, 2008 Bhutan may not be one of the most developed countries but one of the happiest countries in the world and now the people of this happy country are unhappy with the rising food price. Bhutan imports most of its food... Continue Reading Posted at 8:34 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	India vs. Pakistan vs. 470 descendents of Nizam: The Prize £30 million Mehdi Hassan April 17, 2008 Yes readers, this is a triangular fight but not any serious war. It is a legal battle over £30 million wealth of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Osman Ali Khan, which is now deposited in the bank of London. After... Continue Reading Posted at 4:12 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	School enrollment campaign: Will it be able to change Nepal's future? Mehdi Hassan April 17, 2008 From April 16th, "School enrollment campaign" has started in Nepal. In order to increase the number of educated people, the government of Nepal started this program and it has been going on for the last five years. The three week... Continue Reading Posted at 12:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr16	Sri Lanka: More Tourists in March 2008 Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 You know that a very bloody and violent civil war has been going on in Sri Lankan for a number of years. Civil war is not exactly the thing that helps boost the tourism sector. So, it is interesting... Continue Reading Posted at 4:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka: Rice or Wheat? Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 You know that there are basically two main food items in the world- wheat and rice. Millions of people eat rice everyday, while millions of other people are fan of wheat. In Sri Lanka, people traditionally like to eat... Continue Reading Posted at 4:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Election 2008: Madheshis Become a New Force Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will have noticed that I have covered the problem of Madheshi community living in the Terai region of Nepal a number of times. One of the big problems for... Continue Reading Posted at 4:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	King Gyanendra: Time to Go? Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 The picture of election results of Nepal is becoming very clear. The Maoists have won a large number of seats and very soon 335 seats will be allocated to different political parties based on proportional vote. It is expected... Continue Reading Posted at 4:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr14	India: From brain drain to brain gain Mehdi Hassan April 14, 2008 It is “Home sweet Home” for Indian executives. Once, the people who would leave their country for better paying jobs are preferring their homeland over exclusive foreign locations. Why this sudden change of mind? Well, with the growing economy, India... Continue Reading Posted at 8:55 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pakistan : Petroleum product consumption on the rise Mehdi Hassan April 14, 2008 In the past nine months, petroleum consumption rose sharply in Pakistan. From July to March of the current fiscal year, the total consumption of POL products stands at 13.85 million ton which was 12.54 million ton last year. Two petroleum... Continue Reading Posted at 12:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr12	Sri Lanka: NTT goes out Hitachi comes in Mehdi Hassan April 12, 2008 Famous Japanese electronics company, Hitachi, is planning to build a new factory in Sri Lanka that will produce industrial air conditions. Hitachi will invest $2 million to build the factory. ACMA Private Limited, the Asian distributor of Hitachi, held talks... Continue Reading Posted at 5:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr11	India and Venezuela oil companies sign joint venture deal Mehdi Hassan April 11, 2008 India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has signed a joint venture with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the state owned oil company of Venezuela. Under this joint venture, the two companies will extract oil and from Venezuela’s Orinoco region. The... Continue Reading Posted at 10:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr10	Election 2008: What Next for King Gyanendra in Nepal? Razib Ahmed April 10, 2008 Now all the people of Nepal and the political leaders are eagerly waiting for the election result. It is clear that the supporters of King Gyanendra will not become the biggest group in the new parliament. Most political parties... Continue Reading Posted at 3:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Election 2008: What Next for Nepal? Razib Ahmed April 10, 2008 Voting has ended almost peacefully in Nepal earlier today. Now, everyone is busy with counting vote and waiting eagerly for the result. I took a look at the website of Nepal Election Commission but I found that they have... Continue Reading Posted at 2:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Election 2008: Voting Ends Peacefully Razib Ahmed April 10, 2008 It is way past midnight in Nepal. Most people are now not sleeping but instead waiting for the result of the general election today. Nearly, 60% of the eligible voters cast their votes. There are some news of violence... Continue Reading Posted at 2:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pakistan obtains 89th position in WEF's Global IT Report Mehdi Hassan April 10, 2008 Pakistan has been ranked at 89th position in terms of network readiness out of the 127 countries by The World Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report 2008. The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a partner institute of the World Economic Forum... Continue Reading Posted at 7:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 9	Sri Lankan President visits China to attend the annual Boao Forum (BFA) meeting Mehdi Hassan April 9, 2008 Today, Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse, went to China to attend the annual meeting of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) which will start from Saturday. The President landed at the Sanya Phoenix International Airport, at Sanya city, in the Hainan... Continue Reading Posted at 11:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka organizes boat show for the first time Mehdi Hassan April 9, 2008 Sri Lanka is going to hold its first boat show in June. The main purpose of the show will be to encourage the domestic boat building industry. The organizers believe that this show will attract many foreign boat producers and... Continue Reading Posted at 10:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka is suffering from food shortage Mehdi Hassan April 9, 2008 Sri Lanka is going through serious food crisis. Poor harvest, rising global food price, and domestic conflict have contributed to serious food shortage in the country. According to the latest poverty assessment of the government, out of the 20 million... Continue Reading Posted at 10:27 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 6	Increasing government expenditure and rising inflation could hinder Maldives' economic growth Mehdi Hassan April 6, 2008 Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published its Asian Development Outlook report 2008 which says that Maldives is going to face risks from the capital spending of the government and economic inequalities of the country. Unemployment, rising inflation, falling fish catch,... Continue Reading Posted at 9:32 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 5	Nepal: Count Down to Election 2008 Razib Ahmed April 5, 2008 All the people in Nepal are eagerly waiting for Election 2008 which is going to take place on 10 April. Nepalese government has declared 5 day long holiday to ensure that the polls can be held peacefully. I found... Continue Reading Posted at 2:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 4	Shakhari Bazaar (Conch Street) is facing extinction Mehdi Hassan April 4, 2008 The popular “Shakhari Bazaar” (Conch market) of old Dhaka is facing extinction. For generations, many Hindu families have been earning their livelihood by making and selling conch products. These people are facing numerous problems as conch products are losing popularity.... Continue Reading Posted at 11:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Khuda Kay Liye : The first Pakistani movie to be shown in Indian theatres Mehdi Hassan April 4, 2008 Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) is going to be the first Pakistani movie shown in Indian cinema theatres. Because of political rivalry, the two countries stopped showing their films in theatres since the 1960’s. Now days, the... Continue Reading Posted at 10:54 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Global Telecommunication Holdings buys up Sri Lanka Telecom's 35% stake Mehdi Hassan April 4, 2008 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) sold its 35% share of Sri Lanka Telecom to Global Telecommunication Holdings, a subsidiary of Usaha Tegas. NTT sold its share for $297 billion. This has been the largest transaction ever made in the... Continue Reading Posted at 3:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 3	India vs South Africa 2nd Test: Day 1 Razib Ahmed April 3, 2008 India has got off to a disastrous start in the second test of the ongoing India vs South Africa series. Winning the toss in the morning Indian captain Anil Kumble elected to bat first. However, Indian top order batsmen... Continue Reading Posted at 1:24 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif Razib Ahmed April 3, 2008 Recently, there was rumor of Salman Khan having a new girl friend. This rumor created a lot of media Buzz and many people wondered about the future of Katrina Kaif. In the past we have seen Salman Khan changing... Continue Reading Posted at 1:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Election 2008: Latest Updates Razib Ahmed April 3, 2008 Democratic election will take place in Nepal on 10 April 2008. That means that there are just seven days to the election. Political leaders are busy with last minute preparations and they are trying their best to attract the... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 2	Indian government goes ahead with National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) : Will it work this time? Mehdi Hassan April 2, 2008 Despite facing serious criticism, Indian government is moving ahead with its ‘National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme’ to remove poverty. Launched in 2006, the scheme was aimed at eradicate poverty from India. However, many believe that the scheme is nothing but... Continue Reading Posted at 3:22 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 1	IT outsourcing India :Small and medium sized IT firms are thinking of relocating outside India Mehdi Hassan April 1, 2008 It looks like India is running out of its charm as an attractive outsourcing destination. Now, it may start to observe IT firms leaving for better location. This is becoming a reality for the small and medium sized IT firms.... Continue Reading Posted at 11:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

« March 2008 | Main | May 2008 »

Apr30	Bangladesh: Hot Weather and Increasing Consumption of Bottled Water Razib Ahmed April 30, 2008 Know More: Bangladesh Bangladesh, Water Bottled water or popularly known as mineral water is a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. In fact, I can remember that a decade ago, very few people used to drink bottled water regularly. However, this has changed a lot in the last five years. Now, drinking bottled water has become almost a part of everyday life in Dhaka. This culture is spreading across other cities too. It is summer time and extreme heat has helped its business to flourish in the streets of Dhaka. Continue Reading Posted at 3:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr30	SK Telecom Looking to Buy Teletalk Razib Ahmed April 30, 2008 Teletalk is the government owned mobile phone company in Bangladesh. Of all the six mobile phone operators, Teletalk is considered to be the weakest and it has least number of subscribers. Bangladesh government is contemplating on the idea of... Continue Reading Posted at 3:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Shoaib Akhtar in IPL?! Razib Ahmed April 30, 2008 It seems Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar’s rough patch is not yet over. Recently, the appellate tribunal of PCB upheld the five year ban imposed on Shoaib Akhtar last month. Following the five year ban, the fast bowler appealed against... Continue Reading Posted at 2:28 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Meet Tashi Group and Singye Group- the top business conglomerates of Bhutan Mehdi Hassan April 30, 2008 Though Bhutan is obsessed with Gross National Happiness, there is money in the valley of happiness and some serious money makers as usual. Meet Tashi Group and Singye Group, two largest business conglomerates of Bhutan. The interesting thing is, when... Continue Reading Posted at 4:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr29	Growing Indian Economy: How Long Can it Grow? Razib Ahmed April 29, 2008 You know that the American economy is going through a bad phase. There is a slow down in the American economy and it may create a bad effect for the global economy too. In fact, many people are worried... Continue Reading Posted at 3:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	India and Switzerland Contemplating a FTA Deal Razib Ahmed April 29, 2008 India and Switzerland are now trying to have a free trade agreement between them. There is optimism that this deal will come within one year. This is surely good news for both the countries. Switzerland is a very small... Continue Reading Posted at 2:59 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Etisalat Entering Indian Market? Razib Ahmed April 29, 2008 Etisalat is the leading telecommunication company of United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is one of the biggest telecom companies in Arab world. It has total market dominance in UAE, which is one of the richest countries in the world.... Continue Reading Posted at 2:41 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka : Coconut harvesting season veins life in the desiccated coconut industry Mehdi Hassan April 29, 2008 The Desiccated Coconut (DC) millers of Sri Lanka will start their production as the peak harvesting season of coconut is going to start from next month. Till now, shortage and high price of coconuts have forced the millers to shut... Continue Reading Posted at 8:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr28	Pakistan Steel: Expecting to make it a profitable year Mehdi Hassan April 28, 2008 Pakistan Steel (PS), the country’s largest steel mill, is expected to make a profit of more than Rs. 3 billion by the end of the current fiscal year. Due to price hike, there will be a decline in the production... Continue Reading Posted at 8:43 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr27	Nepal: Who will be the Next Prime Minister? Razib Ahmed April 27, 2008 Election 2008 has failed to produce any clear cut winner. The Maoists have emerged as the largest political force but they have bagged 220 seats out of 601 in the parliament. So, they have roughly got a bit more... Continue Reading Posted at 3:55 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Outsourcing: What about Pakistan? Razib Ahmed April 27, 2008 Krissy has talked about outsourcing to Pakistan in the blog BPO Tiger. BPO Tiger is a blog about Outsourcing and I strongly encourage you to visit the blog if you are interested about BPO.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:35 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pakistan: Potential for Clinical Trial Business Razib Ahmed April 27, 2008 Pakistan joined the outsourcing business a bit later than India. Now, Pakistan is trying to follow the Indian success story in this regard. One area that has good potential for Pakistan is clinical trial. India has already seen some... Continue Reading Posted at 3:16 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bhutan: Becoming more interested in ICT Mehdi Hassan April 27, 2008 Bhutan is probably the only country in the world that focuses on achieving Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than GDP. A small country in the Himalayan region, it just saw the establishment of its first democratic government. It is a... Continue Reading Posted at 5:02 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr26	Indian Call Center Workers: Money vs Healthy Life Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Call Center came as a great blessing for the educated people in India. This industry created thousands of jobs in Southern states. Indian workers provide support to US customers from the call centers situated in India. US companies sent... Continue Reading Posted at 3:45 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Why I love “Silly Traffic”? Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Seth Godin has written about Silly Traffic. By Silly Traffic, Seth Godin has meant those kind of visitors who come to a website or blog though social bookmarks or ‘even a typical Google search.’ Seth feels that these visitors would... Continue Reading Posted at 3:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Election 2008: Latest Update Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Nepal Election 2008 took place earlier this month. It is more than two weeks that the election took place and at last we have the final picture about the election results. The Maoists have emerged as the largest party... Continue Reading Posted at 3:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bangladesh: BASIS and Outsourcing Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 When it comes to outsourcing, Bangladesh is not exactly the destination that comes to our mind first. In fact, neighboring India has got most of the successes in outsourcing and India is perhaps the outsourcing capital of the world.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	The Controversy about IPL Cheerleaders Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 You may call them “sexy” or “vulgar” but IPL cheerleaders have surely caused a lot of excitement among Indian people. In every IPL match, you can find some foreign cheerleaders wearing very short dress and dancing. This idea of... Continue Reading Posted at 3:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Jackie Chan Looking for an Indian Movie Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Jackie Chan is perhaps the top Asian actor in Hollywood and he is one of highest paid Asian actors. Jackie Chan is mainly an action hero and he has a lot of fans in Asia. He has achieved a... Continue Reading Posted at 2:23 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Bangladesh: Orange, SK Telecom and Etisalat Interested to Invest Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Mobile phone came into Bangladesh in the early parts of 1990’s. However, at first, one company had total monopoly over the sector and hardly anything changed until 1997. Three more companies were given the permission to carry out business... Continue Reading Posted at 2:12 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Oil Corporation receives Rs. 500 million from the government to clear its debt to Indian Oil Corporation Mehdi Hassan April 26, 2008 To clear the outstanding debt of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), last Friday, Nepal government has given Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Rs.500 million. Nepal buys oil from India but sharp increase in the demand and cut in supply has created an... Continue Reading Posted at 9:13 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Interview of Syed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director of aamra Group of Companies Razib Ahmed April 26, 2008 Syed Farhad Ahmed is one of the top names in Bangladeshi business. He is the Managing Director of aamra Group of Companies (previously known as Texas Group). aamra Companies is one of the top corporate houses in Bangladesh .... Continue Reading Posted at 1:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr25	Iyaan regains hearing: Maldives government have not given any compensation yet Mehdi Hassan April 25, 2008 Last month, I wrote about a four year old girl named Iyaan, who became deaf due to mistreatment of the doctors in Maldives and her parents sued the health ministry of the country and demanded a record high compensation of... Continue Reading Posted at 6:57 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr24	A 'Gurkha widow' still waits to meet her husband Mehdi Hassan April 24, 2008 Shantamaya Limbu believes that someday her husband will return. Call it love, devotion or superstition, this 81 year old Gurkha widow, whose husband went missing in the Second World War do not believe that her husband is dead. Shantamaya’s husband,... Continue Reading Posted at 7:13 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	India's software giants miss profit margin Mehdi Hassan April 24, 2008 In the face of continuing economic recession in the USA, IT giants in India are losing their profit margins. Tata Consultancy Service missed its profit margin in the last quarter.Tata consultancy Service (TCS), a subsidiary of Tata group, saw... Continue Reading Posted at 6:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	King Gyanendra will not leave Nepal. Mehdi Hassan April 24, 2008 Few days ago, news came out that Nepal’s former King, Gyanendra will leave Nepal and live in India in fear of his life from the Maoists. The latest statement from the King’s press refuted the claim. Gyanendra will not leave... Continue Reading Posted at 6:54 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr23	India: No Wheat Import This Year? Razib Ahmed April 23, 2008 I am sure that this news will give some comfort to many people in India. Indian people have been suffering from rising inflation in the last few months. The price of fuel in international market is increasing on a... Continue Reading Posted at 3:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr21	Sri Lanka: Ceylon Grain Elevators (CGE) going through a tough time Mehdi Hassan April 21, 2008 Lower sales, price control and rising cost of raw materials are causing loss to Ceylon Grain Elevators (CGE), a major poultry feed company in Sri Lanka. Chicken is brought under essential item by the Consumer Affairs Authority. As a result,... Continue Reading Posted at 4:40 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr20	Bhutan General Election 2008: Turnout of young Bhutanese male and female was high Mehdi Hassan April 20, 2008 Bhutan’s first democratic government election will remain significant in many ways in the country’s history. The first election saw more female voters than male voters. Except eleven constituencies, female voters out numbered male voters in all the other constituencies and... Continue Reading Posted at 7:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr19	6768 Nepalese pass the Korean Language Test for jobs in South Korea Mehdi Hassan April 19, 2008 6,768 (in Nepal News it was 6772) Nepalese candidates have passed the Korean Language Test exam held in Kathmandu. Out of 31,511 applicants, 31,175 appeared in the exam which was held at The Tribhuvan University on March 29 and 30.... Continue Reading Posted at 3:56 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr18	Asian Development Bank agrees to give financial assistance to build power projects in Pakistan Mehdi Hassan April 18, 2008 The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide $800 million to build power projects in Pakistan. If necessary, the loan will be extended upto $1200 million. However, majority portion of the loan will be given at Ordinary Capital Resource (OCR)... Continue Reading Posted at 6:46 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr17	Rising food price makes Bhutan unhappy Mehdi Hassan April 17, 2008 Bhutan may not be one of the most developed countries but one of the happiest countries in the world and now the people of this happy country are unhappy with the rising food price. Bhutan imports most of its food... Continue Reading Posted at 8:34 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	India vs. Pakistan vs. 470 descendents of Nizam: The Prize £30 million Mehdi Hassan April 17, 2008 Yes readers, this is a triangular fight but not any serious war. It is a legal battle over £30 million wealth of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Osman Ali Khan, which is now deposited in the bank of London. After... Continue Reading Posted at 4:12 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	School enrollment campaign: Will it be able to change Nepal's future? Mehdi Hassan April 17, 2008 From April 16th, "School enrollment campaign" has started in Nepal. In order to increase the number of educated people, the government of Nepal started this program and it has been going on for the last five years. The three week... Continue Reading Posted at 12:15 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr16	Sri Lanka: More Tourists in March 2008 Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 You know that a very bloody and violent civil war has been going on in Sri Lankan for a number of years. Civil war is not exactly the thing that helps boost the tourism sector. So, it is interesting... Continue Reading Posted at 4:34 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka: Rice or Wheat? Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 You know that there are basically two main food items in the world- wheat and rice. Millions of people eat rice everyday, while millions of other people are fan of wheat. In Sri Lanka, people traditionally like to eat... Continue Reading Posted at 4:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Election 2008: Madheshis Become a New Force Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will have noticed that I have covered the problem of Madheshi community living in the Terai region of Nepal a number of times. One of the big problems for... Continue Reading Posted at 4:17 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	King Gyanendra: Time to Go? Razib Ahmed April 16, 2008 The picture of election results of Nepal is becoming very clear. The Maoists have won a large number of seats and very soon 335 seats will be allocated to different political parties based on proportional vote. It is expected... Continue Reading Posted at 4:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr14	India: From brain drain to brain gain Mehdi Hassan April 14, 2008 It is “Home sweet Home” for Indian executives. Once, the people who would leave their country for better paying jobs are preferring their homeland over exclusive foreign locations. Why this sudden change of mind? Well, with the growing economy, India... Continue Reading Posted at 8:55 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pakistan : Petroleum product consumption on the rise Mehdi Hassan April 14, 2008 In the past nine months, petroleum consumption rose sharply in Pakistan. From July to March of the current fiscal year, the total consumption of POL products stands at 13.85 million ton which was 12.54 million ton last year. Two petroleum... Continue Reading Posted at 12:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr12	Sri Lanka: NTT goes out Hitachi comes in Mehdi Hassan April 12, 2008 Famous Japanese electronics company, Hitachi, is planning to build a new factory in Sri Lanka that will produce industrial air conditions. Hitachi will invest $2 million to build the factory. ACMA Private Limited, the Asian distributor of Hitachi, held talks... Continue Reading Posted at 5:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr11	India and Venezuela oil companies sign joint venture deal Mehdi Hassan April 11, 2008 India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has signed a joint venture with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the state owned oil company of Venezuela. Under this joint venture, the two companies will extract oil and from Venezuela’s Orinoco region. The... Continue Reading Posted at 10:31 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr10	Election 2008: What Next for King Gyanendra in Nepal? Razib Ahmed April 10, 2008 Now all the people of Nepal and the political leaders are eagerly waiting for the election result. It is clear that the supporters of King Gyanendra will not become the biggest group in the new parliament. Most political parties... Continue Reading Posted at 3:11 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Election 2008: What Next for Nepal? Razib Ahmed April 10, 2008 Voting has ended almost peacefully in Nepal earlier today. Now, everyone is busy with counting vote and waiting eagerly for the result. I took a look at the website of Nepal Election Commission but I found that they have... Continue Reading Posted at 2:22 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Election 2008: Voting Ends Peacefully Razib Ahmed April 10, 2008 It is way past midnight in Nepal. Most people are now not sleeping but instead waiting for the result of the general election today. Nearly, 60% of the eligible voters cast their votes. There are some news of violence... Continue Reading Posted at 2:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Pakistan obtains 89th position in WEF's Global IT Report Mehdi Hassan April 10, 2008 Pakistan has been ranked at 89th position in terms of network readiness out of the 127 countries by The World Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report 2008. The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a partner institute of the World Economic Forum... Continue Reading Posted at 7:53 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 9	Sri Lankan President visits China to attend the annual Boao Forum (BFA) meeting Mehdi Hassan April 9, 2008 Today, Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse, went to China to attend the annual meeting of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) which will start from Saturday. The President landed at the Sanya Phoenix International Airport, at Sanya city, in the Hainan... Continue Reading Posted at 11:07 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka organizes boat show for the first time Mehdi Hassan April 9, 2008 Sri Lanka is going to hold its first boat show in June. The main purpose of the show will be to encourage the domestic boat building industry. The organizers believe that this show will attract many foreign boat producers and... Continue Reading Posted at 10:48 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Sri Lanka is suffering from food shortage Mehdi Hassan April 9, 2008 Sri Lanka is going through serious food crisis. Poor harvest, rising global food price, and domestic conflict have contributed to serious food shortage in the country. According to the latest poverty assessment of the government, out of the 20 million... Continue Reading Posted at 10:27 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 6	Increasing government expenditure and rising inflation could hinder Maldives' economic growth Mehdi Hassan April 6, 2008 Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published its Asian Development Outlook report 2008 which says that Maldives is going to face risks from the capital spending of the government and economic inequalities of the country. Unemployment, rising inflation, falling fish catch,... Continue Reading Posted at 9:32 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 5	Nepal: Count Down to Election 2008 Razib Ahmed April 5, 2008 All the people in Nepal are eagerly waiting for Election 2008 which is going to take place on 10 April. Nepalese government has declared 5 day long holiday to ensure that the polls can be held peacefully. I found... Continue Reading Posted at 2:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 4	Shakhari Bazaar (Conch Street) is facing extinction Mehdi Hassan April 4, 2008 The popular “Shakhari Bazaar” (Conch market) of old Dhaka is facing extinction. For generations, many Hindu families have been earning their livelihood by making and selling conch products. These people are facing numerous problems as conch products are losing popularity.... Continue Reading Posted at 11:15 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Khuda Kay Liye : The first Pakistani movie to be shown in Indian theatres Mehdi Hassan April 4, 2008 Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) is going to be the first Pakistani movie shown in Indian cinema theatres. Because of political rivalry, the two countries stopped showing their films in theatres since the 1960’s. Now days, the... Continue Reading Posted at 10:54 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Global Telecommunication Holdings buys up Sri Lanka Telecom's 35% stake Mehdi Hassan April 4, 2008 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) sold its 35% share of Sri Lanka Telecom to Global Telecommunication Holdings, a subsidiary of Usaha Tegas. NTT sold its share for $297 billion. This has been the largest transaction ever made in the... Continue Reading Posted at 3:59 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 3	India vs South Africa 2nd Test: Day 1 Razib Ahmed April 3, 2008 India has got off to a disastrous start in the second test of the ongoing India vs South Africa series. Winning the toss in the morning Indian captain Anil Kumble elected to bat first. However, Indian top order batsmen... Continue Reading Posted at 1:24 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif Razib Ahmed April 3, 2008 Recently, there was rumor of Salman Khan having a new girl friend. This rumor created a lot of media Buzz and many people wondered about the future of Katrina Kaif. In the past we have seen Salman Khan changing... Continue Reading Posted at 1:05 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Nepal Election 2008: Latest Updates Razib Ahmed April 3, 2008 Democratic election will take place in Nepal on 10 April 2008. That means that there are just seven days to the election. Political leaders are busy with last minute preparations and they are trying their best to attract the... Continue Reading Posted at 12:48 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 2	Indian government goes ahead with National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) : Will it work this time? Mehdi Hassan April 2, 2008 Despite facing serious criticism, Indian government is moving ahead with its ‘National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme’ to remove poverty. Launched in 2006, the scheme was aimed at eradicate poverty from India. However, many believe that the scheme is nothing but... Continue Reading Posted at 3:22 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 1	IT outsourcing India :Small and medium sized IT firms are thinking of relocating outside India Mehdi Hassan April 1, 2008 It looks like India is running out of its charm as an attractive outsourcing destination. Now, it may start to observe IT firms leaving for better location. This is becoming a reality for the small and medium sized IT firms.... Continue Reading Posted at 11:29 AM \| Permalink \| Comments

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