South Asian Business news and information

                                                “SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,       Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;” This are the opening lines of John Keats’ famous poem “Ode to Autumn.” Well friends, autumn... Continue Reading

Brazil, China, Russia and India- these four countries are considered to be the economic powers of tomorrow. These countries are sometimes labeled together as BRIC countries. Of these four countries, India has the lowest per capita Gross National Income (GNI).... Continue Reading

Bilateral trade between the two regional powers of South Asia: China and India, has increased to $20 billion this year. In a trade cooperation conference, Chinese Ambassador, Sun Yuxi said that according to the five year plan designed by the... Continue Reading

Africa is famous for its extreme poverty. People of many countries in Africa are suffering from hunger and unemployment. The governments here cannot generate enough wealth internally and they are dependent on foreign aid and loans. European countries have provided... Continue Reading

BMW, the European auto giant, is planning to outsale Daimler Chrysler in India within next six years. India because of its prosperous economy, has become an attractive market for foreign automobile producers. Daimler Chrysler has been doing business in India... Continue Reading

The last city of my Indian city series is Delhi. It is the sixth most populous metropolis in the world with a population of 15.3 million. The city area covers National Capital Territory of Delhi and the satellite towns of... Continue Reading

The Indian government has taken a new decision to encourage inter-caste marriage. From now on, the government would give $1000 to those who would marry a person from lower caste. This idea was given by an Indian federal minister on... Continue Reading

A port city, Surat, is situated in the state of Gujarat, about 250 km north of Bombay. The River Tapti runs by the city.Like Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh, Surat can be divided into two parts; the old city... Continue Reading

Also known as Kovai, Coimbatore is the second largest city of Tamil Nadu. Home to 4.2 million people, this city is one of the fastest growing cities of India. The Coimbatorians are famous for their entrepreneur skills.    Coimbatore city... Continue Reading

Situated in Maharashtra, Pune is the second largest city of Maharashtra and the second largest city of India. Home to 4.5 million people, Pune’s historical background can be traced back to 8th century A.D.   Pune is famous for its educational... Continue Reading

Formerly known as Bombay, Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra. It is the fifth most populous metropolitan area of the world and the most populous city of India. Located on the west coast of Maharashtra, it is home to 13... Continue Reading

Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka. Home to 6.1 million people, Bangalore is the third largest and the most prosperous city in India. The per capita income of Bangalore is US$ 6,460, which is highest among Indian cities. If Bombay... Continue Reading

Formerly known as Madras, the city of Chennai, is the capital of Tamil Nadu and the fourth largest city of India. The city is more than three hundred years old and it is the 36th largest metropolitan area in the... Continue Reading

Do you remember Hazari Pal from “City of Joy”? This poor villager goes to city to earn money and change his luck, but loses everything. The name of that city is Kolkata. Set up by East India Company, on the... Continue Reading

Earlier, I wrote about male Indian supermodels. Now it is time for female supermodels. Here are some of the top female super models of India:   Aishwarya Rai: Obviously, this name will come first. I do not mean to make... Continue Reading

Today, the Indian city that I am going to talk about is Hyderabad. According to the article of wikipedia, it is the 6th largest metropolis of India, but in another website, it is mentioned as the fifth largest city in... Continue Reading

Indicus Analytics, a Delhi based research firm, has published a report on the cities of India.  After reading the report, I have planned to write posts on each of the top ten cities. In these posts I shall focus on... Continue Reading

Yes readers! Before reading this report, I did not know that real Santa Claus lives in the Lapland region of Finland. People believe that he is the real Santa, who is more than four hundred years old. Santa Claus will... Continue Reading

In my previous post, “Why Getting Married and Getting Happy is Becoming a Problem in India?”, I have talked about the change in Indian women. As more and more women are pursuing higher studies, their mentality is changing. They are... Continue Reading

Andaman islands are perhaps among the most beautiful islands in Asia. Until now, Indian government did not realize the potential of the islands fully. Now, Indian decision makers are keen to make the most out of Andaman. So, new islands... Continue Reading

I like Hindi movies. I watch movies whenever I can. One of the great things I like about these movies is the way they show the “Shaadi” or the marriage ceremony. The Dulha (bride groom) and Dulhan (bride) looks very... Continue Reading

India’s largest general insurance company, New India Assurance(NIA), has taken a new approach to increase the sales of its health insurance. The company will create policies based on the income levels of Indian people. The groups would be divided in... Continue Reading

Despite record production this year, India is going to face a shortage of tea. The shortage is amounted to 27 million kilograms. Last year, the shortage was 23 million kilograms. The officials of Indian Tea Association said that they will... Continue Reading

Are you an Indian? Are you good looking? Do you have athletic physique? Ever thought of getting into modeling? Well, you may or may not succeed but if you have all the above mentioned qualities, then at least you should... Continue Reading

Indian private radio centers are now facing a shortage of skilled radio professionals. Within the next few years, more than three hundred FM radio stations will open up. I am quoting from the report published in monsters and critics.com:  ... Continue Reading

For the first time, Nepal has agreed to give transit to India and China. Nepal is situated on the border of India and China. Officials of Nepal and India are going to attend meeting on August 24th and 25th in... Continue Reading

It is very sad news. 5 persons in Indian state of Assam have been killed after some people thought that they were witches and caused evil to the people. Well, it is not an isolated incident at all. In fact,... Continue Reading

If you are a Hindi movie lover like me then the title would remind you of a Hindi movie based on racism in West. Now, you would assume that I am going to talk about racism; WRONG ANSWER!! Racism is... Continue Reading

When it comes to tariff on imported products China does not have good image in the world economy. Both rich and poor countries are all the time complaining against Chinese policy about this matter. It seems that Chinese government has... Continue Reading

As a professional blogger, I browse Internet a lot everyday. So, I read the writings of many writers. I admire Bhaswati Ghosh (an Indian freelance writer and blogger) mainly because of her writing skill. She makes writing look so easy.... Continue Reading

David Daniels is one of the bloggers that I respect very highly. Well, he is not actually a blogger but the Managing Director of a consulting company. He is interested about Asia and he helps western companies to do better... Continue Reading

In the last couple of years, Indian television industry, like the film industry, has flourished a lot. Television has remained one of the major sources of information, education and entertainment in India for more than forty years. During the eighties,... Continue Reading

Bollywood, the Indian cinema industry is now considered to be the second biggest film industry in the world after Hollywood. Aishwarya Rai and Julia Roberts are the two top ranked actresses of Hollywood and Bollywood. In this entry, I... Continue Reading

It's a fascinating real life story. A village in India has own website. If you live in the west then it is not a surprising story but if you have any idea about South Asian villages then you would surely... Continue Reading

The rivalry between Coca cola and Pepsi is not only limited to the sales of soft drinks but also in bagging celebrities. In India, it has become a trend that big film stars and players are either signed up with... Continue Reading

This strong show of support for Pepsi has come from Bollywood's top actor, Shahrukh Khan (SRK). SRK is unhappy that many people in India are now trying to ban Pepsi and Coke over the pesticide issue. This has really become... Continue Reading

The rivalry between Pepsi and Coca cola reminded me of the great Indian epic, Mahavarata, where the two arch rivals- the Kauravs, and the Pandavas fought fiercely. If Mahavarata was written in this era then I think the writer would... Continue Reading

The heavy monsoon rain has caused flood in the Eastern and Southern provinces of India. Mumbai, Chattishgarh, Andhrapradesh, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Orissa, and many other areas in the eastern and western zone are severely damaged by this flood.    ... Continue Reading

Today, I am going to give fifteen reasons for traveling to India. Here is the first one: India is the seventh biggest country in the world in terms of land area. It is also the second most populous country and the... Continue Reading

The legendry rivalry between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo is now taking a new twist. The two giants have found themselves on the same side in a die hard battle that can have a long influence on the cola industry. In India,... Continue Reading

Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP), one of the major software companies in Europe has declared their future investment plan in India. On Wednesday, the company’s chief executive, Henning Kagermann, told reporters that their company would be investing... Continue Reading

The strong demand in India and China is raising the price of natural rubber too much. In fact, in 2005, these countries consumed 20% of global natural rubber production and they want even more. Continue Reading

First of all, let us try to define what is legacy. According to Dictionary.com, the meaning of legacy is 'Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past:'. It is true that IBM (NYSE:IBM) is an... Continue Reading

India’s growing economy is attracting investors and businessmen from all over the world. A new company has entered in this list, Frachisesales.com. Franchisesales is a UK based website, that sales business to other businessmen. If you are not familiar with... Continue Reading

Until now, we knew that the future growth of world economy lies in China and Asia. This may be the case for every industry but for the airlines sector it may not be the case. At least, the role of... Continue Reading

If you have read my previous entry in this blog, you already know about carpooling service in India. I carried out an email interview of Jyoti Kalra, Project Coordinator Koolpool MESN. I like the initiative of MESN to make carpooling... Continue Reading

With the continuous economic growth, the number of cars is increasing very rapidly in India and that is why traffic-jam and air pollution are reaching to their extreme level. That is why, carpooling has a huge potential to be successful... Continue Reading

Diwali is one of the major festivals of Hindus in India. This festival is also known as “Festival of Lights” which symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. It also has a big contribution in Indian economy, during the festival... Continue Reading

Ever heard of Japanese encephalitis? This is a bad disease and can either kill you or make you mad- literally. Let me give you a definition of this disease: "Japanese encephalitis is a disease that is spread to humans by... Continue Reading

After reading the news, nothing better than this popped up in my mind for title. After the abolition of quota system in garments import, India has become the new favorite of American buyers. I am quoting from the report published... Continue Reading

Tata Consultancy Service (TCS), one of the leading outsourcing firms of India, has won a contract with Saudi Telecommunication company and signed a joint venture with three Chinese companies. Under this new contract with Saudi Telecommunications Company, Tata will take... Continue Reading

Don’t get confused readers. If you are an Indian, then you would know very well that the one rupee Indian note contains the picture of Gandhi. Until now, Reserve Bank of India used to bring special papers from abroad to... Continue Reading

Hrithik & Rakesh have done it again! The new release of this father son duo, “Krrish,” did a great business in box office. Hrithik’s first movie “Kaho na Pyar Hai,” which was directed by his father Rakesh Roshan, was the... Continue Reading

I live in Bangladesh, where at present, Hindi films are the most popular. I do not know about you but for me whenever the word “Film” or “Film Industry” comes in mind, two words pop up simultaneously: “Hollywood” and “Bollywood.”... Continue Reading

Korea’s electronic giant, Samsung, has launched its new Ultra edition series in India today. The new Ultra edition, introduced by Samsung Telecommunications India, is the slimmest mobile phone in the world. This new phone comes in three forms: bar form,... Continue Reading

The good thing is that jobs in the retail industry will contain good salaries. That means that retail sector will be in a direct competition with the IT sector for getting bright and smart graduates in the next few years. Continue Reading

Last Tuesday, I wrote a post on Indian retail sector-‘R’ stands for: Reliance, Retail, & Rising!. In this post I will try to make a comparison between the organized retail sectors of India and USA and address some important issues... Continue Reading

Recently, in an interview with Newsweek, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries, talked about his future plan on converging India’s agriculture and retail sectors. The company will buy agricultural products from farmers around the country and sell those products in big... Continue Reading

Normally, rich countries build hospitals to countries ravaged by natural catastrophe or intense political instability. For example, Palestine, Afghanistan, Maldives (hit by Tsunami in 2004). Building hospital is not considered good will gift rather charity. However, India is making an... Continue Reading

For Sasol, India offers a huge attractive and untapped market. If Sasol can use this market then its profit will soar within a very short time. On the other hand, if Sasol can be successful in manufacturing alternative fuel in India then India can cut back on its oil import bill significantly. Continue Reading

Recently, India has permitted screening of Pakistani movies in the Indian movie theaters. According to the report published in Hindustan times, India and Pakistan have signed an agreement to distribute Pakistani movies in India. On the other hand, the ban... Continue Reading

Japanese sewing machine producing company Juki, is now planning to build up a strong image in the Indian market. Juki produces sewing machine for garments and households. The company also specializes in surface mounting technology (SMT).     Ten years ago,... Continue Reading

In this blog, my mentor and teacher, Mr. Razib has been writing about the success of the Indian outsourcing industry. Today, I am going to add a new item on that menu, “Employee Induction outsourcing”.   What is it? After... Continue Reading

Readers, I hope you would agree with the title. As the price of fuel is rising, consumers are shifting towards smaller fuel efficient vehicles and Japanese auto producers are always one step ahead in building such vehicles.   Suzuki, worlds... Continue Reading

Fear, suspicion and jealousy of a King or a Minister often take the upper hand against national interest. However, we can find the other side of the coin too. Often richer nations pretend to give aid to poor countries just to take advantage of the poverty of a country. Continue Reading

Reliance Industries Limited has announced its plan to form a new company called  Reliance Retail Ltd. The investment will be nearly $5.6 billion and over the next few years, the company will open retail stores in 1,500 Indian cities and towns. Continue Reading

Through train until now 47,697 people have traveled. Thar Express and Samjhauta Express are the two main trains running between India and Pakistan. In addition, 8,013 people traveled by bus and 28,425 by foot. Continue Reading

Until now, it is not too expensive but there is doubt that Indian is becoming a bit expensive because of the rising salary in the tech field. Continue Reading

Prof. Basu has described the present scenario of Indian economy and has reminded us of the miserable condition of the poor people. Continue Reading

American coffee market is a multi billion dollar industry. So, it will be interesting for us to observe how Tata Coffee Limited uses this acquisition to perform better in USA market. Continue Reading

India is any comparison the best player in BPO. Its BPO industry is increasing very rapidly and perhaps too rapidly to keep pace with. In the last few days, I have posted several stories in my two blogs about Indian IT market becoming too much congested to find skilled workers for the Indian and foreign companies. Continue Reading

What is so fascinating about the news is that World Cup Football 2006 is attracting viewers from all over India.

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The size of the economic zone will be 25,000 acres (10,100 hectares) and it will be near the capital Delhi. A cargo airport and a 2,000 megawatt power generation plant are among the major attractions for the foreign companies. Continue Reading

Selling girls for marriage from tribal families is becoming a booming business in Gujarat and many brokers are now earning handsome amount of money from it. Continue Reading

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he villagers of the bride are really happy and excited. They are getting the things that they have dreamt about for ages. Continue Reading

In 2000, 4,790 students from India and another 2,421 from Pakistan came to UK under student visa. Continue Reading

It is very important to discover the exact reasons that led Apple and Powergen to leave India.   Continue Reading

It is not important whether India has become an expensive place or not. Rather, the image of India being an 'expensive' or 'inexpensive' destination is more important. Continue Reading

Papa John's  has already two shops in India now and the company is now contemplating on the idea of opening up of 500 outlets in India in the next 10 years. Continue Reading

While (almost) every auto company managed to increase their sale in India, Toyota actually, saw its sale dropped by 15% to 41,000 units in 2005. Continue Reading

Time has appreciated the recent economic success of India but at the same time has reminded the readers of the possible loopholes that might exist for the country. Continue Reading

After GM India can find dealers in Sri Lanka, the company is going to export Optra sedans Aveo hatchback cars in Sri Lanka. GM has already exported some cars to Nepal and Bangladesh from India. Continue Reading

Singapore, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Dubai are becoming more and more popular to the Indian holiday makers. Continue Reading

Mckinsey and Co thinks that Indian government can save huge amount of money and increase GDP substantially by carrying out financial reforms. Continue Reading

I do not how many state leaders have supported  bio-diesel until now but I am sure that no other statesman has come forward in support of  bio-diesel like Indian President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. While speaking at the inauguration of the... Continue Reading

So, what next? Suffering from job security for the Indian workers? May be it is too early for that but it will surely come sooner or later as Indian companies will go for cheaper destinations. Continue Reading

Indian has expressed its commitment to support Nepal both politically and economically and as a part of it today Indian government announced a  10 billion rupees ($218m) aid package for Nepal. Continue Reading

What made me happy is to know that India has a teledensity of 13.54%. Only two years ago, it was only 7.08%. Continue Reading

The best solution for the time being is to remove all taxes on oil. Continue Reading

The size of SMS market in India was 12.3 billion messages in 2004 and in 2010 it is expected to grow 180 billion. Continue Reading

Motorola has decided to set up a manufacturing plant near Chennai with an initial investment of $30 million and it may be increased to $100 million gradually. Continue Reading

In 2005, Kenya produced 328 million kg of tea but in 2006, the production is expected to fall to 300 million kg. Continue Reading

Well, I am not sure that whether Steve Jobs has backed down thinking of growing cost in India or not but I feel that Indian government and It industry leaders should take this matter very seriously. Continue Reading

IBM's chairman and chief executive, Samuel Palmisano, announced a plan that IBM was going to invest $6 billion in India in the next 3 years. In the last 3 years, IBM invested $2 billion in India and became the largest multinational company in India. Continue Reading

It is expected that 16 megawatt of electricity will be generated after the plant goes into operation. $10.8 million is the total investment behind this project and  Amrit Biogas, a West Bengal company is implementing it. Continue Reading

Wall Street investors will become more interested to hire more Indian researchers and if this trend continues then by 2011, there will be more analysts in India than in USA. Continue Reading

Indian government has taken an initiative to set up 25  textile parks in India and each park will have an investment of Rs 1 billion and here Indian  textile ministry will provide Rs 400 million subsidy. Continue Reading

NASABA 2006 National Convention (The Third Annual NASABA National Convention) is going to take place in Atlanta, Georgia from 16 June 2006 to 18 June 2006. Continue Reading