Who says newspapers are dying?

A point of discussion in the media industry lately has been the slow
demise of the newspaper industry in the US relative to the upswing of
the newspaper and media industry in "developing" nations like India.
In India within the last couple of years, several business media have
cropped up and are doing fairly well. "While gloom haunts the
newspaper industry in the United States and Europe, the business is
flourishing in much of the developing world," says an article in
today's New York Times.

Another excerpt from this article--
"Executives in India, one of the fastest growing newspaper markets,
say reading a newspaper is something to aspire to instead of a
throwback to a bygone era as it is perceived in much of the West.

"Anyone who can read or write is still looked at with a bit of awe" in
many markets in India, said Rajesh Kalra, a veteran journalist who is
now chief editor of Times Internet, the Internet arm of the Times
Group, which publishes The Times of India. The paper has a circulation
of 3.5 million, more than 10 percent higher than a year ago, and says
it is the biggest English-language paper in the world. Times Group, a
part of Bennett, Coleman and Company, is introducing editions of the
paper in three Indian cities this spring.

When people first learn how to read, they want to let people know, Mr.
Kalra said, and "the first thing you want to do is be seen to be
reading a newspaper."

The literacy rate in India hovers at about 61 percent, according to
Unesco, but the number of literate youths (ages 15 to 24) is above 76
percent, signaling that education is improving. The number of daily
newspapers grew to 287 in 2006 from 185 in 2005, according to the
World Association of Newspapers."

In fact several media companies like CN18 that only had a broadcast
presence are also branching out into print publishing to round out
their offerings, "Media companies in emerging markets, though, are
enjoying growth their Western counterparts can only envy. "Unlike the
developed markets, India is at a fundamentally different stage of its
life" when it comes to media consumption, said Haresh Chawla, group
chief executive of Network 18, a media conglomerate. The company also
has a joint venture with CNBC, as well as with Viacom, which brings
MTV and Nickelodeon to Indian audiences. "There is a huge synergy in
news gathering," and owning a newspaper will round out Network 18's
media offerings, Mr. Chawla said."

Read the full article at--
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/business/worldbusiness/20newspapers.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&oref=slogin

Indian Tea Goes Digital...

No more catalogs, no mare gavels, no more auctioneers screaming going
once, twice...

"India's tea markets are going digital," says an article in the New
York Times. "Just as electronic trading rocked the floors of the New
York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the move to
computerized auctions promises to turn the tradition-bound world of
tea traders upside down. While tea growers and large multinationals
have welcomed the promise of computerized trading, many small tea
brokers fear an electronic exchange will mean the end of their
livelihoods. The government body that sets the rules for tea sales in
India, the Indian Tea Board, sees electronic trading as a way to help
planters who have been hit hard by low tea prices for much of the last
decade. Electronic trading is supposed to result in fairer prices and
lower transaction costs."

What has been going on since 1861 will change now , hopefully for the
better, in the tea state of Assam. According to the New York times,
"The main advantage of the computerized system, according to the Tea
Board, is that buyers can bid from anywhere, without having to be
physically in the trading hall — or even in the same city where the
tea is warehoused. "That means buyer participation will be more,
competition will be more," said H. N. Dwibedi, a consultant who has
been advising the Tea Board on computerized trading. "Greater
competition ensures that the true price is discovered."

India's previous attempts at automating tea trading electronically
were unsuccessful, hopefully this time around, things will be
smoother, more to ensure fair trade for the tea traders and to revive
the dwindling markets.

Read the full article at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?pagewanted=1&tntget=2008/04/22/business/worldbusiness/22tea.html&tntemail0=y&emc=tnt

Outsourcing Stress

The nature and being of Indian Society has changed drastically over
the last few years, there is no doubt about this. For those of us who
visit every other year we see the rapid changed fast forwarding in
front of our eyes with every visit. Each time I visit, I notice the
latent stress that did not exist several years ago, when life was more
laid back and priorities were very different. Today, everyone is more
preoccuped with work, managing dual income households, where money is
not the issue but time is.

I saw this article in the Chicago Tribune, and I felt that it was
right on. Read this excerpt below.

"After two years working nights at a U.S. company's computer call
center, Vamsi knew it was time to quit when his 6-year-old son brought
home a school portrait he'd drawn of his father, asleep in bed.
"He was asked to draw a picture of his mom and dad, and he drew me
sleeping. That's the only way he ever saw me," remembers the
31-year-old, who like many southern Indians goes by only one name. "He
never saw me doing anything else."
Indians may have taken over three-quarters of the world's call-center
jobs, but they've also taken on the stresses of those jobs: weight
gain, depression, boredom and, often, relationship troubles."

Call centers are just one example of an industry that is catering to a
different part of the world. So many other sectors are in the same
boat. Friends and family that live in India, maintain the same hours
and schedules that I maintain on the east coast. I can see the stress
that this puts on their family life and their personal relationships.

With stress come otehr problems such as substance abuse,increasing
divorce rates, unstable children and the list is endless.
"A study last year in the Indian Journal of Sleep Medicine found that
40 percent of call-center workers surveyed smoked, compared with 7
percent of a control group, and 36 percent had more than two alcoholic
drinks a week, against 2 percent of the control group. Another 27
percent of call-center workers also reported using sleeping pills or
other drugs, often in an effort to combat the sleep deprivation that
nags overnight workers," says the Tribune article.

Read the full piece at--
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-india-stress_nu_goeringapr20,0,6517218.story

Earth has a twin?

Ethically Produced Bamboo Fabric!

Hear this, so now we have fabric that is ""ethically produced" and "is
not only resistant to the sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation
but also has anti-bacterial properties."

According to the IANS --
"As "sustainable" become the new global buzzword among ethical
dressers, it is boom time for eco-friendly bamboo-based fabrics.` And
now giving such fabric the extra edge are Indian American chemists
Subhash Appidi and Ajoy Sarkar of Colorado State University.

They have discovered a way of making bamboo fabric - the current
leading option in the "ethically produced" clothing market - that is
not only resistant to the sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation
but also has anti-bacterial properties.

Raw bamboo fabric lets damaging UV radiation pass through and reach
the skin. And while many tout bamboo's inherent anti-bacterial
properties, Appidi found that untreated bamboo fabric did not live up
to anti-microbial expectations.

"All cellulose fibres allow more moisture to leak in and provide more
food for bacteria to eat. That's why bacteria grow more on natural
fibres rather than synthetic fibres," said Appidi.

Bacteria can lead to unpleasant odours and unsanitary clothing, noted
the chemist, who has ambitions of creating bacteria-free bamboo
garments for use in hospitals.

The duo, who presented their new and improved fabric at a meeting of
the American Chemical Society Sunday, said they increased the
UV-protecting abilities of fabric by colouring pieces of
commercially-available bamboo cloth in a dye laced with UV absorbing
chemicals."

Read the full article at--
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/indian-american-scientists-design-bamboo-based-fabrics_10035208.html

A 15 year Old Uber-Desi

When you read about this young boy, make one wonder, what did I do
when I was fifteen years old? Another answer that is better left
unsaid!

From IANS--
"Anshul Samar is not your average Indian-American teenager. Even as
his peers spend time playing, 14-year-old Samar is out looking to
raise half a million dollars to fund his Silicon Valley start-up.
Samar is the CEO of Alchemist Empire Inc., and invented a trading card
game, 'Elementeo', that aims to teach chemistry to students in a fun
way.

The eighth-grader kick-started his company with $500 from the
California Association of the Gifted, using the money to develop a
prototype of Elementeo.

Samar, an Art of Living fan, presented the prototype at The Indus
Entrepreneurs (TiE) conference in the US in mid 2007, creating quite a
sensation as he made his pitch for funding.

Now he is all set to present his inventive card game at the national
meeting of the American Chemical Society - another pitch to get the
financial backing he needs to mass produce Elementeo."

Read the full article at--
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/indian-american-teen-ceo-seeks-500000-for-start-up_10036020.html

A Peek at the Indian Peoples Phone

India is by far one of the fastest growing consumers of cell phones. The new peoples phone is going to be even more accessible especially for the lower income groups, and it will be interesting to see how this is adopted.

"The new cellphone model unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona will sell for below $20 per device. The aim is to meet surging demand for cheap phones in emerging markets, beginning with India but Spice is also targeting the high end of the market," reports Reuters.

Arun Sarin's Bet on India

The Wall Street Journal reports that, "Thirty years after he left
India for a life in the U.S., Arun Sarin is counting on his native
country to revive his company."

Here is an excerpt --
"As chief executive of Vodafone Group PLC, Mr. Sarin is battling to
conquer India, one of the last big frontiers in the cellphone
industry. Vodafone's $10.9 billion investment in Indian cellphone
company Hutchison Essar Ltd., unveiled one year ago this month, was
the country's largest-ever foreign investment. Now, a raft of telecom
companies are eyeing India, including AT&T Inc., which recently
applied for a license to sell service in the country.

Mr. Sarin's move reflects a new development in the globalization of
India's economy. As Indian-born executives increasingly occupy top
positions in the West, some find themselves heading back into India to
expand their businesses. The hope is that they can bring with them an
insider's perspective, and a possible edge over global competitors."

Read the full article at --
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120364182388784639.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

A Peoples Phone

Mac or a PC? Which one do you plan to vote for?

Is it just me, or are there others out there who believe that this is
such an apt comparison of the two democratic contenders. I find this
slick and simple, yet has so much depth. This makes me wonder about
the South Asian angle, yes the South Asian angle I believe is that
South Asians are usually PC people, at least the ones that I know are
and I know a few of them. Personally I am a Mac person, or a
worshipper I might say. In fact that is what I am using to type this
blog item. BUT... that is not to say that is what my political slant
is... Like my 4 year old says, "that my friend, is a big secret!"

Excerpt from the NYT article --
" STYLES make fights — or so goes the boxing cliché. In 2008, they
make presidential campaigns, too.

This is especially true for the two remaining Democrats, Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama. Reporters covering the candidates have
already resorted to traditional analysis of style — fashion choices,
manner of speaking, even the way they laugh. Yet, according to design
experts, the candidates have left a clear blueprint of their personal
style — perhaps even a window into their souls — through the Web sites
they have created to raise money, recruit volunteers and generally
meet-and-greet online.

On one thing, the experts seem to agree. The differences between
hillaryclinton.com and barackobama.com can be summed up this way:
Barack Obama is a Mac, and Hillary Clinton is a PC."

Read the full article at --
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/technology/04link.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

The Other Nano

An editorial in the New York Times --

What do a ’73 Volkswagen Bug, a navigation system on a new Jaguar and a brand new Nano sedan have in common? Two things: they cost about $2,500 and involve the Indian entrepreneur Ratan Tata.

Mr. Tata is chairman of the Tata Group and currently the leading bidder to buy Jaguar from the Ford Motor Company. Last Thursday, he unveiled the world’s cheapest car — a cute five-door hatchback called Nano that’s powered by two cylinders in back, capable of running at 75 miles an hour and costing about $2,500. Mr. Tata hopes to sell a million Nanos a year in India and to expand to other developing countries. He claims the car meets European emission standards and gets a hybridlike 50 miles to the gallon.

Given the gas-guzzling behemoths that so many of us in the West feel entitled to, it would seem hypocritical to begrudge people in poor countries an affordable car. Much like the hypocrisy of the dealers who have resisted Tata’s bid for Jaguar on the grounds that Indian ownership would erode the brand’s prestige.

The sad fact is that the world has changed since Americans celebrated the egalitarian breakthrough of the Ford Model T. We know now that gas-driven automobiles do terrible damage to the environment, and the notion of loosing millions upon millions of new carbon emitters on our planet is not something to celebrate.

So while we admire Mr. Tata’s business and engineering acumen in creating the Nano, we ardently wish that he would focus his talents elsewhere: creating transportation that is both affordable and doesn’t emit ever more greenhouse gases. That would be something for the whole world to celebrate and buy.

One Laptop Per Child

15 Companies That Will Change The World

In an article titled "The Next Disruptors" CNNMoney.com lists 15 companies that they think will change the world. About 5 of them are headed and/or founded by South Asian Americans.

From the article -- "This year's selection is the culmination of an extensive search for the most disruptive startups in the country, including a multi-city series of roundtable discussions last spring. At events in Boston, Los Angeles and Chapel Hill, N.C., we convened more than 100 entrepreneurs, some of whom are represented here. We also launched a weekly Web video series on CNNMoney.com called The New Disruptors (available as a podcast on iTunes). In it you'll find video profiles of companies featured here, plus many others. If you know where to look, disruption is everywhere."

Interesting article. Read the full story at the link below--
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/09/01/100169862/index.htm