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Kathmandu curfew hits Indian airlines
If you were travelling economy class and yet had your personal attendant waiting on you for the entire flight, what would you call it? A promotional gimmick? A flight of fantasy? But that's what virtually happened on the Air Sahara New Delhi-Kathmandu flight Thursday, when the cabin crew probably outnumbered the passengers - who were only eight in number. The draconian curfew freshly imposed by King Gyanendra's government in Kathmandu Valley has hit Indian airlines operating flights between India and Kathmandu like never before with the passenger list remaining near blank and losses mounting. The hardest hit by the fresh turmoil in the simmering kingdom has been India's national carrier Indian Airlines, which unlike private operators doesn't have the luxury of cancelling flights due to passenger scarcity. |
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Mock trading at Nathu La begins
India was carrying out a mock trading exercise Friday ahead of formal reopening of the famed Silk Road for border trading with China, officials said. An Indian government official said the symbolic ceremony was taking place at the 15,000-ft Nathu La Pass on the border between India's Sikkim state and China's Tibet region. "The idea of this mock exercise is to review and test the preparedness on our side of the border to handle business and see if all the infrastructure is ready before formal trading between the two countries begin," R.B. Subba, Sikkim's commerce and industries minister, told IANS. Scores of officials from the Indian ministry of home, external affairs, commerce and industries, besides intelligence personnel have arrived at the small village of Sherathang, five km from the Nathu La Pass. "Sherathang would be the main trade mart for the formal border trade where we have already set up infrastructure for banks, customs and excise, telecommunications, besides lodging facilities for security personnel," the minister said.
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'Out of Ordinary Lives Emerges Something Extra-Ordinary': Dasgupta
In many ways, filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta is a typical product of the turbulent Seventies. The poet in him with pronounced, pro-Left sympathies could not hold himself back from the volatile atmosphere of the time. Dasgupta says that he never intended to be a political filmmaker. The fact that one can discern a political point of view in all his films is testimony to his awareness and his commitment to lend his voice to the time he lives and works in. Little-known facets of Dasgupta emerge at different points in Portrait, a 21-minute documentary on the filmmaker by Sankho Ghosh, a documentary filmmaker. [20 August 2005]
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 Science and Technology Education in India
India is fast emerging as a Knowledge Economy. Its spectacular performance in the IT sector has helped the country's offshoring sector emerge as the world's largest and fastest growing. McKinsey Quarterly predicts that by 2007-08 the BPO industry workforce will consist of 1.45 million to 1.55 million people and the industry will account for 7 per cent of India's GDP. But there is cause for concern as well. [19 December 2005]
 Indian White Goods Sector's Big Challenge
The appliance manufacturing sector has benefited hugely from foreign investment. FDI has helped raise Indian manufacturing standards and improved product quality and productivity. But the Indian government as well as industry need to recognise the fact that Indian products and processes have to continuously move up the value chain if India is to enhance its global competitiveness, writes Rajeev Karwal, in this exclusive article for www.icfdc.com.[16 December 2005]
 Charting a New Course in India-EU Relations
More than 200 people, including EU and Indian officials, industrialists, professionals, decision-makers, political leaders and media persons, congregated in Brussels on 8 and 9 November 2005 for a conference hosted jointly by the Europe India Chamber of Commerce, Commonwealth Business Council and the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin to discuss and debate the future of India-EU relations. The focus was on harnessing mutual potential to enhance trade and investment between the two entities. ICFDC.com's Adite Chatterjee files this exclusive report on the event's proceedings from Brussels. [10 November 2005]
 Paradigm Shift in India-US Relations
The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the United States between 18 and 20 July 2005 was a turning point in the hot-now-cold-now relationship between the two countries. The George Bush administration in a landmark decision extended civilian nuclear assistance to India, virtually setting aside the decades-old demand that India sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). ICFDC.com presents a roundup of the global media's coverage of the PM's visit. The following documents are also included with this article:. [28 August 2005]
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