Indian Companies Have Surprised The World: Kamal Nath
Thursday, 24 January , 2008,
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14595041

Davos: The global challenge posed by the emergence of companies from India and other rapidly developing economies has taken the world by surprise, Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, said Thursday.

Speaking at a breakfast session organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Boston Consulting Group in Davos, he said many of these companies had been taking advantage of India's burgeoning technology sector and large population of young people.

"The new drivers of the future have shown the power of this combination in India," he said.

The minister, who is part of a large Indian delegation to the World Economic Forum (WEF), said Indian companies were being driven by intellectual and entrepreneurial ability, rather than by arbitrage costs alone.

"For about a decade, such companies in India, China, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand have been getting their act together and several of them have now become global. Even in India, many are newcomers," he said.

Kamal Nath said the existence of a large domestic market had helped Indian companies become competitive and catapult themselves globally.

The Indian minister singled out the East Asia region for praise, saying a spate of regional trade agreements between India and East Asian countries underscored that the fact India and the rest of Asia were reaching out to each other.

Indian Economy Will Gallop Despite US Turmoil Says Indian Prime Minister
Friday, 25 January , 2008, 16:51
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14595041

New Delhi: The Indian economy can sustain an economic growth of 9-9.5 per cent despite the global financial turmoil, even as it hopes for steps by the US to contain the damage, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday.

"We live in an increasingly interdependent world and therefore an international financial crisis could impact on the growth of emerging countries including our own," Manmohan Singh said.

"We sincerely hope US authorities will take appropriate and credible measures to contain the damage caused by the sup-prime crisis in that country," he said at a joint press interaction with French President Nicolas Sarkozy here.

"As far as the Indian economy is concerned, we are not affected in the sense our banks don't have lending of that sort, which has led to the crisis," he said, as he referred to the turmoil in the US caused by indiscriminate lending.

"The fundamentals of Indian economy are sound. As of now, we are convinced that notwithstanding what is happening elsewhere in the world, we can sustain the growth momentum of the country at 9 and 9.5 per cent per annum."

Sister Karuna Mary Braganza Among Padma Awards
http://www.theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=10257
January 26, 2008

NEW DELHI (ICNS): The Indian government has honoured Sister Karuna Mary Braganza, a former principal of Sophia College, Mumbai known for her selfless work among the poorest and socially deprived with Padma Shri. She and selected others are among the winners of Padma awards given by the Central government on the eve of Republic Day.

Among the other prominent Christians are sociologist Prof TK Oommen, who was a member of the Sachar Committee, and Kerala-based eye specialist Dr Tony Fernandez. Everest summiteer Edmund Hillary, who passed away a few days ago in New Zealand, is among the recipients of Padma Vibhushan.

This year, the Indian President approved 135 people for the Padma Awards. The highest of them, Padma Vibhushan was given to 13, while 35 got Padma Bhushan and 71 got Padma Shri. The government decided not to announce any winners for Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour of India, after controversies surrounded it in recent weeks. In fact, after 2001, the Government has not awarded Bharat Ratna to anyone.

Astronaut Sunita Williams, whose father is from Gujarat, has been given Padma Bhushan. Dominique Lapierre, the famous French author, is also among the winners of Padma Bhushan. Among the Padma Shri winners are John Martin Nelson, TV journalists Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt and Vinod Dua.