The India Scene

Look to India, China For Next Internet Innovation
By Kelly Short

The United States invented the internet and has driven the majority of its development and innovation over the past 20 years, but India and China are likely candidates to drive the next generation of innovation given their rising internet user base.

World’s Most Popular Web Sites
The world’s most popular internet sites have a decidedly American slant to them - sites like Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia all began in the States. These sites appeal to an American audience, with English text, and nuances that thrive on American culture. But as countries like China and India increase their online population the world’s most popular sites will quickly become ones based in the Eastern hemisphere, appealing to Eastern audiences, that may or may not appeal to Western audiences.

As of 2008, China has the world’s largest online population with 298 million internet users. India has the fourth largest online population with 52 million internet users and is predicted to have the third highest population by 2013 according to Forrester Research. When you combine both countries’ online populations they currently have 60% more internet users than the United States.

Can Google Compete with Baidu?
Baidu.com, a China-based site, is the 9th most popular web site in the world and is China’s most popular search engine. It competes with Google and Yahoo but more importantly it provides the best search results for Asian specific sites. Baidu is considered an internet portal similar to Yahoo and provides many different applications and solutions (57 different tools in all), but Baidu actually began as a music file search engine providing links to MP3 files of mainly Chinese music. As its popularity expanded, companies such as Google have copied its functionality (specifically the MP3 search feature) in order to compete in the China marketplace. Google has struggled though in China largely because it misses cultural nuances specific to the Chinese population that companies like Baidu are better positioned to understand. In 2009, Baidu has garnered more site visitors than Yahoo - impressive considering Baidu only caters to Chinese audiences versus Yahoo’s worldwide audience.

The worldwide popularity of Chinese-based websites is due in large part to their enormous population. Capture the attention of China’s internet users and you are almost guaranteed a spot in the top twenty of the world’s most popular web sites. In fact, three of the world’s top twenty sites are based in China (Baidu.com, QQ.com, Sina.com) according to Alexa.org, appealing specifically to Chinese internet users. By 2010, China will have an online population larger than the actual population of the United States.

India’s Internet User Base
India, with a population of 1.1 billion, shares similarities with China with a large population base and fast growing online population. Though only one of the top twenty sites worldwide is Indian based (sort of… Google India) sites appealing specifically to India’s population are certain to emerge.

American Innovation versus Chinese Innovation
Given the tremendous population base and online users in China and India “the next big thing” quite possibly may come from the Eastern hemisphere. American-based companies should carefully monitor fast growing web sites in China and India to assess their functionality and audience. The most popular sites in these countries have so far focused on search and Web 2.0 functionality (social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups, etc), but evidence already exists that innovators from the East will develop solutions beyond what the world currently knows from the most popular sites. Perhaps Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook or Twitter can be further tweaked to appeal to cultural or technological differences in these countries. Or perhaps innovation from the East will be in the form of features and functionality not yet envisioned by the West. Only time will tell, but one thing for certain is that American internet innovators will be wise to keep an eye on our friends to the East for inspiration.

Kelly R. Short is a Fort Worth, Texas based expert in the technology, business process automation and marketing disciplines. He shares over 15 years worth of experience everyday at http://kellyrshort.com helping small and medium companies with actionable advice on increasing sales with powerful marketing, lowering operating costs using business process management, and leveraging unified technology to crush competition.

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India’s Debacle in the Twenty Twenty Cricket World Cup Championship 2009
By Rama Lingam

The Twenty Twenty Cricket World Cup 2009, currently in progress in England, ended in a debacle for India. It was the defending champion, since it won the first edition of the Twenty Twenty Cricket World Championship held in South Africa in the year 2007.

Before the beginning of the tournament, tipped as the joint favourite with South Africa to win the World Twenty Twenty Championship, 2009, India failed miserably losing all its matches that it played at the Super Eight League stage with the West Indies, England and lastly with South Africa. Australia, the champion of both the shorter and longer version of the game also made its early exit by losing in the qualifying rounds. The early Australian exit did not shock anybody because the team having lost many of its cricket legends like Shane Warne and others was only a shadow of its former strong cricket outfit.

Considering their present form and performance, the South African and the Sri Lankan teams having won most of the matches that they have played so far, are now tipped as the hot favourites to win the Twenty Twenty Cricket World Cup Championship 2009 in England.

The Indian cricket team’s debacle has raised many eye brows. It has shocked the cricket crazy people of India to whom cricket is a religion. The BCCI had sent a very strong contingent, under the leadership of M. S. Dhoni, who has always been in the limelight for his calm and unassuming manners and leadership qualities.

But India’s debacle in the tournament, that too at the international level has sent shock waves and its reputation is at stake. Despite of being rich in resources, India’s poor performance in the current Twenty Twenty World Cup Championship, 2009 has prompted the cricket pundits to come up with some strong reasons to justify their poor performance.

• The Indian team has been playing too much of cricket almost non-stop for the past one year.
• Apart from the test and ODI cricket series, the IPL cricket series played every year during April has practically sapped their energy.
• India has always been a paper tiger, being very strong only at the Indian soil.
• Indian team has failed to read the English conditions quickly and acclimatize itself. However, India also played two warm up matches before the commencement of the tournament with New Zealand and Pakistan respectively, losing the former by 9 runs and winning the later by 6 wickets.
• India choked at the super eight league stage because the team was totally out of form.
• Viru’s early exit from the game and return to India because of a torn shoulder muzzle injury weakened the team at the top of the order. Dinesh Karthick who was sent in as a replacement for Viru was not a opening batsman.
• Rohit Sharma who was promoted to the opening slot did not perform well and justify his promotion, scoring poorly at the Super Eight league stage.
• There was a talk of disunity among the Indian players even before the tournament which played a havoc in their performance. There is every reason to suspect such a phenomenon, because, in the IPL series, Viru was the captain of Delhi Dare Devils which topped the points table in the IPL tournament. Yuvaraj Singh was the captain of Punjab XI team and M. S. Dhoni was the captain of Chennai Super Kings. Perhaps the egos of these captains clashed and played a significant role in the India’s debacle.
• Though hailed as a brilliant captain, M. S. Dhoni’s captaincy at the Super Eight league stage was not up to the mark. Especially, during the match played with England, having won the toss, Dhoni ought to have chosen to bat first; instead he elected to field , permitting England to bat first. This tactless decision was proved very costly that paved the way for the early exit of India from the tournament.
• Even in the last match played with South Africa, India did not play even to save its pride and lost the match woefully falling short to chase 131, a paltry total.

Having performed shabbily in the Twenty Twenty World Cup Championship, 2009, the Indian team awaits the most unceremonious welcome from the cricket crazy fans in India. Let us hope that the ailing Indian team will get well soon and do well in the forthcoming ODI series with the West Indies that begins shortly after India’s return to India.

1.The Hindu (daily)
2.The Deccan Chronicle (daily)

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Travel to India Means Traveling in Heaven! by AstinZ

Undoubtedly India is one of the largest countries on earth and the hottest destination to explore for people across the globe. People like to go for holiday at one of the best destination. If you are among them who want to spend some quality time in a good country then travel to India is the best option. India is a country of rich tradition, history, culture, and heritage. Over here you will find perfect blend of several religions having unity and strength among them.

If you are planning to visit India then the foremost step is to find the best India tours packages. This you can achieve by contacting or hiring an India travel agency or India travel agent. You can choose the agent from online companies as there are several companies present over the internet which offer cheap packages. However don’t forget to know completely about the package, its duration, places to be visited, food and other eatables to be served and other important things. Make sure to take that package which includes everything right from your first step to India to the ultimate step.

It will be better if you have idea about the places to be visited. This you can know by asking your friend or relative who may have visited India before. Also you can refer internet to get some insight about the best locations in Delhi. Some of the exotic destination in India is imperial places and majestic forts of Rajasthan and the scenic beauty of Kerela. While taking the package to travel to India, be assure that you have all the things you wanted in the package. Sometime going for cheap packages will destroy the charm and excitement as many wonderful places get ignored. There are so many things which you can do in India like an elephant ride to the Amber fort and the deserted city of Fatehpuri Sikri. So note down all the things you want to try in India by searching all such things over the internet.

India is one destination filled with mountains, terrains, beaches, temple forts and other incredible places. The monuments and forts are heart-throbbing. You can also witness the innocence of the people in rural areas where ancient and traditional art work gets over urban classy work. The street plays and road shows are some of the best elements of rural life demonstrating life through drama. Your experience in India will be a mesmerizing one and you will adore its beauty and innocence. The people of India are really frank and decent and are really cooperative. Your tour in India can be the best of your life if your tour package is good and your travel agent is perfect.

Astin Sharon also writes on India Tours Packages and India Travel Agency. For more information please visit our site http://www.vfmtravels.co.uk

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Golf Is Famous Outdoor Game In India by sumitgurg

The natural diversity of its courses makes the sport of golf in India very exciting. It has the highest course at Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the oldest golf club in the world outside Great Britain which is better known as the Royal Calcutta Golf Club which was formed in the year 1829. Wherever you go you are sure to find a golf course be it in the mountains, plains, deserts and beach resorts. Another unique thing about these courses is that nearly all of them are well connected by road, air and train. Quality accommodation is available in most of the neighboring areas of the golf courses.

All the golf clubs in India were affiliated to the Royal Calcutta Golf Club which in turn followed the rules of St. Andrews club of Scotland till the early 1950s. However, in December, 1955 some renowned golfers of the country got together and formed the Indian Golf Union. This Union became the governing body for the game of golf in India Today the Indian Golf Union is now affiliated to the World Amateur Golf Council. This Union has done a lot to promote golf in India. One of its most remarkable tasks after its inception was to start the first training camp in India in the year 1957. The training camp was held in the Royal Golf Club, Calcutta. Professional s, assistant professionals and caddies were brought from all over the country and extensive training was given to them to teach golf. The year 1958 is a landmark in the history of Indian Golf Championship as it was to be played alternately at Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta.

1964 will also be remembered as an annual event of the India Open Golf Championship being played for the first time in Delhi. It was won by Peter Thompson, an Australian golfer.

Today golf in India has come a long way right since its inception. There are a large number of Indian golfers who compete in international competitions and have made a name for themselves in the world scenario. All this has led to the dramatic development of the game. Golf enthusiasts are growing in numbers and new courses are added almost every year. The crowning glory of golf in India was when Delhi was chosen to host the first ever golf completion for the Asian Games in 1982.

Sumit Gurg provides information about golfing community,Golf Courses and golf news. for more details, visit at: http://www.4moles.com

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Cement Industry in India - An Overview
By Sanjeev Pandey

An increased outflow in infrastructure sector, by the government as well as private builders, has raised a significant demand of cement in India. It is the key raw material in construction industry. Also, it has highly influenced those bigger companies to participate in the growing sector. At least 125 plants set up by the big companies in India with about 300 other small scale cement manufacturers, to fulfill the growing demand of cement. Being one of the vital industries, the cement industry contributes to the nation’s socioeconomic development. The sum total utilization of cement in a year indicates the country’s economic growth.

Cement plant was first set up in Calcutta, in 1889. At that time, the cement used to manufacture from Argillaceous. In 1904, the first organized set up to manufacture cement was commenced in Madras, which was named South India Industries Limited. Again in 1914, another cement manufacturing unit was set up in Porbandar, Gujarat, but this time it was licensed. In the early years of that era, the demand for the cement tremendously exceeded but only after few years, the industry faced a severe downfall. To overcome from this the worsening situation, the Concrete Association of India was founded in 1927. The organization has two prime goals, one was to create awareness about utility of cement and another was to encourage cement utilization.

Even after the independence, the growth of the cement industry was too gradual. In the year 1956, a Distribution Control System was established with an objective to provide Indian manufacturers and consumers self sufficiency. Indian government then introduced a quota system to provide an impetus to this industry, in which 66% of the sales was imposed to government or small real estate developers. After the implementation of quota, the cement industry tasted a sudden growth and profitability in India. In 1991, the government de-licensed the cement industry. The growth of the industry accelerated forthwith and majority of the industrialists invested heavily in the industry with the awarded freedom. The industry started focusing on export also to double the opportunity available for it in global markets. Today, the cement manufacturers in India have transformed into leading Indian exporters of cement across the world.

The demand of cement in year 2009-2010 is expected to increase by 50 million tons despite of the recession and decline in demand of housing sector. Against India’s GDP growth of 7%, the experts have estimated the cement sector to grow by 9 to 10 % in the current financial year. Major Indian cement manufacturers and exporters have all made huge investments in the last few months to increase their production capability. This heralds an optimistic outlook for cement industry. The housing sector in India accounts for 50 % of the cement’s demand. And the demand is expected to continue. With the constant effort made by cement manufacturers and exporters, India has become the second largest cement producer in the world. Madras Cement Ltd., Associated Cement Company Ltd (ACC), Ambuja Cements Ltd, Grasim Industries Ltd, and J.K Cement Ltd. are among few renowned names of the major Indian cement companies.

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