Washington, October 5
India will soon start to outpace China, thanks to a young and growing workforce and its "much-derided democracy" says The Economist.

The cover story on "How India's growth will outpace China's" in its latest issue attributes "India's surprising economic miracle" largely to its private sector saying, "the country's state may be weak, but its private companies are strong."

Despite the poor headlines generated in the run-up to the Commonwealth games, "India is doing rather well," the internationally regarded magazine said noting, "Its economy is expected to expand by 8.5 per cent this year."

"It has a long way to go before it is as rich as China - the Chinese economy is four times bigger- but its growth rate could overtake China's by 2013, if not before.

"Some economists think India will grow faster than any other large country over the next 25 years. Rapid growth in a country of 1.2 billion people is exciting, to put it mildly," it said.

Citing demography as one of the two reasons why India will soon start to outpace China, the magazine noted "China's workforce will shortly start ageing; in a few years' time, it will start shrinking."

"That's because of its one-child policy — an oppressive measure that no Indian government would get away with."

"India is now blessed with a young and growing workforce. Its dependency ratio — the proportion of children and old people to working-age adults — is one of the best in the world and will remain so for a generation," it said.

India's economy will benefit from this "demographic dividend", which has powered many of Asia's economic miracles. "The second reason for optimism is India's much-derided democracy," said The Economist noting, "Indian capitalism is driven by millions of entrepreneurs all furiously doing their own thing.

"Since the early 1990s, when India dismantled the "licence raj" and opened up to foreign trade, Indian business has boomed." Ideas flow easily around India, since it lacks China's culture of secrecy and censorship. That, plus China's rampant piracy, is why knowledge-based industries such as software love India but shun the Middle Kingdom.

Given the choice between doing business in China or India, most foreign investors would probably pick China, The Economist said. "But as the global economy becomes more knowledge-intensive, India's advantage will grow." — IANS

New Delhi, October 5
The world is now literally at your fingertips. Zoomi, a mobile application and WAP software, from Smile of India ensures that cellphone users will have access to the latest in the ongoing Commonwealth Games and other breaking news on their handsets.

From information on participating Commonwealth nations to photographs and records of previous games to details about Delhi and India to the latest news, Zoomi will provide this in a rich visual format.

Marketing director Smile of India Vinish Kathuria disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Tribune. He added that the application has been developed in collaboration with KPMG, a leading professional services firm, and they are providing services to telecom operators in all 72 countries participating in CWG.

As a mobile infotainment partner for the 19th CWG, the company has launched mobile application across Java, BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad platforms.

Zoomi will have a combination of sports, travel, local and global information to make it informative and entertaining. Vinish added, “At Smile of India, we provide the right information to people at the right time to make the right decision. We believe CWG mobile application will do exactly that and bring smile to faces of users across the world.”

The application can be downloaded from leading global application stores and also from <<http://download.zoomi.in>>.It requires a GPRS connection. Its WAP version is available at m.zoomi.in and both application and WAP are available for download free to the user.

Hyderabad, October 5
After playing truant for over a year, disgraced former chairman of Satyam Computers and architect of India’s biggest corporate scam B Ramalinga Raju today made himself available before CBI for questioning. The CBI sleuths grilled Raju for over three hours at the investigating agency’s office here.

The questioning was primarily focused on diversion of Satyam funds abroad. The CBI is yet to file a charge sheet on fund diversion as it could not trace the money trail.

The investigating agency is banking on responses from authorities from British Virgin Islands and Belgium where Raju was suspected to have opened bank accounts and diverted the funds.

Raju has been avoiding questioning by investigators on grounds of ill-health. He was discharged from the hospital on Saturday last after undergoing treatment for Hepatitis-C since September.

Raju arrived at CBI’s regional office here at 10 am and left around afternoon. He refused to answer questions from reporters.

The fallen IT icon was granted bail by Andhra Pradesh High Court on August 18.

Mumbai, October 5
RBI Deputy Governor, Subir Gokarn, today said that despite a decline in the rate of price rise in recent months, the current inflation situation was ‘well above the comfort zone’. “The current inflation scenario is a cause of concern, as the inflation rate persists well above the upper bound of the comfort zone,” Gokarn said in an address at the Private Equity International India Forum here.

However, he added there were ‘distinct signs’ of a deceleration in inflation in the last two months. He emphasizes that inflation rate responds to monetary policy interventions with a lag of six-months.

Inflation rate softened at 8.5 per cent for the month of August and the RBI has hiked its key rates five times this year.

RBI's monetary policy stance of seeking a balance between growth and reining-in inflation, adopted post-slowdown in October 2009 when the recovery started in the Indian economy, has been working well and the Indian economy is poised to grow at a healthy rate this year, he said.

In the last review on September 16, it raised the repo - the rate at which it lends to banks - by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent while reverse repo - the rate at which it borrows from banks - was increased by 0.50 per cent to 5 per cent.

Gokarn termed the ‘drastic action’ by RBI as an ‘unavoidable consequence’ of runaway inflation.

“An unavoidable consequence of runaway inflation, however we define it, is that drastic action by the central bank and also by the government is needed to rein it in, which is bound to disrupt the growth process,” Gokarn said.

In the last review, the RBI has "indicated that the normalisation process is now close to being complete," he said. The RBI is scheduled to announce the second quarterly review of its monetary policy on November 2.

The aspiration of a "low and stable" inflation rate is a realistic one, he said.

While demand-driven inflation shocks can be avoided by monetary and fiscal interventions, the Indian economy continues to be vulnerable to supply shocks on the food and energy fronts, he said.

Food prices are currently being driven up because affluent consumers are diversifying their dietary patterns towards proteins, away from cereals, Gokarn said.

The manufacturing sector is also witnessing a decline in inflation and there is currently no indication of the recovery stalling in industrial production, he added. — PTI

New Delhi, October 5
The country’s telecom operators adding as many as 18.18 million subscribers in August. Figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the total number of mobile users in India rose to 670.60 million. The data showed that wireless subscriber base increased from 652.42 million in July to 670.60 million by the end of August, a growth of 2.79 per cent. The growth in the wireless category was led by Vodafone, which added 2.30 million users to take its subscriber base to 113.77 million users.

The overall tele-density (telephones per 100 people) in the country touched an all time high of 59.63 per cent.

State-run operator BSNL, having lost out on the expanding market over the last year or so, saw a turn around with the addition of a whopping 2.25 million users in August.

Market leader Airtel added 2.03 million users, taking its subscriber base to 141.25 million, while Idea Cellular and Aircel added 1.98 million and 1.61 million subscribers, respectively.

Reliance Communications added two million new subscribers in August, while Tata Teleservices added 2.09 million users during the month.

Tokyo, October 5
The Bank of Japan on Tuesday pledged to pump more funds into the struggling economy and keep rates virtually at zero, surprising markets and stealing a march on the Federal Reserve in providing a fresh dose of economic stimulus.

The yen initially fell in reaction to the BOJ news, but later reversed course to be firmer against the dollar than when the BOJ news broke. For months, the central bank had eschewed government calls for more decisive action, such as buying more government bonds, focusing instead on a limited funding scheme.

But in the face of growing evidence the yen's strength was hurting the economy, the Bank of Japan carried out what Governor Masaaki Shirakawa described as "comprehensive monetary easing".

It cut its overnight rate target to a range between zero and 0.1 per cent, from 0.1 per cent, reinstating the so-called zero-interest policy that the BOJ ended only in July 2006, and it pledged to buy 5 trillion yen ($60 billion) worth of assets.

It said it would keep its benchmark rate effectively at zero until price stability is in sight, adopting a U.S. Federal Reserve-style commitment to ultra-loose policy.

Core consumer prices have been falling from year-earlier levels since early 2009 and the country has been in and out of deflation for about 15 years.

"The latest measures individually may be considered as not having a major effect, but we want to maximise the effect by implementing the steps as a package," Shirakawa told a news conference, adding that the steps have both the elements of credit easing and an expansion of fund supply. — Reuters

Washington, October 5
Microsoft is set to launch its first line of Windows Phone 7 products next week and announce which carriers and manufacturers will be making and selling handsets based on its next mobile operating system.

It's evident that AT&T is on board as one of the carriers as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega will be jointly hosting a press conference in New York Oct 11 to discuss the latest developments of Windows Phone 7, Wired magazine said.

T-Mobile is holding a separate press conference Oct 11 that is not part of the Microsoft conference, a Microsoft spokesperson said but declined to comment on whether T-Mobile would be among initial carrier partners offering Windows Phone 7.

Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's complete do-over of its mobile operating system previously dubbed Windows Mobile, the tech magazine said. Microsoft established an early lead on mobility with its older mobile operating system, but in recent years the company has suffered substantial losses in market share.

As a result, Microsoft scrapped the Windows Mobile project and redid the entire OS into a tile-based interface incorporating elements of the Zune media player and Xbox Live gaming, Wired said.

Microsoft is also tackling its competitors on the patent front. On Friday, the Redmond company sued Motorola over alleged patent infringement in its Android phones. — IANS

Bangalore, October 5
Google Inc has signed new content partnership deals with media and internet companies, including NBC Universal’s CNBC, Time Warner’s HBO and Amazon, for its proposed Google TV service.

Turner Broadcasting is working to optimise some of its websites for viewing on Google TV, including CNN and Cartoon Network, Google has said. NBC Universal will bring access to financial news television CNBC, while HBO will also provide programming.

“Amazon Video-on-demand offers access to over 75,000 titles for rental or purchase, and Netflix will offer the ability to instantly watch unlimited movies and TV shows.”

Google said it was also working with news websites like The New York Times and micro-blogging service Twitter.

Devices powered by Google TV will be launched this month and more information will be available later from Sony on its Internet TV and Logitech on its companion box, Google said. —Reuters

BRIEFLY

ICICI, HDFC hike lending rates
Mumbai: ICICI Bank on Tuesday effected a 25 basis points increase in its base rate to 7.75 per cent, a notch above its immediate rival HDFC Bank, whose revised lending rate stands at 7.50 per cent. It said the new rate will be effective Wednesday on all loans, barring fixed rates. The bank also hiked interest rates for various tenors of fixed deposits by 0.25-50 bps with effect from Wednesday. — PTI

SCI stake sale
New Delhi: The government has approved to sell 10 per cent stake in Shipping Corporation on India, raising fresh equity of 10 per cent of paid-up capital. The government also said that the disinvestment in navratna SCI is expected to fetch nearly Rs 1,300 crore. — PTI

Dell unveils ‘Streak’
Bangalore: Dell on Tuesday announced the launch of its smart phone-tablet device 'Dell Streak' in India, in association with Qualcomm and Tata DOCOMO. The Streak is designed to provide people the best 'on-the- go' entertainment, social connection, and navigation experience. The compact Dell Streak is priced at Rs 34,990. — PTI

ICICI Services
Chandigarh: ICICI Merchant Services, an alliance between First Data and ICICI Bank, on Tuesday announced an enhancement to its internet payment gateway which is designed to lead to acceptance of Maestro cards, under the MasterCard umbrella of brands, for secure transactions on the internet. — TNS

Horlicks revamped
Mumbai: FMCG major GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) has revamped its flagship Horlicks brand. The firm relaunched Horlicks as not only a health and wellness category but also as a major food and beverage brand through various promotional campaigns on digital and mobile marketing space. — PTI

Canara, Oriental JV
Chandigarh: Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Limited - a joint venture between two of India’s largest public sector banks, Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce, and HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited, has established itself amongst the top ten private life insurance players in India within 26 months of launch. — TNS