India ranks 75th in world’s best nations for business: Forbes

The list has been topped for the second year in a row by Denmark, while India has moved down from its 64th position in Forbes' annual list

New York: India has slipped 11 positions to be ranked 75th in a list of world's best countries for business, compiled by US publication Forbes, as the country lost ground in areas like trade freedom, technology, corporate tax rate and corruption.

The list has been topped for the second year in a row by Denmark, while India has moved down from its 64th position in Forbes' annual list, which ranks 127 nations on the basis of business climate in a country for entrepreneurs, investors and workers.

The US has moved up two position to be ranked second on the list. Besides, Canada and Singapore have moved up four spots each to number three and four respectively. Other countries in the top 10 this year include New Zealand, UK, Sweden, Australia, Hong Kong and Norway.

Three countries -- New Zealand, Australia and Norway -- are new to the top-ten this year, while three others -- Finland, Ireland and Switzerland -- have fallen out of this league.

"Sliding the most this year was Ireland (No. 14, down 12), which even saw plans for a Guinness mega-brewery shelved by parent Diageo as exports slowed," Forbes said, adding Uruguay, Armenia, Paraguay and Latvia also moved down considerably.

‘Meltdown an opportunity for India, Africa to deepen ties’

NEW DELHI - The current economic crisis could be a blessing in disguise for both India and Africa, according to Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.

'The current crisis is an opportunity for both India and Africa,' Sharma said here Tuesday at the valedictory session of the two-day CII-Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa project partnership.

India-Africa trade volume has increased seven-fold in the last six years from $5 billion in 2001-02 to $36 billion in 2007-08. But it was still far less than the potential, with only 8 percent of Indian exports destined for Africa, Sharma said.

India has signed trade agreements with 30 African countries, the minister said, adding that it was also exploring the possibility of comprehensive trade pacts with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), comprising Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.

The minister added that one of India's focus areas in the future cooperation would be capacity-building in Africa through educational and skill-building programmes.

Besides, India's pharmaceuticals industry could play a crucial role in coping with the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the continent.

Indian companies are already active in the drug market in Africa and the generic drugs have drastically brought down the prices of essential drugs over there, Sharma said.

A generic drug is a drug that is produced and distributed without patent protection.

He, however, warned that multinational companies were trying to pressurise countries to expand the definition of generic drugs beyond the scope of TRIPS agreement.

'The concept of generic must not be mistaken with counterfeit or pirated,' said Sharma.

The minister further stressed the importance of having enhanced cooperation between India and Africa at various multi-lateral forums.

The pan-African e-network project is an example of 'south-south cooperation', he said.

India's ambitious e-network project, which aims to link leading universities and hospitals in the country with their counterparts in 11 African nations via satellite was launched earlier this month.

'The 21st century should be one of a resurgent India and a vibrant and confident Africa,' he said.

Sharma added that both will 'try to learn from each other', with India ready to 'continue to strengthen its engagement'.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), one of the organisers of the event, and the Comesa signed an agreement for technical cooperation in the presence of the minister.

Economy staring at deflation

With Inflation At 32-Yr Low, Room For Rate Cuts

New Delhi: India is staring at deflation, or negative inflation, with the official inflation rate this week falling to 0.44%—the lowest since 1977. Food prices, however, continued to be high, with foodgrains roughly 9% costlier than a year ago, reinforcing a cruel paradox for consumers that they hear about zero inflation but face high prices when they buy their groceries.
    With the wholesale price index (WPI) falling by one point to 226.7 for the week ending March 7, 2009—the same level at which the index was on March 29, 2008—it now means the year-on-year inflation rate will become zero by the last week of March even if the index for the current year falls no further. TOI had pointed this out last Friday.
    As most commodities are becoming cheaper with every successive week in the recent past, deflation is expected to set in even before that. The rabi harvest should see a drop in foodgrain prices too, and that will only accentuate the trend.
    If deflation lasts for some time, as seems possible, it would be a new experience for India. Japan went through a decade-long deflation in the 1990s, termed as the "lost decade'' for that country. At present, most major economies are witnessing disinflation—a lowering of the inflation rate—and some have also seen deflation kicking in. Japan and China have already reported negative inflation rates in the latest data and there are signs that the US, too, could be heading the same way.
    While a fall in prices may sound like good news to most laymen, economists see this as an ominous sign of a collapse in demand in the economy. A recent Citibank report echoed this concern in the Indian context saying that the present trend of decline in inflation was not because of any improved efficiency in the economy but because of falling demand. WHAT IS DEFLATION?
A persistent decrease in general price of goods & services. It occurs when the inflation rate falls below zero and stays there for a sustained period
Why Is It Bad? Since the prices of goods are falling, consumers tend to delay purchases until they fall further. This, in turn, leads to lower production, which causes lower wages and demand, leading to further decreases in price. This is called the deflationary spiral, or vicious cycle
Even when interest rates drop close to zero, it doesn't help. Instead, it actually makes things worse as investors opt to hoard money rather than make potentially risky investments
The Great Depression of the 1930s was a deflationary spiral. More recently, Japan entered deflation in the early 1990s and only emerged after over a decade, called 'the lost decade'
Where Should
You Invest During Deflation?
Look for cos whose sales are not affected too much by prices, like giants in consumer goods, healthcare and utilities
Companies which can counter lower prices through higher value-added products or greater economies of scale
Firms with low levels of debt. Cos which had earlier taken heavy debt at high rates see their real cost of debt soar during deflation P 21 Pressure on RBI to cut rates further New Delhi: A recent Citibank report warned that the trend towards falling inflation would weaken economic activity and discourage investments, which would affect the economy in the longer term.
    The fear about investments not materialising is aggravated by the fact that nominal interest rates are at relatively high levels. When prices are falling, this means the real interest rates — the difference between the nominal rate and the rate of inflation — are becoming very high for producers, making it unviable for them to raise funds.
    Demands for the RBI to intervene to induce a further round of cuts in interest rates are bound to mount in the face of the latest data. However, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the inflation rate would rebound from its present level. While not ruling out the possibility that inflation could go into negative territory, he maintained it would last for only a few weeks. Hence, he said, it should not be termed as deflation.
    From the aam admi's point of view, what makes the situation worse is that prices of essential commodities like foodgrains are stubbornly refusing to come down.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

India growth to recover faster than world-cbank chief-BBC

Indias economic growth is expected to pick up faster than the rest of the world once a global revival begins, though it is difficult to predict when, the countrys central bank governor was quoted as saying.
In an interview with BBC World broadcast on Sunday, but taken before he left for a meeting of G20 in London, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said Asias third biggest economy could be an engine for global growth.
India can be a growth engine. Not that India can recover ahead of the world. But when recovery starts, Indias recovery is going to be sharp and rapid, Subbarao said.
In January, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth in 2009 to a slight 0.5 percent -- the weakest since World War II -- from a November estimate of 2.2 percent.
Even though Indias exports account for 14 percent of its GDP, much lower than some of its Asian peers, Subbarao said the global crisis has hit the Indian economy through the financial and manufacturing sectors, and said it was difficult to predict the timing of the recovery.
The Indian economy has slowed sharply as exports were hit and consumer sentiment was dented. It is expected to expand at a six-year low of 7.1 percent from an average rate of around 9 percent in the last three years.
Subbarao said Indias financial sector remains sound, safe and well capitalized and this was because of prudent policy actions taken by the government and the central bank.
Since the global crisis hit Indias shores in September authorities have rolled out two stimulus packages, duty and rate cuts with the latest rate cut just last week to shore up growth.
G20 finance ministers on Saturday promised the IMF money to help troubled countries and said they would use their full fiscal and monetary firepower to combat the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. .
Subbarao said India has gained from globalization and would not turn away from it.
Globalization is a double edged sword. It comes with benefits and costs so I dont think pulling out of the global system is an option for any country.

Pvt cos can redevelop even smaller cessed buildings in Mumbai

THE Maharashtra government recently cleared a guideline that will open up a huge business opportunity for redevelopment in South and Central Mumbai, considered to be among the few of the most expensive real estate markets in Asia.
    In a notification that clears the modified Development Control Regulations (DCR) 33(7) and 33(9), the government has paved the way for redevelopment of about 16,000 cessed buildings in south and central Mumbai and has allowed private developers to redevelop properties with a size below 43,000 sq ft in joint venture with Mhada or tenants/owners.
    Earlier only Mhada and the BMC were allowed to redevelop properties below the size of 43,000 sq ft. With the new guidelines in place, private developers, including Orbit Corporation, Housing Development and Infrastructure, Akruti City, Lok Housing and Unity Infra Projects, can now join hands with the state's housing authority, or their tenants and owners, to develop the properties. The prospects for such developers are also better as in a redevelopment project, the investment is comparatively low and the saleable area is about 50% of the project. In particular, Orbit Corporation, HDIL and Akruti have developed their business models focusing on redevelopment projects.
    Cessed buildings are typically old constructions wherein the tenants pay a predetermined amount to the BMC.
    The notification also stipulates an increase in the applicable floor space index (FSI) to four (from 2.5), thereby giving developers more space to develop. Said Cess Properties Developers Association president Kishore Aversekar: "The modified DCR is aimed at providing an incentive for accelerated development through the cluster approach in the urban renewal scheme and encourages development of projects through joint ventures with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, tenants and landlords and private developers."
    The modified DCR has also increased the threshold of the minimum area to be allotted to the tenants/occupants of the cessed building to 300 sq ft carpet from 225 sq ft. "It's a huge opportunity for us," Ram Yadav, finance director of Orbit Corporation, said.
    "The change in DCR 33(9) would allow us to develop at least 20 to 25 new housing societies. We are already in talks with various housing societies and tenants at the moment." Other redevelopment-focused developers, such as Shapoorji Pallonji, the Rohan group, Lodha and RNA, have initiated steps to tap the opportunity as well.
    The government has applied the eligibility criteria on the lines of the Maharashtra Slum Area (Improvement and Clearance of Redevelopment) Act, 1971 for developers and has made it compulsory for private developers to obtain the consent of at least 70% of the occupants.
    rajesh.unnikrishnan@timesgroup.com 

Real estate prices come crashing down

Rates In Some Parts Of City Drop By Half

SOME two weeks ago, Mumbai-based stock broker Ashok Samani won an auction to buy eight apartments owned by the late Harshad Mehta and his family in the posh Worli locality. Mr Samani, who put in a winning bid of Rs 32.60 crore, or Rs 26,080 per sq ft, for the apartments in the upmarket housing society, Madhuli, is pleased with the bargain.
    "I feel it's a reasonable price. Compared to prices a year ago, it's a decent buy," he says.
    Apartments in buildings of Madhuli's class were selling for Rs 38,000-40,000 per sq ft around the same time last year, about a third higher than the rate at which Mr Samani struck his deal.
    Mr Samani may be satisfied with his bargain, but a number of other potential buyers don't seem to think that the time is ripe yet for the best deals.
    In early 2008, a Rs 18-crore deal was negotiated for a 2,925 sq ft house in Delhi's upscale Defence Colony area by a builder who planned to demolish the house sitting on the land and develop apartments, hoping for a return of about 30%. Builders offer freebies, agents see prices touching 2003 levels
BUT after the downturn in the real estate market, he is trying hard to wriggle out of the deal, even at the cost of losing the Rs 50 lakh he had paid as 'token money' indicating his intention to purchase the property. "A few buyers have approached me with a price of Rs 9-10 crore, but exited mid-way," said a broker who is negotiating on behalf of the property's owner.
    As in the rest of the world, the real estate market in India is trapped in a vicious cycle of plunging prices. With the bottom nowhere in sight, potential buyers do not want to try and catch a falling knife, says Pranay Vakil, chairman, Knight Frank India, a property consultancy firm. "They are expecting a further cut in prices, while developers themselves have been dropping prices, anticipating an increase in sales volumes."
    Rajneesh Chhabra, a property broker based in south Delhi, says asking rates are down 30% from their peak, but it's still almost impossible to find a buyer. "Financiers have disappeared from the market and those dependent on bank loans do not buy property in south Delhi," he says, adding that deal volumes have shrunk by more than 95% from their peaks about a year ago. With the financial year drawing to a close this month, cash-strapped real estate developers have already cut prices by an average 40% in all their upcoming projects. "I expect prices will soon come back to the 2003-04 levels, when rates were hovering between Rs 12,000 and Rs 17,000 in upmarket areas like Malabar Hill," says Mumbai Estate Agents Association president Yashwant Dalal.
    In Malabar Hill, the most expensive home address in India, prices have fallen by a fourth to Rs 25,000-45,000 per sq ft, depending on the age of the building and amenities. Ten months ago, actor Vinod Khanna offered to pay Rs 1.25 lakh per sq ft for a 2,500 sq ft apartment in the ultra-luxury El Plazo housing society in the Hanging Gardens area of Malabar Hill.
    "Now the rates in that area (Hanging Gardens) are around Rs 70,000 to Rs 75,000 per sq ft. Similarly, in Pedder Road, rates are around Rs 45,000 per sq ft," Mr Dalal says.
    A London-based Indian national acquired a 3,475 sq ft property at NCPA Apartments in the Nariman Point area at Rs 97,842 per sq ft nearly six months ago, but rates there are almost half that now, says a south Mumbai property dealer.
    In central Mumbai's Worli and Lower Parel areas, rates are down to Rs 12,000-18,000 per sq ft, while in Bandra they have fallen by more than a fifth to Rs 15,000-25,000.
    Where price drops have been 50%, buyers appear to be showing interest.
    "We are quoting Rs 16,000 per sq ft for our new project in Lower Parel and the initial response has been positive," says Orbit Corporation finance director Ram Yadav. A year ago, property prices in this area were over Rs 35,000 per sq ft.
    Properties in the heart of the national capital on Prithviraj Road, Aurangzeb Road, Amrita Shergill Marg, Jor Bagh and Golf Links, which have seen deals involving industrialists such as LN Mittal, Naveen Jindal and GM Rao as well as film star Shah Rukh Khan, are now struggling to find buyers. A 11,250 sq ft home in Golf Links, which was purchased for Rs 70 crore, is now available for Rs 50 crore, but there are few takers.
    "Earlier, financiers used to buy homes. Now,
they neither have the money nor the hope that they will be able to sell it at a higher rate and so have just withdrawn from the market. End-users are rare and they only negotiate, but don't buy in the expectation that prices will fall further," says Neeraj Chopra, a Dwarka-based property broker.
    In India's technology capital Bangalore, prices have fallen by up to 25% in some areas, a recent Morgan Stanley report says. DLF, India's biggest real estate company, cut rates by about 30% at its upcoming project and the company sees prices falling further. Irshad Ahmed, president of Irshads Property Matters, says that in suburbs such as Whitefield, Outer Ring Road and Sarjapur Road hard bargaining can result in final prices that are 30% lower than the card rates.
    Property dealers and builders are also lining up an array of discounts and freebies to try and clinch deals. The Gateway project by developer Brigade in Malleshwaram, one of the oldest localities in town, is quoting at Rs 5,090 per sq ft against Rs 5,790 per sq ft last year. But there is scope for negotiations, depending on which flat is chosen and the mode of payment, says an official of the marketing team. Second-sale rates at Gateway are Rs 4,700-4,800 per sq ft, according to a property dealer.
    In Bangalore's downtown area, the Mantri group's upmarket Altius complex, which has only one apartment to a floor with a current market price of around Rs 14 crore, there aren't many units available for a second sale. A city broker says that since there are no other projects that open up to views of the city's lung space, Cubbon Park, the price will hold. But the number of people showing interest in buying has dropped, he adds.
    However, in the upmarket areas of Chennai there have been no considerable price drops. In Chennai's Arcot Road, Purasawakkam, Thiruvanmiyur and Valasaravakkam areas, rates still hover between Rs 4,700 and Rs 6,600, about the same a year ago, a dealer says, but prices have fallen by 20-30% in the suburbs.
    In Kolkata, prices have fallen from their peaks touched in mid-2008 and hover around levels seen at the beginning of the year. In areas such as Ballygunge Circular Road, Sunny Park and Queens Park rates, which were Rs 8,500-10,000 per sq ft in January 2008 jumped to Rs 13,000-14,000 in June-July before dropping to Rs 9,000-11,000.
    "Prices in the city's posh areas, including Ballygunge Circular Road and Queens Park, had surged because of limited supply, but they have been hit now. Areas like Prince Anwar Shah Road, Behala and Lake Town remain unaffected, as real estate prices in these areas never reached unrealistic levels," says Jitendra Khaitan, CEO of real estate consultancy Pioneer Property Management.
    Sumit Dabriwala, managing director of property developer Hiland Group, says highend residential properties, which were being sold at Rs 12,000-15,000 per sq ft last year, are averaging Rs 9,000-10,000 per sq ft now. "On an average, properties in upmarket areas have seen a 10-15 % price reduction in the premium category," he says. A few banks have cut home loan rates in recent weeks, sparking hope that sales will pick up in the quarter beginning April, rescuing the property market from its downward spiral. This could be a crucial period, as the impact of the ongoing financial crunch is expected to peak by then.
    (With inputs from J Padmapriya in Bangalore,
    Anuradha Himatsingka in Kolkata and
    Hemamalini Venkatraman in Chennai)

REDISCOVERY OF INDIA

India's homegrown startups have new competition from expats who are venturing into niche segments untapped by local entrepreneurs

THE year 2002 was a watershed in former radio presenter, war journalist and marketing professional René Seifert's life. Seifert had to leave his job as director-entertainment for Lycos Europe after the dotcom bust and used his severance package to travel the world. "It was a great chance for me to see places like Thailand, Russia and Cuba," reflects the 38-year old half-German, half-Croatian Seifert. After his whirlwind sabbatical, Seifert sat down and considered his options. Business was clearly the way to go. "India and Ireland were both emerging as global sourcing destinations, but I felt that the former had greater potential," he says.
    In July 2003, Seifert came to India and met with officials from the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, apart from local lawyers and chartered accountants to do his homework. Convinced of his decision, he launched Level 360 the same year. "I soon realised that networking is of the essence in India, especially to get through all the bureaucracy. You have to know all the right people to get your work done - and some of the wrong ones too," he chuckles. Seifert also recalls an interview with a candidate who had applied for a job, "In response to a question about his family, he just went on and on about them. I was taken aback, but soon realised that Indians put family above a lot of other things."
    Level 360 initially tried to make money by selling low-cost gold and silver jewellery on EBay to customers in Germany and the UK. The jewellery was sourced from Canada and shipped to the buyers. But in November 2004, he realised this line wasn't profitable enough. "I then looked around and wondered which of my skills and experiences I could best leverage," Seifert says, adding, "I realised that a lot of German companies could benefit from the outsourcing wave, if only someone could connect them to software vendors in India." It was an idea that clicked. Four years down the line, Level 360's 12-member team works for 25 German clients spread across sectors such as Internet and Web solutions, retail, logistics and manufacturing and has annual revenues of around a million dollars.
    Unlike Seifert, Belgian Quentin Staes-Polet, CEO and cofounder of Mumbai-based Kreeda Games, was no stranger to India. As IBM's former media and entertainment practice leader for Asia Pacific media and entertainment, Staes-Polet frequently travelled to India. "After joining IBM in 2001, I saw first-hand the emergence of telecom, broadband and mobile in India," Staes-Polet remarks. Having realised that online gaming was picking up fast and also that there was no established player in the massive multiplayer online gaming (MMOG) space in India, the idea to start Kreeda came as a flash of inspiration to Staes-Polet.
    With Ramesh Anumukonda (now Kreeda's chief gaming officer) and Robin Alter (Kreeda's CTO), both former IBM consultants in tow, Staes-Polet started Kreeda in Mumbai in August 2006. "Between us, we had the technical skills like game creation, marketing and finance. We chose Mumbai, as it is the media and entertainment hub of the country," he reveals. Staes-Polet used his contacts to obtain funding from two VCs, SoftBank China & India Holdings and IDG Ventures India. The two funds collectively hold under 50% stake in Kreeda.
    Kreeda's first product was DanceMela, a multiplayer online dancing-cum-social networking game which was free for users. The original game was developed by a Chinese firm, 9You. Kreeda licensed the game from 9You, localised the content and characters and launched it in India. "We couldn't develop the game ourselves, because that is a lengthy process that costs millions of dollars. Plus we don't see that kind of talent here in India," he says. Though a recent FICCI-KPMG study states that the gaming sector, led by online games, is growing at 33 % and is estimated to touch Rs 2740 crore by 2013, from Rs 650 crore in 2008, the market in India is still led by gaming over LAN networks in tiny cyber cafes. Rues Staes-Polet, "The biggest barrier is that the PCs here are generally old and slow. On top of that, the Internet bandwidth isnt conducive to large online games either. And when you have a hetereogenous target audience, that's bound to affect usage too."
    In the last two-and-a-half years, Kreeda has got about 100,000 registered users. However, the largest chunk of Kreeda's revenues currently comes from lighter online games that they develop for foreign clients. However, if things pan out right, Kreeda plans to enter the mobile gaming space in some time.
    Brian Choudhary and Giuseppe Mozzillo met in 2004, while studying at the London School of Economics (LSE). When Choudhary learnt that Mozzillo's extended family had been in the cheesemaking business in Italy for centuries, he wanted to visit his village to know more. "I saw how different cheeses were produced and the thought struck me that we could do this in India," he says. Choudhary, with Indian and Serbian parents, had already seen quite a bit of India since his childhood. But though the duo was enthusiastic about the proposed venture, it wasn't until 2008 that Exito Gourmet, their Panchkula-based company was born.
    "Both of us were working regular jobs for those three years—I, in New York and Giuseppe in Spain. During that time, Giuseppe met Jorge Tapia Chavero, a lawyer who also wanted to come on board. But in 2004, the laws on foreign direct investment in the food processing sector were unfavourable and we had to wait a while until they were eased by the Indian government," Choudhary says.
    The Indian market was emerging slowly as awareness about different kinds of cheese grew. However, Indians are sensitive—and somewhat entrenched—in the views on milk products. "It was a risk," Choudhary agrees, "But we still decided to go ahead." In June 2008, the trio came to India and met Puneet Gupta, an Indian importer of cheese. Since he knew the Indian market well, Gupta joined Exito Gourmet as CEO. Choudhary himself handles the role of CFO. The total initial investment that went into the company was over Rs. 10 crores.
    One of the earliest issues was getting all the necessary permits. "You have all kinds of food production and industrial permits to get, and the process was a long one." Recreating the flavour of authentic Italian cheese in India was also a challenge. "We put a big premium on the quality of milk we bought from our local suppliers," Choudhary reveals. Producing approximately 20-30 tonnes of eight different kinds of cheese (annualised) at present, Exito Gourmet aims to produce around 100 tonnes a year soon. Their clients consist of five star hotels and restaurants.
    French airman Roger Langbour was posted at the French Embassy's administrative wing in the seventies. But when he retired in 1975, he didn't leave India. He married an Indian in 1981 and tried setting up a business of his own. By 1992, he had tried his hand at many different things, including handicraft exports, which didn't work too well. "You have to have the feel for a business. If you don't, then you shouldn't do it," he says. That's when he decided what he wanted to do—sell organic poultry and vegetables to hotels in India. This was an area that was yet untapped.
    India had just started opening up and new affluence brought fresh demand. "I started at a small, crowded place behind Palam Airport in New Delhi. After starting, I went back to France for a while to learn new techniques of poultry farming and breeding at the famous Vendee farms," he recalls. As an air force man, Langbour wasn't equipped to be on a farm, but he learnt. He also improved his English in the meantime by going to the UK and learning the language. "When you want to do something on your own, you have to make the effort," he adds.
    Langbour's French Farm specialises in rearing Muscovy and Peking ducks, apart from quail, rainbow chicken, turkeys and pigs which go to leading five star hotels in the country as well as to expats, embassies and individual customers. Langbour bought his current 3-acre farm, which is beyond Manesar in the NCR in 1994. "I got the land along with Francis Wacziarg of Neemrana Hotels. I took three acres and he bought the other 4.5 acres of the total land I was offered," he says.
    Looking back at his journey, Langbour says he really didn't have to compete with anyone. "No one was doing what I was doing and so I had an advantage," he says. But working with hotels, he says, is a difficult task. "They don't pay on time, but they want the best possible quality at the lowest prices. And there is rampant corruption," he explains. Nevertheless, his business has moved from just offering poultry and pigs to also growing organic vegetables, but that is only for private customers. French Farm's turnover is now over Rs 1 crore.
    Chris Baker, 45, came to India from the UK five years ago to join an MNC real estate firm. Though he always harboured entrepreneurial ambitions, it was a sudden turn of fate that made him take the plunge. After quitting his job nine months ago, Baker found employment with a real estate consortium as senior vice president. However, the consortium is yet to start operations in the country. Baker, who lives in Bangalore with his wife, started bangalore buddy.com, late last year, just before the meltdown hit India. This site aims to be a one-stop shop for expat travellers, and has a dedicated team of writers who are carefully chosen to review and rate various places in town, like hotels, restaurants and weekend getaways. Bangalorebuddy claims to have around 1,500 registered users.
Baker invested Rs 20 lakhs to get the team going and get the website started last year in November. The revenue is coming in from service providers, like hotel chains, who are paying to get listed on the site. However, the site had to reduce its prices after the downturn hit the hospitality sector. The registration fee is now at Rs. 20,000, down from Rs. 25,000. Baker is now looking for investments from VC funds. "Since we are already earning revenues, and growing at around 100%, I am optimistic of securing funding. We also plan to hire 160 people in the next two years."
    The recession has not deterred Ema Trinidad, a US-settled native of the Philippines, from starting off a new antiageing clinic called S2 at Indiranagar in Bangalore. "The beauty business is recession-proof," says Trinidad. Prior to starting her clinic five months ago, she was a global supplier for a US-based cosmetic product company. In the next two years, Trinidad plans to earn Rs 20 lakhs a month from this one centre alone, and is already seeing high-status women queuing up at her doors. Charging anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 per sitting, S2 is targeting an elite audience with its first outlet. Two more outlets in Mumbai will start by 2010.
    For both Baker and Trinidad, the going has not been smooth. One of Baker's biggest priorities was sending his son to study abroad. This, at a time when he was coping with the uncertainty surrounding his new job. For Ema, launching S2 slam-bang in the middle of recession and locating full time to Bangalore was a challenge. But they still persevere, for the Great Indian Dream is more powerful than perhaps we ourselves realise.

Roger Langbour French Farm

Ema Trinidad S2

Michele Pavienta and Giuseppe Mozzillo
Exito Gourmet

Rene Seifert Level 360

India to remain among top outsourcing destinations: Moody’s

India's outsourcing industry will certainly be hurt by this global downturn, as demand for IT support or telemarketing has weakened significantly in recent months
New Delhi: At a time when US President Barack Obama is coming down heavily on outsourcing, global financial firm Moody's has said India will remain a top outsourcing destination.

"India will remain a top outsourcing destination because of its tech-savvy and English-proficient urban workforce whose wages are much lower than their western counterparts," Moody's economy.com economist Sherman Chan said.

Sherman further said that India's outsourcing industry will certainly be hurt by this global downturn, as demand for IT support or telemarketing has weakened significantly in recent months.

However, it will recover well after the global economy rebounds, though the recovery is expected to be gradual as businesses will remain cautious with investment plans, she added.

In his first address to the joint session of the US Congress last month, Obama had stated his administration would end tax breaks for corporations that ship the US jobs overseas.

On asked whether increase in protectionism of the domestic industry in the US and the developed countries is hitting the Indian outsourcing badly, Sherman said, "I don't think businesses leave India mainly because of protectionist sentiment."

"A more likely reason is that activity is being scaled back in the light of a slowing global economy," she added.

The $40 billion Indian software and BPO export industry, mainly driven by outsourcing, draws 60% of its revenues from the US.