Bonjour India says France; To kick off cultural fest in December
France says Namaste to India — French style. In an effort to bring French culture to more than 18 cities in India, the Embassy of France in India and Culturefrance, have announced the launch of ‘Bonjour India — Festival of France in India’.The Bangalore chapter of the celebrations was launched in Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar by Jerome Bonnafont, the French ambassador to India on Thursday. “The French President and the Prime Minister of India have agreed on a unique partnership between India and France on the issue of global warming and sustainable development. We support it with ‘Bonjour India’ by giving the people an experience of the young, multi-coloured, cr

Over the next 5 years 1,000 German firms may invest in India
Upbeat on the second fastest growing economy in the world, about 1,000 German firms may invest in India in the next five years, the head of Baden-Wurttemberg, regarded as the most successful German state, said today."I am sure, in next five years 1,000 more companies from Germany and may be 200 from our state would be interested in investing in India," Guenther H Oettinger, the Minister- President of State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) said here.About 1,800 German firms, including Porsche, Siemens, BMW, Voith and Audi have already invested in India which is being seen as the potential German manufacturing hub for the Asian market.Indian industry and wor

No easy going for IT companies in Europe
For India’s top tech firms seeking to grow revenues from Europe in order to offset lower spend by American clients, it’s going to be Key facts on India's IT industrya long, arduous journey, said research firm Forrester on Wednesday.The US, which accounts for over half of India’s $60-billion software outsourcing industry, has traditionally been the top market for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro, among many others. However, over the past few years, Indian tech firms have been trying to mitigate their high American exposure by focusing on Europe’s $14-billion market for software and back-office services.“You cannot replicate the

One billion mobile users in India by 2015
India could have more than one billion mobile phone users by 2015, with the bulk of that growth in rural areas, one of the country's top telecom executives said on Wednesday.Manoj Kohli, chief executive of India's biggest mobile phone group Bharti Airtel, told an industry conference in Hong Kong that his firm is aiming to almost double its customer base to 200 million people in the next few years."Achieving a billion plus (Indian mobile users) by 2015 is possible," he told the Mobile Asia Congress, the region's largest telecom industry gathering."The largest growth will happen in the rural market," he said, adding that pricing wars between providers were

IT spending likely to fall 5.2% worldwide, says Gartner
The worldwide IT spending is on pace to decline 5.2 percent this year. However, the IT industry will return to growth in 2010, with IT spending forecast to total $3.3 trillion, a 3.3 percent increase from 2009, according to research firm Gartner. In Asia Pacific, IT spending is expected to grow by five percent to reach $515.6 billion in 2010.Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President at Gartner and Global Head of Research, said that this represented a fast V-shaped recovery for IT spending in the region. Emerging regions will resume strong growth, he said. By 2012, the accelerated IT spending and culturally different approach to IT in Asia will directly influence product features,