Gunjan Bagla, a presenter in the ICA Institute's Tap into Chindia Global Virtual Seminar Series, offers expert advice in his new book.

Tata Sons, Ltd. Executive Director, R. Gopalakrishnan calls Doing Business in 21st Century India "A refreshingly simple book on a very complex subject."

Doing Business in 21st Century India is packed with everything business leaders need to know in order to understand and succeed in this emerging market, including:
· An overview of the most promising sectors which every investor will want to read
· Guidance on navigating the often complicated laws, rules and regulations
· The keys to understanding important cultural differences
· Essential advice on sales and marketing in the region
· Relevant background and history
· Numerous supporting examples and interviews with top professionals in India

Doing Business in 21st Century India is available at fine booksellers everywhere and online at Amazon.com, www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com or at www.amritt.com

Opening Ceremony: The hottest show in town(Chicago Tribune, Aug 8)
A billion Chinese DO care. Under a blue-gray-black-white-brown August sky, the People's Republic of China put on a marvel-arts show here on the eighth day of the eighth month of the year 2008. It was a five-ring Olympic circus under the stars, even if the stars were scarcely visible through an every- hue-but-purple haze. How they did what they did, who can say? Ancient Chinese secret. What I can tell you for sure is, the opening hour of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics bent the mind and stretched the imagination. It was a floor show that made the most spectacular revue in Las Vegas look like a church picnic, and it was a privilege to see it in person.

UNICEF Report says China, India Hold Key to Asia Sustaining Improved Child Survival Rates(Voice of America, Aug 5)
The report, released by the United Nations Childrens Fund says Asia Pacific's buoyant economic growth of the past decade has been a key contributor to reducing infant and child mortality rates across the region. Anupama Rao Singh, UNICEF regional director, says the report notes progress over the past two decades, although there are signs gains have slowed over recent years. In 1970 the annual number of under five deaths was 10.5 million. By 1990 this figure fell to 6.7 million. By 2006 this had declined to four million deaths.

Terror strike puts China on alert. (The Australian, 5 August 2008)
The lead-up to the Beijing Olympic Games exploded into violence yesterday when two suspected terrorists killed 16 police in China's northwest. In the country's worst terrorist incident in a decade, the attack on a border police office in the city of Kashgar in Muslim- dominated Xinjiang region was a grave blow against the Chinese security forces four days before the opening of the Games. There was also violence in Beijing when two dozen people evicted from their homes to make way for upmarket developments clashed with police.

Rudd makes right move in supporting New Delhi deal. (The Australian, 4 August 2008)
Analysis by Greg Sheridan. The Rudd Government crossed a hugely significant Rubicon when it instructed the Australian member of the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency to support the special inspections arrangement needed to approve the US-India nuclear deal.Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has also indicated that Australia will support the deal at the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which meets on August 21 and 22. If the NSG is able to ratify the deal in one meeting, it could get approval by the US Congress, and final ratification by the Indian parliament, before November.

Ticket scam websites shut down (Sydney Morning Herald, 5 August 2008)
Olympic officials have apparently succeeded in convincing US federal courts to shut down two websites selling Beijing Olympic tickets that turned out to be fakes. The sites, beijingticketing.com and beijing-tickets2008.com were inaccessible this morning. The International Olympic Committee and the US Olympic Committee had previously said they would ask a federal judge in San Francisco on Monday for an order that would shut the sites down.

Opinion
Entrepreneurs shouldn't overlook India, Asia's other emerging giant (The Australian, 1 August 2008)
Opinion by Adam Lewis. Amid uncertainties about the global economy, China and India keep forging ahead. In Australia it is not surprising there is more awareness of China than India, as China is one of our largest trading partners. India, however, presents opportunities that will be more important for some Australian companies.

Imperial Energy rallies on China-India bid battle(Market Watch, Aug 4)
Shares of London-listed, Russian oil producer Imperial Energy rallied on Monday on the prospect of a bidding battle between Chinese and Indian state- owned oil producers, as both countries seek out energy supplies to feed their ravenous energy demands.

China Weighs Best Time to Buy Oil(WSJ, Aug 8)
China plans to continue expanding its emergency oil reserves but is still weighing the best time to buy, despite falling prices. And while oil prices are expected to fall even further, they are still high, and China doesn't seem to be in any rush to buy. "We think it's an important part of our broader energy- security strategy, so we're pushing ahead," a senior official at China's National Energy Administration said Thursday, referring to oil reserves.

One Laptop per Child Expands Presence in Asia Region(Market Watch, Aug 6)
One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a non-profit organization focused on providing educational tools to help children in developing countries "learn learning," is strengthening its presence in Asia with the appointments of Anthony S K Wong as President of OLPC China and Satish Jha as President of OLPC India. "With 40 percent of the world's children located in China and India, these two countries are obviously important targets for OLPC," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of One Laptop per Child. "Tony Wong and Satish Jha both bring tremendous experience to the goal of expanding OLPC's penetration in Asia and we look forward to their contributions to our progress."

Nokia to invest $75 mn in India(DNA India, Aug 6)
Finish telecom giant Nokia said on Wednesday that it would invest USD 75 million more in its Indian operations in the current year, as part of the USD 150 million plan to tap opportunities in India and China. "Nokia so far invested USD 215 million in Nokia Telecom SEZ in Chennai. This year the investment from the company would be USD 75 million," Nokia India VP and managing director D Shivakumar said here today on the sidelines of ICT-East 2008.

India to sign MoU with Canada, Botswana in agricultural sector (The Economic Times, Aug 8)
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for signing of a MoU between India and Canada on cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. The MoU will promote bilateral cooperation through knowledge exchange on emerging technologies, agricultural marketing and animal development.

Soybean Meal Drops as India Says Exports May Increase to Record (Bloomberg, Aug 8)
Soybean meal in Chicago slumped after India, Asia's biggest supplier of the livestock feed, said it may ship a record quantity next year after rain in the biggest growing regions encouraged increased soybean planting. Exports of meal in the year starting October may surpass the 5 million metric ton estimate for this year, the Soybean Processors Association of India said. Record prices of wheat, rice and corn spurred increased plantings this year from Australia to the U.S., helping ease a global food shortage.

India's first bio-diesel pump to start in September (The Times of India, Aug 8)
In winter 2005, Chief Minister Narendra Modi was at the Gujarat Agriculture University campus in Navsari, riding a tractor with a difference - it ran on bio-diesel. Come September, that bio-diesel will be available at a pump for the first time in India.

Aokang opens first manufacturing facility in India (The Economic Times, July 28)
Chinese footwear major Aokang international today commissioned its first manufacturing facility in the country with a production capacity of 200 pairs of shoes per day.

Key China manufacturing hub denies factory exodus (Reuters India, July 30)
Dongguan, a key manufacturing centre in southern China where factories have come under severe cost pressure, has denied that firms are going belly up or leaving in droves after reports of an exodus.

China's Export Trade Impacts Climate (Science Daily, July 30)
Carnegie Mellon University's Christopher L. Weber argues that China's new title as the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter is at least partly due to consumption of Chinese goods in the West.

India's climate change action plan (The Economic Times, July 29)
India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), eagerly awaited by environmentalists, has been unveiled recently by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. China and other fast developing economies too have come out with their action plans.

Australia debates selling uranium to India to combat climate change (Thaindian News, July 30)
Nuclear power has to be an option if Australia has to meet its targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, believe many in Australia's opposition Liberal Party, with at least one frontbencher adding Australia "can and must export uranium to India" for the same purpose of combating climate change.

China's Top Innovator Baidu (The Wall Street Journal, July 25)
China's reputation for innovation has suffered a blow because of its output of fake medicine, pirated movies, unsafe food and shoddy toys. Yet the nation that invented gunpowder, paper, movable type and a basic compass is home to companies that offer surprisingly inventive products and services to the world's biggest consumer- product market by population as well as overseas.

'Service, product innovation in MF a must' (Sify India, July 30)
India's mutual fund market is booming, with new players and financial products entering the market. Existing players are introducing new investment avenues and innovations in existing schemes - the latest being facilities for free insurance. Service innovations include gold exchange traded funds, capital protection funds and funds focussing on real estate.

China sees 36% decline in food poisoning cases in Q2 (Xinhua, July 30)
There were 97 reported mass cases of food poisoning in China in the second quarter, down 35.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Health.

Frankincense may be used as arthritis drug (The Telegraph, July 29)
Researchers have found that a treatment that contains an extract from Indian frankincense improved symptoms in people with osteoarthritis. Compared to a dummy drug the patients with mild to moderate arthritis taking the treatment reported less pain and better mobility after just seven days.

1st "traditional Chinese Medicine Week" opens in London (Xinhua, July 29)
The first Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Week in Britain, aimed at introducing the development and principles of TCM to the British people through seminars and exhibitions, opened at the Royal Society of Medicine here Monday.

Logistics companies learn to move beyond vanilla services (LiveMint, July 28)
As more companies have started looking at giving their entire supplies' order to logistics firms, for instance, a few of them have started providing post- manufacturing services.

China's logistics industry at the crossroads (China Daily, July 28)
To borrow a well-worn cliche, this is the worst of times and the best of times for China's logistics industry. Rising fuel and labor costs are cutting deep into the earnings of many transportation companies, their problems compounded by falling demand because of the slowdown in export growth.

Publisher: L. Roxanne Russell
Editor of Academic Resources: Dr. S.V. Char
Co-Editor: Abhijit Agrawal
Co-Editor: RJ Paulsick