Appreciation of the rupee against the dollar, new headache for government

New Delhi, Sep 20, 2007. - Despite today initialed rapid appreciation against the dollar three decades, the Government views with concern the rapid rise of the rupee, which represents a danger for exporters and threatening the trade balance.
The Indian currency today broke the symbolic barrier of 40 rupees per dollar and closed at 39.91, a figure that is used to cap a rise above 10 percent since September 2006.
Guided by the strength of the Indian economy, the currency appreciation against the dollar in the past two days lies in part in the decision of the Federal Reserve to cut a half point in interest rates.
This measure, according to several experts in the market, could lead to new capital inflows on the floor Indian, because investors prefer to invest in higher-yielding currencies, such as the rupee.
"The rupee shows we have grown. Is the market that pushes and more market trust in the judgments of the Indian central bank or the finance minister, "said the consultant a few days ago Mecklai Jamal told the newspaper" The Times of India ".
The strength of the Indian currency and a weak dollar have caused an appreciation of the rupee by more than 10 percent in the last six months, the biggest increase in three decades.
But not only grows the rupee against the dollar between January and May this year, the value of Indian currency increased by 8 percent against the pound, 6.9 against the euro and 11.2 percent from the yen, detectable, however, cause headaches for Indian exporters.
Despite the pride of some investors, a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) showed that 80 percent of exporters complained the appreciation of the currency, leaving them in a situation "very competitive".
The Government announced in July an aid package of Rs 14,000 million to help mitigate its effects, but this has not served to reduce their "concern" about the state of exports and rising trade deficit.
"Exports are an engine of growth and we must ensure that growth is not affected," he said about the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath, who refused today to revise down export forecast for this year, fixed at 160,000 million dollars.
But a government source who requested anonymity ahead of last July and that the goal is not only fulfilled, but also the appreciation of the rupee threatens 275,000 jobs.
"With an exchange rate of 40 rupees per dollar, try to keep the export figure of last year. Our best bet would be around 140,000 million dollars, "he said.
In their mad dash against the dollar, the rupee also has the support of the Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange, surpassing Wednesday for the first time the 16,000 points with a high rise in one day (653 points).
Most Asian currencies have risen against the dollar these days, but the rupee appreciation has the highest recorded in recent years, behind only the Brazilian real.
"In the past, transaction costs and lack of good infrastructure, coupled with limited government support for exporters, have threatened their benefits," said ASSOCHAM President, Venugopal N. Dhoot, the Indian agency IANS.
Now, with the fields of jewelry, furs and textiles (whose exports fell by 25-40 percent in April and May) suffering the effects of a strong rupee, exporters appear to have a new problem.
While the export business experience, however there who takes advantage of the new situation: tour operators and consumers.
"More and more Indians traveling abroad. Prices of package tours abroad have fallen 10 percent, "he told" The Times of India "one of the leaders in the industry.
And waiting for the strong rupee reduce prices of imported products, consumers in the new middle class are prepared to fill their houses Japanese televisions, phones and computers European Americans.

Proud India celebrates the 8 Oscar for a film with pending court case

New Delhi, February 23, 2009. - A proud India today celebrates eight Oscars obtained for the film "Slumdog Millionaire," praised by politicians and well received by the Indian public but a court case pending for its title "demeaning" to slum dwellers.
"It's a blessing from Allah and His is the credit," said Chennai (South) AR Rehana just know that his brother, the Indian AR Rahman, won two of the coveted statuettes, according to the Indian agencies.
Rahman's family left his home in the Kodambakkam district of the city and handed out pieces of a pie to passersby while 10,000 fans threw firecrackers copyright and other parts of the country multiplied by the party's great victory " Slumdog. "
Dubbed the "Mozart of Chennai", Rahman won the Oscar for Best Original Score and Best Song, the latter shared with lyricist Gulzar, while the sound engineer Resul Pookutty India completed the trio with his Oscar for best mix sound.
Three of the eight Oscars for "Slumdog" are both clear Indian flavor and are the most celebrated by the media in the country.
Television channels have left to spend the tonillos of the winning song "Jai ho" with canned testimonials, profiles and stories of Indian protagonists of the film, which has aroused emotions in the country.
The critical influence that is an example of "pornography of poverty" and even some have taken to court those responsible to withdraw the title the word "dog" ("dog"), considered demeaning. The next hearing of the case in a court of Patna (north) will be held tomorrow.
"It is not appropriate to call them dogs, is a word that is not good in our culture," the engineer told Efe RPBansal delhi, who expressed his satisfaction for the victory at the Oscars.
The student Mehar Jabeen was expressed in the opposite direction and praised the film show the world "there are people in India living like animals," while another part of society does in luxury.
Despite the legal complaint and controversy that the premiere of "Slumdog" broke out in India, where some representatives of Bollywood protested obscene exposure of misery in the country, obtained the Oscars have been received with pride by the political class, starting with Sonia Gandhi.
"His achievement is a tribute to the Indian film industry, which is a multi-disciplinary talent pool ... The winners that India is proud," he said in a statement Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The positive reaction of the authorities went so far that the head of the Government of New Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, approved a tax-free distribution for the film because he "made history in the field of Indian cinema."
Even the icon of Bollywood cinema, Amitabh Bachchan, the first to speak out against the film, today congratulated his colleagues rewarded for achieving "international recognition for Indian film talent." "This is the happiest day for Indians and the industry," he proclaimed, according to IANS.
"Slumdog Millionaire" ("slum dog Millionaire") tells the story of a boy from the slums of Bombay is done with the top prize in the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".
Although directed, written and produced by British, the film was shot in India with mostly players from their own country and a soundtrack of clear resonances hindostánicas, the work of the leading composers in the industry.
"No wonder you have obtained the honor (...). Rahman is an internationally recognized talent and Oscar bring world attention to your music and all the Indian movies, "he told IANS agency known lyricist Javed Akhtar on.
Rahman, Gulzar and Pookutty join the list of Indians win an Oscar Bhanu Athaiya, responsible for costumes in the movie "Gandhi" (1982), and best director in the history of India, Satyajit Ray, who earned a honorary Oscar in 1992.
Today, the reasons were twofold celebration cinephile community for india: the Oscar for best documentary went to "Smile Pinky", a story shot in Varanasi (North) which has the fight against discrimination of an Indian girl suffering from cleft lip and also received the official congratulations.

Slumdog Millionaire, America in Bombay

"Slumdog Millionaire" is the American dream in the streets of Bombay. "I want the best of both worlds." The phrase is one of the Indians winning Academy Awards, AR Rahman, who also won two awards: Best Original Score and Best Song. The two worlds are India and the West, and their relationship has been fastened with "Slumdog Millionaire" director, screenwriter and producer are British. Most of the actors and the stage are purely Indian. The eight Oscars that won the film have given way to criticism of all signs and, in India, to the fever of the middle class, which considers the protagonists heroes because he understands his success as though money was English. Reflection of the Indian desire for recognition abroad.

"National pride has taken a different pose: 'India has finally done something on the world stage'. One wonders why the world stage we care so much. Each portrait of India is regarded with suspicion paranoid eyes. Anything with Indian flavor you get an award is immediately taken as a matter of national pride, "writes today one of many press commentators.

In India, "Slumdog Millionaire", for his argument that looks fantastic, easily passed the actual discourse and everyday life. It is a country full of children as Latika and Jamal, kids who work hard to survive and do not always succeed. The reality of the slums has been widely documented and obvious in any tourist trip, but paradoxically the Indian cinema, much more interested in portraying the growing luxury as a way of escapism, has excluded from the screens to their dirty players. In fact, the main criticism he has received the film in the country accused the film of "making pornography of poverty."

This criticism follows a nationalist reaction against foreign interference. It has been a constant in history, starting with the very Mahatma Gandhi, when he called a "report of inspector of sewers" a 1927 book published by the American Katherine Mayo and considered offensive against Indian culture. Most of the national scribes applauded and still is the reaction of Gandhi and want to justify that India is more than misery and that the West has to look to the country with poor or partial eyes.

On the one hand, the Indian elite had better take seriously the criticisms: 80 years have passed, and there are witnesses the slumdogs. But there is some truth to the Indians who accuse Westerners of focusing on poverty and ignore the many signs of change that India is experiencing in recent years. Traditionally, the visions of the West on this continent have been marked by four prejudice, according to Harold Isaac: first, an India of maharajas and exotic wizards, two, a mystical contemplative religious sadhus, thirdly, devotion and worship of gods of many heads, and, finally, India pathetic: children with swollen bellies who die abandoned in the streets.

All of them are still alive in the Western subconscious. India also add one fifth that has been incorporated successfully in "Slumdog Millionaire": the globalized country, with its customer care centers Western, beautiful class of Bombay, its luxury competition ranks first dreams and squander their wealth posh neighborhoods. India is the fifth and his confrontation with the traditional call it "India (urban middle class is easily stated in English) from Bharat (country name in Hindi: the lower classes and rural life of ancient customs and miserable).

In the slums, religious instability, latrines and garbage collectors, police torture, child trafficking and poverty of Bharat, the film comes to expensive cars, the mansions of the rich (not always in the hands of the Mafia) , designer clothes and elegant costumes of TV, ready to copy Western models. The rise of Jamal and Latika picaresque is a journey from Bharat to India, two blocks of different real-force-perhaps with a more fluid transitions and relationships in large cities than in rural areas.

But the real issue is that "Slumdog Millionaire" is cinema. No one would ever fly a serious analysis of America only with the vision that transmits Hollywood films. Why do it then with India, a country that is almost a continent?

To make possible the story of Jamal and Latika, the writer draws on classical topics in the West, a history marked by the American dream through hard work and a little luck the sky is the limit. "Here's a little of the real America, small. Money. " A dream that India has few exponents, because society is still far less permeable and is marked by almost unbridgeable gaps of caste, religion, language, social class or region. Very bizarre has to be the true story of Jamal, a poor Muslim from Bombay, to start working as a tour guide in Agra, serve tea in a call center or to speak with fluency in English for a game show. No problem for that is Hollywood.

"I want the best of both worlds." And "Slumdog Millionaire" is placed over the gap between India and Bharat, a crucial crossroads to bring a story understandable to Western viewers. Any movie has some artifact: unlike Bollywood, attempts to concentrate the Western canon over a story about two hours under a veneer of plausibility. The question is not so much that its protagonists are real, but to show that they could be: one that manages to connect Jamal from the slums of India with the contests.

Before the rain of Oscars, "Slumdog Millionaire" got a good collection in India, but without reaching the levels of the highest grossing U.S. film "Spiderman 3". After the ceremony, most politicians have been quick to send his congratulations to the team India and some regions have even allowed the tax-free distribution of the film "to create history in Indian cinema." The accusations of "pornography of poverty" has been diluted as a sugar and heroes of Slumdog have gone to the official with an ease impossible for any "sewer inspector's report."

That is, the film has been accepted because although it shows the misery of his message is benign suburbs and the hero manages to rise above all despite the difficulties. The American Dream underpins a bridge between India and Bharat is still in embryo in much of the country.

"An Indian of 45 years knows he is not rich. But if you know your child might be, it already acts as a motivation. I think we should judge ourselves by how much social mobility are able to provide. It really is an old Indian dream, but perhaps we're seeing now, "he says in an interview the head of the powerful Planning Commission of India, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

In the real India proliferate television contests as a gateway to a better life, but the language barriers of caste or community or prevent the dream is as American Indian. Also, always has been repeated here that the Indians are very permeable to the rules and they are much to the example, as shown in the figure itself of Gandhi. The state, despite its gigantic bureaucracy (perhaps because of it) is unable to dispose of everyday problems and serious citizens, let alone to give welfare to its population. So in many places, people assume the role of the state and build parks, roads and cities.

Proof of this is the story of Dasrath Manjhi, the "symbol of resistance." The village of Manjhi was isolated in the mountains of impoverished Bihar (north), so we had to travel long distances to obtain food or water. One day the wife of Manjhi slipped while crossing a mountain. And then Manjhi decided enough was enough. He took a hammer and chisel and alone, with his own hands, started digging a road in the mountains.

He built a hut with the work to spend less time and did not stop even though people considered him crazy. For 22 years, Manjhi excavated solo and unaided to the people of his town could use the road through the mountains, 100 meters long and 10 wide.

Manjhi died of cancer in 2007 without state recognition, but with a broad appreciation of the local people and much of society: children of his people can finally study and careers that were once 50 miles now ten. Perhaps the greatest achievement of Manjhi has been the force of his example. This week it was learned that a group of villagers in Kaimur district in the same region, is building another road six miles from the mountains to find his young "bride".

This is just one example of how things work in the lives of most Indians. But for once, the two children, slum dwellers of the movie actors (characters Latika and Salim children's) have been lucky: the American dream advocated by "Slumdog Millionaire" really going to be met for them, because the Government has Mahararashtra promised to give to their families two apartments that will allow them to leave the slums where they live.

"Here it is so hot and so many mosquitoes. It takes me hours to fall asleep. "He said Azhar, the boy who plays the role of Selim, on his return from Hollywood to his shack. His father, ill with tuberculosis and unable to work, slapped him for refusing to grant an interview. And Rubina Ali (little Latika), now claims his mother, who had left home five years ago. Rubina and Azhar will have new home, but their lives now belong to the cinema and will be sleeping. Other slumdogs not so lucky.

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India and Pakistan demands extradition proposed a joint investigation

New Delhi, December 2, 2008. - After ruling that you are considering the military option, India demanded Pakistan today the delivery of a dozen suspected terrorists and this country has proposed a joint investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
The two countries continued today by measuring their disagreements, in an escalation of tension in which intervene morning Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who moves to New Delhi and, according to unconfirmed reports, also in Islamabad.
"The international community supports us, including the new President-elect Barack Obama," proclaimed the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, noting that his country is awaiting Pakistan's response to their demands.
"Nobody is talking of military action," reassured the minister, told reporters during the inauguration of the India-Arab Forum, according to the Indian agencies.
His Government was last night summoned the Pakistani ambassador in India, Shahid Malik, to deliver a formal protest by the involvement of "elements from Pakistan" in the Mumbai attacks.
Through Malik, Indian authorities demanded that Pakistan "strong action" against those elements and called for the delivery of a score of "fugitives under the laws of India who have settled in Pakistan," Mukherjee said today.
Among the "fugitives" demanded by India is the gangster allegedly responsible for the attacks in Bombay in 1993, Dawood Ibrahim, and the leaders of the Kashmiri groups Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Mohamed Said, and Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM), Masood Azhar.
"We made ​​the request on Monday. We are awaiting a response from Pakistan, "Mukherjee said, adding:" what is going to do, time will tell. "
It still react to that specific request, his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, today offered India the creation of a joint commission to investigate the Mumbai attacks, but insisted that his neighbor did not return to Pakistan without foundation.
The Pakistani national and alleged terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba (a group that fights for the annexation of Kashmir to Pakistan and is based in this country) have led to the Indian media to point to the Administration responsible Pakistani what this country "strongly refutes" according to Qureshi.
According to research, a terrorist sailed from the Pakistani port city of Karachi and from there sailed off to reach the Indian city of Bombay and its tremendous launch attacks that left 188 dead last week.
In a statement, Qureshi said he had transferred his joint research proposal to a group of diplomats in Islamabad, to whom he reiterated his Government's intention to cooperate to "bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous terrorist act."
The joint commission proposed by Pakistan, according to Qureshi, would be chaired by national security advisers of both countries and would meet "as soon as possible to exchange information" over the attack.
For such cooperation, Qureshi said the need for both countries to avoid falling into the "blame game and hostile propaganda", which will benefit the terrorists.
What to do India and Pakistan, the minister said Pakistan is to continue the dialogue process initiated in 2004, which in his opinion is helping to make "significant progress" in strengthening mutual trust.
In fact, Qureshi had met Mukherjee in India shortly before the start of the Mumbai attacks, which forced him to cut short his official visit.
And while Mukherjee ruled out the use of military action, Qureshi assured about the same time in a televised address to the nation that the Pakistani army is "fully capable" of defending its borders.

Indian forces besiege two hotels and a religious center to free hostages

New Delhi, November 27, 2008. - Security forces surround today two hotels and a religious center in the Indian city of Mumbai to free hostages still held by several terrorist attacks after last night caused 101 deaths.
Both the Taj and the Oberoi, two luxury establishments, were the scene of several shootings, while the Indian television speculated the unlikely beginning of a rescue operation. Third place in the presence of terrorists and hostages is the Nariman House, a popular Jewish center of the city.
The head of regional government, Vilasrao Deshmukh, has acknowledged that the situation is "serious" and still not under control, so its Executive has declared a curfew in the city center and has ordered a warrant for civil public.
Moreover, neither the University nor the Exchange nor schools have opened their doors in the city, considered the financial capital of India.
"This is a bold attack. It is a very serious situation and there are shootings in at least three places, "said Deshmukh.
More than 12 hours after an unknown number of terrorists still initiate a series of attacks on different parts of the Indian city landmark, the police has only specified that the attackers came by boat to the Gateway of India monument.
Several security videos captured images of some offenders, young men in black shirts, and the first shootings, recorded last night in hotels, bars and restaurants and the Victoria Terminus railway station.
The action was claimed by an unknown Islamic group, Deccan Mujahedeen, although a similar name to other organizations had carried out attacks in recent months in other parts of India.
According to the NDTV television channel, the police have arrested nine people after the attacks, while five terrorists have been killed in the operations of security forces, which so far have suffered 14 casualties.
One of the dead is the head of the anti-terrorist brigade of the city, Hemant Kalkare, who in recent weeks had become popular for its investigation into a bomb attack by Hindu extremists work.
Meanwhile, the area around the Taj and Oberoi hotels is virtually taken for hundreds of soldiers, police officers and commandos, who have asked broadcasters to cease transmissions to avoid hampering the rescue operation.
The Taj hotel during the night suffered a fire that is already controlled, although the morning an explosion occurred on the top floor, where it is believed that the terrorists are holding several hostages, some of them foreigners.
So far, no one knows how many foreigners have died in the attacks, though at least one woman died during the assault on the Taj hotel, the agency said India IANS.
"The terrorists have fired indiscriminately," said the director general of Maharashtra Police, AN Roy.
The Spanish consul in Bombay, Cesar Alba Fuster, told Efe by phone how he escaped the bullets in the Oberoi hotel where the delegation accompanying the president of the community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre.
"We heard explosions, but were told they were firecrackers wedding, common at this time. But then people started running, the noise intensified and a bullet struck near us, "he said.
The authorities have issued a nationwide alert and the Indian Government led by Manmohan Singh has called for an urgent meeting today the Cabinet to review the situation.
The attack has already been condemned by major world leaders and also by the power traditional rival, Pakistan, whose foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, was an official visit to India.

The first Bible adapted to India is selling "divinely"

New Delhi, July 11, 2008. - A virgin Mary in sari with the mark of "bindi" on the forehead, a St. Joseph in a turban and a baby Jesus wrapped in Indian costumes are some suggestive pictures of the first Bible adapted to the public India, in an attempt to get closer "to the culture of the people."
The adapted version of the book, edited by Paulina Society of India, has caused a furor in the country where "you are selling divinely," said Efe's father Stephen, who runs the bookstore Pauline Delhi.
In fact, the first edition of this "Indian Bible" is nearly exhausted, having sold 13,000 copies in just two weeks since its launch.
"Our purpose was to present a Bible reference, but adapted to the Indian reality. The Bible is always the Bible, but needed to adapt to our context, "he told Efe by telephone spokesman for the Archdiocese of Bombay, Anthony Charanghat.
"Any communication works best when using the language of the people," he added.
The edition, in English, consists of 2,288 pages of fine paper in gold thread with a simple language, peppered notes footnotes and words of the Hindu tradition, though their leaders deny any attempt to proselytize.
"The authors have tried to keep the book in simple language devoid of jargon. They wanted to adapt it and so have included the Sanskrit terms like "Atma" (spirit), "bhakti" (devotion), "janam '(birth) or" bhagwan "(God)," said Father Stephen.
The work, which the father sold today were a teacher Teresa, costs 250 rupees (5.8 dollars), the usual price of English novels in bookstores delhíes.
The highlight of the Bible india are his illustrations, fifteen images with classical types of India: women adorned with rich traditional jewelry, turbaned farmers or covered by the short called "dhoti" and old praying that seek to bring the reader to his reality.
"Christ is born in a portal, but here is best understood if we put in a hut surrounded by skyscrapers, because so many people born in India today. They are symbolic designs, "said archdiocese spokesman.
Religious leaders took their idea of several holy books existing in Africa and the Philippines, but focused on giving their own touch version has been a labor of seventeen years, according to Father Stephen and bookseller.
In its composition have been implicated theologians, writers, scholars and artists ready to bring the public the traditional language of India, a country where 38 percent of the population can neither read nor write.
Although its purpose is to also reach non-Christian readers, the Bible society of Paul's main objective is to Catholics, more than 17 million people (in a population of nearly 1,200 million) concentrated mainly in the south and Northeast.
"This Bible is made ​​in India for India. I am sure that will bring us closer to millions of our people, not just Christians, "he said in a statement the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Thanks.
According to Christian tradition of India, missionary activity began with the Apostle Thomas in 52, and centuries later rebounded with the arrival of Portuguese sailors, who settled in the southwestern shores.
In many cases, voluntary or forced-converts-kept their previous traditions: painted Christ as an Indian saint, they welcomed the priests with Hindu ceremonies or festivities held previous beliefs, such as Diwali and Hindu New Year.
The new Bible "desi" ("native"), which will be released again in October, now takes its language and illustrations that important syncretic tradition of the Indian subcontinent.

The last Zoroastrian conspire to prevent its disappearance

New Delhi, June 5, 2008. - Desperate for the steady decline of its population, Zoroastrians or Parsis in India have initiated an emergency plan that goes from promoting fertility and marriage to preach even change the definition of their lineage .
Of the around 100,000 Zoroastrians, who follow the monotheistic cult led by their prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) - left in the world, 69,691 live in India-which came from Persia a thousand years ago, according to the latest census (2001).
The data reflected an unstoppable trend toward the disappearance of this community, which in 1951 when the first census was conducted in independent India, came to have almost 112,000 members, and has led its leaders to seek help from the National Commission for Minorities (NCM).
"We want to help them control the decreasing numbers," he told IANS agency india NCM President Mohammad Shafi Qureshi.
The NCM seeks to promote early marriage and a family spirit shared among the Parsis, suffering from a propensity to singleness, migration, declining fertility and geographic separation of communities.
From January to August 2007, nationwide there were only 99 births in the community, which has a rate of 4.7 percent of children under six years and a mortality rate almost three times the birth rate.
Continuing population decline, the Zoroastrians could reach even lose the status of community in India and have to be considered "tribe" which has led many to consider whether to change the strict basis of belonging to their religion.
For the Parsis, the lineage is transmitted through the male line, and women who marry men from outside the community automatically lose their status within the Zoroastrians.
Ask the most liberal redefine the status of "Parsi" and conversions to relax and consider community members to children born of mixed marriages.
That solution, however, conflicts with the clergy purists, who came to issue a ruling in 2003 invalidating such marriages, although 35 percent of Parsis marry outside the community members.
In addition, the problem is Parsi success are the most literate community in India (97.9 percent) remained non-issues like female feticide and also have high wages in urban environments.
Ese escenario social ayuda a explicar el declive de la fertilidad, los altos índices de matrimonios tardíos, la soltería o los divorcios que afectan a la comunidad, según una reciente encuesta encargada por la Comisión Nacional de Minorías.
“Nuestro número está cayendo muy rápido, y la tendencia debe ser revertida”, dijo a IANS la ex vicerrectora de la Universidad de Bombay Mehroo Dhunjisha Bengalee, a quien se ha encomendado dirigir una panel que ofrezca soluciones a los parsis.
“El panel quiere reunir a los líderes de la comunidad para salvar a los zoroastrianos de su extinción”, explicó.
“Hay una tendencia a esperar un buen partido para casarse y una urgencia por encontrar trabajos rápidos, en lugar de fortalecer los lazos familiares para vivir juntos y seguir el modo de vida zoroastriano, tejido en los buenos pensamientos”, añadió.
Los zoroastrianos llegaron a la India desde Persia hace unos 1.000 años, huyendo de persecuciones religiosas, y se establecieron en las regiones costeras de Gujarat y Maharashtra, cuya capital es Bombay.
En esta ciudad, la minoría parsi estableció el eje de su inmensa huella: fundaron el primer partido político del país, la bolsa, una planta siderúrgica, la universidad, los estudios de cine, medios de comunicación o grupos empresariales como Tata, Wadia o Godrej.
La capital financiera india es todavía el feudo de los zoroastrianos, y allí el Consejo Parsi ha propuesto un paquete de medidas, como ayudas para la cría del tercer hijo, una propuesta anómala en un país con un grave problema de superpoblación.
Y también en Bombay ha abierto sus puertas la primera clínica parsi de fertilidad, que, tan exclusiva como los zoroastrianos, sólo admite fieles entre sus clientes y busca apuntalar los restos de “la religión profética más antigua del mundo”.

Clos announces "an offensive on all fronts" to enter Indian market

Nueva Delhi, 13 dic 2007.- El ministro español de Industria y Comercio, Joan Clos, aseguró hoy a Efe que España ha puesto en marcha “una ofensiva en todos los frentes” para incrementar su presencia en la India, donde se encuentra en visita oficial.
Clos llegó este miércoles a Bombay (oeste) para supervisar la apertura en el corazón financiero del país de un consulado, una oficina comercial española y otra dedicada al turismo para apuntalar la todavía escasa presencia de España en la India.
Aunque durante su visita no está previsto cerrar inversiones concretas, el ministro tiene la mirada puesta en el sector de las infraestructuras, uno de los que tiene mayor potencial.
“Sólo en el área metropolitana de Bombay viven 28 millones de personas que necesitan un espectacular desarrollo de infraestructuras. En cinco años, las autoridades quieren invertir 30.000 millones de dólares”, dijo Clos en entrevista telefónica.
El titular de Comercio considera que las empresas españolas cuentan con experiencia y buenas posibilidades para hacerse con contratos en el sector, fundamentado en la construcción de carreteras, metro y ferrocarril.
La India tiene unas necesidades en infraestructuras estimadas por el Gobierno en 450.000 millones de dólares para los próximos cinco años, y existen algunas empresas españolas, como Abengoa o Dragados, que han comenzado a situarse en el país.
Según Clos, las prioridades fijadas por el Gobierno español en la India son la energía (sobre todo renovable), la gestión de servicios urbanos, los transportes e infraestructuras y, en cuarto lugar, la gestión de la cadena alimentaria.
El ministro incidió en que la India es uno de los diez países que España incluye en sus planes de desarrollo integrado de las exportaciones, y destacó la existencia de un equipo español especializado en el país.
“El problema español es que hay que incrementar nuestra presencia en el país, porque es relativamente baja. Estamos apoyando esa presencia, que en sectores específicos hay que extender”, aseguró Clos.
Respecto al país asiático, España tiene un flujo comercial más bien magro: importa bienes y servicios por un valor de 1.800 millones de euros y exporta sólo unos 550 millones, aunque en 2006 esta última cantidad aumentó un 40 por ciento.
Además, España debe trabajar para atraer turistas indios -actualmente unos 50.000 al año-, que son renuentes al turismo de sol y playa pero sí están interesados en la cultura hispana y las pujantes áreas urbanas como Madrid y Barcelona.
“Tenemos que ponernos a la altura de nuestro peso económico en el mundo en lo referido al mercado indio. Esto requiere un esfuerzo importante y todo debe apuntar en la misma dirección: desde conseguir vuelos directos hasta impulsar las relaciones culturales, comerciales y de inversión”, dijo el ministro.
Clos se entrevistó este miércoles con representantes de la aerolínea india Jet para explorar la posibilidad de que haya vuelos directos entre España y la India, aunque la compañía asiática ha elegido finalmente Bruselas como centro de operaciones en Europa.
El ministro se reunirá con representantes de Tata Motors (“las relaciones están muy bien”) antes de visitar el puerto de Bombay, donde la española Dragados se ha hecho con un proyecto de expansión con un valor inversor de unos 250 millones de dólares, según datos de la Oficina Comercial española.
Según el titular de Comercio, en estos momentos hay ya unas 80 empresas españolas que están desarrollando grandes proyectos en la India, pero su Ministerio se esfuerza ahora por motivar a las compañías españolas a invertir más en el gigante asiático.
La India, donde las empresas españolas invirtieron sólo 55 millones de euros en 2006, está a una gran distancia de China como destino inversor, pero está “más cercana de España culturalmente”.
“La inversión es menor que en China porque hay menos tradición. Además, el sistema administrativo democrático tiene procesos de consulta más extensos. La India exige un conocimiento específico de su realidad, pero la estabilidad y la seguridad de las inversiones son muy altas”, agregó el ministro.
Clos abandonará el país de madrugada, tras participar en un encuentro empresarial indo-hispánico organizado en Bombay por el Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior en cooperación con la Federación de Cámaras Indias de Industria y Comercio.

El “Red Light Despatch”, un periódico por y para las prostitutas indias

Nueva Delhi, 2 ago 2007.- Desafiando la marginación del barrio rojo de Bombay, un grupo de antiguas prostitutas se reúne cada semana en un burdel para discutir las historias que poblarán las páginas del periódico que les sirve de voz, el “Red Light Despatch”.
El rotativo nació hace seis meses en el barrio de Kamathiputra, uno de los centros de la vida nocturna de la capital financiera de la India, con el objeto de “proporcionar una plataforma de expresión a las prostitutas”, dijo a Efe su editor, el antiguo periodista Anurag Chaturvedi.
“El Red Light es la voz de los sin voz y las mujeres sin identidad, porque nadie discute sobre los sueños, las agonías o las nostalgias de las prostitutas; así que buscamos articular su memoria y nostalgia, frustradas por la violencia y la pobreza”, dijo Chaturvedi.
Apenas un modesto folletín de ocho páginas sin fotos y en blanco y negro, el “Red Light” es editado sin embargo en inglés, hindi y bengalí, y ya ha trascendido las fronteras del abigarrado barrio de Kamathiputra.
“Llegamos a Calcuta, Delhi, Bombay y la región de Bihar. Como nadie recoge su forma de vida, estaba claro que las prostitutas necesitaban algún tipo de plataforma. Así que pensamos, ¿por qué no hacer un periódico por y para ellas?”, reveló Chaturvedi.
En el “Red Light” hay espacio para testimonios e historias personales, poemas, asuntos de salud y derechos humanos, pero también para elaborados textos como el escrito por la premio Nobel de la Paz Shirin Ebadi, aparecido en un reciente número.
Pese a sus firmas de calidad, la mayor aportación del modesto periódico radica en realidad en su capacidad para mostrar las mil historias del mundo de las prostitutas, a quienes el Gobierno indio, según Chaturvedi, ni siquiera reconoce la ciudadanía.
Fieles a esa idea, las “periodistas” del periódico se reúnen cada semana en un burdel con moquetas rojas de Kamathiputra, una amalgama de viejos edificios en las que las prostitutas -y sus proxenetas-, vestidas con “saris” o con ajustadas ropas occidentales, callejean para ganarse cada día el sustento.
“Recogemos las historias de las mujeres, y venimos y las contamos aquí”, dijo una antigua prostituta, “Rita”, en declaraciones a una cadena de televisión.
Con la ayuda de la ONG Apne Aap, que lucha por los derechos de la mujer, las prostitutas, reunidas en su pequeña redacción de Kamathiputra, luchan con las teclas -ellas no saben leer, cuentan con ayuda- con un ánimo común: evitar que otras mujeres caigan en la misma trampa en la que ellas cayeron.
“Hay que crear conciencia entre las mujeres, entre quienes caen sin querer en las redes de quienes las sacan de sus pueblos con promesas de trabajo, y luego las arrojan a este comercio”, dijo a Efe la coordinadora del grupo, Rupa Metgudd, también procedente de ese mundo.
En la India, con más de dos millones de trabajadoras del sexo, la prostitución está en un limbo legal y, aunque es una actividad tabú, existe incluso una tribu, los Bedia, en la que la práctica del sexo por dinero es aceptada como la labor natural de la mujer.
En la mayoría de los casos, sin embargo, la calle no es más que un último recurso o un “secuestro” de facto que sufren las jóvenes pobres que llegan a las grandes ciudades y caen engañadas en las garras del hampa o sucumben a la tentación de obtener dinero fácil.
“Me di cuenta demasiado tarde de que había sido vendida a un burdel, sin retorno posible. (…)Pero era el único modo de alimentar a mi familia”, escribe en una de las ediciones una prostituta llamada “Sita”, ayudada por una redactora de la revista.
En Kamathiputra, las prostitutas han hecho del “Red Light Despacht” y sus mil ejemplares de tirada por número un faro de concienciación y otro espejo ante el que quitarse el maquillaje.
“Me duele cuando mi hija pequeña rehúsa hablar conmigo por vergüenza (…) ¿Por qué siempre me avergonzaré de lo que hago, cuando la sociedad no se avergonzará jamás de lo que hizo conmigo?”, concluye “Sita”.

NGOs denounce Indian government indifference to defend their case against Novartis

Nueva Delhi, 15 ene 2007.- El juicio que enfrenta a la farmacéutica suiza Novartis con el Gobierno indio por impedirle patentar un medicamento contra la leucemia se reanudó hoy en Chennai (sur) en medio de críticas de las ONG, que denunciaron a EFE el desinterés del Gobierno indio por la defensa del caso.
Las sesiones se reanudaron hoy en el Tribunal Supremo de Chennai, en el estado meridional indio de Tamil Nadu , y estuvo precedido ayer de nuevas manifestaciones de varias ONG, entre ellas Médicos Sin Fronteras, para exigir a Novartis que retirara su demanda contra el Gobierno indio.
En la sala, “mientras Novartis ponía en duda la Constitución india, no había ningún experto gubernamental para refutar sus argumentos, aparte de un abogado local que no está llevando a cabo una defensa seria”, dijo a EFE Gopa Kumar, de la ONG Centro para el Comercio y el Desarrollo de India ( CDTI , siglas en inglés).
Por su parte, la empresa farmacéutica emitió un comunicado en el que saludó el comienzo de la nueva vista como una oportunidad para “ganar claridad en el estatus de la propiedad intelectual y la garantía de las patentes” en la India .
“La nueva vista ha comenzado hoy, pero el Tribunal sólo ha escuchado los argumentos de las partes. Aunque es imposible predecir qué ocurrirá, mañana será un día importante para el desarrollo del caso”, dijo a EFE desde Bombay una portavoz de la compañía.
Novartis ha denunciado una sección de la ley india que prohíbe patentar medicamentos que no sean estrictamente innovaciones, una cláusula que el Gobierno de Nueva Delhi introdujo hace años a raíz de las presiones de grupos activistas.
El medicamento por el que la empresa suiza decidió acudir a los tribunales es el “ Glivec “, un fármaco que se utiliza para tratar un tipo de leucemia y que en la India se fabrica como genérico.
Según la compañía, las patentes son claves para crear incentivos para la investigación y el desarrollo de nuevas y mejores medicinas.
Sin embargo, la petición de Novartis ha suscitado la fuerte oposición de organizaciones como Médicos Sin Fronteras (MSF), que han advertido de que, si el tribunal falla en favor del gigante farmacéutico suizo, será más fácil para otras compañías obtener patentes de medicamentos que ahora se fabrican de forma genérica y con los que son tratados muchos habitantes del Tercer Mundo .
Desde Chennai, el portavoz del CDTI se mostró pesimista por el desarrollo de la vista y comentó que resulta “extraña” la ausencia de representantes gubernamentales cualificados para defender la ley.
“Si el Gobierno continúa sin defender este caso adecuadamente, serán los pacientes quienes van a perder”, lamentó el portavoz.
La opinión de Kumar es similar a la del director ejecutivo de Oxfam Internacional , Jeremy Hobbs, quien afirmó ayer en un comunicado que, en caso de una victoria de la compañía, muchos medicamentos serán patentados “a precios inalcanzables para la gente pobre”.
La cadena de televisión NDTV recogió hoy el caso de un hombre con leucemia en la región norteña de Bihar , que paga 8.000 rupias (unos 135 euros) mensuales por su tratamiento a base de genéricos, una cantidad que contrasta con las 120.000 rupias (unos 2.100 euros) mensuales que costaría el medicamento de Novartis .
La India , donde un cuarto de la población vive bajo el umbral de la pobreza , es uno de los pocos países en desarrollo capaces de producir medicinas esenciales de calidad, y estos fármacos se encuentran entre los más baratos del mundo.
Una sentencia favorable a Novartis repercutiría en el aumento de los precios de unos 9.000 medicamentos, según NDTV.
En un comunicado, la compañía había intentado defenderse de las acusaciones, asegurando que el “Glivec” es ofrecido gratuitamente al 99 por ciento de los pacientes indios que lo necesitan, mientras las versiones genéricas alcanzan en la India “un precio aproximadamente 4,5 veces superior al salario medio anual”.

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