Over the last few years, there has been emergence of media conglomerates besides those that have already been growing beyond in metro cities. The Indian TV industry has grown at 21% annually in the last five years, and pegged to grow at 22% rate in the next five years, projected to reach an estimated $1.7 billion by 2012, which is larger than the entire media and entertainment industry size today.

Emergence of various new revenue streams beyond the traditional box-office collections is de-risking the business of filmmaking and making it attractive for Indian corporates and Hollywood studios.

Till mid-2009, there is expected to be an investment of nearly $1 billion in films alone. There are some 12 film production companies which have gone public since 2000 and have raised $250 million through their IPOs. Prints per film released are also at an all time high: from 1600 prints for Race worldwide to 2000 prints to be released for Ghajini and Singh is Kinng in 2008.

Bollywood is growing fast because more people are watching films. If admissions in 2001 were 2.8 billion, in 2006 it crossed 3.9 billion (compared to 1.7 billion for the US films).

Hong Kong is made up of four parts: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories and the Outlying Islands. Hong Kong Island is the center of economy, politics, entertainment and shopping. Northern Hong Kong Island is the main commercial, shopping and entertainment area; the residential area is located in Eastern Hong Kong Island; and Southern Hong Kong Island known for its sea shores and bays. Kowloon is another flourishing part of Hong Kong. Above all, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai , Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok are the most popular areas. These areas are busy day and night, and tourists can feel secure enjoying the lively nightlife, because Hong Kong is one of the most secure cities in the world. The New Territories and Outlying Islands are ideal places to experience a peaceful and natural Hong Kong.

An open city with a wonderful natural harbor, Hong Kong is the meeting place of various cultures that blend harmoniously with Chinese traditions and exotic influences. On one hand traces of British culture can be found everywhere as a result of former colonial rule. On the other hand, Hong Kong preserves traditional customs and the core values of Confucianism that have faded in Mainland China.

Media reports suggest that there is a no holds barred fight to win the vote in the Parliament. There are those who are being offered upwards of Rs. 20 crores and there are those who are perhaps demanding upwards of this amount. Others are demanding lucrative Ministership or Chief Ministership or setting up of smaller states where they can be the undisputed leaders (where they can make much more this amount). The personal interests of those in Parliament who are supposed to be the upholder of the national interest are being indulged in and the nation be damned.

Arguments are being heard that the Prime Minster belongs to a particular community so the MPs from that community should vote for him. Old legal cases are being reopened against the opponents. It is being suggested that the cases of supporters will be put on the back burner. Imprisoned MPs are being let out on bail. The corporate sector is involved in lobbying and perhaps it has loosened its purse strings to help gather votes and support from parties. Wheeler dealers are having a field day. What the cash for questions case had shown was that some members of parliament were willing to bend for the sake of small sums of money. That was small change compared to the sums being mentioned today. The JMM bribery case pales into insignificance before the scale of operations in the nation.

Mr. Ashok Chavan, Minister Industry (Cultural Affairs, Protocol and Mining) said that Maharashtra is very strong in agro and food processing sector. Maharashtra grows grapes, Smangoes, pomegranates and more than 70% is produced in Maharashtra. Wielkopolska region has good technologies in food processing whereas Maharashtra could consider developing Agro-Food Park in collaboration with your State. Maharashtra State will be happy to sign an Agreement for co-operation with your State for promoting bilateral trade and collaborate in certain areas such as agro, food processing, auto, IT and education.

Mr. T.C. Venkat Subramaniam, Chairman & Managing Director, Export Import Bank of India said that the EXIM Bank promotes Indian investment abroad and can look forward to Wielkopolska region of Poland. EXIM Bank of India would support Indians interested in investments in Wielkopolska region of Poland EXIM Bank has an MoU with PAIZ for promoting investment in Poland and from Poland to India.

H.E. Mr. Marek Wozniak, Marshall of the Wielkopolska Region of Poland said that the accompanying high level trade delegation represented various sectors such as food processing, cold storage, auto etc and were seriously looking at business collaboration and investment in State of Maharashtra and India.

In remarks at a brief but elegant White House ceremony on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 while signing the nuclear deal bill into domestic law, and in a separate statement issued thereafter, Bush reiterated the primacy of the bilateral agreement between the two countries, saying the bill was an important enabling legislation that allowed him “to bring the 123 Agreement into force and to accept on behalf of the United States the obligations contained in the Agreement.”

It was a sparkling day for US-India ties at the White House East Room, as Bush cranked up the warm fuzzy feeling while signing the bill, including wishing India on for the upcoming Diwali festivities. He strode into the room accompanied by vice-president Dick Cheney, and with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Senators Christopher Dodd and John Warner, Congressmen Joseph Crowley and Eliot Engel, American Ambassador David Mulford, a few other senior lawmakers, and Indian envoy Ronen Sen lined up behind him, delivered a nine-minute address that must have brought relief at the midnight hour in New Delhi and raised the pitch of US-India ties. Also present were American Ambassador to India David C. Mulford and former US Ambassador to India Robert D. Blackwill.

The idea prevalent in modern society that time is money is alien to the Bhutanese who need not rush about trying to make the next quick buck. Perhaps for them after a day’s work, happiness comes from spending time with each other, in the family or the community or contemplating at the local Monastery. In their scheme of things, material prosperity is not the end all of existence. Not for them a scramble to change their recently bought TV for the next HDTV or a Plasma. Or, go for a new model car or the cell phone every few years, etc. They are strangely happy in the traditional dress and do not hanker for the next fashion from Paris.

How quaint, they must be wrong to believe that no one carries the goodies accumulated through toil and trouble to wherever one goes (if at all) after death. By that logic, they suggest, why spoil the present by wasting time making needlessly large sums of money to accumulate goods that will be left behind. The modernist would say how backward, forgetting that she/he would have little time from the 9 to 9 job to enjoy the company of their families in their plush museum like home. It is only a place to sleep to start the next 12 hour day and is populated by aliens. In the Happiness Index physical happiness is only one of the seven things – rather funny.

INTRODUCTION

As a whole, since 1947 media in India has rendered precious services to Indian democracy, Indian state and Indian people. It is comparable to the media in leading democratic regimes in its role as watch dog, as an educator, as a ‘guide’ etc.

There are regulatory mechanisms, tradition and conventions and laws to deal with mediain its relation with the state. But since 1947, there has never been an occasion whenthese regularizing provisions were pressed into service against the media. The Indian media has never been a difficult problem for the Indian state and for the ruling elite (political class, corporate sector, feudal forces and other vested interests). In fact, barring a few cases,it has been a source of support and strength to them in crisis, for example, during Emergency in 1975-76.

But new opportunities and new horizons for media coverage have been opened up by the advent of rapid globalization in general and the dawn of the era of economic liberalization in India since 1991. The media has been called upon to meet an conventional set of demands of a growing domestic economy, an exacting competitive global economy, an expanding and assertive new middle class, and new pre-dominantly youthful political class an energetic and enterprising and resourceful media entrepreneurs and a civil society whose needs and hunger for information has been whetted by ever expanding vistas of “knowledge” and information.

As such, it is difficult to define the obvious day-to-day phenomena with which we are all familiar. This is true of “defining” news, particularly which we now-a-days read in newspaper or hear on radio or see on TV. According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD), news is “newly received or noteworthy information about recent event.” It is noteworthy, the emphasis is on “recent event” which is “newly received” or “noteworthy”. This is too exclusive or rather too narrow a criteria to determine the coverage in media today.

When President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20 next year, he will have already fully assembled his Oval Office team to assume the full reigns of power. It is expected that for the first time in a Presidential administration, the office of the Secretary of the Treasury will have equal clout as that of the Secretary of State. President Obama will have little choice in this e-arrangement of long held historical protocols because the first three prioritiesin this term will be the economy, the economy, and the economy.

The first economy will be local, i.e. the bread and butter issues that bring home a little extra bacon to the family table. This figured prominently in his campaign promises.

The second economy will be national, how to fix a banking/financial system that has collapsed ushering a crisis not seen since the Great Depression of 1929.

And the third is the international monetary system- that great ship of global financial governance that has lost its way and seem headed towards floundering on shoals of uncertainty. Of all the political leaders on the planet, it is still the President of a weakened United States who will call the shots as to how the repair the almost un-repairable and get some semblance of normalcy back on track.

All three economies are obviously interconnected and definitely, of the first two, one cannot work without the other.

In his book, John Talbott, an unashamed supporter of Obama, calls it “Obamanomics: How Bottom-up Economic Prosperity Will Replace Trickle-down Economics.”