India will be among top three economies by 2050

India will be the third largest economy in the world after China and United States by 2050, a US-based internationally recognised foreign-policy think tank has said.

An article "The G20 in 2050", carried in November bulletin of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said, "China, India, and the United States will emerge as the world’s three largest economies in 2050. Their total GDP, in real US dollar terms, will be over 70 per cent more than that of the other G20 countries combined."

Other main findings include, China will become the world’s largest economy in 2032, and grow to be 20 per cent larger than the United States by 2050. Over the next forty years, nearly 60 per cent of G20 economic growth will come from Brazil, China, India, Russia, and Mexico alone.

The article was written by Uri Dadush and Bennett Stancil. A Frenchman and former director of World Bank, Dadush is the director of the International Economics
Programme at the Foundation, and Stancil is a Fellow at the Programme. "In China and India alone, GDP is predicted to increase by nearly USD 60 trillion—the current world GDP—but the wide disparity in per capita GDP among these three will persist," they noted.

India's annual average GDP growth between 2009-2050 is predicted to 6.19 per cent, and these emerging markets will not rise among the world’s richest countries in per capita terms- their average income in 2050 will still be 40 per cent below that of the G7 nations presently.

Stressing that the world's economic powers are shifting dramatically, the economists noted that the "G20's recent transformation into the world’s principal economic forum highlights the beginning of a more integrated and complex economic era."

Over the next 40 years, the G20 GDP is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.6 per cent, rising from $38.3 trillion in 2009 to $161.5 trillion in 2050, in real US dollar terms.

Nearly 60 per cent of this $123 trillion dollar expansion will come from Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico (BRIC+M).

The experts also find that out of the G20 countries, "India is predicted to grow most rapidly, but its current modest size will prevent it from surpassing either China or the United States in real US dollar terms."

The authors observe that the growth could be even faster, but the low quality of education, infrastructure, governance, and business climate will hold back progress in developing countries. Technological convergence is expected to be lower in India and Indonesia than in China and Russia.

India’s Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) will be 97 per cent as large as that of the United States by 2050. India is expected to become the world’s most populous nation in 2031—and an average exchange rate appreciation of 0.9 per cent per year will push annual GDP growth to an average of 6.2 per cent, according to the study.

Slim Sony VAIO X Enters India.

Sony has introduced the slim and light Sony VAIO X ultraportable laptop in India. Touted as the world's slimmest and lightest ultraportable laptop, VAIO X weighs merely 655gms and is about half an inch thin. It comes clad in lightly brushed aluminum panel covers isolation keyboard
and the palm-rest area.

Equipped with 'Silverthorne' Intel Atom processor, this ultraportable laptop comes with pre-loaded with Windows 7 Professional (32-bit). Sony offers VAIO X in two models VPCX113KG for Rs. 64,990 and VPCX117LG for Rs. 84,990 - both with one year international warranty.

Sony had teased the audiences with VAIO X in IFA 2009 Expo at Berlin, Germany in September but hadn't shared any details about the processor packed inside this ultra-slim laptop. With more details shared now, VAIO X's model VPC113KG will pack 45nm process 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 'Silverthorne' processor. On the other hand, the VPC117LG model includes 2GHz Intel Atom Z550 processor. Yes, it is 2GHz Atom chip for ultraportable.

These new Intel Atom Z500 series processors were unveiled earlier in April. Both Intel Atom Z550 and Z540 have 512k cache, 533MHz FSB and have Thermal Design Power rating of 2.4 watts. Boasted as lower power Atom chips, both processors support Intel Virtualization as well as Hyper Threading technology. Apart from that, Sony packs 2GB DDR2 RAM and 64GB SSD in the base model (VPCX113KG) while other model (VPCX117LG) has 128GB SSD storage.

Sony VAIO X comes with 11.1-inch LED Backlit display offering 1366x768 pixel resolution which is enough to playback 720p HD videos. Graphics support is offered through Intel GMA 500 mobile integrated graphics. Featuring Ethernet and VGA out ports, this VAIO X lacks HDMI out. Aluminum isolation keypad as proper spacing between keys and will remind you of unibody MacBook Pro keyboard. Also, the trackpad supports multi-touch gestures life flips, zoom and others.

Battery packed by default offers 3.5 hours battery life in VPCX113KG model but with optional LL battery pack can boost battery life to 14 hours. The other VPCX117LG model gets 6.5 hours of battery life and can be boosted to 16 hours with optional LL battery pack.

Though it has a slim and light, the new Sony VAIO X is can perform close to MacBook Air but may lack in graphics department. Only the test will prove which of the machines is leaner and meaner (in terms of performance).

Audi looks at 50 pc growth; to assemble more models in India

NEW DELHI: German luxury car maker Audi today said it is looking at over 50 per cent growth in sales in both this and the next year in India, and is planning to assemble more models in the country as part of its strategy to achieve this target.

Audi will also launch a new model in the country next year, besides brining in advanced version of an existing model.

"Our target is to grow by over 50 per cent both in this year and 2010. In 2008, we sold around 1,050 units in India and this year our target is to sell 1,600 units and then continue the momentum next year," Audi India Head (Marketing) Martin Birkner told.

He said the company had a good growth so far this year but did not provide the exact figures of the number of units sold so far in 2009.

Audi is also planning to assemble more models in India from next year.

"We are looking at shifting assemble operation of at least one or two more models to India in 2010. This will give us a better advantage in the market," Birkner said, without giving further details.

Audi currently has seven models in India, of which only two -- the entry level luxury sedan A4 and the volume model A6 -- are assembled here, while the others are shipped in as completely built units.

Maruti to launch Wagon R and Alto with "K" series Engine!!!

India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki will launch two of its best selling models -- Alto and Wagon R, with a new generation engine as it prepares to meet April 2010 deadline of stricter emission norm.

According to industry sources, the company will discontinue the old F-series engines in both Wagon R and Alto and replace them with its new K-series engine, which is Bharat Stage IV complaint.

When contacted a Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) spokesperson said, "the successful K series engines will be mounted on more models in a phased manner," without specifying details and timeline for the change in engines.

Alto is MSI's best selling model. In November last year it crossed one-million mark in domestic market, while Wagon R also accounted for a good number to its compact car sales.

The company's newer models such A-Star, Ritz and the new Estilo are powered by K-series engines, which the company claims are more fuel efficient and have lesser emission.

With 11 cities in India scheduled to move to stricter Bharat Stage (BS) IV emission norms from the current BS III by April next year, MSI has been preparing itself for the change.

It has already upgraded its mid-sized sedan SX4 to make it BS IV compatible and it will be shortly launched in the market. A similar upgradation for premium compact car Swift and entry-level sedan DZire is also on the cards but the company has decided not to upgrade its oldest model M800 to meet the new emission norms.

The company executive said that the engine would have a CO2 emission of 109 gm/km and could be further cut down, while the figures for Europe norms would require 120 gm/km in the years to come. Apart from being the most advanced green car engines in their class, the K-series engines deliver greater fuel-efficiency.

Indian Girl develops gadget to make mobile charger unnecessary!!!

Adieus to mobile charger:

A schoolgirl in Guwahati from the Indian state of Assam has developed a gadget that could make mobile phone battery chargers history. Asmita Rekha Bora, a Class XI science student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Khanapara in Guwahati has come out with an auto-charger. This device absorbs the radiation emitted by a handset, converts it into heat and relays it as electrical energy back to the battery inside.

The 16-year-old’s theoretical concept – backed by a somewhat crude model – won her the second prize at the 37th Jawaharlal Nehru Science Exhibition held in Chennai on October 13-14. The exhibition is KV Sangathan’s annual scientific do.A panel of judges from IIT Chennai, said Asmita’s Physics teacher Devangshu Dev, had labeled her discovery as something that could revolutionize the mobile phone industry. Dev had helped Asmita develop the model for a mere Rs 800.

So what makes this gadget special? “I got the idea while surfing the Net for the ill-effects of microwave radiation on human health. I realized this radiation was going to waste and decided to tap it for converting to heat energy,” she told HT on Wednesday.

She used a tetra zinc oxide whisker in the circuit of the model to catch the radiation and convert it into heat. She added an Eneco chip – named after the US firm that patented it – to convert this heat into electricity. And the gadget tentatively named ‘Cell Charge & Chip’ was born.

Asmita, daughter of Geological Survey of India officer Arup Bora and a resident of Hatigaon locality here, plans to fine-tune her model in the next few months. “My model has been selected for a major NCERT show in New Delhi in 2010. This will open the door for a bigger scientific show in Moscow.’

A ticket to Moscow could make Asmita’s auto-charger ready for commercial use.

Ponting happy with security arrangements.

Happy with the heavy security cover around the Australian cricket team here in Mumbai, skipper Ricky Ponting today said he is impressed with the arrangements put in place for his side as it prepares for a grueling seven-ODI series against India from October 25.

"We have been very impressed about the level of security we have had since we arrived. From the moment we stepped off the plane yesterday we have had excellent security," Ponting told a media conference here today.

Praising the Indian Cricket Board for providing a tight security cordon, Ponting said this seemed to be part and parcel of international sporting events all over the world.

"You travel to different places in the world these days, security is quite heavy. The BCCI (Board Of Control for Cricket in India) has so far done a terrific job looking after us well and hopefully that will continue right through the tour," said the 34-year-old cricketer.

Mumbai police personnel were present inside the team hotel when Ponting addressed the media conference ahead of the series that commences in Vadodara on October 25.

"The policemen were particularly on the look-out for media persons wearing slippers and one of them explained they (Australians) are our guests and we don't want any untoward incident to take place," he said.

There was also an outer ring of gun-toting policemen to guard the conference rooms entrance and all public vehicles like buses and autos were stopped well outside the Taj Lands End hotel's premises in Bandra.

The BCCI has also made arrangements with private guards to beef up the security at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra-Kurla Complex ground where the visiting and Indian teams would be practising.

Both the teams are set to leave for Vadodara on October 23.