Posts from — March 2009

India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI)  has lowered domestic call termination fees from 0.6 cents per minute to 0.4 cents per minute. This is the fee charged to a cellular carrier when a call terminates on someone else’s network within India. India already enjoys the lowest mobile calling rates of any major country and this should drive rates lower still.

TRAI was less generous with international callers however! Termination fees for call from overseases were actually raised to 0.8 cents per minute. At present, many experienced overseas callers to India use services such as Reliance India Call or Airtel’s competing service. These are typically significantly lower priced than using AT&T or other US-based services.  I am not a big fan of Voice over IP services such as Skype or the instant messengers.

India’s ruling coalition government has paid several hundred thousand dollars to acquire the right to use the Oscar-winning  Jai Ho song from Slumdog Millionaire as part of its election advertising.  The UPA Coalition, led by the Indian National Congress party,  embraced the British movie and its depiction of the poor immediately in a calculated move that this will help it capture the vote of the 600 million voters in India who are poor.

In the last general elections the Bhartiya Janata Party and its allies used the slogan and theme India Shining to portray the aspirations of a wealthy and rising country. And lost the election, despite being the front runner and riding on a wave of high growth.

43 million new voters are expected to swell the electoral rolls to as many as 714 million citizens next month India, the world’s largest democracy goes to general parliamentary elections starting Aptil 16th.  In a mind-boggling exercise, unlike any other on earth, four million poll officials will manage an incredible 828,804 election centers in a process that is staggered over four weeks to enable security forces to offer cover.

The BBC calls it India’s Dance of Democracy.

The incumbent coalition led by current Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mrs.  Sonia Gandhi’s Indian National Congress party is being challenged by the former ruling coalition, now headed by octagenarian Lal Kishan Advani of the Bhartiya Janata Party. A third front headed by populist  Chief Minister of India’s largest state, Uttar Pradedh,  Mrs Mayawati, could prove to be the “decider” in case the two main alternatives fail to win or garner a majority.  Regional parties play an increasing role in India fractious and raucous democracy. Here is Reuter’s summary.

Business interests need to watch this election closely, since the results could have some effect on liberalization, free trade and more.  And I say, don’ listen to poll predictions in India, they are wrong as often as they are right. The campaing is only a few weeks long, unlike the 14-18 months for a US Presidential poll. The new parliament will take charge in June.