Oprah Winfrey is in India to film a segment of her new show, “The Next Chapter,” staying at The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in south Mumbai.  She is virtually unkown in India since  her erstwhile show did not air in India.

Oprah Winfrey dressed in Sari

Wearing an orange sari, Winfrey, visited the home of the Bachchan family, to meet aging megastar Amitabh and his daughter-in-law, former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her husband Abhishek. The senior actor drove the group himself in his Rolls Royce to a party hosted by Ms. Paramsewhar Godrej and featuring the Bollywood gliterrati. Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Imran Khan, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi and Farhan Akhtar were there mostly to meet one another since they have little to do with Oprah.

Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan in the front seat of the Rolls

Winfrey was seen later, shopping in Mumbai on Martin LutherKing Day.

What this means

Precious little to India or to business with India.  In the USA, I guess  it means that everyone is making a beeline for India, whether relevant or not.

Chicago based NAVTEQ has launched real-time traffic service in Mumbai and Delhi, India with a combined population of 26 million.

The company claims that is its research shows that drivers in India who use traffic-enabled navigation on a regular basis can spend 18% less time sitting in congestion over those that don’t — the equivalent to almost three days saved on the road each year. Additionally, the company’s findings show that drivers with real-time traffic experience reductions in distance traveled as well as increase fuel efficiency.

The latest NAVTEQ map of India is available for more than 2,200 cities throughout India, covers 6.47 million Points of Interest across 1.2 million km of the national road network.

What this means

I will have to try this to believe it. Somehow, I feel that traffic information is unlikely to speed up my movement in the congestion of India’s streets today and that maps won’t prevent me from getting lost. A knowledgeable driver continues to be my major asset as I travel about my native country.

Yesterday, American soldiers swooped into a million-dollar mansion in the resort city of Abbotabad, Pakistan, far from the rough frontier area where Osama bin Laden was supposedly hiding.  In fact the mansion, surrounded by high walls was just half a mile from the Pakistan Military Academy.  The British Newspaper  Daily Mail published the satellite image below, with the note that is seemed Bin Laden was effectively being housed under Pakistani state control.

Annotated image published by The Daily Mail

The city hosts three different Pakistan regiments, and a unit of the Army Medical Corps. The compound and its elaborate walls and security gates were apparently built as recently as 2005, and it is hard to believe that the Pakistani officials were totally unaware of its purpose. Bin Laden was supposedly on dialysis for years so care for him would not have been a minor matter and many, many people in town must have known or suspected that something unusual was going on inside.  Abbotabad   has also been in the news recently: in January, Umar Patek an Indonesian believed to be an Al Qaeda staffer was captured by Pakistani intelligence operatives there.

In separate reactions India’s Home Minister P Chidambaram and its Foreign Minister, Dr. SM Krishna emphasized that bin Laden was killed by U.S. commandos “deep inside Pakistani territory” and hoped this embarrassment would now compel Islamabad to effectively prosecute those involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.  Mr. Chidambaram expanded on the location of bin Laden’s killing to highlight the Indian security apparatus’ “concern that terrorists belonging to different organizations find sanctuary in Pakistan’’ as also to urge civilian Government in Islamabad to deliver on Indian demands for prosecuting those accused for the Mumbai attacks.

Earlier today at the White House, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, seemed to echo the Indian point of view “I think it’s inconceivable that bin Laden did not have a support system in the country that allowed him to remain there for an extended period of time.”

Impact: The circumstances of Osama bin Laden’s located and killing should make it plain to any thinking person in the United States that working more closely with India is in the American interest. India has suffered from Pakistani-sponsored terrorism for decades. The fact that Osama had safe haven in the middle of a major Pakistani city, makes it very plain that the two largest democracies in  the world face the same common enemy and that conquering the enemy requires Pakistan to change.

For the first time since the Indian economy liberalized in 1991, India won the World Cup in cricket, the game that is India’s passion. By beating Sri Lanka in a thrilling finish at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, India won the trophy in a moment of joy for the entire country on Saturday. People of Indian origin worldwide celebrated as one. Politicians at every level from President Pratibha Patel to Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi were seen celebrating as were Bollywood celebrities from actor Amitabh Bachchan to singer Lata Mangeshkar.

The money in cricket has changed dramatically since 1983, the last time India won the championship, then held at the Lord’s field in the United Kingdom. According to the Hindustan Times, “In 1983 out of the total prize money of about Rs 46 lakh (£66,200), captain Kapil Dev’s team pocketed Rs 14 lakh (£20,000). On Saturday, current captain MS Dhoni’s team got a payment 60 times larger, of about Rs 8.5 crore ($1.9 million). The tournament’s total prize money was Rs 27 crore ($6 million).”

But that is not all. India’s central government is actively considering a proposal by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to waive all income tax on direct and indirect winnings from the trophy. A retinue of additional monetary and non-monetary awards await the players, the team, the coach, the organizers and more, see story here.

The real money for the stars of the game is in advertising endorsements. For example Captain Dhoni earns $1.5 million per year per endorsement and currently endorses almost 20 brands including Sony, Pepsi, Reebok and Big Bazaar. His price is expected to double next week.

“With the World Cup win, there is a huge emotional connect at this moment with cricket,” says Subhinder Singh Prem, managing director, Reebok India, the official sponsor of the World Cup according to  the Daily Mint. “As a sports brand, we definitely want to ride the wave, do interesting things and engage with consumers.” Rebook India’s latest campaign for ZigTech shoes features Indian cricketers Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.

Of course what is driving this money is large television audiences. An incredible  Sixty-four per cent of cable and satellite homes in India were watching the final game of Word Cup Cricket. The  game was on for an average of four hours in every household. Ratings peaked towards the end of the match when India held the World Cup. The match got 13.7 television rating points (TVRs), the highest for any event so far. When the winning moment arrived, the ratings peaked, touching a massive 21.44.

Takeaway: Cricket’s impact on India exceeds sports and advertising and pervades every aspect of urban life in India.

Footnote: While the World Cup is over and teams from 14 countries have returned home, Indians a re only taking one week off from cricket. The Indian Premier League which pits local professional teams against one another begins April 8. Bring out the cheerleaders!

In  deal with India’s Shreyans group,the Italian sportscar maker Ferrari plans to open its first dealership in New Delhi in the upcoming spring, and a second one is scheduled to open in Mumbai in the second half of 2011.

The company, a unit of Fiat, will sell its California, 458 Italia, 599 GTB Fiorani and FF luxury car models. Prices will start at $460,000.

Takeaway: The newly rich in India want boasting rights and now virtually every luxury car maker has some presence in India. I expect until sales to be very low, since many rough Indian roads don’t make it very practical to get your Ferrari onto the highway from your home. But I am sure that the Delhi and Mumbai police will have some surprises on the expressways after midnight .