Hyderabad : India gets 1st semiconductor fabrication unit

Finally ,India's first semiconductor unit is set to come up near my hometown ,hyderabad.Lots of indians ,especially from the IT sector,have been waiting for this news for a long long time.Every discussion on India's role in world IT eventually ends with the discussion about lack of hardware units in India and need for India to focus on hardware along with software.The fab unit could be the trigger ,esp considering that fab units require some decent level of infrastucture,something India was not known for.

The news:

"India gets 1st semiconductor fabrication unitThe Asian Age India Our Correspondent
Hyderabad: India's first semiconductor fabrication unit, estimated to cost $600 million, expects to finalise its financial and technology partner in the next 60 days, P. June Min, a South Korean, who is the principal promoter of the project, said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters at the ground-breaking ceremony for the fabrication unit, which is to be set up by Nano-Tech Silicon India, Mr Min said the technology partner would be investing up to 20 per cent in NTSI's equity. Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy unveiled the foundation stone for the project, which is to be built in Shamshabad, a suburb of Hyderabad, which is also the site for the new international airport. Asked whether International Business Machines Corp. would be the technology partner, he said that "there is now a 50 per cent chance of that."

Dr Min said a leading bank in India had agreed to syndicate a $290 million debt financing for the project. While he did not dislcose the name of the bank, Dr Min had told this newspaper on January 7 that the State Bank of India had evinced interest in financing the debt portion.According to an NTSI press release, the equity component, of between $64 million-$72 million, and the debt portion of $116 million-$130 million, and a $150 million construction fund are expected to be tied up in the next two months.

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At least one school didn't give a shit who his daddy was....

Got this interesting piece on Bush George from someone :

"Considering that he went to Yale and HBS, it says something about what a fine institution UTexas at Austin is as it rejected George. At least one school didn't give a shit who his daddy was.... "

How to kill a tiger

We had this interesting discussion ,in our economics session, on the ASIAN currency crisis , while we were discussing currency/money market as the 'perfect market' and how most countries followed the US model of "perfect market" in money market and "imperfect market" for products. And ,of course, george soros,mahatir and their roles were discussed.

Here's an interesting news item on the asian crisis , the opening act of the drama that we all know as "asian currency crisis"

How to kill a tiger

Crazy about India !

What is it about India that some travellers find it irresistible !

I remember having this conversation; at a dinner get together, with an old Greek couple, now settled in Africa. The old man, he hated India, was constantly complaining about the problems he faced in India, the poor service in taj mahal, Mumbai (back in 70's when he stayed there) and the roads, weather etc.
And, then there was his nice wife, who adored India and can talk endlessly about India, she was the one who invited me to join them for dinner, her trips to lovely palaces in Rajasthan, the Indian friends she made there etc

What can I say "you either like India or hate India”?
The French consulates in India, apparently, have full time counselors / psychiatrists as they face constant problems with some French nationals over staying in India , and one of the psychiatrists has even written a book called "crazy about India"

Here’s a list of what people say about India, in their own words, from travel forums...


"I've always been one to appreciate each day and felt quite blessed to live in such a wonderful country as Australia, but then.........I went to India!! It's a country that resonates so much more with me,....

I too felt ALIVE like I've never felt before. So on return, everything felt really flat and black and white. So now I'm racking my brains to think of a way that I too can combine the pleasure of adventures in India with working there"


"I am a middle aged man 44yrs, traveling alone as my wife refuses to visit or take the kids to India, she does not understand India and has no interest in India, but she understands that India is in my heart and is happy for me to do what I have to do....."

"Though the weather was warm, the people ALL OF THEM were warmer...”

Wednesday = Friday and Thursday = Sunday

Well at SP , our weekly holiday is thursday and wednesday night is your equivalent of a typical friday night.The reason ,of course,it is easy for the guest lecturers from the industry to come over the weekends and give us a lecture or two.

getting used to the new holiday order :(

Where in the world have you been

here's my list ,
someday, i hope to paint all the continents red
i miss my travels , i'd love to get back to my travels




create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

and the grind begins

and my student life begins all over again, at sp jain.
classes, group work, guest lectures ...,the first few days were absolutely hectic
there was the official course kick off by dean in a qwik and simple program and we were in business.
and an interesting fact many of us did'nt know earlier, our batch is the silver jubilee batch of SP Jain, it's been 25 years since "iron lady" thatcher laid the foundation of the institute.

as for me i still miss my
job ( or is it just the paycheck that i miss)
hometown ( hyderabad is heaven ,except summers of course)
travels ( thank you TCS)
road trips
home sweet home
east coast road
...........
........

Read this !

In the battle of life, it is not the critic who counts; nor the one who points out how the strong person stumbled, or where the doer of a deed could have done better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually strive to do deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends oneself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly. Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

--Theodore Rosevelt