‘Amida Simputer’ launch: A software professional demonstrates sending an e-mail using the ‘Amida Simputer’ at its launch function in Bangalore, on March 26. PicoPeta Simputers, a firm comprised of professors, unveiled the handheld computer which uses Linux operating system and will cost between $216 and $449. It enables users to send e-mails, browse the Internet, listen to MP3 music and play games. (Photo: AFP)

EXPANSION: Microsoft Corp. announced on Nov. 15 that it was significantly expanding its software development operations in India as itd a new campus near Hyderabad, its second-largest campus after its headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Seen in the photo is Microsoft chief executive Steven Ballmer using a shovel to fill a pit after planting a sapling at the Infosys campus in Bangalore on Nov. 15. (Photo: AFP)

WEF MEETING, Jan. 22: India was the cynosure of all eyes at the start of the six-day World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

anti-outsourcing bill, Feb. 11: An anti-outsourcing bill pending before the Colorado state legislature failed to move ahead when a Senate panel rejected it.

TATA, DAEWOO DEAL, Feb. 18: Tata Motors Ltd., signed a deal to buy the commercial vehicle unit of South Korea’s Daewoo Group for $102 million.

‘INDUS Project,’ Feb. 19: India and the U.S. launched a $40 million cooperative venture, the ‘INDUS Project’, to combat child labor in hazardous Indian industries.

relaxation of norms, Feb. 24: The RBI said it would now allow certain forms of overseas remittances to be made freely.

overseas remittance, March: Overseas Indians remitted a record $18.2 billion back home in 2003.
TAKEOVER BY IBM, April 7: IBM Corp took over Daksh e-Services, one of the country’s largest business BPO firms.
infosys arm in texas, April 8: Infosys Technologies set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Texas.

AAHOA CONVENTION, April 22-24: The 2004 Asian American Hotel Owners Association Convention and Trade Show held at Grapevine, Texas.

calpers in india, May: Top U.S. pension fund Calpers endorsed investment in India.

Wipro in billion club, May: Wipro Ltd. crossed the $1-billion revenue mark during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004.

RESEARCH CENTER, June 17: The University of Michigan Business Schoold a new research center in Bangalore.

Budget presented, July 8: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented the national budget for fiscal year 2004-05.
Continued on page 29
Continued from page 28
INDIA AT WTO, July 31: India succeeded in protecting its interests in agriculture and other key areas in the revised WTO framework agreement adopted.

remittance from U.S., Aug.: India’s remittance income from the U.S. increasing at a rapid pace, said a CII study.
CALIFORNIA BILL, Aug. 23: The California Senate passed a bill that would ban state agencies from contracting out their services to companies that use overseas labor.

CHALLENGE TO U.S., Sept.: India and China are challenging the supremacy of the United States as the world’s most favored destination for foreign direct investment, said an A.T. Kearney study.

India and Asean, Oct. 19: India proposed an Asian Economic Community to take the country’s ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to a higher level.

MITTAL’S U.S. BUY, Oct. 25: India-born steel magnate Lakshmi Nivas Mittal agreed to buy Ohio-based International Steel Group Inc. (ISG) for $4.5 billion.

VSNL’S U.S. ACQUISITION, Nov. 1: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) said it had acquired New Jersey-based submarine cable systems firm Tyco Global Network for $130 million.

GE SELL INDIA UNIT, Nov. 8: The General Electric Co. said that it had sold a 60 percent stake in its back-office unit in India.

PROBLEMS AT RELIANCE, Nov.: Indian stocks were roiled as the possibility of a rift within the Ambani family.
India summit, Dec. 7: The 20th India Economic Summit (IES) provided a platform for India to present its new economic dynamics.

COURT ORDER, Dec.: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo said that a court ruling meant they may soon have to put labels on bottles and cans in India warning of pesticide residues in their fizzy drinks.
(Compiled from the pages of News India-Times by Shaji Iype)

NEW FLIGHT TO U.S.: Los Angeles became the fourth Air-India destination in the U.S. with the launch of the carrier’s direct service between Los Angeles and Mumbai on June 11. Seen in the photo, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel, on the jet bridge at top left, flags off the inaugural Mumbai-Los Angeles flight at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, on June 11. (File photo)

CHIDAMBARAM on U.S. VISIT: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, right, addresses the India Investment Forum at Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Oct. 6. The two-day event was attended by CEOs of top Indian and American corporations. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)