Dhoni retains golden touch in Tests

Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images] is destiny's favourite child. And he is very happily married to Lady Luck.

How else do you explain the fact that everything he touches turns to gold. He first substituted for Anil Kumble [Images] (as Test captain) against South Africa [Images] in the Kanpur Test and led India to a comprehensive eight-wicket win inside three days.
A second opportunity came his way in Mohali and he has ensured himself a 320-run thrashing of Australia [Images]. And here we won't even

mention his ODIs or T20 exploits.

Don't agree with . Here's a second point of view then.

He has given the term "leading from the front" a whole new meaning.
Captaincy at a young age can be a burden and can affect your performance as a player. Not in Dhoni's case though. He celebrated wearing the captain's armband for a second time by contributing 92 and 68 not out with the bat-- a performance that won him the man-of-the-match award.

Don't agree with ? Here's the third and final point of view.
The 27-year-old has his head firmly on his shoulder and has not let success distract him as is usually the case with the young Indian cricketers. Dhoni is aware of the fact that both "performance" and "luck" are variable factors and would pose a problem for him at some stage. And that is precisely what keeps him rooted.

Still, do not agree with ? Then just hear from the horse's mouth.
"When you play one or two matches, records do happen," said Dhoni, when queried about his second successive triumph as Test captain. "But it is about doing it over a longer period of time." The captain was in fact surprised that the Aussies succumbed so meekly.
"Honestly speaking, we have not seen this before," he admitted. "I mean in their first innings, they were 22 for two wickets after 13 overs and I was so surprised that I told Rahul (Dravid) that you don't see things like that very often

"And maybe you won't see that again for a long time." Dhoni did admit, however, that India was the better side.
"I don't believe in comparisons but we did most things right," he explained. "We had only four bowlers and to their credit, they shared the responsibility well." But doesn't his captaincy deserved some credit as well?

"There's not too much pressure of being a captain," admitted Dhoni. "We have to take care of certain things on the ground and channel our efforts in the right direction." And what about his own batting?

"It was a perfect scenario for me to just go out and play my natural game," reasoned Dhoni. "We got a good start, the track was placid and the ball old. It was just the perfect occasion for my sort of batting.
"I have realized that I should play my natural game, play to my strengths. In between, I was not playing my game but thinking of the scenario." Another thing he has realised happens to be the fact that the hallmark of a good captain is to have faith in his players.
"I believe in every guy who is part of the side," he asserted. "Every player comes to this level after putting in a lot of effort."

The Mohali Test was memorable on many grounds-- Sachin's record, Amit Mishra's performance on debut and his own batting. But what was it that Dhoni himself like the most?
"Sourav getting 102 was special," blurted Dhoni, without thinking even for a moment. "Since it is his last series, he was playing without any pressure. And that is how one wants to see him play."
With almost everything going to perfection he definitely has reasons to expect more. But Dhoni believes caution is the best way to propagate aggression.

"They are a strong side," he warned. "It is just that we are doing our job well now. So we don't have to worry about the opposition as much. But they will come back strong for sure."

Successful, and still not complacent, that's Mahendra Singh Dhoni for you. Now you have to believe!!!

India to be a developed nation by 2028: Blackberry founder

James Laurence Balsillie, founder and co-chief executive officer of Research in Motion, feels that in the next 20 years, India will reach the developed nation status with $20,000 per capita income in terms of purchasing power parity.

"I am impressed by the breathtaking transformation underway in India," he said, that has made India "the world's fourth-largest economy in purchasing-power terms, growing at 6 to 8 percent," Balsillie said. He was the keynote speaker at Canada-India Business Council Diwali dinner October 7 at Toronto's Marriott hotel.

India, he added, would "reach developed nation status [$20,000 per capita income in terms of purchasing power parity] in 2028."



Blackberry users in India are growing rapidly 'and we anticipate having millions of customers more before long,' Balsillie said.



He called the Blackberry 'an essential tool' for business that is 'profoundly empowering and democratic' as it allows 'millions of people in India to leapfrog legacy, technology and transit straight into the 21st century.'



Few countries, he said, 'are making that transition as dramatically as India.'
People the world over, he said, "respect India's incredibly rich heritage, [and] are deeply impressed by the pace of its current achievements. Indian scriptures, literature, and philosophy are read for their profound insights into human nature and social relations. Indian mathematics, from the concept of zero to the development of the decimal system, underlie modern science."



Balsillie also lauded the success of Indian businesses -- like Mittal Steel, Tata Motors , Infosys , the Mahindra Group, the Jindal Group, etc -- and "the growing impact in the world markets of Indian entrepreneurs."



He reeled off statistics and information about India, where "average literacy rates are rising, and the percentage of people living below the poverty line has been cut in half in one generation. All this progress is being made in. . . the world's most populous democracy. . . [that has] strong governance institutions, an engaged civil society, an irreverent press, a respected judiciary, vigorous Opposition parties and numerous ethnic groups and languages."



Indians, he said, are "playing increasingly prominent roles in Canada's economy and politics, including at the highest levels."



The Indian Diaspora, he said, "is a source of extraordinary benefit to Canada, in terms of talent, family and business contacts, and worldliness."



He called Indo-Canadians "crucial to Canada's openness to the world and to our success."
Balsillie is involved in establishing think tanks like the Centre for International Governance and the Balsillie School of International Affairs for which he has brought in Professor Ramesh Thakur from Tokyo as the director.



CIGI and Balsillie School will work with the Canadian International Council, the Asia-Pacific Foundation and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.



Balsillie suggested "the establishment of a permanent Canadian education presence in India, in order to recruit Indian students to undergraduate and graduate programs across Canada; an annual high-level policy dialogue that brings together business leaders, academic experts and government officials' exposure of Canadians to visiting Indian business and institutional leaders;" and the creation of "a young scholars program to facilitate and manage a regular and structured exchange of the best and brightest of our two countries emerging academic talent."



He also floated the idea of annual CIC fellowships by the C-IBC for the study of contemporary India.
"The world is changing faster than many people can comprehend," he concluded, "and a dynamic India [is] a major agent of that change."



He, however, admitted that this change "is uneven, with far more progress evident in economic governance than in political governance, where it is badly needed. The world's capacity to understand and manage change needs urgent upgrading."



"We are what we think, all that we are arises with our thoughts, with our thoughts we make the world," he said, quoting from the Buddhist scripture Dhamapada. "May the festival of lights [Diwali] illuminate our thoughts," he added.



RIM, inventor and maker of Blackberry phones, works with five telecom service provider partners in India -- Bharti, Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications , BPL Mobile and Tata Communications. Balsillie was in India two weeks ago with his wife Heidi.



Besides his meetings with Indian business leaders and CEOs, Mr and Mrs Balsillie also visited a number of historic Hindu temples, and the Mahatma Gandhi Museum in Delhi and in Mumbai.

Manufacturing investment? India set to be No. 1

India is likely to see the largest growth in its share of foreign investment overall, and should become the world leader for investment in manufacturing, says a recent KPMG survey.

The results showed a move away from investments in the United States, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, and a big increase in flows to Brazil, Russia, China and India (BRIC).

A global survey of corporate investment plans was carried out by KPMG International. Corporate investment strategists from over 300 of the largest multinational companies in 15 major economies were asked where they plan to invest in the next 12 months and in five years' time.

This trend-setting survey suggests a major shift of capital flows from the USA, Japan and other European countries to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, in the next five years.

Significantly, while 10 per cent of the companies surveyed expect to invest in India currently, that number will go up to 18 per cent in five years -- the biggest gain amongst all other BRIC countries.

Further an increasing proportion of investments will flow into industrial products and manufacturing in India. Interestingly, 64 per cent of the investment into India is expected to come from new entrants to the country.

India, according to the survey, has the potential to play an even more influential role in flow of capital and it's a great opportunity for India to further improve the economic and fiscal climate and attract and retain investments in its growing economy.