Response to terror will decide India's economic future

THE ECONOMIC TIMES - BusinessWeek


By JACH and SUZY WELCH
Published 3 Dec 2008

Of the 200-odd past columns posted on our Web site, few elicit more comments than "Who Will Rule the 21st Century?"—a piece we wrote in 2007 that predicted continued US economic leadership, with India and China coming into parity in a matter of decades. As for which country would offer better chances for investors, we essentially took a pass, saying that the answer hinged on how well India and China capitalized on their huge advantages and handled their complex challenges.
Since that column appeared, a week hasn't gone by without at least a dozen questions continuing to press the matter. Readers often ask where foreign direct investors should place their bets: China, India, or if both, in what measure? Usually, we just set these questions aside. There wasn't much more, we reasoned, that we could say.

Sadly, with the terrorist attacks in Mumbai this week, there now is. more

Analysts Say It Will Be Difficult to Shield Luxury Hotels From Terrorist Attacks

By KEITH BRADSHER

Published: November 30, 2008

MUMBAI, India — For decades, luxury hotels have been oases for travelers in developing countries, places to mingle with the local elite, enjoy a lavish meal or a dip in the pool and sleep in a clean, safe room.
But last week’s lethal attacks on two of India’s most famous hotels — coming just two months after a huge truck bomb devastated the Marriott in Islamabad, Pakistan — have underlined the extent to which these hotels are becoming magnets for terrorists. Worse, hotel executives and security experts say that little can be done to stop extensively trained gunmen with military assault rifles and grenades who launch attacks like the ones that left this city’s Oberoi and Taj Mahal Palace & Tower strewn with bodies. more