India eyes 10 pc growth by 2012, US spoiler a risk

India's economy could be growing by 10 per cent a year by 2012 with the right set of policies, but the US subprime crisis might trim exports and capital flows, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday.
Annual growth dipped to 8.9 per cent in the September quarter, falling below 9 per cent for the first time in three quarters, as industrial output slowed due to monetary tightening designed to trim inflation.
Top officials are confident they can maintain growth momentum despite a surge in the value of the rupee against the dollar this year, which is hurting exporters, and high interest rates.
"It is possible that with the correct set of policies... we will not only be able to maintain this momentum of high growth into the near future but may be able to raise it to 10 per cent," Manmohan Singh told top policy makers.
India, the world's fastest-growing major economy after China, grew 9.4 per cent in the last fiscal year, its strongest in 18 years.
Its surging expansion has attracted global investors, fuelling a stock market boom and pushing firms to expand capacity.
"This high growth rate has become possible because of the historically high savings and investment rates which we are witnessing," Singh said at a meeting of the National Development Council set to approve a policies for the 5 years to 2012.
"Our savings rate after stagnating for almost two decades has touched 34 percent of GDP and the investment rate has crossed 35 per cent. These high rates... are likely to go up in future because of our young population profile."
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday expansion in the 2007/08 fiscal year to March 31 would be in excess of 9 per cent, and analysts say the central bank's forecast of 8.5 per cent should be met in Asia's third-largest economy.
The PM said global credit worries would not completely skirt India's economy, despite it being largely driven by domestic demand. "There are some clouds on global financial markets following the subprime lending crisis. There are worries that the growth of the US and other leading economies may slow down and some may even go into a recession," he said.
"This may impact both our exports as well as capital flows."
Such concerns mean India must redouble efforts to maintain domestic drivers of growth, the Prime Minister said. The government is discussing ways to minimise the impact of the rupee's appreciation on exporters, who have seen their margins squeezed by a 12 per cent rise in the currency this year.
The Reserve Bank of India, keen to cool price pressures and stop the economy from overheating, raised interest rates five times between mid-2006 and March this year, but has since held them steady.
Many economists now expect the next move to be down.

Amazing thing to feel woman Beautifull

The next time you want to make your woman feel beautiful, give her that perfect lover’s kiss, says a new poll.
The poll, conducted to determine as to what makes a woman feel beautiful, has revealed that a simple smooch from their man puts a spring in a girl’s step better more than anything else.
According to the survey of more than 1,000 British women aged over 18, a kiss from their man was preferable than lingerie, a shopping splurge and even sex.
Perfumes, jewellery and beauty treatments did not even feature in the top ten.
In the survey, more than 60 per cent women reported that a smacker on the lips from their man made them feel more attractive.
Second on the list was new underwear, followed by having sex.
Receiving a wolf whistle came fourth, followed by having a long soak in a bubble bath, going on a shopping spree and buying a new pair of shoes.
At number eight was applying a splash of colourful lipstick and next was a fat-burning gym workout, with a chocolate fix at tenth place.
The survey was carried out for cosmetic company Blistex.
“This research allows us a peek into what boosts women’s confidence,” The Sun quoted Nick Lang, Blistex spokesman, as saying.
"Little did we know something as simple as a passionate kiss could be enough to make women feel so beautiful,” Lang added.

Amazing Phone Holder!!!!

Amazing Phone Holder!!!!

One-film-old Gemma bags next 007 girl role

London: Actress Gemma Arterton of the show St. Trinian will be the next Bond girl. It will be her second film.
Thesun.co.uk reports that the 22-year old beat 1,500 other women to co-star with Daniel Craig in the movie is tentatively titled Bond 22. Filming starts in January.
After getting the confirmation, Arterton sent an SMS to her mom saying, "I got Bond!"
An insider at the Bond studios Eon Productions said, "She has the modern look."

Cyclone Sidr damaged 40% of Sundarbans: UNESCO

Cyclone Sidr that left more than 3,000 people dead as it raged through Bangladesh in November has devastated the Sundarbans World Heritage Site, UNESCO has said.
A report prepared by the UN body found "serious damage" after its experts visited the mangrove forest on the delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, spread between Bangladesh and India.
"The experts found that 40 per cent of the site has been seriously damaged by Cyclone Sidr. It struck at the heart of the East Sundarbans, the biologically richest part of the Bangladeshi World Heritage property," UNESCO said.
"Foliage has been stripped from the branches of trees in over 30 per cent of the property. Large trees have been felled by the wind and the crowns of many others have been severely damaged," it added.
A complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands intersects the 140,000-hectare Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove ecosystems in the world.
It is home to a wide range of fauna, including 260 species of birds, the Bengal tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.
UNESCO experts who visited the world heritage expressed their concern that this development would help poachers do further damage to the ecosystem.
"Poaching and other intrusions could jeopardise the regeneration of the Sundarbans ecosystem, which should normally take 10 to 15 years," the report stated.
The November 15 cyclone that left Orissa and West Bengal untouched - contrary to meteorological predictions - damaged field stations and many boats in Bangladesh.
Several pieces of equipment of the Bangladeshi forest department in the area have been washed out to sea by the storm, severely compromising the authority's capacity to manage the site, which was inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997.
The Sundarbans are breeding grounds for fish, shrimp and crab, which migrate to areas beyond the site boundary, providing livelihood for 300,000 people in the area, the UN body explained.