Editor's Note 
The Indian retail market is going through a sea change with liberalisation having brought in its wake affluence, and the growing numbers in this affluent segment could be the envy of many a developed nation. As a result, the traditional mode of Indian retail is slowly but surely giving way to modern means with the entry of both international and large domestic players in this sector. Our cover story enumerates various dynamic aspects of this booming Indian retail scenario.  Read the Note. 
   

COVER STORY: RETAIL OVERVIEW
The booming Indian economy has created a base of over 30 million affluent consumers, which is more than the entire population of many European nations, and more or less equivalent to the total population of Scandinavia. The vibrant Indian economy tops the list of emerging markets for global retailers, and with current economic indicators being favourable, this base will easily double to 60 million by 2010.   Read the Article.  
 

COVER STORY: THE INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
The biggest challenge staring in the face is that of cultural and regional differences in the country, which deter retailers from adopting a single format. The most favourable format for India is the hypermarket trend at the moment. The arrival of multinationals will further the growth of this format as it is the best way to compete with unorganised retailing in India.   Read the Article.  
 

COVER STORY: BIG RETAIL BOSSES
India’s retail sector is the expectation of a large working and earning population that has attracted most global retailers to the country. In this respect, most analysts are agreed that the Indian retail market could support—at its best level—ten large players with revenues in excess of US$2 billion each by 2015.   Read the Article. 
   

COVER STORY: INDIAN RETAIL  
For Indians, the word retail has always been synonymous with the local kirana shop—the desi version of mom and pop store. Most of us have grown up buying all day-to-day items from such shops, and were quite happy doing so until the malls and retail chains sprang up. And all of a sudden, we realised what we were missing out. However, until recently, malls and retail chains were only to be found in the metros and the big cities. Read the Article.  
 

SPOTLIGHT: INDIA DAZZLES AT 60
The Indian society is way ahead, more open, eager, confident and ready to take on the world. It can brook no lag or delay from the state in capturing this spirit and wants faster solutions for their aspirations through more good governance.  Read the Article.      
     

OPINION: 60 YEARS OF INDO-US RELATIONS 
Those are the bygone days, but reminiscences still lingering as if it could never be buried in the past. An evening at the photo exhibition on ‘60 Years of US-India Relations’ at American Center, New Delhi on 10 August 2007 reminds me of the historic moments when the relationship between the two nations bloomed and matured under the influence of many coincidences. Read the Article.
 

FOCUS: GLIMPSE OF THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN
Japan—popularly known as the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’—lies in the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Asian continent comprises four large islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The Sea of Japan and the East China Sea separate the country from the other Asian countries. In terms of latitude, the country coincides approximately with the Mediterranean Sea and with the city of Los Angeles in North America whereas Paris and London have latitudes somewhat to the north of the northern tip of Hokkaido. Read the Information.
   

INTERVIEW: STRATEGIC GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
Japan-India bilateral relationship is developing very fast, especially in the political and economic fields. In political terms, for example, Ministerial-level exchanges between the two countries have become more frequent. In economic terms, the FDI from Japan is rapidly increasing, and over the period 2006 - 2010, we are expecting US Dollars 5.5 billion worth of investment flow into India.   Read an Interview.
  

FOCUS: TIME TO SCALE NEW FRONTIER IN INDIA-JAPAN TIES   
Abe’s visit is going to open up large vistas for deepening and broadening India-Japan relations in all their dimensions. So far, India-Japan relations have been focusing predominantly on the economic aspects.  Read the Article.   
    

FOCUS: JAPAN-INDIA ECONOMIC RELATIONS
MARCHING TOWARDS A NEW VISION
There is paradigm shift in the structure of Japan – India economic relations. Trade is myth. Now, investment is the topic of discussion in the Japanese conglomerates’ boardrooms. No doubt, trade between the two countries has increased. But, more than this, investment attractions have made a great leap forward. Responding to India attraction steered by stellar growth in the economy during the 2000s, Japanese investment in India surged. About 60 percent of the total Japanese investment since 1991 (US$2.2 billion) was poured in between 2000 and 2006 only (US$1.3 billion).  Read the Article.  
     

FOCUS: JAPAN-INDIA SUMMIT
STRATEGIC AND GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
Japan never had a head of government so interested in forging close relations with India as the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As it is an honour that US President George W Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao did not get during their visits to India last year, Prime Minister Abe will address the Indian Parliament on his India visit.  Read the Article.  
     

BILATERAL: INDIAN DELEGATION TO ISRAEL   
Year 2007 marks the 15th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Israel and India, as full diplomatic relations were established in 1992. A special supplement of Diplomatist magazine titled India-Israel – 15 Years of Diplomatic Ties has been uploaded on the homepage of the Diplomatist website (www.diplomatist.com), and can be downloaded in PDF format.  Read the Article. 
    

TRAVEL: FASCINATING DUBLIN  
Dublin, by the way, is an excellent base for visiting other parts of Ireland. There are special trains offering day trips to most parts of the country, including one to County Cork, where one can Kiss the Blarney Stone, and yes, there’s one to Galway Bay. All special tours can be booked at the Dublin Tourism Office. Of course, the Dublin Tourism Office has an official website (www.visitdublin.com) where all of the attractions mentioned herein (and many more) are covered in detail. Tourism Ireland also has an Indian office as indicated below as is their website. I recommend a visit to each of these websites for those planning a visit to Ireland.  Read the Article. 
    

BILATERAL: "ANOTHER RWANDA ON OUR HANDS"
WHAT A DEGRADING PHRASE ESPECIALLY TO RWANDANS!    
The world knows that the people of Rwanda suffered through a horrific genocide between April and July 1994, during which close to one million people lost their lives. But do news reporters and relief workers have to keep reminding them about it when discussing other troubled areas of the world such as Darfur?  Read the Article. 
    

BILATERAL: INDIA AND SWITZERLAND AGREE TO FIGHT COUNTERFEITING   
Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard and India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at protecting intellectual property rights. The deal came during a visit to India by Leuthard who is looking to improve conditions for Swiss companies in the country. According to a statement by the Swiss economics ministry, the MoU, which was signed in New Delhi on 07 August, establishes a working group to prevent the production, distribution and sale of counterfeit products, and envisages an exchange of information and experiences between delegations as well as the possibility of involving representatives from trade and industry on a case-by-case basis. Counterfeits are reckoned to cost the Swiss economy around US$1.67 billion per year.   Read the Note. 
 

POLITICS: MAYAWATI RULES
The time has finally arrived for Mayawati to prove her loyalty to UP. The common man has high hopes from the new CM. He feels she will improve the infrastructure and he will have better access to basic amenities like water, electricity and food. Read the Article.
    

CHANDRA SHEKHAR (1927-2007)    
The nation has lost one of its most dynamic and respected politicians— a man of few words, yet one who exhibited great vitality and courage. He was a charismatic parliamentarian with a socialist outlook and served as President of socialist Janta Party since 1977. Read the Notes.
 

ART: PHOTOGRAPHY - RE-EMERGENCE OF AN OLD ART FORM   
The twentieth century saw both fine art photography and documentary photography become accepted by the English –speaking art world and the establishment of the gallery system to display these art works.  Read the Article.