Yes, yes, and yes (and we couldn't find a dissenting view despite looking long and hard for one). Between January 2003 (Rs 47.99 to the dollar) and March 2004 (Rs 45.24 to the dollar on March 3), the rupee has gained 5.7 per cent. And foreign exchange analysts believe it will gain another 3 per cent over the next six months. Investment bank JP Morgan sees the exchange rate at Rs 43.80 to the dollar by September 2004. The logic: foreign exchange inflows will increase, especially with India Inc. taking advantage of relaxed borrowing norms to tap overseas sources of funds. And with the dollar continuing to weaken against other currencies, things will likely stay that way for some time.

-Roshni Jayakar

MOBILITY
A Notebook On Every Desktop?

That's how it looks. In 2003, the portable computer (notebook) market in India grew 72 per cent, from 48,666 units to 83,724 units. Reduction in import and excise tariffs (from 39 per cent to 19 per cent and 16 per cent to 8 per cent respectively), growing demand from a mobile workforce, and the complete absence of a grey (read: smuggled) market are the three reasons for this, although as Shuchi Sarkar, Head, Marketing, Personal Systems Group, hp puts it, "the market is growing on a small base". Alok Ohrie, Vice President, Personal Computing Division, IBM India (the company has just launched notebooks priced below the psychological barrier of Rs 50,000), is more sanguine, pointing to the global desktops:notebooks ratio of 2:1 as evidence of future growth. The corresponding Indian ratio is 30:1.

-Venkatesha Babu

PARTY
Women Aboard!

'BT's most powerful women' club: All aboard Haveli of Seahorse

Date
February 21, 2004 between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The place
The Piramals' Haveli of Seahorse, an old Arab dhow (registered in 1882), on the Arabian sea.

The occasion
A party to honour BT's 25 most powerful women in Indian business (see BT, November 23,2003).

The host
Dr Swati Piramal, head of strategic alliances, Nicholas Piramal. She and Kalpana Morparia, Deputy Managing Director, ICICI Bank (both among the 25), conceived the idea of forming a BT's most powerful women club, while on flight from Mumbai to Delhi.

Who were there
Nine of the BT's powerful women in business made it to the dhow: Vinita Rai, Simone Tata, Kalpana Morparia, Lalita Gupte, Chanda Kochhar, Renuka Ramnath, Shikha Sharma and Meenakshi Madhvani. Also present were other women of note.

What they did
Told stories, blew balloons, sang, and danced the Salsa.

The Food
Home-cooked Gujarati, Thai and Continental.

The Club's next party
ICICI Towers later this year. The host: ICICI Bank's five powerwomen.

-Roshni Jayakar

Cheers To It
India and Pakistan look to boosting their trade relations.

P-offering: Union Minister Arun Shourie takes a sip of "Pakola"

For two countries divided only by a porous border and bad politics, India and Pakistan are rather surprising trade strangers. Last year, their trade amounted to a minuscule $262 million (Rs 1205.2 crore), which is less than a fifth of India's trade with Bangladesh. Cross-border business had picked up in 1998-99, ahead of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's historic bus trip to Lahore, but quickly fell when the Kargil war broke out.

With renewed hope in the air, businessmen from both countries see a new opportunity to boost trade. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and its Pakistani counterpart FPCCI recently organised a "Made in Pakistan" trade fair in New Delhi to showcase the estranged sister country's prowess in textiles and agriculture (The star of the show, however, was Pakola, a Pakistani soft drink that found several takers at the fair). FICCI President, Yogendra Modi, believes trade can help bridge the political divide. "There is a lot both countries can offer each other, and trade can easily reach $10-12 billion (Rs 46,000 crore-Rs 55,200 crore) within five years," he believes. While FPCCI's Vice President Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed agrees with Modi's assessment, some others seem less sanguine. "Right now the mood is positive, but who knows what might happen tomorrow," says Arshad Alam, Vice President, FPCCI. "We cannot plan long term on a shaky foundation," he says. Indeed, since expecting trade to reinforce the foundation may be a bit unrealistic at this juncture.

-Kushan Mitra

Manish Goenka, Director, Emami Group : Cashing in on AB's selling prowess

BRAND
Emami Whips Up A Super Star

It's one of the most hyped endorsement deals in recent times. Emami has signed on Big B as the brand ambassador for an all-time high price. "Negotiations, which had been carrying on for a month, culminated in a deal on March 3," reveals R.S. Agarwal, co-Chairman, Emami Group, without disclosing the fee being paid to super star Amitabh Bachchan. For Emami, which has relied on star power to sell its range of cold cream and cosmetics (previous ambassadors have included Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla, among others), Bachchan should be the crowning glory.

-Arnab Mitra

DASH BOARD

A
ONGC's Subir Raha has reason to cheer: His company's IPO was subscribed in just 11 minutes. That's quite a sequel to being the most valuable company in India.

D
More Bollywood-reps sign on with the political parties. Who gets a D? The stars (or have-been ones)? The parties? We think it must be the poor voters who have to listen to star-speak.