Telenor Pakistan

Telenor Pakistan is the fastest growing mobile operator in Pakistan and represents the largest Foreign Direct Investment in the country from Europe, in any industry, ever. The company is the first Greenfield mobile operation outside of Norway by Telenor ASA, the parent group, with an investment of USD 2 billion to date. Increased competition from international operators like Telenor, within an investor-friendly and stable regulatory environment provided by GOP, has been a major driver of growth and productivity in Pakistan's economy, and has brought down end-user prices to among the lowest in the world. Telenor ASA is an international provider of high quality telecommunications, data and media communication services. It ranks as one of the biggest GSM service providers in the world with over 153 million subscribers. It is also the largest provider of TV services in the Nordic region. It ranks as No. 25 overall and No.5 in Europe in Business Week's global ranking of the top 100 performers in the technology industry. The Group is recognized as the best Mobile Telecom company in the world by the Sustainability Yearbook 2008 and as the No.1 mobile operator on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) 2007. Since its launch of services in March 2005, Telenor Pakistan has exceeded all expectations: It has created the second largest mobile network and the largest and most advanced data network in the local market, turned into the second highest revenue-generating mobile player with the highest Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in the market, and become the second largest mobile player in the market with 18 million active subscriptions in little more than 3 years of operations. During the first half of 2008, Telenor Pakistan added 3.24 million subscriptions against the industry average of 1.63 million, taking 33% of the market share of net additions over the period - the highest in the mobile sector in Pakistan. The company has created 2500 direct and more than 25000 indirect employment opportunities with 100,000+ retail outlets and 200+ franchises in addition. 99.9% of these employment opportunities belong to Pakistanis. Initiated with a relief effort worth 95 million rupees in the wake of the devastating earthquake of October 2005, Telenor Pakistan's community contributions have extended over the years to include education, empowerment, enterprise, and environment - with special focus on bringing the telecom promise within the grasp of the most disadvantaged sections of the society. Telenor Pakistan has received several awards for its solid performance in key areas of activities: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry's Telecom Excellence Award in Foreign Direct Investment in June 2006 Central Board of Revenue's High Tax Payer Award 2004-5 in January 2006 The Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management's Preferred Graduate Employer Award for Most Preferred Telecommunications Company 2007 among MBA students SAARC Communication Industry Conference 2007's Most Innovative Mobile Operator Award and Mobile Operator with the Most Consumer Pull Award Telenor Global Brand Award for the year 2007 All Pakistan Dawn Aurora Advertising Awards in three of five nominated categories in March 2007 The National Forum for Environment & Health's Annual Environment Excellence Awards 2008 Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industries' Appreciation Award for the Largest FDI and Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industries' Achievement Award 2008 The Helpline Trust's 2nd Corporate Social Responsibility Award 2008 Telenor Pakistan is committed to bringing true mobile innovation to the under-served masses of Pakistan. The company has picked up two Universal Service Fund projects in order to provide connectivity to the yet unconnected in the remotest areas of Pakistan. It aims to invest strongly for further network expansion into the rural areas and for the rollout of third generation of mobile technology (3G) in Pakistan

Is The SAARC Heading Global?

The just concluded SAARC Summit in New Delhi has turned out to be quite historic in its own way. Besides the usual rhetoric by the member nations especially between India and Pakistan the summit has seen significant new developments which can change the future course of South Asia if addressed in a proper way.
The most significant outcome of this summit has been the signing of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) .The agreement was reached at the end of the two-day summit of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in New Delhi. The trade agreement was though in effect since July last year but its full potentiality was so far held up due to difference of opinion between India and Pakistan. While adopting the agreement the Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, said that "effective market access through smooth implementation of trade liberalization program" should be ensured. With the coming of SAFTA in full force South Asia would at last realize its full economic and strategic potentiality .SAFTA should have been effective at least a decade back .If that would have happened the economic growth and development of South Asia would have been in some other level today. However though late the silver lining is finally SAFTA is coming into effect.
The next step for SAARC after SAFTA should be visa free travel and a common currency unit similar to the Euro and a common SAARC monetary fund for development on which the work has already started. The leaders of SAARC nations should also try to establish a common South Asia banking system for developmental projects and uniform economic growth. The idea of the Indian Prime Minister for a common train, air and road transport network and free transit facilities should be welcomed by all and all means should be tried for achieving this in near future.
The latest inclusion of Afghanistan into the SAARC is a very positive development as without Afghanistan integration of SAARC as a regional forum was incomplete. The next step towards full integration of SAARC should be the inclusion of Myanmar in it as Myanmar historically has been a part of South Asia and could be a common point for future collaboration between ASEAN and SAARC.
A very significant development in this summit has been the first time inclusion and attendance of very important nations which are strategically and economically very important for the SAARC in future. The inclusion of South Korea , USA , China ,Japan and the European Union as full fledged observers has given SAARC not only a new teeth but has also enhanced its image as a important economic and strategic forum at a global level . With the coming of these countries as observers has given SAARC a much wider platform for business and trade. It has also given SAARC a much wider strategic platform. Probably this could be a stepping stone for SAARC to attain a global image like ASEAN, APEC and other forums in near future.
The mutual agreement by all the SAARC nations for the inclusion of Iran as a permanent observer and its referral to the SAARC foreign ministers is a welcome step and inclusion of Iran into SAARC would be very beneficial for the region as a whole both in terms of economic, strategic as well as market and trade wise . However SAARC should have a cautious approach on this as European Union and USA are now permanent observers of the SAARC.
India should adopt a very cautious approach on the inclusion of China as a full fledged member of SAARC as advocated strongly by certain SAARC countries like Nepal as it would not be in India's strategic and economic interest to have China as a full fledged member of SAARC. Instead India should pitch for the inclusion of Russia for a permanent observer status as this would balance the strategic domination of the European Union, USA and China within the SAARC.
However the present SAARC summit has given SAARC a new direction and a new global look. From here the member nations should tread carefully. India should take a lead in it.

Dr Suvrokamal Dutta
(The writer is renowned Foreign Affairs and Economic Expert and Chairman Global Council for Peace and Convenor Debating India)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Avail Low Rate Calling Card to India

It's your parents' 25th anniversary and you want to surprise them by calling them at the stroke of midnight. However, you do not have much balance left in your cell phone to call them up. Moreover, it's early morning and a good few hours earlier than the normal business hours, hence there is little scope of finding any alternative solutions. With no further magic remedy in hand, your surprise may not materialize at all. A close relative is stranded at an airport in India due to some air traffic congestion and you can't get in touch with her due to unavailability of proper telephone signal. It is a real crunch situation going from bad to worse as you appear helpless.
There can be many other such instances haunting your day-to-day life bringing misery to you. However, the antidote to such horrendous situation is ready in hand with cheap calling card to India.
A calling card to India bridges distance bringing people from all over the world closer. With a cheap calling rate, conversing through telephone with near and dear ones in far away places is all the more convenient. Calls to India from outside are charged heftily especially those from non SAARC countries. However according to latest circulations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), a person calling from outside India to any Indian location can use the various international calling plans to call any Indian number and that too at a much lower rate than the normal ISD rates.
Suppose you live in Tokyo, Japan and you want to call family and friends back home in India then you will have a few options in front. A KDDI super calling card is widely available in Japan that operates all across the country and can also be used to call overseas including India. This calling card to India comes with a time-bound duration. That is, after specific time duration the connection is bound to get disconnected.
There are specific calling-cards available in the international market that makes calling rates cheaper than the usual international calling rates. These calling cards operate mainly through VoiP providers operating in a host of countries outside India like China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines and so on. Further calling card to India is also available with leading service providers in Australia, the UK and the United States.

The highly effective calling card to india not only reduces your cost of calling but also makes all your private family occasions a roaring success. There are cheap VoiP providers located in major cities of U.S and U.K which offer a range of schemes from time to time and issue cheap calling card to India. These cards are highly in demand, so grab one of these highly beneficial calling cards to India before they run out of stock.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Rahul Gandhi visits relief centre, hospital in Leh

LEH: August 16, 2010. Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi arrived in Leh on Monday morning to take stock of the situation related to relief measures initiated after the unfortunate cloud burst few days ago, claiming precious human beings and causing damages to properties in the region.
He visited Himank relief centre. Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi spent time with the victims while sitting on the floor in the midst of all inhabiting the centre. He enquired about relief measures and assured all possible helps to affected ones there.
Later, he visited Istara hospital where injured ones are under treatment and enquired about the medical assistance being provided to them. Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi assured them with all necessary help for their speedy recovery. Early this month, flash floods, triggered by sudden overnight heavy rain, flattened homes and other establishments, claiming couple of hundred of human lives and injuring over 500 local inhabitants in the region. It was the biggest natural catastrophe in Leh's living history as a number of people, including many children, went missing and several far-flung villages were left inaccessible for anyone including rescue teams. Bodies were found dotted over the hills and inundated roads following the cloud burst and the mudslides. In this tragedy caused by the sudden cloud burst, many serving defence personnel posted in the affected region were reported to be missing after a border post where they were stationed near the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control (LAC) was hit by flash floods. A number of Army columns worked round the clock on the rescue efforts after eastern Ladakh including Leh was hit by cloud bursts and heavy landslides resulting in major loss of life, property and leaving locals and foreign tourists stranded. National Disaster Response Force men were flown from Chandigarh to assist the Leh administration in rescue operations. The Army too joined police and paramilitary personnel in rescue and relief operations. Several villages along the Chang-la pass, the world's second-highest motorable road, were feared washed away. A week after the devastating cloud burst in Leh, the body of a jawan was retrieved from the Turtuk sector taking the army toll to 10, while 25 other personnel were still missing.
Official sources said the body of an armyman was extricated from the debris on last Friday evening. The armyman could be a part of the company posted in the area, whose camp got swept away in the slush following the cloud burst.
The jawans, who were manning a post near Turtuk along the Line of Control, faced the fury of Shyok river on the same day when Leh was hit by devastating cloud burst.
The Army sought the help of Pakistani authorities to rescue the personnel of 15 Bihar infantry regiment as it was feared that they may have been swept away towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the deluge.
Pakistan on August 12 handed over an unidentified body of a flash flood victim to Indian authorities in Kargil sector.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit the affected region on Tuesday.

Future of Youth politics and Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi hails from a powerful political family of India and is the son of Sonia Gandhi, Congress President and wife of the late Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India . Rahul's great grand father Jawaharlal Nehru was one the founding members of the Congress party in independent India. Even though his mother entered active politics, Rahul did not show much interest until 2003. He slowly and steadily built his image as a youth force of the Congress party. Rahul made his intentions to enter politics strongly by making a goodwill visit to Pakistan to watch the two nations play cricket. In May 2004, he contested the elections and won by a huge margin a seat in the Lok Sabha. He started his political career from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. His victory generated considerable media excitement and enthusiasm. The younger generation started looking up at him as a role model. Rahul Gandhi has been working on steadily in building a strong image in the political scenario of the country. His steps are proving him to be a mature human being and is building confidence amongst his supporters that one day he will be the future of Indian politics. India is one of the world's youngest democracies with more than 60 per cent of its population between the age group of 18 and 45 years. With majority of population in its younger years, India is boozing with confidence and zeal and in coming years is ready to leave an impact on the world politics Modern Day Youth have been shaped by a variety of historical forces. These forces are worth a second look, as the Indian youth is a major influence on the future operations. India has for the past six decades saw many parties, many ideologies, many brilliant vision and great leader. As our democracy is becoming stronger, it gave rise to many large and small political entities. Congress, the party of the people, has experienced many changes, since its inception. Over the years India has seen many great leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and others, who, with their unwavering commitment, courage and inspirational leadership helped youth of the nation to move in the right direction. However, at this juncture, India welcomed Rahul Gandhi for the confidence of youth and being the motivating factor that can set standards for them. Rahul Gandhi almost single-handedly won more than 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress party a total of 204 seats in the Lok Sabha . His decision to go alone in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has proved to be very effective. Rahul Gandhi has taken up Bihar as his 'Battle zone' .On his Bihar Campaign the youth icon visited Patna Women's college driving the students crazy. Rahul, who visited the college for an interactive session with the girls, had quite an impact on them. Rahul , projected a deep approach during his media interaction. Rahul is relying on the youth for Congress's new membership drive 'Team Bihar' to repeat the success achieved in UP. At the same time he tried to win over the confidence of the greats of Nitish Kumar, Jayalalita, Navin Patnaik and Mamta Banerjee by praising their works in their respective states. It gives us a glimmer of hope that he can be the change that India wants, or should I say the hope that India needs. He is a leader who is not afraid to call a spade a spade, even if it brings negative results for his own party. He held elections for the youth Congress for the first time in Punjab. He began to build its framework in Tamil Nadu, where he made efforts to reinvigorate the youth. In all these states, one thing is common that Rahul Gandhi wants the youth to participate in politics. This is probably the main reason why youth sees him as their idol and inspiration.
Over the years he has gained maturity and confidence and has gained a lot of popularity as well. In the years to come, the country will see Rahul as a young leader, on whom Indian youth is pinning all their hopes and aspirations. To his leadership where sizable chunk can relate to him, his ideology and vision to take India on a progressive path. This article is posted by press bref.