theguyinallblue Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Multiplex Cinema & Malls. 1997 Soon after India's first multiple screen theatre opened in Delhi in 1997, even non-metro towns like Jallandhar rushed to get their own multiplexes. While the movies spun a consumerist fantasy, the shopping mall delivered the goods right outside—all under one roof. India's busy, newly rich middle class couldn’t have asked for more. With multiplex owners inking deals with distributors abroad, international blockbusters started releasing in India much, much sooner. Lahore and Kargil. 1999 First the miracle: Prime Minister Vajpayee taking the bus to Lahore to greet Nawaz Sharif, his Pakistani counterpart. Then the shock: Pakistan occupied Kargil heights. A three-month war that almost went nuclear finally ended with a Pak army retreat. In Pakistan, the military revolted against its political masters. In India, terrorism became the crux of international diplomacy. And finally, the world woke up to Kashmir’s stark reality. Astha Arora, India’s ‘billionth’ baby born. May 2000 From 300 million people at Independence to one billion five decades later-it’s been a losing battle controlling India’s population. Food production trebled, yet starvation was rampant. Literacy increased but so did the number of illiterates. Despite the population boom, there are only about 900 women for every 1,000 men in India. Blissfully unaware of all this, Baby Astha Arora was born in Delhi’s Safdarjang Hospital at 12:20 p.m. She was one of the almost 42,000 other babies estimated to be born every minute in India. Software becomes $10 billion industry. 2001-2002 India became the back-office of the world, and raked in the moolah. Software boomed - achieving the magic US$10 billion mark, most of it from exports ($7.68 billion). IT-enabled services and Business Process Outsourcing posted a 67 percent growth, outstripping every other industry in the world! Low cost, high quality and a vast base of specialized, English-speaking manpower were the prime drivers combined with a well-developed telecom network. Soon, one in four global IT customers would turn to India for their software needs. Sabarmati Express torched, Gujarat riots begin. February 2002 When Hindu voluntary workers on an express train were set afire, allegedly by Muslims in Godhra, Gujarat erupted in fury. Sword wielding mobs systematically butchered entire Muslim families, torched neighborhoods, raped and pillaged innocents. Narendra Modi, both reviled and admired - for carefully plotting the entire massacre - become the new force of the BJP. Launch of low-budget airlines. August 25, 2003 India's first low-cost airline Air Deccan started service on August 25, 2003. Soon, more than a dozen others entered the fray. India's booming economy made domestic air travel grow 25 percent per year. Dramatically reduced travel time, steadily improving connectivity and surprisingly low fares made low cost carriers a hit with India's increasingly prosperous middle class. Despite long delays, crowded cabins and zero in-flight service - the common man could finally fly. First non-Congress coalition completes 5-year term. May 2004 BJP’s first coalition lasted a paltry 13 days in 1996. It shot back to power after the Kargil war, leading the United Front. Tossed out in November 1997, it bounced back on March 20, 1998. Trashed in April 1999, it rose again, with the National Democratic Alliance in October 1999. It wasn’t until May 2004, that a Congress led alliance could wrest power back and make Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister. By that time, the BJP and its varied allies had already become the first non-Congress coalition to complete a full five-year term. RTI Act. June 15, 2005 By giving aggrieved Indians the right to question government bodies and to expect an answer within 30 days - it became the common man’s greatest weapon against corruption and red-tapism. From passport wrangles to university admissions, from inflated bills to municipal infrastructure - government inefficiency was questioned and quick remedies provided. Nothing was secret anymore. Passed by Parliament in June, The Right to Information Act was enforced from 13 October 2005. US signs nuclear deal with India. July 18, 2005 America went out on a limb - recognizing India as a responsible nuclear weapons power. It offered us nuclear technology, fuel and military hardware it had banned after Pokhran in 1998. By doing so - it put aside non-proliferation laws it had held sacrosanct for the past 60 years, just for India! The document signed in July was only a memorandum of understanding. Yet, it shattered the suspicions and aloofness of the cold war era - and demonstrated just how far the US is willing to go to woo us. Tata Corus & Arcelor Mittal deals. 2006-07 In June 2006, India's mascot businessman Lakshmi Mittal did the unthinkable. The world's largest steel company, Mittal Steel, merged with the second largest player, Arcelor SA, to form Arcelor Mittal-producing 10% of the world’s steel. In January 2007, Tata Steel brought out British steel company Corus for $13.6 billion - the largest foreign takeover by an Indian enterprise ever. It created the world's fifth-largest steel company and made Tata, India's largest business group. In February, Aditya Birla Group's Hindalco paid $6bn to acquire Canadian aluminum firm Novelis. The three deals shook the world - India took a bow as a global economic player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC1981 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 poll ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator_05 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Which was the FIRST multiplex to officially open in Delhi ? I can't seem to remember...was it PVR Anupam or Satyam ? I am sure it's one of those two. I remember going to watch Titanic @ Satyam back in '98. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theguyinallblue Posted June 28, 2007 Author Share Posted June 28, 2007 it was PVR Saket..satyam became a multiplex in 2001 i guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 where did you get these TGIB ? I have to say most of them dont even deserve to be in the top 100 , let alone the top 10. For this decade , i feel its the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. Those tests have changed the destiny of our nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Outsider Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 where did you get these TGIB ? I have to say most of them dont even deserve to be in the top 100 , let alone the top 10. For this decade , i feel its the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. Those tests have changed the destiny of our nation. As a first approximation, I guess you can put it with Lahore and Kargil. That's what I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theguyinallblue Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 these are all on CNN IBN site... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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