The Osama killing and the subsequent saber rattling doesn't quite subside
The Osama killing and the subsequent saber rattling doesn't quite subside. And on the sidelines is the sense that the world's biggest fighter-jet contract is about to be concluded. Dilli's abuzz at the defence ministry's decision to favour European warplanes over the American offerings, despite the hard lobbying by the Americans, including President Barack Obama during his visit to India last year.
But even as Dilli ponders the decision, analysts and defence experts believe that it's not really over for the US until the final choice is announced. And given the increased clout that Washington now enjoys with Dilli since Obama's death and the nuclear deal, many believe that the outcome may still be determined by realpolitik than technical considerations.
In other words, it's ain't over until the Fat Lady sings! And perhaps then, with the fighter deal out of the way, A.K. Antony may finally decide to move faster on other much needed procurements. But at the moment, only the Europeans are grinning.
Outage outrageLast week's unexpected collapse of the Airtel network for a few hours in Dilli and its suburbs had the Capital's chatteratti and the local Twitteratti wondering whether the network failure was in any way connected to Bharti's dipping profits from its Africa operations. Apparently India's biggest telecom company is operating in 15 African countries, six of which are loss-making. Clearly business is not growing as well as it did for Bharti in India.
The local pundits believe that the home advantage Bharti has enjoyed may not last long unless its executives learn to keep the customer in focus. Subscribers were initially clueless and then frustrated when the company failed to respond or explain. The formula apology when the network finally back clearly was not enough to assuage the many ruffled feathers.
