Burden Of Hope
Ajit Jogi takes over a state rich in surplus resources, but can expect teething troubles from expectant allies and disappointed rivals vying for the top post

Wasteland
Jyoti Basu leaves behind a state that is politically marginalised, economically denuded. His legacy: masterful non-performance.

Fifth Column
by Tavleen Singh
True Lies Forever

Right Angle
by Swapan Dasgupta
Intrigues at the Very Top

Royal Meltdown

Twin-Pronged Strategy

More...

Lest We Forget

Demystifying DTH

1. Programmes from studios or live shows are beamed through commercial satellites.

2. Signals are digitalised, coded and encrypted through digital video compression unit.

3. Digital signals are screened. Unauthorised signals (e.g those which subscriber has not paid for) are blocked.

4. The cleared signals are uplinked from an earth station to a sattelite with Kuband (high frequency) channels.

5. The sattelite beams down the signal to a small dish antenna on subscriber's rooftop or balcony.

6. The dish antenna transmits signals to a decoder through a smart card provided by the DTH provider.

The Good

• Scratchy telecasts will be a thing of the past. Digital signals are incredibly sharp.

• If 30 channels was wow now you have 100 and everything on.

• No cable operators dishing you out shoddy fare. You select the menu you like best.

The Bad

• Its initial cost. At Rs 25,000 for a set top box and the pizza-sized dish antenna limits access.

• You pay for each channel which means up to Rs 1,000 per month

• With broadband cable bringing convergence of TV, internet and phone the DTH is not as hot.

When Will The Show Roll

• No you won't be able to switch to DTH today. It will take almost a year before companies organise their business and get down to dishing out the digital fare.

• Large investment including Rs 10 crore licence fee, buying satellite transponders, setting up earth stations and a subscription management system is a barrier.

• Foreign equity of 49 per cent will help because it will bring money and the much-needed technology.

• DTH will be a high end option-initially being only a niche medium. Its potential is three million in two years as compared to the existing 37 million cable subscribers.

Gracious Gaggle
Goodness Gracious Me!..."takes the mickey out of Asians in the UK"
more...

Looking Glass

Mumbai: Restaurant

Delhi: Art Exhibition

Delhi: Restaurant

And More

How can Non-Performing Assets of companies be cleared? By recovering what you can, writes INDIA TODAY Associate Editor V. Shankar Aiyar in AuContrAiyar.

The Bangalore Development Authority becomes the first civic body in the country to issue a showcause notice to a sitting High Court judge for land violations. INDIA TODAY Principal Correspondent Stephen David reports on a determined demolition drive in Despatches.