India and the promises we hold were the subject of intense examination at both the first-ever high profile TED India conference at Mysore and the oft-repeated India Economic Summit at Delhi. The Mysore gathering created massive buzz, being the first time TED's annual jamboree of global "thought leaders" was held in Asia.
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The simple fact that more than 800 brilliant minds from over 50 countries agreed that this is where the future is being moulded, proves that our future indeed is here. TED groupies are after all the most powerful agents of change in a digital world that India simply has to embrace now.

The Mysore optimism about India's future was echoed by policy makers in Dilli, many of who were at the annual India Economic Summit outlining their mantras to the cream of Global Big Business. While the question about India's alternative future remains an open one, the underlying message of the two events was loud and clear the world's attention is again on India.

Decoding Koda

The law will naturally take its own course in the Madhu Koda case, but Dilli is busy wondering how many more political careers this scandal will claim before the dust settles. Revelations so far seem to indicate that the scam embroils not just netas in Koda's karmabhoomi but also neighbouring Bihar and naturally Delhi!

So far, of course, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Koda and three of his former ministers. But this list is only likely to grow. Some members of the Congress and BJP are being whispered about now. Rumours say, a senior Congress minister from Maharashtra and a former Bihar chief minister may be involved. These names have evidently surfaced in a "diary", and diaries have always had a symbolic hold on political futures in Dilli city.

Widely regarded as India's 'Image Guru', Dilip Cherian is a lobbyist, celebrity creator and tycoon watcher. He currently parties on a 24/7 schedule that mixes cities, nixes bores, and analyses Dilli