South Asia Investor Review

Technology will likely get significant attention by President-elect Barack H. Obama, in spite of the more urgent issues of two wars, a sputtering economy and ballooning US national debt. While there will be the usual rush by various special interest groups in the high tech world to try and influence US technology policy to favor their particular sectors or products, it is important for the new administration to see each technology in the broader context of national challenges such as government transparency, climate change, energy independence, delivering cost-effective healthcare broadly, and overcoming major national economic challenges. Obama understands the difference that online networking technology made in raising record amount of $700m for his campaign, and energizing the young people to get involved as campaign organizers, workers and voters. It can be expected that Obama will continue to promote and use the online media to reach out to the American people and inspire them t...

The world will eventually run out of oil. When it does, will south Asians be able to cope with life as we know it? To answer this question, let us examine where India and Pakistan stand today in terms of oil consumption relative to the rest of the world. Pakistan consumes about 400,000 barrels per day. India's consumption is 2.6 million barrels per day. China's daily consumption is 7 million barrels. United States uses 22 million barrels a day. The entire world uses 80 million barrels per day. While China, India and Pakistan are currently at very low per capita energy consumption , their energy requirements are growing at about 6-8% per year, much faster than the US or Europe. While some nations use energy more efficiently than others, the amount of oil used per capita is a rough measure of the standard of living of a nation. Most of the oil is used as fuel for transportation and electricity but a substantial amount is also used in essential materials such as fiber, fertilizer,...