The new year promises to be a busy year with brand new airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore, the launch of the Rs 1-lakh-car, unlocking of the gas riches in the Krishna-Godavari basin, and Jamnagar housing the world's biggest refinery complex.
Here is a quick sweep of the main events of the year:
January: A prototype of the much-awaited "Rs 1-lakh-car" from Tata will be unveiled at an auto show, as will the small concept car from the Bajaj stable. This is also the month which is likely to see a marginal 'reasonable' hike in the fuels that run these cars.
The Rs 60-crore historical romance Jodhaa-Akbar starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan is set to be released a day before India celebrates its 59th Republic Day.
One of the most expensive films to be made, it is produced by UTV and Ashutosh Gowarikar (of Lagaan fame). And of course, there is the mega IPO of Reliance Power which is likely to mop up about Rs 11,000 crore.
February: Time for a pre-election (read populist) budget, but before that Subhash Chandra's Indian Cricket League opens the 2008 account with a 50-over match, which will be followed by the recently popularised 20-20 genre of matches.
Air India will launch Delhi-New York direct flights during the month. The term of SEBI chief Damodaran expires (he may get an extension), as does the Indian visa of controversial Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen.
March: A swanky new airport will open its doors in Hyderabad. The Rs 2,500-crore airport, being built by GMR International, will be located on the outskirts of the city, at a place called Shamshabad.
It will be capable of handling 10 million passengers, which is about half of what the Delhi airport handles currently. This will be followed by the Rs 2,000-crore Greenfield Bangalore airport near Devanahalli, which will also be capable of handling 10 million passengers. Also, the terms of the Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura assemblies expire.
April: Big Oil may finally make an entry into the India's sedimentary basins to search for oil and gas by bidding for the 57 blocks on offer under Nelp VII. The month also marks the beginning of the new financial year, which is projected to be tougher than the one gone by, thanks to an appreciating rupee and the shadow of an impending global slowdown. Most economists, however, expect India to maintain its head above the 8 per cent growth mark.
June: Unlocking the gas riches owned by Reliance in the Krishna-Godavari basin begins. Production of gas is set to start at 40 million cubic metres per day, which will subsequently be ramped up to 80 mcmd, effectively doubling the gas availability in the country. This sets the stage for a change in the energy mix of the country.
August: This month will see the mechanical completion of the new 580,000-barrel per day refinery of Reliance Petroleum at Jamnagar, adjacent to the existing 660,000 bpd refinery of parent Reliance Industries. Commissioning of the new refinery expected anywhere between October and December 2008 will see it catapulted to the position of the biggest refinery complex in the world.
October: Ethanol blending could go up to 10 per cent across the country, if the recommendations of the group of ministers are accepted. Such blending is currently limited to 5 per cent and leaves out some states like West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
December: It's election season with the terms of the state governments in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir coming to an end.
