Petrol Prices across the World

Petrol Prices across the World
Country
$ per Gal. 2005
Rs/ ltr
$ per Gal. 2006
Rs/ ltr
$ per Gal. 2007
Rs/ ltr
$ per Gal. 2008
Rs/ ltr
% Deviation from India, 2008
Saudi Arabia
--
--
--
--
--
--
0.50
4.75
-91%
Malaysia
0.56
5.36
--
--
--
--
0.71
6.86
-86%
Qatar
--
--
--
--
--
--
1.14
9.82
-81%
UAE
1.29
12.35
1.83
18.49
--
--
1.70
15.95
-69%
USA
2.58
24.66
2.46
24.54
3.09
27.72
2.97
30.76
-39%
Bahrain
--
--
--
--
--
--
3.32
31.16
-38%
Lebanon
--
--
--
--
--
--
4.60
43.52
-14%
Canada
4.23
40.63
4.45
44.24
4.68
45.59
5.18
52.68
4%
Czech Republic
--
--
--
--
--
--
5.27
46.34
-9%
Japan
--
--
--
--
--
--
5.32
46.86
-7%
Pakistan
3.73
35.99
4.36
43.75
3.91
38.07
5.36
50.70
0%
South Africa
3.64
34.77
4.27
43.13
4.41
39.48
5.41
52.10
3%
Kathmandu, Nepal
--
--
--
--
--
--
5.73
49.87
-2%
India
4.63
47.16
4.92
50.20
5.68
50.64
5.77
50.65

SriLanka
--
--
4.36
44.51
--

6.64
62.68
24%
New Zealand
4.91
47.37
4.86
49.37
--
--
7.05
65.82
30%
Switzerland
--
--
--
--
--
--
7.52
66.09
30%
Australia
4.36
41.91
4.73
47.72
--
--
7.64
72.18
43%
Sweden
--
--
5.96
60.55
--
--
8.13
76.29
51%
Singapore
3.23
30.91
--
--
--
--
8.23
77.70
53%
Finland
--
--
5.05
52.16
--
--
9.45
91.87
81%
Poland
--
--
--
--
--
--
9.64
91.41
80%
Germany
--
--
4.95
49.53
--
--
9.68
94.08
86%
UK
2.27
21.93
--
--
--
--
10.41
98.12
94%
Holland
5.83
55.88
--
--
--
--
10.45
101.59
101%
Italy
--
--
--
--
--
--
10.86
101.95
101%
Denmark
--
--
--
--
--
--
10.95
102.18
102%
Vietnam
--
--


2.86
26.78
--
--
--
Nairobi, Kenya
--
--
--
--
5.00
44.64
--
--
--
Brazil
--
--
3.48
34.23
--
--
--
--

France
--
--
4.00
41.00
--
--
--
--
--
Scotland
--
--
7.77
75.64
--
--
--
--
--
Turkey
6.54
63.16
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
Thailand
--
--
3.09
25.55
--
--
--
--
--
Petrol Prices in India
City
2005
Price
2006
Price
2007
Price
2008
Price
Ahmedabad
26-Sep-05
47.32
17-May-06
47.79




Andhra Pradesh


13-Jun-06
53.66




Bangalore
3-Oct-05
50.66
14-Sep-06
55.00
28-May-07
52.00
23-May-08
55.00
Chandigarh


14-Jul-06
48.14




Chennai


6-Jun-06
47.83
5-Dec-07
49.15
11-Jun-08
55.00







2-Jul-08
59.20
Coimbatore


17-May-06
47.47







16-May-06
47.50


4-Jun-08
49.62



12-Apr-06
48.56







14-Aug-06
55.14
16-May-07
50.75
9-Jun-08
58.91



12-Jun-06
55.20
9-May-07
50.67





19-May-06
50.69




Hyderabad


8-Sep-06
53.24


22-Apr-08
55.00







30-May-08
51.10







11-Jun-08
60.00







13-Jun-08
56.65



12-May-06
48.64




Kerala


8-Aug-06
50.35




Kolkata
10-Dec-05
46.90
22-May-06
46.86


4-Jun-08
48.95
Madurai


15-Jun-06
52.02




Mumbai






8-Mar-08
56.00







4-Jun-08
50.51
Nagpur






23-Apr-08
54.25
New Delhi
22-Sep-05
43.49
12-Sep-06
48.00


24-May-08
47.00



16-May-06
45.05


4-Jun-08
45.52
Pune


18-Sep-06
55.25


29-Feb-08
51.46



31-May-06
48.85


15-Jul-08
54.95
Punjab


1-Jul-06
53.51




Tamil Nadu


25-Jun-06
52.50




Vadodara,Gujrat






26-Jun-08
53.48
Notes:1) The data has been garnered from various sources on the Internet. Accuracy is not guaranteed.2) The prices are not strictly comparable because:(a) They cover different grades of petrol(b) They cover a period covering at least the last 4 months(c) Some prices are inclusive of local taxes, while others are exlusive(d) Prices vary across different regions within a country.

India's First Mission To Moon

Mission Chandrayaan

Chandrayaan’s orbit raised

Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The first manoeuvre to raise the orbit of Chandrayaan-1, India’s first spacecraft to the moon, was accomplished on Thursday when the spacecraft’s liquid apogee motor (LAM) was fired for nearly 18 minutes. The engine firing took the spacecraft from its initial orbit of 256 km by 22,866 km to a perigee of 305 km and an apogee of 37,900 km.Nerve-centre
The commands for firing the engine were given from the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Peenya in Bangalore. In this new orbit, Chandrayaan-1 will take about 11 hours to go round the earth once. The Spacecraft Control Centre will be the nerve-centre of operations till Chandrayaan-1 goes into its final orbit of 100 km around the moon by November 15 and also during the tenure of the spacecraft’s life for two years.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11), which lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport on Wednesday at 6.22 a.m., put Chandrayaan-1 into its initial orbit 18 minutes and 20 seconds later. In this initial orbit, the spacecraft orbited the earth once in about six hours and a half.
M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, said from Bangalore, that “everything went as we planned” when the LAM on board the spacecraft was fired for about 18 minutes. “The spacecraft’s health is normal. Everything is under control,” he said.
The LAM would be fired again on Friday (October 24) morning to take the spacecraft to an apogee of 73,000 km and a perigee of 300 km, Mr. Annadurai said.
The two dish antennas with diameters of 32 metres and 18 metres at the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu village, near Bangalore, tracked the spacecraft in its new orbit and received signals from it.

Abhinav Bindra wins India's first ever solo Olympic gold

India clinched its first ever individual Olympic gold medal in 108 years when Abhinav Bindra won the 10 meter air rifle event in one of the most pulsating shooting finals in the history of the world's biggest sporting extravaganza. The historic victory for the 25-year-old pro from Chandigarh came against heavy odds as he entered the event ranked number 17 in the world and pitted against Athens Olympic champion Zhu Qinan of China and Henri Hakkinen of Finland rated much higher than him.
But Bindra proved that reputation and history counted little as he overcame a two-point deficit against Zhu and Haikkinen after the qualifying round and annexed the title.
Bindra emerged triumphant in the 10-shot final with a finish of 104.5, taking his tally of points to 700.5 as against Zhu's silver winning performance of 699.7 (597+102.7) and 699.4 (598+101.4) by Hakkinen, which gave the Finn Army marksman the bronze.
His first shot of the final a 10.7 saw him move to the third place and by the time he was preparing to shoot his fourth, the Indian had risen to the second spot.
A 10.6 on his seventh attempt earned Bindra the lead and in the deciding shot he got 10.8, way ahead of 10.5 by the Chinese and 9.7 by the Finn to bring India the first ever gold medal by an individual since the country first participated in Olympics in 1900.
The businessman from Chandigarh also ended India's wait for a gold since the hockey team fetched a yellow metal in the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
"It can't better than this. Can it?" an elated but composed Bindra said soon after achieving the feat.
"I sincerely hope my medal changes the face of India's Olympic sports," the bespectacled shooter told reporters.
As Bindra bowed his head to receive the gold medal from the Princess of Lichtenstein, a small country in central Europe, and the Indian national anthem was played out for the first time in this edition of Olympics, the shooter had his feet firmly on the ground, betraying little emotions.
"For me, life will go on as usual but I sincerely hope Olympic sports get a leg-up. It's not a priority back home and I hope more focus is paid to these events like shooting," he said.
Asked about his scorching run in the finals, Abhinav said it was a conscious plan to pull out all stops and it paid off.
"I entered the final as fourth, which means I had to go all out for it. That's why I was so aggressive and it paid off in the end. I guess it was my day," he said.
Bindra, whose career at one stage was jeopardised by a nagging back injury, said it was not easy to keep himself keyed up all along.
"I worked hard, left home and trained in Germany. It only proves that if you keep working hard, you would have your day someday and fortunately, it was my day today.
"My parents, family and coaches stood by me all along and I owe it to them," he said.
Even in his hour of supreme glory, Bindra was magnanimous towards his rival when he applauded Zhu for his performance and said "he should be happy that he won a medal".
Bindra's compatriot Gagan Narang too almost made it to the final but was ruled out on countback. Gagan scored 595, levelled at the fifth place but lost out on a final place in countback.

What The World's Wealthiest Buy

Thu, Jun 26 05:30 AM
Lauren Sherman, Forbes.com
U.S. consumer confidence may be at its lowest in 16 years, but the world's ultra-rich who like to spend their money on things or experiences that will enhance their lifestyle, such as travel or jewelry, aren't deterred by the shaky economy.
That's according to the 2008 World Wealth Report, released today by financial management firm Merrill Lynch and consulting company Capgemini. It studied the 2007 spending habits of the world's richest people. Capgemini and Merrill Lynch define High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) as those with at least $1 million in financial assets, excluding collectibles, consumables, consumer durables and primary residences. Ultra-High Net Worth Individuals (U-HNWI) hold at least $30 million in financial assets, excluding the same variables.
In Pictures: Eight Luxurious Ways To Spend Your Rebate
In Depth: What The World's Wealthiest Buy
In Depth: World's Once-In-A-Lifetime Vacations
In Depth: How To Save On Summer Travel To Europe
In Pictures: America's Most Expensive Homes
Unsurprisingly, what millionaires--and billionaires--buy is segmented by region. Those in Europe and Latin America spent the most money on art, while travel and luxury collectibles--such as yachts, jets or cars--were most important to Americans.
Those in Asia-Pacific indulged most in gems, jewelry and watches, while the Middle East's richest dabbled in a bit of everything: They allocated a similar percentage of their wealth to several categories of what the report calls "passion investments." (Or in laymen's terms, money spent on luxuries, from travel to fashion to art.) From luxury collectibles to consumables--such as clothing, handbags and wine--to travel and accessories, those in the Middle East weren't partial to a specific passion.
The report also touched upon the fact that North America still has the most millionaires in the world: 3.3 million. But the percentage of growth from 2006-2007 was just 3%, whereas the Middle East saw a 33% growth--to 400,000 millionaires--during the same period. Asia-Pacific's number grew to 2.8 million, a 7.7% increase from 2006. Ileana van der Linde, a principal in Capgemini's wealth department, says that Asia will have the highest number of millionaires by 2012.
What are you buying? Weigh in. Post your thoughts in the Readers Comments section below.
These numbers represent a shift in global spending and market share. James Chung, president of Slingerlands, N.Y.-based Reach Advisors, a marketing strategy and research firm focused on the wealthiest half-percent of Americans, says that global companies that sell luxury goods and experiences must now focus their efforts on the East. Those that already have a hold on emerging markets, including Richemont and LVMH, are seeing better quarterly results as the U.S. market continues to weaken. Swiss luxury goods giant Richemont reported an 18% rise in its fiscal year profit to 1.57 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in May 2008. In April 2008, French conglomerate LVMH reported a first-quarter revenue of 4 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in the quarter, up from 3.8 billion ($5.1 billion at the then-current exchange rate) a year earlier.
"[In the U.S.], the personal luxury arms race is over," says Chung. "It's not that people aren't spending, but when they do it's because of its inherent value, not because it's a good investment that's going to make them money five years down the line. They're not trying to keep up with the Joneses as much. They're buying things because they want to enjoy them, or let their family enjoy them."
For companies that count the HNWI and U-HNWIs as their main client, the message is clear. Go East, or perish.
About the 2008 World Wealth Report The report covers 71 countries and accounts for more than 98% of the global gross national income and 99% of world stock market capitalization. The data on income distribution is provided by World Bank, Global Insight and by countries' national statistics