India’s Sarah Palin Hour

She came—she didn’t wink—but she conquered.

On Saturday evening, Sarah Palin, 2008 Republic vice-presidential candidate and former governor of Alaska, got an extremely warm welcome when she delivered the closing keynote address at a conference in New Delhi.

As she got up to head to the podium, Aroon Purie, the editor-in-chief of India Today, the weekly magazine that organized the conference and invited Ms. Palin to India in a rare overseas visit, halted her, saying, “Not so fast. I’ve got lots more nice things to say about you.”

In his highly flattering introduction, Mr. Purie did make a gentle dig about her having a creative vocabulary, saying, “Madam, I hope you won’t refudiate me if I say so.”

When she did get to the podium, she spoke to a packed room about subjects that ranged from the U.S. economy, to energy, to the rise of China to national security to ties between the United States and India.

What They Said: Nuclear Lessons India Can Learn From Japan

India Real Time presents a round-up of commentary and analysis of one of the key news events this week–Japan’s struggle to contain radiation from damaged reactors after being hit by an earthquake and a tsunami a week ago, and the lessons India can learn from Japan’s nuclear crisis.

Even as anti nuclear groups get more fodder for their arguments against new nuclear projects, like the one planned at Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra, the Indian media said the country needs to learn from experience at the Fukushima Daiichi reactor complex when building its own nuclear plants.

In an editorial Thursday in the Hindustan Times, physicist M. V. Ramana and Suvrat Raju, a fellow at Harvard University’s Department of Physics, called for India to closely examine the events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility and understand that no nuclear plant is immune to the possibility of major accidents.

India This Evening: Parliment Adjourned Over Wikileaks

Here is a roundup of news from Indian newspapers, news wires and Web sites on Friday, March 18, 2011. The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Parliment Adjourned Over Wikileaks: The Wikileaks expose on the alleged ‘cash-for-votes’ scam in 2008 today disrupted Parliament proceedings, as a united Opposition demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the matter. (Source: Times of India)

Mamata Leaves Only 64 Seats for Congress: Trinamool Congress today unilaterally announced candidates for 228 constituencies for the Assembly elections in West Bengal, leaving 64 seats to Congress and the remaining two to ally Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI). (Source: Indian Express)

WikiLeaks: A U.S. View on Indian Leaders

The cables sent from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi since 2005 and made public this week by WikiLeaks contain descriptions of a range of meetings with top leaders as well as accounts of some of the regular occurrences of life here.

We previously excerpted from some of the more politically dramatic cables. Here are some more highlights.

Is It Time to Dial ‘T’ for ‘Telecom’?

For Indian investors, the time might be approaching to buy into the telecom sector, with several analysts saying these stocks, now at a low point, should be heading upward once regulatory issues are cleared up.

Stocks like Bharti Airtel Ltd., Reliance Communications Ltd.–India’s top two mobile service providers by users–and Idea Cellular Ltd., have languished of late on concerns over high competition, debt and regulatory uncertainty in the aftermath of revelations of the alleged rigging of spectrum licensing in 2008.

Can Pakistan Tame Australia?

Saturday’s Group A match between Pakistan and Australia is a tough one to predict, as is generally the case when Pakistan plays. One team – Australia – epitomizes consistency and solidity, while the other – Pakistan – is about as well-adjusted and reliable as a moody teenager.

On its day, Pakistan is one of the best sides at this World Cup, but on other occasions the team looks disorganized and uninterested. That’s one of the reasons why Pakistan is such a fascinating team to watch – you never quite know what you’re going to get.

Transcript: India PM on WikiLeaks

PM’s statement in the Lok Sabha

March 18, 2011
New Delhi

Yesterday, several Honourable Members raised allegations based on reports in a newspaper of what purport to be cables from the US Embassy in New Delhi to their authorities in Washington.

The Government of India cannot confirm the veracity, contents or even the existence of such communications. I may point out that many of the persons referred to in those reports have stoutly denied the veracity of the contents.

An issue was raised that the offence of bribery was committed in India. Government rejects that allegation absolutely and firmly.

Will Ferraris Cope With Indian Roads?

Last week, Italy’s Ferrari SpA announced it will soon start selling cars in India. But can you really picture the iconic, sleek, flaming red Ferrari stuck motionless in the traffic of Indian cities (perhaps squeezed between a truck and an auto rickshaw) or powering over its potholed roads?

Ferrari says you shouldn’t worry too much about that: “Indian clients will be able to get the maximum thrill from their car,” assured Enrico Galliera, a senior marketing executive from the Italian auto maker, in a recent emailed interview.

India to Stop ‘Finger Test’ for Rape Victims

Human rights activists who wonder about the effectiveness of the streams of statements and reports they issue should take heart from a development this week.

The Indian Express newspaper Friday reported that India’s health minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has written to federal government hospitals to instruct them not to conduct vaginal exams – known colloquially as “finger tests” – when examining rape victims without their consent.

The Disgrace of Rajat Gupta

From Evan Newmark on WSJ’s Deals blog:

In my last column on former McKinsey biggie Rajat Gupta, I wondered how a man of Gupta’s stature got caught up in the schemes of Galleon’s Raj

Rajaratnam.

Having just listened to an 18 minute July 2008 taped conversation between Gupta and Rajaratnam, I have a more prosaic question: How come Gupta hasn’t yet been criminally charged for his shenanigans?

So far, Gupta’s only been charged in a civil suit. But the stuff on this 18 minute recording is pretty damning.

Is it “criminal” activity as defined by the law? I don’t know, I’m not a federal prosecutor. But it certainly isn’t the kind of material Gupta would be proud to share with the McKinsey Quarterly or the HBS Alumni Bulletin.