Greetings from New Media and welcome to the e-version of Indo-US Business. With the two new regimes firmly in place, relations between India and the United States are heading towards exciting times. The cover story of the maiden e-Zine centres on the US Government's preparations to accord a "robust" welcome to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he visits America in November.

The Obama Administration is making every effort at making the first state visit a special occasion for the Indian leader and a "milestone" event in the Indo-US relationship. The Focus of the e-Zine is on bilateral trade between India and the United States, which according to Andrew T. Simkin, US Consul General in Chennai, is expected to double in the next five years to $90 billion from the present $44 billion. In Face-to-Face, Ms. Beth A. Payne, Consul General, United States Consulate in Kolkata, talks about India's expanding economic relations with the US and the immense potential for US investments existing in this country in general and Bengal in particular. The e-Zine carries a profile of Ben S. Bernanke, who is expected to continue as the Chairman of US Federal Reserve for the second time.

President Obama is expected to have Bernanke for the nation's most powerful economic policy making job following his successful handling of the current economic meltdown. Healthcare is coming on to the centre stage in the US with the Obama Administration giving this sector a top priority. Recently it has taken some reformative steps to upgrade the US healthcare system at the cost of about $1.5 billion. The e-Zine carries a report, which says that Americans prefer to set up their own business than join a job during the ongoing recession. In the infotainment section, we have a write-up on the renowned Titanic'director James Cameroon coming up with his new brainchild 'Avatar', which is entirely a 3-D film.

Wish you happy reading

Satya Swaroop