FRANKFURT: The 58th annual frankfurt book fair turns the spotlight on indian literature this year, the highlight of the event that has attracted exhibitors from some 100 countries. some 7,000 exhibitors are expected this year for the fair,the world's oldest, which runs october 4 to 8,said director Juergen Boos on Thursday. Indian authors including Vikram Seth and Amitav Ghosh are expected to be there, said Nuzhat Hassan,who is organizing the special exhibit this year. Some 150 indian publishers will attend. Besides reading from indian authors,the fair will include films,exhibits and indian food, to provide insights into contemporary indian culture.

Mr.Boos said the number of Asian publishers is high this year.many Latin-American and Southeastern European publishing houses will also attend. Last year's fair had more than 7,220 exhibitors.

You don't gotta have the moves,you gotta have the groove too.Yes the 'art of small talk 'is the indian IT & BPO industry when it comes to communication skills. Voice and accent training are now passe;instead specialized training programmes are helping to take the industry to the next level.

Now agents are meant to know not only who's the latest US sports-man being 'traded' but also which hurricane is slated to hit Louisiana next, not to mention whether Arnie is good for california or not.Yes,there are tailor-made course to understand American sarcasm,les-sons in American'football'weather charts on shop floors to help con-verse better about climates in the client's country,and tutorials to understand current US politics.There's a huge emphasis on cultural underpinnings,not only to help indians understand foreign customers better but feel for them too. Trainers say this is a way to empathize with customers at all levels and take note of their client's cultural nuances.The objective better business negotiations with enhanced customer satisfaction. Such training programmes are being held in c3i,a pharma outsourcing BPO, Hewitt BPO, HCL-BPO and EXL. "it's accepted to have a neutral accent in today's business climate but it's more important to understand your client's culture and where they are coming from. The kind of terminology they use,be it in sports or politics,is imperative,"says a spokesperson for Birlasoft, the global technology services division of the CK Birla Group. trainers,usually a team of expatriates,role-play real life incidents to culturally sensitive agents and managers alike.

A solar-powered boat manufactured in The netherlands made its maiden cruise in Asian waters from chennai port (madras) on Friday. Launching the solar powered boat,manufactured by Delft university, The Netherlands, Karien van Gennip, The Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade,said 20 students of the University had set a milestone in maritime technology by manufacturing the solar-powered boat, Which would be an answer to conventional energy sources,which were pollution-free. The country was ready to share its technology with other countries, especially india. Later the Minister took a ride in the boat for about 20 minutes. Chennai port Chairman K.Suresh,presiding over the launch,said these boats could be used for attracting tourists.