Web Portal For Indian Expatriates Challenges U.S. Sites

Wealthy and technology-friendly Indian expatriate entrepreneurs in California's Silicon Valley are among the targets for Rediff On The Net, India's leading Internet portal company. It has unveiled plans to launch a sophisticated U.S. site. Of the 1.2 million Indians living in the U.S., 60% are online. Indian nationals also account for the largest number of programmers working in the U.S. technology industry on short-term visas. "U.S. portals have succeeded the world over by introducing localized versions of their services," says Ajit Balakrishnan, Rediff's founder and chairman. "Rediff.com aims to challenge the Americans by doing the same in the U.S., India, and elsewhere." Rediff.com also aims at capturing a market of 20 million Indians living outside their home country in Europe, Africa, and Asia.