One of the principal development challenges confronting humankind today is ensuring that each person has affordable access to electricity. Lack of access to electricity deprives millions of people from basic minimum standard of living.

Weak global liquidity conditions, combined with appetite from sovereign funds and growth focused emerging-market funds may fuel investment flows into Indian equites this year, foreign brokerage RBS said.

Satyajit Das, author of Extreme Money: The Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk, says India's poor public finances, weak international position, structurally flawed businesses, poor infrastructure, corruption and political atrophy threaten to overwhelm its future prospects.

Experts tell Money Today about their expectations from the various sectors. While business sentiment and policy reforms should pick up after the general elections in 2014, the investment cycle may take time for any significant revival.

Capgemini's Corporate Vice President Utilities Global Sector Leader Perry Stoneman said: \"The government has a sound road map and policy in place... Some will work... It's just a matter of getting the ball moving in enough prove points.\"

Despite rural incomes and consumption rising steadily in the past few years, rural retail chains have not been able to match the success of their urban counterparts.

The finance minister's economic legacy runs counter to his image as a friend of big business. In eight Budgets, he has introduced five new taxes - the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT), the Securities Transaction Tax, the Banking Cash Transaction Tax, the Fringe Benefit Tax and the Commodity Transaction Tax.

Firstsource Managing Director and CEO Rajesh Subramaniam told Goutam Das that all concerns about CESC's diversification into BPO business would fade once the return on investment starts kicking in.

If India is not to repeat the paralysing grid collapse that occurred on the last two days of July, every single link in the chain that is India's power system will need reform.

Mismanagement has pushed the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to the edge. And recent measures to revive it may fall short.

The recent poor performance of automobile stocks may soon be a thing of the past.

Vast tracts of land acquired by the government to set up special economic zones (SEZs) have ended up as thriving real estate businesses instead of job-generating industrial hubs.

With the Reserve Bank of India reducing the repo rate and hope of reforms and huge investments, the infrastructure sector looks ripe for a turnaround.

Key observations of the finance minister in his Budget speech and thereafter.

The list of favoured sectors is changing constantly. While infrastructure, banks and power sectors look promising as this year's investment cycle starts to roll, selective approach in sectors such as telecom, automobile and pharma can also give good returns.

Gujarat's power sector was in a shambles in 2001, when Narendra Modi became chief minister. A decade later it is in the forefront of states that have carried out sweeping power reforms, as a result of which it now has surplus power.

We explore stocks and sectors that have limiteddownside for those who wish to be safe and yet do not want to miss the bus incase the markets rise in 2012.

The vice-chairman and MD of Mahindra and Mahindra says joint ventures worked out very well.

Dubbed as a takeover tycoon, the Mahindra and Mahindra vice-chairman and MD has not confined to acquisitions alone. Anand Mahindra's 360-degree view of life had management thinker C.K. Prahalad define his sprawl of businesses 'Fortress Mahindra' - an empire that spans not just a hundred countries but has valuable links in multiple industries.

Anand Mahindra, vice chairman & MD of M&M, speaks to Business Today's Kushan Mitra on transformation, change, management and the new 'Rise' campaign.