The closing ceremony of Commonwealth Games will have a healthy dose of Bollywood -- missing in the opening gala -- with top performers like singer Sunidhi Chauhan and music composer-singer Shankar Mahadevan expected to get a packed house at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on its feet.

The timing for Walmart's first buyer-seller summit in India earlier this month couldn't have been better. As Indian firms keen to tap the retailing giant's global network prepared their pitches, the Indian government gave the first concrete sign that it may be ready to open up its potentially huge retail market to foreign investors — an opportunity that America's largest retailer has been chasing for as many as 20 years.

Even as the political relationship between New Delhi and Beijing has gone through ups and downs this year, the Indian government has quietly launched a broad campaign to win hearts and minds in China.

The impressive opening ceremony showcased India's many talents and its prowess as an emerging global player. Unfortunately, the rough run-up to the CWG was, and still is a major embarrassment for India and tarnishes its image as it competes with other emerging economies such as China, South Africa and Brazil on the global stage.

After many rounds of peace talks gone bad, India and Pakistan are still very much at odds. But now, an unlikely duo of sports-loving 30-year-olds is aiming to see if a tennis match can solve what diplomacy has been unable to.

India kicked off its showcase 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi with an impressive opening ceremony complete with Bollywood songs, yoga, and dancers weaving among bicycle rickshaws. But, for sheer drama, the unofficial "pre-Games show" – the country's mad dash to get everything in place to host the quadrennial international Games – still stole the spotlight.

The Commonwealth Games are not expected to be particularly gripping viewing for sports fans. After all, most of the top international athletes have pulled out, citing everything from scheduling to muscle strains as evidence of India’s abysmal planning piled up and Delhi was stricken with an outbreak of dengue fever.