Announcing this at a press conference here on Thursday, Allindia.com's founder Arvind Agarwalla said: "Kawamin's entry as our strategic partner will add value to Allindia.com. Amin's extensive experience both as a professional and an entrepreneur will be invaluable to the board, and the company will benefit from its extensive network of business relationships in Europe and Asia."

Kawamin's investment in Allindia.com is the first of its several proposed investments in information technology companies around the world.Allindia.com runs the community site www.batchmates.com, which has more than 220,000 members and is growing at 500-600 members per day. This site connects people with their school and college friends and is offered free to users, while having a revenue model in place.

Batchmates.com has tied up with some colleges to act as their official alumni registry.The company reported profits in the 1999-2000 fiscal with revenues exceeding Rs 1 crore. It has set a target of Rs 8 crore turnover during the current fiscal. "Unlike other dot.coms which have an unending burn rate, the business plan of Allindia.com has always been based on a revenue and earnings model," Agarwalla said. The Web consultancy division of Allindia.com has a client list that includes Tata Steel, Uco Bank, Allahabad Bank, Modi Telstra, Bengal Ambuja and Esab India.