"A flashlight with an LED bulb for illumination or to signal for help; a hand-held water purifier in case the water isn’t potable; a portable radio; and a cellphone or a Blackberry with international service."

These are the essential items that the Association of Corporate Travel Executives advises business travelers to pack when they sojourn into global hot spots like post-attacks Mumbai. As The Practical Traveler reports for the New York Times, several guests trapped in the Taj hotel during last month's siege were able to relay word of their whereabouts to the Indian police via text message on a trusty mobile connection. Now, the international hotel industry is moving to reinforce guest security with stepped-up staff training and use of technology, like color-coded alerts at the Marriott line of hotels.

So who might stand to profit in the new South Asian security economy? The Wall Street Journal reports that the makers of door frame and hand-held metal detectors, high-speed armored sea vessels, smart cards, and providers of sniffer dogs and closed circuit televisions could be sitting pretty in the new year. Revenues from India's private security business alone could rise from 220 billion rupees this year to 500 billion rupees in 2012. Among those anxious to not miss out are security firms from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Korea, whose products are projected to enter India in large numbers in coming years.