Here is a model portfolio for investors who may wish to start now.
Stocks, Sectors, Close on Oct 13, 2008
Infosys - IT , 1310
State Bank - Banking, 1526
MTNL - Communications, 68
NTPC - Power Generation, 180
GMDC - Natural Resources , 102
ONGC - Oil Exploration, 912
Invest equal amounts to each stock. Thus, if you are investing Rs 60,000/- , allocate Rs 10,000/- for each.

The Reserve Bank of India web site provides details of deposit insurance in India, at this link .
Salient features are:
1. For any one bank, the RBI insures deposits for One Lakh Rupees.
2. If the depositor has deposits in multiple branches of the same bank, all the deposits are added together for calculating the one lakh limit.
3. If the depositor has deposits in different banks, each bank deposit is insured for Rs 1 lakh.

Here are excerpts from the RBI web site:

Q9 Are deposits in different banks separately insured?
Yes. If you have deposits with more than one bank, deposit insurance coverage limit is applied separately to the deposits in each bank.
Q10 If I have deposits at two different banks, and those two banks are closed on the same day, are my funds added together, or insured separately?
Your funds from each bank would be insured separately, regardless of the date of closure.