India Newsletter 10.2012

India Newsletter | 1

INDIA NEWSLETTERPublished by the Embassy of India, Vienna

Year 2 | Issue 22 | October 2012

Feature

FOODINDUSTRY

2 | India Newsletter

News

QUICK FACTSSnapshot of last month’s Highlights

1The Indian marketing analytics in-dustry is expected to touch US$

1.2 billion in 2020 at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent.

2With the new textile policy and approval of 263 textile projects

in the State, the Goverment of Ma-harashtra has attracted investments worth Rs 2,400 crore (US$ 432.36 million) in the sector.

3The mobile penetration in India has reached

75 per cent as on August 2012. India added 20 mil-lion out of the global 140 million net additions during Q2 2012.

4The number of internet users in rural India is expected to reach 45

million by December 2012.

5With an addition of 31 million in-ternet users in the last one year,

the total internet user base in India stands at 137 million in June 2012. This is a 30 per cent increase over the same period last year.

6The aggregate depos-its with banks stood at

Rs 63 trillion (US$ 1.13 trillion) as on August 24, 2012, registering an an-nual year-on-year growth of 14.12 per cent.

7Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) investment in the Indian eq-

uity market has reached Rs 65,954 crore (US$ 12.19 billion) so far this year.

8Power generation is expected to grow by 10.4 per cent in 2012-13.

9Organic farming in Odisha is expected to reach a size of Rs

23,000 crore (US$ 4.20 billion) in the next 5 years.

10NRIs have depos-ited US$ 7.37 bil-

lion in domestic banks dur-ing the April-July 2012 period, which is six times more as compared to US$ 1.24 billion in the year ago period.

11The State Bank of India (SBI) plans to add 1,200 branches

this fiscal up from the 645 branches it opened in 2011-12.

12Data analytics market in India is expected to reach US$ 1.15

bn, to constitute 21 per cent of the overall Indian KPO market opportu-nities worth US$ 5.6 bn by 2015.

13India’s ‘eating out’ market is estimated

close to Rs 33,000 crore (US$ 6.26 billion).

14An average global company (US$ 11.2 billion in annual

revenue) will spend between US$ 13 million-US$ 22 million for marketing through mobile devices in 2012.

15Foreign direct in-vestment (FDI)

in India has increased by about 60 per cent to US$ 1.76 billion in July 2012.

165With India being one of the

leading markets in APAC, the

BPO sector in the region is expected

to touch US$ 9.5 billion in 2016.

17The top six Indian cities — Mumbai,

Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad — will add 50,000 ho-tel rooms over the next five years.

18The personal computer market

in India registered an increase of

15.7 per cent at 2.86 million units during

April-June 2012 over the corresponding

period last year.

19Investments via Participatory

Notes into the Indian market rose

to a five-month high of Rs 141,710 crore

(US$ 26.08 billion) in August 2012.

20Foreign direct investment (FDI) in

the Indian retail sector is expect-

ed to create 10 million jobs in 10 years.

21The overall advance tax realisa-

tion from the top 100 companies

during the second quarter of FY 2012-13

has recorded an increase of 10 per cent.

22India’s spending on green IT and sus-

tainability initiatives will double from US$ 35 billion in 2010 to US$ 70 billion in 2015.


News

BUSIneSS lUnCh And B2B-meeTIngS InVITATIOn, OCT 8Th

With the Trade Delegation from CAPEXIL

The Embassy of India (Vienna) has the honour to invite your este-meed company to join us for an

Indian Business Lunch/B2B Meeting with the Trade Delegation from CAPEXIL on Monday, October 8th, 2012 at the Radis-son Blu Palais Hotel (Parkring 16, 1010 Vienna). Delegates will be available from 11am to 4pm for B2B talks. Lunch will be served at 12.30pmThe delegates wish to hold talks seeking not only trade part-

ners, but also Joint Ventures, Technical Tie Ups, Take overs of Plant & Machin-eries, possibility to open branch offices in Austria vis-à-vis inviting Austrian firms to have their representation in India, pro-curement of quality raw materials, ap-pointing selling agent, selecting distribu-tors, tie ups with buy back arrangements, procurement of materials, design, R&D in Structural Engineering etc.

The delegation’s product spectrum in-cludes: Rubber Products, Auto Tyre & Tubes, Granite, Marble & Natural Stone, Concrete Blocks, Reinforced Concrete Products, Pipes, Road Barriers, Refracto-ries, Limonite, Sillimanite, Bleaching Earth, Activated Carbon, Paper & Paper Prod-ucts, Matches etc.

Please confirm your interest and availability by sending us an email to [email protected].

VIBRAnT gUJARAT delegATIOn TO AUSTRIAVisiting Delegation Event Report

From 27-29th September, 2012, a delega-tion comprising senior Indian industry corporates from the state of Gujarat vis-ited Vienna. Besides B2B meetings with local chambers of commerce, the delega-tion hosted a Business Networking Semi-

nar for 40+ distinguished guests at the Business Centre of the Indian Embassy.

With focus on Innovation & Technology in Chemicals & Biotechnology, Engineer-ing & Infrastructure, Electronic & Machin-ery, IT and Environmental Technology,

the delegates were able to interact with

several Austrian industry businessmen,

tightening up the India-Austria Business

connection.

See below some impressions of the event.


lUCKnOw SChOOl IS wORld’S ‘lARgeST’As published in the Guiness Book of Records

Starting from five students and a Rs.300 loan, a Lucknow school has travelled a long way to become the

school with the most number of pupils in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

The 57th and 2013 edition of the book says the City Montessori School (CMS)

in Lucknow had a record enrolment of 39,437 pupils on Aug 9, 2010, for the 2010-11 academic year.

School authorities told IANS that the number of pu-pils now stood at 45,000-plus.

The entry in the Guinness, which documents the world’s most

unique and selective records, has en-thused the students and staff.

“We are very happy that not only our size but also our philosophy of world peace is being recognized at a global level,” school founder Jagdish Gandhi told IANS.

Tanmay Tiwari, a Class 12 student on one of the 20 branches the school operating

in the city, is equally estatic.

He said studying in one of the school campuses was an “enriching experience” which “mattered a lot in the transition” in his persona.

Principal Vera Hazela says her association with the school has been a “great one”.

Talking of the exposure the school gives to its students, she said the school holds 32 educational international events every year.

School spokesperson Rishi Khann said the management, staff and students were overjoyed over the Guinness recognition.

The school was founded in 1959 by Jag-dish Gandhi and his wife Bharti Gandhi in a rented premises with just five students and a borrowed capital of Rs.300.

The school was also awarded the prestig-ious UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2002, becoming the only school world-wide ever to receive this honour.

eVeRy ThIRd TeCh START-Up In US hAS IndIAn dnAResearch conducted by Kauffman Foundation

At a time when the US has started to see a drop in the number of immigrant-founded technology

companies, Indians and Chinese immi-grant entrepreneurs have not followed the trend.

According to a recent study by Kauffman Foundation, based on a sample survey, about 33.2 per cent of the co-founders of engineering and technology compa-nies incorporated in the US during the last six years were Indians. This is an in-crease of about seven percentage points from what a similar study that examined immigrant-founded companies between 1995 and 2005 found.

The number of technology companies in the US co-founded by the Chinese has also gone up to 8.1 per cent compared to 6.9 in 2005, it says.

The study, “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Then and Now”, is based on a survey among a random sample of 1,882 companies of the total 107,819 engineering and technology companies founded in the last six years in the US. Of those, 456 had at least one foreign-born founder.

It found the proportion of immigrant-founded companies in the country slipped to 24.3 per cent from 25.3 per cent in 2005. The drop was more pro-nounced in Silicon Valley, where the per-centage of immigrant-founded start-ups declined from 52.4 per cent to 43.9 per cent.

“The exceptions to this downward trend were immigrants from India... Indians, in fact, founded more of the engineering and technology firms than immigrants born in the next nine countries combined,” the study said.

The implications of the findings, conduct-ed by researchers at Duke University, The Berkeley School of Information and Stan-ford University, have now been encapsu-lated in a book ‘The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent’. The book has been written by Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Com-mercialization at the Pratt School of En-gineering, Duke University.

“The US risks losing a key growth en-gine just when the economy needs job

creators more than ever,” said Wadhwa.

“The US can reverse these trends with

changes in policies and opportunities, if it

acts swiftly. It is imperative that we create

a start-up visa for these entrepreneurs

and expand the number of green cards

for skilled foreigners to work in these

start-ups. Many immigrants would gladly

remain in the US to start and grow com-

panies that will lead to jobs,” he added.

Immigrant founders employed about

560,000 workers and generated an esti-

mated $63 billion in sales from 2006 to

2012. “For several years, anecdotal evi-

dence has suggested an unwelcoming im-

migration system and environment in the

US have created a ‘reverse brain drain.’

This report confirms it with data,” said

Dane Stangler, director of research and

policy at the Kauffman Foundation.

“To maintain a dynamic economy, the US

needs to embrace immigrant entrepre-

neurs,” he added.

Articles


ITC FlAgS OFF wORld’S lARgeST gReen hOTelGreen Tourism in India

VOlKSwAgen TO InVeST €100 mIllIOn In IndIAInvestments in India

ITC launched its imposing Grand Cho-la, a 600-key luxury hotel in Chennai. Inaugurated by J. Jayalalithaa, Chief

Minister of Tamil Nadu, this hotel is the company’s biggest property in the coun-try and “the world’s largest LEED Plati-num green hotel (an eco certificate).”

In terms of room inventory, this will be the third largest hotel in the country, after Renaissance (759 keys) and Grand Hyatt (694 keys) — both in Mumbai.

The company has invested over Rs 1,200 crore in the property which spreads over eight acres of land.

Designed to “recall the grandeur and lifestyle of the imperial Chola dynasty,” the integrated upmarket hotel complex

also houses one lakh sq.ft. of conference and exhibition facilities, which, accord-ing to the company, is by far the biggest in the country — 10 food and bever-age outlets, a spa, a preview theatre and 40,000 sq.ft. of retail space. It will carry the tag of ‘Luxury Collection’ — one of the brands franchised from the US-based international hospitality group, Starwood Hotels. This is the ninth ‘Luxury Collec-tion’ hotel of the group.

Addressing the media at a conference organised to mark the launch of the property, Y.C. Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC Ltd, said this kind of banqueting space will market Chennai in a big way, and will bring in a lot of new businesses.

Though at present, Chennai seems to be a little “over-supplied market,” the city needs such a product, “as we see greater demand in the months to come,” he said. According to industry experts, with 0.55 rooms per every 1,000 people, Chennai has the lowest hotel room penetration among the major cities. For example, Mumbai has 0.57 rooms, New Delhi has 0.59; Hyderabad 0.62 and Bangalore 0.84 room per 1,000 people.

“Intended to be a game-changer, will Grand Chola cannibalise ITC’s other properties in the city, and eat into the market share of other brands for the time being? Yes, it will. But, every brand has to compete,” said Deveshwar.

The Volkswagen Group aims to in-crease output by 10-15 per cent on a €100-million investment at

its production facilities in Aurangabad and Chakan in Maharashtra.

John Chacko, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative for India, said the invest-ment would go towards minor model changes and upgradation of the two fac-tories. The funds will also benefit Skoda and Audi’s domestic operations.

The German automaker has a 1.3-lakh annual production capacity at Chakan, where it makes the Polo, Vento and Sko-da’s Fabia and Rapid models.

The Aurangabad facility has a 6,000-unit annual capacity and makes the premium models.

Chacko said a final call on a Group en-gine plant in India would be taken in a few months, a move that would signifi-cantly reduce product costs as imported

engines were expensive.

“We will decide by end of the year. If we go ahead with the engine plant, produc-tion should start by 2014,” he said.

Volkswagen had recently said it had put Rs 2,000 crore expansion plan on hold due to lack of clarity on the Maharashtra Government’s rollback of tax incentives.

It had said this could prompt it to invest in other States.

IndIA 4Th mOST eCOnOmICAlly COnFIdenT COUnTRyIpsos Economic Pulse of the World’ survey

India’s economic confidence has shot up by 8 points to 68% in the month of August compared to the previous

month, according to the ‘Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World’ survey. This makes India the fourth most economically con-fident country in the world after Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Germany.

India’s economic confidence, said a re-port by Ipsos, has got a major boost due to recent big-bang economic reforms such as the hike in diesel prices, FDI in retail, aviation and broadcasting, disin-vestment in 4 public sector undertakings and cut in cash reserve ratio (CRR) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Mick Gordon, CEO of Ipsos in India said, Union Government of India unleashed a

burst of economic policy reforms that included steep rise in heavily subsidized diesel price, limit on cooking gas subsidy for consumers and foreign investments into critical sectors such as aviation and retail, raising the hope that expected fis-cal breach will now be lower and invest-ments will pick up. Borrowers could see better days ahead as banks are expected to cut lending rates following the RBI’s decision to unlock Rs 17,000 crore by slashing CRR by 25 basis points. The li-quidity infusion would ensure adequate flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy.’’

Slightly less than a half of Indian citizens (48%) believe their local economy which impacts their personal finance is good, a marginal rise of 2 points and an optimis-

tic 53% people expect that the economy in their local area will be stronger in next six months.

The online Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World survey was conducted in August 2012 among 20,915 people in 24 coun-tries.

The average global economic assessment of national economies remains static from last month as 38% of global citi-zens rate their national economies to be ‘good’. Countries with the strongest pro-portion of citizens expecting their local economies to be ‘stronger’ six months from now include Brazil (65%) followed by India (53%), Saudi Arabia (47%), Mex-ico (41%), Argentina (40%) and China (38%).

Articles


meRCedeS-Benz TO InCReASe InVeSTmenT In IndIAInvestments in India

engIneeRIng R&d SeRVICeS mKT TO ReACh $42 Bn By 2020Study: Engineering R&D: Advantage India

Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India plans to increase its invest-ment to Rs 850 crore by 2014. The

German car maker through its dealers partners already carries an investment of over Rs 480 crores spread across its 31 showroom and 41 service outlets lo-cated in 31 Indian cities.

“We are bullish about the Indian mar-ket and this is reflected in our long term commitment towards the dynamic Indian market. The investment of Rs 850 crores will help us strengthen our production and operational capabilities with regards to our existing products and our exciting

and aggressive product offensive which we are readying for the Indian market, said Peter T Honegg, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.

MBIL pioneered the luxury car industry in India by starting its India operations in 1994. In 2009, the company moved into its production facility spread over 100 acres in Chakan. The initial invest-ment of Rs 250 crores was scaled upto to Rs 600+ crores with the setting up Mercedes-Benz India’s own technologi-cally advanced paint shop capable of wa-ter based painting. The new paint shop is targeted to be operational by Octo-

ber, 2012 and has an annual capacity of 20,000 units (which can be extended up to 40,000 units annually).

Mercedes-Benz India locally manufac-tures its flagship sedans the C-Class, the E-Class and the S-Class sedan in its plant in Chakan near Pune. With Daimler AG recognizing the emergence of high po-tential growth markets including India, Mercedes-Benz India will be amongst the first markets to start assembling the new M-Class, outside Daimler AG’s parent SUV plant in Tuscaloosa/Alabama, USA.

After a lull of almost three years, multinationals are back to spend-ing on engineering research and

development (R&D). The impact of this is showing on the Indian captive engineer-ing R&D centres’ growth.

In last one-and-a-half years, about 39 captive centres were set up by MNCs in India. Some of these were MNCs like Hi-tachi, Panasonic, Ricoh, Faurecia, Peugeot among others, said a study by Zinnov Management Consulting.

According to the study, ‘Engineering R&D: Advantage India’, India is one of the leading offshore destinations in de-livering engineering R&D services with a market share of 22 per cent. The market in India is expected to grow at a com-pound annual growth rate of 14 per cent from $14.7 billion in FY12 to $42 billion by 2020 and is also expected to outpace the information technology growth rate in India.

“The period of 2004-08 saw the maxi-mum growth of captive centres in India. At least 15-20 captive centres were being set-up every year. But since 2008, several companies went slow on capex spends, with many putting it on hold. Over the last one year we are seeing spends back, especially to target growth in the emerg-ing market,” said Sundaraman Viswanath-an, manager (consulting), Zinnov.

Pari Natarajan, chief executive officer, Zinnov said the current shift to set up captive centres is because of strong focus on emerging nations as target markets across major verticals. For instance, while Europe and North America are currently the leading markets in Aerospace, this is likely to change significantly by 2030, with countries outside these regions ex-pected to own about half the commercial aircraft service.

Even in the telecom sector for that matter, deregulation in India and China is fuelling the future growth prospects of the industry. Similarly, in the medical devices and consumer electronics seg-ments, markets like India and China are expected to lead the consumption, said the study.

Viswanathan added that the captive cen-tres are also growing in maturity. “Several companies are now setting up centres of excellence for specific verticals. From a services provider landscape, earlier they would depend on certification as a selling point. But now they are moving beyond and looking at partnering with business houses and driving decisions,” he added.

Some of the instances where companies are using their India unit for core re-search include GE, which has been focus-ing on areas like material design, electro-magnetic analytics,

among others. General Motors is focused

on smart system modelling, vehicle struc-

ture and safety and chemical reaction

modelling.

While MNC captives today drive the In-

dian Product Engineering growth story

in almost all verticals except Aerospace

where service providers have a 76 per

cent share, service providers are up-

ping their game and in fact grew faster

in FY2012, at 16 per cent CAGR com-

pared to 11 per cent growth for captives.

Rather the product engineering business

at the top Indian IT services players like

TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies is al-

ready a $1 billion business.

“India is well-poised to contribute to

Global ER&D as the ecosystem of cap-

tive centres, service providers and start-

ups, increasingly work together to drive

innovation. As relationships mature, serv-

ice providers and customers will enter

into pricing models based on market out-

comes. Further, with emerging nations

growing in importance as key markets,

MNCs are set to leverage the inherent

competencies in India to build products

for local and global markets,” said Viswa-

nathan.

Articles


The complex challenges that Kerala faces on the development front are well known. Blessed with na-

ture’s bounty and human development indices comparable to the best in the West, the State has been on an eco-nomic upswing thanks to an industrious and cash-rich emigrant population and a thriving, though at times battered, cash crop economy. Rising incomes have led to a boom in the consumer goods and services market. The labour scene has been relatively peaceful of late. So what’s the problem? A narrow agricultural and industrial production base, acute scarcity of land for big ticket investments and the absence of political consensus on the most suitable development trajectory have all been hampering Kerala’s efforts to embrace new-age development. If the plans unveiled at the ‘Emerging Kerala’ business and investment summit held last week are implemented, however, the

State might well be on its way to finding solutions for these vexing issues.

Unlike the Global Investor Meet (GIM) held in 2003, which was focused on bag-ging investment promises then and there, the Emerging Kerala summit aimed to project the State as a friendly investment destination. Given the disappointing out-come of GIM, which resulted in a trifling sum flowing in by way of investment, the Oommen Chandy-led United Democrat-ic Front government walked the knife’s edge, reassuring doubters on both sides of Kerala’s highly polarised political divide about its intentions and its resolve to play the game by the rules. In the event, the summit generated considerable interest in the business community both in and outside the country. The deliberations produced, by the State government’s reckoning, some 45 positively actionable investment proposals having a combined

outlay of around Rs. 45,000 crore, many of these from non-resident Malayalis. There was keen investor interest in ar-eas such as tourism, public infrastructure and transport, IT and total healthcare so-lutions. It is still too early to assess the summit’s outcome and what awaits the government is an obstacle course. The real test would come when the hard bargaining begins. The government would have to take the sensitivities of the local ecology and communities on board when deciding on land utilisation. Mr. Chandy and his team also have the difficult task of building political and civil society consen-sus on each project. That the Opposition, despite staying away from the summit, did not try to put a spanner in the summit works could be a good sign. But that is for starters and there is a good distance to cover before Kerala really emerges as a favoured destination for investment.

nO ROAmIng ChARgeS wIThIn IndIA FROm 2013Indian Mobile Network

KeRAlA AS InVeSTORS’ pARAdISeIndia as an investment destination

Mobile phone users will not have to pay roaming charges when traveling within India from next

year, telecom ministerKapil Sibal said, but telcos say abolishing these charges could lead to higher call rates.

The minister also said that the govern-ment did not want to control or govern the internet and added that the Centre would enter into dialogue with all stake-

holders to deal with malicious use of cy-ber space. “Our (telecom) secretary has told you that it will be free from next year,” Sibal said when asked to specify timeline for implementation for the ‘one-nation-free roaming’ that he had an-nounced earlier this year.

The Cabinet has already approved the new telecom policy whose guidelines in-clude doing away with roaming charges.

Telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar told ET that this consumer centric move would be implemented next year. “”Our first priority is the upcoming spectrum auctions. At the same time, we are work-ing on the Unified Licence (UL) and we want to finalise this by December.Once the UL regime is rolled out post Decem-ber, concepts like ‘One nation-free roam-ing’ will be introduced.

IndIA And UnITed KIngdOm InK mOUUrban Regeneration & Development

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Urban Development and Dr. Vince Cable, the British Secretary of State

for Business, Innovation and Skills signed an MoU on Urban Regeneration and De-velopment in London.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Kamal Nath expressed appreciation of the ur-ban regeneration works carried out in London and felt that India could benefit from the British experience. The Minister also highlighted the immense challenges and opportunities in the urban sector in India. He informed that India would soon launch the next phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and that

the Government of India is keen to en-courage PPP in urban sector especially in larger cities. He invited the international firms including British firms to partici-pate in the process.

Shri Kamal Nath stated that both India and Britain would benefit from the MoU, as it would provide an enabling platform for the officials, professionals and busi-ness leaders to meet and share knowl-edge and best practices in the urban sector. He expressed the hope that this joint declaration would lead to enhanced cooperation and deepen the engagement between the two countries.

The MoU envisages promotion of coop-eration in the areas of sustainable master planning; transport planning; land eco-nomics; heritage management; regenera-tion governance; regeneration capacity building and public private partnership financing arrangements. Shri Kamal Nath also participated in a business roundta-ble organized by the UK India Business Council. The roundtable was attended by leading infrastructure companies such as Aecom, Arup, Balfour Beatty Plc, HOK, JCB, Mott MacDonald etc. Shri Kamal Nath also met Mr. George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer UK.

Articles


IndIA pOISed TO COmpeTe FOR ChInA FdIBy Dezan Shira & Associates (India)

China aside, the smart money in Asia right now is on India as the emergence of the nation as a des-

tination for FDI becomes more under-stood. The reasons for India’s growing attractiveness as a China alternative are numerous. Firstly, as China has become wealthier, labor costs have increased dramatically – and this is effectively mak-ing China less competitive when talking about export-driven manufacturing. That business is now leeching away to other emerging Asian nations, with India among the main recipients. That doesn’t mean China-based manufacturers are leaving necessarily – it’s just that to financially justify establishing a manufacturing base in China today means that one should be looking at servicing the Chinese con-sumer market; and not all products are suitable for China.

China’s demographics have changed as well – 20 years ago the average age of a Chinese worker was 23. Now, that aver-age age is roughly 37 and that employee requires a far higher income than before. Interestingly, the average age of an Indian worker today is 23 – the same as China 20 years ago.

“We are seeing more interest in FDI into India than ever before,” comments Olaf Griese, from Dezan Shira & Associates in India. “Businesses have woken up to the fact that India is also a hot destination and, having established China holdings, many are now setting up operations in India as well. The two nations are com-plimentary investment destinations, and now it is India’s turn.”

On top of this, the Asian trade dynam-ics are altering, with the Southeast Asian

trade bloc ASEAN about to come into full tax free status in 2015. That is alter-ing manufacturing investment patterns as businesses wishing to sell to Asia are now increasingly looking at doing so in ASEAN, using Singapore as a regional fi-nancial and services hub to access Asian markets. The faster growth potential lies in these countries as opposed to China – and India, with its DTA with ASEAN, per-mits duty free movement of over 4,000 different product and goods categories with the entire region, and more to fol-low as the DTA still has many more under negotiation. At present, India’s ASEAN strengths lie in the exporting of telecom-munications and electronics products – a major competitive area with China. Add to that logistics, education, and financial services, and it is clear that India is going to become a long-term player in Asia.

gOVeRnmenT CleARS 51% FdI In ReTAIl, 49% In AVIATIOnInvesting in India

After months of dilly-dallying, UPA mustered courage to throw open the gates to foreign investment in

a host of sectors considered political no-go zones like multi-brand retail and civil aviation in a bid to dispel the perception of policy paralysis.

This will pave the way for the much-awaited entry of foreign retail giants such as Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour into the $450 billion retail market, although their footprint will be limited to million-plus cities in states which have agreed to back the measure.

The decisions, along with a go-ahead for disinvestment in four PSUs to mop up Rs 14,000 crore, come within a day of the ruling coalition’s decision to raise diesel price by a stiff Rs 5 a litre and cap subsi-dized cooking gas cylinders to six a year for every household.Taken together, they mark the most ambitious reform rush by the beleaguered government which has been roundly attacked for drift and diminished will to take bold measures. Faced with dwindling political fortunes, the UPA appears to have finally resorted to a flurry of actions aimed at salvaging the government’s precarious finances and retrieving the sinking reforms legacy of the Manmohan Singh regime.

There were loud protests from non-Congress parties which may shortly call for a countrywide shutdown.

GOVT DRIVEN BY PERFORM OR PER-ISH MANTRA

But the government, driven by a “perform or perish” mantra, asserted it will stick to its decisions which have been taken after factoring in the resistance of allies and opponents. There is a recognition that the cost of inaction will be far more severe, given the worsening finances and real threat of a ratings downgrade. With experts and its own top leadership feel-ing that the window for decision-making is shrinking fast, there was an air of de-termination in the government taking on allies and outside supporters who have crippled its options for months

On the upside, government can expect a roaring reception from the financial markets as a global rally triggered by monetary easing in the US and Germa-ny’s green signal to a Eurozone recov-ery package ties in with these initiatives. This can prove to be a mood-enhancer for UPA as it heads into state polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

The decision to leave it to states to allow foreign retailers is meant to blunt the op-

position. However, it has been sought to be balanced by improving the terms for the foreign players. Riders such as sourc-ing norms and rules to open stores in cities with a population of over one mil-lion have been tweaked for the benefit of foreign players, who can now pick up 51% stake in Indian joint ventures. So far, these players could only set up single-brand stores or enter the wholesale segment and sell bulk buyers such as canteens, restaurants and kirana shops.

Bowing to pressure from foreign play-ers such as IKEA, the government eased sourcing norms for single-brand retail and permitted them to buy at least 30% of the goods from Indian industry, instead of the earlier stipulation that made pur-chases mandatory from small and me-dium units.

In case of civil aviation, where FDI is al-ready permitted, the government has re-laxed rules to allow foreign carriers to buy up to 49% stake in Indian airlines, a decision that throws a lifeline to ailing Kingfisher and other smaller players. PM Manmohan Singh sought support for the decisions, saying they were needed to tide over difficult times and make India a more attractive destination for foreign investors.

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OpenIng BRAnCh OFFICe In IndIA By FOReIgn enTITIeSMaster Circular on the Establishment of Branch/Liaison Offices in India by Foreign Entities

With the objective of achiev-ing greater transparency and procedural clarity, the Re-

serve Bank of India (“RBI”) issues the Master Circular on the Establishment of Branch/Liaison Offices in India by Foreign Entities every year on July 2 with a sunset clause of one year, laying down the eli-gibility criteria and procedural guidelines for setting up of branch offices (BOs) and liaison offices (LOs) in India by any body corporate incorporated outside India including a firm or other association of Individuals (“foreign entity”). The proce-dure for annual filings to be done by a foreign entity, and procedure for closure of BOs and LOs are also been laid out in the Master Circular.

elIgIBIlITy CRITeRIA FOR eS-TABlIShmenT OF BOS/lOS

I. Basic Criteria

Reserve Bank Route: The principal of the foreign entity falls under sectors where 100% FDI is permissible under the auto-matic Route

Government Route: The principal busi-ness of the foreign entity falls under sec-tors where 100% FDI is not permissible under the automatic route. these applica-tions are considered by the RBI, in con-sultation with the Government of India, Ministry of Finance.

II. Additional Criteria

BO - Profit making track record suring the immediately preceding 5 financial years in the home country. Net worth: A minimum of US$100,000 or its equiva-lent.

LO - Profit making track record during the immediately preceding 3 financial years in the home country. Net worh: A minimum of US$50,000 or its equivalent.

Net worth has been defined as the total of paid-up capital and free reserves, less intangible assets, as per the latest audited balance sheet or account statement cer-tified by a certified public accountant or any registered accounts practitioner.

Applicants who do not satisfy the above mentioned eligibility criteria and who are subsidiaries of other companies may sub-mit a letter of comfort from their parent company as per the prescribed format,

subject to the condition that the parent company satisfies the eligibility criteria mentioned above.

The RBI or the Government of India, as the case may be, has the right to reject an application for non-fulfillment of any other condition(s) or if the proposed business is seen to be opposed to the public interest.

BRAnCh OFFICeS

permissible activities for a branch office

Companies incorporated outside India and engaged in manufacturing or trading activities are allowed to set up branch of-fices in India with specific approval of the Reserve Bank. Such branch offices are permitted to represent the parent/group companies and undertake the following activities in India:

• Export/import of goods

• Rendering professional or consul-tancy services

• Carrying out research work, in areas in which the parent company is en-gaged

• Promoting technical or financial col-laborations between Indian compa-nies and parent or overseas group companies

• Representing the parent company in India and acting as buying/selling agent in India

• Rendering services in information technology and devel¬opment of software in India

• Rendering technical support to the products supplied by parent/group companies

• Foreign airline/shipping companies

Normally, the branch office should be en-gaged in the activity in which the parent company is engaged.

Restrictions on activities by branch offices

The Reserve Bank has restricted branch offices from indulging in retail trading ac-tivities of any nature, manufacturing or processing activities in India, directly or indirectly.

Additional advantages for branch offices in Sezs

The Reserve Bank has given general per-mission to foreign companies for estab-lishing branches/units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to undertake manufactur-ing and service activities. The general per-mission is allotted to such units, provided they are working on a standalone basis and are functioning within the sectors in which 100 percent FDI is permitted, and complying with additional regulations un-der the Companies Act, 1956 (Sections 592 to 602).

Remittance of profits from India

Profits earned by the branch offices are freely remittable from India, subject to payment of applicable taxes.

lIAISOn OFFICeS

permissible activities for a liaison office

A liaison office (also known as a repre-sentative office) can undertake only liai-son activities, i.e. it can act as a channel of communication between a head office abroad and parties in India. It is not al-lowed to undertake any business activity in India and cannot earn any income in India. Expenses of such offices are to be met entirely through inward remittances of foreign exchange from the head office outside India. The role of such offices is, therefore, limited to collecting informa-tion about possible market opportuni-ties and providing information about the company and its products to prospective Indian customers. Permission to set up such offices is initially granted for a pe-riod of 3 years and this may be extended from time to time by an AD Category I bank.

Liaison offices can undertake the follow-ing activities in India:

• Representing in India the parent company/group companies

• Promoting export/import from/to India

• Promoting technical/financial col-laborations between parent/group companies and companies in India

• Acting as a communication channel between the parent company and In-


Articles

The mOnThly eCOnOmIC And

COmmeRCIAl RepORT (eCR)

The Indian Embassy, Vienna, issues, on a monthly basis, the “Economic and Financial Report (ECR)”. Different from this “India Newsletter”, which fo-cuses on India-related information to the Austrian community, the ECR fo-cuses on Austria and India-Austria-related trade and business matters.

The reports are available for download from the Embassy’s Online Busi-ness Centre at http://www.indianembassy.at/?page_id=1215. If you wish to receive the ECR by email as it is issued monthly, please email a request to [email protected]

The BUSIneSS CenTRe IS OpenedTUeSdAyS And FRIdAyS (new!!) FROm 11Am TO 1pm

without appointment. For scheduling an appointment outside the opening hours,please contact the commercial wing under the contacts given below.

Marketing Officer: [email protected] or 01 505 8666 30Marketing Assistant: [email protected] or 01 505 8666 31

The website of the Embassy of India, Vienna, and its ‘Business Centre’ offer a wide variety of business

related information, carefully selected to meet India-Austria’s business demands.

In our Business Centre, companies not only have the opportunity to find rel-evant information on India-related trade matters, but can also interact with the commercial wing of the Embassy by sub-mitting their online trade inquiries.

Additionally, the Embassy compiles a monthy economic and commercial re-port for Austria, which is targeted at Indian business readers and trade cor-porates. The same can be downloaded directly from our Website or if you wish to receive it via email, you can register your email by sending a request to [email protected].

Besides its online presence, the Embassy also has a Business Centre Facility, located

on the first floor of the Main Chancery building on Kärntner Ring 2, 1010 Vienna. The space is ready to welcome business-people and parties interested in request-ing, exchanging or providing information on India-related business matters. You can either schedule an appointment with a representative of our commercial wing at the contacts given below or simply visit us during our opening hours Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11AM to 1PM.

COmmeRCIAl wIngThe Embassy of India’s Business Centre

dian companies

• Extension of validity of the approval of liaison offices

The designated AD Category I bank may extend the validity period of LOs for a period of 3 years from the date of ex-piry of the original approval/extension granted by the Reserve Bank, provided the LO has submitted the Annual Activity Certificates (see below) for the previous years and has operated as per the terms

and conditions stipulated in the approval.

Additional branch/liaison offices

Additional BOs/LOs can be opened by justifying to the RBI the need for addi-tional offices, subject to a limitation of four i.e., one BO/LO in each zone viz. East, West, North and South. The ap-plicant may identify one of its offices in India as the nodal office, which will coor-dinate the activities of all offices in India.

Annual Activity Certificates to be

submitted by branch/liaison offices

The branch offices/liaison offices have to file an Annual Activity Certificate (AAC) provided by a chartered accountant, at the end of March 31, along with an audit-ed balance sheet on or before Septem-ber 30 of that year.

Closure of branch/liaison office

Closure of BOs/LOs has to be reported by the designated AD Category I bank to the Reserve Bank.


Despite the slowdown in the economy and infrastructure sec-tor in India, the $60.138 billion

(in 2011) construction and mining equip-ment major is bullish about India.

After launching the backhoe loader man-ufacturing facility, the company is now planning to invest $150 million in a manu-facturing plant for Perkins powerful 4000 Series engines.

In an interview with T E Narasimhan, Caterpillar’s Country Manager for India, China and ASEAN, Kevin Thenaman said these engines are manufactured only in UK right now. He added, Caterpillar In-dia continues to look for additional ways to invest in India to support our growing base of customers.

Thenaman is of the opinion that increas-ing power deficit is impairing the effi-ciency of manufacturing operations and reducing their global competitiveness. Edited excerpts:

Q: Giving the current slowdown in India, how bullish Caterpillar about India?

A: The GDP growth contraction in first quarter this fiscal from eight per cent plus forecast to 5.3% is a matter of con-cern to Caterpillar.

However, we are bullish on long term prospects for the mining and infrastruc-ture industries. While both these sectors have traditionally been controlled by state-owned enterprises, increased em-phasis on private participation is open-ing up more and more opportunities for both domestic and international players.

This certainly indicates acceptance of global standards and best practices which is bound to present great opportunities to foreign players like us.

This also puts Caterpillar in a position to offer specific solutions that can bridge the gaps critical to the progress of the Indian industry.

Having stated this, Caterpillar India con-tinues to look for additional ways to in-vest in India to support our growing base of customers.

Any Government action/ policy required to boost the sentiment? To promote growth, competitiveness and the overall

well-being of a country, Government has the responsibility to maintain appropriate levels of productive investment in infra-structure while providing a level playing field for private investors and suppliers.

Public financing should continue to com-prise the bulk of infrastructure invest-ment and much more is required to improve the situation in infrastructure space through reforms.

Despite several plans to introduce sin-gle window clearance mechanisms, there have been little visible improvements. A holistic reform in the power sector is also imperative to put the power sector on a strong growth path.

Today, the increasing power deficit is impairing the efficiency of manufactur-ing operations and reducing their global competitiveness

Q: In 2011, Caterpillar announced $210 million investment plan for India including setting up an engine manufacturing facil-ity, for electric power geneneration sets and expanding off-highway truck manufactur-ing facility in Chennai. What is the current progress? Where will the facility come up for engines? Is there any revision in the invest-ment?

A: No other region of the world can match the growth opportunities that Asia presents for Caterpillar and its dealers. In particular, the aggressive plans for infra-structure development in India represent a tremendous opportunity to serve ex-isting and new customers.

In April 2012, Caterpillar launched the company’s new backhoe loader manufac-turing facility in Thiruvallur near Chennai. The new facility not only strengthens the company’s growing presence in India but also augments the distribution channel for this popular earth-moving machine by bringing in enhanced local production capabilities.

Caterpillar has decided to invest $150 million in a new plant to manufacture Perkins powerful 4000 Series engines in India.

It is envisaged that the workforce will grow from 60 employees at the plant’s inception to approximately 450 when it opens in 2013.

The 4000 Series is currently only manu-factured at Perkins’ Stafford facility in the U.K.

The India plant will serve the growing de-mand from the Asian markets while the Stafford facility will concentrate on sup-plying customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and South America

Q: Overall is there any change in Compa-ny’s business strategy in India? Earlier the company had said that the focus will be on domestic markets; considering the current scenario will India be a sourcing point for Caterpillar Inc?

India continues to be our focus for long-term. In fact, Caterpillar’s presence in In-dia is stronger than ever today.

We currently employ close to 3,000 peo-ple in India across five facilities and are investing in our operations across to sup-port the ever-increasing customer base here.

India is already one of the primary sourc-ing hubs for us. About 80-90% of the off-highway trucks that are manufactured in India are exported.

How is the backhoe loader manufactur-ing facility in Thiruvallur near Chennai doing? What is the current capacity and utilization? The facility is close to or near capacity, but we should not give unit vol-umes. Presently our dealers are in the process of ramping up their branch net-work. It will increase from 132 branches to 176 branches by 2013.

Q: In April 2012, you said this facility will cater to domestic market. Still the plans re-mains the same?

A: We will continue the production of the current 424B Model in two variants. We plan to add more models in the next 2-3 years, both for the domestic and the ex-port market.

Q: By 2015 where do you see Caterpillar in the Indian market in terms of market share?

A: We are bullish on India given the huge growth potential of the economy and we hope to capture a significant share of the market. Caterpillar is a global leader in most markets and we aim to be the same in India.

InVeSTmenTS wIll BRIng CO On pAR wITh glOBAl expORT BASeAn Interview with Kevin Thenaman, Caterpillar’s Country Manager for India, China and ASEAN

Interview


The Indian food services industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of

around 12 per cent during 2012-2015, according to a RNCOS research report, ‘Indian Food Services Market Forecast to 2015’.

According to another report, the indus-try is estimated to be nearly worth Rs 75,000 crore (US$ 13.56 billion) and is growing at a healthy CAGR of 17 per cent. The food services sector in India is expected to reach Rs 1,370 billion (US$ 24.77 billion) by 2015, according to a Franchise India report released at the Indian Restaurant Congress. “In the fu-ture, the organised market is expected to grow even faster - at around 20 to 25 per cent per annum,” says Mr Gaurav Marya, President of Franchise India.

India has emerged as the fifth most fa-vourable destination for international re-tailers, according to A T Kearney’s Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) 2012. The country is fast becoming an impor-tant investment destination for foreign players with companies such as Starbucks and American brand Dunkin’ Donuts marking their entry into the country.

India has also been recognised as one of the largest potential market for organic food consumption worldwide. The or-ganic food is invariably increasing among the Indian retailers, especially with the niche retailers, as per RNCOS research report titled, ‘Indian Organic Food Mar-ket Analysis’. The report further ex-pects that the sector will post significant growth during 2011-2013, growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent.

Key players

The major players operating in the In-dian food and beverages industry include Dabur India Ltd, Godrej Industries Ltd, Hindustan Lever Ltd, Britannia Industries Ltd, ITC Ltd, Nestle SA, PepsiCo, Inc, Cadbury Schweppes PLC, Future Group, RPG Enterprise and Godrej Agrovet Ltd.

• India has emerged as the fastest growing market for Domino’s, out-pacing US. In India, the firm recorded an annual growth rate of nearly 50% for the fifth consecutive year

• McDonald’s India plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore (US$ 180.83 million) in

the next three years, taking up its total outlets to 500. The informal eating-out (IEO) industry in India is growing steadily at 15 per cent per annum

• Emerging foods categories such as muesli, oats and olive oils are getting increasingly competitive with more food marketers aiming at capitalising on the increasing demand for health food. Edible oil major Marico will extend its Saffola brand into the Rs 100 crore (US$ 18.08 million) muesli market soon, and is expected to be followed by GlaxoSmithKline Con-sumer Healthcare (GSKCH)’s within few months. Meanwhile, the Rs 350 crore (US$ 63.29 million) packaged olive oils segment, meanwhile, is growing faster than oats and muesli. Last year, olive oil consumption in-creased 49 per cent, on top of a 46 per cent growth in the previous year

• Frozen yogurt chain, Red Mango plans to expand across the country by launching 15-20 outlets in metro cities by next year. According to Technopak, the Indian market frozen yogurt will grow to US$ 5 billion over the next three years, fuelled by the entry of new players and grow-ing demand for health foods

• Korea-based frozen yoghurt maker, Yogurberry plans to set up seven new stores in the country by end of next year and another 100 over the next five years. “The expansion plan will begin with new stores in Chen-nai and Bengaluru, and additional stores in cities like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai,” according to an official

According to a new research report by RNCOS, the demand for various fast food items is consistently rising in India. The most delectable of them all is Pizza, which has now emerged as one of the most favourite fast food items of the In-dians especially the young generation. As per market estimation, the Indian organ-ised pizza market will surge at a CAGR of more than 27 per cent during 2012-2015.

Furthermore, management consulting firm Tecnova estimated the Indian pack-aged food market at US$ 10 billion in 2010 and expects it to grow 20 per cent CAGR to US$ 30 billion by 2015.

Food processing Industry

With a huge agriculture sector, abundant livestock, and cost competitiveness, In-dia is fast emerging as a sourcing hub of processed food. India’s food processing sector covers fruit and vegetables; spices; meat and poultry; milk and milk prod-ucts, beverages, fisheries, plantation, grain processing and other consumer product groups such as confectionery, chocolates and cocoa products, soya-based products, mineral water, high protein foods etc.

India is the world’s largest milk producer, accounting for around 17 per cent of the global milk production, according to RN-COS research report titled, ‘Indian Dairy Industry Analysis’. The study anticipates that the milk production in India will grow at a CAGR of around 4 per cent during 2011-2015.

The food processing industries attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) worth US$ 1,456.20 million between April 2000 to June 2012, according to the latest data published by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Beverages

Juice production in India is witnessing a consistent increase in 2012. Production in January 2012 climbed to 20.4 million litre, as per Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data.

Coca-Cola plans to invest US$ 5 billion over the next 10 years as it expands its capacities in India. The company expects India to be among its top five markets worldwide by 2020, according to Mr Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Execu-tive Officer (CEO), Coca Cola.

“With the growing popularity of the food and beverage businesses in India, the investment community has made significant investments here. Last year, these businesses received US$ 256 mil-lion of funding overall, while this year has already seen US$ 43 million being invest-ed,” highlighted Mr Sandeep Kohli, who, as the former India Head of Yum Restau-rants, brought brands like KFC and Pizza Hut to the country.

Industry

FOOd IndUSTRyIndian Industry Sector Close-Up


government Initiatives

According to the recently announced Union Budget 2012-13, following initia-tives will be taken by the Government under the National Mission on Food Processing:

• A new centrally sponsored scheme titled ‘National Mission on Food Processing’ to be started in 2012-13 in co-operation with State Govern-ments

• Steps taken to create additional food grain storage capacity in the country

• Subsidies fully provided for effec-tive administration of the proposed Food Security Legislation

• To promote private sector activity and invite foreign investments in the sector the Government allows 100 per cent FDI in the food processing & cold chain infrastructure

Some of the other initiatives include:

• South Africa seeks investment for its flourishing food processing sector from India. The country ranks among the top 10 investing countries in

South Africa, with investments esti-mated at over US$ 6 billion to date

• India and Taiwan are looking to ex-pand tea trade between the two countries. A business delegation from India visited Taiwan from June 28 to July 1, 2012. The delegation held meetings with important stake-holders of the Taiwan tea industry and discussed ways and means to increase cooperation between tea companies of the two nations

• South East Asia has become the larg-est buyer of Indian marine products with a share of 40 per cent in volume and 25 per cent in value (in terms of US$). The marine products exports touched 862,021 tonnes valued at US$ 3.51 billion in 2011-12

• Spices exports from India stood at 575,720 tonnes in 2011-12, as against 525,750 tonnes in 2010-11. The total export earnings rose by 43 per cent at Rs 9,783 crore (US$ 1.77 billion) as compared to Rs 6,841 crore (US$ 1.24 billion) earlier, according to Spices Board of India

Road Ahead

With massive scope for value addition, growing trend in the consumption pat-tern of processed food products in India and many fiscal incentives being planned by the Government, this sector is capable of maintaining the growth momentum in the future.

Food suppliers and retail companies plan to scale up business and stay competitive by tapping the large potential of the do-mestic market. Out of the total invest-ments worth US$ 750 million in 2012, about US$ 165 million has gone into purely front-end retail, such as fast mov-ing consumer goods (FMCG), food and beverage firms.

Foreseeing the future growth, many big international players are entering the In-dian market by making deals with domes-tic players. This trend will emerge more strongly by 2015, providing opportunities to local players to widen their product portfolios.

Industry


Trade Shows & Events

9th INDIA INTERNATIONALTEXTILE MACHINERY EXHIBITION

2 - 7 DECEMBER, 2012, MUMBAI


global economy

The first half of 2011 witnessed major socio-political developments that have significant bearing on the global economy. The Arab Spring brought regime change in several Middle East and North African nations as well as renewed conflicts in others. In Japan, the earthquake and tsu-nami devastated lives, ruptured the econ-omy and flagged safety of nuclear power installations. Stressed EU economies are still fragile and need support from fellow members to overcome high public debt.

According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook update in June 2011, global activ-ity is undergoing temporary moderation, while a multi-speed recovery continues in different parts of the world. World GDP went up by 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 and the IMF expects this level to be sustained in 2011 and 2012. The IMF calls for fiscal consolidation and financial sector reforms in advanced economies and demand rebalancing in emerging countries.

The specters of inflation and financial volatility as well as euro area financial sta-bility and protracted unemployment are mentioned as downside risks to global growth. Within this scenario, the urgency of global partnerships remains keen as collective action for recovery continues to be an imperative. Most important, the global imbalances that were at the core of the crisis need to be redressed. New thinking on these issues could alleviate some of the prevailing quagmire.

Indian economy

The Indian economy is undergoing ma-

jor structural transformation, driven by

favorable demographics, rising per capita

incomes and facilitative macroeconomic

and sectoral policies. Critical policy ac-

tions are expected in the coming few

years that will further unlock the vast po-

tential of GDP expansion that will serve

as a crucial hub of growth for the global

economy.

India is setting the pace for a new global

economic model that is increasingly de-

fined by innovation. Driven by domestic

consumption, an innovative entrepre-

neurial class, and global integration, In-

dia’s new development experience is be-

ing termed the Inclusive Growth model.

The chief characteristic of this model is

creating an enabling climate for doing

business that fosters rapid expansion of

the economic pie, accompanied by tar-

geted Government schemes channeling

income to those who need it most.

India’s growth is an example of an econ-

omy that, in the words of Lawrence Sum-

mers, is “A consensus based globally not

on the idea that competitiveness was in

service of a nation trying to win a zero

sum game, but rather on the idea that

through international integration, nations

could diversify, pursue their strengths,

and realize together the benefits of larg-

er global markets.” Innovation at all levels

of economic activity is the hallmark of

the new Indian growth model.

new Age Innovation

As the world rebalances and multi-po-larity emerges, new forms of innovation will be required. Most critical, these for-mats would have to be jointly developed through collaborative research. For the emerging world, innovation is needed to develop cost-competitive new products to meet felt needs of emerging middle classes - for education and healthcare, for connectivity, and for sustainable life-styles. For higher income consumers, innovation would be related to carbon emissions and energy efficiency as well as research itself. India is already a labora-tory for the world in many of these areas.

In particular, India would need to inno-vate to strengthen partnerships with its traditional friends as well as with new markets. Its trade profiles and investment relations with a resurgent China and a vibrant Africa would be particularly rel-evant for its future interests.

The Partnership Summit 2012, the flag-ship international event of the Confed-eration of Indian Industry, would bring together economic and commercial policymakers, businesses, innovators, and the public at large for relevant discourse on the current status of innovation in all spheres of activity, and would help evolve a roadmap for leveraging innovation for global inclusive growth and development. To be held in Hyderabad, one of mod-ern India’s iconic urban agglomerations, in January 2012, the eighteenth edition of The Partnership Summit will be co-hosted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India, the Gov-ernment of Andhra Pradesh, and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Partnership Summit 2012, themed ‘New Age Innovation Partnerships’, would be the platform for exploring the various facets of innovation that can drive future global growth and the roles that India can play in fostering and strengthening the forces of such innovation. To be held in the progressive city of Hyderabad, it would highlight the cutting edge technologies currently emerging out of India and build new partnerships for evolving and dispersing innovation.

Trade Shows & Events


Overseas Indians

Indian economy in the 21st century includes all the major factors contributing to rapid all round growth - the strength of intellectual inputs, the unbridled spirit of entrepreneur-ship and above all the quest for knowledge. India’s private sector, characterized by its dynamic and competitive nature has been a key driver for the economic growth witnessed by India in recent times and has been a major driver for at-tracting foreign investments in the country.

India has continually attracted the largest quantum of in-vestments from its Diaspora. India has now become an open potential market in various growth sectors like Infrastruc-ture, Power, Hospitality, Education and other manufacturing and service sectors. NRI and PIO Businessmen are look-ing for business opportunities in their home town and also started exploiting opportunities in other parts of India.

Benefits to the partcipants

- Networking with Local and Global Entrepreneurs and SMEs- Interaction with business tycoons- Identify strategic business partners and associates in India and other countries- Explore new business ideas and models- Understanding best business practices and opportunities in India- Interaction with Policy Makers, MDs and CEOs of reputed Companies- Understanding of various investment options and routes in India- Understanding of various policies, schemes and incentives for NRIs-Identify Indian companies for business promotions

why This Summit?

To provide a platform to pro-mote Indian Entrepreneurs / SMEs through NRIs and PIOs in various countries to estab-lish and develop contacts for identifying various opportu-nities in Exports, Investment, Joint Ventures, Collaborations, New Technology, Marketing, Distributorship, Promotion, Business Alliances and other services.


Popularly known as the Devbhumi – “Land of the Gods”, Himachal Pradesh is a beautiful hill state in India, nestles in north-west region of western Hima-layas. The state is landlocked with the Tibetan plateau to the east, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, and the Punjab to the west. However, the state stands apart from its neighbours in terms of its sheer topographic diversity and breathtaking pristine natural beauty. From vast tracts of high-altitude Trans-Himalayan desert to dense green deodar forests, from ap-ple orchards to cultivated terraces, from snow capped high Himalayan mountain ranges to snow fed lakes and gushing riv-ers.

Himachal Pradesh is a tiny hill state whose pleasant summers make it a popular holi-day resort. The Raj still lingers in Shimla, the state capital and former summer cap-ital during British rule. Kullu-Manali are neighbouring resorts, surrounded by pine covered hills and lush meadows. Himachal has, in addition to popular resort towns, a series of secluded hill retreats ideal for interested anglers, trekkers and those wanting a quiet getaway. Many of these include: from Shimla – Mashobra, Kufri, Naldehra; those around Kullu-Manali in-clude Manikaran, Naggar and Brighu Lake; the barely accessible valleys of Lahaul and Spiti are a trekker’s delight.

Shimla

Situated in the north-west Himalayas, Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh. Spread across 12 kms along a ridge that overlooks terraced hillsides and cultiva-tions, Shimla is magnificently robed in dense forests of oak and pine, fur and rhododendron, and it is best to travel here on the slow train from Kalka. Shimla also is a convenient base for variety of adventure sports such as Skiing, Trekking, Fishing and Golfing etc.

local tribes restiNG at riVerbeD

sNoWWHite sHiMla

Great HiMalayaN NatioNal park

kaNGra

Tourism

hImAChAl pRAdeShIndian State Profile

India Tourism FrankfurtBaseler Str. 48 / D-60329 Frankfurt

Tel: +49 (69) 242949-0Fax: +49 (69) [email protected]


wARzOne - IndIAn COnTempORARy ART ex-hIBITIOnEvery Sunday from Sep. 9 to Nov. 25 (10-18h) | Kunstmuseum Artemons, Hellmonsödt, Linzer Straße 19

OTheR eVenTSMore Information below

IndIAn mOVIe eVenIng: peeplI lIVeFriday, October 19th, 18:00 | Indian Embassy Business Centre (1st Floor, Kärntner Ring 2, 1010 Vienna)

Genre: Drama / History

Directed by: Anusha Rizvi

Starring: Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghu-bir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa

Released: August 2010

Duration: 104 Minutes

Language: Hindi

Subtitles: English

Synopsis: Natha a poor farmer from Peepli village in the heart of rural India

is about to lose his plot of land due to an unpaid government loan. A quick fix to the problem is the very same govern-ment’s program that aids the families of indebted farmers who have committed suicide. As a means of survival Farmer Natha can choose to die!!! His brother is happy to push him towards this unique ‘honor’ but Natha is reluctant. Local elections are around the corner and what might’ve been another unnoticed event turns into a ‘cause celebré’ with everyone wanting a piece of the action. Political bigwigs, high-ranking bureau-crats, local henchmen and the ever-zeal-ous media descend upon sleepy Peepli to stake their claim. The question on eve-ryone’s lips - “Will he or Won’t he?” As the mania escalates what will be the fate of Farmer Natha; nobody seems to care how he really feels?

TAlK-SeRIeS ‘zU gAST BeIelISABeTh Al-hImRAnI’WA-KI (Peter Appelius), Textiltechniker, Taucher, Musiker und Wanderer dur spirituelle Welten

When: October 18th, 19:00Natya Mandir - Börseplatz 3/1D, 1010 Viennawww.austro-indian.at

Due to limited capacity, seats will be given on a first come, first served basis. Therefore, you are highly encouraged to reserve your seats online at www.indi-anembassy.at or via phone at +43 1 505 866633 (Ms. Lily John).

Agenda

FRee enTRymore info under

Tel.: 0043 699 / 16 68 88 [email protected]

www.contemporary.artemons.at

India Newsletter 10.2012

Documents

Transcript of India Newsletter 10.2012