INDIA NEWSLETTER INDIA NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE EMBASSY OF INDIA VIENNA

YEAR 1 | ISSUE 11 | NOVEMBER 2011

Indian Manufacturing

Industry Page 7

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Economy & Business | News

OCTOBER 2011 IN THE NEWS HIGHLIGHTS NRI/PIO. The Reserve Bank said Indians who have non-resident accounts in the country can now hold them in any currency which is fully convertible. The move is like-ly to help NRIs/PIOs as it will give them more options in the holding of accounts, and lessen the risk from fluctuations in ma-jor currencies. Earlier, FCNR(B) account holders were allowed to hold accounts in only certain currencies. Now accounts can be held in any foreign currency which is freely convertible.

India-Germany. A comprehensive Social Security Agreement (SSA) was signed by the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs and Civil Aviation, Shri Vayalar Ravi and the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Af-fairs of Germany, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen in Berlin. The Agreement which subsume the earlier Indo-German agreement on So-cial Security on 8th October 2008 will en-hance cooperation on social security be-tween the two countries. The Agreement with Germany will provide several benefits to Indian nationals working in Germany. India has signed similar agreements with Belgium, France, Switzerland, The Nether-lands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Denmark, Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea and Norway.

Railways/Tunneling. The northern rail-ways opened India's longest railway tunnel piercing through the Pir Panjal range in Jammu & Kashmir. The tunnel is part of the ambitious Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla rail link project of Northern Rail-ways. At 10.96km long, the Pir Panjal Rail-way Tunnel is India's longest and Asia's 2nd longest tunnel, aimed at reducing the travel distance between Quazigund and Banihal to only 11 km and providing a has-sle-free travel up to Baramulla. The 10.96 kms tunnel, which is aligned straight from north to south, is 100% water-proof and is also equipped with fire fighting system throughout its entire length. According to project manager Hindustan construction corporation S Yala, the construction of the tunnel started in November 2005 and was complete in 2011. The total cost of the tun-nel was Rs.391 crores. Yala also said that due to the changing geological strata of the young Himalayan rock, New Austrian Tun-neling Method (NATM) was adopted for the construction. During survey, eight different types of geological strata were found in the entire length of the tunnel.

economy

Economy. Amid sluggishness in the econ-omy, finance minister Pranab Mukher-jee exuded confidence that the country will maintain a high economic growth trajectory of 8.5 to 9 per cent in the medium to long-term."In the medium to long-term, India re-mains firmly on a high GDP growth path of 8.5 to 9 per cent. We, however, need to be alert and respond to emerging challenges and concern, in a timely manner as we make efforts to achieve our potential as a young and fast-growing nation," Mukherjee said. Like many other countries, food secu-rity and volatility in prices has been a mat-ter of concern for India, he said. . India's headline inflation accelerated in August to 9.78%, and is a major concern for the cen-tral government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Economists expect the central bank, which has raised rates 12 times since March 2010, to increase interest rates one more time in 2011 to fight persistently high inflation.

Target Growth. The National Development Council (NDC) endorsed a growth target of 9% for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) despite the current economic slowdown and global financial concerns, even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed to political parties to ensure that long-term goals do not become hostage to short-term interests. NDC‘s target has been set con-sidering that India's long-term prospects remain ―very good,‖ and the 12th Plan poli-cies should be shaped so as to take full ad-vantage of the ―emerging possibilities‖ stemming from a realignment of economic power and growing importance of emerging economies.

Exports. India‘s exports continued to main-tain a robust growth registering a 36.3 per cent growth at $24.8 billion in September despite the downturn in the U.S. and Euro zone. The total exports for the current fiscal may reach a striking range of $290-300 bil-lion. The exports were down from the 44.2% growth recorded in August. Howev-er, the rise in exports in September can be considered robust, given the economic woes in the U.S. and the debt crisis in Eu-rope. The U.S. and Europe are the two big-gest markets for Indian merchandise, ac-counting for about 30 % of total shipments. Imports in September grew by 17.2 % to $34.6 billion vis-a-vis the same period last year, leaving a trade deficit of $9.8 billion. During the April-September period, India‘s

exports grew by 52.1 % t to $160 billion.

Exports Incentive. The government re-cently unveiled 250-million-euro incentive package to ensure continuation ofexport growth in the unpredictable global scenario. This includes 130-million-euro incentives for exporting specific products like textiles, engineering goods, chemicals and elec-tronics to both new and traditional markets. Another Rs 120 million euros will be provid-ed to exporters from labour-intensive sec-tors in the form of interest subvention.

Business & industry Steel. Tata Steel is investing £4.5 million more this year at its South Yorkshire opera-tions in the UK, over the £20 million invest-ment that it has already put in last year. In all, this could lead to savings of £850,000 a year for the company since the funds would help ―improve plant reliability and energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions and boost production of high-value steel prod-ucts‖. The steel maker is investing in four separate improvement projects at its Roth-erham and Stocksbridge sites.

—. In an indication of India's emerging im-portance on the world steel map and mas-sive growth it is poised for in this sector, India has been awarded the right to hold the World Steel Conference in October next year. The governing body of the World Steel Association, representing 170 pro-ducers and accounting for 85 per cent of world steel production, has decided to give the rights to hold the World Steel Confer-ence in India from October 8 to 12 next year. The member steel companies repre-senting host country committee from India include JSW Steel, SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, Tata Steel, Essar Steel and JSW Ispat Steel.

—. Tata Steel will invest £2 million in creat-ing a facility to manufacture jacket founda-tion structures for wind turbines at its Har-tlepool tube plant in the UK, a move that

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OCTOBER 2011 IN THE NEWS (CONT‘D) will step up its presence in the renewable energy market. It follows the company's plans announced last August to build a £31.5-million facility at its semi-mothballed plant in Teesside to create monopiles, also used to secure wind turbines to the sea-bed, through one anchor point. The com-pany estimates that as much as 6 million tonnes of steel will be needed in the UK to make the foundation and tower structures for offshore wind turbines, with up to 250 tonnes of steel used for every wind tower.

Thermal Power. Betting big on power business, Ruias-led Essar Power has ear-marked an investment of $8 billion in the next three years for setting up thermal power projects in India. "For an increase of 8,000 MW power capacity, the company plans to invest $8 billion by 2014," Essar Power said in an e-mailed response. „All the investment has been tied-up," the com-pany said without divulging further details. Essar Power currently operates five cap-tive power projects for providing electricity to its various steel plants and oil refinery.

Renewable Energy. GE will invest $50 million in its maiden renewable-energy pro-ject in India with Greenko Group, a green-energy developer. GE Energy Financial Services and Greenko will take up the de-velopment of wind-energy projects up to 500 MW. Greenko has committed $65 mil-lion for the venture. It has also created a subsidiary called Greenko Wind Project Private Ltd. The Hyderabad-based Green-ko Group has plans to develop upto 1 GW of wind-energy projects in India.

Solar Farm. Moser Baer Clean Energy Limited (MBCEL) commissioned Asia's largest solar farm in Banaskantha district of Gujarat. The 30 MW solar farm has been set up using 2,36,000 Thin Film modules with an approximate investment of €68 mil-lion. The power will be evacuated through 2 separate 66 KV lines to Sub-Stations at Anganwada and Dunawada. This project awarded under phase 1 of Gujarat Solar Power policy 2009 will be the first major project commissioned under the Gujarat Solar Mission. With 11 MW of existing so-lar power generation capacity, Gujarat is India‗s largest solar power producer today.

---. Leading developer in utility scale solar projects SunBorne Energy has joined hands with Europe-based IPP Eoxis Ener-gy for executing the 15 MW solar photovol-taic (PV) project being built in Gujarat. The project is expected to be operational by December 2011 and also falls under the

solar programme of Gujarat.

Electrical Engineering. The Voltech Group, global service provider in testing and commissioning of electrical systems signed an agreement with NanoPV of the U.S., and Rank General Trading and Con-tracting Company (RGTC) of Kuwait. Vol-tech has global presence in engineering services, manufacturing of power trans-formers, control relay panels, relay, switch-gear and industrial ball valves, execution of turnkey electrical and instrumentation pro-jects and export/import of engineering equipment.

Information Technology. The german COMPAREX Group has taken another strategic step forward in pursuit of its inter-national growth strategy by acquiring Indian software consulting and technology ser-vices specialist IRIS Unified Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The acquisition, closed on Octo-ber 14th, follows the foundation by COM-PAREX of an Indian subsidiary in Delhi earlier this year as part of its expansion in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Infrastructure. With the country adding 11 km of roads every day, construction of highways, which had dipped to dismal lev-els in the past few years, has picked up pace. If the trend is sustained, the govern-ment could be on track of achieving 20 km per day by 2014. The pace of construction is likely to accelerate about two-fold in the next few years, thanks to a significant in-crease in bidding of projects since 2010.

—-. BEML Ltd announced its entry into dredging starting with a technology tie-up with a Netherlands company, Vosta LMG. According to an agreement, the two signed in Amsterdam, BEML will design, manufac-ture and market a range of dredgers and other vessels using technology transferred from Vosta. It would market them for cus-tomers located in India and South-East Asia. BEML has presence in Indonesia and Thailand.

Luxury Market. The government's recent announcement that it is "seriously consider-ing" relaxation of the cap on FDI in single brand retail met with an encouraging re-sponse from global luxury brands, including Salvatore Ferragamo and Jimmy Choo, which hope to increase their India invest-ments. At present, India allows only 51 per cent FDI in single brand retail, none in multi-brand and 100 per cent in the cash-and-carry trade.

Award. Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata

has been honoured with ‗Swiss Ambassa-dor's Award for Exceptional Leadership', which recognises individuals who have contributed to the promotion of Indo-Swiss bilateral relations or have stood out for their exceptional role in the society and industry. After conferring the award on Mr. Tata , Swiss Ambassador Philippe Welti acknowl-edged Mr. Tata's contribution to not just In-dian but global business world. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Tata said the legacy of a true leader was to have made a differ-ence and improved the quality of life of the people whom the person served.

international India-Czech Republic. The Czech Repub-lic announced that bilateral trade with India is likely to touch US$ 2 billion in 2012, on back of increasing economic engagement between the countries.

Mr Martin Kocourek, the Czech Republic Industry and Trade Minister with a 50-member delegation in New Delhi, said there are huge opportunities for business-men of both nations to increase economic cooperation. He said both the countries can cooperate in sectors like chemicals, envi-ronment, engineering and infrastructure.

India-USA. In a bid to strengthen and deepen its strategic partnership with the United States, India will set up a "higher education platform" to enhance collabora-tion in research, skill development and stu-dent and faculty exchange. The announce-ment came as the first ever India-US edu-cation summit wrapped up in Washington. Both countries stressed on the need to en-hance the scope of collaboration and iden-tify new ways to encourage linkages and exchange programmes. The countries will also join forces to promote strategic institu-tional partnerships for strengthening and expansion of collaboration in priority areas of higher education, including science and engineering, social sciences, humanities, as well as address societal challenges in areas such as cyber security, energy, envi-ronment, health and agriculture, the joint statement said.

News | Economy & Business

Quote of the Month “In the foreseeable future I see India

joining the premium league. India will be

amongst the top 3-4 markets along with

Germany, United States and China” By Peter Honegg, Managing Director, BMW

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INDIA-AUSTRIA RELATED NEWS India and Austria sign two MoU

Following the bilateral talks between Indian President Patil and her Austrian counterpart President Fischer during the state visit of President Patil to Austria in early October, two memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed by both sides. The first MoU was between the Ministry of Railways and the Austrian Ministry of Transport and will help in Technology transfer to the Indian Railways. The second one, signed by the department of Science and Technology and the Austrian Science Fund, looks to augment research in mutual interest areas.

Besides the two MoU, a bilateral cooperation agreement to strengthen and develop the economic relations between the two nations was signed between the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Frauscher wins major contract in India

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd (MRVC Ltd) awards the largest contract for axle counting systems in recent years to a consortium under the technical leadership of Austrian Frauscher Sensortechnik GmbH, which is a leading supplier of inductive sensor technology used in the rail industry. The contract encompasses

system design, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of the axle counting system ACS2000 in 19 stations on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai (CSTM)-Thane, Kalyan & Ravli Junction Yard line within the Mumbai Division of the Central Railway, and in the Jogeshwari area within the Mumbai Division of the Western Railway. The contract involves fitting out more than 1000 track sections with the latest wheel sensor technology from Frauscher.

Constantia wants to package India

After moving its headquarters to Vienna, Austrian Constantia Packaging looks forward to two things: its IPO and its entry in the Indian market, where the company detects especially good chances due to huge demand. The company studies the possibility of a takeover followed by expansion

India-Austria Bilateral Trade

The trade volume for the period January-July 2011 has registered positive marks for both exports and imports. India‘s exports to Austria increased by 20.3% to €337.5 million while imports rose by 38% to €457 million.

The positive export trend is being strongly pushed by increase in an of both ‗Apparels and clothing accessories‘ and ‗Footwear‘, both of which account for about 32% of

India‘s total exports to Austria. Additionally, ‗Machinery and Equipment‘, mainly represented by ‗Electrical Machinery‘ and ‗Road Vehicles‘, has also seen a considerable increase by almost 25% in comparison to the same period in 2010. The exports of ‗Chemicals‘, on the other hand, has marked a decrease by -6.7% and continues to register negative marks since the second quarter of this calendar year. Projections based on the figures of the first seven months of 2011 indicate that Indian exports to Austria has a positive trend, and should cross the half billion mark before year-end.

On the imports side, significant increase by almost 40% has been recorded in the imports of ‗Machinery & Transport Equipment‘, which accounts for about half of total imports. This has been strongly pushed by a huge increase in imports of ‗Power Generating Equipment‘ and ‗Electrical Machinery‘. Metals also play an important role on the imports side. ‗Iron & Steel‘ registered growth by more than 70%, while ‗Manufacture of Metals‘ has more than doubled its mark, and now accounts for more than 5% of total imports. ‗Scientific and Controlling Instruments‘, which has also managed to double its mark, is also to be given attention, as its increase now makes it also account for more than 5% of total imports.

News | Economy & Business

INDIA-AUSTRIA BILATERAL TRADE REPORT (in EUROS)

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Articles | Economy & Business

Indians remit more than $1 billion abroad in FY11 Indians are remitting money abroad at a frantic pace. Data recently released by the Reserve Bank of India show doubling, tripling - and in some cases, up to 30 times increase - in spending on pur-chase of overseas property, stocks and gifts by Indians in the past five years.

Outward remittance (investments or spending on assets and items abroad) under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme of the RBI crossed the billion-dollar mark for the first time in 2011. Clearly, wealthy Indians are using the higher limit to acquire assets over-seas where values have been sliding since the 2008 credit crisis.

"HNIs in India look for investment options overseas to derisk their investment portfolio," says Ritwick Ghosal, head wealth manage-ment & liabilities HSBC India. Since 2004, a resident Indian can remit up to a total of $2,00,000, including gifts to relatives abroad, purchase of property, investment in fixed deposits, equities and bonds and donations as well for family maintenance, studies abroad and medical treatment, a year. Since this scheme was in-troduced in 2004, about $4 billion have been sent out. "Resident Indians are investing money in real estate, currency and interest rate options and also in hedge funds. These investments are also done in art. Indians have invested in property in Dubai and UK."

The scheme first allowed repatriation of $50,000 annually, which has now gone up to $,200,000 a year. Though there are separate limits for certain transactions such as travel, studies and medical treatment, the $2,00,000 facility under LRS is in addition to the al-ready existing limits. It's likely that remittances would have ebbed a bit since April given the rising economic uncertainties, but as a

long-term trend Indians will continue to acquire and invest abroad at a rising pace.

The collapse of the US housing market and fall in prices in Europe have led many wealthy Indians to buy homes abroad. There are instances where a four or five bed room bungalows are available in suburbs of California and Boston at the same price as a 1,000 sq ft two-bedroom apartments in Mumbai suburbs such as Borivli, or Andheri. "For any remittance individuals have to mention the purpose, in most cases gift is checked. Gifts may be overstated as individuals sending money overseas for child expenses also ticks the gifts box," said V. Kapoor, GM wealth, India & South

Asia Standard Chartered Bank. "Affluent individuals are remitting money to geographies like US, UK, Europe and South East Asia. As Indians increasingly get integrated with the global world these remittances will continue to rise.''

A big chunk of the gift component of the money remitted overseas is believed to be the returns on investments made from the money relatives had earlier sent. Corroborating this view is the data on inward remittances by the Indian diaspora.

These have been growing sharply since the nineties, which wit-nessed a boom in the IT industry and a large-scale migration of Indian software professionals to North America and Europe. In-ward remittances have crossed $50 billion. According to an RBI study, only 61% of the money sent by relatives overseas is used for family maintenance. The balance is used for investments in bank FDs, stocks and real estate, among others.

India develops ultra low-cost tablet pc For a developing economy like India, the low-cost computing device is no more a dream. A tablet PC for Rs. 1,700 ($35) is a reality. To be called Aakash (meaning sky), the ultra low-cost tablet PC will be indigenously manufactured in India.

Kapil Sibal, minister for communications, IT and HRD unveiled it in New Delhi on October 5. With initial focus on inclusive education, the Indian government is literally accomplishing its endeavor for e-empowerment.

Created for use by students, the tablet with Web-enabled platform, that eliminates the typical software and hardware architectures, will be given free in schools and colleges. Though it doesn't have a hard drive, a memory card can be used to store data.

A Canadian company, Datawind that develops wireless access devices, will manufacture it in its Noida facility on a contractual basis with the government. STMicroelectronics, a semiconductor producer will facilitate core processor in these ultra low-cost tablet PC devices.

According to sources, the manufacture cost of the device is Rs. 3,000. The tablet will be run on Google's Android platform with Wi-Fi connectivity and cloud storage. It will also have 256MB of RAM and a 32GB expandable memory and two USB ports, sources added.

Speaking to CIOL, Dr Roop N Bharadwaj (ITS) of ITU-APT Foundation of India said that it's a right step in the right direction. "This ultra low-cost device was much awaited that could empower 1 billion Indians," he said. "This tablet PC will be a game changer and will prove to be good for the ICT industry as well," Bharadwaj

believes. He also said that it will facilitate the Internet penetration in the country and help industry to grow at par with mobile penetration.

The manufacturing cost would be close to Rs. 3,000 but due to subsidies and tax waivers, prices have come down to Rs. 1,700. The government has plans to manufacture one lakh PC devices in the first phase and 10 lakh in the second phase.

However, there are mixed reactions to the launch. R Sivakumar, MD (sales and marketing), Intel South Asia, said that they are looking forward to it. ―As the ecosystem develops, we can look forward for such devices,‖ he said, adding focus on education sector is a commendable initiative by the government of India.

Intel has partnership with government on many occasions but for such a breakthrough product, the chip major said that it‘ll explore the opportunities since education vertical is one of the growing markets in India.

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Economy & Business | Interview

Q&A: David Frigstad, chairman, Frost & Sullivan David Frigstad, chairman at consultant Frost & Sullivan, believes the global economy will turn around very soon and countries with good infrastructure for growth and a culture of innovation will reap the benefits. The European crisis is blown out of proportion, he tells ET's Atmadip Ray in an interview. It will be a race among BRIC nations to lead.

—- —-

Q: Many Indian businesses are looking to expand overseas. What would be your suggestion in these times of global turmoil in financial markets?

A: The time for expansion is now. The race for market share and brand positioning can never be postponed, and once lost is often lost for a long time. It is important to begin developing best practice skills in branding, global expansion and demand generation now, if Indian companies want a strong position globally in the future.

Q: Do you buy the theory that the global economy faces a recession, given the economic situation in the US and European?

A: No, the global economy is poised for a solid growth. The European debt situation is being over exaggerated by the media with too much focus on dire consequences and collapse. Between the politicians' love of the spotlight and the media's tendency to sell based on negative news, we are left with a dire outlook for the economy. The truth is that there are many powerful underlying factors which will be driving the economy in the coming decade. Most are not tracked or measured by economists today.

Q: When do you expect the turnaround to happen?

A: We can see it today. The economies continue to grow despite the inability of politicians to lead and media's focus on negative developments. We are seeing CEOs in all countries around the world investing in growth projects and new technologies. We are seeing growth around the world and expect it to accelerate as confidence in the financial system is repaired.

Q: Which countries are likely to benefit the most from the turn of economic cycle? How do you expect the BRIC countries to react at this point?

A: The countries, which will benefit the most from the coming economic boom, will be the ones that have the best infrastructure for growth. This would include a strong government or business cooperation, inspired labour force, low regulation, competitive currency and culture of innovation. Each of the BRIC countries has some of these attributes, but not all. It will be a great race.

Q: Is there a serious leadership vacuum that drives the global financial markets towards successive crises?

A: I'm not sure if it is lack of leadership, or lack of control, or both. We seem to be vulnerable to greed. Most of the crises that we suffer are generated by lack of control and excessive greed. I am not qualified to answer this question, and I am not sure, if anybody in the world is.

Q: What is your view on the Indian economy?

A: It is staggering. Every time I come to India I am overwhelmed with the progress and change for the better. Obviously, there are huge opportunities to be leveraged as the entire population is integrated into educational and healthcare systems. The untapped potential in this country is hard to fully comprehend, but it is easy to see the potential impact on the global economy.

Q: Do you believe that India offers opportunities for global players more today than ever before?

A: Yes, everything appears to be moving in the right direction. India will be giving China and other emerging economies a very tough race in the coming years. This is why we are here. We see great opportunities for global players in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing best practice expertise is growing in India and the government appears to be cooperative in supporting this type of development. We are also witnessing interesting technology innovation in several industrial sectors, in which the country had not been a major player in the past. Over time, regulation and corruption challenges will lessen, creating a platform for improvement in infrastructure, logistics and communication. This will support economic growth across a broad spectrum of industries and regions. Many global players will soon look outside large cities for their geographic expansion.

Q: What is your plan in India as far as your business is concerned?

A: We have huge plans for India and the region in coming years. Emerging technologies and new business models will continue to accelerate growth and development in the region. This is where all the action will be in the next decade. Frost & Sullivan was one of the first companies to arrive in India and ever since we have grown our base and relationships. Unlike most companies in our sector, we started by developing relationships with local governments, investors and companies. Our primary focus in India will be our Indian and global clients based in India. We focus on helping companies developing a visionary perspective which drives the development of innovative growth strategies. The growth in the next 20 years will be very strong in India and we see this as a key focus in our own global growth strategy.

Q: What is your outlook for S-E Asia?

A: Companies in both India and China are overly focused on being low-cost provider. In the coming years, this strategy will grow to be obsolete and winning companies will have unique positioning strategies in the market and will have integrated more innovation into their products and/or business models. As the world economy globalises and some of the key mega trends take hold, we will see a huge increase in global competitive intensity in all fields. This will result in great opportunities for innovation as well as a long list of failed firms. The firms in India have a great chance at making this transition a success.

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Industry | Sector Close-Up

Manufacturing Following a steady path of progress, the Indian economy has con-sistently enjoyed a relaxed economic position. The recent growth pattern can be attributed to radical policy reforms brought in by the Indian government, liberalized foreign investment strategies, and industrial de-licensing. Apart from this, restructuring of the Export Import Policy (EXIM) policy in order to boost exports for the manu-facturing sector, and lining up the import duties as per World Trade Organization (WTO), added to the growth rate of the segment.

As per a survey, India's manufacturing sector rose sharply during

February 2011, and February was the 23rd consecutive month of expansion in India's manufacturing sector. "The momentum in In-dia's manufacturing sector strengthened yet again in February, continuing the good start to the year. Output growth is holding up and the inflow of new orders is accelerating, holding promise of a strong momentum in output in the months ahead," as stated by Leif Eskesen, Chief Economist for India & ASEAN, HSBC.

Growth trend

Fifty sectors of the country‘s economy grew by 39 per cent during the period April – December 2010, and were rated in the ―excellent growth‖ category. These segments included air conditioners, natu-ral gas, tractors, nitrogen fertilizers, ball bearings, electrical and cable wires, auto components, construction equipment, electric fans and the tire industry. Another twenty-two segments were rat-ed as the ―high growth‖ group, and registered a growth of 17.3 per-cent during the first nine months of the existing fiscal. Industries such as utility vehicles, crude oil, power transformers, energy me-ters, alcoholic beverages and textile machinery have registered around 10-20 percent growth.

Investments

Jubilant Life Sciences, India's largest custom research and manu-facturing services company, has entered into a US$ 70million deal with a US drug maker company to manufacture over-the-counter health products for women. "This is a take or pay contract with a minimum quantity commitment and has a total value of over $70 million for a period of over four years," as stated by the company.

Dixon Technologies, an electronic parts manufacturer, is also opening up $10.2 millionplant in Noida to create LED lighting solu-tions for the Indian market for its US based partner Lighting Sci-ence Group's (LSG). This joint venture will allow the US based company LSG, to increase its presence in the Indian market and tap the $407.98 miliion LED market in India.

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), part of Volvo India Pri-vate Ltd (VIPL), is set to launch excavators manufactured in the country by November. The company presently imports excavators from its Korean facility, and intends to set up its own manufactur-ing plant for manufacturing excavators up to 30-tonne capacity with an investment of $18.4 miliion.

Electrical equipment maker Jyoti Ltd entered into collaboration agreement with DMW Corporation for manufacturing pumps for large power and irrigation projects in India. The collaboration marks company's entry into larger business segment. Recently, Jyoti Limited invested close to $20.4 miliion in capacity and expan-

sion, which will be utilised to manufacturing pumps for large power and irrigation projects in India.

Matheson K-Air India Private Limited (MKI) is looking forward to invest US$ 100 million in the next five years and set up a 200 ton per day air separation plant in Chakan near Pune. The plant is ex-pected to be up by December 2012, and produce liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and liquid argon for delivery within a 300 kilometer radius. The company is targeting to expand its business and sup-ply industrial gases throughout India.

Government Initiatives

Indian government has set up a new ―Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment Policy,‖ which came into effect on April 1, 2010. The government also intends to create National Manufacturing and In-vestment Zones (NMIZs) which will promote the following objec-tives :

To encourage investments in the Indian manufacturing segment

To boost the manufacturing share in the country‘s GDP to 25 per cent by the year 2022

To increase the sector employment by two times

To augment global competitiveness of the Indian manu-facturing sector on the global stage

Mr Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry stated that the government will soon launch a new national manu-facturing policy that will allow the manufacturing zones in the coun-try to set up world class facilities and offer tax rebates.

The new policy aims to create 100 million jobs in the sector that will contribute to 25% of the GDP. The manufacturing sector pres-ently contributes 16% to the GDP. "We propose to establish 4-5 NMIZs as green-field integrated industrial townships with world-class infrastructure, financed by the central government in partner-ship with respective state governments, with a competitive regula-tory environment for attractive investments," as per Mr Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry.

On the ambitious $90 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Sharma said that seven new investment regions would be set up across the six states under the project. "We have completed the perspective planning of the entire DMIC region and I have moved the Cabinet for seeking support of $3.77 billion for establishment of seven new investment regions across the six states," he said.

Road Ahead

Trade data analysis state that during 1990-91, machinery manu-facturing sector occupied the second spot in the import item list, valued at $5.83 billion and accounted for about 24 per cent of the total imports of US$ 24 billion. For 2009-2010, the figures have ris-en sharply which clearly signify the growth in the domestic manu-facturing sector and increasing demand of the Indian economy. The Indian manufacturing sector has achieved a competitive edge with the help of increasing demands, pool of engineering talent in the country and liberal policy structure by the Indian government.

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Industry | Profile

BIG player: Mahindra Conveyor Systems PVT. LTD. Mahindra Conveyor Systems Private Limited (MCSPL) is a leading supplier of Material Handling Equipment and Systems. MCSPL product range includes Bulk Handling Systems as also Unit Handling Systems for various specialized applications.

MCSPL is Mahindra Group Company. Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, is a premier Business House in India having diverse business interests.

The group is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered at Mahindra Towers in Mumbai, with operations in over 100 countries across the globe. The group has a presence in the following areas:

Aerospace Agribusiness Automotive & Components Construction equipment Defense Energy Farm equipment Finance and insurance Industrial equipment Information technology Leisure and hospitality Logistics Real estate Retail

It is considered to be one of the most reputable Indian industrial houses with

market leadership in utility vehicles as well as tractors in India.

Having introduced various high efficiency Conveying Equipment for the Cement Industry in the year 1992 as complete solution provider for the Material Handling requirements of the Cement Industry, Power Plants, Heavy Chemicals & Mineral Processing Plants etc. MCSPL offers Equipment and Systems at optimal prices - combining advantage of the latest technology with high quality workmanship.

Material Handling Equipment constitutes a backbone of any process industry. MCSPL boasts of a supply record of more than 1500 Equipment and continues to fulfill the critical conveying requirements of a large number of customers. With this rich and diverse knowledge base, MCSPL is now poised to meet even bigger challenges.

Since MCSPL supplies critical equipment to core sector industries such as cement, power, etc., the equipment needs to be of proven design / workmanship and needs to be supported adequately during operation. To build reliable equipment, each team member is required to contribute - harnessing his fullest potential.

MCSPL has Technical Collaboration with M/s Tsubakimoto Bulk Systems Corp., Japan, a well-respected company in Bulk Material Handling ang global presence.

Emerging sme: Prima Automation (India) Pvt. Ltd. PRIMA Automation (India) Pvt. Ltd. An ISO 9001:2008 certified and TÜV Süd approved leading manufacturer of quality panels and automation Solution Provider in the State of Gujarat, INDIA.

Mr. Mitin Patel, B.E. (IC) and Mr. Vinod Patel B.E.(EC) two technocrats with sound techno-commercial exposure started the organization as MIVI Engineers & Contractors in the year 1983 with the aim of providing services for erection and commissioning of instrumentation / electronic panels and systems for turbo generators, centrifugal compressors,

boilers, turbine and process plants. The resounding success in providing consultancy services provided confidence and base to set up an in-house manufacturing unit in 1989 as PRIMA Electronics at Gota - Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat to manufacture these products and thus provide turnkey solutions.

Over the years PRIMA developed the capacity of responding to the most demanding specifications and in the year 1999, converted into a Private Limited Company as PRIMA AUTOMATION

(INDIA) PVT. LTD. with extended manufacturing setup of 20,000 sq. feet at Gota with in-house facility for Fabrication, Painting, Assembly, Testing, and Packing / Dispatch under one roof. Registered office was set up in the prime location of Ahmedabad for ease of techno-commercial activities such as Marketing, Design, Engineering, Purchase and Accounts. Prima is considered as Benchmark for similar type of control panel manufacturers in India.

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Trade Shows | Industry

Upcoming trade shows in india

WHAT The world's largest electrical

Transmission and Distribution exhibition

WHEN January 18-22, 2012

WHERE Mumbai, India

MORE INFO www.elecrama.com

WHAT International Technical

conference and Exhibition on Pulp, Paper, Conversion and

Allied Industry

WHEN December 10-13, 2011

WHERE

New Delhi

MORE INFO www.paperex-india.com

WHAT World's leading security and safety

exhibition.

WHEN March 1-3, 2012

WHERE Mumbai, India

MORE INFO www.secutechexpo.com

WHAT The Trade fair targets

those who are working with Handicrafts, Art and craft as exporters, Importes,

Processors, Manufacturers, Distributors and many

emerging companies. WHEN

November 14-27, 2011 WHERE

New Delhi MORE INFO

www.indiatradefair.com

WHAT

The largest and most prestigious Book Fair in the Afro-Asian region

WHEN February 25-March 4, 2012

WHERE

New Delhi, India

MORE INFO

www.nbtindia.org.in

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Tourism | State Profile

assam

IndiaTourism Frankfurt Baseler Str. 48 / D-60329 Frankfurt

Tel: +49 (69) 242949-0 / Fax: +49 (69) 242949-77 www.india-tourism.com / info@india-tourism.com

Assam is the largest of the states in the northeast of India whose capital, Guwahati, has an inspired location on the banks of the River Brahmaputra. The ancient city of Pragjyotishpur or the light of east is the site of modern Guwahati, the Gateway to North East-ern India. Amidst Assam‘s verdant lushness are two important game sanctuaries, Manas and Kaziranga, both best known for their population of one horned Indian rhinoceros, a species that faced extinction. Much of the rest of the state is devoted to tea plantation which yield the strong Assam leaf popular all over the world. Sibsagar was the capital of the Ahom Kings who ruled As-sam before the advent of the British. The town is build round the Sibsagar tank, dug over 200 years ago. The tank is above town level although situated in the heart of the town. On its banks are located some of the famous temples of Sibsagar. The Shiva tem-ple, constructed in the year 1734 is believed to be the highest Hin-du temple in India

Some of Assam’s attractions are:

Tea pluckers in

Assam

Scenic view of

Guwahati

Kareng Ghar and

Talatal Ghar

Alfresco Grand,

luxury vessel

Bihu dancers of

Assam

Rhinos in Kaziranga

National Park

River Manas

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Formula 1 India: Sebastian Vettel wins inaugural Indian Grand Prix

Sports | Article

Spectacular motor racing action thrilled a sell-out crowd of 95,000 people at Greater Noida's Buddh International Circuit on Sunday, October 30th as Germany's Sebastian Vettel remained unbeatable in his Red Bull for the 11th time this season.

McLaren's Jenson Button and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso followed him to the finish line, where Sachin Tendulkar waved the cheq-uered flag. Huge cheers rose from the stands after the national an-them-the first big international sporting event after the Common-wealth Games had somewhat salvaged the country's reputation as an executer of big events.

"This is a big day for India," Tendulkar said as he came out of the pit lane after the chequered flag along with wife Anjali and his chil-dren. "It's just wonderful, wonderful, to be here. It was a great race and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it," he said. Tendulkar was seen in the morning chatting with Michael Schumacher.

F1 Grand Prix: India's date with Hotwheels

Force India's Adrian Sutil finished ninth and Hispania Racing's Na-rain Karthikeyan finished 17th, as a huge gathering of celebrities from films, cricket, and business, watched with awe.

The organisers came in for praise all around as fans enjoyed a smoothly organized event put together with little state interference or support. Speaking at the post-race press conference, Jenson Button paid effusive complements to the circuit.

"I think we need to say a big congratulations to the Indian people for their efforts in building this circuit. It is a very special circuit and I really, really enjoyed driving around here," the former world champion said. The paddock club and the grandstands were swarming with celebrities on Sunday. British comedian Rowan 'Mr Bean' Atkinson was at his entertaining best when his comic, Mr Bean-esque reaction to Lewis Hamilton's crash with Felipe Massa was shown on television.

He was here this weekend as a guest of Team McLaren and within minutes of the footage being shown, Atkinson and the Hamilton-Massa crash became global trending topics on Twitter. Virgin Group boss Richard Branson was seen in the paddock pep-talking the Virgin team.

Indian cricketers Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina were present, while from Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Gulshan Grover and Ritesh Deshmukh among others, watched. "Very excited. Everything is really amaz-ing here. We are all rooting for Force India," Shah Rukh Khan told ET, as he made his way to the Force India lounge to watch the race along with Tendulkar, Vijay Mallya and others.

For fans, there was much racing action in the offing. Ferrari's Mas-sa and Mclaren's Hamilton crashed yet again, for the seventh time this season, for which the Brazilian received a drive-through penal-ty from the race stewards.

"Felipe just turned in on me, he didn't give me any space," Hamil-ton shouted over the team radio. "It's the umpteenth time that Hamilton runs into me this year and it seems it's some sort of fatal attraction," Massa said, adding that he disagreed with the stew-ards' decision to penalize him. Narain Karthikeyan said it was a very satisfying race for him.

"It was very special to drive my first grand prix in front of the home crowd and I managed better-than-expected results. It was satisfy-

ing to beat my teammate and a Lotus," the HRT racer, who fin-ished 17th, said. On Sunday morning, the highways from Delhi to the race track were clogged as tens of thousands of fans set out to get their first real taste of Formula One racing. Some spent as much as four hours on the roads, while those who started earlier in the day had a smoother time negotiating traffic.

But in the end, as they watched a terrific race and a victory lap by Vettel who waved at everyone from his car, only the good memo-ries remained. Prakash Jagannathan, a 32-year-old finance pro-fessional with Credit Suisse in Pune, who has watched grand prix at Sepang and Silverstone, said he found the experience to be better than the Malaysian and British circuits.

"Absolute kudos to the organizers. It's much better than Sepang and Silverstone. We should all be proud. Some people call it an elitist sport. But it's not. All the people in the stands were ordinary people who wanted to enjoy the race and feel proud about this happening in our country. The race was very good, the tarmac was good. I had a fantastic time as a racing fan. The stands were jam packed," he said.

Jaiprakash Gaur, the 84-year-old chairman of Jaypee Group, seemed overwhelmed as he came out after the chequered flag with Tendulkar. "Bahut badhiya, bahut badhiya," he repeated, when asked if he thought everything went well. If the reactions of fans and the visiting racing teams are anything to go by, Gaur has delivered on his promise.

Dust was the only major complaint through the racing weekend, and everyone from the Formula One Management and the teams pointed out that for the first year of the track, the organizers had achieved a great level of finish to the infrastructure.

The two tragic deaths in motorsports this weekend cast a pall of gloom over the event. The stadium observed a minute of silence ahead of the race and several drivers spoke about the unfortunate events. That and the while Indian experience turned Vettel quite philosophical during his postrace interview.

Talking about the first race in India and his experience of the peo-ple here, the young champion said: "They enjoy life and in the end that is what it is all about. If your life comes to an end, it is more the thoughts, the emotions, the friends, the friendships you take with you rather than whatever you have in your bank account. Even the people have so little here I think in a way they are much richer than a lot of people back in Europe so there is a lot we can learn and it is a great race, great event." In less than an hour after the race was over, the teams had started packing from the pad-dock.

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Miscellaneous | India in Austria

Past events

India Sphere 2011. With its Diwali Fest, Indian Film Festival, Dance Competition and Workshops, the India Sphere 2011 was a success. Ambassador Dinkar Khullar spoke to the guests of the Diwali function (pic. above/right) at the Diwali function in Graz on October 26th.

On October 31st, Ms. Kruti Parekh held an interactive mind opening practical based show that helps people to go beyond the logical avenues of daily life as well as being able to know the power of the mind. The „Mindpower Show― impressed a large audience (pic. left) and counted with practical lessons. In the picture (right), Ms. Parekh instructs a volunteer to lay down on a nail bed and defy his mind and fear. Another volunteer adds to the challenge by adding additional weight to the task. With this and other tasks, Ms. Parekh illustrates how our minds are able to sircunvent tasks we normally judge impossible.

The Diwali function on Oct. 30th at the Lugner City in Vienna counted with live magic show by famous Indian magician Ms. Kruti Parekh.

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Agenda

DELHI ECONOMICS CONCLAVE New Delhi, 15-16 December 2011

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a highly important chamber of commerce and industry of India is organizing a high lelvel business event:

’Delhi Economics Conclave’ on 15-16 December 2011 at Hotel Ashoka in

New Delhi, India.

More information, contact:

Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry

Email: cbanerjee@cii.in Tel: 011-24621874 / 24629994-7 Fax: 011-

24633168

Miscellaneous | India in Austria

Fallen angel - Exhibition by leslie de melo Save the Date! Starting in December. More Details coming soon! Künstlerhaus, Vienna More details at k-haus.at

DANCE: Das hohe Lied der Lieder 5 November, 19:30 Dance: Wera Goldman / Radha An-jali / Martina Haager Natya Mandir Studio, Wien

More details at 0676 312 57 36

Shikhandi - indian transgender drama 11 November, 19:30 Theater am Spittelberg, Vienna More details at theateramspittelberg.at

Talk-Series "Zu Gast bei Elisabeth Al-Himrani" 17 November, 19:00

No. 80 - Martin Kohlmaier, Student and Trainee in India

Natya Mandir Studio, 1010

Börseplatz 3

More details at austro-indian.at

Magic of the sitar - classi-cal north indian concert 26 November, 19:30

Natya Mandir Studio, 1010

Börseplatz 3

More details at alankara.com

fallen angel fallen angel

Newsletter published by the commercial wing

of the Embassy of India, Vienna. Contact

under marketingofficer@indianembassy.at