Success in my Habit

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

India, China plan to set up joint working group to boost trade

New Delhi: India and China are working to set up a joint working group aimed at giving a fillip to bilateral investment and also to address trade related matters.

The two countries also evinced interest in fostering favourable investment climate including greater market access and speedy visa facilitation.

Commerce and Industry Ministry Anand Sharma and his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming led their business teams at the ninth session of the India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology.

Sharma, while briefing reporters, said, “The joint working group will be established soon and it will give its recommendations and assessments in 90 days...We have also agreed to work on a five-year plan on economic cooperation. These have been proposed by China and we have welcomed and endorsed it”.

While Sharma raised concerns over widening trade deficit in favour of China and restricted market access in areas such as IT, pharmaceutical and agricultural products, Chen raised issues pertaining to visas and the recent import duty hike on power equipment by India.

Sharma said, those projects which already have got approval for the 12{+t}{+h} Plan period will be continue to enjoy the exemption.

Sharma said the two sides had touched upon issues that were hampering trade and investments. India had asked leading Chinese companies to set up manufacturing bases in India.

“We have invited China to participate and support in the establishment of one or more of the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones,” the Minister said.

The Chinese Trade Minister said both India and China could help in a global economic recovery and it is important to strengthen ties between the two nations. He also expressed hope of achieving $100-billion trade target by 2013.

The total bilateral trade between India and China for 2011-12, stood at $75,457.42 million as compared with $59,000.36 million in 2010-11.

During 2011-12, the exports were $17,902.98 million while the imports stood at $57,554.44 million. The provisional trade deficit for 2011-12 was $39,651.46 million.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Smaller cities favoured for upcoming logistic hubs

An acre of land in Oragadam, near Chennai, today costs Rs 2.50 crore, while it used to be around Rs 80 lakh three years ago. With the auto sector turning Oragadam into its hub, not only has the price of land gone up in and around the area, but it has also opened enormous business opportunities for logistics and warehousing operations.

Once the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is implemented there will be a great demand for logistic and warehouse operations, said V.N. Sridharan, Chief Executive Officer, Shri Kailash Logistics, which has a large logistics park in Oragadam. He said goods worth Rs 5,000 crore are manufactured in the zone every month.

The latest findings of C.B. Richard Ellis (CBRE), an international real estate consulting firm, validates Sridharan’s views on the demand for logistics space not only in Oragadam but across the country.

Tier-II catches up
The report India Logistics Market View says that India witnessed increased market activity in the first half of 2012.

Demand for logistic and warehousing spaces was not only limited to leading cities, such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore, but was spread across tier II cities.

E-tailers are investing heavily in strategically-located assets and are taking up quality warehousing space.

However, availability of large land parcels at low cost, connectivity to multiple markets across states and industrial clusters, has led to the emergence of some tier II and III cities as favoured destinations for the development of logistics parks and warehouses.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and Managing Director of CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd, said, “The rising level of activity in logistics and warehousing space across metros as well as tier II cities is testimony to the growing confidence of domestic and international retailers in India. Factors such as enhanced connectivity, various reforms and completion of major infrastructure projects are expected to further augment the logistics sector.”

Expansion spree
FMCG majors, white goods and consumer electronics firms are on an expansion spree and are increasing their footprint in India. Built-to-suit options have been the preferred mode of expansion for most occupiers, with large transactions of warehousing space of 10,000 –15,000 sq ft being reported in the first half of 2012, he said.

Tax reforms, such as the GST, will replace a host of indirect taxes, Central Excise, Service Tax, and various State-level duties with a single levy. This is expected to bring significant reorganisation into the warehousing industry and network planning by organisations, says the report.

Over the last few months, growth in domestic consumption, coupled with better efficiency in containerised transportation, has led to an increase in demand for high-quality warehouses. A popular trend across key micro markets has been consolidation of multiple facilities in the same region into a single warehouse. Rental values are expected to remain stable in the next two quarters across most micro-markets in the region, says the report.

FIPB gives nod to eight pharma FDI proposals

New Delhi: India's foreign investment approval authority has cleared eight pending proposals of foreign drug companies to buy stakes in local companies which have been pending for several months due to lack of clarity on the new FDI norms for pharmaceuticals sector.

The eight proposals that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) cleared at its meeting on Friday include those of Pfizer Limited, B Braun, Sutures India and Ordain Health Care Global, two government officials who attended the meeting told ET.

Sutures India's plans to raise Rs 199 crore by selling 40% stake to Mauritius-based Ambrose Pvt Ltd and Spain's Chemo Group's proposal to buy a 100% stake in Ordain Healthcare Global for Rs 58 crore have been stuck since March.

Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), the lobby body of foreign pharma companies in India, has welcomed the move.

"This is a one small step for encouraging FDI in India," said OPPI president Ranjit Shahani, adding that similar delays should not be repeated for future investments. The FIPB, however, deferred two fresh proposals of Advanced Enzyme Technologies and UK-based Dashtag. But this was because the health ministry did not get their applications and were not related to the new guidelines, one of the officials said.

Foreign investment in pharmaceuticals came to a standstill last year delaying expansion plans of foreign drug makers after the government decided to impose conditions holding up Rs 3,000-crore worth of FDI proposals.

The restrictions were raised after health ministry, some parliamentarians, NGOs and section of the industry expressed fears that the spate of buyouts by multinationals in recent years would threaten availability of low-cost medicines for Indians and increase dependence on costly imported drugs. Only few FDI proposals in the sector, mainly financial investments have been approved since then.

In last four years, MNCs have bought out several Indian firms which include Daiichi Sankyo's purchase of Ranbaxy and Abbott's buyout of domestic formulation business of Piramal Healthcare.

An inter-ministerial panel had finalised the new FDI guidelines for the pharmaceuticals industry in July paving the way for clearing the backlog. The panel suggested conditions such as commitment by the buyer to manufacture and make available essential drugs post acquisition for five years and also to increase R&D expenditure by 5% for diseases prevalent in India to allow foreign firms buy Indian companies. It left it to DIPP to decide if the riders be imposed only for acquisition of more than 49% or management control. The new guidelines are awaiting approval of PMO. But FIPB meeting that was held three days later decided to put off FDI proposals in pharma sector.

Indian app software market will cross $227 m this year: Gartner

Mumbai: The Indian application development software market is expected to cross $227 million in 2012, a 22.6 per cent rise over 2011.

Growth will be driven by evolving software delivery models, new development methodologies, emerging mobile application development and open source software, according to a study by research and analyst firm Gartner.

Emerging trends
“Application modernisation and increasing agility will continue to be a solid driver for app development spending, apart from other emerging dynamics of cloud, mobility and social computing,” said Asheesh Raina, principal research analyst at Gartner.

“These emerging trends are directing app demand towards newer architectures, programming languages, business model and user skills,” he added.

According to Gartner, cloud is changing the way applications are designed, tested and deployed, resulting in a significant shift in app priorities. About 90 per cent of large, mainstream enterprises and government agencies will use some aspect of cloud computing by 2015. Gartner predicts that mobile AD projects targeting smart phones and tablets will outnumber native personal computer projects by a ratio of 4:1 by 2015. Emerging mobile applications, systems and devices are transforming the app development space rapidly, and are one of the top three CIO priorities at the enterprise level.

The research also found that CIOs expect more than 20 per cent of their employees to use tablets instead of laptops by 2013, hastening the process of change as app tools and applications evolve to address the requirements of these new devices.

Open source software
Gartner expects open source software to continue to broaden its presence and create pressure on market leaders during the next 3-5 years. It predicts that at least 70 per cent of new enterprise Java applications will be deployed on an open source Java application server by 2017-end.

Swedish Energy Agency, CII, Cleantech Scandinavia ink cooperation pact

Hyderabad: The Swedish Energy Agency, the Confederation of Indian Industry and Cleantech Scandinavia have entered into a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement was signed at the 11th Energy Efficiency Summit here today.

The MoU was inked by Karl Edberg, Counsellor-Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Embassy of Sweden; S. Raghupathy, Executive Director and Head of CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre; and Alexander Lindgren, Chairman of Cleantech Scandinavia.

The focus of the cooperation will be on technology exchange and facilitating the development of better energy management by engaging companies and research organisations.

Cleantech Scadinavia, the Sweden-based network for investors, Governmental organisations and professionals, contributes to business and development.

The cooperation is of significance in the backdrop of Indian industry seeking to improve energy efficiency by adopting new technologies and processes in their plants.

With the perform, achieve and trade (PAT) scheme in place adding to interest from companies, several global companies are keen to take part in the Indian power sector.

Swedish Energy Agency, CII, Cleantech Scandinavia ink cooperation pact

Hyderabad: The Swedish Energy Agency, the Confederation of Indian Industry and Cleantech Scandinavia have entered into a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement was signed at the 11th Energy Efficiency Summit here today.

The MoU was inked by Karl Edberg, Counsellor-Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Embassy of Sweden; S. Raghupathy, Executive Director and Head of CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre; and Alexander Lindgren, Chairman of Cleantech Scandinavia.

The focus of the cooperation will be on technology exchange and facilitating the development of better energy management by engaging companies and research organisations.

Cleantech Scadinavia, the Sweden-based network for investors, Governmental organisations and professionals, contributes to business and development.

The cooperation is of significance in the backdrop of Indian industry seeking to improve energy efficiency by adopting new technologies and processes in their plants.

With the perform, achieve and trade (PAT) scheme in place adding to interest from companies, several global companies are keen to take part in the Indian power sector.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

US cancer hospital to be set up in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: American Oncology Institute (AOI, the US) and Cyberabad Citizens Health Services, have invested Rs 220 crore ($40 million) to set up a cancer institute with 350 beds here. After two subsequent phases, it would have 1,000 beds with a total investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

“The incidence of cancer is going up in India because of industrialisation and changes in lifestyle. About 25 lakh people are afflicted with cancer and this number is underreported. Every year, about 10 lakh new cases are being reported,” said Joseph A. Nicholas, President and Chief Executive Officer of CTSE, and member on the AOI Board.

AOI is the first overseas cancer centre of the Pittsburgh (US)-based Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI).

“We will have 350 beds in the first phase by the year end. We will develop a hub-spoke model of medical services in India. Our next centre will be in Vijayawada, in association with Nagarjuna Hospital,” R. P. Raju, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Citizens Hospital and Executive Director of CTSI (India), said.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the CTSI officials said the Hyderabad campus will have multi-specialty facilities apart from cancer specialties. “We will bring in standardised protocols and advanced equipment for diagnosis and treatment from the US,” Raju said.

Ramco Systems forays into Australia

Chennai: Ramco Systems has forayed into the Australian market by setting up a subsidiary to drive business. The Chennai-based enterprise software company has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia under the name Ramco Systems Australia Pty Ltd.

Currently, Ramco has 17 offices spread across India, the US, Canada, Europe, West Asia, South Africa and APAC, according to a company press release.

Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems, said the company has a good presence and has been looking at expanding into new markets to help the company become a global brand.

Australian companies have been early adopters of SaaS and Cloud technologies. “We believe, Ramco ERP on cloud, a comprehensive ERP offering available on cloud and accessible on iPAD, will find ready acceptance among Australian enterprises,” he said.

Ramco will be marketing its offerings through key partners which will drive business in the region to gain a strong foothold.

Dahej SEZ makes it to world's top 50 free zones

Ahmedabad: The multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Dahej has made it to the world's top-50 'free zones'. The ranking has been granted following a survey of over 600 free zones in 120 countries by the prestigious FDI Magazine.

Gujarat's minister of state for industries Saurabh Patel has said that Dahej SEZ stood 26th among the top-50 and is the only SEZ from India to have figured in the list from 24 countries for the year 2012-13. The selection was made by the jury on various parameters. He said that Dahej SEZ has achieved this for the second consecutive year. Earlier, it had figured in FDI Magazine's top-25 free zones. The Da-hej SEZ has been jointly developed by Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation (GIDC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

It is spread over 1,732 hectares and plots have been allotted to 68 units who have invested Rs.35,000-crore. About 26,500 people have been employed at the SEZ. The commercial units have exported goods worth Rs 865 crores. Dahej SEZ Ltd (DSL) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is promoted jointly by Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation (GIDC) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation ltd. (ONGC) for development of Special Economic Zone (SEZ). DSL is developing a multi-product SEZ at Dahej in Vagra Taluka of Bharuch district in Gujarat, India.

$2-b fund proposed for electronics development

Bangalore: The Government has proposed to create an electronics development fund of $2 billion to promote innovation, intellectual property, research and development (R&D), nano electronics and help commercialise made-in-India products.

Announcing the plans for this proposed fund at the Freescale Technology Forum, Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, said this fund will be made available for companies in the Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing clusters all across India.

As a part of this, the Government is planning to participate with private players and will contribute 25-75 per cent to co-fund manufacturing initiatives.

A policy will be announced shortly, said Kumar. Walden International, a venture capital fund, is in talks with the Government to be a part of this fund, said Kumar.

Five clusters
Already, five clusters have come up or have advanced much, in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab and Bangalore.

In these clusters, the Government plans to set up an ecosystem that would involve skill development and the Government would give preference to products made out of these clusters, said Kumar.

Having missed the bus in manufacturing to China, the Government is increasingly looking to build the ecosystem that will help the growing domestic electronics demand in India, say industry watchers.

According to data, chip design and embedded software market in India is estimated to reach $55 billion in 2020, medical electronics equipment market is pegged at $5 billion.