Second Green Revolution needed, says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 28 laid stress on the need for second Green Revolution in the country. “There is an immediate need of Green Revolution in the country. The Green Revolution should immediately start in eastern India including Jharkhand, Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam,” said Modi. The prime minister was addressing the people at Barhi in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand after laying the foundation stone of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI). IARI-Jharkhand would achieve inclusive agricultural growth through Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) in the region, an official release said here. The institute will attract the cream of postgraduate and doctoral students from all over India and abroad to conduct region-specific research. The major regional challenges will be addressed by the IARI-Jharkhand, through prioritised thrust areas of research, integrated with post-graduate education and extension programmes, the release said. “The government of India has started initiatives for the development of the region and decided to open the closed plants of fertilisers at Sindri of Jharkhand and Gorakhpur of Uttar Pradesh and opening new fertiliser plants in West Bengal. The opening of closed fertiliser plants and new plants will help the farmers and generate employment to youths,” the prime minister said. Modi also appealed to the farmers to use scientific methods for modern farming. He asked them to use micro irrigation to increase production of foodgrain. “I also appeal farmers to increase production of dalhan (pulses) as country still imports in large quantity of pulses. There is government policy to provide addition Minimum Support Price (MSP) to promote dalhan production in the country,” he said. The prime minister appealed the farmers to avail the benefit of the Krishi Channel launched for the farming. He expressed his concerns over the Indian farmers lagging behind in comparison to other countries’ farmers. Besides Modi, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu and Chief Minister Raghubar Das also present on the occasion.
Smart cities to be decided by citizens: Modi
Smart cities will be selected through a bottom-up rather than top-down approach, where the decision would be made by the citizens and municipalities concerned, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on June 25. “For the first time such an approach is being taken, where neither the centre nor states will decide. The decision to become a smart city will be taken by the citizens themselves, by the municipalities,” Modi said launching the three missions on Smart Cities, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and Housing for All. “The city’s vision towards its future development is necessary for any programme’s success. Otherwise it will get bogged down, where state-level departments and agencies are awaiting directions from the centre, while cities are awaiting a decision from the state governments,” he said. “It will be a selection process for smart cities according to parameters, and thereafter the Centre and states will come in to help realise it. Competition is critical factor for the success of the programme,” Modi added. Smart City aspirants will be selected through a “City Challenge Competition” intended to link financing with the ability of the cities to perform to achieve the mission objectives. Cities must qualify themselves through city-challenge criteria like sanitation, clean water, power, greenery quotient and ratio between revenue and expenditure on municipal salaries. The government has approved the Smart Cities Mission under which 100 new smart cities, which would promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available assets and enhance the quality of urban life, would be made. Each selected city would get central assistance of Rs.100 crore per year for five years.
With two summits, Modi to have hectic schedule in Russia
The back-to-back BRICS and SCO summits in the Russian city of Ufa from July 8 to 10, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend, will see a lot of activity, including the first session of governors of the ambitious BRICS New Development Bank and India likely acquiring full membership of the China-led SCO. Modi is to travel to Russia to attend the summits of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa bloc (BRICS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. He is also slated to travel to the five central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan later for brief visits to the energy-rich nations. Moscow, which is preparing in earnest for the two summits in the face of an economic downslide and crippling Western sanctions over the Ukraine issue, has issued 3-rouble commemorative silver coins for both the summits. The Central Bank of Russia issued the coins, which will be on sale at commercial banks, primarily at Sberbank, the bank said. The coins, with the words “A Meeting of the BRICS Heads of State in Ufa”, will show the coin’s nominal value, its date of issuance, the national emblem of the Russian Federation on the obverse side. The reverse will show an official colour logo of Russia’s BRICS Presidency and below it, a stylised seven- petal Kurai flower, which is part of Bashkortostan’s national emblem and flag. Only 1,500 coins will be issued. A day ahead of the July 8-9 Seventh BRICS summit, the Board of Governors of the BRICS New Development Bank will hold its first meeting in Moscow. The July 7 meet of governors will formalize the launch of the $100 billion BRICS New Development Bank along with a currency reserve pool worth another $100 billion at the Ufa summit. The New Development Bank, to be headed by India’s K.V. Kamath, is expected to provide a financing alternative to the World Bank, where the five large emerging markets have sought more clout. The Contingent Reserve Arrangement will allow the BRICS countries to draw funds when going through a crisis. The bank, headquartered in Shanghai, is to finance infrastructure and sustainability projects in BRICS and other emerging and developing countries. The 14th SCO summit will be held in Ufa on July 9-10 during which both India and Pakistan are likely to be granted full membership of the China-backed grouping. India had formally applied for membership during the SCO summit in Dushanbe last year. The grouping was formed in 2001 by the leaders of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Earlier, the countries, except for Uzbekistan, were members of the Shanghai Five, a political union found in 1996. After Uzbekistan joined the grouping in 2001, the Five turned into the Six and subsequently took its current name. Currently, five countries — Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan — have observer-nation status, while three more — Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka — have dialogue partner status. Among the major goals of SCO are improving mutual trust between its members; assisting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, economy, science and development, culture and other areas of cooperation; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace; and moving towards a new democratic, just and rational political and economic international order. Greece, which is going through tough economic times, has voiced keenness to become a member of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). China is expected to push its Silk Road Economic Belt initiative at the SCO.
BlackBerry taps India-based start-ups to reinvent itself
Two years ago, when BlackBerry Ltd, came out with its personal assistant app Viki, much like Apple’s Siri and Google Now, it created a flutter in the industry. The app, exclusive to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, used artificial intelligence and natural language processing to learn about a user’s individual preferences and personalize search results over a period of time. Start-up Agrima Infotech Pvt. Ltd, which developed the app, was part of a developer ecosystem that the Canadian firm had started putting together in 2012 in India. Today, the ecosystem is 35,000-strong and the Waterloo, Ontario-based company is tapping around 600 start-ups through its innovation centre Rubus Labs based in Kochi’s Startup Village, an incubator for telecom start-ups. BlackBerry plans to leverage this network as part of its global strategy to move on from a closed platform that only provided services for BlackBerry devices to a software and services provider for devices across platforms, including Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. In this process, India has emerged as a sort of research base for the company. In September, BlackBerry acquired UKbased start-up Movirtu, which came out with a SIM virtualization technology which allows multiple phone numbers to be active on a single SIM. Today, the research and development team of this technology is based in its Noida facility and the company plans to leverage this technology to make it easier for enterprises to manage devices in BYOD (bring-your-own-device) and COPE (corporate-owned, personally-enabled) environments. In mid-2012, BlackBerry set up a technology centre-cum-innovation lab, Rubus Labs, in Kochi’s Startup Village, which had come up earlier that year. India is the first country in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the four countries globally where the firm has set up technology centres since late 2011. The other three locations are US, South Africa and Indonesia, each catering to different requirements pertaining to the region. “Rubus Labs is our innovation centre in India where we encourage engineering students and young professionals to come and innovate by providing them the BlackBerry platform to develop solutions,” said Annie Mathew, director, alliances and business development, BlackBerry India. “The number of developers has grown from less than 4,000 to more than 30,000 over a period of three years”, she said, adding that the company also leverages around 600 start-ups registered with the Kochi Startup Village. Major focus areas for these app developers and start-ups include the Internet of Things (IoT)—a network of physical objects that can connect to the Internet to talk to other connected devices; and machine-to-machine—which is an automated exchange of information between machines. “A lot of software, services we are rolling out works on Android, iOS, Windows and BlackBerry. So, virtually any smartphone user who is using these platforms is a potential BlackBerry customer. This is the fundamental shift in strategy,” said Sunil Lalvani in an interview with Mint in early May, before he stepped down as BlackBerry India’s managing director. “Our India strategy actually resonates what’s happening globally. As a company, we are pivoting again to our corporate roots.” “The apps and solutions being developed are for the global market largely. They have at times hit the top 10 to top 25 mark in downloads worldwide,” Mathew said, adding that more than 100 applications have come out of BlackBerry’s innovation centre. “In enterprise, the SIs/ISVs (system integrators/independent software vendors) are targeting markets outside India with their solutions.” Globally, in the IoT space, according to the company, the BlackBerry QNX operating system has enabled about 50 million cars in North America to securely communicate back to the central server about the health of the vehicles. The company is also working with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), US railroad systems and Cisco routers. While on the one hand the company is looking at bringing IoT solutions to India from outside, with Rubus Labs, the plan is to “make in India but make for the world”, said Mathew. Last year, the company showcased Gujarat-based start-up Hidden Brains, an enterprise web and mobile apps development company which works on machine-to-machine solutions. “A lot of work is being done by the company to integrate data in hospitals and make medical equipment communicate with other devices and provide doctors with a 360-degree view of the data gathered,” Mathew said. She said developers are also working on developing an app that turns smartphone cameras on and off upon entering and leaving specific premises such as a factory. “A lot of enterprises and factories need to ensure that nothing is photographed inside. This can be done through an app,” she said. The company is beefing up its enterprise business even as its consumer business is losing out, say experts. “BlackBerry is playing to its strengths by catering to enterprises than consumers. With dwindling smartphone market share, I expect BlackBerry to create niche applications and services that take advantage of its unique offerings of security and communication network,” said Rajat Agrawal, editor of BGR.in, the Indian avatar of BGR.com, one of the top electronics and gadget news websites in the US.
Microsoft Mobile unveils first retail store in Hyderabad
Microsoft Mobile on June 24 unveiled its first retail store in Hyderabad under the new brand name. The Microsoft Priority Reseller Store, as it is called, has been opened at Forum Mall here. T.S. Sridhar, director, south, Nokia India Sales Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile, said 8,872 stores and 119 care centres across the country will be transformed. While 441 outlets are getting a completely new design, the remaining stores will be refreshed with new signage by the end of current month. He said 441 Microsoft Priority Reseller stores offer ‘touch and feel’ experience to consumers, and 99 out of these are in south India. Hyderabad has 13 priority stores while 16 more are located in other parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The company also launched Microsoft Lumia 540, augmenting the Lumia smartphones portfolio further. The Lumia 540, with Windows 8.1, is priced at Rs.10,199 and comes with freebies totalling to about Rs.3,000, including Airtel data, ‘Gaana’, ‘Ola’ and PayTm cashback offers. It will be upgraded to Windows 10, to be launched later this year. He said 11 Lumia devices have been launched since October 2014, out of which five are Microsoft-branded.
Wal-Mart rolls out plan to open 500 stores in India
After restructuring its operations to focus exclusively on the cash-and-carry (or wholesale) business in January last year, Wal-Mart India Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is working on an ambitious plan to have 500 stores in the country the next 10-15 years, a top executive at the firm said. “We now have a full team in place and will be able to grow very fast,” said Krish Iyer, chief executive officer, Wal-Mart India, adding that the company is in India for the long term and will start growing aggressively in two to three years from now. Two years ago, Wal-Mart’s Indian plans ran aground amidst charges of flouting Indian rules on foreign investment in retail that have since been proved false. That and differences in strategy led to the company breaking up with its partner Bharti Enterprises. Iyer took charge around then. “The most important thing when I came in was to have a clear strategy. It was evident then that I would focus on our cash-and-carry business,” said Iyer in a 19 June interview. With a near exodus of employees after the crisis, Iyer had to first build a team. He also needed to focus on strengthening the company’s compliance processes and improving its relationship with various stakeholders, including the government and media. The first new store since Iyer took over will open in August in Agra. Opening stores of the kind that Wal-Mart requires, with about four acres of space on average and with lease of over 30 years, is not easy. “The gestation period for a store launch is 2.5 years,” explains Iyer, while sharing that three years from now the company will be in a position to open a store every one or two months. “Until then, it’s about getting ready for the growth,” he said. The company is on course to opening 50 stores by 2020, said Iyer, who is now looking at a bigger business potential over a longer horizon. “We can, over a period of 10-15 years, have 500 stores. The potential in India is huge. India is five countries rolled into one,” he added. Currently, Wal-Mart India has 20 stores across eight states, largely located in so-called tier II and III cities. Its investments in India till a year-ago stood at Rs.2,000 crore. Last year, in June, the parent said it would invest Rs.623 crore in India, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). “We will continue to focus on tier II and III cities and build our presence in concentric circles—focusing on a few states and geographies to gain critical mass,” said Iyer. To achieve these numbers will not be easy, said experts. “The biggest challenge is getting clean land parcels without any legal discrepancy. However, compared to the larger cities, the focus on tier II and III cities is a good strategy because at least land is available there at cheaper costs,” said Vivek Kaul, head, retail services India, CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd, and added that the risk is that the land could be agricultural and obtaining a land use conversion to commercial could take 6-8 months. Over the past year and a half, the company has also worked with the government at the state level to improve its relationships, said Iyer. “There is an ease of doing business we are experiencing in some of the states that we are in. It is driven by the centre, but executed at the state level,” he added, pointing to states such as Telangana that recently unfolded its industrial policy. Telangana is proposing a single-window clearance for various kinds of proposals with clearance time ranging from 21 to 30 days. This is also happening in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and Punjab may follow suit, said Iyer. Setting up a wholesale store needs a little more than 45 licences. Wal-Mart rival Metro Cash and Carry India Pvt. Ltd, which has 16 stores, announced last year that it would have 50 stores in India by 2020. In March this year, Metro AG, the parent, said it would invest Rs.400 crore in the Indian subsidiary, according to a 31 March filing with the RoC. The organized wholesale business in India is very nascent with less than 100 stores between the top companies, including 45 cash-and-carry stores of Reliance Industries Ltd’s retail arm. French firm Carrefour SA exited the businesses last year to focus on reviving flagging sales in its home market.
IFC to invest $7 million in Health Vista India
Healthcare provider Health Vista India Private Limited (Portea) will raise $7 million from International Finance Corporation (IFC) to fund its expansion. The company, promoted by Ganesh Krishnan and Meena Ganesh, is looking to raise $37 million to expand its heathcare services in India and South East Asia. Portea’s existing investors include Accel Partners India, VenturEast and Qualcomm Ventures. Established in November 2013, it is a home-based healthcare services provider. Portea works with individuals as well as hospitals, insurance companies and corporates to improve health outcomes by providing in-home care to geriatric, chronic, neonatal and post-operative patients across 22 cities including Delhi, Bengalaru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai and two in Malaysia. “IFC has the ability to support the company through its current and future growth plan through equity and debt investments,” said World Bank’s investment arm IFC.
Japan’s Softbank, Bharti JV for $20bn Indian solar project
Japan’s telecom and internet major SoftBank Corp on June 22 announced a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn Technology Group to set up a $20 billion solar power project in India designed to add 20 gigawatts of generation capacity. “The total project cost is $20 billion and designed to further Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of achieving 100 GW solar power, which he told me about in Tokyo,” SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son told reporters here. Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said: “Softbank will be the project leader with majority stake, while Bharti will be a strategic minority shareholder. Foxconn Technology will have a smaller minority stake.” “As a leading global technology company, Foxconn is committed to fulfilling our social and environmental responsibilities (SER) and investing in areas that link technology with sustainable growth,” said Terry Gou, chief executive Foxconn Technology, which is the largest exporter out of China, accounting for five percent of exports. The newly-formed joint venture, SBG Cleantech, to be headquartered here, will have Manoj Kohli, earlier Airtel Africa chief executive, as executive chairman and Raman Nanda, as its CEO. “India has two times the sunshine that of Japan. “The cost of construction of the solar park is half of Japan. Twice the sunshine, half the cost, that means four times the efficiency,” said Son. He said the timeline for investments would depend on the central and the state governments concerned, as well as on acquiring land needed for the projects.
Carlyle set to invest $500m in Magna
US-based private equity firm Carlyle Group on June 22 said it will invest $500 million in Magna Energy, an India-focused oil firm founded by Mike Watts, the man who saw oil in Rajasthan’s Thar desert where global giant Royal Dutch Shell saw none. Carlyle, the second private equity fund after Warburg Pincus to have backed management team in creation of upstream firm, will fund Magna’s bit to become a full-cycle oil and gas company through acquisitions and by securing local licences in India. Magna, Carlyle Group said in a statement, will primarily focus on development and production with a secondary focus on exploration. This is the single-largest private equity funding transaction in the Indian oil and gas field, a sector largely dominated by large established firms. Watts, who superannuated as deputy CEO of Cairn Energy in 2014, had founded Magna with his former CFO-turned-MD Jann Brown to invest in oil and gas fields in South Asia. Magna plans to bid for small and medium sized fields which are to be auctioned by the government later this fiscal as also in future exploration licensing rounds, he said.
In Focus expands smartphones range
InFocus, one of the three US smartphone brands in India, expanded its smartphone series on June 24 with its M530 and the M350 smartphones. The M530, which becomes the flagship model for the company in India, will be sold via flash sales on e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal at a price of Rs.10,999. The Oregon-based firm, which was a leader in visual communication, is betting on the 13MP rear and front camera to sell the device. Commenting on the launch, Sachin Thapar, country head, InFocus Mobiles said: “After much research and careful market study, we realised that today’s young Indians have two specific demands from their ideal smartphone: powerful phone and a camera that astounds, particularly one that gives the best-quality selfies. “Keeping these preferences in mind, we have developed a one-of-a-kind smartphone that is a manifestation of all their desires. The 13MP front camera with flash and the rear camera equipped with dual colour flash and F1.8 aperture ensures the clearest, brightest and most beautiful pictures that deserve to be shared with friends and family,” he said. The smartphone will come with 5.5 inches HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a battery of 3,100 mAH and a camera unit which has an aperture of 2.2. The M530 will be available in two colours -- white and violet. The M530 comes with an octa-core processor, surpassing even the Antutu test numbers of Samsung GALAXY S5 and Xiaomi MI4 with a score of 43071 to allow for seamless photo processing and smooth 3D gaming. The device has 4G LTE connectivity, 2GB RAM, 16 GB ROM (expandable up to 64GB). The other model “the M350” comes at a dimension of 3.5mm. The device sports a 8MP front camera, which with auto-focus and a BSI sensor. It houses a quad-core 64 bit processor and a 2,500MAh battery along with a 5 inch display.
India, Japan to sign pact on increasing intellectual property cooperation
The union cabinet on June 24 approved a pact between India and Japan for cooperation in the field of intellectual property. The Memorandum of Cooperation will be signed between the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO). The pact will aim to enhance efforts to support innovation in both the countries and will be renewed automatically every four years. The union cabinet also approved six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country. These will be located at Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha) and Amritsar (Punjab). They will commence their first academic session from 2015- 16. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the revised cost estimate of Rs 81,459 crore for the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project, including land costs and financing plan. DFC aim s to spur economic growth and is being created for the exclusive movement of freight. Cleared by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-headed CCEA, the revised cost estimate comprises construction cost of Rs 73,392 crore. While the 1,839-km-long Eastern DFC from Ludhiana to Dankuni is estimated to cost Rs 26,674 crore, the construction of the 1,499-km-long Western DFC from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port will involve an expenditure of Rs 46,178 crore. Earlier, CCEA in March, 2008, had given its approval for implementation of the Eastern and Western DFC projects with an expenditure of over Rs 28,181 crore having so far been incurred on the same. The approval for the revised cost estimate was essential for proceeding with project implementation and entering into commitments. The land acquisition cost for the project will be Rs 8,067 crore. This excludes the cost of the 534-km Sonnagar-Dankuni section proposed to be implemented through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) route.
Andhra inks MoU with Australian firm for mining
Andhra Pradesh on June 24 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Australian firm for beneficiation, the process to separate the required mineral from extracted ore and remove the unusable part, of low-grade iron ore. AP Mining Development Corporation (APMDC) and NSL Mining Resources India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Australia’s NSL Consolidated Ltd. inked the MoU for low-grade iron ore from reserves in Kurnool and Kadapa. The MoU was signed during Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s meeting with an Australian delegation led by Steven Ciobo, parliamentary secretary to the Australian trade and investment minister. They discussed areas of collaboration in infrastructure, mining, agro-processing, fisheries, skill development, financial services and opportunities in the capital region. Naidu invited Australian delegates to take part in Sunrise AP Global Investment Summit that will be held in October in Visakhapatnam. Ciobo invited the chief minister and his team to visit Australia to understand their expertise and sign agreements based on the state’s interest.
Bangladesh to receive 1,100 MW of power from India from January
Electricity-starved Bangladesh will begin receiving 100 MW of power from Tripura from early January. This will be in addition to the 500 MW it already receives from West Bengal and a like amount that is on the cards from the state - for a total of 1,100 MW - as the two countries enter a new phase of bilateral cooperation for regional benefit. The power from Tripura will flow with the completion of 65 transmission towers in the northeastern state by December-end, a minister said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the power supply from Tripura with his Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, during his visit to Dhaka on June 6-7. Modi has declared that India would enhance the supply of power to Bangladesh from the existing 500 MW to 1,100 MW. The union government-owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) “has already completed 20 of the 65 transmission towers in southern and western Tripura. “The remaining 45 transmission towers and related works would be completed by December,” Tripura Power Minister Manik Dey told IANS after holding meetings with PGCIL engineers and officials. “I have asked the PGCIL authorities to expedite the works to fulfil our commitment given to Bangladesh about supplying 100 MW of power,” he added. The minister said PGCIL would erect around 20 km of transmission lines in Tripura, while the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) would lay 27 km of transmission line on its side. Both the prime ministers welcomed the steps being taken to augment supply of power through Baharampur in West Bengal and Bheramara in Bangladesh, grid inter-connection from 500 MW to 1,000 MW and to operationalise the supply of 100 MW from southern Tripura’s Palatana power plant to Bangladesh. “Both prime ministers directed the concerned officials to complete the work in a time-bound manner. To enhance power grid connectivity as envisaged in the framework agreement, Modi agreed in principle to consider Bangladesh’s proposal to allow import from India to Bangladesh additional power in a phased manner through construction of an additional grid interconnection on western side of Bangladesh,” said the India-Bangladesh declaration in Modi’s visit. Tripura Power Minister Dey said that Indian and Bangladeshi officials, after a series of meetings, finalised the various technicalities and mechanisms to supply 100 MW of power from Tripura. “While erecting new power transmission lines from (western Tripura’s) Surjyamaninagar power grid to Comilla (in eastern Bangladesh) power grid to supply the power, human habitations, forests and other vital installations would be avoided,” Dey added. Officials and engineers of PGCIL, Central Electricity Authority, Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL), PGCB and Bangladesh Power Development Board are now in a close touch to complete the transmission lines between the two countries at the earliest. M.K.Chowdhury, the TSECL’s director (Technical), said the Indian government has submitted a proposal to send power from the northeast region to others parts of India via Bangladesh. “No formal decision has been taken so far in this regard,” he added. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had earlier said that after the completion of two mega gas-based power projects, at least 200 MW of power would be surplus in Tripura. The central government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has commissioned its biggest 726 MW commercial power project at Palatana, 60 km south of Agartala, while the state-run North East Electric Power Corporation is setting up a 104 MW project at Monarchak in western Tripura, 70 km south of Agartala, and only eight km from the India-Bangladesh border. The Palatana project is a hallmark of the cooperation between India and Bangladesh, which ensured the smooth passage of heavy project equipment and turbines to Palatana through its territory by road and waterways from Haldia port in West Bengal. India had begun supply of power to Bangladesh in 2013 after the government-run Bangladesh Power Development Board and India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN), a subsidiary of NTPC, signed a deal Feb 28, 2012, to supply electricity, following an agreement signed during Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in January 2010.
Trade pact with India top priority: Australia
Concluding the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) with India by the year-end remains Australia’s number one trade priority, the country’s trade and investment minister Andrew Robb said on June 24. Robb has visited India four times since September as Australia has pitched strongly for the CECA. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, commerce minister Nirmal Sitharaman and other senior officials. “There is nothing to suggest that we won’t get it finished by the end of the year. That was a deadline set by Prime Minister Modi and Prime Abbot and it is very tight but it is Australia’s number one trade priority to get this economic agreement concluded by the end of the year,” Robb told a news conference on the sidelines of the India-Australia CEO’s forum.
Hero Group forays into electronics, plansRs.500 crore investment
The $5-billion Brijmohan Lall Munjal-led Hero Group on June 22 said it has forayed into the electronics sector with the formation of a new company Hero Electronix’ and plans to invest Rs.500 crore for the purpose in the next few years. As its first strategic initiative, Hero Electronix will acquire a majority shareholding in Mybox Technologies, the multioperator manufacturer of set top boxes in the country, the company said in a statement. Mybox is a supplier to marquee DTH and cable operators across India. It is a venture recognized by the government and approved by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The decision aligns with the ‘Make in India’ vision of the government and will help the growth of the sector, further, the statement added. “Hero Electronix will add associated business lines to its portfolio over the next few years and grow the vertical to help India develop a much needed sustainable electronics ecosystem,” said Hero Electronix chairman Suman Kant Munjal. “The company has lined up investments of Rs.500 crore in next few years. This will give a huge impetus to the ‘Make in India’ initiative by helping reduce the imports of electronics into the country,” he added. As per the estimates of India Electronic and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the imports of electronics into India currently stand at 65 percent of the overall demand.
Need to build ships, vessels besides developing waterways: Gadkari
Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on June 24 said there is a need to build indigenous ships and seaplanes to propel the growth of inland and coastal waterways. “We need to develop the shipping industry and my ministry is in talks with the finance ministry to formulate the national shipbuilding policy,” the minister said in a event organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. He said besides the Cochin shipyard, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Guwahati have potential to strengthen the nation’s shipbuilding capabilities. He said India needs to develop seaplanes on its own and build seafaring vessels. “Even Maldives has 47 seaplanes,” he said. The minister said he has asked the Cochin shipyard to build vessels similar to hovercrafts which can move at a speed of 60 kmph. “These will come in three variants - 30, 50 and 90 seaters”, he said. Each of these vessels may cost less than Rs.60 crore. “We also need to develop cruises,” he said. Gadkari said he is hopeful that the legislation to convert 112 waterways as national waterways may be passed by the parliament in its winter session. The World Bank has given India a loan of Rs. 4,200 crore to improve the waterways infrastructure. “We’ll soon undertake several projects and spend nearly Rs. 2,400 crore for these projects”, he said.
HAL makes spacecraft module for second moon mission
State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) on June 22 delivered a spacecraft module with an orbiter and a lander to theIndian space agency for its second moon mission Chandrayaan- 2 slated for the near future. “The three-tonne bus structure is made out of central composite cylinder, shear webs and deck panels,” HAL chairman T. Suvarna Raju said. The country’s second lunar mission will have an orbiter to move around the moon and a lander and rover to drive on its bumpy and craters-ridden surface. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch its second ambitious lunar exploratory mission in 2016-17 using a heavy rocket from its spaceport at Sriharikota in coastal Andhra. The space agency’s satellite centre in the city will fabricate the spacecraft with the lander and rover, which the Russian space agency (Roskosmos) was to originally build under an agreement signed in 2007 with ISRO but Roskosmos has since backed out. India launched in October 2008 its maiden unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, which was instrumental in discovering ‘water’ beneath the moon’s surface through one of its payloads, an experimental instrument the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent onboard its spacecraft. ISRO had said then that the second mission with five payloads will test various technologies and conduct new experiments using the wheeled rover, which will pick up soil or rock samples for onsite chemical analysis. HAL has been partnering with ISRO to provide hardware to its various satellite missions and rockets.
Maharaja Express to run on Delhi-Kerala route: Prabhu
The Maharaja Express —a luxury train operated by IRCTC - may operate on a new route from Delhi to Kerala next year to facilitate tourists to enjoy the beauty of the monsoon in southwest India, a minister said on June 27. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu, who was in Goa to launch a series of projects undertaken by his ministry, said that a special holiday train would also be introduced in December, considered the peak tourist month in Goa. “We will start this train (Maharaja Express) also from Delhi, Mumbai, Konkan, Goa, maybe up to Kerala. The idea will be that a lot of people will be able to enjoy the Goa monsoons. It is not the peak season, but we can get more tourists here so that they can get better hotel prices here,” Prabhu said. Prabhu said that currently the Maharaja Express, which travels on five routes as of now, is non-operational during summer due to the scorching heat and that the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) would operationalise the new route along the Konkan region. The Maharaja Express is one of the most luxurious trains and a single journey can cost up to Rs.2.5 lakh ($4,000). Prabhu also added that in order to cater to the rush of tourists during December — a peak tourist season — the Indian Railways was contemplating a special holiday train which will operate on the Delhi-Mumbai-Goa route.
L&T wins ONGC offshore contract of Rs.2,715 crore
L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a subsidiary of engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T), on June 24 said it has bagged a Rs.2,715 crore offshore contract from state-run hydrocarbons explorer ONGC. “The project, part of ONGC’s strategy to enhance the field life and increase the recovery of Bassein field, is scheduled to be completed by December 2017,” LTHE said in a stock exchange filing. “The contract was won against international competitive bidding for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) project at Bassein field near Mumbai coast in western offshore basin of India,” the filing added. The cumulative production from the field till 2027-28 is estimated at 19.56 billion cubic metres of gas, 1.97 million cubic metres of condensate and 1.83 million tonnes of oil. On Monday, L&T announced that another subsidiary, L&T Metallurgical and Material Handling (L&T-MMH), has secured new orders worth Rs.1,507 crore across various verticals. L&T, with over $15 billion in revenues, operates in 30 countries worldwide.
Micromax invests in travel site ixigo.com
Micromax, India’s leading domestic handset-maker, on June 22 said it was investing an undisclosed amount in travel search marketplace ixigo.com. The investment will give ixigo a reach of over 30 million incremental users over the next year, said a release jointly issued by the two firms. Commenting on the investment, Rahul Sharma, cofounder, Micromax Informatics said: “Our vision is to seamlessly integrate innovative services into smart devices to create an ecosystem that is valuable for our users.” Earlier, Micromax had said it will be making investments of $0.5-20 million in over 20 startups in the coming year. Aloke Bajpai, CEO & co-founder, ixigo said: “We share a common vision of a connected ecosystem of travellers who can access & consume travel content ubiquitously on their phone and compare & book across a bouquet of travel service providers seamlessly.” “Nearly 80 percent of our travel and transportation queries and 50 percent of our transactions currently originate on mobile devices. This partnership with Micromax will strengthen our market leadership in mobile travel services for middle class users. We expect to quadruple our mobile user-base in the next 12 months,” he added.
Government proposes tax benefits for credit, debit card payments
The government on June 22 proposed to do away with transaction charges on card payments at petrol pumps, gas agencies and for railway tickets. In a circulated draft paper, the finance ministry proposed income tax benefits for people making payments through credit or debit cards and removing transaction charges on purchase of petrol, gas and rail tickets with such cards. “Tax benefits in terms of income tax rebates to be considered to consumers for paying a certain proportion of their expenditure through electronic means,” said the draft proposals on which comments have been invited till June 29. “An appropriate tax rebate can be extended to a merchant if at least say 50 percent value of the transactions is through electronic means. Alternatively, 1-2 percent reduction in value added tax could be considered on all electronic transactions by the merchants,” it added. The government also proposed to make it mandatory to settle high-value transactions of over Rs.1 lakh through the electronic mode. “High value transactions of, say, more than Rs.1 lakh only by electronic means,” the draft paper proposed. The proposals are aimed at enabling improved credit access and financial inclusion, reduce tax avoidance and check counterfeiting of currency. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley pushed for greater use of plastic money. “The developed world has moved substantially to plastic currency and payment gateways. I think, there is a need on this for India. Our determination is also there to gradually take steps and move in that direction,” the minister said at a conference on Indigenisation of Currency here. To popularise the use of plastic money, the government launched the RuPay debit card in 2012 through the National Payments Corp of India (NPCI). The card enables electronic payments at all banks and financial institutions, competing with MasterCard, Visa and American Express.
Private sector investments imperative for growth: Arun Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on June 23 told Silicon Valley corporate leaders and investors that for growth to gain traction increase in private sector investments was imperative, even as he cautioned that ease of doing business would need constant monitoring and improvement. At a round table organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with US-India Business Council, Jaitley highlighted the improved economic and investment conditions in India. Some of the companies around the table included Microsoft, Applied Materials, Amazon, Oracle, Hewitt Packard, Visa, Franklin Templeton, Google, Cisco, First Solar, Aemetis, Ebay, Qualcomm, Blackberry, San Disk among others. Alluding to the much stronger economic fundamentals, Jaitley mentioned that the monsoon prediction is improving and with it the prospects of the agriculture sector doing better, which would put the economic growth prospects on an even better footing. The manufacturing sector had started to do much better after a protracted period of slowdown, he said. Commenting on demand revival, Jaitley mentioned that micro attention was being paid to stalled projects and a pick up in that area would be helping demand for industrial products. A benign inflation situation could further allow softening of interest rates, he said. Touching on some of the challenges, Jaitley mentioned that the ease of doing business would need constant monitoring and improvement and eventually for growth to gain traction it was imperative that private sector investments picked up. Dr Naushad Forbes, president-designate, CII emphasised “India and the US are natural partners owing to common principles of democracy and federalism. India is a noisy and vibrant democracy that has an innovative private sector as its growth engine. India today presents a strong long term growth story while aiming for inclusive and sustainable growth.” Hailing India as the shining star within the developing economies, Mukesh Aghi, President of USIBC, stressed on the positivity surrounding the new Indian government’s economic policy that has an underlying social developmental agenda. Rajiv Mehrishi, Finance Secretary, while answering specific questions from US companies stressed that the government is working to create an organised way to deal with change not just in policy regime but administration as well. Government efforts are “work in progress” though there is already significant progress on contentious issues like implementing a direct tax regime and GST regime, smoothening taxation disputes, easing land acquisition and labour regulations and so forth, Mehrishi said. All these incremental but important reforms would cumulatively help cultivate an environment for growth and development, he said.
Look East’ to ‘Act East’, Modi government means business: Sushma
The Narendra Modi government has elevated India’s “Look East” policy of the last two decades to “Act East”, and resolved to move with a greater sense of priority and speed to implement the same, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on June 28. Interacting with Indian business leaders here, the minister said Thailand was a valued partner for India as relations between the two nations were “deeprooted”. “We envisage a more vigorous and proactive engagement with this economically vibrant region of our extended neighbourhood. Thailand is an important pillar of our policy and a valued partner,” she said. Observing that she was “delighted” to be in Thailand and meeting leading Indian business leaders, she said: “Our bilateral relations with Thailand are based on deep-rooted cultural, religious and neighbourly association between the people of our two nations. “Our common heritage of Buddhism and the philosophy of compassion, tolerance, non-violence and peace have laid strong foundations for this relationship.” Elaborating on how the Modi government has been developing and strengthening friendly relations with neighbours as well as other countries, Sushma Swaraj said it was engaged closely with the neighbourhood and has strengthened relations with major countries. “Our government is working on the simple 3C mantra -- commerce, culture and connectivity. “In all these three areas, I cannot over-emphasise the importance of Thailand. We have embarked upon ambitious projects for land connectivity with Thailand through Myanmar. “We are also working on enhancing our sea connectivity with Thailand which is a maritime neighbour of India,” she said. The enhanced connectivity with Thailand will help Indian traders and businesses in linking up with the markets of Southeast Asia, she said. “In particular, this would help India’s northeastern states in their development. “The enhanced connectivity will also help in further strengthening people-to-people contacts between our two countries. It would nurture the common cultural and religious heritage between India and Thailand whose cornerstone is Buddhism,” the minister added. Reminding the Indian business leaders as to how, according to the latest World Bank forecast, the Indian economy was poised to grow 7.5 percent this year, she said it would make it the world’s fastest growing economy during 2015. “The fundamentals of the economy are very stable and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), credit rating agencies and other experts speak in one voice of optimism about India’s growth prospects,” she said. “Our government came with the slogan of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. We have strived to offer a stable, predictable and transparent policy regime, making the country an attractive destination for investors. “The last one year of the new government has contributed to economic good governance and all-round development,” the minister said.
India pledges $1 bn aid to rebuild Nepal
India on June 25 announced a $1 billion aid to rebuild quake-ravaged Nepal, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj saying that from “the debris of destruction a stronger united and more confident Nepal will rise”. The aid will be used in the reconstruction of physical infrastructure as well as some key heritage sites. India’s contribution is almost one seventh of the total requirement of $6.7 billion. Nepal was hit by a massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake on April 25, leaving over 8,500 people dead and causing widespread devastation. At the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction here, Sushma Swaraj said: “Nepal is not alone. Today I convey to you the deep and abiding commitment of the government of India and 1.25 billion people of India to stand shoulder to shoulder with you.” Referring to the operation India undertook to help Nepal, Sushma Swaraj said: “Operation Maitri was our largest ever disaster assistance effort abroad valued at nearly Rs.400 billion.” “...what is important is not that this support was larger than other foreign countries; what matters is the strong feeling of empathy and the instantaneous, instinctive and heart-felt response from Indians for their Nepali brothers and sisters.” She said: “From the debris of destruction a stronger united and more confident Nepal will rise.” Sushma Swaraj hailed Nepal’s efforts in making a major bid to rebuild the nation and said raising $6.7 billion was a challenging task. “As the oldest and closest friend, India is ready to stand with Nepal,” she said. “We can do so more meaningfully in areas where our expertise and Nepal’s need match. These include agriculture, housing, roads and transport, electricity, health, education, cultural heritage, and disaster risk reduction.” Sushma Swaraj announced the government of India’s pledge for Nepal’s post-earthquake reconstruction of “Nepali Rupees 10,000 crore, equivalent to $1 billion, one-fourth of it as grant”. “This pledge is over and above our existing bilateral developmental assistance of another $1 billion over the next five years, 40 percent of which would be grant. This takes our total assistance to Nepal over the next five years to $2 billion.” Other foreign delegates too pledged their support to Nepal’s reconstruction. Over 300 delegates from 60 nations participated in the conference, the Himalayan Times reported. The conference, organised by the Nepal government in order to raise funds to reconstruct the devastated infrastructure, was inaugurated by Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said China will provide three billion renminbi (about $483 million) grant to Nepal by 2018. Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende pledged an aid of 200 million Norwegian krone (about $25 million) and said the funding will increase later, while US Ambassador to Nepal Peter W. Bodde announced a support of $130 million. Asian Development Bank president Takehiko Nakao said it has committed to provide $600 million. European Union (EU) development commissioner Neven Mimica pledged to provide 100 million euros (about $111 million) grant and technical assistance worth 500 million euros ($560 million). UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and World Bank president Jim Yong Kim sent video messages to the conference. Ban and Jim pledged their substantial support to Nepal reconstruction drive. The World Bank will provide $200 million for building houses in rural areas and additional $100 million for recovery in the financial sector.
India among top 10 countries to attract highest FDI in 2014: Unctad
India regained its position in the list of top 10 destinations for foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2014, after failing to make it to the list a year ago, according to the World Investment Report 2015 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). India is ranked ninth in the latest report; it was 15th last year. During 2014, FDI inflows into India jumped 22% to $34 billion at a time when global FDI fell by 16% to $1.23 trillion. Unctad projected global FDI flows to rise 11% to $1.4 trillion in 2015. India’s rank as a top prospective host country for FDI also rose to third place from fourth place in an Unctad survey for the period 2015-17. However, India fell to the seventh rank from sixth last year in the survey as a source country for FDI for 2014-2016 period. FDI inflows to India are likely to maintain an upward trend in 2015 as economic recovery gains ground, the report said. “In terms of the sectoral composition of FDI inflows, manufacturing is likely to gain strength, as policy efforts to revitalize the industrial sector are sustained including, for example, the Make In India initiative launched in mid-2014,” it added. Premila Nazareth Satyanand, an economist and consultant with Unctad, said this year’s report shows positive trends about India, which is expected to be sustained. “There seems to be slight improvement in foreign investor sentiment about India. India is also now back in the top 10 investor destinations. However, India remains the only BRIC country not to have received more than $50 billion FDI inflows within a year,” she added. The report identified the automotive industry as one of the sectors in which India has the potential of becoming a world leader. Cumulative FDI inflows to the automotive industry from April 2000 to November 2014 amounted to $11.4 billion, according to data from the Indian government. The country accounted for the majority of so-called greenfield investment projects announced by global auto makers and first-tier parts suppliers in South Asia during 2013-14, including 12 projects above $100 million. Inward FDI has led to the emergence of a number of industrial clusters in India, including those in the national capital region (Delhi-Gurgaon-Faridabad) in the north, Maharashtra state (Mumbai-Nasik-Aurangabad) in the west, and Tamil Nadu (Chennai-Hosur) in the south, according to the report. “Though considerable differences exist in the patterns of the formation of these clusters, FDI can play an important catalytic role. For example, the early entry of Suzuki (Japan) has contributed to the development of an industrial cluster in the NCR,” it added. The report revealed that China became the largest recipient of FDI in 2014, followed by Hong Kong and the US. Developing economies, as a group, attracted $681 billion worth of FDI and remain the leading region by share of global investment inflows. In 2014, nine of the 20 largest investor countries were developing or transition economies with firms from developing Asia now investing abroad more than any other region. Developing economies accounted for a record 35% of global FDI outflows, the report said, up from 13% in 2007.
DISCLAIMER
This newsletter is compilation of news articles from various business-e-newspapers and in no way is an endorsement or reflection of Embassy of India, Berne views.
