Index [] Newsletter January... · Index. Contents Index ... Fulcrum setting up new center in Pune...

Index Contents

Index

President’s Message ............................................................................................................................... 5

From the Secretary General’s Desk ......................................................................................................... 7

IACC Exclusive Coverage ......................................................................................................................... 8

Happenings at IACC .............................................................................................................................. 14

US investments in India ........................................................................................................................ 44

Virginia based global packaging solutions company MeadWestvaco to invest Rs 1,000 crore for expansion .............. 44

US seed fund 500 Startups invests in Bangalore's tech firm ZipDial, closes tenth deal in India .................................... 44

Morgan Stanley ups stake in Jindal Saw to over 5% ....................................................................................................... 45

Parker Hannifin India sets up Rs 100 crore factory near Chennai .................................................................................. 45

Caraco completes tender offer to acquire Dusa Pharma ............................................................................................... 45

Bell Helicopter signs agreement with Bangalore based Dynamatic Technologies ......................................................... 46

Cargill to invest $91 million in India's food processing boom ........................................................................................ 46

MphasiS to buy Digital Risk for $175 million .................................................................................................................. 47

New Jersey based I.T. giant, Fulcrum setting up new center in Pune ............................................................................ 47

New York's Fab.com buys Pune firm True Sparrow in cash-and-stock deal ................................................................... 48

NY based Ad agency TBWA acquires Indian digital firm ................................................................................................. 49

US-based Equifax buys stake in IT Company NettPositive .............................................................................................. 49

Cargill acquires Wipro's Sunflower Vanaspati in Rs 40-crore deal ................................................................................. 50

Saxon Global Acquires Bangalore based data analytics company ISAC global ............................................................... 50

India’s Investments in U.S ..................................................................................................................... 51

Saksoft acquires US-based firm EDP ............................................................................................................................... 51

Mumbai based Rolta India Limited acquires Ohio based AdvizeX for $32 million ......................................................... 51

Massachusetts based Implant Sciences Announces Receipt of $5.654 Million from the India Ministry of Defense ..... 52

Bartronics acquires 51% stake in Systems America, USA ............................................................................................... 52

Piramal Group in talks to buy US PE firm TPG Capital ™ 20.27% stake in Shriram Transport Fin for Rs 3,500 crore..... 52

Mahindra & Mahindra to buy US partner's stakes in truck JVs ...................................................................................... 54

MakeMyTrip acquires Hotel Travel Group for $25 million ............................................................................................. 55

Noida based Shiv Nadar University ties up with North Carolina’s Duke Varsity ............................................................ 55

LG Balakrishnan unit acquires shares of Michigan based GFM INC ................................................................................ 56

Transasia Bio-Medicals buys two US-based firms, Drew Scientific and JAS Diagnostics ................................................ 56

Indo-US Corporate News ...................................................................................................................... 57

Wockhardt receives US FDA nod for epilepsy drug Lamictal .......................................................................................... 57

PE Firm Warburg Pincus looking to sell 29% stake in WNS Global ................................................................................. 57

Allstate to open tech centre in Bangalore ...................................................................................................................... 58

Visa Steel ropes in SunCoke Energy for coke venture .................................................................................................... 58

MindTree opens development centre in Florida ............................................................................................................ 59

GVK Bio, Onconova to develop new cancer drugs .......................................................................................................... 59

Dell looks to tap opportunities in healthcare business .................................................................................................. 59

Microsoft to set up 100 innovation centres in India within 2 years ............................................................................... 60

Panacea Biotec inks pact with New-Jersey based Kremers Urban & launches tacrolimus capsules in US .................... 61

PepsiCo to double potato procurement in India in 5 years ............................................................................................ 61

Power2sme raises funding from Kalaari Capital ............................................................................................................. 62

Dr Reddy’s launches Finasteride tablets in US ................................................................................................................ 62

Allstate to open tech center in Bangalore ...................................................................................................................... 63

Wal-Mart chief Mike Duke confident of setting up India business ................................................................................ 63

Generic drug product application to cost Rs 30 lakh in US ............................................................................................. 64

McDonald's seeks higher royalty from India arm ........................................................................................................... 65

PepsiCo consolidates all its company-owned bottling plants under two market units ................................................. 66

Ranbaxy Launches Absorica Capsules in US Market ....................................................................................................... 66

Dell opens recycling collection centers to dispose electronics ....................................................................................... 67

Aurobindo gets final nod from US FDA for anti-HIV drug ............................................................................................... 67

Special Report ...................................................................................................................................... 68

Our 2013 profitability growth will be at double the revenue growth rate: says the President & CEO, GE India, John L Flannery .......................................................................................................................................................................... 68

In the News: ......................................................................................................................................... 71

Growing recognition of Indo-US trade relations: Powell ................................................................................................ 71

Delhi entrepreneur Sharik Currimbhoy pledges $12.12 million to Columbia University ............................................... 71

Pratyush Kumar to head Boeing India ............................................................................................................................ 72

US is largest importer of Indian seafood ........................................................................................................................ 73

US supports India's key role in maintaining regional stability ........................................................................................ 73

Indian American hoteliers looking at big investments in India ....................................................................................... 74

US producers seek more duty on Indian shrimp............................................................................................................. 75

US students to study rural development ........................................................................................................................ 76

Indian-Americans energizing Green Energy sector ......................................................................................................... 76

India is second largest drug exporter to US .................................................................................................................... 76

US embassy in India starts new URL for checking visa status ......................................................................................... 77

Senior US Legal Delegation met with Gujarat Chief Minister ......................................................................................... 78

Closer US-India ties benefit US: Mississippi senator ....................................................................................................... 79

USDA pegs India's coffee output at 3.18 lakh tons in 2012-13 ....................................................................................... 80

Obama should visit India again: US think tank ............................................................................................................... 80

100270 Indian students studying in the United States of America in 2012 ................................................................... 81

Indian IT firms show they create jobs in the US, too ...................................................................................................... 82

Boeing Delivers P-8I Patrol Aircraft to India ................................................................................................................... 84

Indian-American community holds inaugural ball for Obama ........................................................................................ 84

India on US healthcare radar for offshore services: Omega India chief ......................................................................... 85

India, U.S. collaborate on solar energy ........................................................................................................................... 85

India's global rise, a rich opportunity for US businesses ................................................................................................ 86

Calendar of IACC Events for 2012 .......................................................................................................... 87

Indo-US Trade Statistics ........................................................................................................................ 88

2012: U.S. Trade in Merchandise goods with India ........................................................................................................ 88

2011: U.S. Trade in Merchandise goods with India ........................................................................................................ 88

International Buyer Program, 2013 Trade shows ................................................................................... 89

US Department of Commerce Certified Trade shows in India ........................................................................................ 91

Major Trade shows in India ............................................................................................................................................. 92

How to reach us: .................................................................................................................................. 93

Get Social with the Only Bilateral Chamber of Commerce for Indo-US Business, IACC ................................................. 93

President’s Message

Dear Members, I take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year! Policy makers and think tanks in India and the US are debating as to what should be the focus areas in the Indo-US relations in the new Obama administration. For a sustainable engagement across the spectrum, there should be clarity and a well decided plan of action, that should unleash the potentials and reap benefits in a time bound manner. I have a few perspectives in this regard. Of course, Indo-US economic engagement is an on-going one and multi-dimensional one. Re-tooling of the content and direction of the partnership need introspection as to what are critically important in the given time. In that sense, I feel that the present partnership in the defense sector should leapfrog to become an extreme focused one. This is borne out of the realization that there is immense scope that the partnership can help India to become an industrial base for manufacture of defense equipment. This will have three effects. First, India can manufacture a number of equipment that is being imported at heavy cost, thereby saving the ballooning import bill. Secondly, India can manufacture these equipment and products for export market. Thirdly, it will have geo-political connotations since China is going ahead with its plan to emerge as a major defense equipment manufacturer for catering to the domestic needs and at the same time eyeing on the burgeoning export market. Opening up of the defense sector presupposes a few critical decisions. Foremost among them is encouraging foreign direct investment in the defense manufacturing, of course keeping a few items of sensitive importance under the negative list. Also, high-technology areas also should be opened up for foreign participation since defense manufacturing is mostly technology driven. There is a great opportunity for Indian companies to collaborate with US companies in this sector, since US companies would need the local knowledge to navigate the complex regulatory environment and Indian companies can take advantage of the technology available with US entities. The other area that needs considerable fine-tuning is the need for attracting US investment in the manufacturing sector. A few areas have to be flag-marked in this regard. In a few years’ time, freight corridors on the western and eastern corridors are going to be a reality in India. Huge investments have already been made and a large quantum of investments are still required before completing the first two phase of the project, which covers Eastern and Western corridors. Also, the second phase of the project is in the pipeline, which would require close to over Rs 100,000 crore (US$ 20 billion approx.) investments on a conservative estimate. US participation in this segment is very peripheral, limiting to a few areas, though there is a huge scope for their involvement. Japan has been very active in the Western corridor and Japanese companies are gearing up to take advantage of this involvement. Equally significant is the scope for US participation in the Indian Railways in terms of supplying the rolling stock and spares and introduction of new technology in safety and signaling. Perhaps, not many know Indian Railways source products and services worth Rs 96,000 crores (US$ 19 billion approx.) annually through tenders from the private sector. Another area that may be relevant to US enterprises to participate in urban transportation, be it metros coming up in different cities or in the modernization of other transportation systems.

I am sure our offices across the country, would work out plans for pushing this agenda to the center-stage. We have to sensitize stakeholders about the advantages of engagement in these sectors that can lead to a win-win situation for all participants. Shourya Mandal National President, IACC

From the Secretary General’s Desk

Dear Members, Indian ministers presented India as an attractive investment destination with stable and transparent policies to global investors gathered at the recently concluded World Economic Forum annual meet. Mr. Anand Sharma said “During my meetings here with top CEOs of various companies, they have appreciated the recent policy decisions regarding multi-brand retail, civil aviation and banking amendments”. The bold economic reform initiatives by the Government in the last few months, combined with Quantative Easing (QE3) in the US and settlement of impending uncertainty over eurozone, are positive indicators for the Indian economy. The growths in industrial and manufacturing, increase in investments from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and growing global competitive edge of India Inc., demonstrates the fact that India’s growth story continues to gain momentum with strong growth potential. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) the Government of India’s fiscal consolidation roadmap would help in getting back to a high growth trajectory of 8-9 percent in the years ahead. According to the recent statistics released by the US Department of Commerce, the total Indo-US Trade in Merchandise goods for the first eleven months of Calendar year 2012 (January-November) is US$ 57.84 billion with balance of trade surplus of US$ 17.64 billion in favor of India. This is an increase of 8.99 % over the same period last year. US Exports to India have gone up by 2.89 % from US$ 19.53 billion to US$ 20.1 billion and US Imports from India have gone up by 12.55% from US$ 33.53 billion to US$ 37.74 billion during the same period. This issue carries an IACC Exclusive coverage on the Indo-US Relations: "Reminiscing the time it all began"; it also covers Happenings at IACC; US Investments in India; India Investments in US; Indo-US Corporate News; International Buyer Program- 2013 Trade shows etc. If you have any success stories of your company with US partners on joint ventures, mergers & acquisition etc., please do let us know. We will be happy to carry a case study on your company’s success in the newsletter. Hope you will find this issue informative and useful. With regards, R.K. Chopra Secretary General, IACC

IACC Exclusive Coverage

Indo-American Relations: Reminiscing the time it all began

IACC Exclusive Coverage

Happenings at IACC Head Office

IACC supports International Taxation Conference – 2012 on December 6-8, 2012 at ITC Maratha Hotel, Mumbai

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) supported the International Taxation Conference organized by Foundation for International Taxation (FIT). There were over 450 delegates with over a third of them were international participants. Nearly 35 senior Indian Revenue officials attended the conference, including Mr. R N Dash, Former Director General of International Taxation, and Mr. Sanjay Mishra, India's Competent Authority as speakers. Also Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, Director – ICRIER (New Delhi), Justice S. H. Kapadia, Chief Justice of India, Prof. Frederik Zimmer, Professor, Oslo University – Norway were some of the key speakers and around 50 speakers from all over the world spoke on the various issues and topics such as Substance and form (e.g. GAAR) in international taxation, Emerging international tax issues in India, International tax structuring for investing abroad, Indirect taxation developments, Recent international taxation developments, Recent Model treaty developments, Regional international taxation developments, etc. . During the “Substance and form in International Taxation Plenary session”, Professor Frederik Zimmer, of Law, University of Oslo, Norway explaining some of the general issues in connection with substance over form, stated that real facts of a transaction should not be set aside on the basis of anti-avoidance rules. He also believed that the doctrine of substance over form and use of anti-avoidance rules should be separated from the Transfer Pricing issues. The other speaker Mr. Andrew Dawson, Her Majesty Revenue & Customs, United Kingdom during the session then expressed his personal views on the doctrine of Substance over Form in the OECD and UN Models. Comparing the differences between the two models, he mentioned that they share a common ancestry. While neither of the Models have the doctrine of Substance over Form embedded in particular, several anti-avoidance rules are present. Professor Bruno Gangemi, Partner, Macchi di Cellere, Studio Legale, Italy gave a European view to the doctrine of substance over form. Two Court cases [France and Norway] were discussed which held that commissionaire agreements do not legally bind the principal and hence, do not create a Permanent Establishment. Mr. Sohrab Dastur, Senior Advocate, India Session Chairman in his closing remarks mentioned that the debate on Form vs. Substance started 77 years ago with the Duke of Westminster case and is still alive today. There was also a panel discussion led by Mr. Jairaj Purandare, former Senior Partner, PwC, India and chaired by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, New Delhi, which included panelists such as Ms. Mary Bennett, Partner, Baker & McKenzie, New York; Prof. Bruno Gangemi, Partner, Macchi di Cellere, Italy; Ms. Ana Utumi, Partner, Baker & McKenzie, France; and Prof. Frederik Zimmer, Oslo University, Norway. Mr. Dinesh Kanabar, Deputy CEO and Chairman Tax, KPMG, India and chairman of the session “EMERGING ISSUES IN INDIAN INTERNATIONAL TAXATION” on day 2 in his opening remarks mentioned that a number of things (some, not so pleasant) have put India on the international tax map. The key developments in India which have caught the world’s attention are the sheer number of retrospective amendments, some trying to overrule Indian Supreme Court [SC] decisions, introduction of General Anti-Avoidance Rules [“GAAR”], recent advance rulings which have had the effect of unsettling some of the already settled tax principles and the fact that India is home to 70% of transfer pricing litigation across the world. All these are making the already hostile Indian tax environment worse, and there does not seem to be an end to litigation. Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, New Delhi while highlighting the Indian Tax Policy and Administration, mentioned that the modern tax principles are anchored on four pillars: effects and efficiency of productive resource allocation; equity across taxpayers; economic stabilization during business cycles, and revenue

assurance. He also mentioned that in the current scenario, rationalization of headline tax rates is the key. He was also in favor of moving away from the incentive regime as it promotes inequity and adds to the administrative cost of doing business. He stated that India also needs to be very careful in framing its tax policies, as some other countries such as Myanmar are closely following it. Ms. Shefali Goradia, International Tax Partner, BMR Advisors speaking about the recent developments regarding GAAR in India, stated that its introduction by Finance Act 2012 was sudden and unexpected. She believed that the doctrine of substance over form requires codification by way of GAAR, given the chequered judicial history which India has been relying upon so far. Complete reliance on judicial GAAR promotes uncertainty, she said, as compared to a well-crafted statute which could take into consideration the acceptable level of tax planning. This has assumed importance in view of the role played by “morality” in deciding tax liabilities. The session “INTERNATIONAL TAX STRUCTURING FOR INVESTING ABROAD” began with Mr. Nishith Desai, Founder, Nishith Desai Associates, India introducing the speakers, and stating that conducting business on a global scale is quite difficult and various aspects are to be considered. There was a discussion on International Tax Issues affecting Multinationals led by Mr. Nishith Desai. Speakers included Mr. Peter Barnes, General Electric, United States; Ms. Catherine Damelincourt, Alstom Group, France; Mr. S. Mahalingam, Tata Consultancy Services, India Thereafter a panel discussion was held on “Transfer Pricing Rules for Developing Countries - Issues and Options” led by Mr. T. P. Ostwal, India. Panelists included Mr. Michael Durst from United States; Mr. Michael Lennard from United Nations; Ms. Caroline Silberztein from France; Mr. Stig Sollund, Norway; and Mr. Marcos Valadao, Brazil. The other topics covered during day 2 were INDIRECT TAXATION DEVELOPMENTS; Specials presentations were made Tax Structuring Opportunities using Isle of Man for Investing in the UK and European Union; Middle East-Recent International Tax Developments; Non-tax costs of Regulatory Changes; and Investment Incentives and Tax Advantages The last day saw Panel Discussion on “SUBSTANCE AND FORM - ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY” Led by Mr. Mukesh Butani, Managing Partner, BMR Legal, India. Panelists included Mr. Arvind Datar, Senior Advocate, India; Mr. Marc Levey, United States; Mr. Marcos Valadão, Brazil; Prof. Frederik Zimmer, Oslo University, Norway. There was a session on “RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MODEL TREATIES”, which was chaired by – Pranav Sayta, National Leader & Partner, Ernst & Young, India There was also a special address by Justice S.H. Kapadia, former Chief Justice of India. The conference provided an excellent platform to discuss and debate tax issues that impact organizations in India and globally. It also encourages open dialogue for exchange of ideas between the tax fraternities. The event was covered by CNBC TV18, the conference’s media partners.

(L-R) Mr. R. Sekar; Ms. Marie Pahot; Mr. Satya Poddar; Mr.

Sachin Menon, Head-Indirect Tax, KPMG; Mr. Prashant Deshpande; Mr. Rohan Shah

The audience at the Conference

Mr. R. K. Chopra, Secretary General, IACC addressing the audience

Professor Roy Rohatgi, International Business and tax consultant welcoming the delegates at the International Tax Conference 2012

supported by IACC

Mr. R.K. Chopra with Justice S.H. Kapadia, Former Chief Justice of India

IACC Aerospace & Defense Forum supported the Global Aerospace Industry Meet (GAIM 2012) on December 10-11, 2012 at the Chancery Pavilion, Bangalore

The Global Aerospace Industry Meet (GAIM 2012) was organized by SIATI - Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries headquartered in Bangalore, is not for profit organization committed to the development of India Aerospace with focus on SME space. IACC’s Aerospace & Defense Forum was the lead supporting partner of GAIM 2012 held at The Chancery Pavilion Bangalore Dec 10 and 11 2012. It was attended by over 140 delegates from India and overseas. The first day comprised on presentations and panel discussions on Aero Parks, Offset Policies, MSME Engagement, Skill Development, Material Supply Chain, Quality Certifications , Defense PSU Sourcing. The second day comprised of company presentations and B2B sessions.

Mr Vasanth Kini, Chairman, IACC Aerospace & Defense Forum making a presentation on ‘Aerospace Performance Materials’: Is it a

Challenge in India.

West India Council

IACC hosted its 8th ‘Breakfast Meeting’ with Mr. Rahul Bose, on the topic of “Leadership – Practical and Workable Principles of Leadership” on November 21, 2012 at Hotel Marine Plaza, Mumbai

IACC hosted its 9th Breakfast Meeting in Mumbai. In keeping with the tradition of inviting prominent personalities across various industries and verticals, IACC invited Mr. Rahul Bose who is known for his versatility and achievements as an actor, director, social activist and an international rugby player. Mr. Bose shared his knowledge with guests on the subject of “Practical & Workable Principles of Leadership.” Dr. L.S. Kanodia, Immediate Past President, IACC-WIC introduced Mr. Bose who received a warm welcome. He started off by talking about his endeavors as a prominent social activist which included his association with numerous organizations and the establishment of “The Foundation” in which he plays a vital role. Mr. Bose discussed the qualities and attributes that should be present in an individual who aspires to be a good leader or would like to become a more effective leader. Mr. Bose cited several examples and case studies to enumerate the subject. He also discussed his experiences while working in the Andaman and Nicobar islands during the tsunami aftermath. He also brought to light, the fact that humanity and compassion are quintessential qualities that make a good leader. References were made to Adolf Hitler, Barak Obama and Mitt Romney amongst others. The audience enjoyed the discussion thoroughly and also participated in a very informative Q & A session with Mr. Bose who was more than happy to debate on the subject. The meeting was concluded and Dr. L.S. Kanodia presented the memento to Mr. Bose.

Mr. Rahul Bose in dialogue and discussion with IACC

members Dr. L. S. Kanodia, Immediate Past President, IACC-WIC

presents a memento to Mr. Bose on behalf of IACC

IACC Organized its 9th Session of the ‘ IACC Power Breakfast Series’ with Mr. Santosh Desai, Managing Director & CEO of Future Brands Ltd. on the topic of “The New India Story” on December 19, 2012 at Hotel

Marine Plaza, Mumbai. IACC Power Breakfast Series has been acknowledged and appreciated as an interesting platform where guests have been given the opportunity to interact with prominent personalities across various verticals and industries in the past. The rigorous process of selecting appropriate guest speakers, selection of thought provoking topics accompanied by seamless execution have made the Breakfast Series a grand success. The 9th IACC Power Breakfast Meeting built upon these elements, as guests were able to interact with one of the most prominent and respected business minds in India- Mr. Santosh Desai, MD & CEO – Future Brands Ltd. Mr. Desai was introduced by Dr. L.S. Kanodia, Chairman, Datamatics Ltd. He spoke about “The New India Story” which emphasized on the evolving mind set of India as a whole along with significant changes in trends and their influence on society today. Mr. Desai spoke about how he started his journey from humble beginnings and established himself as one of the most successful entrepreneurs today. Mr. Desai touched upon various points which included the significance of education, changes in society’s perception of women, the huge diversity that is prevalent within our own borders and the delicate harmony in which they co-exist. India has developed into a broad minded nation where people from different cultures and beliefs move forward together. Dr. L.S. Kanodia also shared some of his observations, following which he presented Mr. Desai with a memento on behalf of IACC.

Mr. Santosh Desai, Managing Director & CEO of Future Brands Ltd. Speaking on the topic of “The New India Story”

IACC in association with IMC & Nasscom organized an Interactive Session on ‘B1/B2 (Business and Tourism) and GSS (new visa processing system)’ with Mr. Ajay Rao, Vice Consul, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai on

December 05, 2012 at Indian Merchants Chambers (IMC), Mumbai

Ms. Poorvi Chothani, an immigration lawyer and Committee

Member, IACC - WIC moderating the Q&A session Mr. Rao updating the attendees on new US visa processing

system

Dr. L. S. Kanodia, Immediate Past Regional President, IACC-WIC thanking Mr. Rao for delivering a very informative presentation on

the US Visa.

Gujarat Branch IACC partners to the SME Summit organized by the Silicon India on December 14, 2012 at Cambay Grand,

Ahmedabad Indo-American Chamber of Commerce was associate partner to the SME Summit organized by the Silicon India on 14th December, 2012 at Cambay Grand in Ahmedabad which helps to the foster relations with local business leaders. This SME Summit helped participants to learn how to set up and grow a business, as well as business practices that lead to success. The conference was a platform for SMEs to showcase their expertise, interact with colleagues and experts, along with learning about new opportunities to be explored. Two enthralling panel discussions and three individual sessions formed the power packed agenda of the summit. A New Business Technology Paradigm: The New Promise of Information Technology! This whole panel discussion under the surveillance of Mr. Mihir Joshi, Chairman, and IACC gave a wide spectrum of knowledge on why and how technology should be adapted into your business, other speakers were Yatindra R Sharma-MD, KHS Machinery; Ashutosh Shukla-MD, Aerotherm Products; Vishad Rahangdale-CIO, Electrotherm spoke extensively about technology. The Changing Role of CFOs in SMEs! CFO is a financial conscience of the organization. CFOs can turn SMEs into strategically and smartly managed with various financial and non-financial value drivers. The highly enthusiastic delegates were captivated with the first-hand perspective they got on some of the most essential aspects which defines the survival, existence and growth of any business. Experts opinions was “SME Summit Ahmedabad is a platform for the SME Owners to turn ideas into profitable ones”

(Second from Left) Mr. Mihir Joshi, Chairman, IACC Gujarat Branch addressing the SME Summit 2012.

IACC jointly organized “Ahmedabad Investment Forum 2012” on November 29, 2012 at the Pride Hotel, Ahmedabad

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) Gujarat Branch joint as the Industry Partner to the programme “VCCircle Ahmedabad Investment Forum 2012” Which was organized by VCCircle on November 29, 2012 at The Pride Hotel, Ahmedabad. The 2nd edition of VCCircle’s Ahmedabad Investment Forum which featured the best of Gujarat Inc., comprising CEOs of Gujarat’s top and emerging companies, highly successful entrepreneurs and the biggest investors across the country. The full-day summit was kick-started with a keynote by Mr. Piruz Khambatta, chairman & MD of Rasna. The following fireside chats and panels covered the key areas such as the leading sectors for entrepreneurship in Gujarat, and what it takes to raise private equity, venture capital and angel funding. A Gujarat based PE Funded first generation entrepreneur shared the firm’s inception, early days & business model, Significant milestones, How it raised private equity funding and scaled, Growth path and projections by Mr. Mihir Joshi – Chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Gujarat Branch; Asit Shah - MD, Metro Wireless Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.; Rajiv Sharma - CEO, Sterling Addlife India Ltd; Prof. B H Jajoo - Former Dean, IIM Ahmedabad; Vishal Mehta - CEO, Infibeam (Moderator); The another panel focused on the emerging entrepreneurship themes in the Gujarat startups segment, their opportunities to scale in internet sub-sectors, big data, healthcare, education and mobile industries by Rajan Vasa - MD, Contech BPO & President TiE Ahmedabad (Moderator); Sanjay Singh - Founder, Swas healthcare; Leo S. Mavely - CEO, Axio Biosolutions Pvt. Ltd.; Prayaag Kasundra - Founder & CEO, BookAdSpace.com Two special ‘entrepreneur sessions’ – one with Mr. Amit Bakshi, CEO of Eris Life sciences, and the other with Mr. Vishal Mehta, CEO of Infibeam, which highlight their entrepreneurial journey with key insights into how they scaled up, overcame challenges and built their businesses. One of the fastest growing industrial cities in India, Ahmedabad has played a crucial role in integrating entrepreneurs, investors and deal-makers. In tune with trend, this forum brought together a wide array of participants – from large companies to exciting early-stage startups to private equity & venture capital investors

(L to R) Mr. Mihir Joshi, Chairman, IACC-Gujarat branch; Prof. B H Jajoo -IIM Ahmedabad; Mr. Vishal Mehta, CEO, Infibeam

(Moderator for the session);

Pune Branch IACC organized a “Program on Business & Work Visas to the United States & GSS- the new visa processing

System” on December 13, 2012 at Moolgaonkar Auditorium, Pune Indo American Chamber of Commerce-Pune branch & the US Consulate General, Mumbai conducted a program for presentation on Business & Work Visas to the United States & GSS- the new visa processing System on December 13, 2012 at Moolgaonkar Auditorium, MCCIA Trade Towers. Attendees of the Session were Members of IACC and BEP Companies. Speaker, Mr. Beau Miller, Vice Consul at US Consulate, Mumbai addressed the session on the above topic & also interacted with the Members present.

Mr. Beau Miller, Vice Consul US Consulate, Mumbai during the presentation

(L-R) IACC Pune Branch Chairman, Mr. Ranjit Wandrekar felicitating Mr. Beau Miller.

North India Council IACC-Citi Bank Knowledge Series – ‘Outlook on Indian Equity Market’ on December 12, 2012

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, NIC organized an IACC- Citi Bank Knowledge Series on 12th December 2012. The topic discussed during the Knowledge Series was “Outlook on Indian Equity Market”. Mr Nasser Salim, Cluster Investment Counsellor, Citi Bank discussed about basic benefits of investments cross various asset classes.

Mr. Nasser Salim, Cluster Investment Counsellor, Citi Bank making the presentation

IACC- NIC Women’s Committee hosted a Christmas Party on December 10, 2012

Mr. Donald Lu, Deputy Chief of Mission and Mr. Allan Mustard Minister-Counsellor for Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy

Members enjoying Christmas Party Mrs. Nilanjana Dalmia with Dr Ariel Ahart

Mrs. Ann Mustard, Co-Chairperson, IACC, NIC Women’s Committee welcoming members to the Christmas party hosted by her

Interactive Meeting with Ms. Julia R Stanley, Minister Counsellor for Consular Affairs, US Embassy on December 03, 2012 at New Delhi

(L-R) Mr. S K Sarkar, Immediate Past Regional President, IACC-NIC; Ms. Julia R Stanley and Mr. Lalit Bhasin, Regional President, IACC-

NIC

Mr. Lalit Bhasin presenting a memento to Ms. Julia Stanley

IACC- NIC Regional Council Meeting on November 23, 2012

Members present at the Regional Council Meeting

(L-R) Dr. M K Modi, Past National President, IACC; Dr. Raman Roy, Chairman & Managing Director, Quatrro BPO Solutions Pvt. Ltd and Mr Lalit Bhasin, Regional President, NIC

IACC-NIC organized ‘Post Diwali Party’ on November 19, 2012

(L-R) Mr. Nabha; Kanwarani Sohinder Nabha, Member Women’s Committee; Mrs Ann Mustard, Co-Chairperson, IACC-NIC Women's

Committee; Mr. Allan Mustard, Minister-Counselor for Agricultural Affairs.

(L-R) Mr. Allan Mustard, Minister-Counselor for Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy; Mr. Vikram Sethi, Ms. Judy Reinke, Minister

Counselor for Commercial Affairs, US Embassy

Varanasi Branch

IACC-Varanasi branch celebrated its Annual Day 2012 on December 29, 2012 at Hotel Radisson, Varanasi Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, U.P. Branch, Varanasi celebrated its Annual Day 2012 on 29th November, 2012 at Hotel Radisson, Varanasi. Senior officials from U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, namely, Mr. Allan P. Mustard, Minister Counselor for Agricultural Affairs and Mr. Greg O’Connor, Principal Commercial Officer, US Embassy, New Delhi were the honored guests on this occasion. The topic of their talk was “Opportunities of Indo-US Trade in Agro & Agro Based Industries/Products with Reference to Eastern U.P.” Dr. Dhiraj Kumar Verma, JVL Group, Varanasi, eminent scholars from Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University Professor Saket Kushwaha, Professor H.K. Jaiswal, Professor Ramesh Chand, Dr. Virendra Kamalvanshi and Principal Scientist & Head, Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi Mr. A.B. Rai also addressed the participants and shared their views. Mr. Ahsan Khan, Chairman, IACC, U.P. Branch, Varanasi welcomed all guests from U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, IACC Members, guest and media persons. Mr. Khan hoped that exchange of views between industrialists and scholars shall act as a foundation stone to boost trade of agro-based products not only in the local market but foreign markets as well. The programme was conducted by immediate past IACC chairman CA Mukul Kumar Shah. Addressing the audience, Mr. Allan P. Mustard said that economic, strategic and agricultural relations between India and U.S.A. have come a long way during last few decades. Strengthening this partnership will benefit the interests of both countries for many years to come as India assumes an increasingly important leadership role across Asia in the 21st century. As in other areas, America will be India’s partner, too. That’s the bottom line and this has to be good news for both countries. Mr. Mustard said that agriculture is very important aspect both in U.S.A. and India yet there is entirely different attitude towords agro-products. While in U.S.A. 64 per cent of the farm land is owned by individuals and families and the rest 36 per cent is owned by several large and small corporations who make it a big business – ‘Agribusiness’. On the other hand in India, the land is divided in very small area and nearly 75% of its population is engaged in farming directly or indirectly. India and the US have multi-faceted relations ranging from political, strategic to economic and commercial. India being the second fastest growing economy in the world and USA the largest economy, the economic relations between the two countries in the form of bilateral investments and trade constitute important elements in Indo-US collaboration. The economic reforms introduced in India since 1991 have integrated the Indian economy with the global economy, opening up a vast opportunity for foreign investment and trade. USA is the largest investing country in India in terms of FDI approvals, actual inflows, and portfolio investment. The stock of actual FDI increased from US $ 11.3 million in 1991 to US $ 4132.8 million as on August 2004. FDI inflows from the U.S. constitute about 11 per cent of total actual FDI inflows into India. US investments cover almost every sector in India, which is open for private participants. On the other hand, India’s investments in USA are picking up. Between 1996 and September 2004, Indian companies invested US $ 2080.36 million in the U.S. accounting for 18.7 per cent of total approvals. These investments were made largely in manufacturing and non-financial services. Trade and commerce form a crucial component in the rapidly expanding relations between India and US. From a modest $ 5.6 billion in 1990, the bilateral trade in merchandise goods has increased to $ 31.92 billion in 2006 representing an impressive growth of 470 per cent in a span of 16 years. India’s merchandise exports to the U.S.A. grew at 16.07 per cent from US $ 18.80 billion in 2005 to US $ 21.83 billion in 2006. US exports of merchandise to India increased from US $ 7.96 billion in 2005 to US $ 10.09 billion in 2006, an increase of 26.31 per cent. India’s major export products include gems & jewelry, textiles, organic chemicals and engineering goods. Its main imports from the U.S. are machinery, precious stones & metals, organic chemicals, optical & medical instruments and aircraft & aviation machinery. Agriculture is beginning to play a bigger role in the Indo-US trade. India’s exports of agricultural products to US were to the tune of $ 1.3 billion occupying a share of only 1.4 per cent in US’s total imports of agricultural products in 2005. On an average, India’s agricultural exports have grown by only 3 per cent per annum for the period 2000 to 2005, which is

far below the potential. Likewise, there is potential to enhance US farm exports to India. We need to look at the rapid growth in India’s farm trade in Asia and draw appropriate pointers on how to accelerate bilateral trade. It is therefore, important to work on exploring the potential of partnership and bilateral collaboration in agriculture. Mr. Greg O’Connor stressed the need to modernize farm sector in India. He said the soil and climate of the country was good enough to facilitate production of diverse agricultural products. But, it needed employment of modern technology for reaping the maximum advantage. Agricultural scientists from Banaras Hindu University talked in detail about advancement in agriculture and the difficulties in the field. In particular, they mentioned improved varieties of rice and wheat. Speaker said that 12 million persons were employed in the sector but only 10% of them were able to recover the investment as electricity accounted for a major share (21%) of the total expenditure. They said there were 100 rice mills in the region, fulfilling only one third of the requirement. They advocated the need for more agriculture research centers, modernized cold storages, pre-cooling systems and other facilities. CA Mukul Kumar Shah, Immediate past Chairman, IACC, Varanasi thanked all guests from U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, senior office bearers of IACC, participants and media persons. Mr. Debashis Mukherjee, Mr. Puneet Raman, Mr. Bharat Kumar Agrawal, Mr. Raj K. Agrawal, Mr. Arun Kumar Agrawal, Mr. Adarsh Jhunjhunwal, Mr. Saurabh Shah, Mrs. Anita Dey, Mr. Sahil Garge, Mr. J.P. Mundra, Mr. Niyaz Ahmad, Mr. Rajesh Kumar Srivastava and others actively participated in the deliberations.

Addressing the audience, Mr. Greg O’Connor, Principal Commercial Officer, US Embassy, New Delhi

(L-R) Mr. Allan P. Mustard, Minister Counselor for Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, New Delhi and Mr. Greg O’Connor, Principal

Commercial Officer, US Embassy, New Delhi

(L-R) : Mr. Allan P. Mustard, Minister Counselor for Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy New Delhi, Mr. Ahsan R. Khan, Chairman, IACC,

U.P. Branch, Varanasi, Mr. Greg O’Connor, Principal Commercial Officer, US Embassy, New Delhi, Prof. H.K. Jaiswal, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Prof. Ramesh Chand, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Mr. A.B. Rai, Principal Scientist & Head, Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, Dr. Dhiraj Kumar

Verma, JVL Group, Varanasi

Dev-Deepawali Celebration on November 28, 2012

On the eve of Annual Day 2012 celebrations, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Varanasi made special arrangements for its members and guests to participate in Dev-Deepawali celebrations organized at Dashashwamedh Ghat on 28th November, 2012. Mr. & Mrs. Allan P. Mustard, Minister Counselor for Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, New Delhi and Mr. & Mrs. Greg O’ Connor, Principal Commercial Officer, US Embassy, New Delhi were the honored guests on this occasion. Nearly thirty members with their families and guests enjoyed Boat Ride for over 3 hours on River Ganges and watched the Ghats alongside River Ganges being lighted up by lacs of small earthen lamps. Everyone was thrilled to watch performance of “Ganga Aarti” at Dasaswamedh Ghat accompanied with fireworks. It is worth mentioning here that the august visitors from the U.S. Embassy were amazed to watch magnificent and well organized event of Dev-Deepawali.

Mr. Saurabh Shah, IACC Member, Mrs. Allan P. Mustard & Mrs. Greg O’Connor, US Embassy New Delhi, Mr. Allan P. Mustard, Minister Counselor for Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy New Delhi, Mr. Greg O’Connor, Principal Commercial Officer, US Embassy, New Delhi, Mr. Sahil Garg, IACC Member, Mr. Ahsan R. Khan, Chairman, IACC, U.P. Branch, Varanasi, CA Mukul Kumar Shah, Past

Chairman, IACC, U.P. Branch, Varanasi

South India Council

Tamil Nadu Branch

IACC Organized breakfast meeting “Meet Success First Hand” on December 18, 2012 at Vivanta by Taj Connemara, Chennai

Speaker Mr. C. K Kumaravel, Co-Founder-Naturals Salon and Spa addressing the gathering. Also seen (L-R) Mr. C Suresh Reddy, Vice-

Chairman, IACC-TN & Mr. T.N Venkatanarayanan, Chairman IACC-TN.

A section of the crowd. Mr. K. Srinivasan, Managing Director-Prime International, asking a question.

IACC organized a “Guidance Session on U.S Business Visas” on December 07, 2012 at Coimbatore

IACC – TN Branch organized a Guidance Session on “U.S. Business Visas” on December 7, 2012 at Coimbatore. Ms. Susan Dunathan, Vice-Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai updated the gathering on the new U.S. Visa procedures and elaborated on the various types of visas. The session was very lively and informative during the Q&A session.

(L-R) Ms. Susan Dunathan, Vice-Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai responding to a query from the participant. Also seen are

Mr. T.N. Venkatanarayanan, Chairman, IACC-TN and Mr. Suresh Reddy, Vice-Chairman, IACC-TN

Ms. Susan Dunathan, Vice-Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai addressing the gathering.

IACC Organized an Interactive Session with Mr. Atulya Mishra, I.A.S., Chairman, Chennai Port Trust on December 04, 2012 in Chennai

IACC-TN conducted an Interactive session with Chennai Port Trust Officials at Conference Hall, Chennai Port Trust, Chennai. Mr. P.C. Parida, Dy. Chairman, Chennai Port Trust formally welcomed the gathering. Given the growing demand between Indo-US trade relations, Mr. Parida stressed the need for the Port authorities to interact with the exporters and importers on the problems or issues faced towards movement of their products thru Chennai Port. In his introductory remarks Mr. T. N. Venkatanarayanan, Chairman, IACC (TN) thanked the Dy. Chairman Mr. Parida for the support of Chennai Port Trust and also hosting the meeting. Being one of a kind of initiative by IACC, Mr. Venkatanarayanan encouraged active participation of the members. After a brief presentation by Mr. N. Vaiyapuri, Traffic Manager, Chennai Port Trust highlighting the various services offered by the Chennai Port Trust and its expansion plans, the session was open for Q&A. The members present raised enquiries / issues faced by them during clearance of Cargo and Customs Inspection. The authorities took note of the points raised and assured appropriate action thru respective sections. The Q& A session was followed by a brief tour of the Chennai Port Trust – Container Terminals – I & II. In conclusion, the Chairman Mr. T.N. Venkatanarayanan called on Mr. Atulya Mishra, I.A.S., Chairman, Chennai Port Trust in his office. After exchange of greetings, Mr. Venkatanarayanan updated Mr. Mishra on the proceedings of the session and thanked him for their support. Mr. Mishra was delighted to receive the positive note on the interactive session/tour and suggested that similar sessions could be conducted in future once in a year with the members of IACC at Chennai Port Trust. The same was agreed by Mr. Venkatanarayanan, Chairman, IACC-TN.

(L-R) Mr. T. N. Venkatanarayanan, Chairman, IACC-TN is being greeted by Mr. Atulya Mishra, I.A.S, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust.

Chennai Port Trust officials, explaining IACC Members about the Dock Operations.

Interactive session between IACC Members and Chennai Port Trust Officials.

IACC organized Members Networking meeting on November 23, 2012 in Chennai

Ms. Jennifer McIntyre, U.S. Consul General in Chennai presenting a memento to Mr. Chella K. Srinivasan, Chairperson 1998-99. Also

seen in the center Mr.T.N Venkatanarayanan, Chairman, IACC-TN

A section of IACC members at the event.

IACC organized a ‘Guidance Session on U.S Business Visas’ on November 06, 2012 in Chennai

Mr. Michael Cathey, Deputy Consular Chief, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai addressing the gathering.

(Center) Mr. Michael Cathey, Deputy Consular Chief, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai answering a query from the audience. Also

seen (Left) Mr. T N Venkatanarayanan, Chairman, IACC-TN and (Right) Mr. C Suresh Reddy Vice-Chairman, IACC-TN

Bangalore Branch IACC organized a get-together and networking evening a Curtain Raiser to the Tree-Athon and Tree- Athon

on December 14, 2012 at ITC Windsor Hotel, Bangalore Indo American Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka Branch organized its get-together and networking evening, as a curtain raiser to the Tree-Athon, on December 14, 2102 at the ITC Windsor, Bangalore, 6:30 pm onwards. The event was well received and attended by participants of known organizations like Assystem India Pvt Ltd, Ganjam Nagappa & Son Pvt. Ltd, Geschickten Biosciences, Green Channel Logistics Centre, Japcon, Stridus Infotech (India) Pvt Ltd, Hitek Engineering, Infinite Computer Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd, Jenesys Technologies Pv. Ltd., Jet Avi Engineering Pvt Ltd., L-3 Communication, SJS Enterprises Pvt Ltd., Laguna Clothing Pvt Ltd, ASM Technologies Ltd., Pierian Services Pvt Ltd, Stanton Chase International, etc to name a few. Mr. Vinay Luthra, IFS, Addl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka, invited as the Chief Guest, graced the event. The event kick started with an inaugural speech addressed by Mr. V. Srinivasan, Chairman of IACC- Karnataka. Felicitation of the ‘Unsung Heroes of Karnataka’ was received with a thunderous applause. You could feel the emotions run high, amidst the audience, when Chandru – an illiterate boy, virtually herding buffaloes, chosen by an NGO – Head Held High, of which Mr. Madan Padaki of IACC is a part of, to participate in an 8 month program in Bangalore (Bangalore was like New York for that boy!), came up to the dias and spoke for almost 5 mins., in English. He now is part of a BPO, earning Rs. 12,000 and it is like a dream for him. Barring, standing up, the ovation was heartfelt. Well, what else could be Thanksgiving, if this is not! The session started with felicitating the latest hero – Mr. Shekhar Naik, captain of the Indian Blind World Cup Cricket team. It was an amazing moment. He was cherishing the time of his life, with back to back meetings and Press interviews. Can’t still imagine, how blind can play cricket... and brings a question to the fore – who’s actually blind!? We felicitated Mr G K Vishwanath – who was among the country’s top ranked Table Tennis player, for quite a few years, and was among the Top 16 sportsmen of the country, for a while! Alongside him, Dr Ajay G V was felicitated. Another Table Tennis player, but with a change – a paralympic champion, ranked 41st in the world, and highest for any differently abled Indian! Notwithstanding all this, Dr. Ajay always ranked top in whatever he did, and today is pursuing his MD in Oncology, and has been doing it with top honors again. Then was the turn of Mr. Praveen Ranka – a martial arts exponent. Who would have thought that, right in Karnataka, in the middle of all of us, we have someone, who has tutored in the lineage of Bodhidharma!! Chairman and Director of various martial arts trusts, Praveen is a 8 Dan Black Belt!! It was now the turn of a very unassuming Mr. C R Sathyanarayana – a photographer par excellence! Here goes his list of accomplishments – Awarded the Associate ship of the Royal Photographic Society of England; Artist Federation International De L’ Art Photographique; Excellence Federation of International Art Photography; Associate of the Image Colleague Society of California; Honorary Fellowship of the Pakistan Salon Group; First Indian to secure Color Prints – Pictorial… Well, you have to look at his photographs!! Absolutely brilliant.. We felicitated Mr. Suresh Moona – a doyen, who has researched and chronicled the heritage of Bangalore, like no one else. With a collection of over 500 slides and he can passionately speak about every slide, for over half an hour! You can feel the pride and the frustration, of the Bangalore that was and the Bangalore that is! He has been invited by the crème de la crème of the world, during their visits to Bangalore. We now felicitated the new kid in town – Vibish Sivakumar, who made his debut into Hollywood cinema, by an brief acting stint in Life of Pi, a movie made by Ang Lee – the Oscar award winning Director. Auditioning among 4,000 students across the country, and making it into the movie, with no prior acting experience, is a great achievement. Of course, it was our turn to felicitate some exemplary performances by our own colleagues at IACC.

ASM Technologies Ltd., headed by our Sr. Vice Chairman – Mr. Rabindra Srikantan, was awarded the country’s Best Exporter – Services (Small), at the ECGC – Dun & Bradstreet Indian Exporters’ Excellence Awards 2012. Interpret Omics P Ltd., a Bio-analytics company, founded by Mr. Prahalad Achuthrao, who leads the Bio initiative on the IACC committee, was awarded the Indian Leadership Award for Industrial Development, by the All India Achievers Foundation. He was also nominated for the Forum of Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum, Class of 2014.

Mr. V. Srinivasan, Chairman, IACC- Karnataka Branch addressing the audience

Mr. Vinay Luthra, IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka graced the event

Enthralling performances by the Afro-Indian drummers

Members having a good time playing djembé

Guests networking during the Cocktails and Dinner session

Tree-Athon 2012 turned out to be a great event. ACS Chief of the Consulate of US in Chennai, Ms. Bonnie Long, participated in the occasion. Mr. Vinay Luthra, Addl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, besides participating, also supported the event with his entire Forest staff of the area, being present. Industrialists turned out in a decent number, for a Saturday morning, to the Turahalli forest in Kanakapura Road. Also, an NGO – Karunalaya, brought more than 50 kids to participate in the same. The verve with which everyone planted trees, grabbing their Name boards to ensure that their names were etched in the annals of IACC history, clearly showed the ‘connect’ and ‘passion’ to our environment, which was in fact, the actual trigger for the event.

Ms. Bonnie Long, Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai along with the IACC Team & members

Ms. Bonnie Long, Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai planting the sapling

Kids from the Karunalaya, receiving Gifts from Ms. Bonnie Long

Besides distributing gifts to the children, IACC helped raise funds for the kids of the NGO. The concluding part of the event was a presentation on ‘Heritage of Bangalore’, by Mr. Suresh Moona. While the presentation itself had to go on a ‘fast track’ for lack of time, the audience was in total awe, through the whole session, asking for more of it. We might well be doing a Heritage Walk with him, very soon. Invitees, comprising some of our IACC members of Indian and US Corporate, and others – a few Companies, leading consultants and professionals providing services to Indo-US business and commerce, attended the event. The event was supported by Sobha Developers, SJS Enterprises Pvt Ltd., Moog International and Infinite Computer Solutions. The event provided a great opportunity for the IACC members to meet and make new acquaintance of.

Kerala Branch

IACC jointly organized U.S. Visa Procedures on December 11, 2012 at Infopark Hall, Kochi Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Kerala branch in association with Infopark-Kochi organized an interactive session on U.S. Visa Procedures on 11th December, 2012 at the Infopark-Kochi. The Session was conducted by U.S. Consulate Officers from Chennai Consulate, Ms. Heather M. Smith and Mr. Mark W. Zanolli. The session covered topics on types of visas, how to approach, issues on rejection and acceptance, how to attend interviews etc. The Session was attended by members of IACC and Infopark. During the presentation, Mr. Mark W. Zanolli, said that the US visa applicants will no longer have to wait for hours outside the consulate, thanks to a new system implemented in Consulate across the country. He also said that the new Global Support Strategy (GSS) programme that they had implemented succeeded in simplifying the process of applying for an US visa in India. He explained the different types of visa and the do’s and don’ts when applying for visa and visa interviews. The CEO of Infopark, Mr. Gigo Joseph welcomed the gathering and the Chairman of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce-Kerala, Dr. Prakash Chandran gave the vote of thanks.

U.S. Consulate, Chennai officials Ms. Heather M. Smith and Mr. Mark W. Zanolli speaking at an interactive program

IACC organized an Interactive session on U.S. Visa on December 06, 2012 at P V Memorial hall, Calicut. The Session was conducted by Consular Officers from the U.S. Consulate, Chennai, Mr. Gaetan W. Damberg-Ott and Mr. Benjamin Dembury. In the recent times U.S. Business/Work Visa policies and procedures, that have undergone immense transformation. Keeping in mind members’ interest, IACC-Kerala organized this session that covered all aspects concerning US business visa. Participating members were given an opportunity to discuss issues and seek clarifications in this matter, which they found very useful. While making his presentation, Mr. Damberg-Ott said that the new Global Support Strategy (GSS) programme, that they had implemented, succeeded in simplifying the process of applying for an U.S. visa in India. He also said that over 40 percent of the L1 visas and nearly 75 percent of the H1B visas, which are the two main types of work visas given out by America, went to people from India.

He also added that India had the most to gain from the US simplifying its visa procedures as most of the work visas given out by the country went to Indians. The session was attended by around 40 members/Non-Members. IACC-Kerala Branch Chairman, Dr. Prakash Chandran welcomed the gathering and Mr. Alok Kumar Saboo, President of The Malabar Chamber of Commerce gave the vote of thanks.

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US investments in India

Virginia based global packaging solutions company MeadWestvaco to invest Rs 1,000 crore for expansion

The US-based packaging major MeadWestvaco Corporation said it will invest $184 million (Rs 1,000 crore) to expand the company’s presence in industrial packaging and triple its sales in India. The US major, which signed a MoU with the State Government recently, said the investment will be over the next three to five years in the packaging and paperboard industry in India, and create 800 jobs in this industry. The investment includes the purchase of Vapi-based Ruby Macons Ltd, and plans to expand the current production at the facility with the installation of a new paper machine to manufacture new paperboard products and grades. The expansion is already underway and should increase the production starting in 2013, John Luke, Junior, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MeadWestvaco, said in a statement. In November 2011, MeadWestvaco had announced the acquisition of Ruby Macons Ltd, a market leader in corrugated packaging materials in India, as part of the company’s growth strategy, including its emphasis on growth in emerging markets. This will expand the company’s presence in industrial and agricultural packaging in India, which already includes a converting facility in Pune making rigid, humidity-resistant corrugated packaging for fresh fruits and vegetables, consumer goods, household appliances and pharmaceuticals.

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US seed fund 500 Startups invests in Bangalore's tech firm ZipDial, closes tenth deal in India

US-based 500 Startups, a seed fund that began investing in India just over a year ago, has closed its tenth deal in the country, backing technology startup ZipDial. Paul Singh, partner at 500 Startups, said the investment was higher than the typical $250,000 (Rs 1.3 crore) the fund invests in early-stage companies but was under $500,000. Bangalore-based ZipDial, founded by Valerie Rozycki Wagoner, Sanjay Swamy and Amiya Pathak in 2010, has developed a mobile-engagement platform, which is based on the distinctively Indian concept of a "missed call". A consumer just needs to make a call to a unique ZipDial number a company provides and disconnect after a single ring to receive an SMS or a call with details that the company wishes to provide. The company counts Hindustan Unilever, P&G, Disney and Puma among its clients in India and has also expanded operations to the Caribbean with clients like Pepsi and KFC. By January 2013, it will launch services in Bangladesh and is targeting Indonesia, the Philippines and Nigeria later in the year. The company, which aims to reach $1 million in revenue this financial year, received angel funding in April 2011 from Mumbai Angels, Blume Ventures and a handful of US-based angel investors. 500 Startups, which takes up to 7% stake in a startup, has invested in India-based ventures such as MyGola, TradeBriefs, Instamojo, Walletkit and Gazematrix. "We want to be the most active early stage investor in India," said Singh.


Morgan Stanley ups stake in Jindal Saw to over 5% Fund house buys 6.742 million shares at an average price of Rs 125.65 aggregating to Rs 84.72 crore

Pipe maker Jindal Saw lately said foreign fund house Morgan Stanley has raised its stake in the company to over 5% following additional 2.44% stake buying through open markets. Morgan Stanley had 8.167 million shares, or 2.95%, stake in Jindal Saw before the transaction held in the BSE and NSE on December 31, it said in a regulatory filing. The fund house bought additional 6.742 million shares, amounting to 2.44% stake in the firm through "market purchase" taking its total shareholding to 5.39% on the last day of the calendar year 2012. According to bulk deal data available with the stock exchanges, Morgan Stanley purchased the shares at an average price of Rs 125.65 aggregating to Rs 84.72 crore. Shares were bought by Morgan Stanley Aisa (Singapore) Pte, Morgan Stanley Mauritius Company and Morgan Stanley India Capital, it added. Jindal Saw's scripts were trading at Rs 133.25 per share, up 0.76% during the afternoon trade on the BSE over the previous closing. Promoters had 46% stake in Jindal Saw, as on September-end.


Parker Hannifin India sets up Rs 100 crore factory near Chennai Parker Hannifin India, a part of the Rs 71,500-crore Parker Hannifin Corporation of the US, has set up a Rs 100-crore factory near Chennai to manufacture components for a wide range of industries. Thomas Williams, Executive Vice-President and Operating Officer, Parker Hannifin Corporation, said the company has invested over $34 million in Chennai in the last couple of years. India is an important component of the company’s targeted growth in the Asia-Pacific which contributes about 14 per cent of its sales. Parker Hannifin hopes to grow this to about 20 per cent – double sales in the region in five years. Globally, the company aims to grow at about 10 per cent. India accounts for a revenue of about $130 million. The company caters to the automotive segment including on-road and off-road, and telecom, oil and gas, mining and primary metals sector. Addressing media persons following the formal opening of the 10-acre factory at Mahindra World City, an industrial town near Chingelpet about 50 km south of Chennai on NH45, Williams said the factory will make products for the filtration, pneumatics and drives, and shielding businesses. The company employs over 1,500 people in India and will recruit an additional 300. Globally, its workforce is close to 60,000. Kurt Keller, President, Asia Pacific Group, Parker Hannifin, said the company is keen on expanding in life sciences and renewable energy industry. In life sciences, pharmaceutical will be an area of growth with manufacturing for respiratory devices, and bio fluids handling equipment. The company’s expertise will help it manufacture wind turbine components and equipment for wave energy and solar energy, he said.


Caraco completes tender offer to acquire Dusa Pharma Drug firm Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today said its US-based subsidiary Caraco has successfully completed the

tender offer to acquire Dusa Pharmaceuticals. Drug firm Sun Pharmaceutical Industries recently said its US-based subsidiary Caraco has successfully completed the tender offer to acquire Dusa Pharmaceuticals. The company said after the tender offer's expiration, 2,09,46,624 shares of common stock of Dusa had been validly tendered, representing nearly 82.4 per cent of the outstanding shares of Dusa, Sun Pharma said in a statement.

Last month, Sun Pharma had inked a pact to acquire US-based Dusa Pharmaceuticals for around USD 230 million (around Rs 1,250 crore). Under the terms of the agreement, Caraco had to commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding common stock of Dusa at a price of USD 8 per share in cash, a 38 per cent premium to the closing price of Dusa's common stock on November 7, 2012. "Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories (CPL) intends to promptly move forward with a short-form merger under New Jersey law after exercising its top-up option under the merger agreement, and Dusa will become a wholly owned subsidiary of CPL," it said. The companies said the shares which were not tendered during the offer would be cancelled and cease to exist. The shares would be "converted into the right to receive the same USD 8 per share in cash paid in the tender offer". "Following the merger, Dusa's common stock will cease to be traded on the NASDAQ global market," it added. Detroit-based CPL develops, manufactures, markets and distributes generic pharmaceuticals to the nation's largest wholesalers, distributors and drugstore chains.


Bell Helicopter signs agreement with Bangalore based Dynamatic Technologies Dynamatic will work as a sub-contractor for Bell 407 airframe cabin assembly and other components

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. Company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies wherein Dynamatic will act as a sub-contractor for its Bell 407 Air Frame Cabin Assembly, Air Frame Component and Details. The estimated business volume of the work proposed is approximately $243 million over a ten-year period starting in 2013. “Bell Helicopter is pleased to continue to invest in India,” said Rishi Malhotra, Bell Helicopter’s General Manager in India. “This is an important step forward in expanding our customer service, engineering and manufacturing capabilities in India. Bell Helicopter has had a presence in India for nearly 20 years,” he said. He said India represents a significant growth opportunity for both sales and manufacturing. Dynamatic has already qualified itself as an eco-system of sub-tier suppliers under the Bell Production System and has commenced trial production of airframe components and detailed parts. Commercial production, which is scheduled to start shortly at the Company’s Aeronautic Manufacturing facilities at Dynamatic Park Peenya, will be undertaken at Dynamatic Aerotropolis, Devanahalli, in the last quarter of 2013. The MoU, which is an important milestone in India’s rise as an Industrial Partner to the Global Aerospace industry, will build upon Dynamatic’s existing relationships with Airbus, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Limited and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and further strengthen its leadership position in the Indian Aerospace industry.


Cargill to invest $91 million in India's food processing boom

The first phase of the processing unit at Davangere will be up and running by the third quarter of 2014. Cargill, the US agribusiness giant, is investing in India's burgeoning processed food sector with a $73 million corn milling unit, the head of its India operation said. India's 1.2 billion population is eating increasing amounts of packaged and processed foods, using the financial benefits of an economy growing at nearly 6 percent to try western staples from McDonald's to Knorr packet soups. "We aim to start a corn milling unit with a daily 800 to 1,000 tons processing capacity by 2014," Siraj Chaudhry, chairman of Cargill

India, told recently. The company, a bellwether of world commodity markets, is acquiring land at Davangere in Karnataka, the top corn-producing state in India, Asia's second-largest grower of the grain behind China. The first phase of the processing unit at Davangere will be up and running by the third quarter of 2014. "Our plant will cater to the growing demand for modified starch in the processed food segment," he said. Demand for modified starch - produced from corn - as a sweetener and thickener for the food and drinks industry is growing at 10-15 percent in India, Asia's third-largest economy. India harvested 21.6 million tons in the year to June 30, 2012, just short of the record 21.7 million tons in the previous year. Domestic consumption runs at 17 to 18 million tons a year. Cargill also aims to increase its existing cooking oil refining capacities in the three plants that it runs in the world's top importer of vegetable oils. India's output for edible oils meets only about half of its domestic demand. It mainly imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as a small quantity of soy oil from Brazil and Argentina. Cargill plans to raise its current daily refining capacity by a quarter to 5,000 tons a day, investing about Rs 100 crore over the next two years, taking its total investment to more than $91 million.


MphasiS to buy Digital Risk for $175 million IT firm MphasiS today said it will acquire US-based Digital Risk for USD 175 million (about Rs 960 crore), a move that

will help it attain leadership position in the US mortgage services market. The Florida-based Digital Risk is one of the largest independent providers of solutions related to risk, compliance and transaction management to the US mortgage market. The acquisition is an all-cash deal valued at USD 175 million with an additional earn-out component, Mphasis said in a statement. This acquisition significantly enhances MphasiS' onshore presence in the US, it added. MphasiS has plans to expand its footprint in the US creating up to 500 new jobs in the near future. Digital Risk is expected to register revenues of USD 127 million in CY2012 and has grown at revenue CAGR of 70 per cent in the last three years. Digital Risk has additional operations in New York, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Boca Raton, Tampa and Jacksonville. "We began our journey of transformation in 2010 focusing on the Financial Services Industry. This acquisition is central to our strategy of offering specialized services in chosen segments," MphasiS chief executive officer Ganesh Ayyar said. Their analytics platform combined with 1,500 mortgage specialists makes them unique and differentiated, he added. The transaction is currently expected to close by January 2013, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the transaction, Digital Risk will operate as a standalone business unit retaining its brand identity. Digital Risk’s founders will continue to lead the company, with Peter Kassabov reporting to Ayyar. Digital Risk’s management team and employees will remain with the company and continue serving their customers. In this transaction, Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor to MphasiS. Portico Capital Securities, LLC served as financial advisor to Digital Risk and Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild acted as legal advisor to Digital Risk.


New Jersey based I.T. giant, Fulcrum setting up new center in Pune US-based IT player Fulcrum Worldwide is setting up a new software delivery and operations center at Hinjewadi, Phase III.

The company has a center at Pune that has a capacity of 450 seats, Rajesh Sinha, CEO, Fulcrum Worldwide, said. “The new center will have a capacity of 2,000 people. We have planned an investment of $30 million over the next five years,” Sinha said. The company’s target market primarily remains US, UK/EU & APAC, but will soon expand to other markets including South Africa and West Asia, he added. Fulcrum’s new knowledge campus will roll out new SaaS products powered by Cloud for customers in the higher education, insurance and healthcare verticals. Apart from Pune, Fulcrum has a center in Mumbai which has 100 employees and caters to high-level product engineering architecture for local customers. Dhana Kumarasamy, (COO & EVP-Global Delivery), said: “In the next two years, we expect to increase the employees from the current global strength of 700 to over 1,500 employees. Fulcrum is already planning for additional land procurement within the Hinjewadi Phase III-IT Park, Pune.”


New York's Fab.com buys Pune firm True Sparrow in cash-and-stock deal Fab.com, one of the fastest-growing online retail sites in the world, has acquired Pune-based technology venture True Sparrow Systems in a cash-and-stock deal that marks the first time a US-based e-commerce company has bought an Indian technology startup. True Sparrow has been providing technology for Fab for the past two years and its co-founder Nishith Shah is also the chief technology officer of the US Company. Both were until now functioning as separate entities, even though True Sparrow worked exclusively with Fab. "A large part of our success has been due to the technology team at True Sparrow. We wanted to make sure that as we make Fab into a long-term sustainable business, the technology team is a part of the company," said Fab's cofounder and CEO Jason Goldberg. "Ours has been much more of a partnership and collaboration than outsourcing. Now, it is great to bring it together as one company." Fab declined to specify the value of the deal. In 2008, Goldberg teamed up with the husband-wife team who run True Sparrow--Nishith and Deepa Shah--to launch social news service Social Median, which was acquired by Germany's professional social network Xing. In 2010, True Sparrow became a technology partner to Goldberg's venture Fabulis, a social network for the gay community. A year later, when the network did not find enough users, he changed Fabulis to Fab and the partnership with True Sparrow continued. Fab, which sells design-focused products, and True Sparrow, worked out a model in which the Fab team in New York focused on products. The 85-member True Sparrow team in Pune concentrated on technology. The Shahs are also cofounders of Fab. "There might not be any example of an Indian technology partner as the cofounder of a US ecommerce company. It is exciting for the team to become Fab employees," said Nishith. Within five months of being formed in June 2011, Fab added a million users, twice as fast as Facebook. It has raised over $150 million from a clutch of investors, including venture capital firm Andreeson Horowitz, and Atomico, which is backed by Skype cofounder Niklas Zennstrom. Goldberg said the company is on track to achieve $150 million in sales this year. Even though this is the first instance of an international online retail site acquiring an Indian technology startup, group buying firm Groupon had acquired SoSasta in 2011 to launch operations in India.


NY based Ad agency TBWA acquires Indian digital firm Advertising agency TBWA, part of the New York-based Omnicom group, said it has acquired Magnon Group, an India digital agency. The acquisition includes Magnon Solutions and Magnon International, a digital outsourcing agency that serves clients across five continents. The digital agency was founded in 2000 by Vineet Bajpai and employs nearly 150 professionals between Mumbai and New Delhi. Magnon will become a part of the TBWA Group of companies in India and join TBWA's global Digital Arts Network (DAN) and the digital outsourcing company, Magnon International, will become part of E-Graphics and an accelerator for DAN's production offerings. "We are delighted to join forces with Magnon Group," said Keith Smith, President - International at TBWA Worldwide. "We've been extremely impressed with both their digital capabilities and the strength of their management team. Globally, TBWA is building a strong, integrated digital network and we are confident that Magnon group will deliver the expertise and talent we need to deliver innovative work and added value for our clients in India." Magnon offers clients digital services, including graphic design for web and mobile; digital marketing; search and social media optimization; bespoke technology applications development; online brand strategy consulting; eCommerce solutions; and mobile sites and apps development. Bajpai, who will continue in his role as the founder and CEO of Magnon, said, "Being a part of TBWA is an ambition fulfilled. TBWA's global reach and excellence will provide Magnon with the right platform towards becoming a market-leading digital agency in India and the region. And TBWA's empowering culture allows us to retain our adaptability and entrepreneurial fabric." John Wren, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom said that TBWA's partnership with Magnon is a reflection of Omnicom's continued commitment to building its strengths and capabilities across the Indian subcontinent, in an effort to support the growing needs of our client's regional marketing objectives.


US-based Equifax buys stake in IT Company NettPositive US-based information solutions provider Equifax has acquired controlling stake in Bangalore-based NettPositive firm, which specializes in analytics and business intelligence solutions, for an undisclosed sum. "The acquisition will enable us to offer high-velocity analytics and business intelligence capabilities to our diverse customers across financial services, insurance, retail and telecom sectors," Equifax managing director (emerging markets) Shahid Charania said in a statement from Atlanta (US). Both companies, however, did not divulge acquisition details, including the controlling stake percentage. By integrating the Bangalore firm's domain expertise, Equifax will strengthen its in-country credit reporting capabilities, drive sustainable growth and foray into other emerging markets. "The combined strength will position us as a leading provider of differentiated data and advanced analytics and deepen our footprint in the Indian market," Equifax vice-president John Hartman noted. The partners also plan to leverage their tie-up to build a multi-bureau solution and custom analytics for the Indian market. "Equifax's capabilities and large customer base will drive business growth and deepen relationships with our customers," NettPositive co-founder Nitin Gupta said. As a global leader in consumer, commercial and workforce information solutions, Equifax provides businesses and consumers with insight and information they can trust. With data on about 500 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide, the company uses advanced analytics and proprietary technology to create and deliver customized insights that enrich performance of businesses and lives of consumers.

NettPositive is engaged with 25 financial services and retail enterprises across developed and emerging economies. Click here for index

Cargill acquires Wipro's Sunflower Vanaspati in Rs 40-crore deal US-based food major Cargill will acquire Wipro's Sunflower Vanaspati brand, the company said in a communique on Monday. Cargill did not disclose the deal size. But analysts have pegged it at Rs 40 crore. The transaction would not involve any sale of assets apart from the product brand, the statement said. This will be Cargill's fourth acquisition in six years, which has an estimated turnover of Rs 4,000 crore, ranking third in the pecking order of edible oil companies after Adani Wilmar and Ruchi Soya in India. The four acquisitions include Gemini Sunflower Oil from Paras Foods in 2006, Rath, a vanaspati brand from Agrotech in 2010, Sweekar Sunflower Oil from Marico in 2011 and the current acquisition from Wipro. Wipro's Sunflower Vanaspati is a premium brand in Maharashtra with sales of about Rs 30 crore. Cargill, with its acquisitions, has looked at brands that have a strong local presence, analysts said. Gemini, for instance, is strong in Maharashtra, while Rath is strong in the north. Only Sweekar, much like Cargill's inhouse Nature Fresh brand, has a national footprint. "This acquisition strengthens Cargill's existing portfolio of leading edible oil and vanaspati brands and also expands its market reach in India's palm oil and its derivatives including vanaspati market," Cargill's India chairman Siraj Chaudhry said. "Acquiring Sunflower Vanaspati underscores Cargill's long-term commitment to growing our consumer food business in India. It is an excellent fit with our existing strong brand portfolio through which we serve a significant consumer base across the country," Chaudhry added. For Wipro, the sale of its vanaspati brand is in keeping with its strategy of existing non-core segments. The company has been looking to get out of categories such as diapers besides vanaspati for some time now. Both the categories together gave Wipro about Rs 40-45 crore in terms of revenues.


Saxon Global Acquires Bangalore based data analytics company ISAC global US headquartered data and analytics consulting company Saxon Global has acquired a majority stake in Bangalore based Ideas Software and Consulting Pvt Ltd (ISAC Global), a boutique Big Data and Web intelligence solutions firm. Haricharan C M, the Chief Executive Officer of ISAC Global, will join Saxon as Chief Operating Officer, while Sudhir Patavardhan, CTO of ISAC Global, will continue to lead technology development and engineering efforts of Saxon Global, the company said. The deal is part stock and part cash, Haricharan told NBW. He did not disclose further details of the acquisition. ISAC Global owns Siteanalytix, a Web analytics platform currently used by clients such as Rediff and Carwale. The company recently launched a Big Data platform for the US Insurance sector, which is in Beta stage. “Our goal is to move into a non-linear growth model over the next eighteen months, by migrating all our customers to adopt our Platform-based Big Data solution,” said Gopi Kandukuri, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Saxon Global. The company has been operational for nearly 4.5 years and has serviced nearly 35 clients, Haricharan added.


India’s Investments in U.S

Saksoft acquires US-based firm EDP The Chennai-based firm acquires 100% stake in Electronic Data Professionals

IT firm Saksoft Ltd has acquired US-based business intelligence and information management company, Electronic Data Professionals (EDP), through its subsidiary for an “undisclosed amount”. The Chennai-based information management specialist company, in a filing to BSE, said EDP would operate as a separate entity in the US. It would be a direct subsidiary of Saksoft Inc., US. “Saksoft Inc., US has completed acquisition of 100% stake in EDP, by signing a share purchase agreement on December 31, 2012 in the US”, it said. “EDP has been operational for seven years and has grown consistently well for the last few years. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The acquisition is effective immediately”. “We have been impressed with the strength of EDP in the information management area and we believe for our US geography’s growth, this acquisition is a good fit”, Saksoft, CEO, Aditya Krishna said. “Saksoft is investing in sales, marketing and delivery capabilities for the US market and EDP will be an additional channel for client acquisition and account management,” he added.


Mumbai based Rolta India Limited acquires Ohio based AdvizeX for $32 million This acquisition brings to Rolta a portfolio of products and services, over 2,500 active customers

Rolta, provider of IT consulting, solutions and services, today announced the acquisition of AT Solutions Group, the parent of AdvizeX Technologies for $32 million (around Rs 175 crore), including escrows and earn-outs. The acquisition was done through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rolta International. AdvizeX Technologies, a US company provides total solutions consisting of hardware, software, and specialized advisory and technology services for implementing IT strategies like cloud computing and virtual data centers. This acquisition brings to Rolta a portfolio of products and services, over 2,500 active customers, a large technology-enabled work force, and partnerships with industry leaders. Established in 1975, AdvizeX is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio with corporate management in Boston, Massachusetts, and 12 regional offices in the US. With this acquisition, Rolta is now among the top national partners of Oracle, Microsoft, HP, EMC, and VMware in the US. Rolta has been a provider of solutions for enterprise-level integration and business analytics for enterprise performance management, CRM, and ERP, besides geospatial and engineering solutions. The combined portfolio of the two companies offers a tremendous opportunity to Rolta to address the needs of the larger customer base, including that of AdvizeX. By leveraging expertise in its chosen vertical segments, and IP-differentiated solutions, Rolta will now be well positioned to participate in main-stream IT business, said the company in a statement. K. K. Singh, Chairman and CEO of the Rolta group said, “AdvizeX has exceptional technology, established branding and a strong base of repeat customers. We will now be able to offer sophisticated solutions to our customers world-wide for cutting-edge and emerging technologies, such as Cloud computing and virtualization.”


Massachusetts based Implant Sciences Announces Receipt of $5.654 Million from the India Ministry of Defense

Implant Sciences Corporation, a high technology supplier of systems and sensors for homeland security and defense markets, announced that it has received payment of approximately $5,654,000 or 95% of the amount due from the India’s Ministry of Defense. Implant Sciences announced the shipment of its Quantum Sniffer™ QS-H150 handheld explosives trace detectors to the Ministry on November 29, 2012. The funds will be applied to reduce the Company's obligation for accrued interest and borrowings under its credit facility with DMRJ Group, LLC. "The receipt of the funds from the India Ministry of Defense substantially completes all of the requirements under the agreement, and will be used to improve our balance sheet," stated Implant Sciences' President and CEO, Glenn D. Bolduc. "Our Field Service and Technical Training team, under the leadership of Marc Edgeworth, will be onsite in India in the near term to provide training to the end-users. Successful completion of our contract with the India Ministry of Defense provides us with momentum in India, which we intend to capitalize on in the pursuit of additional business in this significant market." About the Quantum Sniffer™ QS-H150 Handheld Explosives Trace Detector The Quantum Sniffer QS-H150 utilizes Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) technology, providing fast, accurate detection of trace amounts of a wide variety of military, commercial, and homemade explosives. Built with no radioactive materials and featuring a low-maintenance, self-calibrating, and self-clearing design, the QS-H150 provides very high levels of operational availability. The QS-H150 has been proven to perform well in a wide variety of temperatures and challenging environments, from humid jungles to dry, sand swept deserts. About Implant Sciences: Implant Sciences develops, manufactures and sells sophisticated sensors and systems for Security, Safety, and Defense (SS&D) markets. The Company has developed proprietary technologies used in its commercial explosive and narcotics trace detection systems which ship to a growing number of locations domestically and internationally. Implant Sciences' QS-H150 portable explosives trace detector has received Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology Designation and the Company's QS-B220 desktop explosives and drugs trace detector has received a Developmental Testing & Evaluation (DT&E) Designation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technology Act of 2002 (the SAFETY Act).


Bartronics acquires 51% stake in Systems America, USA Bartronics Asia, the 100% subsidiary of Bartronics India, has acquired 51% stake in Systems America Inc. (SYAI). SYAI is currently listed in the OTC Equities category in the USA. In consideration of swap of shareholding, Bartronics America Inc is now owned by SYAI. Prior to the merger, Bartronics America Inc. underwent a name change to mCloud Inc to reflect its diversification into Mobile and Cloud Computing businesses. As a combined entity, SYAl's business model is further strengthened to focus on select industries and achieve market leadership by creating best in class practices/offerings that help customers achieve their operational and strategic objectives. The transaction is in line with the stated growth strategy and is expected to result in greater efficiencies and increased market share.


Piramal Group in talks to buy US PE firm TPG Capital ™ 20.27% stake in Shriram Transport Fin for Rs 3,500 crore

Mumbai-based billionaire Ajay Piramal's eponymous Piramal Group is in advanced talks to buy US private equity firm TPG Capital's 20.27% stake in India's largest truck financier, Shriram Transport Finance Ltd (STFL), for around Rs3,500 crore, two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations said.

"TPG Capital has already sounded out its partner (Shriram) about Piramal Group being a potential buyer, and it has given its consent," one of the persons told ET, adding that contours of the proposed deal involve TPG selling its entire holding in a block sale to Piramal Healthcare at current market price. "The sale will fetch around Rs3, 500 crore and the block sale will help TPG save on capital gains tax." The second person said negotiations are in advanced stages and a deal is likely to be sealed by January-end or early February. Puneet Bhatia, head of TPG Capital in India, declined comment while the Piramal Group, whose businesses span healthcare to real estate, said in an emailed response: "As a policy, we do not comment on market speculation." Piramal, who is sitting on a mountain of cash since selling his formulations business to America's Abbott Laboratories in 2010 for $3.72 billion, has made no secret of his desire to diversify into financial services. A significant foothold in Shriram, one of India's biggest and most successful finance firms, could help him realize that dream. A successful purchase of a sizeable minority stake in Shriram Transport Finance would rank as the latest instance of an opportunistic acquisition by Piramal.

Other recent acquisitions include the deal for an 11% stake in Vodafone India, the country's second-largest mobile telephony company by subscribers, for about Rs6, 000 crore. In June this year, it bought US-based Decision Resources Group for $635 million. A deal with Piramal would mean a tidy profit for TPG, which bought into Shriram for Rs 486 crore and has been trying since last year to exit it. TPG bought into Shriram in 2006 through affiliate Newbridge Capital, which acquired a 49% stake in unlisted group holding company Shriram Holding Madras Pvt. Ltd. TPG found it difficult to exit the investment initially because of certain non-transferable covenants in the shareholder agreement with Shriram that diminished its allure. But the merger of the holding company with the listed STFL, completed just a few weeks ago, now offers it an exit.

TPG, a global buyout fund with around $54.5 billion of assets, owns 4.6 crore shares, or 20.27% of Shriram Transport, which can be sold either in pieces or in one block. At Friday's closing price of Rs 750.20 a share, these shares command a value of Rs 3,450 crore. STFL, which controls up to a fourth of the pre-owned truck financing business and 7-8% of new truck financing, commands a market value of Rs 17,018 crore. While the Shriram Group declined comment, one official, who requested anonymity, said the group was not averse to the Piramal Group coming in as a minority shareholder, although details about the rights the new minority shareholder would have were yet to be finalized. "The valuation part of the deal is more or less finalized. However, the relationship between the new financial investor and the management is yet to be defined," the official said. Although it may not enjoy the same covenants held by TPG, it is expected that the Piramal Group could be granted some privileges by virtue of its large holding. The senior Shriram official said the group was not keen to give special rights of the sort TPG enjoyed to the buyer. "But, we have not reached that stage," the official added. A former head of another US private equity firm said ideally for Shriram, TPG should have sold its interest to another like-minded financial investor. "Knowing Piramal's interest in financial services, a sale will be like bringing in a Trojan horse," said the person, requesting anonymity.


Mahindra & Mahindra to buy US partner's stakes in truck JVs Utility and tractor manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has decided to buy the stake held by its US-based partner, Navistar International Corporation, in the truck and engine making joint ventures (JV) — Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd (MNAL) and Mahindra Navistar Engines Pvt. Ltd (MNEPL) — for about Rs 175 crore. M&M will acquire the 49 per cent stake held in both the JVs by the Navistar Group and make them wholly-owned subsidiaries. The JV for trucks was formed in 2005, while the JV for engines was formed in 2007. While neither of the companies explained the logic behind such a move, experts said that despite being in the market for over three years, the JVs did not witness the demand expected from them, forcing the US partner to reorganize its resources. The truck JV is yet to generate profits and M&M’s estimates of turning cash break-even this financial year remains bleak, due to the on-going slump in demand for heavy trucks in the domestic market. Following the stake buy, M&M would take complete ownership of operations and continue to sell MNEPL and MNAL products. The sale requires regulatory approvals in India, is subject to conclusion of definitive agreements, and is expected to be completed in early 2013, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement. The deal allows Navistar to continue sourcing components from India, while M&M would keep providing engineering services to Navistar. The US Company would continue to support M&M through a license agreement and extend necessary support to MNAL and MNEPL for the purpose of business continuity. As part of its ‘Drive to Deliver’ turnaround plan launched in August, Navistar has been conducting an analysis of all of its businesses and programmes to determine their return on invested capital (ROIC) and identify areas for improvement. Based on this business environment, Navistar has determined that it needs to redirect its efforts to other initiatives that more quickly contribute to the company’s goal to improve its ROIC,” Navistar said. Until last year, MNAL had seen an investment of Rs 710 crore with M&M projecting a further infusion of Rs 250 crore during 2012-14 for production and distribution expansion. M&M had Rs 750 crore of equity and 50-50 invested by both the partners along with debt as of that date. Troy Clarke, president and CEO of Navistar, said, “While the Indian market has not expanded as we had originally expected, and industry challenges there continue in the near-term, we still see promise in India going forward.”

The Indian truck market is witnessing a renewed thrust by not just traditional players such as Tata Motors, VE Commercial Vehicles and Ashok Leyland, but also by new players such as Daimler (Bharat-Benz) and MAN and Scania. M&M and Navistar planned to be present in each of the commercial vehicle segments ranging from 3.5 to 49 ton. This is not the first time that strategic changes are seen in partnership involving M&M. The company had bought the stake held by Renault in the car making joint venture Mahindra Renault (MRPL). Prior to that, M&M had exited a tripartite joint venture involving Renault and Nissan.


MakeMyTrip acquires Hotel Travel Group for $25 million Nasdaq-listed online travel services firm MakeMyTrip India Pvt. Ltd has acquired the Hotel Travel Group (HT Group) for $25 million. The online travel Web site HT Group has been operating the Web site www.hoteltravel.com for more than a decade in South-East Asia, and its booking platform offers hotel reservation across the world. Speaking on the acquisition, Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO, MakeMyTrip.com, said: “Access to HotelTravel.com’s inventory will help us significantly expand the range of best-value hotel offerings available to Indian customers. The acquisition will help to build a stronger presence in the South-East Asia region.” Of the total deal value of $25 million, $15 million was paid in cash. The balance $10 million will be paid in the form of MMT shares in three annual tranches and will be completed by March 2016, the company said.


Noida based Shiv Nadar University ties up with North Carolina’s Duke Varsity Duke’s expertise at identifying talent at school level to be deployed here

The Shiv Nadar University has tied up with Duke University of North Carolina to collaborate in research, teaching and student and faculty exchange programmes. The alliance envisages bringing in Duke’s expertise up to the school level in identifying talent and upgrading education systems. A press release from Shiv Nadar University based in Noida said the alliance will pave the way for the two institutions to partner in academic programmes and experiential learning opportunities for the faculty and students. They will also work under the aegis of Duke’s Talent Identification Program (TIP) to develop educational activities for students in India. Duke University will assist SNU in institutional development including supporting curricula development; faculty recruitment and development; identifying and implementing best practices in university administration and other forms of institutional development. A core team comprising key people from both universities will support the initiatives and assist in the development and implementation. Established in 1980, Duke’s TIP provides resources for gifted elementary, middle and high school students, their parents, educators, and schools for the development of students’ optimal educational potential. The alliance will provide assistance to the SNU School of Education to help develop curriculum for the programme. Duke TIP’s first collaborative program with SNU will take place this February , when the two organizations will co-host a conference for Indian educators to share best practices to identify, plan curriculum for, and evaluate the learning of gifted students.


LG Balakrishnan unit acquires shares of Michigan based GFM INC LG Balakrishnan & Bros Ltd has said that the Company through its Subsidiary Company "LGB USA INC" situated in the USA has acquired 100 percent of the shares of "GFM INC" located in Detroit Michigan. This Company posted a turnover of USD 15 Million in the previous financial year. The deal consideration was approximately USD 5.5 Million.


Transasia Bio-Medicals buys two US-based firms, Drew Scientific and JAS Diagnostics

Mumbai-based leading IVD Company, Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd. has acquired two more US based companies - Drew Scientific and JAS Diagnostics Inc. from Escalon Medical. This is the fifth acquisition made by Transasia in the year 2012. The acquisition was done through Transasia’s subsidiary, Erba Diagnostics USA. It has acquired the entire business assets including plant and intellectual assets, which will become a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Erba Diagnostics. Transasia Group’s acquisition of Drew marks the entry in the fast growing segment of diabetes management worldwide. It would benefit with the capabilities to offer proprietary liquid chromatography based glycated haemoglobin analyzers and reagents to the laboratories worldwide. Glycated haemoglobin analysis by liquid chromatography is the method of choice in monitoring long term glycemic control in diabetics. JAS Diagnostics Inc. is a manufacturer of clinical chemistry reagents. It supplies chemistry reagents that it has developed through its own indigenous R&D. It offers solutions with excellent stability in different formats of systems packs, liquid reagents and powder reagents. According to sources, diabetes affects an estimated 250 million people worldwide with nearly 60 per cent residing in India and China alone. An estimated 90 million people are affected in China followed by 60 million in India and 25 million people are affected in North America signaling a huge opportunity and the strategic nature of this acquisition. “The acquisition was a natural consequence of its focus on the challenges posed by the vast and fast growing diabetes monitoring segment,” said Suresh Vazirani, chairman and managing director, Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd. “It is also to address the lack of quality solutions and supply options in India specifically and worldwide in the monitoring of long term glycemic control,” he added. Transasia is already a leading player in the field of autoimmune and Infectious diseases testing in North America with proprietary Mago platform and Immuno simplicity range of Immunoassays. With this acquisition, Transasia will also foray in the lucrative physician/doctor’s office segment of clinical chemistry, hematology instruments and reagents in North America. The company has laid out plans to expand its markets for existing range of diabetes management, haematology and clinical chemistry in the rest of the world, leveraging its direct presence in USA, Italy, Eastern Europe, Russian federation, Turkey and its distribution partners in 90 countries worldwide. Transasia plans to offer range of automated solutions in Clinical Chemistry in the North American market. With this strategic acquisition, Transasia, has deftly complimented and combined the innovative and advanced products development capability of Drew with the marketing and distribution expertise of Transasia. Transasia has already started mapping the future developmental goals for newer more advanced analyzers in diabetes, haematology and clinical chemistry with the enhanced developmental and intellectual capital from the current acquisition.


Indo-US Corporate News

Wockhardt receives US FDA nod for epilepsy drug Lamictal Pharma and biotech major Wockhardt has received US FDA nod to launch 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg and 300 mg extended release tablets of Lamotrigine, a drug used in the treatment of epilepsy. This is the generic name for the brand Lamictal XR. The company will be launching the product immediately. The US market for the drug is pegged at $250 million. Wockhardt will manufacture the extended release tablets at its Aurangabad facility. The technology for extended release tablets was developed in-house, the company said.


PE Firm Warburg Pincus looking to sell 29% stake in WNS Global Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is in talks with peers such as Carlyle, KKR and Barings India to sell its 29% stake in software outsourcing firm WNS Global, two people with direct knowledge of the development said. "The private equity funds have recently started the formal due-diligence to put in bids by the first week of February," said one of the two persons quoted above. "Warburg Pincus, the largest shareholder in WNS, is seeking a 50% premium to the current market value," said the other. The New York Stock Exchange-listed WNS commands a market value of $525 million (Rs 2,887.5 crore) and a 50% premium will bolster its value to $787.5 million (Rs 4,331 crore). At this value, the buyer will have to pay Rs 1,256 crore to purchase Warburg's stake. "WNS is relatively inexpensive compared to market leader Genpact, but I expect the buyer to pay a premium to get control," says Martin Wolf, founder and president of American mid-market M&A advisory firm focused on the outsourcing sector. "I feel the activity in BPO will heat up in 2013 for a multiplicity of reasons," he added. While Carlyle and KKR declined to comment, Barings Asia did not respond to an email questionnaire. "WNS did not want to comment on speculation relating to individual shareholders," group chief executive Keshav Murugesh said. "The firm is bound by internal operational policies, which does not allow discussion of deal-related investment activities," Warburg Pincus said in an emailed response. "Warburg Pincus is unable to share any views regarding your queries," the response mail added. Warburg, which purchased 64.7% stake for $40 million in 2002, had been trying to sell its stake from 2007, but developed cold feet as it failed to fetch desired value. Later, it raised money from the NYSE twice, with PE fund paring down its stake to 29%. A successful deal will accelerate the pace of consolidation in the BPO industry with volumes touching over Rs 7,000 crore in the past one year. PE fund Bain Capital paid $1 billion to purchase a 30% stake in Genpact and RPG Group, owned by Sanjiv Goenka, purchased controlling stake in Firstsource Solutions. M&A activity in the BPO sector, with 41 deals, stands at around $2,919.29 million since 2008. Of this, a major share in terms of value was reported in 2012, according to Venture Intelligence, a company that tracks private equity investments.

Warburg may find it tough to fetch a better value as WNS has ceded its ground to its rivals in the past few years. It is now ranked seventh below India's largest software service exporter Tata Consultancy Services and Aegis, owned by the Essar Group. "Unless WNS is able to demonstrate it has won incremental business and added new clients, it will be hard for Warburg to find a buyer for its stake," says an expert. "Overall, BPO providers have demonstrated very good execution skills but they have been unable to move up the value chain," he added, requesting anonymity as he is authorized to discuss company specific issues with the media. WNS, which started as a captive BPO for British Airways in 1996 in Mumbai with less than 300 employees, began working for other clients after Warburg Pincus purchased a majority stake in 2002. It now employs 25,000 executives.


Allstate to open tech centre in Bangalore Allstate Corp, the second largest insurer in United States will inaugurate its first technology and operations center in Bangalore. With the opening of its India tech center, Allstate will join the league of the world's largest corporations such as GE, Microsoft, Volvo and Barclays who have technology and R&D centers based here. Allstate is already served from India through its vendors such as Infosys, Syntel and Wipro. "The center will be an integral part of Allstate's value chain providing an extended technology infrastructure, supporting a 24x7 operational work-flow and enhancing the technology and innovation capabilities," said Chetan Garga, Managing Director of Allstate Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (ASPL) in India. "It will be a largely technology services center serving in the areas of business intelligence, analytics, testing and mobility," said Garga. The India Technology Centre for Allstate will complement similar capabilities the Illinois based insurer has in the US and Northern Ireland. The India technology center will accommodate about 547 employees. With annual sales of about $34 billion, Allstate serves about 16 million households in the US. The India Technology Centre may also take up some business process services in future, but that's not the primary goal, said Garga. India has become the hub of technology back-end of world's largest corporations. This year Unilever announced a new tech center in India, while other firms such as GE, Honeywell and Shell said they will expand their R&D and technology capabilities in India.


Visa Steel ropes in SunCoke Energy for coke venture Visa Steel has entered into an agreement with SunCoke Energy Inc., one of the largest independent producers of metallurgical coal across North and South America, to form a coke making venture in India. As part of the agreement, Visa Steel's coke making operations will be hived off into Visa Coke, a special purpose vehicle in which SunCoke Energy will pick up 49% stake at an investment of $67 million (or Rs 368 crore), while Visa Steel will hold the remaining 51% stake. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, subject to approval from Visa's shareholders. The deal marks the first major foreign investment in the domestic coke making industry and it will offer SunCoke Energy a strong foothold in India's fast growing market. Commenting on the deal, Vishal Agarwal, managing director, Visa Steel said: "This is the first major investment by a foreign coke company in India. SunCoke has been looking for a partner to get into the domestic coke making sector. We too were looking for a partner in our existing coke making business."

To start with, the joint venture will comprise Visa's existing four lakh tonne per annum heat recovery coke plant and associated steam generation units at Kalinganagar in Odisha. "The jv will also tap into the opportunity to set up coke plants for steel plants on a build own operate and transfer (BOOT) basis across the country. For instance, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has recently invited tenders for setting up coke plants at Bhilai and Bokaro. Similarly other steel companies too are looking at building coke plants on BBOT basis. From a starting point of 4 lakh ton, we plan to grow the business in the next 3-5 years," Mr. Agarwal said. Speaking about the agreement, Fritz Henderson, chairman and chief executive officer, SunCoke Energy said: "We are pleased to partner Visa Steel to expand our international footprint and establish a coke making presence in India." Vishambhar Saran, chairman of Visa Steel said: "The demand for coke from large and medium size steel producers have been increasing substantially and there is a potential to grow the coke business on a standalone basis."


MindTree opens development centre in Florida As part of its efforts to reach out to clients in the US, IT solutions company MindTree Ltd opened a delivery center in Gainesville, Florida. It is the first delivery center outside India for MindTree. The company said that it would create 400 new jobs over the next five years and a $2.925 million investment has been planned, of which more than $1.6 million had been invested in the project. It had also hired 47 people since the Florida Governor Rick Scott announced the project in March. MindTree said that its new US delivery center was the first outside India for it and was “part of the company’s strategy” to expand IT and software services to its US clients. It said that Gainesville was chosen over places in Alabama and South Carolina with many local organizations joining to impress on MindTree as how the location “fits Mindtree’s culture”. Governor Rick Scott and MindTree’s co-founders Krishnakumar Natarajan and Scott Staples, among others, were present at the ribbon cutting ceremony of Mindtree Delivery Centre on November 13, MindTree said in a communication to the stock exchanges.


GVK Bio, Onconova to develop new cancer drugs GVK Bio, a contract research and development organization and Onconova Therapeutics, a US-based biopharmaceutical company, have entered into a partnership to develop new drugs for cancer. The joint partnership will be based in the US. It will align research priorities and technological expertise from both companies to facilitate moving certain Onconova’s oncology assets from early discovery to clinical development stage. E. Premkumar Reddy, the Founder and Director of Onconova, will oversee the biology and biomarker aspects. Onconova will provide two discovery targets with early chemical equity, while GVK Bio will use its multi-disciplinary discovery platform to advance these programmes. As per the terms of partnership, GVK Bio will gain an increasing share of the programmes as they advance, up to a 50/50 split based on achievement of milestones/funding. Onconova retains the rights to buy back the programmes.


Dell looks to tap opportunities in healthcare business Dell is preparing to tap opportunities in the healthcare sector in India even as the country's IT service providers are on

the lookout for opportunities from healthcare reforms in the US. Multinational IT firm Dell, which recently roped in Indian IT veteran Suresh Vaswani to head its services business, is preparing to tap opportunities in the healthcare sector in the country even as Indian IT service providers are on the lookout for opportunities from healthcare reforms in the US. Dell, which gets most of its services revenue from the healthcare industry, wants to open its innings in India by going after the mid-market segment, which consists of firms employing up to 5,000 people, said Sid Nair, global head, healthcare and life sciences, Dell Services.

"India and China have the biggest population but the lowest healthcare penetration," said Nair, explaining why Dell has chosen healthcare as a focus area. In the Asia-Pacific region, India is the largest market for Dell after China. "We are not going to China first because of the language barrier. Plus, India has software talent." On the flip side, of the total $10 billion that Gartner estimates India spends on IT services, the healthcare industry has one of the lowest spends. "There are no large systems integration deals in healthcare in India," admits Nair, which is why he says Dell plans to use a cloud-based model to tap the healthcare segment in India. Under the cloud-based model, Dell will offer a prepackaged stack of solutions on the cloud, which hospitals and healthcare providers can tap into. For financial services and retail and manufacturing industry verticals, Dell is offering a similar stack of applications on the cloud. It has, for instance, tied up with Ramco Systems, for offering enterprise software on the cloud. What this means is that instead of buying the hardware and software licenses, companies can opt for a prepackaged stack of applications on a pay-as-you-use model. "In healthcare, this is a delivery model we only want to take to India and China because in markets like US, there is already an existing installed base and large systems integration deals," he adds.


Microsoft to set up 100 innovation centres in India within 2 years Microsoft Corporation (India) has announced the launch of 14 Microsoft Innovation Centres (MICs) in India, signing MoUs with leading academic institutions across four states. As part of the worldwide programme, that currently has 75 MICs, Microsoft aims to launch a total of 100 MICs in India in the next two years. These MICs will impact over 500,000 students, certifying 100,000 students on Microsoft technologies. The programme will also drive innovation and help build a product-based software economy by supporting product development, and over 500 start-ups. The MICs will act as innovation hubs at select colleges and technology institutes, providing incubation and expert hands-on support on Microsoft technology innovation, research, and software solutions, aiming to create a pool of student technology experts across India. Each MIC will function as a hub for five other neighboring colleges and will operate in a hub-spoke model driving employability, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the academic ecosystem around it. The 14 cities that will host the first MICs, opening this week will be Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Khammam, Bapatla, Guntur and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Trichy, Vellore, Coimbatore, Madurai and Salem in Tamil Nadu. Joseph Landes, General Manager, DPE, Microsoft India said in a release: "The Microsoft Innovation Centers are designed to offer a unique environment conducive for student entrepreneurship." The MIC programme will act as the key driver of Microsoft's vision for developing new talent in India at the student level. Budding developers will be encouraged to innovate across key priority technology focus areas that are driving growth and change for the economy, namely: Mobility (Windows Phone), Cloud (Windows Azure), Kinect, Accessibility, Healthcare and a wider ambit for solving problems with an India focus. The MIC announcement comes days after the India launch of Microsoft's new global philanthropy initiative, Youth Spark - aimed at addressing the opportunity divide faced by the young people of the world.


Panacea Biotec inks pact with New-Jersey based Kremers Urban & launches tacrolimus capsules in US

Panacea Biotec, India's second largest vaccine producer, has entered into a strategic alliance with Kremers Urban Inc. (part of UCB Group) for 11 high barrier to entry generics, whose market size in US at the innovator level is around US$ 4 billion. The first product in this portfolio to reach the market is Tacrolimus Capsules that is being launched in US in November 2012. Panacea Biotec was granted approval of the product from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2012. Tacrolimus is used along with other medications to prevent rejection (attack of a transplanted organ by the immune system of a person receiving the organ) in people who have received organ transplants. Tacrolimus is in a class of medications called immunosupressants. It works by decreasing the activity of the immune system to prevent it from attacking the transplanted organ. The total market size of Tacrolimus is approximately $892 million in US. Currently there are five generic players in US; namely Sandoz, Dr Reddy's, Mylan, Watson and Accord Healthcare. The innovator brand Prograf accounts for approximately 43 per cent of Tacrolimus sales in terms of units sold and generics account for the remaining 57 per cent. Commenting on the development, Dr Rajesh Jain, joint managing director, Panacea Biotec said, “Panacea Biotec's proven track record in building strong, collaborative working relationship is a key driver for this strategic alliance with Kremers Urban that will accelerate the company's growth plans in the US. Approval of Tacrolimus from US-FDA is the first milestone achieved in Panacea Biotec's long term plan for USA; the largest pharmaceutical market in the world. This would be followed by a series of high barrier to entry generic product launches that are being developed by the company. The commercialization strength of Kremers Urban for high barrier to entry generics perfectly synergizes with Panacea Biotec's research, development and manufacturing capabilities for such complex products forming a true win-win strategic alliance.” Under the terms of the agreement Panacea Biotec would be responsible for research, development, registration and commercial supplies of the products while Kremers Urban would be responsible for marketing, sales and distribution. The business collaboration is based on long term profit sharing by both companies. Submission of the first Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) within this basket of 10 additional products was done in September 2012. The remaining 9 ANDAs would be submitted with USFDA over the next 16 months' time period. Panacea Biotec is a research-based health management company. The product portfolio of the company includes products in important therapeutic areas such as pain management, diabetes management, renal-disease management, anti-osteoporosis, anti-tubercular, gastro-intestinal care products and vaccines.


PepsiCo to double potato procurement in India in 5 years PepsiCo said it is looking to double procurement of potato in India annually over the next five years from the current 2.4 lakh tonnes, a day after BJP leader Sushma Swaraj stated that the food and beverages major rejected local produce in Punjab. "We work with around 24,000 farmers right now and last year we procured about 2.4 lakh tons of potatoes through contract farming and the programme continue to expand. I think, over the next five years, this figure should double," PepsiCo India Executive Director Vivek Bharati told the media. The company is at present engaged in contract farming in seven states, including West Bangal, Punjab and Karnataka. During the debate on FDI in retail in Parliament yesterday, Swaraj had said that the most likely scenario would be that retail chains would not buy products from small and medium farmers at all and supported her contention by giving the example of PepsiCo in Punjab that rejected locally produced potatoes and tomatoes as being below standards.

Asked for his comments on FDI in retail, PepsiCo India Chairman Manu Anand said: "FDI is being debated in the Parliament, we do not want to get into this debate. As far as our sector is concerned, it is 100 per cent FDI (sector). Well, the more the points of sale, the better it is always for the industry." Talking about its various initiatives for local people, he said the company has launched a community partnership initiative here, which will help conserve 400 million litres of water every year and help 7,500 people. The beverages plant here is the company's biggest unit in India. "We have improved the water efficiency at our Sangareddy plant from 2.65 litres of water per litre of finished beverage in 2007 to 1.88 litres in 2011, thereby saving 564 million litres of water," he said, adding the company has invested Rs 500 crore on this plant since 2006. Under the project, the company encourages people in rain water harvesting and to form self-help groups.


Power2sme raises funding from Kalaari Capital New funds to be used for scaling presence across newer geographies

Kalaari Capital, formerly Indo-US Venture Partners, has invested an undisclosed amount in Power2sme, to fund the company’s rapid expansion plans in the Indian market. Kalaari Capital has joined hands with the company’s existing investor Inventus Capital Partners in extending the Series A fund raising. The new funds will be used for scaling up presence across newer geographies including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh. The company also intends to hire talent and also to increase the company’s brand visibility, the company said. Vani Kola MD of Kalaari Capital will join the board of the company following this investment. “Power2sme is one of India's fastest growing businesses in the B2B space. The high satisfaction level of SMEs as well as suppliers is testimony to the excellent service that the company provides SMEs and also the value seen by the suppliers. We see immense potential in their business model and are highly confident of the capability of the team to execute it well,” Vani Kola, MD, Kalaari Capital said. The company started its operation in January 2012, provides a platform to obtain the best pricing for SMEs procurement needs, door-step delivery and online tracking of orders. Presently, Power2sme focus on industries such as construction, manufacturing, precision engineering, automotive OEM. With this funding the company plans to expand its services to various other sectors. Kalaari is a $160 million venture capital fund investing in early-stage, technology-oriented companies in the country. R Narayan, Founder & CEO, Power2sme said, “We plan to use these funds to further scale our operations, focus on newer products and increase our reach in the Indian market. We are strong believers in the potential of India’s SME market, and the funding will be used to build a strong foundation to cater to SMEs across multiple sectors and geographies.”


Dr Reddy’s launches Finasteride tablets in US Pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd has launched Finasteride tablets, a bioequivalent generic version of Propecia (Finasteride) tablets in the US market. The tablets are used for treating male pattern hair loss. Dr. Reddy’s Abbreivated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Finasteride has been awarded a 180-day period of marketing exclusivity in the US. The Propecia tablets brand had US sales of approximately $136 million for the most recent 12 months ended in October 2012, according to IMS Health


Allstate to open tech center in Bangalore Allstate Corp, the second largest insurer in United States will inaugurate its first technology and operations center in Bangalore. With the opening of its India tech center, Allstate will join the league of the world's largest corporations such as GE, Microsoft, Volvo and Barclays who have technology and R&D centers based here. Allstate is already served from India through its vendors such as Infosys, Syntel and Wipro. "The center will be an integral part of Allstate's value chain providing an extended technology infrastructure, supporting a 24x7 operational work-flow and enhancing the technology and innovation capabilities," said Chetan Garga, Managing Director of Allstate Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (ASPL) in India. "It will be a largely technology services center serving in the areas of business intelligence, analytics, testing and mobility," said Garga. The India Technology Centre for Allstate will complement similar capabilities the Illinois based insurer has in the US and Northern Ireland. The India technology center will accommodate about 547 employees. With annual sales of about $34 billion, Allstate serves about 16 million households in the US. The India Technology Centre may also take up some business process services in future, but that's not the primary goal, said Garga. India has become the hub of technology back-end of world's largest corporations. This year Unilever announced a new tech center in India, while other firms such as GE, Honeywell and Shell said they will expand their R&D and technology capabilities in India.


Wal-Mart chief Mike Duke confident of setting up India business

Mike Duke, President & CEO, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Amid fierce opposition to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and the Indian government agreeing to an inquiry into lobbying by Wal-Mart, the global retail giant says it's confident of setting up shop in the country. Mike Duke, President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., believes the hurdles in India will eventually get ironed out. "I still believe that in India things will get worked out. I am confident that is a country that has such an opportunity to help both the farmers, the consumers all the way up to the supply chain. I have travelled in India. I feel for the people of India. India is missing on the opportunity because of inefficiency of the supply chain. I believe that over time, the process will get worked out in India and we can help people in India live a better life," Mr. Duke said. Wal-Mart is one of the world's most successful and also one of its most controversial companies. Its model of global-sourcing at a very large scale helps ensure that prices are low for customers. Wal-Mart says this allows them to give people a better life. But the retail giant also has many critics. Labor unions, environmental activists and community groups have been protesting against its policies, business practices and foreign product sourcing methods. Wal-Mart even faces charges of racial and gender discrimination.

Wal-Mart denies doing anything wrong and maintains that low prices are the result of efficiency. In November, in another setback, the multinational retailer revealed it had ordered an internal probe into potential violations of anti-corruption law in Brazil, China and India. "We will take appropriate action on the conclusion of this investigation, but rest assured we are not waiting for the outcome. We are using every opportunity to improve. This will make Wal-Mart an even better company. We look at markets around the world and have included a new office of compliance. This focus will make us a better company," Mr. Duke said. So why did Wal-Mart volunteer to probe corruption charges in countries like India and China? Most large US corporations have established internal procedures for investigating corruption. Given the strict US laws, and the potential reputational damage, US companies often alert the government when they find evidence of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or FPCA, investigate these violations and settle with the government. Sometimes, looking at the large scale of expansion and potential for growth in emerging markets, it may make sense to large corporations to pay whatever fines and legal costs may be imposed while continuing to pay bribes in countries where corruption is rampant as it may be the only way to get anything done. Roland Riopelle, co-founder of law firm Sercarz & Riopelle, LLP, described as "very significant" Wal-Mart's decision to make public its corruption probe in India. "To perform an investigation is enormously expensive. If they are announcing the investigation before they know the results, it is a clear indication they are expecting to find some sort of wrongdoing in India," Mr Riopelle said. At a protest outside the venue where the Wal-Mart chief was speaking, the atmosphere was all charged up. One protester said he was not surprised at all by the charges of corruption against the retail giant in countries like India and China. "Wal-Mart always puts profit over everything else. Recently we had a fire in a Bangladesh factory. Wal-Mart did not support improving security for workers because it would mean more costs for them. So I am not surprised they would be bribing to see growth in developing countries," the protester said. Asked what message the protesters were trying to send out, he said: "Mike Duke has the audacity to come to New York and speak on women's economic empowerment while his corporation in countries across the world pays minimal wages to workers, a majority of whom are workers. So it's really audacious of him to come here and speak."


Generic drug product application to cost Rs 30 lakh in US The companies would also have to pay about Rs 12 lakh for filing of Drug Master File (DMF) with the FDA

Indian generic drug exporters to US will have to pay about Rs 30 lakh (about $54,700) each as fee for every new product application they file with the US health regulator as per an amended law in that country, Parliament was informed today. This is as per the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012 (GDUFA) of the US government, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry D. Purandeswari said in a written reply. She said any company interested in supplying generic drugs with effect from October 1, 2012 have to pay the prescribed fee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for registering their products in the US. "There will be financial impact on generic drug exports to USA as the exporters are now required to pay about Rs 30 lakh for registration of each abbreviated new drug application (ANDA)," Purandeswari said. The companies would also have to pay about Rs 12 lakh for filing of Drug Master File (DMF) with the FDA, she added.

India currently supplies nearly 20% of the generic medicines in global market. According to Department of Pharmaceuticals, the Indian pharma sector is expected to grow from its current level of Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 5 lakh crore by 2020. In 2010, the Indian pharma export business reached $10.3 billion and grew to touch a level of $13.3 billion in 2011. It is targeted to touch $25 billion by 2015.


McDonald's seeks higher royalty from India arm Hardcastle Restaurants to pay royalty of 8% of net sales by 2020, against the current 3%

McDonald’s Corporation, the US-based fast-food multinational company, has signed an agreement with its Indian franchisee Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited (HRPL) under which the latter would pay royalty of eight per cent of net sales by 2020, against the current three per cent. This would be one of the highest royalties paid by an Indian company to its parent abroad. Recently, HRPL had become a direct subsidiary of the BSE-listed WestLife Development, an investment company of the Mumbai-based Jatia family. HRPL had signed the royalty agreement with McDonald’s before it became West Life’s direct subsidiary. According to the agreement, for 20 years up to 2030, HRPL would operate as a development licensee (franchisee). The license can be extended by another 10 years. Apart from lending its marquee brand name, McDonald’s would also help train HRPL staff, according to the agreement. An email sent to HRPL did not elicit any response. Higher royalty payouts have become a bone of contention between promoters of companies and pro-investor groups. Many shareholder activist organizations have raised questions on increased royalty payments to parent companies. They have sought this be cleared in the annual general meeting of shareholders, with 75 per cent voting for the resolution. Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of Ingovern Research Services, says the royalty should not hurt minority shareholders’ interests and the management should give the rationale for any increase in royalty payments. “It is important to know whether the expenditure on research and development is increasing in line with the increase in royalty payout and whether the technology for which the royalty being paid is proprietary in nature,” he said. McDonald’s expects to reap a bonanza from its Indian operation, as the sales and profits of its Indian franchise are rising at a scorching pace. For the last financial year, HRPL’s profit after tax rose 126 per cent to Rs 42 crore, while revenue increased 44 per cent to Rs 544 crore. Its same-store sales rose 23 per cent in FY12, as the company opened 24 stores across west and south India. For FY12, it paid a royalty fee of Rs 11.5 crore, against none in the previous financial year. Two years ago, HRPL had bought back McDonald’s Corporation’s 50 per cent stake in the company and restructured its operations. The Jatias hold 86 per cent stake in WestLife. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines, the promoters would have to reduce their stake to 75 per cent by June. McDonald’s’ joint venture with Vikram Bakshi’s Connaught Plaza Restaurants for operations in north and east India continues to run in the same manner. On May 5, 2010, the government had amended the Foreign Exchange Management Rules, 2000, which did away with the need for the commerce ministry to approve royalty payments to technical collaborators (parent companies) exceeding five per cent of domestic sales and eight per cent of export sales. On May 13, 2010, the Reserve Bank of India had issued a notification permitting banks to release foreign exchange for such royalty payments. Thus, all regulatory requirements capping royalty payments to foreign collaborators were done away with. Since then, a number of multinational companies have increased royalty benefits from Indian subsidiaries. However, in the recent ACC-Ambuja Cements case, its independent directors had raised objections to higher royalty payouts to its parent Holcim. The payout was later cut from two per cent of sales to one per cent.


PepsiCo consolidates all its company-owned bottling plants under two market units

Beverage and snacks maker PepsiCo has consolidated all its company-owned bottling plants under two market units to eliminate layers in organizational hierarchy and enable quick decision making to push growth in a tepid economic environment. PepsiCo beverages CEO Gautham Mukkavilli told ET the consolidation, effective from this month, is being done to improve operating efficiencies. "We expect the restructuring to help in faster alignment of resources in terms of sales and distribution, quicker decision making, and better geographic alignment of commercial strategies," he said. The maker of Pepsi cola, Nimbooz lemon drink and Tropicana juices has also reconfigured its market units-as the bottling arms are called internally-from three to two now. The north and east units have been clubbed together under what is now called the himalayan market unit, while the west and south divisions have been brought together under the peninsular market unit. Satyavrat Pendharkar, a PepsiCo veteran, will head the Himalayan unit, while Samudra Bhattacharya, another old hand at the company's bottling business, will take care of the peninsular unit, the company said. Sanjay Mishra, who was heading the western division, has moved to a sales role within the firm's Asia, Middle East and Africa sector. Arghya Chakravarty, who was heading the southern division, has now become sales director for beverages. A person familiar with the development said the company has empowered the two market unit heads to make independent calls to respond fast to market dynamics and consumer demand. "For example, assuming that rival Coca-Cola decides to flood a particular market with specific promotions or discounting, then the PepsiCo market unit head will have the authority to make independent calls on how best to counter the competitor," the person said. PepsiCo has so far invested more than $1 billion (approx 5,500 crore) in India and in all, has 38 beverage bottling plants besides three plants for making snacks. Of these, close to 24 beverage plants are franchisee-owned, and the remaining 14 are company-owned. Independent bottling entrepreneur Ravi Jaipuria and his brothers CK and SK Jaipuria control half of PepsiCo's bottling business in terms of volumes, and have a significantly higher number of plants compared to the company. India is perhaps the only country where PepsiCo's bottling and franchise operations are split almost evenly. In rapidly growing markets like China, for example, PepsiCo's bottling is entirely held by franchise bottlers. There has been speculation that PepsiCo may hand over an increasing number of bottling operations to the Jaipurias, but Mukkavilli denied it. "As of now, there is no such move being considered to review our franchisee and company-owned bottling arrangements," he said. Ravi Jaipuria's RJ Corp acquired PepsiCo's West Bengal operations three years back-the first time a company plant had been acquired by a bottler. And the previous year, it had taken a controlling stake in PepsiCo's Guwahati-based franchisee bottler North East Pure Drinks.


Ranbaxy Launches Absorica Capsules in US Market Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. said its wholly-owned subsidiary Ranbaxy Laboratories, Inc. announced the sales and promotion launch of Absorica (Isotretinoin) capsules, a product that is licensed from Mississauga, Ontario-based Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. Absorica is indicated for the treatment of severe recalcitrant nodular acne in patients 12 years of age and older. Due to its high lipophilicity, oral absorption of isotretinoin is enhanced when given with a high-fat meal. However, Absorica, which is formulated using patented Lidose technology, can be given without regards to meals. The fasted AUCo-t of Absorica is around 83 percent greater than that of Accutane, while both products are bio-equivalent under fed

conditions. Absorica is, therefore, not interchangeable and not substitutable with generic products of Accutane. Absorica, NDA, was approved based on a large pivotal clinical trial enrolling 925 patients, the company said. Ranbaxy Laboratories Inc. Senior Director Ashish Anvekar said, "We are most pleased to make Absorica available as a valuable option for dermatologists and a subset of patients who suffer from severe recalcitrant nodular acne. Absorica will be the flagship brand of the Ranbaxy dermatology product portfolio in the US."


Dell opens recycling collection centers to dispose electronics The collection points will be spread across 13 Indian cities. PC maker Dell today said it has launched 16 electronics recycling collection points for consumers across 13 cities in the country. These collection points will be located at the existing Dell Carry-In Service (CIS) centers to encourage the responsible disposal and recycling of any brand, through a Dell-approved environmental partner. Dell’s electronics recycling collection points will be spread across 13 Indian cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Noida, with two collection points each in Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata. Each center will house collection bins that consumers can use to drop-off their non-working electronics. The electronics recycling collection points are an extension of Dell’s global free recycling programme that aims to provide free and easy recycling for consumers, keep environmentally sensitive materials out of landfills, enable materials to be recycled or reused, and help conserve natural resources. A Prem Ananth, Take Back Compliance Manager, Dell India said, “Dell has been working towards providing multiple hassle-free options for disposing electronics responsibly and keeping them out of landfills. Our newest recycling locations will now provide even more free and convenient options for consumers to recycle any brand of computer or associated peripheral device.”


Aurobindo gets final nod from US FDA for anti-HIV drug Abacavir is indicated as part of anti-retroviral combination therapy for treatment of HIV-infected adults and children. Aurobindo Pharma Limited, a city-based manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to manufacture and market the earlier tentatively-approved Abacavir tablets in 300 mg strength. The product, which has been approved out of Aurobindo’s Unit-III formulations facility in Hyderabad, is ready for launch, the company said. The generic equivalent of ViiV Healthcare Company’s Ziagen tablets, Abacavir is indicated as part of anti-retroviral combination therapy for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults and children. The annual sale of the product is approximately $88 million. Aurobindo now has a total of 167 ANDA (abbreviated new drug application) approvals, including 141 final approvals (including 2 from Aurolife Pharma LLC), and 26 tentative approvals from the US FDA.


Special Report Our 2013 profitability growth will be at double the revenue growth rate: says the

President & CEO, GE India, John L Flannery

Mr. John L Flannery, President & Chief Executive Officer, GE India

‘Have faith in India’ is the pitch GE India President & Chief Executive John L Flannery plans to make at the Global Leadership Meeting of top 500 GE executives at Boca, Florida, in the first week of January. He tells Mr. Sudipto Dey, Senior Assistant Editor, Outlook Business, that 2012 has been the most difficult year since his appointment as India head in 2009. He also explains why his faith in the country still remains intact. Edited excerpts: The period since you took charge of India operations coincides with your company’s re-structuring and localization of India operations. How different is GE India in 2012 from 2009? Very different, though we changed the structure more than the strategy. We always wanted to be a big infra player in India – in sectors such as energy, healthcare, education, locomotives, etc. In 2009, we had a big technology presence in Bangalore in the form of a global research platform. We were in the process of winding down our Genpact legacy. The commercial part was essentially the sales arm of global businesses. We were importing products from the US and there were sales teams on the ground here. We were more of a back-office capability in BPO, technology and sales offices. But we were not growing; in fact, shrinking a little. Then, we changed the structure to P&L, and the management wanted to experiment and see if a management team on ground would find more traction. Given GE’s pedigree, why do you think that happened? It was a focus issue. India at that time would have been 1-2 per cent of global P&L (of each vertical). The shares of the US, Europe and China were much bigger. When we put in place a (country-specific) P&L structure, India suddenly became a very important geography. We have done better in three years after the change than three years before it. The average orders are 50 per cent higher. As part of organization change, the single largest thing we want to do is localizing the company. In all our businesses, we are out to build local capability in four basic aspects – product line, manufacturing and supply chain, the service team and the financing and investment capability. How do you look at 2013 from a top-line and bottom-line perspective? We have good visibility of next year’s revenues. Our business model is: Order this year, revenue the next. We expect strong double-digit growth at the top line and even stronger at bottom line. Our profitability growth should be at double the revenue growth rate.

Special Report

How close are you to the targets set when you took charge in India? Financially, we are very close, except perhaps the gas turbine business in 2012. The rest have grown sharply in last three years — some better than expected. We are financially in good shape. The capability of the company locally is ahead of expectation. In India, 2012 has been the most challenging but also the most satisfying year for me. It has been challenging on the government front, very challenging for gas turbine industry, the rupee depreciated a lot that affected our imports. How successful has been the localization drive in India? With the change from a sales outpost to a fully-fledged business, now focus and intensity matters a lot. You start to seep in every aspect of the business, starting with the customer, whom you used to meet only twice a year, but see almost every day now. Understanding the customer, feeling what they are feeling, seeing what competitors are doing, you end up having a richer sense of the marketplace. For instance, if you look at the health care business, we are designing lot of products specifically for India. This includes their price points, user interface, ability to operate in an environment of Tier-II and -III hospitals with irregular power supply. In the health care and energy business, we have made a lot of progress in localizing the products. The wind turbine business was essentially non-existent three years ago. Now, we have a manufacturing ecosystem, 85 per cent of which is totally localized. That business has generated hundreds of million dollars of orders non-existent three years ago. We have announced a multi-model One GE facility at Pune, set to get operational by 2013-end, with an investment of $200 over several years. While we use the facility for India business, we would also use it to export products and components. We are looking at wind energy related products; valves, control systems, and some aircraft engine component part that we would export for global assembly. We would like to make locomotive engines there. Over five years, the facility should support 2,000 people. How would the manufacturing facility impact sourcing for India and the global businesses? The fully-loaded cost of this factory in terms of per hour of operations would be competitive with any factory we have anywhere in the world, for instance, China or Vietnam. So, the Indian manufacturing story is far more robust than what many believe. The manufacturing supply chain around the Pune facility is sourcing products like blades not only for India business but also helping them qualify as global suppliers. Interestingly, we have reduced the number of suppliers from 450 to 300, but tripled the amount of purchasing. We are raising the bar in terms of expectations from them and the financial stability and quality systems they need to have. So, it is a big investment of our time and money in building the supply chain. What has been the impact of the localization drive on head count in India? Over the last three years, we have doubled our sales team (around 2,000 now). So, we have more tier-II and -III distribution across all businesses and more service and support people. Three years ago, 40 per cent of people servicing the energy business were from India, the rest flew in from the US and Europe. Now around 80-85 per cent is local. The commercial side of business has seen massive increase in headcount in the last three years. You have started taking an equity position in many customer businesses? Investment is the fourth pillar of our localization drive. So, we have invested in many of our customers in the health care business by lending or leasing money for equipment purchases, or investing in some customers to help them grow business. There is an explosion of companies getting into cardiac, oncology, dental and ophthalmology services. Most of these service providers are small and medium sized companies, and need equity help to expand and buy equipment. We have done half-a-dozen equity deals in the last couple of years. A typical deal size would be anywhere between $10 and 50 million, and in the aggregate we spent around $150-200 million. Now, we have a lot more focus on the customer with a local mindset.

How has contribution of the various verticals to the top line changed between 2009 and now? We don’t give out actual numbers, but as I said earlier, the order level is 50 per cent higher than the pre-2009 level. Most notable part about that is our largest business was selling gas turbine for 2010 and 2011 till the last 18 months when the industry hit a wall due to the lack of natural gas in the country. So, in a pie chart for top line contribution in 2012 versus 2009, the share of health care and aviation would be up, energy slightly up (with renewable side of the business doing better than gas turbine business), oil & gas is small but growing, while the financial services side is down. We see some good opportunity in oil and gas going forward, as GE has made some acquisitions in that space globally. Interview Courtesy: Mr. Sudipto Dey, Senior Assistant Editor, Outlook Business / Business Standard.


In the News:

Growing recognition of Indo-US trade relations: Powell

Ms. Nancy Jo Powell, US Ambassador to India.

US Ambassador Nancy J Powell recently said that there was growing recognition of the importance of bilateral trade relations between India and USA. Inaugurating the American Business Corner (ABC) here, Powell said it was the first of its kind in eastern India and would provide the North East region real time information about trade opportunities with the USA. "Many potential opportunities can also be identified through ABC, besides recognition of entrepreneurship and the opportunities existing due to government programmes," she said. "The Northeast will fulfill its full potential and the USA will be delighted to be a partner in it", the ambassador said. ICC North East Region Chairman M K Saharia said the bilateral trade between India and USA had grown from 5.6 billion dollars in the past to 57.8 billion dollars at present and is estimated to increase to 100 billion dollars in future. Entrepreneurs in the north east here had limited progress due to lack of opportunity and knowledge, he said adding ABC would provide opportunity to traders and investors by having with it all the necessary information and putting in touch entrepreneurs of the north east with American companies. ABC is a collaborative effort of the US Commercial Service office and Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Kolkata as part of a MoU for establishing three such corners at ICC offices in Assam, Bihar and Odisha. The ABC is designed to assist the US companies in promoting their brand and generating business leads from emerging metropolitan cities in India. Information on tourism and outbound investment services, as well as invitations to jointly organize networking events are other features of ABC, US Consulate sources said.


Delhi entrepreneur Sharik Currimbhoy pledges $12.12 million to Columbia University

12.12.12 proved to be a good date for New York's Columbia University with Delhi-based alumnus Sharik Currimbhoy pledging a gift of $12.12 million to his alma mater. The 33-year-old Currimbhoy, who is the grandson of the founder of herbal cosmetics empire Shahnaz Husain, chose 12.12.12 to officially announce his gift because he felt it was a lucky date and would also grab the attention of other members of the university alumni. He now hopes that his gift will inspire many of them, especially those from India, to contribute towards their alma mater.

The funds from his gift will span multiple schools at the prestigious university located at Manhattan's Morningside Heights and will go towards creating chairs across various colleges and departments such as the engineering college and business school. "There is a lot of India-focused research being done at Columbia and I hope that the funds from my gift will support more work related to India and other emerging markets," Currimbhoy, who studied economics at Columbia College between 1998 & 2002. He is the vice-president and COO of the Shahnaz Husain Group, founded by his maternal grandmother, but is more hands-on with Element Capital Advisers, an investment company with a focus on private equity and real estate, which he set up in 2009. Having already achieved Rs 2000 core worth of asset transactions with Element Capital, Currimbhoy is now looking at setting up a fund for low income housing, jointly with a London-based PE fund. "I would like my business vision to match my philanthropic activities as much as possible and in making the endowment to Columbia I hope to have highlighted the importance of emerging economics, especially India. I feel that as an entrepreneur, I will be supporting global academic leaders and economists in India-focused research," told Currimbhoy While his family has a long history of philanthropy in India from the 1800s, the gift to Columbia is the first to an international institution. Currimbhoy is currently working with the president of Columbia University, Lee C. Bollinger, to develop details of the programmes that he will support. While the chairs will be named after his great-great-grandfather, Sir Currimbhoy Ebrahim, he is personally contributing the funds. According to university figures from September 2011, Columbia University has 586 Indian students enrolled, constituting 9 per cent of the total international student population. "The grant from Currimbhoy, which is the largest ever from India, will fund research and fellowships with a focus on India and emerging markets. The manner in which it will be employed by various university schools, institutes and programmes are still in development," a senior official from the university told the media. The largest gift to Columbia University from an international source was of $26 million from Hong Kong based business man Z.Y. Fu for the school of engineering and applied science. In 2011, the Arvind Raghuunathan Chair in South Asian studies was endowed to Columbia. The university has a South Asia global centre at Mumbai headed by Dr Nirupam Bajpai.


Pratyush Kumar to head Boeing India

File photo of Mr. Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India. Mr. Kumar will be responsible for leading the development and

implementation of the Boeing India strategy.

US-based Boeing, a leading maker of airplanes, has named Pratyush Kumar as President of Boeing India. Kumar will succeed Dinesh Keskar, who returned to Boeing Commercial Airplanes earlier this year, the company said in a statement.

Kumar, an IIT graduate, was Delhi-based president and CEO of GE Transportation for South Asia. Before joining GE in 2003, Kumar founded a biotech start-up in Boston. He began his career as a McKinsey and Company management consultant in its Atlanta and Delhi offices. “As the company’s senior in-country leader, Kumar known as ‘Prat’ is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Boeing India strategy,” the statement said. He will coordinate business activities, align priorities, expand the Boeing presence and develop, maintain and enhance local relationships and in-country partnerships with India’s business and government stakeholders, it added. President of Boeing International Shep Hill said, “Prat will focus on growing our business and build on Dinesh Keskar’s outstanding accomplishments as president of Boeing India.”


US is largest importer of Indian seafood After a gap of 10 years, the US became the largest importer of Indian seafood items in rupee value terms during the April-September period (H1) of the current financial year (FY13), pushing the European Union (EU) to the second spot. The US’s share in India’s seafood export kitty for H1 stood at 24.40 per cent, followed by the EU at 24.18 per cent, according to the latest data released by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA). However, Indian exports recorded a positive growth in both volume and rupee value terms only to the US. In fact, India suffered a serious setback in marine product exports in all its traditional markets in H1, except the US. While exports to the US recorded a growth of 11.42 per cent in volume and 9.33 per cent in rupee value terms, shipments to the EU dipped 11.27 per cent in volume, and Japan recorded a dip of 14.26 per cent, according to the MPEDA data. Among the most serious drop was shipments to Japan, where exports dipped in all parameters — volume, rupee and dollar value. Exports to China also recorded a setback as shipments dropped 33.09 per cent drop in volume terms. Total exports to China during H1 FY13 stood at 21,488 tons, valued at Rs 435.41 crore against 32,116 tons valued at Rs 486.40 crore during the same period last year. On the quantity front, south East Asia became the biggest importer with 31 per cent of the total volume of exports, followed by Europe with 20 per cent, the US 13 per cent and Japan with 10 per cent. This is mainly due to the bulk export of low-value items, such as mackerel and Red fin broom to the south East Asian market. Detection of ethoxyquin, an anti-oxidant used in shrimp feed above the permitted level had stalled shrimp exports to Japan for weeks together in June and July that caused huge loss to exporters in Odisha and West Bengal. The issue is not settled and India has sought intervention of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in sorting out it. Global economic recession, especially in the Euro zone, is also a major reason for this set back. Implementation of new import regulations and certification systems in markets such as China and Japan has also hurt exports.


US supports India's key role in maintaining regional stability The US has said it supports India's "critical" role as a leader in maintaining regional stability and both have a common interest in promoting global security and the free flow of global trade and commerce. "We have a shared interest in promoting global security, stability, and economic prosperity through trade, investment and connectivity," the State Department said in a background note on India released yesterday. "The United States and India have a common interest in the free flow of global trade and commerce, including through the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean," it said. "The US supports India's critical role as a leader in maintaining regional stability. Security ties are robust and growing with bilateral defense and counter-terrorism cooperation reaching

unprecedented levels," it said. The two countries also look continue to develop their defense partnership through military sales and joint research, co-production and co-development efforts, it added. The State Department said the US-India Strategic Dialogue, launched in 2009, provides opportunities to strengthen collaboration in areas including energy, climate change, trade, education, and counter-terrorism. In 2012 alone, seven Cabinet-level officials made visits to India to deepen bilateral ties. The third annual meeting was held in June 2012. In 2012 alone, seven Cabinet-level officials made visits to India to deepen bilateral ties, it added. Noting that the strength of people to people linkages between the US and India has come to define the indispensable relationship between the two countries, the State Department said the increased cooperation of state and local officials to create ties has enhanced engagement in education. Additionally, state to state and city to city engagements have created new partnerships in business and the private sector and enhance India-US robust government to government engagement, it said. Stating that the US is one of India's largest trade and investment partners, it said US-India bilateral trade in goods and services has increased four and a half times over the last decade, to more than USD 86 billion in 2011. "Bilateral trade between our two countries is up 40 per cent since we began our Strategic Dialogue three years ago. The stock of Indian FDI in the United States has increased from USD227 million in 2002 to almost USD 4.9 billion in 2011, supporting thousands of US jobs," said the State Department. The US and India are negotiating a bilateral investment treaty as a key part of the effort to deepen the economic relationship, improve investor confidence, and support economic growth in both countries, it said. "India continues to move forward, albeit haltingly, with market-oriented economic reforms that began in 1991. Recent reforms have included an increasingly liberal foreign investment regime in many sectors," it said, welcoming the Indian government's move to allow FDI in retail. The United States supports a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member; the State Department said India is an ASEAN dialogue partner, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development partner under its Enhanced Engagement program, and an observer to the Organization of American States. "India is also a member and the current chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC). In November 2012, the United States was admitted as a dialogue partner in the IOR-ARC with India's support," it said.


Indian American hoteliers looking at big investments in India Hoteliers of Indian origin, who independently own over 8000 properties in America valued at around $54 billion, are now keen on investing in various sectors in India including hospitality, healthcare and education. "Hospitality is where our members see the biggest value when making investments in India. For us, it will be very easy to replicate the business model that we have followed successfully in America for so many years. There is a huge requirement of rooms in India and the budget hotel model that we are looking at is different from the ones already there in India. For us budget properties means quality hotels which are safe, secure and clean and the opportunity in India, especially smaller cities, is huge," Alkesh Patel, chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) of America, told ET at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event in Kochi. Patel is president of the family-owned Trupadi Inc. in Washington State, which manages branded, and boutique properties and strip malls. "This is a very good time for Indian origin hoteliers in America to diversify their portfolio and enter the Indian market. In fact, it's also a good time for business persons in India to tap opportunities in the US in the hospitality sector for a good return on investment through partnerships with us," Mr. Patel added. Indian American hoteliers are looking at entering the Indian hospitality market through five-star management deals, new builds and conversions of old properties, both in smaller cities and metros. "Some of our members, such as the Lords Hotels group, have already made significant investments in India over the last couple of years. We are looking at more investments running into millions of dollars in the coming months. We run thousands of properties in America and have also been promoting the larger theme of tourism in India at our hotels to our guests in America," Mr. Patel said.

While many of the AAHOA members, who have their roots in Gujarat, have already started ventures in their home state, they are looking at investment opportunities all across India.


US producers seek more duty on Indian shrimp India’s seafood export industry is facing a serious threat after an American shrimp producers’ organization has filed petitions against subsidizing shrimp exports by seven countries, including India. The Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries (COGSI) filed petitions with the US government, seeking relief from the subsidized shrimp imports from China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The petitions seek imposition of countervailing duties (CVD) on shrimp from these countries. These duties are needed to offset the unfair trade advantage currently held by these countries. If Washington imposes CVD on imports, India’s seafood exports industry will be in deep crisis as the US is the largest importer of Indian seafood in value terms. The exports industry is already hit by a drop in exports to other major markets, such as the European Union, Japan, South-east Asia and China. During April-September, however, the US imported 45, 540 tons valued at Rs 1, 947 crore, registering a growth of 11.42 per cent in value terms. The US is the only country which recorded growth in import during the period.

TROUBLED WATERS

• Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries seeks imposition of countervailing duties on shrimp imports from seven countries including India

• Duties are needed to offset the unfair trade advantage currently held by these countries, the petitioners say

• If Washington imposes CVD on imports, India's seafood exports industry will be in deep crisis as US is the largest importer of Indian seafood

• Earlier in 2005, the US Department of Commerce had imposed 11.17 per cent anti-dumping duty on Indian shrimp, but reduced it to 2.52 per cent last year

Earlier in 2005, the US Department of Commerce had imposed 11.17 per cent anti-dumping duty on Indian shrimp, which had caused a steep fall in exports. This was based on a petition filed by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, a producer’s organization. Over 280 exporters were shipping shrimp out to the US during that period, which had come down 68 in 2009. Thanks to the concerted efforts by the industry and the government of India, Washing-ton was forced to reduce the duty to 2.52 per cent last year, following which Indian shipments rose again. COGSI, in a press statement, said the US shrimp producers struggled hard to compete with “artificially low-priced” imported shrimp that is heavily subsidized by foreign governments. Since 2009, shrimp producers in these seven countries have gained US market share by aggressively undercutting domestic prices, they said. Shrimp is a major export commodity in each of these seven countries, and their governments have set specific growth and export targets for their domestic shrimp industries. To meet these targets, these governments are spending billions of dollars on subsidies, including grants, investments, low-interest loans, tax breaks, provision of land and export credits and guarantees. The petitioners document over 100 programmes benefiting shrimp producers in these countries, including numerous export subsidies. “Today’s filing is about the survival of the entire US shrimp industry,” said C. David Veal, executive director of COGSI. The petitions will be investigated by the US International Trade Commission (USITC) and the Department of Commerce, with final determinations expected in the second half of 2013.

USITC will issue questionnaires to US producers, importers, and foreign exporters next week. Finally, in mid-February ITC will issue its preliminary vote. If it votes in the affirmative, the case will proceed, but if it votes in the negative, the case ends. ITC is composed of six commissioners, and at least four needs to vote in the negative for the case to end. If the case continues, the Department of Commerce will proceed with its investigation through the issuance of questionnaires to the government and largest packers and will conduct verification after issuing a preliminary determination of CVD.


US students to study rural development Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has signed a MoU with Brigham Young University, United States and agreed to permit the students of BYU to undergo rural training to be conducted by the faculty members of BHU. Ralph Bown, director, internal programme, BYU, held a meeting with BHU vice-chancellor Lalji Singh recently. Kalyan Ghadel, associate professor, agricultural sciences, BHU and coordinator of the programme, the students from BYU will stay on BHU campus for three months and undergo training on different aspects of rural art, culture, rural industry and rural development activities in India. The programme will be coordinated with the help of Centre of Integrated Rural Development, faculty of social sciences, BHU. Golden jubilee: Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) is going to observe 2013 a golden jubilee year in commemoration of the 50 years of the inauguration of first WDM-2 rail engine manufactured in 1964. The year-long programme will be inaugurated at DLW on January.


Indian-Americans energizing Green Energy sector Indian-Americans are deeply engaged in founding, co-founding or heading clean energy and other green tech companies at the cutting edge, as per Always On’s Going Green Global 200 list of top companies in green tech. Most of these companies gave detailed presentations at the Going Green annual conference in San Francisco in November 2012. The august list includes veteran Indian-Americans in the field of renewable energy, contributing greatly to the development of the sector. One of the prominent names on the list in the “biotech, bio-fuel and agriculture sector” is Golden Valley, Minnesota-based Segetis, led by chief executive and President Atul Thakrar, former president and chief operating officer at specialty materials start up Soane Energy. Segetis has developed “versatile chemical building blocks” that can harness “renewable agricultural and forestry resources”. In the clean energy segment, which excludes solar and biofuel energy, there was Sunnyvale, California-based Bloom Energy, co-founded by CEO KR Sridhar, former director, Space Technologies Laboratory, at the University of Arizona. In the “energy management, smart grid, and energy efficiency” category, Sunnyvale, California-based Akros Silicon has developed power management ICs that are used for network-based energy management to enable improved efficiencies. Sajol Ghoshal, who is Founder & CTO at the company, was formerly COO at Calpont Corp. and engineering VP at Agere. Seasoned entrepreneur Tushar Dave is yet another case in point. He is CEO and co-founder of Sunnyvale, California-based enLighted, which is another company that provides efficient energy management solutions through sensors and analytics. The list continues, demonstrating the positive impact that entrepreneurial Indian-Americans are making in the renewable energy sector, across the globe.


India is second largest drug exporter to US The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) runs two offices in India to monitor the quality of foods and drugs made in India, the second largest drug exporter and the seventh largest food exporter to the US. Nearly one quarter of the spices, oils and food colorings used in the US comes from India, the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices globally, the FDA said in a consumer update.

With offices in New Delhi and Mumbai staffed by technical experts and experienced investigators in food and medical products, FDA keeps close contact with the Indian government, industries, trade associations, and scientific and academic communities. Consequently, Indian officials are better informed about FDA's import requirements and the agency is able to share best practices involving the production of FDA-regulated products, it said. Such contacts have been especially helpful when unexpected issues arise. "We know who the decision makers are and who to contact to mobilize a response when problems arise that could affect people at home," Bruce Ross, FDA's country director based in New Delhi, was quoted as saying. Ross describes FDA's India office as a portal through which safety information on food and drugs flows back and forth among FDA, the Indian government and industry. "Either we provide answers to their questions or we link them to the right people who can," he said. FDA's India office also shares information gleaned from facility inspections with Indian officials so they can take action to improve product safety and quality. FDA responds to requests from the Indian government to train representatives from industry, agriculture and commerce in agricultural and manufacturing standards and practices used in the US. "It's a very pro-active way for us to ensure products imported to the states are safe and meet our standards for quality," Ross said. For example, FDA - working with India's drug regulators - engaged in training that focused on good clinical practices. This training facilitated and supported the development of an Indian-specific programme for the inspection and monitoring of clinical research sites, FDA said.


US embassy in India starts new URL for checking visa status

The US Mission to India has stated that the US Department of State's new system, CEAC Status Check, can now be accessed at - www.ceac.state.gov/CEAC/ - "Check My Visa Application Status." According to a statement from the US Consulate General Kolkata, this tool, which allows all visa applicants to verify 24/7 the status of their case online, offers better customer service to visa applicants and continued transparency in our processing. This initiative follows other recent enhancements, including offsite fingerprinting and photography services and the expanded Interview Waiver Program. All these initiatives are aimed at building capacity to accept more visa applications over the coming years, improving customer service, and facilitating legitimate travel between India and the United States. Bolstering people-to-people ties through travel is a cornerstone of the US-India partnership, thee consulate statement said. The CEAC Status Check site is a global website that allows visa applicants worldwide to access up-to-date and accurate information about their cases. Applicants simply enter the CEAC barcode or case number and the location where the interview occurred to check the status of their visa. This new CEAC Status Check replaces any previous status tracking websites. Applicants with questions about the site or its status information should contact – www.ustraveldocs.com/in


http://www.ceac.state.gov/CEAC/

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in

Senior US Legal Delegation met with Gujarat Chief Minister

Chief Minister Narendra Modi met with a senior legal delegation from the United States today morning in Gandhinagar. The delegation comprised of high ranking US Federal judges of the US Court of Appeals (including a Chief Judge), eminent practicing lawyers, as well as Associate Deans from the prestigious George Washington University School of Law. Expressing great confidence in Gujarat’s judicial system, the delegation proposed the setting up of an Intellectual Property Knowledge Hub in Gujarat – to provide the necessary enabling legal infrastructure for efficiently adjudicating intellectual property and other commercial disputes. This would enable and empower enterprise to thrive, attracting players from across the world to India. Retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India Ashok Ganguli, who was also involved in the discussions; endorsed Gujarat as the perfect destination for such an Intellectual Property hub given the strength and efficiency of its judicial system. Citing successful best practices like Evening Courts, Fast Track Courts and Lok Adalats; he appreciated the government’s role in supporting the state judiciary with the necessary funding and infrastructure. Fully endorsing the need for protecting IPR, the Chief Minister explained how it was necessary for nurturing and encouraging a culture of research, which in turn was a requisite for the growth of any society. Giving examples, he mentioned the process of getting a patent for Gujarat’s innovative Canal-top Solar Power project, as well as a unique strain of protein rich wheat found only in one region of the State. He assured the delegation full support from the Government of Gujarat in exploring all possible avenues; expressing confidence in the idea of their expertise complementing Gujarat’s existing strengths, to do good for society. Enhancing legal education and training standards was also discussed, with the respected judges and other senior legal luminaries

expressing their keenness to work with their Gujarat based counterparts in doing so. A pool of Indian origin attorneys based in the US extended their support in all ways possible, wishing to give back to their motherland.


Closer US-India ties benefit US: Mississippi senator

Mr. Roger Wicker, Junior United States Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party

Noting that the dynamic and productive US-India relationship continues to grow from strength to strength, a leading US lawmaker believes this partnership will play a major role in US foreign policy. "This is good news for the United States and the State of Mississippi," wrote Roger Wicker, top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, who represents Mississippi in the Senate, in the Asia Pacific bulletin of the East West Centre. Noting "India's growing importance on the world stage, in particular its influence as an anchor of democracy and stability in Asia," he wrote "Allies and strategic alliances are the best force multipliers as the United States confronts the emerging threats of the 21st century." India and the United States share many security concerns, Wicker wrote citing "the scourge of transnational terrorism, the necessity of a stable and secure Afghanistan, the uncertainties of an increasingly belligerent Iran, along with a Chinese military eager to expand its influence, are some of the diverse and complex challenges both nations face." "As US troops withdraw from Afghanistan, continued vigilance is essential to keeping terrorist networks from finding a haven there, and no doubt India will continue to be a major player in promoting regional and global security," he wrote. A large labor force and strong base for high-tech industry have made India a key US partner for trade in goods and services valued at almost $100 billion--up from only $18 billion in 2001, over a five-fold increase in a decade, Wicker wrote. "Furthermore, the importance of the Indian Ocean for global trade and commerce will only continue to grow, which will require maritime strength and preparedness in maintaining open Sea Lanes of Communication, another shared US-India goal," he wrote. Suggesting that "US future defense strategy should recognize the power of collaborating with proven and steady allies like India," Wicker wrote that a cooperative defense trade relationship requires a serious commitment from the United States to the modernization of its Cold War-era export control system. "In turn, India must be committed to a fair and open defense acquisition process that upholds transparency and interoperability with friends and partners," he concluded.


USDA pegs India's coffee output at 3.18 lakh tons in 2012-13 India's coffee output is expected to rise marginally by 2 per cent to 5.3 million bags (3.18 lakh tons) in the current crop year on the back of high Robusta production from Karnataka, a USDA report said. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its latest report on coffee pegged the global production to hit a record for the third consecutive year at 151 million bags (60 kg each) in 2012-13 crop years (October-September). "India's production is forecast to raise 100,000 bags to a record 5.3 million on higher Robusta output. Growers in Karnataka, the largest coffee producing state, are anticipating a record Robusta harvest due to increased area and yield," USDA said. According to the government-run Coffee Board of India, the output of the brew is expected to rise by about 4 per cent to 3.25 lakh tons in 2012-13 crop year from 3.14 lakh tons in 2011-12 crop year. International Coffee Organization (ICO), the global body on the brew has pegged coffee production in India -- the world's sixth biggest producer -- to rise by 4 per cent to 5.4 million bags (3.24 lakh tons) from 5.2 million bags in the period under review. The US agency on farm sector was buoyant on the global production prospects for coffee. "World coffee production for 2012-13 is forecast at a record 151 million bags, up almost 7 million from the previous year, marking the third consecutive year of rising output," USDA said. The world had produced 144 million bags in 2011-12 crop year and 141 million bags in 2010-11 crop year, it said. Brazil is pegged to account for nearly all the gain as its Arabica crop enters the on-year of the biennial production cycle, while Indonesia's higher output is offset by Vietnam's lower output. Colombia is forecast down slightly from last year to its lowest level in four decades, USDA said. ICO has pegged the global production of the brew to rise by 8 per cent to 146 million bags in the current crop year from 134.6 million ags in the year-ago period.


Obama should visit India again: US think tank President Barack Obama works on his "big part of my plans" for India in his second term, an influential US think tank has made four concrete proposals to advance their shared priorities, including pitching for a second presidential visit to India. There is a growing consensus in Washington and New Delhi that the most fruitful areas to deepen the US-India partnership reside in economic and trade relations, security and defense ties, and collaboration on regional challenges, according to the Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). With this in mind, it has proposed the establishment of a detailed "New Framework for US-India Economic Cooperation;" the launching of a US-India Job Creation and Skills Building initiative; the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense coproduction; and the pursuit of a six-power regional initiative for Afghanistan. In a piece entitled, "Obama's Second Term: 'India is a big part of my plans,'" Karl F. Inderfurth, Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at CSIS, has suggested that one other part of Obama's second term "plans" should be a second visit to India. I would be "an opportunity to build on his successful visit of November 2010 and to mark a historic first in US-India relations: the first time an American president has travelled to India twice while in office," he wrote in the January issue of US-India Insight, a CSIS newsletter.

Inderfurth, a former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, noted that throughout the past year, high-ranking US administration officials continued to use superlatives to describe the relationship they envisioned for the United States and India. Most recently, Obama himself told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia: "India is a big part of my plans" for his second term, he recalled. Inderfurth also noted that the US National Intelligence Council in its latest long-range global forecast had predicted that "In 2030 India could be the rising economic powerhouse that China is seen to be today." But as the NIC report and other publications point out, for India to maximize its advantages, it will have to address three major challenges - education, corruption, and infrastructure.


100270 Indian students studying in the United States of America in 2012 The number of Indian students studying in the United States of America in 2012 is 100270. This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor in Lok Sabha. The specific information regarding the number of Indian students studying in foreign countries and the foreign exchange paid by them as fees every month is not maintained by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The actual amount of tuition fees involved depends on the country, course and the University. However, as per information publicly available, the number of Indian students studying in the United States of America and Australia in 2012 is 100270 and 36326 respectively. There has been a marginal decline of 3.5% (103895 in 2010-11 to 100270 in 2011-12) in the enrolment of Indian students studying in United States of America. There is no authentic comparative study available to show that Indian universities are low in quality or employment potential. While it is a fact that Indian Universities do not figure in the top 200 universities in the world as announced by some of the International Ranking Systems, the reasons for this are that these systems use different parameters to rank universities, some of which are not relevant in the Indian context and therefore, cannot constitute the basis for the benchmarking of Indian universities vis-à-vis other universities in the world. The Government has launched a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) to establish one model Degree College in each of the 374 identified Educationally Backward Districts (EBD) in the country with GER below the national average. Under this CSS, the States may, if they so choose, identify private not-for-profit participants in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The Government has also decided to set up 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) under the Public Private Partnership mode. No comparative details of the Indian and foreign universities are available in relation to the average of provision of employment and amenities.


Indian IT firms show they create jobs in the US, too

Sam Blue, 49, an automobile insurance salesman who lost his job in September 2011, and Elantis Hall, a single mother of four children, attended a software boot camp organized by Infosys Ltd, India’s second largest computer services company, in Detroit, the hub of the American auto industry, in 2012. Blue and Hall were among 27 out of 73 people—average age 41—who attended the camp and were offered information technology jobs in Detroit in a year the city’s big three auto makers Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC were still struggling for recovery after slashing thousands of jobs over three years. “A job means a lot after a year of unemployment here in Detroit,” said Blue in a phone interview from Detroit. “I studied Fortran (a computer language developed in 1950s) in high school and told myself that I will never have anything to do with computers—now I am looking forward to a career in IT,” said Blue, who is now working with Infosys as a software systems engineer and is currently on the bench, waiting for his first real project. After six weeks of training in software development, Blue and the others got placed at a job fair attended by Infosys and local firms such as Compuware Corp., GalaxE Solutions Inc. and Kimberly Group, LLC. They were selected after a written test and an interview for the 18-week software bootcamp organized by Infosys. As India’s top outsourcing firms seek to shed their image of shipping American jobs to cheaper locations such as Bangalore at a time the US is struggling to kickstart its stalled economy, initiatives like the Infosys bootcamp are expected to position them as job creators. Infosys found itself at the centre of an anti-offshoring backlash in the US last year after two US employees—Jack Palmer and Satya Dev Tripuraneni—complained of visa misuse. Both cases were dismissed by US courts. Detroit’s Wayne County Community College District, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation partnered with Infosys for retraining unemployed workers in the city. As Infosys started the software training course, it also opened a dialogue with potential employers such as GalaxE Solutions to ensure that the skills being taught were in demand. For instance, a few days into the bootcamp, “Infosys included .Net (a software development framework from Microsoft Corp.) a part of the curriculum after some potential employers said they needed professionals with those programming skills,” said Srikantan Moorthy, head of education and research at Infosys. After the first batch of students graduated on 20 July, two back-to-back job fairs were organized in Detroit for these candidates. Infosys, along with eight other companies attended these fairs. While Infosys hired six of them, another 21 were picked up by other recruiters. “Already, four out of the six we hired are on live projects in our Southfield centre,” said Moorthy. Infosys is not the only Indian information technology firm attempting to change its image by reskilling workers in the US. In November 2011, Wipro Ltd, the second largest Indian software exporter, started making job offers to Iraq war veterans in the US. Experts said while the number of jobs created appears minuscule; the impact of such initiatives will

go a long way in helping Indian tech firms reposition themselves and their image in the world’s biggest market for computer services. Sridhar Kota, a professor at the University of Michigan, who attended the graduation ceremony for these students in August, said lessons learnt from the Infosys Detroit boot camp could be applied elsewhere. “Every time an instructor popped up on the screen, all 73 students cheered wildly as if they saw a rockstar. In fact, it was so loud that no one could hear the first few sentences of these instructors. I had never seen such a spontaneous outburst of love and affection to any teacher ever,” said Kota, who teaches mechanical and manufacturing engineering at the University in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When Hall, a part-time bartender in a Detroit casino, started the Infosys course in March 2012, her youngest child was just five months old. “Every day she would step out of the class to make phone calls to check on her children and rush back to catch up on what she missed,” said Kota. Hall is now working with GalaxE Solutions in Detroit. “She was running out of her unemployment compensation—scraping the bottom of the barrel. Who would have ever guessed that this bartender (not a science or engineering graduate) had the hidden talent to pass (an) Infosys course?” said Kota. During the first two weeks, 16 students dropped out because they couldn’t cope with the curriculum. One of the biggest challenge for Moorthy and his team at Infosys was to ensure that the entire programme was managed well and the content was interesting enough for non-engineering candidates. “Even basic software programming was expected to be a steep climb for them, so we had to be sensitive,” Moorthy added. It wasn’t easy to keep the teaching interesting enough to hold the attention of these candidates for eight hours at a stretch. “Sitting in the classroom for eight hours was a big challenge, but given what was at stake, we even used to ask for extending it by couple of hours on several days,” said Blue. Infosys sent 14 people from the company’s learning division to Detroit over the 18-week period. “On the first day of my class, I was a little intimidated and overwhelmed. The most interesting thing was that while in India you have average age of programmers in 20s, we were attempting to do it in the late 40s,” said Blue. Experts such as Kota said the emotional outbursts against offshoring should be seen in the context of the high unemployment in the US. “The anti-offshoring backlash in the US is a natural reaction to high unemployment— about 22 million are still unemployed, which is a reality, not perception. I don’t think it is against any particular company or a country. Our own multinationals have jumped on the outsourcing bandwagon more than a decade ago and hollowed out the country slowly but surely,” said Kota. Some experts were skeptical of efforts by Indian outsourcing firms to participate in the local job creation. “I think we need to be careful to look at the scale of these efforts (a few hundred Americans at low salaries) and compare them to the thousands who are brought in on H-1B and L-1 guest worker visas each year and the thousands more jobs that are offshored to India by Infosys,” said Ron Hira, an associate professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. For experts like Hira, the proportion of American staff in the workforces of Indian tech firms is still far too low. “When the vast majority of Infosys workers in the US are Americans, we can begin to talk about Infosys being a global company,” said Hira “Right now the wage differentials are simply too high for Infosys, and other major corporations, to hire American workers,” said Hira.


Boeing Delivers P-8I Patrol Aircraft to India

Boeing Co. recently said it has delivered the first of eight P-8I maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft to the Indian Navy in Seattle. The U.S. defense contractor will hand over another two in 2013 and the remaining five by 2015. India initially ordered eight P-8I aircraft in January 2009, becoming the first international customer for the P-8. It later ordered four more, which will be delivered after 2015. "The program is progressing on schedule as Boeing assembles the fourth and fifth P-8Is," the company said. The P-8I is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy. India in recent years has increased its purchases of defense equipment from the U.S. as diplomatic relations grow between the two democracies. Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony said last week that Boeing has been selected as the preferred vendor to supply 37 heavy-lift and attack helicopters to the country's air force. The potential contract entails the supply of 15 Chinook CH-47F heavy-lift helicopters and 22 AH-64D Block-III Apache attack helicopters. Boeing has orders to supply C-17 Globemaster airlifters to India as well. India has also purchased Super Hercules C-130J military transport planes from Lockheed Martin.


Indian-American community holds inaugural ball for Obama Indian-Americans recently held the first-ever inaugural ball to celebrate US President Barack Obama's second term in office, signaling the coming of age of the three million-plus influential community that voted overwhelmingly for him. "Indian-Americans are tremendously important and we hope they would be increasingly visible not only in the government, but also in all parts of American life," Maya Kassandra Soetoro-Ng, the second half-sister of Obama, said, adding that the president was very proud of the Indian-Americans. "It is certainly a reflection of how important India is and how important Indian-Americans are to the fabric of the nation. I would just like to celebrate all of the contribution artistic, political and so much more of the community," Maya said at the first-ever Indian-American inaugural ball. 51-year-old Obama, a Democrat, was re-elected as America's 45th president in November last year. The event was organized by Indiaspora - a recently formed organization which aims to be a catalyst to transform the success of Indian-Americans into meaningful impact in India and on the global stage. "It is time we come to recognize fully the contribution of the Indian-American community here," Maya said, reflecting the views of Obama who has the distinction of appointing the largest number of Indian-Americans in any presidential administration ever.

"It is very exciting to serve in an Administration that has so many great Indian-Americans serving," said Raj Shah, Administrator of USIAD, and the highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama Administration. A whopping 84 per cent Indian-Americans voted for Obama in November's US presidential elections, according to a survey of Asian-Americans. "I think it is wonderful for the Indian-American community. It is coming of age, politically for them. This is not just a ball. This is a massive gala," said Congressman Joe Crowley, co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, referring to the hundreds of Indian-Americans who had gathered at the inaugural ball of the community.


India on US healthcare radar for offshore services: Omega India chief India has been a prime beneficiary in offshore services and is now on the radar of US healthcare industry for the same, said Gopi Natrajan, co-founder, president and CEO, Omega Healthcare. There has certainly been a growing dependence by the US healthcare industry in the area of offshore services provided by Indian companies, in the last three to four years. All the apprehensions that were around were about India and its workforces’ ability to handle the complex US healthcare processes along with the confidentiality requirements. “Now these problems are viewed as issues of the past. What we are witnessing is the offshore healthcare Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) / Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) segment growth anywhere between 30 to 35 per cent a year,” said the Omega Healthcare India chief in an email interaction with Pharmabiz. The entire healthcare KPO/BPO market today in India is valued over $300 million and probably the sector employs anywhere between 20,000 to 25,000 people. In the US, the healthcare industry is the single largest industry of the US GDP and is about $2 trillion in size. The outsourced market in the healthcare segment is estimated to be around $8 billion. A good portion of this will always remain in the US, but it is quite safe to state that the market is severely under penetrated and offers great potential and growth for the right companies in India. Some of the other notable companies in this space are Dell/Perot, e4e, GeBBs Healthcare, and Ajuba Healthcare, he pointed out. “Despite the growth potential, the biggest challenge in my opinion is getting qualified resources to do the complex work that is coming our way. Educational institutions continue to churn out a lot of graduates but the quality of the students graduating and their knowledge level seems a lot to be desired. Therefore, in India English speaking skills must improve a lot but colleges do not seem to focus on this aspect of human resources development,” he said. The other big challenge is the Government’s unfriendly business policies and tax changes which will inhibit the growth of the companies and ability to scale. While in the case of other countries, with tax friendly policies and laws, could over the years be more attractive and will start attracting businesses which will pose a serious problem for India, stated Natrajan.


India, U.S. collaborate on solar energy India and the United States have started an initiative to develop solar energy through Photovoltaic (PV) projects and concentrated solar power (CSP), also known as solar thermal. This comes four months after India experienced one of the world’s biggest blackouts, which affected more than 680 million people. Titled ‘SERIIUS’ (Solar Energy Research Initiative of India and the United States), the $50 million project would be conducted by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science and the Washington-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “We are expecting the project to produce desirable results within five years,” Rajeev Deshpande, a senior energy official, told an energy conference here.

Unlike traditional solar panels, CSP projects concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a small area of contained liquid. The liquid heats up, emits steam, and a generator converts the steam into electricity.


India's global rise, a rich opportunity for US businesses With the India-US civil nuclear deal removing the biggest obstacle in their relationship, a US think tank has said their concerted cooperation could help India's global rise and provide a rich opportunity for US businesses. "The 2008 US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement did away with the biggest obstacle in the relationship-India's murky status in the global non-proliferation regime," the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in a new report. "The evolving US-Indian strategic partnership holds great potential for both countries," says the report "Opportunities Unbound: Sustaining the Transformation in US-Indian Relations" by Ashley J. Tellis, senior associate South Asia Programme. "India's economic growth and its ties to the US can assist its global rise, which contributes to keeping the peace in Asia, provided New Delhi and Washington sustain concerted cooperation," he writes. "And India's emerging markets promise to be the key instrument for enlarging India's power while remaining a rich opportunity for US businesses," writes Tellis suggesting several steps for both sides to make the partnership fruitful. His recommendations for India include expanding the basis for collaboration by undertaking planned second-generation economic reforms and doing away with archaic protectionist policies and openly embracing economic reforms. New Delhi should also encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) by opening "those sectors where FDI is currently not permitted and increase the caps on FDI in those areas where it is currently allowed". To improve defense cooperation, "India ought to take advantage of the wealth of technologies available only to Washington's closest partners and establish greater operational ties with the US to boost its military effectiveness without forfeiting strategic autonomy," writes Tellis. "As one of Iran's biggest trading partners, New Delhi should quietly urge Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons programme in order to avert a conflict that threatens important Indian interests," he suggests. At the top of Tellis' recommendations for the US is exploring a free-trade agreement with India. "Washington should pursue such an accord on a specified deadline while negotiating various arrangements to lower bilateral trade barriers in the interim," he suggests. Favoring sustained leadership attention, Tellis says: "Even if New Delhi does not reciprocate every US initiative and retains its traditionally independent foreign policy, the US should devote senior leadership attention and create effective bureaucratic arrangements to expand the relationship with India." In seeking a deeper partnership on Afghanistan, "Washington should encourage the Indian government to increase its political and material contributions to the effort in Afghanistan," he says. Tellis also advocates building up India's defense capabilities saying: "Adding to a strong foundation of military-to-military cooperation, Washington should make it easier for India to purchase advanced American defense technology and cement defense industrial cooperation."


Calendar of IACC Events for 2012

Date/ Time Event/Topic Hotel/City/Information

January 23-30, 2013 IACC supports 5th Intellectual Property Rights Conference - Global IP Conference 2013 in Bangalore

Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bangalore, India

January 28, 2013 Reverse Innovation meets Medici Effect with Vijay Govindrajan and Frans Johansson Register Now or Read more

Hotel Trident BKC, Mumbai

January 28-30, 2013 IACC supports Bio Asia 2013 Register Now or Read more

HICC, Hyderabad, India

February 04, 2013 IACC Organizes B2B Meeting with the Incoming U.S. Multi Sector Trade Mission in Chennai Register Now or Read more

Chennai, India

February 06, 2013 IACC organizes a Special Roundtable Discussion on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in Chennai Register Now or Read more

Hotel My Fortune, Cathedral Road, Chennai, India

February 06, 2013 Interactive workshop on ‘Doing Business in the U.S.’ (Supporting Organization)

ITC Grand Maratha, Mumbai

February 09, 2013 Interactive Session on "Negative List of Services" - Ground Reality Register Now or Read more

Hotel Atithi, 126, S. V. Patel Salai, Puducherry, India

February 14, 2013 Networking Reception in honor of seven member delegation from the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA)

Mumbai

February 15, 2013 IACC in association with KPMG is organizing Interactive Workshop on Transfer Pricing Register Now or Read more

Tulip III, Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon, Sector 29, National Highway-8, Gurgaon 122001

March 4-6, 2013 IACC supports U.S.-India Aviation Security Workshop as partners

The Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi, India

March 06, 2013 IACC & US- India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP) are organizing a one day Seminar on “General Aviation: Next Steps” Register Now or Read more

Raunaq Room, PHD House,New Delhi,India


Forthcoming Events

https://www.iaccindia.com/event.asp?id=171







Indo-US Trade Statistics

2012: U.S. Trade in Merchandise goods with India Month U.S Exports to India U.S Imports from India Balance of Trade

January 2012 1,524.60 3,109.80 -1,585.20

February 2012 1,503.70 3,027.60 -1,523.90

March 2012 1,715.80 3,364.40 -1,648.60

April 2012 1,792.20 3,335.50 -1,543.20

May 2012 1,832.30 3,571.80 -1,739.50

June 2012 1,809.00 3,466.60 -1,657.60

July 2012 1,785.90 4,132.20 -2,346.30

August 2012 2,082.80 3,929.40 -1,846.60

September 2012 2,220.40 3,327.70 -1,107.30

October 2012 2, 084.2 3, 225.5 -1,141.3

Total 2012 18,350.9 34,490.6 -16,139.6

2011: U.S. Trade in Merchandise goods with India Month U.S Exports to India U.S Imports from India Balance of Trade

January 2011 1,352.6 2,524.4 -1,171.7

February 2011 1,440.7 2,229.4 -788.7

March 2011 1,735.8 3,164.6 -1,428.8

April 2011 1,875.8 3,253.4 -1,377.5

May 2011 1,996.4 3,468.8 -1,472.4

June 2011 2,076.0 3,295.5 -1,219.5

July 2011 1,812.7 3,116.9 -1,304.2

August 2011 1,847.8 3,362.0 -1,514.2

September 2011 1,726.0 3,108.5 -1,382.5

October 2011 1,716.4 3,289.3 -1,572.8

Total 2011 17,580.20 30,812.80 -13,232.30

November 2011 1,953.6 2,721.8 -768.2

December 2011 1,967.4 2,618.4 -651.0

Total 2011 21,627.6 36,167.4 -14,539.8 Click here for index

International Buyer Program, 2013 Trade shows

International Buyer Program

2013 Trade Show Schedule

Title Date Venue Website

AG CONNECT Expo 2013

January 29-31, 2013 Kansas City, MO agconnect.com

International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo

January 29-31, 2013 Atlanta, GA internationalpoultryexposition.org

World of Concrete® February 5-8, 2013 Las Vegas, NV worldofconcrete.com

Graphics of the Americas (GOA)

February 21-23, 2013 Orlando, FL graphicsoftheamericas.com

International Home + Housewares Show

March 2-5, 2013 Chicago, IL housewares.org

Natural Products Expo West/Engredea

March 7-10, 2013 Anaheim, CA expowest.com

The Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show

March 19-21, 2013 Las Vegas, NV ncbshow.com

The 2013 NAB Show® April 8-11, 2013 Las Vegas, NV nabshow.com WINDPOWER 2013 Conference & Exhibition

May 5-8, 2013 Chicago, IL windpowerexpo.org

Offshore Technology Conference

May 5-9, 2013 Houston, TX otcnet.org

WasteExpo 2013 May 20-23, 2013 New Orleans, LA wasteexpo.com International CTIA WIRELESS 2013®

May 21-23, 2013 Las Vegas, NV ctiawireless.com

The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show (NRA Show)

May 2013 Chicago, IL restaurant.org

InfoComm International June 8-14, 2013 Orlando, FL infocommshow.org

http://agconnect.com/

http://agconnect.com/

http://internationalpoultryexposition.org/



http://www.worldofconcrete.com/

http://www.nabshow.com/2012/default.asp

http://www.ctiawireless.com/

http://www.ctiawireless.com/

http://www.restaurant.org/show/




http://www.infocommshow.org/

2013® International Franchise Expo

June 14-16, 2013 New York, NY ifeinfo.com

Fancy Food Show June 30 - July 2, 2013 NY, NY specialtyfood.com/fancy-food-show

Annual Meeting and Clinical Laboratory Exposition of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry

July 28 - August 1, 2013 Houston, TX aacc.org

MAGIC Tradeshow - Summer

August 21-23, 2013 Las Vegas, NV magiconline.com

PRINT 13 September 6-11, 2013 Chicago, IL gasc.org/PRINT13.aspx

PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013

September 23-25, 2013 Las Vegas, NV packexpo.com

RETECH 2013 September 2013 To Be Announced retech2012.com

GridWeek 2013 October 1-3, 2013 Washington, DC gridweek.com

WEFTEC 2013 Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference

October 5-9, 2013 Chicago, IL weftec.org

International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE)

October 6-9, 2013 Las Vegas, NV ibie2013.org

IFAI Expo Americas 2013 and SGIA Expo 2013

October 23-25, 2013 Orlando, FL ifaiexpo.com

American Film Market November 6-13, 2013 Santa Monica, CA americanfilmmarket.com

POWER-GEN International November 12-14, 2013 Orlando, FL power-gen.com

Greater New York Dental Meeting

November 29 - December 4, 2013

New York, NY gnydm.com


http://www.infocommshow.org/

http://www.aacc.org/events/2012am/pages/default.aspx






http://www.weftec.org/




http://ibie2013.org/



http://www.americanfilmmarket.com/

US Department of Commerce Certified Trade shows in India

Event Name Date & Location Contact Details U.S. Multi-Sector Trade Mission to the “3Cs” in S. India & Sri Lanka

02/03/2013- 02/08/2013 Chennai, Cochin

Mala Venkat, Commercial Specialist U.S. Commercial Service American Consulate General 220 Anna Salai Chennai 600 006 Tel: 91-44- 2857-4293 [email protected]

Bauma Conexpo Show 02/05/2013- 02/08/2013 Mumbai

P Srinivas, Senior Commercial Specialist Mumbai Phone: 91-22-2672-4152 [email protected]

Aero India 02/06/2013- 02/10/2013 Bangalore

Mr. Leonard Roberts U.S. Commercial Service, Bangalore Tel: 91-80-2220 6403 [email protected]

ISN Education Fair 02/22/2013 Hyderabad

Ms. Sathya Prabha U.S. Commercial Service Hyderabad Tel: 91-40- 23304025 Fax: +91-40- 23300130 [email protected]

http://export.gov/india/tradeevents/eg_in_052159.asp



mailto:[email protected]


http://www.aeroindia.in/



Major Trade shows in India


Date/ Event Venue/Location Description/ Contact

1 Feb- 3 Feb 2013 India Automation Technology Fair

Bombay Exhibition Center(BEC), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

01 - 03 February, 2013 Igmatex Exhibitions Panipat Panipat, India

01 - 04 February, 2013 Engineering Expo - Aurangabad Aurangabad, India

01 - 03 February, 2013 India Water Expo - Ahmedabad Ahmedabad, India

02 - 03 February, 2013 The Entrepreneurship Summit Mumbai, India

04 - 06 February, 2013 Bangalore INDIA BIO Bengaluru, India

06 - 10 February, 2013 AERO INDIA Bengaluru, India

07 - 08 February, 2013 Retail Leadership Summit Mumbai, India

08 - 10 February, 2013 Hospitality India Hyderabad, India

14 - 18 February, 2013 Vibrant VCCI Vadodara, India

14 - 17 February, 2013 AgriTech Expo Udaipur, India

15 - 17 February, 2013 World Tea & Coffee Expo Mumbai, India

15 - 18 February, 2013 Surat International Auto Expo Surat, India

19 - 20 February, 2013 Indian Business Aviation Expo New Delhi, India

21 - 23 February, 2013 Electronics for You Expo New Delhi, India

27 - 28 February, 2013 Steel Technology Conclave Gurgaon, India

28 February - 02 March, 2013

India International Travel Mart Kolkata

Kolkata, India

http://www.biztradeshows.com/india-automation-technologyfair/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/india-automation-technologyfair/

How to reach us: We invite articles, industry related market research reports and whitepapers, information on policy matters related to Indo-US trade and investments via e-mail. Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) deserves right to edit the said articles for clarity and space and use them in all electronic and print form. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Disclaimer: No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, reprinted or utilized in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical without prior permission of the publisher. While every care is taken in compilation of information contained herein, the publisher cannot accept any responsibility for error or omission or for the use of trademark, copyrights, brand name, logos or other identifying symbols provided in supporting and participating companies and organizations. However all possible and reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information in this newsletter is as accurate and up-to-date at the time of printing. This newsletter is for internal use only. Credits: A number of persons and organizations have assisted us in the preparation of this newsletter. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable and are based on research and analysis, whitepapers, academia, websites, internet postings and e-mails received. We wish to thank and express our gratitude to everyone named and unnamed for providing valuable inputs and providing data willingly. Conceived, Designed and Researched by: R.K. Chopra, Secretary General, IACC; E-mail: [email protected] Pratik Waghela, Systems & Communications Assistant, IACC; E-mail: [email protected]


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Date post:	26-Aug-2018
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