Welcome 2012 [] · Welcome 2012 . IACC Newsletter. Issue #1, January 2012. By IACC Head Office, Mumbai

Welcome 2012

IACC Newsletter Issue #1, January 2012

By IACC Head Office, Mumbai

Index

Contents Index ................................................................................................................................ 2

President’s Message ......................................................................................................... 4

From the Secretary General’s Desk .................................................................................... 6

Happenings at IACC ........................................................................................................... 7

Indo-US Corporate News ................................................................................................. 23

Boeing looks to expand association with BEL ....................................................................................... 23

Intel Capital homes in on three Indian start-ups for investment ......................................................... 23

GAIL inks $20 billion deal with US firm ................................................................................................. 24

Reliance Industries to Enter Financial Services in JV with New York based DE Shaw .......................... 25

KFC overtakes Pizza Hut as Yum!'s largest brand in India .................................................................... 25

Kotak Mahindra Capital, Evercore Tie Up for Cross-border M&A Services .......................................... 26

Indo-US CEO Forum asked for FDI in retail: Govt. ................................................................................ 26

Pizza Hut to operate 250 restaurants in India by 2015......................................................................... 27

Dell to increase focus on small & medium businesses ......................................................................... 28

India’s Investments in U.S ................................................................................................ 29

RIL Buys Stake in US Nuclear Reactor Design Company ....................................................................... 29

Ventureast Invests $5 Million in Orca Systems ..................................................................................... 29

Aditi Technologies Announces Acquisition of Cumulux, Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year ............ 29

US investments in India ................................................................................................... 31

Goldman Sachs Acquires 6.47% Stake in Max India ............................................................................. 31

Morgan Stanley to pump in $125 million in Mumbai realty ................................................................. 31

Equity International to invest $75 million in SAMHI ............................................................................. 31

Bunge Inc. To Acquire Edible Oil Business of Amrit Group for $ 78 million ......................................... 32

AptarGroup Inc. buys Hyderabad’s TKH Plastics for $18 million .......................................................... 33

US-based Briggs & Stratton Acquires Premier Power For $3M ............................................................ 33

HT Media and Apollo Global Inc., Form Joint Venture to Provide Educational Services ...................... 34

US Realty Co Portman Holdings Picks Stake in Pune’s Tuscan Estate ................................................... 34

Omnicom Group Inc. Enters Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in India's Mudra Group .............. 35

Caterpillar expanding in India: to invest $ 3 billion in next 5 years ...................................................... 36

Not-for-profit Teach For India Secures $2.5M From Omidyar Network ............................................... 36

Norwest Invests $5 million in Former eBay India Head's E-com Start-up ............................................ 37

UTC Climate Acquires Controlling Stake in Agnice Fire Protection ...................................................... 38

In the News..................................................................................................................... 39

Visa norms for expats working at senior positions relaxed .................................................................. 39

US appoints first woman Ambassador to India .................................................................................... 40

US University to launch residency Programme in India........................................................................ 41

US House approves bill seeking faster green cards for Indian tech professional’s news ..................... 41

Farokh Balsara, Ernst & Young India Media and Entertainment Leader to now lead the EMEIA ........ 42

Mr. Hemant Sonawala honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by CSI …………………………………….42

HARMAN CEO, Dinesh Paliwal Receives Prestigious Corporate Leadership Award ............................. 43

US keen to partner with India on healthcare........................................................................................ 44

India is third-largest buyer of US arms ................................................................................................. 45

US, India advance bilateral relationship despite frictions .................................................................... 45

DGHI Receives USAID Award for Indoor Air Pollution Research ........................................................... 47

US plans to provide technical assistance for setting up 30 agricultural hubs in the eastern states. ... 48

Anti-outsourcing US bill targets Indian call centers .............................................................................. 48

DuPont rejigs leadership in India .......................................................................................................... 49

Mahindra's US emission certificate to expire in December.................................................................. 50

India, US discuss economic, strategic cooperation ............................................................................... 51

Moody's upgrades India's debt rating .................................................................................................. 53

India, US discuss civil nuclear and other issues .................................................................................... 53

USTR Announces Results of Special 301 Review of Notorious Markets ............................................... 54

Indo-US Trade Statistics ................................................................................................... 56

Calendar of IACC Events for 2011-12 ................................................................................ 58

International Trade shows ............................................................................................... 59

How to reach us: ............................................................................................................. 74

President’s Message Change is the only constant. In the last two months of 2011, S&P and Fitch downgraded several major banks. A couple of days ago, S&P stripped France of its prized AAA credit rating and downgraded eight other European countries. Global economic turmoil continues. Natural disasters, climate change, political unrest in parts of the world, economic inequality etc. are growing.

In the midst of this each of us, individually and as a society, need to ask ourselves about the bigger picture. Criticism of others is easy and therefore common, but largely meaningless. Self-assessment and contribution to the common good can be far more meaningful. Adaptation to the realities of today, rather than rigidly following systems and thought-processes that were put in place in a different era, are essential. Increased trust and participation, rather than distrust and growing distance between stakeholders, can only help. While checks and balances are important, these can also result in paralysis in action for fear of retribution. In the USA and India we elect our leaders. Having done that, how do we support them?

What tools do we need to create more entrepreneurs amongst our youth? More thought leaders, and sharing of positive thoughts rather than mindless criticism? Less greed and more compassion? A sense of security through our education systems, rather than insecurities amongst the educated. How can IACC play a bigger and better role as a bilateral chamber of commerce between two great countries and its people? IACC continues to have meaningful events and interactions on various relevant issues. I mention some of these below.

We supported the International Taxation Conference organized by Foundation for International Taxation (FIT), which was held in Mumbai on 1st December, 2011. This provided an effective platform for informed debate on the proposed Direct Tax Code, International Tax Structuring for Investing Abroad; Indirect Tax Development; Anti-Avoidance Rules, Practices and Treaties; Transfer Pricing & recent International Taxation Developments in India & abroad. The conference attracted 530 delegates from about 35 countries. Nearly 40 senior Indian Revenue officials took part in the deliberations of the conference, with experts including Mr. R N Dash, Director General, International Trade and Mr. Sanjay Mehra, India’s Competent Authority.

Our focus on development of SME’s and for bringing about synergy between Indian and US business is well recognized. We have been organizing programs for SMEs across the country. Mr. Mitul I. Desai, Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State, addressed a round table on SMEs held by IACC in Mumbai, 20th December, 2011. An IACC supported SME Summit was organized on 8th December, 2011 in Ahmedabad. Importantly, a one-day sensitization Workshop was jointly organized by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Varanasi Branch. MSME – Development Institute, Varanasi and Ramnagar Industrial Association, Chandauli on the topic “Sensitization Workshop on World Trade Organization (W.T.O.)” on 17th December, 2011. IACC has been providing a platform for Indian and US experts for sharing information and expertise to make our relationship more dynamic and sustainable. IACC’s Kerala branch, jointly with the National Institute of Personnel Management, Trivandrum organized an interactive session with Ms. Jennifer A McIntyre, Consul

General, U.S. Consulate, Chennai, at Trivandrum on 12th December, 2011. Ms. McIntyre addressed the audience on ‘Indo-US Economic Management’. She also addressed a meeting organized by IACC at Pondicherry on Monday, 5th December, 2011 to explore opportunities in enhancing business ties between U.S businesses and the City of Pondicherry. Mr. James Golsen, Principal Commercial Officer, Chennai Consulate General presented an overview of the support of U.S. Commercial Service in India for promotion of Indo-US trade. Visa issues are often discussed. We provide a platform for direct interface with US authorities on this sensitive matter. An update on U.S. business visas was given by Mr. Michael Cathey, Chief of Non-Immigrant Visas, U.S. Consulate, Chennai on 5th December, 2011 in Pondicherry. A similar Interactive Session on US Visa Applications and procedure was also held on 22nd December, 2011 at Kolkata, by the Eastern Regional Council of IACC. Ms. Jessica Pfleiderer, US Vice Counsel, US Consulate, Kolkata addressed the meeting. We have some excellent upcoming events and delegations. Let us work together to contribute to a better tomorrow. Anand Desai National President, IACC

From the Secretary General’s Desk

Dear Members,

IACC has come a long way in rendering over 43 years of service to the nation, business, trade and industry. Our goal is to make IACC a one stop-shop on Indo-US Business and Trade. We at IACC are constantly evolving and addressing the industry needs and their expectations. In order to facilitate business collaborations we are providing B2B services. I would urge you to register your organization under the B2B program if you have not already done so. IACC welcomes and looks forward to Ms. Nancy Powell as the US Ambassador to India. Ms. Powel is not only the first woman to head the US mission in Delhi, but also the first career diplomat to take over the crucial post in nearly 15 years. IACC has worked and interacted with her during her earlier stint as political counselor in Delhi and as Consul General in Kolkata. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Past National Presidents Mr. Hemant Sonawala on being conferred the ‘Life Time Achievement Award” by Computer Society of India and Mr. Farokh T. Balsara on being appointed as the Media & Entertainment industry leader for Europe, Middle East, India & Africa (EMEIA) region for E&Y. Based in Mumbai, Farokh has been Ernst & Young’s M&E Practice Leader in India. This issue covers regular features like Indo-US Corporate News, Happenings @ IACC, Indo-US Trade Statistics, IACC’s upcoming events, International trade fairs in USA & India amongst others. This newsletter is an attempt to further the cause of increasing trade between Indo-US Business Houses. We hope you find this endeavor useful and inspiring. R.K. Chopra Secretary General, IACC

Happenings at IACC

International Taxation Conference – 2011

December 1-3, 2011, ITC Maratha Hotel, Mumbai

Roy Rohatgi, welcoming delegates at the International Tax Conference 2011 supported by IACC at ITC Maratha Hotel, Mumbai

R.K. Chopra addressing the audience during the conference

A section of the audience at International Taxation Conference

IACC supported the International Taxation Conference organized by Foundation for International Taxation (FIT), held at ITC Maratha Hotel in Mumbai from December 1-3, 2011. There were 530 delegates with over a third of them from overseas from around 35 countries. Nearly 40 senior Indian Revenue officials attended the conference, including Mr. R N Dash, Director General of International Taxation, and Mr. Sanjay Mishra, India's competent authority, as speakers. On final day Mr. Mukesh Joshi presided over the concluding session of the conference.

This conference encourages open dialogue for exchange of ideas between the taxpayers and tax administration, which was also covered by Bloomberg TV Channel as media partners. Experts from all over the world held discussions on Direct Tax Code; International Tax Structuring for Investing Abroad; Indirect Tax Development; Anti-Avoidance Rules, Practices and Treaties; Transfer Pricing & recent International Taxation Developments in India & abroad.

West India Council Commemoration and opening of the new U.S. Consulate General Mumbai, on December 16, 2011

(L-R) Mr. Anand Trivedi, Regional Director, IACC-WIC; Mr. Anand Desai National President, IACC with Mr. William J. Burns, U. S. Deputy Secretary of State at the commemoration and opening of the new U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai

SME Roundtable Discussion with Mr. Mitul Desai, Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships, Bureau of South & Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State on December 23, 2011, at the Jayant Dalal, Conference

Room, Churchgate, Mumbai.

Mr. Mitul I. Desai, Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State in round table discussion with the IACC SME and Committee Members and Dr. L. S. Kanodia, Regional President,

IACC – WIC.

Mr. Mitul I. Desai discussing & highlighting the importance of linking U.S. and Indian SMEs with IACC SME and Committee Members.

Mr. Mitul I. Desai, receiving the memento of Lord Ganesha & a bouquet of flowers from Dr. Kanodia, Regional President, IACC & Ms. Poorvi Chothani, IACC - WIC Committee Member & Managing Partner, Lawquest

Mr. Mitul I. Desai, Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State met IACC Regional President, IACC members and the secretariat on 20th December, 2011 at the IACC office for a round table discussion. The meeting was interactive and mainly focused on mapping the landscape of how Indian SMEs think about their US counterparts, how do they learn about opportunities in the US, the challenges and opportunities and variances in sectors. Members shared their experiences and ways in which SMEs in India and the US could work together. Mr. Mitul Desai thanked the members present and IACC for convening such an informative session.

Pune Branch

“Master keys that Control World Trade” a talk by Mr. Praful Talera on December 9, 2011

Mr. Praful Talera, M.D, Dynamic Logistics delivering the talk.

Crowd Interacting with Mr. Praful Talera during the session

Mr. Praful Talera being felicitated by Mr. Amarnath Mahashabde, Chairman, IACC-Pune

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Pune Branch, invited my Mr. Praful Talera- MD Dynamic Logistics, to present a talk on “Master keys that Control World Trade”.

Through his talk, Mr. Talera explained that there are certain specific points on the globe which are vital not just for the conduct of world trade, commerce and economics but also its politics. These are the fundamental premises on which everything in the modern world is based – its geopolitics as well as its geo-economics. The British Empire at its peak controlled, of these choke points and the Ottoman Empire before them controlled.

“Innovation at Breakfast” Session – 4 on “Innovation for Emerging Markets” on December 16, 2011, at Le Meridien, Pune

Mr. Amar Variawa, GM Manufacturing Services- John Deere Technology Center, addressing the audience

Mr. Variawa shared his views & examples on what elements of Innovation are important for countries like India and where do they need to be assessed with a different perspective.

Panel Discussion & Interactive Session in progress

Panelists (L-R) Mr. Sunil Earath- VP Operations of Battelle India, Mr. Suresh Joshi – MD of Cache Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Prashant Pansare MD & CEO Inteliment Software Tech I Pvt. Ltd. & Mr. Amar Variawa

Mr. Ashutosh Parasnis, M.D, PTC Software (India) Pvt. Ltd. Interacting with the crowd, while seated are the panelists during the Interactive session

IACC Pune Branch conducted the 4th Session of the Innovation at Breakfast Series at Le Meridien, Pune. The topic for the Session was “Innovation for Emerging Markets” presented by Mr. Amar Variawa, General Manager- Manufacturing Services, John Deere Technology Centre, Pune The session was well received and attended by 25 participants of known organizations like Eaton Industrial Systems Pvt. Ltd., Schlumberger, Vodafone, Battelle India, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Inteliment Technologies Pvt. Ltd etc. to name a few.

Gujarat Branch

SME SUMMIT-2011, December 8, 2011 at Cambay Grand, Ahmedabad

(L-R) Mr. Nanda Nandan Mahapatra-VC, Textile Association India, Ahmedabad Unit (TAI), Mr. Sunil Kakkad, Chairman, IACC Gujarat Branch, Mr. Jaimin R. Vasa, President, Gujarat Chemical Association (GCA), Mr. Vishad Rahangdale, Chief

Information Officer, Electrotherm India

SME Summit was organized in Ahmedabad. 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. Following 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 The panel discussion was chaired by Mr. Sunil Kakkad Chairman-IACC, Gujarat Branch. He gave a wide spectrum of knowledge on why and how Technology should be adapted into your business, other speakers for the summit were, Mr. Jaimin R. Vasa, President, GCA; Mr. Nanda Nandan Mahapatra, Vice Chairman, TAI; Mr. Vishal Rahangdale, CIO, Electrotherm India, 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. This panel was addressed by Mr. Vikram Oza, Director-Finance, Jindal Worldwide; Mr. Naveen Bohra, CFO, Metro Tel Work; Mr. Subir Basak, CEO, Celestial Biologicals; Mr. Ashutosh Y Shukla, MD, Aerotherm Products. 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. IACC, Gujarat Branch was Associate partner to the SME Summit organized by Silicon India at Ahmedabad. Silicon India is 13-year old media firm. They publish two technology & business magazines—one in the U.S and the other in India. Expert’s opinion was “SME Summit Ahmedabad is a platform for the SME Owners to turn ideas into profitable ones”. The Summit was followed by dinner

North India Council Varanasi Branch

Sensitization Workshop on World Trade Organization (W.T.O.), December 17, 2011, at KLG Motiwala Smriti

Bhawan, Varanasi

CA Mukul Kumar Shah, Chairman, IACC, Varanasi Branch addressing the audience

(R-L) CA Mukul Kumar Shah , Mr. J.C. Pandey, Director, MSME – Development Institute, Allahabad, Mr. R.K. Chaudhary, President, Ram Nagar Industrial Association, Chandauli, Mr. Indra Mohan Dubey, Joint Director of Industries, Varanasi

Mandal, Varanasi, Mr. D.K. Srivastava, Dy. Director In-charge, Br. MSME – Development Institute, Varanasi

Audience during the Programme

One day sensitization Workshop was jointly organized by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, U.P. Branch, Varanasi, Br. MSME – Development Institute, Varanasi and Ramnagar Industrial Association, Chandauli on the topic, “Sensitization Workshop on World Trade Organization (W.T.O.)” on 17th December, 2011 in Varanasi at Kanhaiya Lal Gupta Motiwala Smriti Bhawan, Rathyatra, Varanasi. Mr. Indra Mohan Dubey, Joint Director of Industries, Varanasi Mandal, Varanasi was the Chief Guest and Mr. R.K. Chaudhary, President, Ram Nagar Industrial Association, Chandauli was Guest of Honour. The function was presided over by Mr. J.C. Pandey, Director, MSME – Development Institute, Allahabad. Mr. I.B. Singh, Assistant Director, Br. MSME – Development Institute, Chandpur, Varanasi was instrumental in organizing this Programme. Dr. Shardul Chaubey, Reader, School of Management Sciences, Varanasi about “WTO Structure, Functions and its Multi-Fibre Agreement” and Dr. Ravi Shekhar Vishal, Lecturer, School of Management Sciences, Varanasi appraised on the topic, “Tariff Barriers, Opportunities for MSMEs Scenario, Benefits to Exporters.”

Mr. D.K. Srivastava, Dy. Director In-charge, Br. MSME – Development Institute, Chandpur, Varanasi welcomed participants and guests of the Workshop and expressed the hope that latest information imparted in the Programme would immensely benefit the participants and help in solving some of the serious misapprehension about the implication of various provisions of the W.T.O. Addressing the audience, Chief Guest Mr. Indra Mohan Dubey said that five cluster scheme are being planned to develop in Varanasi, Bhadohi and Mirzapur. CA Mukul Kumar Shah, Chairman, IACC, U.P. Branch, Varanasi briefed the audience about various activities of the IACC, Varanasi. He also spoke about G.I. Registration of Bhadohi Carpet and role of IACC in obtaining the same. Speaker Dr. Shardul Chaubey, Reader, School of Management Sciences, Varanasi covered following salient features of W.T.O.:

The root of World Trade Organization (started on 1st January, 1995) lays in General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which was established in 1948 by 23 original founders – India being one of them. At present W.T.O. have nearly 149 countries. It covered all Trade from toothbrushes to pleasure boats, from banking to telecommunications, from genes of wild rice to AIDS treatment. It was quite simply the largest trade negotiation ever undertaken in human history.

Functions of WTO: The WTO is the umbrella organization responsible for overseeing implementation of all agreements – multilateral (signed by all WTO members) and plurilateral (signed by a group of members for specific issue) that have been negotiated under Uruguay Round of will be negotiated in future. Secondly, it is to provide a forum for further negotiations on matters covered by the agreements as well as on new issues. Thirdly, it is responsible for settlement of disputes among member nations. Fourthly, it is responsible for periodic reviews of the Trade policies of the member’s nations.

Detailed and clear guidelines have been provided in the WTO agreement, on carrying out of these functions as dispute settlement body of appellate body, trade review body, implementation of reports, issues of compliance, etc.

The fundamental basis of trade under W.T.O. is to treat other countries equally – meaning that countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners. For example, if one country grants a special favor to someone (such as a lower customs duty rate for one or more products), then that particular country have to do the same for all other WTO member countries. This principle is known as most-favored-nation treatment. This principle is so important that it is the first article of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which governs trade in goods. Provisions of W.T.O. also ensure that trade barriers would not be raised arbitrarily and market opening commitments would be binding in the WTO.

Speakers impressed upon that in the changed global economic environment which has been greatly affected by the institutions like I.M.F., World Bank and W.T.O., it is very important for Indian business to understand implications brought about by these institutions for global competition. The W.T.O. regime in the light of various rounds of talks between member countries has become a very critical bargaining tool for analyzing countries in order to gain market access into the developed world. The regional trade agreements which are analyzed as being exceptions to the multi-lateral negotiations are also playing a critical role in expanding trade between W.T.O. members. The opportunities that will arise for Indian exporters after coming up of the various regional trade agreement as well as extension of the European Union were also dealt upon.

The Workshop also discussed tariff, non-tariff and cultural barriers for conducting business in the globalized borderless W.T.O. regime. Different behavioral patterns of business negotiators of different countries attracted special attention during the Workshop. After lectures of speakers, question-answer session followed and queries were answered by the speakers.

Members of IACC, Varanasi Mr. Hari Prasad Murarka, Mr. J.P. Mundra, Mr. R.K. Goel, Mr. V.G. Unni, Mr. Raj J. Agrawal, Mr. Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, Mr. Niyaz Ahmad, Mr. R.C. Jain, Mr. Chandramani Maurya, Mr. Arun Kumar Agrawal and others attended the Workshop besides large number of businessmen & exporters and bank officials of Varanasi.

Mr. R.R. Pathak, Asst. Director, Br. MSME – Development Institute, Varanasi proposed Vote of thanks to all speakers and participants of the Workshop.

East India Council Kolkata Branch

Interactive session on ‘US Visa Application & Procedure’ held on December 22, 2011, at the Calcutta Club, Kolkata.

Welcome address being given by Ms. Heena Gorsia, Regional President, East India Council (EIC)

A memento being presented to Ms. Jessica Pfleiderer, US Vice Consul, US Consulate General, Kolkata by Ms. Heena

Gorsia, and Mr. Subharthee Dey, Regional Vice President, EIC.

(R-L) Mr. S D Mookerjea, Regional Vice President, EIC, Ms. Jessica Pfleiderer, Ms. Heena Gorsia, Mr. Subharthee Dey; Ms.

Madhusree Daityari, Regional Director, EIC at the presentation on US Visa Application & Procedure’

South India Council Kerala Branch

An Interactive session on ‘Indo-US Economic Management’ with Ms. Jennifer A McIntyre, Consul General, U.S Consulate, Chennai held on December 12, 2011

Ms. Jennifer A McIntyre, addressing the audience during the session in Trivandrum

On the Dias ( L-R) Dr. G.C. Gopala Pillai, Chairman, IACC-Kerala; Mr. T. Balakrishnan, Former Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Kerala & Mr. K. Yesodharan, Vice Chairman, NIPM (National Institute of Personnel Management) Trivandrum.

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Kerala branch jointly with the National Institute of Personnel Management, Trivandrum organized an interactive session with Ms. Jennifer A McIntyre, Consul General, U.S. Consulate, Chennai, at Trivandrum.

Ms. Jennifer addressed the audience on ‘Indo-US Economic Management’. Mr. T. Balakrishnan, former Additional Chief Secretary, presided over the session. Dr. G.C. Gopala Pillai, Chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce-Kerala and Chairman, Public Sector Restructuring Board welcomed the gathering. Mr. K. Yesodharan, Vice-Chairman, NIPM-Trivandrum proposed a vote of thanks. Mr. Matthew K. Beh, Political and Economic Officer, Ms. Sarah J. Talalay, Vice Consul, and Mr. Finny Jacob, Economic and Political Specialist were also present.

Annual Small Enterprise Lecture - 2011, in Kochi on December 8, 2011

(L-R) Dr. P.M. Mathew, Director, ISED Cochin; Sir. William Mark Tully, Dr. K.N Kabra, Chairman, ISED Cochin; Mr. Shyam

Srinivasan, CEO, Federal Bank & Dr. G.C. Gopala Pillai, Chairman, IACC-Kerala. Veteran Journalist Padmabhushan Sir. William Mark Tully speaking on the topic ‘Small is Beautiful’ at the Annual Small

Enterprise Lecture 2011 in Kochi

Tamil Nadu Branch Interactive Session with U.S. Consul General Ms. Jennifer McIntyre, on December 5, 2011, at

Pondicherry

Thiru P. Mathew Samuel, I.A.S, Special Secretary, the Govt. of Pondicherry Industries, Thiru. B.R. Babu, I.A.S., Special

Secretary to Govt. of Pondicherry - Tourism respectively, is giving the overview of the industries to participants

A cross section of audience on Breakfast Meeting

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce organized an interactive session with the U.S. Consul General in Chennai Ms. Jennifer McIntyre at Pondicherry. The objective of the meeting was to explore opportunities in enhancing business ties between U.S business and the City of Pondicherry. Ms. McIntyre began her duties as Consul General in August 2011 and this was her first visit to the City of Pondicherry. Mr. James Golsen, Principal Commercial Officer, Consulate General presented an overview of the support of U.S. Commercial Service in India for promotion of Indo-US trade. A brief outline on the development of industry and the tourism sectors in Pondicherry were addressed by Thiru. P. Mathew Samuel, I.A.S., Special Secretary to Govt. of Pondicherry - Industries and Thiru. B.R. Babu, I.A.S., Special Secretary to Govt. of Pondicherry - Tourism respectively. In his welcome address Tamil Nadu Branch Chairman of IACC, Mr. Raman Govindarajan, provided insight on IACC’s activities, details of past events, and plans for the coming months. An update on U.S. business visas was given by Mr. Michael Cathey, Chief of Non-Immigrant Visas, U.S. Consulate General, Chennai immediately after the interactive session with the U.S. Consul General.

Click here for index

Indo-US Corporate News

Boeing looks to expand association with BEL The defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) which has a partnership with Boeing for the Analysis and Experimentation Centre (A&E Centre) in Bangalore is said to be mulling an additional centre at its Ghaziabad site near Delhi. Projects such as the A&E Centre, which were set up during 2009 by Boeing, is said to benefit industry partners while providing on an environment for exploring collaborative projects between domestic and foreign companies, to work in practice and build on the Boeing experience with defence experimentation best practice in other countries. Boeing India’s A&E Centre in Bangalore is the third one outside the US, with the other two in Australia and United Kingdom. The centre allows its customers the opportunity to explore options for future systems in a virtual environment. While using the analysis and experimentation methods, the collaborative approach supports the defence forces in the US, the UK and Australia. The centre is staffed with Indian ex-military operations analysts and, modeling and simulation engineers. Comprising of reconfigurable laboratories and visualization space, the centre draws on the experience from other nations where experimentation is a part of defence planning and equipment acquisition. Boeing will also transfer a number of mature A&E tools that are not commercially available anywhere else. “The tools will be made available for use by the Indian defence customer and our local partners,” said Dinesh A Keskar, president, Boeing India, adding “this would also allow us to integrate locally-developed intellectual property with these established tools.” Boeing is working with the defence community to identify key capability challenges, and the local Boeing team will conduct analyses and war fighting experiments. The process will see frequent interactions with the defence customer to ensure the right experimental questions are developed and, right tools and techniques are used to address the questions. “The process encourages participation in experiments by experienced serving personnel. This ensures that the experimentation environment is for purpose and exposes service personnel to future systems options. The opinions of these personnel can then be fed back to the operational community to improve current and future war fighting capability and concepts,” said an official from Boeing.


Intel Capital homes in on three Indian start-ups for investment Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel, has announced a series of investments totaling $40 million in technology start-ups. All the investments were in Asian companies, and three in India. The companies originate from China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, underlining rising entrepreneurial spirit in the Asian economies. The announcement was made at Intel Capital's annual global summit.

Intel Capital is a technology oriented venture capital fund that has been investing in India since 1998. Its notable Indian investments include those in Sharekhan; Yatra.com; Policybazar; Nipuna, which offers BPO and other services; Futuresoft, a telecommunications product and services company; India Infoline; Sasken and NIIT.

The three latest additions to the India portfolio are Happiest Minds Technologies — promoted by Mr. Ashok Soota, founder of MindTree — TELiBrahma Convergent Communications and Fashion and You. Happiest Minds Technology, according to Mr. Ashok Soota makes products that result in ‘happy' customers, is engaged in providing cloud services, software products engineering, infrastructure management, security testing and consulting services.

TELiBrahma Convergent Communications is in mobile applications space. According to its founder Mr. Suresh Narasimha, the company is growing at 300 per cent year on year over the last three years. Its product uses Bluetooth and WiFi technologies for advertisers and retailers. It has tied up with leading automobile and FMCG companies in the country to promote products among mobile users.

Fashion and You, promoted by Mr. Harish Bahl, is an e-commerce venture. According to Mr. Bahl, they are among the largest fashion retailers through Internet out of India, with 1, 50,000 transactions done monthly.

The ongoing turbulence in global financial markets does not seem to have impacted Intel Capital, which is going ahead with its investment plans. The President of Intel Capital, Mr. Arvind Sodhani, stated that as venture capital funds are long-term investors, these short-term fluctuations do not affect them. In fact, he added, such disturbances provide opportunities for making investments at a better price. In 2011, Intel Capital has made worldwide investments of about $472 million in 136 companies. The fund has made 31 exits this year out of which six companies completed IPOs and 25 were bought by other companies.


GAIL inks $20 billion deal with US firm GAIL has entered into a 20-year deal with Sabine Pass Liquefaction, a subsidiary of US-based Cheniere Energy Partners, to import 3.5 million tonnes a year of gas in ships, a deal that industry sources said is likely to be of the size of $15-20 billion and could be a game changer for the Indian market.

Sabine Pass has US government licence to export gas unlocked from shale rock and is developing a liquefaction facility on the border of Texas and Louisiana. It is expected to start supplies through the Panama Canal in the next 8-9 months.

The deal could shake up the Indian LNG market with a pricing linked to Henry Hub, the US bulk market benchmark for natural gas. All Indian - or Asian - LNG deals have so far been benchmarked to JCC (Japanese Crude Cocktail, or mix of crude bought by Japan) / Brent at an average of $18 per unit.

Sources estimate that Sabine Pass LNG will cost GAIL in the range of $11-13 per unit in spite of entailing a shipping cost higher than West Asian supplies. At present, various importers such as Petronet pay $15-18 per unit for shiploads from the spot market. Petronet has tied up 2.5 million tonnes from Australia's Gorgon project for its Kochi terminal at $18 per unit. "The deal will show how we link the Asian market with the US. It breaks the hold (on Indian buyers) of LNG exporters' cartel and gives us better (price) bargaining power with other sellers and options of opening the Gorgon deal. The pricing will also derisk GAIL from the domestic market," GAIL chairman B C Tripathi told TOI.

GAIL director (marketing) Prabhat Singh said Sabine Pass marked a strategic shift for the Indian market and opened up a new LNG sourcing destination. Both, however, did not comment on the deal size or LNG price.

Tripathi said the deal would open new avenues for GAIL and put it on the global LNG trading map. "We could have our own tankers; that will be a new revenue stream. Our Singapore trading desk is operational and we could trade some of the LNG globally. Above all, it ensures volumes for our expanding pipeline network."


Reliance Industries to Enter Financial Services in JV with New York based DE Shaw Reliance Industries Ltd, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, agreed to set up a joint venture with the D.E. Shaw Group to build a financial services company, Reliance said. No financial terms were available. The Joint Venture aims to offer an array of financial services to the Indian market, the statement said. Reliance is free to enter almost any sector after Mukesh Ambani and his long-estranged brother Anil ended a pact last year that had prevented them from competing in each other’s' industries. Mukesh Ambani made a dramatic return to telecoms last year with the $1 billion acquisition of Infotel Broadband, the only company to win a nationwide licence for broadband wireless spectrum in an Indian government auction. D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. is an American-based global investment management firm founded in 1988 and based in New York City. The firm's trading mode is systematic and computer-driven. The firm was founded by David E. Shaw, a former Columbia University faculty member and has more than 1,300 employees. The company has managed up to $40 billion in aggregate capital and in 2011 had $15.6 billion in assets under management and was ranked as the 21st largest hedge fund by Institutional Investor.


KFC overtakes Pizza Hut as Yum!'s largest brand in India

KFC, which almost quit India due to protests from health and animal rights activists after its debut in 1995, has overtaken Pizza Hut as the largest-selling fast food chain of Yum! Restaurants, riding on the country are increasing their appetite for chicken.

World's largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain McDonald's, domestic fried chicken chain Bangs and T.G.I. Friday's restaurant chain too have reported a spike in chicken sales this year, confirming the widening appeal of the meat as eating out becomes a habit across the country. "KFC is growing faster than Pizza Hut," says Sandeep Kataria, chief marketing officer of Yum! Restaurants India, while McDonald's says the McSpicy chicken burger range is the fastest growing product across its 240 stores. Driving this chicken mania is a number of factors including rising number of nuclear families, youngsters staying away from home, travel, rising incomes, changing lifestyles and mall culture that has boosted accessibility, competition and innovations. "There are a lot more innovations both in QSR formats and packaged ready-tocook and ready-to-eat formats, visibility of these products has gone up, prices are a lot more aggressive, and marketing spends have increased," says Sushil Sawant, assistant VP of Godrej Tyson Foods, a joint venture between Godrej Agrovet and Tyson Foods Inc. that rolled out frozen chicken tikkas and kebabs under Yummiez brand this October.

T.G.I. Friday's VP (Marketing & Development) Rohan Jetley says, "Chicken is the most neutral non-vegetarian product- its consumption is not religiously restricted like beef and pork are, it's healthier/safer than red meat, and it's not seasonal like fish and seafood." The growth in demand is expected to continue. The Rs 40,000-crore domestic poultry industry expects per head chicken consumption to double to 6 kg a year by 2014-15 from less than 3kg last year. While existing players have drawn up aggressive expansion plans, others such as UK-based Dixy Chicken and Southern Fried Chicken are waiting in the wings to expand base in the country. Yum! India plans to have 500 KFC outlets by 2015, up from 156 now.

Kataria expects the chain to account for 60% of the $1 billion (approximately Rs 5,400 crore) sales that the company is expected to generate by then. The expansion of Pizza Hut will be slower, rising to 400 by 2015 from 216 now. Bangs, which calls itself the country's first domestic fried chicken quick service restaurant (QSR) brand having set up in 2009, plans to open 50 outlets within a year to add to 20 it has across 10 states, encouraged by a 30% jump in sales quarter-on quarter. The growth is not restricted to metros and traditional centres. "We are surprised... our sales in Chennai and Gujarat are doing equally well as in Punjab and Haryana," says bangs Director Asvin Simon. Small towns like Durgapur, Kozhikode and Kochi figure as much as metros in the expansion plans of KFC, which more than doubled the number of stores this year. Its top-selling products Zinger chicken burgers and chicken buckets account for more than two-thirds of its sales. KFC recently launched grilled fiery chicken, a juicier variant of the tandoori chicken, nationally to "very encouraging" results. Yum! Attributes KFC's rapid growth-70% CAGR-to a younger, on the move target audience, innovative products, and aggressive prices.


Kotak Mahindra Capital, Evercore Tie Up for Cross-border M&A Services Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd (KMCC), investment banking arm of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, has entered into a strategic alliance with New York-based investment banking advisory firm Evercore Partners Inc. for cross-border merger and acquisition advisory services among India, the USA, the UK and Mexico, the company has said. Under this agreement, the respective investment banks will leverage their combined expertise, strong knowledge of global and local markets and deep corporate relationships to cater to their clients. “In the changing landscape of global investment banking where specialized advisory firms are gaining prominence over bulge-bracket investment banks, we find in Evercore a strong, world-class advisory firm,” Uday Kotak, executive vice-chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank commented on the partnership. Founded in 1991, KMCC provides investment banking and clearing services in India and internationally. The company operates in two segments – advisory & transactional services and trading & principal investments. The firm has advised major international corporations such as CRH, eBay, Hutchison Whampoa, Lafarge, Standard & Poor’s, Thomas Cook and Walmart on their India entry and acquisition strategies.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Kotak, the leading Indian investment bank. This strategic relationship further expands our global reach and is another critical step in our ability to serve our clients around the globe,” said Roger Altman, executive chairman of Evercore.

Evercore, founded in 2005, operates as an independent investment banking advisory firm and provides advisory services on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic corporate transactions, primarily for multinational corporations and private equity firms. It also offers restructuring advice to companies in financial transition, as well as to creditors, shareholders, and potential acquirers.


Indo-US CEO Forum asked for FDI in retail: Govt. Amidst a raging controversy over FDI in multi-brand retail, government today said it received a recommendation from the Indo-US CEO Forum to open up the sector, among other areas, for foreign investment. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia quoted the Indo-US CEO Forum as having recommended enhancing of "Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) policy reforms through further opening up of key sectors such as insurance, private sector banks, retail and defence to foreign investors". Asked whether the government would accept these recommendations, the minister said, “... the policy is reviewed on an ongoing basis with a view to making it more investor friendly". After the Cabinet approved 51 per cent FDI in the multi-brand retail and removed the cap on the single brand retail on November 24, the government has come under attack not only from the Opposition but also from the UPA allies - Trinamool Congress and the DMK. These parties have forced stalling of Parliament for the last four days demanding a roll-back of the decision, whereas the government has indicated no reversal of the policy.

The Indo-US CEO Forum was constituted in July 2005 as a major initiative for enhancing bilateral trade and investment. It was reconstituted in November 2009 by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and comprises 12 Indian and 12 US CEOs. Co-chaired by Tata Group head Ratan Tata and Honeywell Inc's Chairman and CEO David Cote, the Forum last met in Washington in September this year. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahlulwalia attended the Washington meeting.


Pizza Hut to operate 250 restaurants in India by 2015

Casual dining outlet, Pizza Hut in Chennai, India

Having completed 15 years of operations in India, casual dining chain Pizza Hut is looking to enhance its presence across the country and run 250 outlets by 2015. Besides strengthening retail presence, Pizza Hut is also looking to expand its product offerings to consumers. "There are 131 Pizza Huts in 34 cities of India at present. The plan is to take this count to 250 by 2015," Pizza Hut India Marketing Head Sunay Bhasin said.

The expansion would also happen in tier II and tier III markets, he added. To commemorate 15 years of operations in India, Pizza Hut is set to roll out a nationwide marketing and advertising campaign. "A new nationwide ad campaign would be launched by the end of the week," Bhasin said without providing information on the amount to be spent. At the same time, a new range of 15 different pizzas would be rolled out at stores across the country. "The 15 pizzas are inspired from regional cuisines and flavors from around the country," he added.


Dell to increase focus on small & medium businesses

Inset: Dell Vostro V131 Laptop

In a bid to tap into the increasing IT usage by small and medium businesses (SMBs), Dell today announced it would be increasing focus on this rapidly growing market segment. Rekuram Vardharaj, country marketing manager, medium business, Dell India said that there were close to eight million SMBs in the country, of which about 1.5 million were addressable by IT. "An increasing number of small and medium businesses are using IT and we'll aim to provide bespoke solutions that can address their needs," he said. Speaking at an event in Pune, Vardharaj pointed out that the city alone had close to 80,000 SMB enterprises, with the IT spend by medium businesses in the range of $70-75 million making it one of the focus markets for the company. THE ICT spend by the SMBs in India is estimated to be in the region of $10bn.

"The offerings will be aimed to addressing the pain points of these enterprises which tend to be issue of constrains -of time, budgets and resources. We would like to partner with the businesses and provide hardware and service solutions with the minimum possible downtime for the customer," he said.

Dell is the number one brand in the consumer and SMB segments in the country. It has in the recent past launched a number of SMB specific products like the Equal Logic storage solutions and the Vostro V131 laptop.


India’s Investments in U.S

RIL Buys Stake in US Nuclear Reactor Design Company The Reliance Industries announced that it has bought a minority stake in Terra Power, a US-based nuclear-technology design and engineering company, through one of its subsidiaries. "This is one of our series of investments in the broader energy sector," a company spokesman told. Terra Power, based in Washington, is designing a nuclear reactor that uses low-enriched uranium and produces less waste. The reactors need uranium to start up and can “run for decades on depleted uranium” without enrichment or reprocessing, Terra Power said on its website.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani will join the company's board, which includes Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, a financial daily had reported earlier in the day.

Reliance, India's most valuable company, controlled by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has outlined plans to spend $4 billion to $4.5 billion by 2014 on three US shale gas joint ventures it entered into last year. A company official told that it is scouting for oil investments in the Americas as it looks to increase the stake of crude production it owns to feed its refinery, the world’s largest.


Ventureast Invests $5 Million in Orca Systems Venture capitalists are trawling cross-border technology startups again. Hyderabad-based Ventureast recently made a $5 million Series B investment in California-based semiconductors startup Orca Systems. The company provides highly integrated radio frequency and modem technology delivering solutions for high-performance wireless applications. The firm has a research and development facility in Bangalore.

Founders Guruswamy Sridharan and Kartik Sridharan started the company in 2006 after selling their earlier startup Ashvattha Semiconductor to Insilica in 2005. Orca has raised a total $7 million so far, including the Ventureast investment, said a press release. Earlier this month it announced the launch of DRBT, a dual mode Bluetooth RF plus modem IP core which provides customers with revolutionary reductions in silicon area, low power and exceptional radio performance.


Aditi Technologies Announces Acquisition of Cumulux, Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year

Aditi Technologies announced its acquisition of Cumulux, the 2010 Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year. Aditi is one of the top Microsoft National System Integrator Partner's focused on enterprise social, big data, mobile and digital marketing. With this acquisition, Aditi is positioned to be a leader in cloud services and will drive the transformation of applications and workloads to the cloud. "Cumulux and Aditi have demonstrated credibility and excellence in building solutions on Windows Azure for Microsoft's ISV and enterprise customers," said Jenni Flinders, Vice President for the US Partner Group at Microsoft. "Cumulux is a valuable partner for Windows Azure in the ecosystem and having them combine with the scale and depth of Aditi will give our customers a tremendous opportunity."

"Aditi is betting its business on the cloud. We are excited to join forces with Cumulux. This partnership makes us the leader in Azure based transformation." said Pradeep Rathinam, CEO of Aditi Technologies. "We believe that the adoption of cloud will be key competitive advantage for our customers and we are committed to helping them strategically leverage Azure. To accelerate the adoption, we are investing 5M USD in Azure Acceleration Lab - an Azure based rapid application development offering. "

Aditi will leverage its deep Microsoft alignment aggressively to roll out the cloud services proposition to the ISV and enterprise markets in US, UK and India. The team has already helped over 50 ISV and e-commerce customers adopt and deploy Azure through the Azure Acceleration Lab. Kicking off a global launch, Aditi and Cumulux will:

• Build out an Azure delta force of architects and MVPs to drive Azure adoption in close collaboration with Microsoft across US, UK and India.

• Hire and train 130+ cloud developers to create a cloud services platform to deliver IP led innovations for customers as they migrate their applications to the Cloud.

Speaking on the acquisition, Paddy Srinivasan, CEO at Cumulux says, "Aditi and Cumulux complement each other. The synergy of global scale and strong Microsoft DNA make us one of the top Azure service providers in the market. Aditi gives us and our customers deep competency and scale in leveraging Azure to build large scale complex solutions. I am incredibly excited and look forward to replicate and amplify Cumulux's proposition at a global scale with Aditi." Paddy has joined Aditi's cloud advisory board and will continue to drive and build the Azure business for Aditi.


US investments in India

Goldman Sachs Acquires 6.47% Stake in Max India Goldman Sachs has bought a 6.47% stake in Max India for Rs. 308 crore through bulk deals. Before this transaction, Goldman Sachs held around 9% stake in the company after it converted its debentures into shares earlier this year. Goldman Sachs is now the largest shareholder in Max India after Analjit Singh who owns a 37% stake.

Warburg Pincus had 14% stake in Max India at an average price of Rs. 40 per share. In June this year, it sold 2% stake in June at around the same price. With this deal, Warburg Pincus stake has come down to 5.82%.

In October, South Africa based hospital chain - Life Healthcare acquired 26% stake in Max Healthcare for R516.5Cr, valuing the company at around Rs. 2000 Cr in all cash transaction. Before that in June, Warburg Pincus sold its 16.37% stake in Max Healthcare Institute Limited to Max India Limited for Rs.140 Cr.


Morgan Stanley to pump in $125 million in Mumbai realty The global real estate fund of Morgan Stanley is in talks with Mumbai-based Sheth Developers to invest $100 million to $125 million in a residential project in Mumbai, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Morgan Stanley fund will invest in the unlisted Indian firm’s project in the western suburbs of Mumbai said the sources, which declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media. Morgan Stanley declined to comment and Sheth Developers did not return phone calls seeking comment. Sheth Developers acquired an 18-acre land parcel in Andheri from Borosil Glass Works in 2010 for about Rs 875 crore and plans to develop a large residential project there, said the sources. If completed, the investment would be the first in India by the Morgan Stanley fund in three years, two of the sources said. The fund has invested about $750 million so far in India. In October, sources said that a bunch of investors including a fund managed by Morgan Stanley and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp are in separate talks to buy a Mumbai property from Indian textiles firm Alok Industries for about $200 million. Last month, the Wall Street bank named Shirish Godbole as the head of its global real estate investment fund in India. Indian developers have come under pressure over the past year as rising interest rates deter residential buyers and funding for builders becomes scarce as economic growth slows.


Equity International to invest $75 million in SAMHI US-based investor firm Equity International will invest USD 75 million (about Rs 370 crore) in SAMHI, a developer and owner of hotels in India that has partnership with Marriot Hotels. Gurgaon-based SAMHI is a newly-formed hospitality property company co-sponsored by GTI Capital Group, a privately held investment firm founded by Gaurav Burman, Gaurav Dalmia, Jonathan Schulhof and Madhav Dhar. "This investment perfectly represents our model of partnering with the best-in-class management teams in India, and investing both our own capital as well as aggregating capital from the finest co-investors globally," GTI Capital Group Co-founder and General Partner Gaurav Burman said. While the investment will involve picking up of equity stake in SAMHI by Equity International (EI), the company has not disclosed the same.

SAMHI has already commenced development of properties in Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon, which will comprise four hotels and 630 rooms with brands such as Courtyard and Fairfield by Marriott and Hyatt Place. The company had recently formed a JV with Marriott Hotels to develop mid-scale and economy hotels across key Indian cities under the brands Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott. In addition, it has plans to set up properties in top markets, including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata. Commenting on the company's investment in SAMHI, Equity International Chief Executive Officer Gary Garrabrant said: "With SAMHI we have the opportunity to create the leading hotel property company in India, and we are privileged to partner with GTI Capital in this highly compelling market." SAMHI was founded by Ashish Jakhanwala, SAMHI's Chief Executive Officer, who previously led the development of Accor's hotel portfolio in India; Manav Thadani, Chairman of HVS India; and Steve Rushmore, President and Founder of HVS, the global hospitality consulting firm. Equity International (EI) invests in companies outside the United States with a particular focus on identifying and initiating high-growth sectors. It has raised over $2 billion and invested in 22 portfolio companies to-date across 14 countries.


Bunge Inc. To Acquire Edible Oil Business of Amrit Group for $ 78 million (Deal value includes cash consideration for oil business on slump sale, trademark and non-compete fee.)

Headquartered in White Plains, NY Bunge Ltd. has struck a deal to acquire the edible oil business of Noida-based diversified Amrit Group in a deal worth Rs 413 crore ($78 million). The deal would give Bunge, one of the world’s largest agri commodity traders, a key position in the north Indian edible oil market. Under the deal, Bunge will acquire the edible oil business of the public-listed firm Amrit Banaspati Company Ltd. (ABCL) for Rs 220.72 crore on a slump sale basis. The sale would include the entire edible oil business of ABCL including manufacturing, marketing and distribution of vanaspati, refined and filtered edible oil, bakery shortening, table margarine & speciality fats, and salt & soya nuggets. The company owns a manufacturing unit located at Rajpura in Punjab. Bunge will also acquire secured and unsecured loans of ABCL amounting to Rs 40.6 crore besides paying the key promoters Naresh Kumar Bajaj, Ashwini Kumar Bajaj and Vikram Kumar Bajaj a sum of Rs 47 crore as non-compete fee for the next five years. Among the various brands marketed by ABCL, there is also Gagan, owned by a separate public-listed group firm Amrit Corp. As a part of the deal, Bunge is also acquiring the Gagan brand for Rs 104.5 crore from Amrit Corp. The overall edible oil business of ABCL employs 450 people; features brands like Gagan, Ginni, Amrit, Bansari and MerriGold and generates most of the sales. The firm clocked sales of Rs 1,010 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011, with net profit of Rs 22.06 crore. For Bunge, this will be a big boost to its India business as it already owns key oil brands like Dalda. The company has been present in India for around a decade and has manufacturing units at Trichy in Tamil Nadu and Bundi in Rajasthan. Amrit Group’s decision to exit a well-established business is marked by business fundamentals as edible oil is a thin-margin business and ABCL has been operating on full-capacity utilisation for the last couple of years. Growth would have meant addition to capacity and, therefore, further investments. The edible oil business in India is inherently dependent on palm oil imports and associated with currency risks. In such a scenario, entry of MNCs like Cargill, Bunge, Noble Grain, LouisDreyfus and ADM meant local players were at a disadvantage, compared to the global biggies with backward and forward linkages due to their access to global plantations.


AptarGroup Inc. buys Hyderabad’s TKH Plastics for $18 million AptarGroup, Inc., a Illinois based manufacturer of cosmetics and perfume dispensers, has acquired Hyderabad-based TKH Plastics Pvt. Ltd for $18 million (Rs 89 crore). New York Stock Exchange-listed AptarGroup will pay approximately $17 million in cash and $1 million in assumed debt as a part of the transaction. TKH Plastics is in the business of injection molded dispensing closures, with clients in Indian personal care, food, and beverage markets. The company has also been a licensee of AptarGroup’s dispensing closure products since 2006. TKH had annual revenues of approximately $8 million (Rs 39.6 crore) in the most recent fiscal year, an AptarGroup statement said. In addition, AptarGroup’s new pharmaceutical device facility in Mumbai is nearing completion and is expected to be fully operational in the beginning of 2012. AptarGroup completed its strongest year in 2010 with sales increasing 13 per cent to $2.1 billion while operating income went up to a record $268 million, up 35 per cent from a year ago. Europe accounts for 57 per cent of the sales, followed by the USA and Latin America. However, Asia accounted for only 4 per cent of the AptarGroup’s revenues in 2010 at $90 million. AptarGroup’s key customers include Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Unilever, Merck, Henkel, Revlon, Cipla, Reckitt Benckiser, Kraft and LVMH, among others. “These steps are part of our strategy to expand our footprint in the region. We recognize that India is a significant and growing market. The acquisition allows us to serve our personal care, food and beverage customers even better and the clean-room facility will enable us to provide locally produced delivery devices to our pharmaceutical customers,” said Peter Pfeiffer, president and CEO of the AptarGroup.


US-based Briggs & Stratton Acquires Premier Power For $3M US-based gasoline engine maker Briggs & Stratton Corporation has acquired Tamil Nadu’s Premier Power Equipment’s and Products Pvt. Ltd for an approximate value of $3 million or Rs 14.89 crore, the company has said in a statement. The current acquisition marks the US Company’s initiative to expand into developing markets in order to diversify its products and geographic portfolio, the company has further added.

Founded in 2004, Premier Power manufactures and markets Briggs & Stratton generators in southern and eastern India. The company also specializes in stand-by power and agricultural equipment. It has a manufacturing facility at Pappampatti, Coimbatore, and operates an in-house research and development centre. “Premier has the agricultural products and distribution network that will serve as a platform for our future growth within India,” said Todd Teske, chairman, president and CEO of Briggs & Stratton. The company will finance the transaction from cash on hand. It also expects that the acquisition will not have a material effect on its earnings in fiscal 2012. Founded in 1908 and headquartered in Wauwatosa (Wisconsin), Briggs & Stratton designs, manufactures, markets and services air-cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment worldwide. It operates in two segments – engines and power products. The engines segment products are primarily used for lawn and garden equipment like walk-behind lawn mowers, riding lawn mowers, garden tillers and snow throwers. Besides, this segment caters to industrial, construction, agriculture and other consumer applications, such as generators, pumps and pressure washers. The company also manufactures replacement engines and service parts. The power products segment offers portable and standby generators, pressure washers, snow throwers and lawn and garden powered equipment. Manufactured under various brands such as Briggs & Stratton, Brute, Craftsman, Ferris, John Deere, GE, Murray, Simplicity, Snapper, Troy-Bilt and Victa, these products are sold through several retail distribution channels including consumer home centres, warehouse clubs, mass merchants and independent dealers


http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/aptargroup-buys-hyderabad’s-tkh-plastics-for-18m

http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/us-based-briggs-stratton-acquires-premier-power-for-3m

HT Media and Apollo Global Inc., Form Joint Venture to Provide Educational Services HT Media Ltd, publisher of the Hindustan Times newspaper, has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of Apollo Global, Inc. (USA), to form a 50:50 joint venture in order to provide educational services and programmes across the country, the company has disclosed in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. However, the financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The JV between HT Media and Apollo Global aims to address the need of quality educational services and the education-employment mismatch, so that employees are well-trained for the 21st century global workplace. Founded in 2007, Apollo Inc. is a joint venture between Apollo Group, Inc. and the Carlyle Group, a private equity major. The Apollo Global network also includes BPP, a leading provider of education and training to professionals in the legal and finance industries in the UK and Europe; Universidad de Artes, Ciencias y Comunicación (UNIACC), a leading arts and communications university in Chile; the Universidad Latinoamericana (ULA) , a renowned communications, business and medical university in Mexico and Western International University (WIU), a US-accredited university specializing in business and technology education with online delivery worldwide. Incorporated in 1924, HT Media is based in Gurgaon and the company, along with its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the publishing business. It has also made foray into the education space with the launch of StudyMate, a chain of tuition centers in Delhi for 9th-12th standard students. StudyMate helps students master the course materials with the help of learning activities, self-assessment tools and educational games. Students select activities which appeal to their learning styles, making the whole experience a personalized one and effective.


US Realty Co Portman Holdings Picks Stake in Pune’s Tuscan Estate US-based realty development and advisory firm Portman Holdings, LLC has acquired significant minority stake in Tuscan Estate (a 900,000 sq. ft. residential development located in Pune) from ICICI Venture for an undisclosed sum. According to VCCedge, financial research arm of VCCircle, Portman Holdings has bought 49 per cent stake in the company.

In October 2009, Kolte Patil Developers Ltd (KPDL) in charge of Tuscan Estate, entered into a joint venture with Portman Holdings for a project worth Rs 275. The two companies had planned to develop around 8.5 lakh sq. ft. of mid-segment residential project in the eastern suburb of Pune.

Incorporated in 1953, Atlanta-based Portman Holdings caters to owners, lenders, private equity investment funds, institutional investors and closely held private real estate investment partnerships. The company claims to have raised and deployed over $6 billion and developed over 50 million sq. ft. of premium real estate across the world. Tuscan Estate, already under construction, is being developed in multiple phases and is slated to be finished by 2016. The project master plan includes 11 towers containing a total of 517 residential units. “This property is an ideal follow-up to our first direct investment in India and a good opportunity for us,” Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO of Portman Holdings, commented on the deal.

In October this year, Ambuja Realty acquired the RMZ block of Ecospace Business Park in New Town (Rajarhat), Kolkata, for an undisclosed sum. Also in September, Chennai-based Kalpathi Group, with business interests in private equity and entertainment, acquired the IT Park Rantech Towers for around Rs 50 crore. Spread over 2.2 lakh sq. ft., the IT Park is located at Sholinganallur (on Old Mahabalipuram Road) in Chennai. Of the eight-storey building, 15 per cent area will be for self-use by the group and the rest will be commercially leased/rented out to other IT companies.

Although the private equity action in Indian real estate sector has been muted, there have been a couple of large deals this year across income-generating developments. In February this year, Ascendas India Trust entered a deal to acquire a portfolio of five buildings in Phoenix Infocity Pvt. Ltd. SEZ for Rs 855 crore. Kotak Realty Fund also sold Peepul Tree Properties (an IT park in Goregaon) to Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd and Tata Realty Initiatives Fund 1 for Rs 525 crore.


http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/us-realty-co-portman-holdings-picks-stake-in-pune’s-tuscan-estate

Omnicom Group Inc. Enters Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in India's Mudra Group Omnicom Group Inc. announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Mudra Group, India's leading integrated marketing communications group. Mudra will significantly expand Omnicom's service capabilities and presence in Asia's third largest economy. As part of the agreement, Omnicom will extend its partnership with the Reliance ADA Group. Mudra Group utilizes a deep understanding of consumers, brands and media to deliver creative solutions through four agency networks: branding and communications agency Mudra India; marketing and advertising agency DDB Mudra; integrated engagement and experiential agency Mudra Max; and Ignite Mudra, India's only agency that caters to entrepreneurs. Mudra has 26 offices across the country and an extensive field activation network. In conjunction with the strategic partnership, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani will join the Omnicom International Advisory Committee. Mr. Ambani has vast experience in the international business community, leading businesses in the areas of telecom, capital, power, infrastructure, entertainment and health. In aggregate, the Reliance Group businesses serve a customer base of more than 100 million people. "This acquisition is an important step in achieving Omnicom's strategy to extend and deepen our presence in rapidly growing markets," said John Wren, President and CEO of Omnicom Group. "Our vision is to be a source of innovation in every market we serve. Mudra is widely acknowledged as an outstanding company with impressive creative product and expertise in a broad range of disciplines. Mudra's innovation and depth of talent will strengthen our business capabilities not only in India but around the world." Mudra, a DDB Worldwide partner since 1993, was the only agency in India to win a medal in the Agency of the Year category at the Spikes Asia Advertising Festival in 2011, and Mudra won more Lions at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity than any other agency group in India. "DDB has been an excellent partner over the years. We have benefited immensely from the collaboration and transfer of knowledge from around the globe. We are proud to belong to such a storied network," Mudra Group CEO Madhukar Kamath said. "Omnicom and DDB have clearly been the inspiration for Mudra Group's transformative growth over the last five years. My colleagues and I look forward to the next decade of explosive growth in the Indian market." DDB Worldwide President and CEO Chuck Brymer noted, "This acquisition will further unite two companies that have long held the same values, creative goals and ambitions. Under Madhukar's leadership, Mudra is the original challenger brand of the Indian communications industry, and it shares DDB's culture of creative excellence. Together, we will create even greater growth for our clients in this rapidly changing, technologically driven region." DDB and Mudra Group's shared history is rooted in a relationship that began in 1988 and has grown tremendously since the formation of DDB Mudra in 2007, which established DDB India, Tribal DDB, Rapp and DDB Health & Lifestyle in the Indian market. John Zeigler, CEO, DDB Asia Pacific, added, "Mudra has an impressive history as both creative leaders and strong believers in integrated solutions making them one of the most innovative companies in India." Omnicom Group EVP and CFO Randall Weisenburger also noted, "In addition to significantly expanding our service capabilities in the region, this partnership will bring with it an exceptional Shared Services and Operations Center in Ahmedabad that will help Omnicom more efficiently expand its other operations in India. Additionally, Mudra recently moved into a new headquarters facility in Mumbai called Mudra House, a sustainable building and one of the few in India to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification. Mudra House is widely acclaimed for its conservation features and state of the art technology."


Caterpillar expanding in India: to invest $ 3 billion in next 5 years

Construction and mining equipment major Caterpillar Inc. is investing $210 million (around Rs1, 096 crore) in its Indian operations as part of its global plans to invest up to $3 billion over the next 5 years. The company will set up an engine manufacturing facility for electric power generation sets and expand its off-highway truck manufacturing facility in Chennai, according to Richard P Lavin, group president, Caterpillar Inc. ''We are yet to decide on the location, though we have short-listed some of the states. The final announcement on the same will be shared in 2-3 months,'' said Lavin. The plant, he said, would have an initial capacity for 3,000 units, which will be expanded to 5,000 units in 12-18 months from the start of the production. The facility, to be set up as a new subsidiary incorporated in India, will start production in two to three years, he added. The engine manufacturing facility, to be set up with an investment of $150 million, will produce Perkins brand 4000 Series engines, which will cater to 750-2500 kV electric power gensets, said Kevin R Thieneman, India Country Manager, and President Caterpillar Asia. Perkins is a wholly-owned diesel engine manufacturing subsidiary of Caterpillar. ''The Indian facility will be the first facility outside the UK and 50 per cent of the machines produced will cater to parts of Asia and other markets,'' he added. The expansion would be in addition to the company's investment of around $108 million on the truck manufacturing facility. The current investment plans, a part of Caterpillar's 2015 corporate strategy, are in tandem with the company's earlier investments in India, which are nearing completion, added Thieneman. ''This new investment will play a role in developing our technology further while benefiting our customers who are playing a vital role in the transformation of the Indian economy,'' he added.


Not-for-profit Teach For India Secures $2.5M From Omidyar Network Teach For India, a non-profit organisation aiming to eliminate educational inequity in the country, has raised $2.5 million (Rs 13.4 crore) funding from Omidyar Network. The monies raised will be used to cover new schools and expand its operations across new cities in order to accelerate vital improvements in Indian education system, the company has said. Teach For India, modelled after Teach For America, was incorporated nearly four years ago. It enables college graduates and young professionals to commit two years and teach full-time in under resourced schools. In June 2009, Teach For India placed its first cohort of Fellows in low-income municipal and private schools in Pune and Mumbai.

The organization was founded by its current CEO Shaheen Mistri who is also the founder of Akanksha Foundation, a not-for-profit supporting underprivileged children. Incidentally, Ashish Dhawan, co-founder of the Indian PE firm ChrysCapital, is one of the board members of Teach For India. This is the second education sector investment in India by Omidyar in as many months and third in the field this year. Omidyar Network, incorporated in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, is an investment firm specialising in early, mid and late-venture investments, as well as non-profit organisations. Bulk of its investments supports companies in India and Sub-Saharan Africa and focuses on areas like microfinance, SMEs, emerging market ventures and property rights. Last month, Omidyar invested an undisclosed sum in Gurgaon-based Aspiring Minds, an employability assessment company that provides standardised employability benchmarks to students and enables employers to evaluate students for job placements. Earlier in April, Omidyar had invested in Tree House Education in a pre-IPO round, along with existing investors Matrix Partners India and Foundation Capital. Other organisations that have received investments from Omidyar include Janaagraha Centre For Citizenship & Democracy, Foundation For Ecological Security, D.light Design, Quikr India, Sa-Dhan, Rural Development Institute and Comat Technolgies.


Norwest Invests $5 million in Former eBay India Head's E-com Start-up Trendsutra Platform Services Pvt Ltd (Pepperfry.com), a lifestyle e-commerce start-up co-founded by former eBay India country manager Ambareesh Murty but yet to be launched, has raised $5 million in venture capital funding from Norwest Venture Partners.

The company has said in a statement that over the past few months, it has built a team of over 70 e-commerce and retail professionals. By Christmas 2011, Pepperfry aims to offer a range of 25,000-plus lifestyle products across categories like clothing, furniture & home décor, precious & fashion jewelry, lifestyle accessories and personal care. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and has ground sourcing and fulfillment operations in Delhi and Jodhpur.

The company was set up in July and targets the $30 billion offline retail market for lifestyle products spanning these categories. Discounts available on the site will vary between 20 per cent and 70 per cent. Currently, the site is in the last stage of testing and is set to be launched before December 25, 2011.

Ashish Shah, former head of eBay Motors, will be the COO of the company. Shah’s LinkedIn profile shows him to be a co-founder of the firm. “Pepperfry’s goal is to make affordable indulgence possible. We will ensure that our customers get competitively priced lifestyle products without needing to compromise on style or choice,” said Ambareesh Murty, CEO of Pepperfry.

The differentiators for Pepperfry.com are its product range and transparency in pricing. “In terms of differentiation, it is the sheer range of products that we offer. We have 25,000 products and one can easily search through those to find what he wants. Second factor is the transparency – when you come to our site, look at the product page and you will find there are terms, descriptions, pricing details, price of gold and the gems used for jewellery, for example, as well as return arrangements. We have tried to be very forthcoming about our prices,” said Murty.

“Pepperfry has a strong team, extensive e-commerce and retail expertise and great execution abilities reflected in the imminent launch of Pepperfry.com in less than five months since commencing operations. We are excited by the e-commerce opportunity in India and believe that Pepperfry is a great addition to our robust global Internet portfolio,” said Niren Shah, managing director of Norwest Venture Partners India.

Incidentally, Norwest has recently invested in Fashionandyou.com and Smile Group’s daily deal site Dealsandyou.com. According to Murty, products and goods-related e-commerce has come into its own in the country. “It is symptomatic of the trend that customers are comfortable with using their credit cards online and buying from someone who is not in front of them. This fundamental shift in customer behavior has translated into purchase of goods online,” he said.


UTC Climate Acquires Controlling Stake in Agnice Fire Protection UTC Climate, Controls & Security Systems, part of the US-based diversified aerospace and building systems provider United Technologies Corp (UTC), has acquired a controlling stake in Chennai-based Agnice Fire Protection Ltd, for an undisclosed sum, the company had recently said in a statement. The acquisition of Agnice complements existing capabilities and offerings, and further strengthens its foundation in India, the statement has added. Incorporated in 1995, Agnice is engaged in the engineering, procurement and construction of fire protection systems for petrochemicals and refineries in India and abroad. The company provides a plethora of services such as fire risk evaluation, engineering, system design, hydraulic calculation, quantity surveying and budgeting, drawing and documentation, procurement installation, testing and commissioning, and maintenance. The company is based in Chennai, with additional offices in Oman, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1934 and based in Hartford, Connecticut, UTC is a leading provider of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, building controls and automation, and fire & security systems. The company’s UTC Fire and Security segment provides electronic security products comprising intruder alarms, and access control and video surveillance systems. Incidentally, UTC has been increasing its presence in India by various acquisitions. In 2005, the company acquired Kidde Fire in Mumbai (formerly Vijay Fire) for an undisclosed sum. Two years later, UTC Fire and Security acquired majority stake in Alba Control Systems Ltd, currently called Chubb Alba Control Systems Ltd. On the global front, United Technologies had acquired GE’s security business for $1.82 billion. Also, in August this year, United Technologies was planning to acquire Bangalore-based Firepro Systems for around $200 million, according to various media reports. Commenting on the deal, Zubin Irani, President of UTC Climate, Controls & Security Systems (India), said, “UTC looks at India very strategically. With acquisitions like this, we enhance our position by building scale, reach, product offerings and customer service capabilities across the country.” “This acquisition will enable Agnice to expand to new horizons. By aligning with UTC’s global expertise, capabilities and network, we will provide a superior platform for our continued growth,” said Agnice MD Govindarajan.


In the News:

Visa norms for expats working at senior positions relaxed Expats working at senior positions in India will not need to go back home and seek a fresh Indian employment visa when they take intergroup transfers, the government has said in updated rules. This will provide flexibility to foreign companies that have multiple businesses in India in deploying their resources. "Ministry of home affairs may approve change of employer only if the foreign national holds a senior or skilled position, "says the amended guideline issued by the ministry. The earlier guideline was seen as a major irritant by expats and companies employing them as any transfer within the group would mandate a homeland visit and a fresh work visa. This not just inflated costs for companies who employed foreign nationals but also led to loss of crucial work hours. The fresh clarification is seen as a welcome change by the industry that had been lobbying with the ministry for relaxation in these guidelines for some time. "This will facilitate multinational companies in transferring their expatriate employees to different subsidiaries in India based on business needs," said Sanjiv Chaudhary, Tax Partner-KPMG. Most multinationals and even Indian companies prefer to keep their senior and skilled expat employees largely on project basis. A mandatory visit home and a fresh employment visa led to unnecessary hassle, said a senior executive with a multinational consultancy that faced this issued. Another firm had to lobby hard to get home ministry permission to retain its senior consultant in a subsidiary. Experts say the new guideline would also make the process more efficient and transparent as they had to approach the ministry individually and each application was treated on a case by case basis. "..It is good that the protocol has been put in black and white" said Amitabh Singh, partner, Ernst & Young. However, the relaxation will only be limited to changing jobs between registered holding company and its subsidiary and between subsidiaries. In other cases, where the foreign national desires to change employer, he will be required to return to his home country and obtain a fresh employment visa. Change of employer will be permitted only once during the tenure of five years of the original employment visa and five years of residency on employment visa would be counted from the original date of its issue and not from the date of change of employer. However, experts say the new norm only partly addressed the issue and a further relaxation may be required. "The government should also look at allowing movement of employees between joint ventures," said Chaudhary.


US appoints first woman Ambassador to India

Nancy J Powell, the new American Ambassador to India, is not only the first woman to head the US mission in Delhi, but also the first career diplomat to take over the crucial post in nearly 15 years.

A South Asia expert, 64-year-old Powell had served as the US ambassador to Pakistan (2002 to 2004) and Nepal (2007 to 2009) and had also held key diplomatic positions including as political counselor in Delhi (1993-1995), consul-general in Kolkata (1992-93) and deputy chief of mission in Dhaka (1995-97). Her stint as national intelligence officer for South Asia at the National Intelligence Council (2006-07) has also given her adequate insights about the region. Powell moves to Delhi from the department of state, where she worked as director-general, Foreign Service, and director of human resources.

The last US Foreign Service officer to be posted in Delhi was Frank Wisner, who served as ambassador for three years from 1994. His successors – including Richard Celeste, Robert Blackwill, David Campbell Mulford and Timothy Roemer – were political appointees. Only seven of the 22 US ambassadors in India since Independence have been career officers of the Foreign Service, Powell being the eighth. The position has attracted the likes of Chester Bowles, a former adman-turned-politician (who was ambassador to Delhi twice, between 1951 and 1953 and 1963 and 1969), John Kenneth Galbraith, a renowned economist and author (1961 to 1963) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a veteran Democrat (1973 to 1975).

The low-key Powell was ambassador in Islamabad during the crucial years following Pakistan's misadventure in Kargil, when relations between the two South Asian neighbors had deteriorated. She had also warned the Pakistan government that extremist outfits with links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban had regrouped, leading to a crackdown on them.

Of course, Powell's India tenure could be brief, as US President Barack Obama, seeking a second four-year term in 2012, could be voted out of office. A new Associated Press-GfK poll found that half of the Americans surveyed felt he should not continue in office for the second term. Less than 40 per cent of the respondents approved Obama's handling of the economy, with the vast majority disapproving it. Recent US diplomatic postings to India have been political ones, with American presidents such as Bill Clinton, George Bush and even Obama taking a greater interest in building up relations with the world's largest democracy.


US University to launch residency programme in India A Southern California based doctoral research university is launching its third global residency Programme next month in India and has plans to add two more in the future. "The Indian Economy and the Epicenter of Globalization" is a one-week residency in Mumbai from Jan 1 to 8 for University of California, Riverside School of Business Administration undergraduate students, graduate students and alumni. It joins similar one-week residency programmes in England and China that were started the past two years, the university announced Tuesday. Future plans call for adding programmes in Russia and Brazil. "The programmes expose students to emerging markets and give them global experience in an academic, business and cultural environment," said Sean Jasso, who organizes the trips and is a lecturer of management at the School of Business Administration. The programmes started in spring 2010 with a weeklong residency at the University of Oxford in England. In 2011, students returned to Oxford and added Guangzhou and Shenzhen, China in June of that year. In 2012, students will return to those two countries and travel to India from Jan 1 to 8. The past trips and the upcoming trip to India have drawn about 80 students. The residency in India will explore the strategic issues that US and foreign multinationals face when doing business in India. Lecture topics include India as a transitional economy, Mumbai's economy, financing in India, culture and leadership in India and India's future economic growth. Participants will visit Tata Consultancy Service; L&T InfoTech, a global IT services and solutions provider; the US Chamber of Commerce; and the National Stock Exchange.


US House approves bill seeking faster green cards for Indian tech professional’s In a move that could see more highly skilled immigrants from India and China obtain green cards faster, the US House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to modify the current visa regime. The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigration Act, seeking elimination of per-country caps on employment-based visas and instituting a first come, first served system, received support from a broad section of representatives across both parties. The act was passed in the House with a vote of 389-15 yesterday. The bill is now expected to pass through the Senate smoothly. Under current immigration law, issuance of employment-based green cards is aimed at restricting permanent residence for citizens from any one country to 7 per cent of the total green cards approved by the State Department in any particular year. Under the rule, it is easier for applicants from smaller countries that do not generate a significant number of applications to obtain a green card than applicants from big countries that provide most of the foreign tech workers sought by companies. Indian tech professionals, seeking immigration to the US, often have to wait up to 10 years for a green card due to the per-country cap. The High-Skilled Immigration Act, introduced to Congress in September by Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz, aims to address the imbalance with a switch to a first come, first served system for the roughly 140,000 employment-based green cards awarded annually. "Per country limits make no sense in the context of employment-based visas. Companies view all highly skilled immigrants as the same regardless of where they are from--be it India or Brazil," Chaffetz said in a statement. Under the current system, India's quota is roughly 3,000 green cards annually, which means that highly-skilled US visa applicants have to wait for years before their visa gets approved. The new Bill seeks to cut the time span by removing the limit on green cards. According to Nasscom, the bill was a positive step from the perspective of the IT industry. Ameet Nivraskar, vice president of Nasscom, says the move would certainly ease the pressure from the other categories of work visas like H-1B. He adds the bill would now need to be approved in the Senate, after which there were other administrative processes before it would be implemented, he added. Media reports say there would be a three-year transition before the bill took effect following which green cards based on employment would be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis -- with no country-based limits.

Analysts say, the US move would help appease technology companies that have been pressing Congress to provide more green cards for foreign employees. They are worried that the US was lagging behind competition from elsewhere in the world due to immigrant workers being forced to leave.


Farokh T. Balsara, Ernst & Young India Media and Entertainment Leader to now lead the EMEIA M&E Practice

Ernst & Young has announced the appointment of Farokh T. Balsara, as the Media & Entertainment industry leader for Europe, Middle East, India & Africa (EMEIA) region. Based in Mumbai, Farokh has been Ernst & Young’s M&E Practice Leader in India for over a decade and will now drive the sector program throughout Europe, Middle East India & Africa. This is an unprecedented move and Farokh is the first Partner from India to lead a sector at an EMEIA-wide level. Farokh has been the Regional President WIC and National President of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.


Mr. Hemant Sonawala honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by CSI

Mr. Hemant Sonawala, Past National President, IACC being conferred CSI Lifetime Achievement Award by Prof. P

Thrimurthi, Chairman, Awards Committee and Shri M.D. Agrawal, President, CSI

Mr. Hemant Sonawala, a Technology Entrepreneur, driven by his mission of 'Better Life through Technology’ for the last four decades, is one of the founding fathers of the IT Industry in India. An Electrical Engineer from Saradar Vallabh Vidyanagar (1959), Gujarat, he received his M.S.E.E. from University of Washington D.C, Seattle, USA in 1961. He started his career as Research Engineer at Boeing Aircraft Company. After brief stints at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and at Hindustan Aeronautics, he went back to USA, to work with Tektronix Inc. based in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. On his return from USA, in 1966, he founded Hinditron - which soon became the pioneer in providing high technology products & solutions across different sectors in India. In 1971, he led Hinditron's foray into Computers, with a tie up with Digital Equipment Corporation, bringing the mini computer revolution to India.

Hinditron grew to be a large IT products and services company and was one of the first companies to start software exports from India. He was one of the first Entrepreneurs to establish hardware manufacturing in India at a time when India was just an imported product destination. Mr. Sonawala has led Hinditron's growth for the last 45 years to expand its presence in areas like Information Technology, Instrumentation, Telecommunication, Medical Devices, Infrastructure, High Performance Computing, etc. Mr. Sonawala pursued the Indian dream at a time when few Indians were returning to India. His strong belief In India and its potential brought him back from US shores to set up business in India to lay the foundation for India's growth story as an IT superpower. For Mr. Sonawala, I.T does not just mean Information Technology, but Indian Talent. His focus for the last four decades, has been to leverage India's talent in engineering to make India a self-reliant economy and to position it as a leader in the global scenario Mr. Sonawala worked tirelessly and passionately to establish a vibrant ecosystem around the nascent IT industry in India with active participation and advocacy with various professional organizations and Government bodies. He was the President of CSI during 1988-90 where he laid the foundation for a strong IT industry in India. At CSI, he instituted processes for transparent financial management and governance in the organization. He initiated several projects for imparting computer training to the physically challenged. He also worked to energize CSI chapters across India and also extended CSI's presence to SEARCC. He continued to play an active role to strengthen CSI as an effective IT organization in India by supporting and encouraging various Initiatives at all levels. His efforts have been recognized by many professional Organizations. A Fellow of IEEE, IETE, Institution of Engineers and Computer ,Society of India, he has been Past President of CSI, Indo American Chamber of Commerce & an active member of many other organizations. He is a recipient of many prestigious awards like The IEEE Millennium Medal, Life Time Achievement Award foe IT conferred by Dataquest; Cyber Media in 2005, Distinguished Alumni Award by University of Washington, Lifetime Achievement Award for Technology Innovation by Indira Institute of Management, The Udyog Ratna Award by the Institute of Economic Studies. Mr. Sonawala continues to be recognized as an active member of the IT industry in India. In grateful recognition of his services to the Computer Society of India and for laying the foundation for a strong IT industry in India, as an Industry pioneer, visionary technocrat and passionate entrepreneur, CSI is proud to Honor Mr. Hemant Sonawala with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2011. The society takes pride and pleasure in presenting him with the citation on the occasion of the Annual Convention of CSI held at Ahmedabad on December 01, 2011.


HARMAN CEO, Dinesh Paliwal Receives Prestigious Corporate Leadership Award from American India Foundation

Dinesh Paliwal, President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of HARMAN (NYSE: HAR) was honored with the American India Foundation (AIF) Corporate Leadership Award at AIF’s 10th annual gala on December 10. In its theme of “Celebrating a Decade of Impact,” the gala recognizes the outstanding leadership of individuals committed to creating long-term change and impact in India from both the subcontinent itself and the United States.

Mr. Paliwal has been driving entrepreneurship and leading-edge innovation for the leading global provider of premium audio and infotainment solution for the past five years over a career spanning nearly three decades. In 2010, Mr. Paliwal was named Metro New York Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and also received the Indian American Achiever Award from the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). He has served on numerous boards and councils, including the US India Business Council.

“I’m deeply honored to be recognized by the AIF. Their work to aid disadvantaged and impoverished communities is truly an inspiration, and I applaud the AIF’s commitment toward catalyzing social and economic change in India,” Paliwal said. “Being born and raised in Agra and having spent all of my professional life working and living all over the world, I see the opportunity to continue to build the bridge between our nations and the benefits that we can create for the most impoverished. I look forward to continuing to work with the AIF for the years to come." Mr. Paliwal was joined by four internationally acclaimed artists at the star-studded event – two-time Academy Award-winning composer A.R. Rahman who received the AIF Spirit of India Award; legendary composer and producer Quincy Jones, who served as Honorary Gala Chair; popular singer/songwriter Michael Bolton, and Bollywood superstar Sunidhi Chauhan. A. R. Rahman is an ambassador for JBL’s Hear the truth campaign, while Quincy Jones collaborated with Harman to create the highly regarded AKG Quincy Jones Signature Line Headphones. About AIF: Since its founding in 2001, AIF has raised and deployed more than $70 million to support its programs that have impacted the lives of 1.5 million of India’s most impoverished and marginalized individuals in the areas of education, livelihoods and public health. President Bill Clinton serves as Honorary Chair and Nobel Laureate Professor Dr. Amartya Sen chairs the Advisory Council. AIF provides a nationwide platform for collective philanthropy with chapters in New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, New England, Chicago, and Washington DC in addition to Southern California. About HARMAN HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 12,500 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.0 billion for the 12 months ended September 30, 2011. The company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE: HAR.


US keen to partner with India on healthcare US said it was keen on partnering with India on healthcare to offer quality services in urban and rural areas. "We at the US Consulate share your interest in improving citizens' access to the best available healthcare in urban and rural areas," US Consul General to Kolkata Dean Thompson said. "I wish to reiterate that the USA is interested in partnering with India to learn from you and to share our expertise in areas where we believe we can add value and efficiency in health care," he said. State Medical Education Director S K Bandhopadhyay, emphasized upon the need to develop and popularize the use of alternative medicine in the country. He also pointed out there is an urgent need to increase the number of medical colleges and bridge the deficit of doctors.


India is third-largest buyer of US arms

India has emerged as the third-largest purchaser of US arms with contracts worth $4.5 billion last year even as US sales of defence equipment went up to $34.8 billion in fiscal 2011, according to a Pentagon report. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the Pentagon agency that oversees foreign arms sales, confirmed sales in the fiscal ending 30 Sep were up at $34.8 billion.

Defence sales topped $30 billion for the fourth consecutive year after reaching $31.6 billion in fiscal 2010. Afghanistan, Taiwan, India, Australia and Saudi Arabia were the top buyers of US arms last year, the Defence Department said. Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Japan and Sweden were the next largest buyers. The top 10 foreign military sales (FMS) customers for fiscal 2011 were the Afghan Security Forces ($5.4 billion); Taiwan ($4.9 billion); India ($4.5 billion); Australia ($3.9 billion); Saudi Arabia ($3.5 billion); Iraq ($2.0 billion); the United Arab Emirates ($1.5 billion); Israel ($1.4 billion); Japan ($0.5 billion) and Sweden ($0.5 billion). The DSCA said it expected foreign military sales to once again average $30 billion for fiscal 2012, but official projections were still being calculated.


US, India advance bilateral relationship despite frictions Despite differences over the nuclear liability issue, Washington's disappointment on the fighter jets deal, FDI and New Delhi's refusal to toe West's line on Syria and Libya at the UN Security Council, India and the US tried hard to look beyond frictions to expand their ties to new areas this year. The Indo-US civil nuclear deal, pushed originally by former President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was touted as a game changer for bilateral ties in recent years, but with the liability issues causing serious differences, the initial euphoria seemed to have died down. Having witnessed a major industrial tragedy in Bhopal, liability has been a sensitive issue for India, and the Indian parliament passed the nuclear liability bill that places part of the responsibility of an accident on the supplier company. The US expressed resentment over the regulations arguing they do not leave a level-playing field for its companies. Washington was again not satisfied with the stand taken by New Delhi at the UN Security Council, where India differed on key issues like Syria and Libya. On the military front, the US was unhappy when Defence Minister A K Antony turned down the Pentagon proposal to include defence as part of the Strategic Dialogue. As a result of which the Strategic Dialogue had to be pushed by several months, although the official position was that this was mainly because of the state elections in India. Another issue that left the US openly disappointed was when India did not shortlist two American companies – Boeing and Lockheed Martin – for its lucrative multi-billion fighter jet deal. Besides, the government's decision to recoil its move to approve foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail also frustrated America's corporate sector. India too had its own issues with the US this year, including the outrage over the arrest of several students and their radio tagging following the closure of a university in California on visa fraud charges. New Delhi also did not find much progress on a number of key trade and business areas and relaxation in export of several high tech areas, despite repeated assurances from the Obama Administration in this regard. The Anna Hazare stir also caused a minor irritant between the two sides when State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said

the US hoped India would exercise "democratic restraint" in dealing with the protests, following which India reacted sharply calling them "needless" utterances. However, the differences, along with India's concern over the not so forthcoming co-operation on counterterrorism issues like on David Headley, were never a real threat to ties as the two countries looked beyond the frictions to expand their relationship to new frontiers, laying a foundation to the vision laid down by US President Barack Obama during his 2010 visit, wherein he identified India-US relationship as defining partnerships of the 21st century. 2011 could be remembered as a year wherein the US was continuously seen pushing New Delhi for playing a greater role in global affairs to match its economic and military power. While Obama during his Asia trip later this year identified India as a major Asia Pacific power, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose Chennai for one of her landmark speeches wherein she unveiled her vision of the New Silk Route which has the potential to herald a new economic revolution in the entire South and Central Asia. The first-ever trilateral dialogue held between India, Japan and the US this month is another indication of the role US wants New Delhi to play. It was again this year that the two started "consultations" on Middle East and North Africa. This gained importance in the context of the Arab Spring, as Washington wants India to help countries in North Africa and Middle East to establish roots of democracy. In her landmark Chennai speech, Clinton explained why the US considers India important in its scheme of things. "President Obama made a state visit to India last year. I have been here twice in the last two years. And why, one might ask? Why are we coming to India so often and welcoming Indian officials to Washington as well?" she asked. "It's because we understand that much of the history of the 21st century will be written in Asia, and that much of the future of Asia will be shaped by decisions not only of the Indian Government in New Delhi, but of governments across India," said Clinton. A few months later in Washington, Clinton co-chaired a meeting with Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal to launch the first ever India-US Education Summit. The two countries carried out their intensive consultations on regional issues, Afghanistan and Pakistan in particular; even though not much appeared in the public domain. The White House sees the benefit of India's counseling in the troubled Af-Pak region. The fact that President Obama himself dropped in during a meeting when National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon visited White House at the invitation of his counterpart Tom Donilon is an indication to that effect. "The President and his National Security team took opportunities this year to advance the bilateral relationship, follow-up on the President's successful November 2010 visit, and launch new initiatives that provide strategic continuity to the relationship," Caitlin Hayden, spokesperson of the National Security Council, White House, told PTI. "The President and Prime Minister Singh met in Bali in November on margins of the East Asia Summit to highlight our shared goals in Asia and the importance of building collaborative multilateral institutions in the region," Hayden said. "We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Indian Government in the year ahead on the wide-range of issues in our shared bilateral, regional and global interests," she said. This year, the Obama Administration also took the important step of building relationship with Indian states, with its top officials including Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake himself travelling to several states including West Bengal, besides several visits made by Reta Jo Lewis, Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs. The unique feature of US-India relationship is that it enjoys a rare bipartisan support in Washington; even at a time when the Republicans and Democrats are bitterly divided in the Congress right now. This was quite evident when lawmakers from both the parties turned out the reception hosted by the India Caucuses in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the new Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao. Even as the two countries continued to march ahead in strengthening and deepening of their bilateral ties, a number of pot holes – small and big – hit the road this year. However, unlike the bilateral relationship with other countries like China or Pakistan this never spilled in the open. Reflecting a growing sign of maturity, officials of the two countries tried to resolve them through talks.


DGHI Receives USAID Award for Indoor Air Pollution Research The Duke Global Health Institute is one of three recipients of a US Agency for International Development (USAID) award totaling $1.3 million, in which researchers will develop and evaluate interventions addressing indoor air pollution. Through the Translating Research into Action (TRAction) project managed by University Research Co., LLC, The Duke Global Health Institute, Impact Carbon in San Francisco and Seattle-based PATH will work with local partner organizations in India and Uganda to investigate the factors that enable families to purchase improved clean cookstoves and use them correctly over time. The studies will examine institutions and incentives that promote stove acquisition and use, and develop and test interventions on how best to introduce new stove technologies, change the home environment, and influence individual attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Subhrendu Pattanayak, associate professor of public policy, environment, economics and global health, will lead the Duke research in Uttar Pradesh, India as part of the Duke Cookstove Initiative, which he has helped start on campus. Pattanayak will be working on the project with Marc Jeuland, assistant professor of public policy and global health, and DGHI Associate in Research Jessica Lewis. Half of the world’s population cooks with solid fuels on poorly functioning stoves or open fires, primarily using wood or other biomass. Nearly 2 million people, mostly women and children, die each year as a consequence of household air pollution levels that are typically 100 times greater than World Health Organization air quality guidelines. “Understanding the causes of and solutions for indoor air pollution, a leading cause of respiratory infections, is essential to demonstrate USAID’s commitment to Global Health Initiative goals of protecting women and children, who are disproportionately affected by indoor smoke,” said Dr. Ariel Pablos-Mendez, Assistant Administrator, Global Health with USAID. “With support from DGHI, we have been laying the groundwork through literature reviews and meta-analysis to put ourselves in a position to conduct this type research,” said Pattanayak. “Foisting untested technologies on reluctant households without understanding contextual drivers of behavior is a recipe for disaster. This project allows us to avoid past mistakes and inform future implementors.” Global efforts have focused on creating and testing improved clean cookstoves, switching to higher-quality, lower emission fuels and improved household ventilation as a key Interventions to reduce household air pollution. Though these hold promise to reduce household air pollution, evidence-based practical approaches to scaling-up and sustaining these interventions in developing country settings have been limited. For a household air pollution intervention to be effective, families must use it consistently and correctly. The core user, in this case women who do the majority of the cooking in most settings, need to be motivated to purchase and fully adopt a technology based on their personal preferences, social norms, knowledge and attitudes in their communities, product affordability and access, and perceived priorities. Adjusting cooking practices can entail a high degree of behavior change which may encourage or hamper overall uptake. The challenge is how to protect the health and safety of families, honor local cooking traditions and support the effective uptake of clean and efficient household solutions. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a public-private partnership led by the United Nations Foundation, aims to reach 100 million homes by 2020. The US government pledged $50 million and joins other U.S. agencies, other donor countries, host governments, corporate founding partners Morgan Stanley and Shell, academia and civil society in this global effort to address health, safety, environment, women and children.


US plans to provide technical assistance for setting up 30 agricultural hubs in the eastern states of India which will further facilitate bilateral economic partnership.

To take the bilateral economic partnership forward, the US today said it will provide assistance to India in setting up 30 agricultural hubs in the Eastern states to galvanize their growth in the farm sector. "We will provide technical assistance in setting up 30 agricultural hubs in the Eastern states of India to help the region achieve second green revolution," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said. Shah, the highest-ranking Indian-American in the Obama Administration, said US is interested in promoting partnership especially in the farm sector through engagements with private enterprises, research centers and other institutions. "Bihar whose almost 80 per cent population is dependent on agriculture continues to suffer from agricultural backwardness. We would like to assist it and other states in the Eastern areas to help them achieve agricultural growth", Shah, heading a US delegation here, said. Earmarking it as a priority area, the government has announced allocation of Rs 300 crore in the 2011-12 fiscal to help the Eastern states usher in second green revolution in the country. Shah said efforts would be made to build new business models between institutions to enrich each other’s economy. With a budget of over USD 40 billion and nearly 2,000 employees, USAID is an independent federal agency that is responsible for most US foreign aid. Shah said US President Barack Obama has profound respect for India's innovation in agriculture and food and wished to take forward the partnership through significant economic engagements. During his tour of India in November 2010, Obama had clearly stated this, he added.


Anti-outsourcing US bill targets Indian call centers The anti-outsourcing lobby in the US fired a real zinger at countries like India and the Philippines that have been the preferred call-centre destinations for US companies. A bipartisan bill has been tabled in the House of Representatives that would punish American corporations for offshoring their telephone call centers, by making such companies ineligible for grants or guaranteed loans from the federal government. More worryingly, the bill also seeks to give US consumers the right to ask where the call centre representative they are speaking with is located, and ask for an America-based representative instead.

Tim Bishop, a Democrat Congressman from New York, and Republican representative David McKinley introduced The US Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, a bipartisan bill to clamp down on outsourcing. The proposed legislation has the potential to hurt India, which already holds at least 50 percent of the global outsourcing market, which includes call centers, number-crunching back offices and software development outlets.

A bipartisan bill in the US Congress seeks to punish US companies that offshore call-centre jobs to India and the Philippines. The Philippines now leads India in call-centre jobs, employing 350,000 compared with India’s 330,000, according to the Contact Center Association of the Philippines.

America’s protectionist legislation would put some aggressive mandates on call-centre operations. Here are some of the things this bill would do:

• Require the US Department of Labor to publicly list US firms that move call centre jobs overseas • Make these firms ineligible for any direct or indirect federal loans or loan guarantees for five years • Require 120-day advance notification of a proposed move offshore • Require call centre employees to tell US consumers where they are located, if asked • Require that call centers transfer calls to a US call centre, if asked

In a conference call with reporters, Bishop said: “Outsourcing is one of the scourges of our economy and one of the reasons we are struggling to knock down the unemployment rate and reduce the number of Americans who are out of work… We can’t prohibit it, but we can certainly discourage it.”

“With Representative McKinley as my primary Republican co-sponsor, I’m very hopeful he can bring a good number of his colleagues to the table,” Bishop said. “It’s hard to defend the practice. It’s hard to say we would rather employ someone in the Philippines or India than in the US.”

Not surprisingly, Bishop and McKinley’s call centre bill has powerful backing from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a union representing 700,000 workers, more than 150,000 of whom are customer service reps. “Americans are fed up with good-paying family supporting call center jobs here in the US being shipped overseas so the one percent can make a little extra money,” said CWA chief of staff Ron Collins, who will be mobilizing support for the legislation in individual states and Congressional districts.

The call centre bill is unlikely to win the support of the large number of anti-protectionist Republican members of Congress, but it comes at a time when job creation is a top priority for Republicans and Democrats as the country heads into the 2012 election. As the election battle heats up, so will debates about unemployment, the sliding US economy, and inevitably, outsourcing.

Politicians of all stripes applauded when AT&T promised in August this year to bring 5,000 customer service jobs back to the US if it was allowed to proceed with its proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. AT&T’s call centers in India and the Philippines were directly in the line of fire. Fortunately for the company’s Indian workers, AT&T abandoned its takeover bid for T-Mobile USA on after opposition from telecom regulators, who baulked at AT&T’s ambitions to become the biggest US wireless carrier.


DuPont rejigs leadership in India Science and engineering products firm, DuPont recently claimed that, Rajeev Vaidya has been appointed as the new President (South Asia). The appointment will be effective from December 15, 2011. Vaidya takes over from Balvinder S Kalsi, who will serve DuPont Headquarters in Wilmington as a leader in corporate strategy. Kalsi had been leading DuPont in South Asia, including India, for the last six years. "Under Balvinder's leadership, DuPont India emerged as one of the fastest growing strategic markets for DuPont globally. Rajeev brings in a wealth of experience," DuPont Executive Vice-President and Chief Innovation Officer Tom Connelly said in a statement. Vaidya joined DuPont in 1985 and has held various positions in the Asia Pacific, including that of regional leader for the DuPont Titanium technologies and most recently that of regional business leader for DuPont Chemicals & Fluoroproducts.

"The growth opportunities in India are big and span many sectors including agriculture, food, alternative energy, transportation, construction, safety and protection," Rajeev Vaidya said. In the last six years, DuPont India tripled its sales revenues to nearly Rs 5,200 crore (approximately $1 billion). The key milestones under Kalsi's leadership include the launch of the DuPont India Innovation Centre at Pune this year, the opening of DuPont Knowledge Center and the DuPont Services Center in Hyderabad in 2008, and expanding into the markets of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. DuPont India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Wilmington, Delaware, US-based E I du Pont de Nemours and Company.


Mahindra's US emission certificate to expire in December Mahindra & Mahindra’s plan to take its products to the US market seems to have taken a back seat for now, according to sources in the country’s market leader in sports utility vehicles. The city-based entity has yet to apply for a re-certification for federal emissions with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the American government. The validity of the document is about to get expired by this year’s end. M&M is also embroiled in a legal dispute with Global Vehicles Inc. (GV) of Texas over distribution and sales of its vehicles in that country. It was last year that the EPA awarded the certification to the 1945-founded automotive company, allowing it to sell its pick-ups in the US market. The certification pertained to two M&M models (TR20 and TR40) for the 2011 calendar year.

Now, the company will have to submit vehicles for federal emissions and safety testing all over again, sources said. The earlier pick-ups, powered by India-made diesel engines, were based on the Scorpio model. Pick-ups may not be that popular in India, but the US is the world’s largest market for it. Reports state the pick-up vehicles did not live up to the fuel-efficiency levels as promised by Mahindra, falling well short of its target. Under testing, the pick-ups delivered 19 to 21 miles per gallon under city and highway driving conditions, falling short of the company’s claimed mileage of 30 miles per gallon. M&M had hoped to benefit from the absence of competition in the segment it was planning to enter.

According to M&M, no company has a presence in the compact pick-up segment, whose engines are powered by diesel. With petrol prices soaring and waning demand for compact pick-ups powered by petrol, M&M had been counting on its diesel pick-ups to regenerate demand. When contacted, the company did not elaborate on its plans for the US market.

“It is an on-going process for us,” said an M&M spokesperson. “Since the matter is under litigation, we cannot comment on it at this point of time.” M&M had plans to ship to the US bulk parts of the pick-up from its manufacturing plant in Chakan off Pune. Earlier, the idea was to assemble the pick-ups locally in the US -- by either setting up a greenfield plant or by acquiring a facility. The US government levies 25 per cent tariff on imported pick-up trucks. Others such as Toyota and Nissan build such pick-ups locally. An imported route will put M&M at a huge pricing disadvantage compared to other manufacturers.

On another front, SsangYong Motor Company, a South Korean firm that Mahindra acquired, plans to enter the US market in 2016. SsangYong is one of the largest SUV-makers in its home market, and has more than 1,000 dealerships across the world.

As for M&M’s plans for the US market, an industry analyst says the company will receive boost from the technological support in vehicle and engine development from SsangYong. “True, M&M’s attempt to enter the US market has not fructified in the past four years, but the acquisition of SsangYong will allow it to be better prepared for the mission,” he adds.

Three years ago, the Scorpio-based pick-ups, engineered by M&M specifically for the US market, were set to reach North American shores. The launch dates, though, were postponed not less than three times thereafter, prompting the company’s marketing and distribution partner, Arlington-based GV, to file a lawsuit against it for the delay.

The 2003-established GV had set up a network of 347 dealers across 49 states in the US after getting on board several automotive dealers from other car brands. The company and its dealers collectively spent close to $100 million preparing for the launch.

In August this year, M&M severed its contract with GV -- three days after it received certification from America’s EPA. The company incurred an expenditure of more than Rs 200 crore in upgrading the Scorpio to suit the US customer taste and also on the development of the two- and four-door pick-up trucks. It also intended to launch an upgraded version of the Xylo in the US.


India, US discuss economic, strategic cooperation At a time when India-US relations seem to be in limbo, top officials of both countries recently reviewed the status of economic and strategic cooperation, taking up issues such as the implementation of a civil nuclear deal and building on economic and defence ties. US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who arrived in New Delhi over the weekend, started his two-day visit with a meeting with foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai, a government official said. Burns also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, foreign minister S.M. Krishna and national security adviser Shivshankar Menon, besides finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Speaking to reporters, Burns said his visit was a follow-up to a meeting last month in Bali, Indonesia, between Singh and US President Barack Obama. The security situation in Afghanistan, where international troops are fighting a resurgent Taliban; US’ ties with Islamabad, especially after the deaths of 24 Pakistan soldiers in an attack in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization air strike last month; pro-democracy protests in West Asia, and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region were discussed. “We had very productive discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues,” Burns said. “We stressed our shared interest in expanding economic cooperation between our two countries, our shared commitment to the full implementation of the civil nuclear agreement, and our shared stake in expanding defence ties.” The US had been seeking more clarity on the provisions of India’s nuclear liability law that was notified last month, just days before the Singh-Obama meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Bali. The US in 2008 had concluded a landmark civil nuclear pact with India that helped overturn a 34-year-old embargo against India sourcing sensitive technology and atomic power plants from the global market. But it has been holding back investment because of concerns about India’s nuclear liability law, which holds suppliers responsible in the event of an accident. France and Russia have similar concerns. India says it is bound by its law and has rejected US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s suggestion that it should get the legislation examined by the International Atomic Energy Agency—the international nuclear watchdog—to see if it was compatible with the international law on the issue, Convention on Supplementary Compensation. Media reports from Bali quoted Singh as saying he had explained to Obama that India had a “law in place and rules have been formulated...we have gone some way to respond to concerns of American companies and within the four corners of the law of the land, we are willing to address any specific grievances”. The provisions of India’s nuclear liability law were made public just months after two US companies lost out to two European firms in a bid for fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in April. The IAF is expected to buy 126 aircraft in a deal worth about $11 billion. Burns also discussed economic reforms with Mukherjee. The discussion took place against the backdrop of the Indian government putting on hold plans to allow greater direct investment in multi-brand retail following protests by opposition parties as well as some allies. The proposal was expected to make the way for American retailer Wal-Mart, Britain’s Tesco and France’s Carrefour to invest in India’s retail market—estimated to be worth around $400 billion.

Burns’ visit to India comes as Ashley J. Tellis; a senior associate at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in an article noted “a certain disappointment with India in the (US) administration” on its slow pace of cooperation. “What is needed at Washington at this stage therefore is a measure of patience. Deeper cooperation will come as the Indian state grows more and more comfortable with the United States and its strategic aims and its manner of doing business,” Tellis said in the article, titled “Ebb and Tide”. Though both sides have to work on their ties, any talk of “the demise of their strategic partnership has been very much exaggerated”, he added. Ties between the world’s oldest and the largest democracies have warmed steadily in the past decade, with three US presidents visiting India between March 2000 and November 2010. In his remarks, Burns was careful not to expose any possible tensions between the two countries. “Ours is a relationship where we are not going to see every day the kind of dramatic breakthroughs or achievements every day... but I think every day we can continue the hard steady work of building on and strengthening the relationship.”


Moody's upgrades India's debt rating Despite slowing industrial growth and high inflation, credit rating agency Moody's Investor Service has upgraded India's sovereign debt rating from Ba1, a speculative grade, to Baa3, which is investment grade. The measures likely to be announced by December-end include relaxation in the lock-in and residual maturity norms for investments in the infrastructure sector, according to a Moody's official. The lock-in period and the residual maturity are expected to be reduced to one year for all infrastructure investments. "India's Baa3 rating incorporates credit strengths such as a large, diversified economy, robust medium term growth prospects and a strong domestic savings pool that facilitates the financing and refinancing of the government's relatively high debt burden," the ratings agency said in a statement. Tellingly, it added, "It also encompasses credit challenges such as wide and persistent fiscal deficits, a policy process often hamstrung by domestic politics, susceptibility to inflationary pressures, and the limitations that poor social and physical infrastructure place on growth." Moody's upgraded the rating on long-term government bonds denominated in domestic currency and long-term country ceiling on foreign currency bank deposits, both, from Ba1 to Baa3. The last time Moody's upgraded any Indian long-term sovereign debt instrument from speculative to investment grade was in 2004. The agency has also upgraded the short-term government bonds denominated in domestic currency from NP to P-3, again from speculative to investment grade. The rating has been upgraded in this case for the first time since it was assigned in 1998. The upgrade follows a meeting last month between the representatives of the rating agency and finance ministry officials. The officials, led by R Gopalan, secretary to the department of economic affairs, pushed Moody's to upgrade the country's rating to Baa1, two notches above its current rating. Moody's has now recognized that the ''diverse sources of Indian growth'' have ''enhanced India's resilience to global shocks''. The present slowdown in growth rates ''could reverse some time in financial year 2012-13, as inflation cools from current 9 per cent levels'', it says in its report. The structural drivers of India's growth momentum will not be damaged by the present cyclical downturn, it says. Moody's also expect that growth, supported by savings and investments, will revive over the medium term. ''In terms of economic size, diversity, growth as well as saving and investment rates, India is stronger its baa3 rated peers,'' it notes. The rating agency has, however, pointed out that India's weak ''fiscal metrics'' remained a constraint for the nation's rating as government debt levels were higher than similarly rated nations. ''Improvement in government finances, coupled with enhancements to the investment climate and a reduction in infrastructure bottlenecks, could lead to the rating being considered for an upgrade from current levels,'' said the agency in its report. It added the caveat that a sustained rise in debt or ''continued worsening of the balance of payments well beyond the period of current global uncertainty could trigger a downgrade''.


India, US discuss civil nuclear and other issues India and the United States have held talks on several issues, including the contentious civil nuclear liability act, with visiting deputy secretary of state, William Burns from the US state department. The talks follow up on the Manmohan Singh-Barack Obama meeting in Indonesia last month. According to Burns, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai and national security adviser, Shivshankar Menon, agreed on the need for ''full implementation'' of the civil nuclear agreement in the meetings he had with them. Washington has sought greater clarity on the rules for the civil nuclear liability act, especially with regard to the limits on compensation to be paid by equipment suppliers in case of an accident. American firms have so far held off from setting up nuclear plants in India because of misgivings arising out of implementation of the liability clause.

India too feels the US has not fully implemented its end of the nuclear agreement, especially with respect to transfer of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technology and equipment. South Block has reasons to believe that the anti-proliferation lobby in Congress and the State Department were given a free run in the build-up to this June's Nuclear Suppliers Group plenary, which further tightened the ENR equipment and technology export rules. ''We had very productive discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues. We stressed our shared interest in expanding our economic cooperation [and] our shared commitment to the full implementation of the civil nuclear agreement,'' Burns told newspersons after his meetings with NSA Menon and secretary Mathai. They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan as well as increasing economic cooperation. Burns also called on external affairs minister SM Krishna and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Burns said the US government was paying ''high-level attention'' to its ties with India and cautioned against ''dramatic breakthroughs or announcements'' at every interaction. ''But I think every day we can continue with our hard, steady work on building and strengthening the relationship that matters great to our two governments and our people.''


USTR Announces Results of Special 301 Review of Notorious Markets The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today issued the Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets. It identifies more than 30 markets that typify the problem of marketplaces that deal in goods and services that infringe on intellectual property rights (IPR) and help to sustain global piracy and counterfeiting. The results identify examples of both Internet and physical marketplaces that have been the subject of enforcement action connected with counterfeiting and piracy, or that may merit further investigation for possible IPR infringements

“Piracy and counterfeiting continue to present a serious challenge to the innovation and creativity that is essential to supporting American jobs and creating economic growth around the world. The notorious markets highlighted in this review negatively impact legitimate businesses and industries of all sizes that rely on intellectual property to protect their goods and services,” said United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk. “We hope that this review will continue to yield the kind of concrete action from highlighted markets that led to the removal of several markets from the list this year.”

The Notorious Markets Review identifies markets in each category that are particularly prominent examples of where infringing goods and services are sold. It does not constitute an exhaustive list of all notorious markets around the world. Inclusion in the Notorious Markets List does not reflect a finding of a violation of law or the United States Government’s analysis of the general IPR protection and enforcement climate in the country concerned; such analysis is contained in the annual Special 301 Report issued at the end of April. However, the United States urges the responsible authorities to intensify efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting in these and similar markets, and to use the information contained in the Notorious Markets List to pursue legal actions where appropriate.

This year’s list also highlights positive developments since the issuance of the previous Notorious Markets List in February of 2011. For example, USTR applauds Chinese site Baidu, one of the world’s most visited sites and previously identified as an example of a site linking to infringing content, for entering into a licensing agreement with U.S. and other rights holders in the recording industry. In addition, Hong Kong customs officials took action to remove allegedly infringing goods from the premises of the Ladies Market. Also, management at the Savelovskiy Market in Russia implemented a plan to stop the distribution of infringing goods.

Several markets have been identified for the availability of pirated and counterfeit goods and services through their premises or networks. The markets listed include, for example, the Chinese website Taobao, a site offering a variety of infringing products to consumers and businesses that, while continuing its significant efforts to address the problem, reportedly also continues to offer infringing products. The Notorious Markets

List also identifies specific activities such as blogs or online forums offering links to infringing content online, or key physical markets such as PC Malls in China.

USTR and other agencies of the U.S. government are actively engaged with U.S. trading partners to seek appropriate action against counterfeiting and piracy, including counterfeiting and piracy related to markets identified in this report. For example, USTR recently requested public comments on Paraguay’s implementation of the U.S.-Paraguay Memorandum of Understanding on Intellectual Property Rights, which includes provisions to address adequate and effective protection and enforcement of IPR at the markets in Ciudad del Este, reportedly one of the region’s most notorious markets for counterfeit and pirated products.

BACKGROUND

USTR has identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report since 2006. In 2010, USTR announced that it would begin to publish the Notorious Markets List separately from the Special 301 Report, in order to increase public awareness and guide related trade enforcement actions. USTR published the first stand-alone Notorious Markets List in February 2011, as an “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets. The Special 301 Subcommittee received and reviewed written submissions from the public concerning potential examples of Internet and physical notorious markets. The Notorious Markets List released today is the result of this effort


Indo-US Trade Statistics

2011: U.S. Trade in Merchandise goods with India Month US Exports US Imports Balance to India From India Of Trade

January2011 1,391.9 2,532.3 -1,140.4 February2011 1,458.4 2,229.8 -771.4 March 2011 1,714.4 3,164.1 -1,449.7 April2011 1,912.0 3,253.7 -1,341.7 May2011 1,995.8 3,460.4 -1,464.5 June2011 2,100.9 3,303.5 -1,202.6 July2011 1,857.7 3,114.4 -1,256.7 August2011 1,823.7 3,374.2 -1,550.5 September 2011 1,731.1 3,089.4 -1,358.3

October 2011 1,718.9 3,304.8 -1,586.0

Total 2011 17,704.9 30,826.6 -13,121.6 NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified .Details may not equal totals due to rounding.

India–US Trade

Trade and commerce form a crucial component of the rapidly expanding and multi-faceted relations between India and US. From modest $ 5.6 billion in 1990, the bilateral trade in merchandise goods has increased to $ 48.75 billion in 2010 representing an impressive 771% growth in a span of 20 years.

India’s merchandise exports to the U.S. grew by 24.3% from $ 22.14 billion during the period Jan. – September 2010, to $ 27.52 billion in Jan. – September 2011. US exports of merchandise to India also grew by 12.7% from $ 14.18 billion during Jan. - September 2010 to $ 15.99 billion in Jan. – September 2011. India – US Bilateral Merchandise Trade stands at $ 43.51 billion during this period.

Indo-US Trade during the period January to October 2011

All figures are in millions of U.S .dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. i) Major items of export from India to U.S

Select major items with their percentage shares, are given below.

a) Textiles (17.7%) b) Precious stones & metals (22%) c) Mineral fuel, oils (10.9%) d) Pharmaceutical products (8.6%) e) Organic chemicals (5.1%) f) Machinery (4.8%) g) Electrical machinery (4%) h) Iron & Steel Products (3.4 %) ii) Major items of export from U.S to India

Select major items with their percentage shares, are given below

a) Precious stones & metals (22.7%) b) Machinery (13.5%) c) Mineral fuel, Oil, etc. (8.9%) d) Electrical machinery (7.1%) e) Optical instruments & equipment (5.6%) f)) Organic chemicals (4.3%) g) Fertilizers (4.5%) h) Plastic (3.7%)


1.39 1.46

1.71 1.91

2.00 2.10

1.86 1.82 1.73 1.71

2.53

2.23

3.16 3.25

3.46 3.30

3.11

3.37

3.00

3.30

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

2011 US Exports to india

US Imports from India

Calendar of IACC Events for 2011-12 (as on 1st January 2012)

Date Event Topic Hotel/City/Information

10 Jan, 2012 Opportunities for Indo-US Partnership in Education Mangalore, Karnataka

11th Jan, 2012 Guidance Session on “U.S Business Visas” Hotel Le Meridien, 762 Avinashi Road, Coimbatore – 641062 12th Jan, 2012 “LEADERSHIP THROUGH LAUGHTER” with World Town Hall, Ground Floor, Renowned leadership and Motivational Express Towers, Nariman Point, Coach Mr. Anand Chulani. Mumbai. 13th Jan, 2012 Interactive Workshop on Transfer Pricing Hotel Hilton, New Delhi

18th Jan, 2012 Colloquium on "Doing Business with U.S.A" Madurai

20th Jan, 2012 IACC Interactive Session on 'U.S Business Visa Update’ Kilachand Conference Room, 2nd Floor Indian Merchant Chambers, Mumbai

Jan 19 –Jan 21, 2012 Conference on U.S & India : Key Legal Aspects of Cross Border Business, Supported by IACC Taj Lands, Mumbai

Feb 07-Feb 12, 2012 Business/Social Delegation to + Ohio, USA the Columbus Ohio, USA Organized by IACC, Gujarat Branch 19-20 April, 2012 8th Indo-U.S Economic Summit Hotel Hilton, New Delhi

23rd - 24th May, 2012 SUITE 2012 Washington D.C./Fairfax County, VA

May 28-June 8, 2012 IACC 2nd Delegation of Indian Higher Education Houston, TX Institutes to the U.S & NAFSA Conference Click here to read more Institutions to the USA


http://www2.americanbar.org/calendar/ic0112-us-and-india-key-legal-aspect/Pages/default.aspx

http://www2.americanbar.org/calendar/ic0112-us-and-india-key-legal-aspect/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.iaccindia.com/event.asp?id=50




International Trade shows Major Trade shows in India

Date/ Event Venue/Location Description AMS INDIA CONFERENCE 2011 05 December 2011 - 07 December 2011

Hilton Hotel, Janakpuri, New Delhi, India

Global automotive manufacturing and engineering congress for senior executives

KhadhyaKhurak2012 06 January 2012 - 09 January 2012

SIECC, Surat, India Garfab-TX trade fair will showcase most innovative and sophisticated machines of sewing, embroidery, and looms.

MY BUSINESS INDIA SHOW 06 January 2012 - 09 January 2012

University Grounds, Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, India

KhadhyaKhurak is organised with the noble cause of uplifting the Indian Food Industry.

Travel & Tourism Fair-Chennai 06 January 2012 - 08 January 2012

Vapi Industrial Association Ground , Vapi, India

“MY BUSINESS INDIA SHOW” will be the 1st Industrial Exhibition Where Manufactures, Dealers, traders, Suppliers of Raw Materials & Service provider are expected. “MY BUSINESS INDIA SHOW” will be held at V.I.A. Ground, Near G.I.D.C. Char Rasta, Vapi, MY BUSINESS INDIA SHOW is expecting participation by over 300 exhibitors.

Metro Fair 2012 11 January 2012 - 15 January 2012

Rajah Muthiah Hall, Chennai, India

TTF is India's leading exhibition for the travel & tourism industry. Since 1989, it provides an annual opportunity for organizations from India and abroad to showcase their products and services to a large cross section of the travel trade and consumers across major markets in India.

Women’s Shopping Carnival 2012 12 January 2012 - 12 January 2012

Suguna A/c Hall at Avinashi road, Coimbatore, India

Metro fair is a Consumer Exhibition to exhibits all kind of personal & house Hold products, toys, appeal and fashion products with a food court.

ELECRAMA 2012 18 January 2012 - 22 January 2012

Tulip Star, Mumbai, India Womens Shopping Carnival is an event exclusively aimed at highly affluent women of the age group 18 to 35 years.

OGIC 2012 18 January 2012 - 20 January 2012

Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon (E),Mumbai, India

ELECRAMA 2011 is the largest exhibition of power, electrical, industrial electronics & allied products in eastern part of the

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/33753/AMS-INDIA-CONFERENCE-2011.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/14054/Khadhya-Khurak-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/37826/MY-BUSINESS-INDIA-SHOW-.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/14046/Travel-Tourism-Fair-Chennai.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/35617/MetroFair-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/33932/Womens-Shopping-Carnival-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/33932/Womens-Shopping-Carnival-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/19250/ELECRAMA-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/23277/OGIC-2012.html

world. This exhibition offers the international energy and electricity producing and supplying industry an attractive and successful market platform, with guaranteed customer contact.

India International Garment Fair 2012 19 January 2012 - 21 January 2012

Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre, Mumbai, India

SPE Oil and Gas Indian Conference and Exhibition

VAS India 2012 19 January 2012 - 19 January 2012

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India The India International Garment Fair, one of Asia's largest and most popular apparel and clothing trade shows is going to be in New Delhi. A perfect amalgamation of fashion, design and quality, the 48th India International Garment Fair is the ultimate destination for global fashion buffs and textile industry giants.

UE The Jewelry Expo 2012 27 January 2012 - 29 January 2012

Hotel Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai, India

In India, MVAS has become a big part of the mobile user's life today. With over 450 million mobile phone subscribers in India today & having the second largest subscriber base in the whole world - Indian Telecom Industry has started witnessing an era when Users buy mobile phones not just to be in touch, but to express themselves, their attitude, feelings & interests.

Udyog 2012 27 January 2012 - 30 January 2012

The Residency, Coimbatore, India

India's Most Alluring Jewelry Expo

International Mining Exhibition (IME 2012) 28 January 2012 - 31 January 2012

Surat International Exhibition and Conventions Centre, Surat, India

Udyog 2012 is one of the most prominent exhibitions for industry, SME and B2B sector, in India.

The Times Franchise Expo-Ahmedabad 28 January 2012 - 29 January 2012

Netaji Indoor Stadium and Khudiram Hall Complex, Kolkata, India

IME 2012 is an International Mining, Exploration Mineral Processing Technology & Machinery Exhibition. This expo will prove to be an ideal platform which brings both exhibitors and visitors of this industry together under one roof. It is an exclusive place for display and launch of new initiatives, products and technologies, establishing joint ventures, developing and renewing International and regional contacts

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/4138/India-International-Garment-Fair-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/4138/India-International-Garment-Fair-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/7024/VAS-India-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/35829/UE-The-Jewellery-Expo-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/38049/Udyog-2012.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/24003/The-Times-Franchise-Expo-Ahmedabad.html

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/24003/The-Times-Franchise-Expo-Ahmedabad.html

HOSTS 2012 31 January 2012 - 03 February 2012

RAJPATH CLUB, Ahmedabad, India

The Times Franchise Expo-Ahmedabad will be a landmark exhibition which will offer an insight into all aspects of franchising both nationally and internationally. This is the India's Biggest B2B Marketplace which will be take place at RAJPATH CLUB

AIR CARGO INDIA 01 February 2012 – 03 February 2012

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

This is the 4th edition of the Biennial International Air Cargo event taking place in Mumbai. The event consists of Exhibition and Conference running concurrently on all the three days. All the three editions of the event attracted International Players from the Air Cargo industry to exhibit their products and services.

Golden Maharashtra- The Manufacturing Magnet 02 February 2012

Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai , Maharashtra, India

Golden Maharashtra-The Manufacturing Magnet is one of the most professionally organized trade conference events in India. The event focuses on multiple business sectors, including the engineering, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, food processing and jewelry industries.

Isrmax India 02 February 2012 – 04 February 2012

Indian Agricultural Research Institute Campus, New Delhi, India

Isrmax India is an endeavor to provide an international platform for supporting the research-extension partnership to promote the use of benefit-enhancing technologies for Sugar, Rice and Maize cultivation, production, processing and their complete utilization.

POWER ON 03 February 2012- 05 February 2012

Hyderabad International Trade Exposition Centre(HITEX) Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Power On 2012 has witnessed participation of more than 4000 visitors and around 220 exhibitors in the previous edition of the show. The organizations related to this industry must participate in the fair as they will get an opportunity to showcase their innovative products and services

Media Expo-Mumbai 03 February 2012- 05 February 2012

Bombay Exhibition Centre(BEC) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Media Expo-Mumbai ranks among the largest media and advertising industry related trade fairs in India. Organized at

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/36602/HOSTS-2012.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/aircargo-india.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/golden-maharastra/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/golden-maharastra/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/isrmax-india/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/power-on/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/media-expo-mumbai/

the Bombay Exhibition Center, the event brings in more than 250 exhibiting companies, showcasing a wide array of signage raw materials, printing and packaging tools, shop fittings, POP banners, laser displays, pre-press machinery and other allied products

South India Jewelry Show 03 February 2012- 05 February 2012

Palace Grounds, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

South India Jewelry Show (SIJS) is an excellent opportunity to make new business connections, tie-ups, trade partnerships and most importantly make face-to-face contacts with the right people. It is also a unique platform to promote and showcase your latest designs, products and services.

Bangalore INDIA BIO 06 February 2012- 08 February 2012

Hotel Lalit Ashok Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Bangalore INDIA BIO features among the most comprehensive Indian biotechnology sector trade shows. The event is organized at The Lalit Ashok Hotel and boasts of overall participation figures in excess of 5000 on a regular basis. Informative conferences, helmed by expert industry speakers, are organized during the event, with a view to acquaint participants with the latest techniques and perspectives from this sector

Water Expo-Chennai 07 February 2012- 09 February 2012

Chennai Trade & Convention Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Water Today 2012 is an exciting three day event dedicated to water and waste water management. The event has been organized since the year 2006 and each edition has been well received by the participants. International participation from Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Japan will give the exhibition a new dimension.

Oceantex 08 February 2012- 11 February 2012


Oceantex is a benchmark event dedicated to the Hydrocarbon sector in India. With the depletion of energy resources causing a major havoc in the world, Oceantex comes across as a breath of fresh air for the various industries.

http://www.biztradeshows.com/south-india-jewellery/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/bangalore-bio/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/water-expo-chennai/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/oceantex/

International Power Transmission Expo 09 February 2012- 11 February 2012


International Power Transmission Expo is a Tremendous event for the power plant and machinery industry that will take place over duration of three days at Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC)/Mumbai. The event will act as a one stop shop for all the major players who will be present at the exposition. It is the best place to start new partnerships with fellow industrialists.

The Economics Times ACETECH - Hyderabad 10 February 2012- 12 February 2012


This is a Mega event dedicated to the building and construction industry in the country. The event is a part of long list of building and construction fairs organized by Asian Business Exhibition & Conferences Limited at the HITEX CENTRE / Hyderabad. The event will provide a once in a life time opportunity to the builders in the region to come out and showcase their potential in front of prospective buyers.

Energy Tech 10 February 2012- 12 February 2012

Pragati Maidan New Delhi, India

Energy Tech Exhibition will showcase the wide range of energy products and related items. The exhibition will display the latest and innovative technological developments in solar, wind, hydroelectricity and bio-fuels segments. It will provide the opportunity for the promotion of business activities to encourage successful trade co-operations with both Indian and foreign entrepreneurs.

ET Asia ITEX - New Delhi 10 February 2012- 12 February 2012

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, Delhi, India

ET Asia ITEX - New Delhi is milestone event that will assist the Indian IT and Converging Technology companies, traders, importers, suppliers and end users to leapfrog into the future. It will bring industry leaders, analysts, government agencies, academia, integrators and decision makers on this fertile platform. In other words, this type of expo is a dipstick for future developments and trends of Indian Converging Technologies market.

http://www.biztradeshows.com/iptex/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/iptex/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/acetech-hyderabad/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/acetech-hyderabad/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/energytech/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/etasia-itex-newdelhi/

EnviroTech 10 February 2012- 12 February 2012


The 3rd edition of Enviro Tech is being organized to focus on the environment related issues by showcasing the products and technologies to the entrepreneurs, policy makers and others related to the field and also with a view to create awareness amongst the common man.

India International Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Show 10 February 2012- 13 February 2012

Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

India International Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Show ranks as one of the leading jewelry industry trade events in India. The show serves as a convenient platform for leading professionals from this sector to directly interact with each other and deliberate upon the latest news, views and prevailing trends from this sector. More than 300 exhibition stalls are set up during the show and a wide range of eminent jewelry brands are also launched here. Gold and silver jewelry items, accessories for men, handicraft jewelry items, wallets, watches, belts, beads etc.

India Wood 10 February 2012- 14 February 2012

Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

India Wood 2012 is a significant venture by PDA Trade Fairs aimed at promoting the Indian woodwork and furniture industry. The event will take place at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre over duration of 5 days and it will be full of numerous trading possibilities for the participants.

India International Aqua Show 10 February 2012- 14 February 2012

Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Cochin, Kerala, India

India International Aqua Show is an Ornamental Fish & Accessories Exhibition and Trade Fair Organized by the Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala in association with the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. It is a unique opportunity for exhibiting and marketing ornamental fish and accessories.

The Times Franchise Expo-Chandigarh 11 February 2012- 12 February 2012

Himachal Bhawan, Chandigarh, India

The Times Franchise Expo-Chandigarh will be a landmark exhibition which will offer an insight into all aspects of franchising both nationally and internationally. This is the India's

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/envirotech.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/iifjas/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/iifjas/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/india-wood/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/aqua-show-cochin.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/times-franchise-chandigarh.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/times-franchise-chandigarh.html

Biggest B2B Marketplace which will be take place at Hotel Mount View -Chandigarh.

World Petro Coal Congress 15 February 2012- 17 February 2012

Convention Centre-NDCC New Delhi, Delhi, India

World Petro Coal Congress is one of the most comprehensive petroleum, gas and energy sector related trade events in India. Organized at New Delhi, the show is attended by more than 2000 visiting participants, underlining the enormous popularity of the event.

Times Construction & Mining Machinery Expo 15 February 2012- 18 February 2012

Gujarat University Exhibition Hall Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Construction & Mining Machinery Expo 2012 is an event organized by Conventions and Fairs private ltd which is dedicated to the Building and Construction industry in India. This is one of the finest building and construction fair in western India and it will serve as the ultimate access point for all

Electronics for You Expo 15 February 2012- 18 February 2012

Pragati Maidan New Delhi, Delhi, India

Electronics For You 2012 is one of the most complete and fully dedicated event for the electronics industry in India. The event has been organized to help Indian electronics traders to rise and shine at the biggest stage.

International Elevator & Escalator Expo 16 February 2012- 18 February 2012

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

International Elevator & Escalator Expo (IEE Expo) promises to be bigger with many more Indian and International brands participating. The expo serves as a prime business opportunity for all companies wishing to showcase new, innovative product lines and technologies.

International Rice Pro-tech Expo 17 February 2012- 19 February 2012

Bareilly Club Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India

Rice Pro-tech Expo 2012 is a benchmark event for the Indian agriculture industry which will take place over duration of three days at Bareilly Club, in Bareilly, U.P. The exposition will feature latest solutions for various agricultural scenarios that will help in cutting cost during production.

Hospitality India 17 February 2012- 19 February 2012


Hospitality India ranks among the top food and hospitality industry related trade events in India. Organized at the HITEX Exhibition Center in Hyderabad, the show boasts of overall visitor counts in excess of 12000 at

http://www.biztradeshows.com/world-petro-coal/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/commex/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/commex/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/electronics-foryou-expo/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/international-elevator-escalator.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/international-elevator-escalator.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/rice-pro-tech/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/hospitality-india/

each of its editions. The show is instrumental in helping participants keep a tab on the rapidly growing Indian hospitality markets and attending companies also launch new products during the event.

Garment Technology Expo 17 February 2012- 20 February 2012

NSIC Exhibition Complex New Delhi, Delhi, India

Garment Technology Expo-New Delhi ranks among the best apparel sector trade events in India. The show enjoys a high level of popularity among exhibitors and visitors alike, with more than 3000 attendees thronging to the event on a regular basis.

BUILD INTEC 17 February 2012- 20 February 2012

CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

BUILD INTEC 2012 is the newest venture by the highly reputed organizer CODISSIA for the building and construction industry that will take place in south India. The venue chosen for this highly anticipated event is CODISSIA Trade Fair complex in Coimbatore.

Engineering Expo - Aurangabad 17 February 2012- 20 February 2012

Garware Stadium Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

Engineering Expo Aurangabad will be one of the finest tradeshows dedicated to the engineering and manufacturing industry in India. The event will take place at Garware Stadium, Chikkalthana and it is one of the many trade fairs organized by Network 18 Limited.

AD-TECH New Delhi 22 February 2012- 24 February 2012

The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon, Delhi NCR, India

AD-TECH New Delhi is one of the biggest exhibitions organized worldwide. The exhibitors will get an opportunity to advertise their products, sponsor and showcase the firm in a unique exhibit, to hold a seminar or meeting at the expo and many more such opportunities.

Intelpack 23 February 2012- 25 February 2012


Intelpack is one of the most crucial events dedicated to the packaging industry in India. The packaging market in India is valued at over 15 Billion Dollars and growing at around 18% per annum. The event will offer the perfect platform to explore huge business potential in the country.

Concrete show India 23 February 2012- 25 February 2012

Bandra Kurla Complex Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Concrete Show India 2012 is a fantastic trade fair organized by UBM India Pvt. Ltd. for the building and construction

http://www.biztradeshows.com/garment-technology-delhi/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/build-intec/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/engineering-expo-aurangabad/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/ad-tech-new-delhi.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/intelpack/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/concrete-show-india/

industry in India.. Panacea 2012 - 5th Natural Products Expo India 23 February 2012- 25 February 2012

Mumbai World Trade Centre Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Panacea ranks as one of the most professionally organized Indian trade events, dedicated exclusively to the natural and organic products sector. Organized at the World trade center in Mumbai, the show provides an ideal opportunity for leading companies from this sector to showcase products and gain greater recognition in the rapidly growing South Asian markets. With more than 5000 business visitors attending the show on a regular basis, corporate networking opportunities here are extensive too.

Inside outside Mega show-Mumbai 23 February 2012- 26 February 2012

MMRDA Exhibition Center Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Inside Outside Mega show Mumbai will be one of the most prominent events dedicated to the design and architecture industry in India. The event has been organized by Business India over duration of 4 days at MMRDA Ground in Mumbai, the business capital of India.

Mumbai International Boat Show 23 February 2012- 26 February 2012

MMRDA Exhibition Center, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Mumbai International Boat Show (MIBS) is double the scale of the first boat show with twice as many exhibitors and visitors. The enthusiasm of the visitors and participants of the inaugural boat show, who have all promised to participate in the second edition.

Index Furniture-Bengaluru 24 February 2012- 26 February 2012

Palace Grounds Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Index Furniture-Bengaluru is one of the finest shows dedicated to the Furniture industry in Southern India. The event will be an ideal platform for the traders dealing with the wooden products, interior decorations and machinery & equipment.

International Flora Expo 24 February 2012- 26 February 2012


International Flora Expo 2010 is the South Asia's largest event for Floriculture, Gardening, Floristry & Green House Technology. International Flora Expo will be a meeting point for the flower growers, importers & exporters of flower etc.

http://www.biztradeshows.com/panacea-exhibition-expo-mumbai/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/panacea-exhibition-expo-mumbai/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/inside-outside-megashow-mumbai/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/inside-outside-megashow-mumbai/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/mumbai-boat-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/index-furniture-bangalore/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/international-flora-expo.html

Tech Vapi 24 February 2012- 26 February 2012

Vapi Industrial Association Ground Vapi, Gujarat, India

Tech Vapi is one of the largest gatherings of a slew of national and international manufacturers and suppliers who exhibit a wide range of equipment’s, technologies, accessories and services to a set of serious industry purchasers at a common platform at the city of Vapi in South Gujarat

India International Seafood Show 29 February 2012- 02 March 2012

Chennai Trade & Convention Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

India International Seafood Show (IISS) is being redefined to be of a truly global scale and quality. IISS provides a great platform for business and partnership opportunities in the Marine and Seafood sector. It will be held at Chennai Trade & Convention Centre from 29 Feb to 02 Mar, 2012.

India Water Expo - Ahmedabad 01 March 2012- 03 March 2012

Gujarat University Exhibition Hall Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

It will be the perfect platform to reach out to decision makers and leading major players in the industry. The event will not only benefit the immediate trading prospects of the industrialists but it will also act as an interactive forum.

Medical Fair India 02 March 2012- 04 March 2012


Medical Fair India is one of the biggest events dedicated to the medical and pharmaceutical industry in India. The event will provide a wonderful platform for the entire medical fraternity to gather under one roof at Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC)/ Bombay.

Garfab-TX Surat 02 March 2012- 04 March 2012

Surat International Exhibition & Convention Centre Surat, Gujarat, India

Garfab-TX Surat is one of the premier apparel and textile industry related trade events in India. Organized at the Surat International Exhibition And Convention Center, the show brings in a large number of qualified and well-targeted visitors at each of its editions.

Inside outside Megashow-Chandigarh 08 March 2012- 11 March 2012

Sekhon Banquet Hall Chandigarh, India

Inside Outside Mega show Chandigarh organized by Business India is probably the finest of the multiple events organized under Outside mega show series. The event will take place at state of the art Sekhon Banquets Hall in Chandigarh and

http://www.biztradeshows.com/tech-vapi/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/india-seafood-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/india-water-ahmedabad/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/medical-fair-india/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/garfab-surat/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/inside-outside-megashow-chandigarh/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/inside-outside-megashow-chandigarh/

it will stretch over duration of 4 days, starting from 8th March 2011.

UDAAN Educational Career Fair 12 March 2012- 13 March 2012

Malda College Auditorium, Malda, West Bengal,India

The first ever educational career fair going to be held in Malda. Share the news with your friends and family. The students from Malda and neighboring districts will get the opportunities to meet the colleges / institutions from different part of India and ask their queries before they sit for their exams.

INDEXPO-Nagpur 12 March 2012- 14 March 2012

Kasturchand Park Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Indexpo Nagpur has been organized by Indore Infoline Pvt. Ltd as an effort to promote plant and machinery industry in India. This three day event will be a comprehensive showcase of all the equipment and technologies implemented in the industry. It will be attended by participants from different sectors.

AAHAR International Food & Hospitality Fair 12 March 2012- 16 March 2012


India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), a Govt. of India Enterprise is organizing Aahar - The International Food Fair 2011, Chennai from 12 to 16 Mar 2012 at Pragati Maidan. The Aahar International seeks to offer a platform for facilitating growth and modernization in the processed food and hospitality sectors

In Fashion 13 March 2012- 15 March 2012


In Fashion 2012 - International Textile & Ingredient Innovation show is one of the finest platforms for the fashion industry in the western India. The event has been organized by IMAGES Exhibitions at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai over duration of three days. The event will be attended by fashion enthusiasts and serious traders from India and all across the world. It is the right place to be if one is looking to expand his/her business horizons by meeting successful designers and traders.


http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/udaan-educational-career-fair.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/indexpo-nagpur/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/aahar.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/aahar.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/infashion-mumbai/

Major Trade shows in U.S.A

Event Name & Date Event Description Event Venue/Location details Silicon Valley International Auto Show 05-JAN-12 to 08-JAN-12

Silicon Valley International Auto Show is an excellent platform for generate good business fortunes, unparalleled exposure to automobile fraternity, cross-fertilization of ideas and opportunity to present your proposition to consumers.

San Jose Mc. Enery Convention Center, San Jose, California, United States Of America

Charlotte Build Remodel & Landscape Expo 06-JAN-12 to 08-JAN-12

Charlotte Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo offers the latest and best products and services to home owners wishing to remodel the home where they presently live or to build a new home.

Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Of America

The International Gem & Jewelry Show-New Orleans 06-JAN-12 to 08-JAN-12

The International Gem & Jewelry Show New Orleans is one of the largest exhibitions of gems, minerals and jewelry in the world. The show will showcase jewelry creations, gorgeous wedding bands and engagement rings, exotic gems, beads, exquisite fine jewelry, watches, estate collections and much more.

Pontchartrain Center, Kenner, Louisiana, United States Of America

Florida Home Show-Florida 06-JAN-12 to 08-JAN-12

Florida's Largest Home Show is an excellent place for showcase home and home accessories products and services. Florida's Largest Home Show is geared to attract homeowners anxious to shop, compare and save. This event attracts thousands of consumers annually.

Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Florida, United States Of America

San Diego Spring Home Show 06-JAN-12 to 08-JAN-12

San Diego Spring Home Show is the name of a renowned home show which is designed for the benefits of home owners and home makers. Hundreds of exhibitors will come in this expo to showcase their products which are specially crafted for decorating a modern home.

San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California, United States Of America

Value Merchandise Expo New York 08-JAN-12 to 10-JAN-12

The Value Merchandise Show is one of the top most trade fairs attracting visitors and balanced exhibitors from all over the world. The event display large variety of product line like house wares, consumers electronics,

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, United States Of America

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/silican-auto-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/silican-auto-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/charlotte-build-remodel.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/charlotte-build-remodel.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/gem-jewelry-show-orleans.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/gem-jewelry-show-orleans.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/florida-home-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/sandiego-home-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/value-merchandise-show-ny.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/value-merchandise-show-ny.html

toys, hardware, health and beauty, gift items, novelties, apparel, sporting goods , automotive and much more

Northwest Preview Show 09-JAN-12 to 12-JAN-12

Northwest Preview Show will be held at Oregon Convention Center. It is one of the best events linked to retail industry. The visitors will interact with most important companies of the industry.

Oregon Convention Center (OCC), Portland, Oregon, United States Of America

Fort Myers Senior Show 10-JAN-12 to 11-JAN-12

Fort Myers Senior Show is one of the premier ventures of its kind. This event of benevolence will be aiming to provide better services to the senior citizens of the region. This expo will be one of the biggest events organized by the Expo Marketing Inc. the happening is going to be hosted in the region of Harborside Event Centre.

Harborside Convention Center, Fort Myers, Florida, United States Of America

Indiana Green Expo 11-JAN-12 to 13-JAN-12

Indiana Green Expo is one of the finest events held in the honor of green industry in Indiana, the United States of America. Hosted by the Indiana Convention Center, this 3 day event occupies a place of pride in the trade fair history of Indianapolis

Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Of America

Washington DC International Motorcycle Show 13-JAN-12 to 15-JAN-12

Convened at Washington Convention Center, Washington, USA, the Washington DC International Motorcycle Show is titled as biggest event of Washington on Automobiles, Spare Parts and Accessories industry.

Washington Convention Center, Washington, Michigan, United States Of America

Asian-U.S. Business Expo 13-JAN-12 to 15-JAN-12

Asian U.S. Business Expo is an ideal platform where industry representatives from all sectors come together and network and socialize with each other.

Fairplex Pomona, Pomona, California, United States Of America

Utah International Auto Expo 14-JAN-12 to 17-JAN-12

Utah international Auto Expo is going to discover the new models of cars, trucks, SUVs and alternative fuel vehicles. It will be a golden opportunity for the car lovers to see the latest models of cars and motor vehicles.

South Towne Expo Center, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Of America

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/northwest-preview-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/fortmyers-senior-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/indiana-green-expo.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/washington-motorcycle-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/washington-motorcycle-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/asian-us-business.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/auto-show-utah.html

Northeast Recreational Vehicle & Camping Show Date: 20-JAN-12 to 20-JAN-12

Northeast Recreational Vehicle & Camping Show will be an outstanding opportunity for the recreational vehicle enthusiasts. Thousands of visitors are supposed to be participating in this leading international event from different parts of the world as well as from abroad. The participants will get latest information about the tools and techniques which are being used in the field of recreation vehicles, travel trailers, pop-up campers, camping supplies etc.

Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Of America

New York International Motorcycle Show 20-JAN-12 to 22-JAN-12

New York International Motorcycle Show is acknowledged as renowned trading fair for Automobiles, Spare Parts and Accessories industry.

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, United States Of America.

Natural Gas Vehicle Infrastructure Conference & Exhibition 24-JAN-12 to 25-JAN-12

Natural Gas Vehicle Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition is a great opportunity for connecting with chief decision makers and purchasers of NGV vehicles and NGV infrastructure products and services. This event will give the exhibitors an opportunity to present their latest and best technologies to more than 300 potential customers and thus create their brand awareness.

Houston Marriott West Loop Hotel, Houston, Texas, United States Of America

Saint Louis Auto Show 26-JAN-12 to 29-JAN-12

Saint Louis Auto Show is the largest automobile event in the St. Louis area. It is an excellent platform to generate good business fortunes, unparalleled exposure to automobile fraternity, cross-fertilization of ideas and opportunity to present your proposition to consumers.

Americas Center & Dome, St Louis, Missouri, United States Of America

Michigan International Auto Show 26-JAN-12 to 29-JAN-12

Michigan International Auto Show is one of the largest automotive sector trade events in America. Over 300 car varieties are showcased at the event and business participants are provided with ample scope to get in touch with a large number of qualified buyers at the show. Sedans, vans, sports cars, trucks, SUVs and hybrid cars are some of the main items

DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States Of America

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/vehicle-camping-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/vehicle-camping-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/newyork-motorcycle-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/newyork-motorcycle-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/naturalgas-vehicleinfrastructure-exhbition.html



http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/saint-louis-auto-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/michigan-auto-show.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/michigan-auto-show.html

Ohio International Motorcycle Show - Cleveland 27-JAN-12 to 29-JAN-12

Convoked at Cleveland International Exposition Center (IX Center), Cleveland, USA, the Ohio International Motorcycle Show - Cleveland is evoked out as Automobiles, Spare Parts and Accessories industry trade show.

Cleveland International Exposition Center (IX Center), Cleveland, Ohio, United States Of America

World of Wheels-New Orleans 27-JAN-12 to 29-JAN-12

World of Wheels-New Orleans is a premium exhibition related to the Cars, Auto Parts & Motor Accessories Industry. It is not only committed to be different, but will attract a larger number of trade buyers & visitors and being series exhibition in the different city of USA.

Ernest N Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Of America

Quartzsite Rock and Roll Classic Car Show 04-FEB-12 to 05-FEB-12

Quartzsite Rock and Roll Classic Car Show, has been a hit with the car lovers and professionals associated with the automotive industry. This expo is dedicated to the various aspects of the automotive industry including, paint, spare parts, body and accessories. It will be held along with another event called Hobby, Craft and Gem Show.

Good Sam RV, Blythe, California, United States Of America


http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/ohio-motorcycleshow-cleveland.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/ohio-motorcycleshow-cleveland.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/world-of-wheels-neworleans.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/quartzsiterock-rollclassic-carshow.html

http://www.biztradeshows.com/trade-events/quartzsiterock-rollclassic-carshow.html

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]

Documents

Welcome 2012 [] · Welcome 2012 . IACC Newsletter. Issue #1, January 2012. By IACC Head Office, Mumbai