india review march 2010

8/8/2019 India Review March 2010

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A Publication of the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C

March 1, 2010

India to become

worlds second largest

steel producer by 2012,

says Steel Minister

Virbhadra Singh

Indias industrial

utput grows at its

astest pace in 20

ears at 16.8 percent

n December 2009

President Barack

Obama appoints Rashad

Hussain, an Indian-

American, as special

envoy to OIC

Finance Minister presents Union Budget

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrives at Parliament House to present the Union Budget 2010-11, in New Delhi, on February 26.

Vol. 6 Issue 3 www.indianembassy.orgIndia Review


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10 pc growth in not too distant future

The worst is over for theIndian economy after twotough years and the countrywill return to a high growth

path with renewed confidence andeven log double-digit expansion,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjeesaid while presenting the UnionBudget for 2010-11 on February 26.

Today, as I stand before you, I cansay with some confidence that we haveweathered this crisis well, Mukherjeetold the Lok Sabha, Indias LowerHouse of Parliament. That is not tosay that the challenges today are anyless than they were nine months ago, when the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) was voted back to powerunder the leadership of Sonia Gandhiand Prime MinisterDr. Manmohan Singh, he added.

The Finance Minister proposed fur-ther relief for individual tax payers. Asteep hike in allocations for welfare

schemes and infrastructure wereamong the high points of the budget.

Mukherjee proposed the followingslabs for individual tax payers: No taxfor up to Rs.160,000, (approximately$3,478); a rate of 10 percent for up toRs. 500,000 (approximately $10,868);20 percent for up to Rs.800,000($17,389); and finally 30 percent for

the annual income exceeding $17,389.The proposal to reduce the tax slab

will benefit 60 percent of all tax pay-ers, Mukherjee said, adding that heproposed to hike the minimum alter-nate tax (MAT) to 18 percent of bookprofits from the present 15 percent.

The Finance Minister said 46 per-cent of the plan allocation will be setaside for infrastructure, while hikingthe outlays for rural and urban devel-opment, as also for education andhealth care. He also promised toimplement the Direct Tax Code fromApril next year and assured a simplifiedforeign investment policy soon.

The Union Budget targeted a lowerfiscal deficit of 5.5 percent of grossdomestic product (GDP) for the nextfiscal, against the budget estimates of6.8 percent for this fiscal, and promisedto lower it further to 4.8 percent and4.1 percent over the next two years.

The Finance Minister said threechallenges that he had listed last yearstill remain. These are quicklyreverting to a high growth path of 9percent and cross over to double-digitexpansion; making growth more inclu-sive and developing infrastructure; andstrengthening food security.

We hope to breach the 10 percentgrowth mark in the not too distantfuture, Mukherjee said, adding thatthe government would also review thefiscal stimuli to make the countrysgrowth a broad-based one.

He also said $7 billion was raised bythe government by way of divestingstake in public sector enterprises and

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjees Union Budget calls for making growthmore inclusive, developing infrastructure and strengthening food security

HIGHLIGHTS

OF

2010-11

BUDGE

T Petrol, diesel prices up as basic dutyof 5 percent on crude oil restored

Income up to $3,478 per year exemptfrom income tax; up to $10,868 to betaxed at 10 percent; income of$10,868-$17,389 to be taxed at 20percent and income above $17,389to be taxed at 30 percent

IT returns forms for individual taxpayers to be further simplified

Taxes on large cars and SUVsincreased by 2 percent to 22 percent

Tax on cigarettes, cigars and chewingtobacco increased

Service sector tax retained at 10

percent to aid the introduction of GST;more services to be taxed

Partial roll back of reduction in centralexcise duty

Hope to breach 10 percent growthmark in not too distant future

Government sets in motion steps tobring down food inflation

Need to review stimulus package;need to make growth more broad-based

Fiscal deficit to come down to 5.5percent in 2010-11

Government actively engaged in

finalizing structure of general salestax regime; hopes to implement itfrom April 1, 2011

Implementation of Direct Tax Codefrom April 1, 2011

FDI inflows in April-December 2009touch $20.9 billion

FDI policy to be made more user-friend-ly with one comprehensive document

Roadmap for reducing public debt insix months

Approximately $8 billion raised fromdivestment in 2009-10

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament

to present the Union Budget 2010-11, in NewDelhi, on February 26.

India ReviewMarch 2010

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that more will be accrue to the excheq-uers during the upcoming fiscal. TheMinister also promised more bankinglicenses for the private sector.

This was Mukherjees fourth budgetof his career as Finance Minister and

the second for the UPA government, inits second straight term after beingvoted back to office in May last year.

PM lauds Budget

Prime Minister Dr. ManmohanSingh commended the Finance

Minister for the Budget, describing itas a right mix of enabling growth whilesticking to the fiscal deficit consolida-tion requirements.

My overall impression is that theFinance Minister has done a right mixof estimating the growth requirements

as well as building in it a certainamount of moderation on the pricefront, Dr. Singh said in his post-Budget interview to a national televi-sion channel.

The Finance Minister has exercised

moderation while signaling to theeconomy that you cannot have allthings together, he added.

Dr. Singh sought to allay the fears ofcorporate India over the proposedDirect Tax Code and said that allapprehensions of stakeholders wouldbe considered before the roll-out. TheDirect Taxes Code must help strength-en growth impulses. But the delay hasaroused certain apprehensions in theminds of the business community, thePrime Minister added.

A balanced effort

Home Minister P. Chidambaramdescribed the Budget as a bal-

anced effort marked by a responsiblejudgment of the state of the economyand of the measures required to sus-tain high and inclusive growth.

Finance Minister PranabMukherjees Budget is a very balancedeffort marked by a mature assessment

of the state of the economy and of themeasures required to sustain high andinclusive growth, Chidambaram saidin a statement.

Industry hails Budget

Indian industry hailed FinanceMinister Pranab Mukherjee for a

development-oriented Budget.

By and large, the Finance Ministerhas provided a stable tax and policyframework for the Indian economy tomove forward, said Harsh PatiSinghania, president of Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry (FICCI). The U.S. IndiaBusiness Council (USIBC) hailed theBudget, saying it lays a strong foun-dation for the country to attractneeded investment, spur innovationand drive inclusive growth for all ofits citizens.

The USIBC has urged the IndianGovernment to raise the FDI cap ininsurance to 49 percent, which iscritical to attracting the long-termcapital investment needed to helpfinance Indias infrastructure build-out.

New banks as Indian Banking

Association to give additional licences toprivate players

Provision for further capital for regionalrural banks

Banking facilities to be provided to allhabitations with a population of 2,000and more

Apex level financial stability council to beset up for banking sector

Expenditure in 2010-11 estimated atapproximately $246 billion

Fifty percent hike in allocation for schemesfor women and child development

$413 million for Unique Identification

Authority of India $32 billion (approximately) allocated for

defense Draft Food Security Bill prepared and will

be put in the public domain Allocation on primary education raised

from $6 billion (approx) to $6.80 billion $14.36 billion allocated for rural develop-

ment in 2010-11 Forty-six percent of plan allocations in

2010-11 will be for infrastructure develop-ment

Coal Regulatory Authority to be set up to

benchmark standards of performance

Allocation for new and renewable energysector increased 61 percent

National Clean Energy Fund to be estab-lished

Government committed to growth of SEZs Four-pronged strategy for growth of

agricultural sector $43.47 million to be provided in 2010-11

for climate-resilient agricultural initiative New fertilizer policy from April 2010 Economy stabilized in first quarter of

2009-10; strong rebound in second quar-ter; overall growth at 7.2 percent


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4

March 2010

India Review

PresidentsADDRESS

Government to deliver on inclusive growth

P

resident Pratibha DevisinghPatil on February 22 saidthat the Indian Government

was working single-mind-edly to deliver the promise of inclusivegrowth for the common man. Sinceassuming office in May 2009, myGovernment has worked single-mind-edly to build on the achievements of itsearlier term to deliver the promise offaster and more inclusive growth, thePresident said, addressing a JointSession of both Houses of Parliamenton the opening day of the currentBudget session.

Excerpts from the speech:My Government was voted to office

with a clear-cut mandate to protectand deepen the values of pluralism andsecularism, and to ensure rapid growthwith justice and fairness for all. Sinceassuming office in May 2009, myGovernment has worked single-mind-edly to build on the achievements of itsearlier term to deliver the promise offaster and more inclusive growth. Theaam aadmi (common man) was and is

at the core of this promise; the aamaadmi had to be protected against theravages of the worst ever global eco-nomic crisis since the GreatDepression and against the failure ofthe monsoon in large parts of thecountry in mid-2009.

My Government has combined acaring and sensitive approach in deal-ing with the immediate economic andsocial problems, has taken measures tostrengthen the nations security, has

proceeded with a desire to accommo-date disparate political and regional voices, has sincerely worked towarddeepening our federal polity, has vig-orously pursued our enlightenednational interests in pro-activelyengaging with the global community,and has introduced sensitivity in thepartnership between the institutions ofgovernance and civil society.

The global economic slowdown wasmet by strong policies of administeringa domestic stimulus to the economy

which has yielded handsome results.Economic growth which had slowed to6.7 percent in 2008-09 is likely toimprove to around 7.5 percent in2009-10.

We now look forward confidently tofurther improvement in our growthperformance in 2010-11. My Gov-ernment will aim at a growth rateabove 8 percent in 2010-11 and seekto achieve 9 percent growth in 2011-12. We will concentrate on infrastruc-

ture development, agriculture andrural development, education andhealth and ensure that the growthprocess is adequately sensitive to theconcerns and well being of the weakersections of society. We will work tocreate an environment which encour-ages investments, including in micro,small, and medium enterprises.

My Government has taken severalnew measures to strengthen the secu-rity apparatus of the country to equip it

to meet the grave challenge posed byterrorism.

My Government is fully committedto the modernization of the armedforces. We will accord the highest pri-ority to modernization programmes toequip our armed forces with therequired weaponry, equipment andplatforms. The successful launch of theAgni-III missile is a shining example ofthe capabilities of our scientists andengineers who deserve full praise.

The micro, small and medium enter-

prises (MSMEs) sector is vital for sus-tained and inclusive growth. TheGovernment will take necessary steps

to expeditiously implement the recom-mendations of the Task Force onMSMEs.

My Government has taken severalsteps to meet the challenge of climatechange. The National Action Plan onClimate Change is being operational-ized. The Jawahar Lal Nehru NationalSolar Mission has been launched withan ambitious target of 20,000megawatts of solar power by 2022.

With a view to meeting the objectiveof Power to All by 2012, as stated inthe National Electricity Policy, a spe-cial effort has been made to encourageexpansion in electricity generationcapacity. As a result, during the XIthPlan we expect to add more than threetimes the capacity that was added inthe Xth Plan.

We have played our role in globalaffairs with responsibility and in thepursuit of peace, stability and progressin our region and beyond.

Our relations with the major powers

have been further consolidated. ThePrime Ministers visit to the U.S. laidthe framework for the further expan-sion of the India-U.S. partnership atthe bilateral, regional and global level.

Indias views on global challenges,such as terrorism, energy and foodsecurity, climate change and the inter-national financial and economic crisis,were unambiguously articulated at theappropriate fora. The issue of reformof institutions of global governance

was brought to the fore of the interna-tional agenda.

We can take justifiable pride in thecontributions made by the overseasIndian community in all walks of lifeacross the globe which have earnedthem high respect. The first meeting ofthe Prime Ministers Global AdvisoryCouncil of Overseas Indians was heldthis year. My Government will worktoward giving Indian citizens livingabroad the opportunity to vote by thetime of the next general elections.


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Indias gross domestic product(GDP) can expand by double-digit levels to emerge as thefastest-growing economy in the

world by 2014, says the Economic

Survey for this fiscal.It is entirely possible for India to

move into the rarefied domain ofdouble-digit growth and even don themantle of the fastest-growing econo-my in the world within the next fouryears, said the Survey, a day aheadof the Union Budget.

It estimates that the Indian econo-my grew by 7.2 percent in 2009-10against a growth of 6.7 percent in theprevious year. The recovery in GDP

growth as indicated in the CentralStatistical Organisation (CSO)advance estimates is broad-based with 7 out of 8 sectors/sub-sectorsshowing a gro-wth rate of 6.5 per-cent or higher. The per capita growthin income has recovered to 5.3 per-cent in 2009-10 from 3.7 percent inthe previous year.

Given the steadily improving fun-damentals of the economy, theSurvey says, if there are improve-ments in infrastructure, both urban

and rural, and reform in governanceand administration, it is possible forIndia to move into double-digitgrowth and even become the fastestgrowing economy in the world with-

in the next four years.The Indian GDP can be expected

to grow around 8.5 percent, with afull recovery, breaching the 9 percentmark in 2011-12, said the Surveytabled by Finance Minister PranabMukherjee in the Lok Sabha, theLower House of Parliament.

The survey also underlines the sig-nificance of the presence of Indiancorporations in the global marketplace. It says the recovery follows

revival in investment and private con-sumption demand, impressive growthin exports in November andDecember and a remarkable turn-around in the core infrastructure sec-tor. It says, after a setback, agricul-ture is gradually getting back to theprojected path. The Survey also saidthat the current rebound in growthcalled for a gradual withdrawal of the$37-billion stimuli since December2008 to help the country weather theills of the global slowdown.

5

March 2010

India Review

EconomicSURVEY

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee briefing mediapersons on the Economic Survey, in New Delhi, onFebruary 25.

INDIA CAN BECOME FASTESTGROWING ECONOMY IN FOUR YEARS

Economy posted a remarkable recoveryexpected to grow at 7.2 percent in 2009-

10 against 6.7 percent in 2008-09. GDP can be expected to grow around

8.5+/- 0.25 percent, with a full recovery,breaching the 9 percent mark in 2011-12.

Per capita income increased to 5.3 per-cent in 2009-10 from 3.7 percent in2008-09.

Outlook for Indias trade sector in 2010has brightened

Improve food production, productivityand stock management

Adequate stock of foodgrain to meetrequirements under welfare schemes

during current fiscalBank credit to the commercial sector,

shows revival since November 2009Gross fiscal deficit stands at 6.5 per cent

of GDP.Proposal to double the target of rural

houses to 12 million through the IndiraAwaas Yojana in the next five years

Employment increases by 500,000 inJuly-September quarter compared to firstquarter of current fiscal

Core industries, infrastructure servicesshow recovery signs in the middle ofoverall industrial growth

Investment Deposit Ratio increases to32.52 percent.

Net capital flows to India at $29.6 billionin April-September 2009 compared to$12.0 billion in April-September 2008.

Bank credit grows by 13.9 percent onyear-on-year basis.

Food subsidy should be given to house-holds, instead of routing through publicdistribution system

Reduce excise duty to boost exportsLiberalize foreign investment norms in

education, healthcare sectorsExpenditure restraint can help contain

deficit at budgeted levelsGrowth in telecom to continue with

monthly additions exceeding 17.6 mil-lion connections

Share of central government expenditureon social services up by 19.46 percent incurrent fiscal

Foreign exchange reserves rise by $31.5billion in current fiscal to $283.5 billiontill end December 2009

Balance of payment situation improvesdue to surge in capital flows and rise inforeign exchange reserves.

Highlights of theEconomic Survey


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6

AmbassadorsENGAGEMENTS

AMBASSADOR VISITS WEST COAST

Ambassador Ms. Meera

Shankar visited the West

Coast on February 5-6.

During the visit, Amb-

assador Shankar participated in a

round table organized by the US-India

Business Council (USIBC) and the

Consulate General of India in San

Francisco on February 5. The event

was attended by about 100 senior exec-

utives from top companies of theregion, including Google, Intel

Corporation, Gilead Sciences, Applied

Materials, Patni Americas and Oracle,

to name just a few. Representatives

from Berkley and Stanford University

also attended the event. Ambassador

Shankar gave the audience an overview

of the Indian economy, focussing on its

sturdy performance during the global

economic downturn.

Growth Story: Ambassador Shankar

highlighted the 11.7 percent industrialgrowth that India had experienced in

November 2009 as well as the strong

rebound in foreign direct investment,

which had crossed $20 billion between

April and November 2009. She spoke

of the numerous prospects and oppor-

tunities in the bilateral economic and

commercial relationship and empha-

sized that the partnership was benefit-

ing both countries. She said that the

Government of India was determined

that growth should be inclusive and the

key to this lay in rural development,

education, energy and infrastructure

areas where there was huge poten-

tial for collaboration between India

and the U.S.

Community Gathering: On February

6, the Ambassador addressed a large

gathering of the Indian community,

jointly organized by TIE (The Indus

Entrepreneur) Economic Forum and

the Indian Community Center, where

she spoke on the Future of India-U.S.

Relations. She told them that it was

their innovation, entrepreneurship and

skills that had made Silicon Valley ametaphor for the exciting possibilities

and the new energy in India-U.S. rela-

tions. She said that a comprehensive

and intensive engagement between

India and the U.S. would not only be

indispensable for the two countries,

but would also help them meet global

challenges. Synergies with India have

enhanced the competitiveness and

profitability of U.S. corporations while

contributing to growth and prosperity

within India itself. She added thatpartnership between the two countries

in research, innovation, technology

and enterprise will be a key driver of a

robust India-U.S. relationship in the

coming years.

Civil Nuclear Cooperation: The

Ambassador spoke about the boost that

the Civil Nuclear Agreement would give

to bilateral economic ties, besides con-

tributing to the shared objectives of

advancing energy security and address-

ing global warming.

Cooperation in Space: Ambassador

Shankar said that India and the U.S.

have a nascent, but promising cooper-

ation in space, which could expand

substantially in the future, as the two

countries harness its potential for com-

mercial purpose, environment conser-

vation and developmental needs.

Asia Society addressOn February 19, speaking at the Asia

Society in New York on the future of

India-U.S. relations, the Ambassador

said Asia Societys association with

India has been deep and broad-based.On deepening India-U.S. relations,

she said: India-U.S. trade and invest-

ment ties have been a natural outcome

of Indias economic growth and

increasing global integration.

She maintained: India-U.S. eco-

nomic ties have had an impact that goes

beyond the realm of business.

Partnerships between Indian and

American firms, big and small, have

helped shape the knowledge economy.

Ms. Shankar said that the two coun-tries have enormous opportunities to

work together to create productive

partnerships and address common

challenges in a wide range of areas.

As the two countries work together

to address global challenges, she said,

we must also work together to reform

the international architecture of global

governance. As the worlds second

most populous country, India is willing

to assume its responsibility to meet the

global challenges, Ambassador said.

Ambassador Ms. Meera Shankar addressing guests at the round table organized by USIBC onFebruary 5. Photographs: Creations by Sam


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Embassy & ConsulateEVENTS

India ReviewM a r c h 2 0 1 0

EMBASSY EVENTS

CONSULATE EVENTS

Guests in attendance at the Embassy for the screening.

Dr. Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate at the CarnegieEndowment for International Peace, shares hisviews with the audience.

Mr. Gary Samore, Special Assistant to the U.S.President, recounts his personal experience atthe Taj Hotel during the 2008 terror attacks.

Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Arun K. Singh,addressing guests at the event on February 25.

CG Attri visits Suzlon plant

Ambassador Ashok Kumar Attri,Consul-General, Chicago,

along with Lionel Sweeny,Vice-President for Human Resources,Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation,Chicago and Pipestone, Minnesota,visited the manufacturing and stor-age facility of Suzlon Wind Energyplant at Minnesota on January 30.Bhupen Barbaria, Director of SuzlonCorporation, briefed AmbassadorAttri about the Minnesota plant. The unit at Minnesota manufacturesboth Windmill fan blades and Nose cones for their windmill units whichproduce 2.1 MW of electricity. With its acquisition of European windmillmanufacturer RE Power, Suzlon Energy, India, has become the thirdlargest w ind power equipment supplier in the world.

CG Amb. Ashok Kumar Attriwith Bhupen Barbaria, Director,Suzlon, and other senior profes-sionals at the Suzlon plant in MN.

Celebration of Viswa Hindi Divas

The Consulate General of India, New York,organized a function to celebrate the Viswa

Hindi Divas on February 20 at the NewIndia House. Around 100 guests including acad-emicians, litterateurs, representatives of ethnicmedia and people interested in Hindi languageand literature attended the event. On the occa-sion, Consul-General Prabhu Dayal read out amessage from the Prime Minister of India. In hiswelcome remarks, the Consul-General laid emphasis on the need forpopularization of Hindi and exhorted the audience to begin theprocess by using Hindi at home. The first session, moderated by Prof.Surindra Gambhir, brought out the efforts for promotion of Hindi in theUnited States. In the second session, patriotic poems in Hindi wererecited. Lively discussions followed after each session. The event con-cluded w ith a vote of thanks by P. K. Mohanty, Consul (Education).

CG Prabhu Dayaladdressing guestsat the Viswa HindiDivas event.

SCREENING OF HBO DOCUMENTARY TERROR IN MUMBAI


8/24India Review

8

Economy

March 2010

NEWS

The manufacturing sector,

which constitutes around 80percent of industrial output,expanded by 18.5 percent to

set the motion of growth. As a pointerto rising domestic consumptionstrengthening future growth, con-sumer durables industries such asautomobiles surged 46 percent andcapital goods output rose by 38.8 per-cent. The latest figures are much high-er than a revised annual rise of 11.8percent in November as well as fore-

casts of around 12 percent. It is thehighest year-on-year growth registeredin the index of industrial production(IIP) since April 1995, when the newseries, which uses 1993-94 as the baseyear, started. Even in the old series ofthe IIP, with the base year as 1980-81,March 1990 was the only month thathad ever registered a higher growthrate at 23.8 percent. Besides manufac-turing, mining output grew by 9.5 per-cent in December against 2.2 percent ayear ago, while electricity generation

rose by 5.4 percent against 1.6 percent

in the previous corresponding period.Furthermore, the growth rates in

December stood at 21.7 percent forintermediate goods, 7.5 percent forbasic goods, 46 percent for consumerdurables and 3.7 percent for consumernon-durables. Another positive aspectof the turnaround is the performanceof capital goods. Capital goods per-formance grew by 38.8 percent inDecember 2009 as against 6.6 percentfor the same month of 2008 and 11.1

percent in April-December 2009 asagainst 8.2 percent during April-December 2008.

Quite encouraging, is howFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjeedescribed the latest figures. I do hopethat third quarter GDP figures will alsobe encouraging... it will get reflected inthe overall GDP.

Planning Commission DeputyChairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia,also said that the numbers werebeyond the expected 13 percent.

Imports rise 27 percent, confirm

economy back on track

Imports moved back to the positiveterrain for the first time since the

financial crisis, clocking a 27 percentgrowth in December, indicating thatthe domestic economy was well on its way to recovery, aided by rapidlyimproving exports that grew for thesecond successive month.

Trade has now fallen in line with allother indicators of the economy thathad already started improving, said

CRISIL chief economist D.K. Joshi,adding that trade was the last indicatorto improve as it was linked to the glob-al economy. The strong 22.4 percentrise in non-oil imports, after a steadyfall for more than a year, shows anincrease in manufacturing and invest-ment activity in the country, as indus-trial inputs and capital goods constitut-ed the bulk of the imports.

Capital goods accounted for nearly16 percent of imports in the year2008-09. The near double-digit

HIGHEST INDUSTRIAL GROWTH RECORDEDIN 20 YEARS AT 16.8 PERCENT

Indias industrial output grew at its fastest year-on-year pace in almost two decadesat 16.8 percent in December 2009, signaling a strong recovery


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9

March 2010

India Review

EconomyNEWS

growth in exports in December 2009from a year ago, albeit from a low base,suggests a demand pick-up in the Western markets, including both theEU and the U.S. The pick-up inexports should boost manufacturingand thereby the overall industrialgrowth. This (rise in non-oil imports)coupled with the recovery in exports bodes well for the growth momen-tum, said Citi economists RohiniMalkani and Anushka Shah in a recentresearch note. The recently providedadditional stimulus to labor-intensiveexport sectors that had not respondedwell to the packages announced earli-er, is also expected to contribute topositive growth.

We believe that exports would keepmoving uphill and we can touch $170 billion by the end of the fiscal, said

Ajay Sahai, director-general, Fede-ration of Indian Export Organisations(FIEO). There is an increase in importsof both capital goods for manufactur-ing in general and power equipmentwith the country implementing a largenumber of power projects.

This is a good sign as it indicatesthat manufacturing will continue topost a double digit growth that willultimately result in a higher GDP,Sahai added.

Oil imports in December 2009stood at $6.5 billion, 42.8 percenthigher than $4.58 billion in the samemonth last year. Imports, which hadslipped into negative territory a littlelater, took that much longer to recoverand post positive growth.

WB pegs India growth at 7.5percent for FY 10-11

The World Bank in its estimate forthe year 2010-11 has said that the

Indian economy is likely to grow at 7.5

percent next fiscal and that the growthprospects remain strong.

The World Banks annual GlobalEconomic Prospects 2010 said Indiais expected to grow at 7.5 percentand 8 percent in 2010-11 and 2011-

12, respectively, well above the 6.4percent average posted during 1995-2005.

Explaining the reasons for thegrowth of the Indian economy, the World bank report says, Indiasgrowth will benefit from the firming upof external demand, particularlyresumption of growth in high-incomecountries.

Foreign direct investment inflowsare expected to increase in 2010, thereport said, adding that this would beon the back of the recovery of overallinvestments in developing countriesthis year.

India to grow at 9.2 percent inFY-11: CMIE

Indias economic growth is likely toreturn to pre-crisis levels in the next

fiscal, driven by strong industrial andagriculture growth, a recent review bya think tank showed.

The Centre for Monitoring Indian

Economy (CMIE) expects Asiasthird largest economys GDP growthto accelerate to 9.2 percent in2010/11.

In fiscal 2010/11, real GDPgrowth will be propelled by a strongperformance by the industrial sectorand a robust recovery in agriculturaland elite sector. Services sector too isexpected to do well, CMIE said inthe report.

A revival in consumer confidence

and investment activities will supple-ment growth in the commodities seg-ment, it added.

Indias GDP growth slowed to 6.7percent in 2008/09 from 9 percent ormore in the previous three years as theeffect of global financial turmoil hurtdemand, prompting the authorities tounveil a spate of stimulus measures toboost the economy.

As a result the countrys industrialoutput grew at its fastest pace in twoyears in November at 11.7 percent.

Exports grow 11.5 percent inJanuary

The countrys merchandise exportsreached $14.34 billion in January,

up 11.5 percent from $12.86 billion inthe same month a year ago, even as

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has recommended acautious exit from export sops.Exports have again registered growthin January as some of the sectors didexceedingly well, Sharma told reportersin New Delhi recently. Preliminary for-eign trade data had earlier put the exportgrowth for January at 8 percent.

Among the sectors that postedgrowth were agricultural products, tea,coffee, basmati rice, marine products,gems and jewellery, drugs, petroleumproducts and plastics, while textiles, jute, handicrafts, engineering goodsand leather remained sluggish, theMinister added.

Exports started dropping sinceOctober 2008 as the global economicdownturn worsened. It fell as low asaround 40 percent during April-Maylast year.

Exports grew by 18.2 percent at$11.16 billion and 9.3 percent at 13.36 billion in November and December,respectively.

Total exports for 2009-10 areexpected to be $165-170 billion. Asthe world economy emerges from the

current recession, the Government willhave to take a decision to exit from theeconomic stimulus measures, includ-ing those that were aimed at boostingexports, said Anwarul Hoda of theIndian Council for Research onInternational Economic Relations.

Economy to grow at 9 percent intwo years: PM-EAC

Advocating caution while with-drawing fiscal stimuli, the Prime

Ministers Economic Advisory Council


10/24India ReviewMarch 2010

0

EconomyNEWS

(PM-EAC) has pegged Indias growthfor this fiscal at 7.2 percent, accelerat-ing to 8.2 percent and 9 percent,respectively, in the next two years.

In its annual review of the Indianeconomy presented to Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on February 19, theCouncil was optimistic about the per-formance of the economy, particularlydrawing comfort from a better-than-expected rebound of industrial output.

The Council expects a bounce backin agricultural gross domestic productin the next year and maintenance ofthe desired trend growth of 4 percentin 2011-12, Council Chairman Dr.C. Rangarajan said at a press confer-ence.

The Council also expected theindustrial and service sectors to con-tinue to register strong growth through both these years and hoped theGovernments priorities and initiativeson infrastructure would proceed alongdesired lines. On this basis, we aremaking an initial estimate that theeconomy would grow by 8.2 percent in2010-11 and by 9 percent in 2011-12, Dr. Rangarajan said.

The Council expects global condi-

tions to be somewhat better in thecoming years. As a result of this, thereshould be some recovery in exportdemand in 2010/11, a turnaroundfrom the contraction suffered in thesecond half of 2008/09 and that in2009/10, which is likely to be followedby modest growth in 2011/12.

The most distinctive element of thegrowth process over the next few years will be that infrastructure asset cre-ation and expansion will play the roleof prime mover. The Council said:

We see the expansion of consump-tion, particularly private final con-sumption playing a supporting role,showing fairly steady growth reflectingthe increase in personal disposableincomes.

Referring to Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI), the Council saidthat on a net basis FDI was virtuallyunchanged in the first half of 2009/10at $14.1 billion which was almostidentical to the figure of $14 billion inthe corresponding period of the previ-ous year. In the second half of2009/10, it is estimated that grossinflows will be about $15 billion whichis slightly more than in the previousyear but outflows are likely to be lowerthan last year. Thus, on a net basis,there would be an increase in FDIinflow. For the year as a whole, totalnet FDI inflow is assessed at $20.1 bil-lion, slightly higher than the $17.5 bil-lion recorded in the previous year.

FDI inflows touch $1.54 bn inDecember 2009

Foreign directi n v e s t m e n t

(FDI) grew to$1.54 billion in

December 2009, anincrease of 13.2percent over the

December 2008 level of $1.36 billion,according to the Reserve Bank of India(RBI).

This makes it the third consecutivemonth of year-on-year increases inFDI inflows, RBI said.

The February bulletin of the RBIshowed that FDI equity inflows for theperiod between April and December of

the current fiscal, stood at $21.5 bil-lion, higher than the $21.15 billionposted in the same period in the pre-ceding fiscal.

The services sector followed by thetelecommunications, real estate andhousing sector are seen as preferreddestinations for foreign investors.

Business confidence attwo-year-high

Business confidence in India con-tinued to improve and touched a

two-year high in January, according tothe latest National Council of AppliedEconomic Research (NCAER)-MasterCard Worldwide Index ofBusiness Confidence.

The Business Confidence Index

(BCI) rating of 153.8 points forJanuary 2010, compared to theOctober 2009 rating of 143.7 pointsand July 2009 rating of 118.6 points, isalso the highest rating since January2008 (154 points).

The latest NCAER-MasterCard Worldwide Index of BusinessConfidence study has captured theupbeat economic climate in India,said T. V. Seshadri, vice-president andcountry general manager, South Asia,MasterCard Worldwide. The per-formance of the index points to arobust recovery. The growth in thenon-agricultural side of the economyhas been sustained since October andthe performance has been good acrossthe board, said Shashanka Bhide,senior fellow and survey head atNCAER.

The survey, based on 542 responsesreceived in December, measures busi-ness confidence on four indicators:Overall economic conditions expected

after six months, expected financialposition of the firm after six months,investment climate compared to sixmonths back and capacity utilizationlevel. All four indicators carry equalweight.

The improvement in business sen-timent has been observed across allregions in India except in the East, where it fell by 2.9 points, or 1.82percent, as compared to the previousquarter. Amongst all four regions, the

West had a maximum proportion ofrespondents providing positive feed-back for the Overall economic con-ditions indicator, revealing an opti-mism about an improvement in theoverall economic conditions andinvestment climate over the next sixmonths.

The BCI ratings for the smallestfirms increased by a larger proportion when compared to the large-sizedfirms. All firms reflected heightenedsentiments.

Dr. C. Rangarajan, chairman, PM-EAC, at a pressconference in New Delhi on February 19.


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11

EconomyNEWS


India to be worlds second largeststeelmaker by 2012: Minister

India will become the worldssecond largest steel producer by2012, more than doubling itscapacity of 57 million tons as

part of the push being given to assistinfrastructure development, SteelMinister Virbhadra Singh has said.

I have set a target of 124 million tons by 2012. Yes, we will become the worlds second largest steel producer.But, more importantly, India has a vastcapacity to consume that kind ofoutput. It is necessary for our infrastruc-ture development, the Minister added.

Here, I am only talking about thecapacity expansion of existing steelcompanies. If I also take greenfield

projects into account, we have expres-

sion of interest for projects worth over

$80 billion, Singh said. At present, China is the largest steel

maker in the world with a capacity ofover 600 million tons, followed by Japanand South Korea. India ranks fourth.

A five-term Chief Minister ofHimachal Pradesh, Singh said that thestate-run Steel Authority of India(SAIL) alone has targeted to virtuallydouble its capacity to nearly 30 milliontons. These expansion projects willsail through. Both at Bokaro andBhilai, the company has enough landto take up the projects, said Singh.

The Minister said that SAIL wouldgo for a public issue and partial divest-ment of equity during the early part ofthe next fiscal and a decision hadalready been taken in this regard.

Singh said that he was keen thatsome large projects of global compa-nies also go on stream soon, includingthe $12-billion integrated steel unit ofSouth Koreas Posco in Orissa, andtwo similar Arcelor-Mittal units in

Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

The Export-Import Bank of the UnitedStates and NACIL, the holding company

of national carrier Air India, have signed anagreement worth $1.1 billion to supportfinancing of sale of Boeing airplanes to theIndian carrier.

The deal will support the sale of BoeingB777-200LRs and B777-300ERs to beoperated by Air India and B737-800s to beoperated by Air India Charters, the bank said.

These purchases represent the thirdphase of Air Indias 68-aircraft fleet renew-al plan. EXIM Bank had earlier approved$1.2 billion in 2007 and $548.8 million in2008 to support the financing of NACILspurchases of Boeing aircraft.

The deal was signed among EXIM Bankchairman and president Fred P. Hochberg;NACIL chairman and managing directorArvind Jadhav; and Astar Saleh, head ofStructured Trade Finance, JPMorgan.

The Joint Secretary and Financial Adviserto the Civil Aviation Ministry, Bharat

Bhushan, was also present.

Hyderabad airport getsglobal recognition

The Rajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport in Hyderabad, whichis operated by the GMR

Group, has been adjudged the bestairport among those that handleupto 15 million passengers annu-ally, in the service quality categoryby the Airports CouncilInternational (ACI).

ACI, the voice of global airports, announced the top performing air-ports in its annual Airport Service Quality service on February 17. TheHyderabad airport, which began operations in March 2008, alsobagged the fifth position amongst all airports. The awards will be for-mally presented on May 13 at the ACI Asia-Pacific RegionalConference, to be held in Hainan, China.

The winners were selected after a year-long drive, collecting feed-back from passengers, both domestic and international, from 200 air-ports around the world. In the case of Hyderabad, representatives ofACI got feedback from 550 passengers every quarter during 2009 asagainst its benchmark of 350.

Indian IT industry to touch$285 bn by 2020: KPMG

KPMG and Asia OceanicComputing Industry Organ-ization (ASOCIO), that repre-

sents 15,000 companies in Asiaand Australia, has projected thatthe Indian IT and ITES sector couldbecome a $285-billion industry by2020, from $71.6 billion in 2009.

The industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth of15 percent in the next 10 years.

In a first-of-its-kind report on the region, KPMG-ASOCIO said thatIndia would continue to lead in global sourcing activity.

The 215-page report, titled Asia-Oceania Vision 2020: Enabling ITLeadership Through Collaboration, said the climate change wouldgain prominence as an important industry by 2020. Spending onefficient technologies, renewable energy, recycling, and waste man-agement would grow significantly within the region and globally.

The region will become the largest supplier of IT and IT-enabledservices by 2020, with 74.5 percent of the global demand expectedto be sourced from the region, the report added.

EXIM Bank, Air Indiasign $1.1 bn deal



2

EconomyNEWS

The new year has brought good

news for almost all car manu-facturers, with market leaderMaruti Suzuki, Hyundai

Motors, Tata Motors, Mahindra &Mahindra, General Motors and evenFiat, posting their highest monthly salessince their inception.

Sales of cars, sports-utility vehicles(SUVs) and multi-utility vehicles(MUVs) from these automakers andalso that of Honda-Siel and Mahindra-Renault together grew 33 percent to175,526 units in January, against131,636 units sold in the same montha year ago. Leading the charts wasmarket leader Maruti Suzuki, whichsaw a 21 percent jump on the back ofadditional numbers from the newly-launched Eeco (a utility van) and con-

tinued demand for its models like Ritz,A-Star, Swift and DZire.

Interest rates on auto loans have been soft till now which has largelyhelped growth. Moving forward, inter-est rates are expected to firm up, lead-ing to a drop in retail activity, said aMumbai-based analyst.

P. Balendran of GM India said, Weare pleased to see such robust growthof all our car lines especially for Cruzeand Beat, the response for which hasbeen overwhelming.

AUTOMAKERS POSTRECORD SALES IN JANUARY

Chopper airframes to US, from India

T

he first India-made airframe

of the SikorskyS-92 medium-lift heli-copter will be handedover to the U.S. firm inNovember this year. It is also likely thatthe entire chopper could be built inIndia the first time that a major avi-ation manufacturing activity would becarried out in the private sector.

The airframes will be manufacturedat the Tata Advanced Systems Limited(TASL) facility in Hyderabad, with

three being produced this year and thenumber gradually rising to 38-48

annually. The factoryis fully functional. The

first airframe of the S-92 will be handed overin November, said Air Vice Marshal

(retd.) A.J.S. Walia, managing director(India and South Asia) of SikorskyAircraft Corporation.

This is the first time in the historyof India that a major aviation activity isstarting in the private sector, Waliaadded. Eventually, India will beour main source of components and

the full helicopter could be producedin India, Walia said.

Global science-driven com-pany DuPont hasembarked upon an

expansion program at DuPontKnowledge Center (DKC) in Hyderabad, whichis aimed at foraying into materials researchthat will enable the company launch new prod-ucts across different segments.

This is part of DuPonts expansionprogram that is being implement-ed in India. It will support localcustomer needs for businesses in

the safety and protection, construction, trans-portation and packaging markets in India,ASEAN and other emerging markets, saidMark Vergnano, vice-president, DuPont.

DuPont expanding research facility in India

Approval for 74 pc FDIin mobile TV sector

In a move to fast track mobile television(TV) technology services, the government

has accepted the recommendations of theTelecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) for a composite foreign investmentlimit of 74 percent in mobile TV services.

The acceptance of TRAIs recommenda-tions is likely to help the governmentsplans of pursuing mobiletelevision technology on afast-track basis.

TRAIs recommendationthat the service provider beallowed to choose the tech-nology for mobile TV servicesalso received the govern-

ments nod. The Ministrysuggests that the chosen tech-nology be digital and be inline with the norms issued bythe International Telecommunication Union(ITU) and the Telecom Engineering Center ofIndia (TEC).

The Ministry also said that satellite TVchannels may require re-packaging to suitmobile TV service.

Investment doubled in

infrastructure sector

Investments in the countrys infrastructuresector have doubled from 4 percent to 8

per cent of the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) over the past five years, according tothe Planning Commission.

B. K. Chaturvedi, Planning Commission

Member and in-charge of the infrastructuresector, said that the target of $500 billion wasachievable either by the end of the 11th Five-year Plan (2007-12) or the first year of the12th Plan. He said that infrastructure invest-ments were picking up and stood at 8 percent of the countrys GDP. During 2008-09,GDP at factor cost stood at $713.62 billion.

Chaturvedi also said that infrastructureinvestments as a percentage of GDP haddoubled since 2004-05 and that all infra-structure segments had seen enormousinvestments.



13

DiasporaNEWS

Rashad Hussain appointed special envoy to OIC

President Barack Obama hasappointed Rashad Hussain,an Indian-American Muslimas a special envoy to the

Organization of the IslamicConference (OIC), the 57-nationorganization that calls itself the collec-tive voice of the Muslim world.

Announcing the new envoy,President Obama described Hussain, who has been a Deputy AssociateWhite House Counsel, as an accom-plished lawyer and a close and trustedmember of my White House staff.

President Obama made theannouncement on February 13 in a video message to the US-Islamic

World Forum inDoha, Qatar. Themove is to broad-en the outreach

strategy towardthe Muslim worldhe laid out lastyear in Cairo,

added the President. Hussain hasplayed a key role in developing thepartnerships I called for in Cairo. Andas a hafiz of the Quran, he is a respect-ed member of the American-Muslimcommunity, and I thank him for carry-ing forward this important work,President Obama said.

Hussain has served as a trial attorney

at the U.S. Department of Justice, alaw clerk on the U.S. Court of Appealsfor the Sixth Circuit, and an editor ofthe Yale Law Journal.

Hussain said he was honored andhumbled by the appointment.

I am committed to deepening thepartnerships that he (Obama) outlinedin his visionary address last summer. Ilook forward to updating you on theAdministrations efforts in these areasover the coming months, he said.

Obama took the opportunity to laudthe event and reiterate what he calledthe new beginning between the U.S.and Muslims around the world.

IANS

Virginias Republican Governor-elect BobMcDonnell has appointed his close

friend and long-time fund raiser Dr. KamleshDave to his transition team for economicdevelopment.

Dave, a cardiologist practicing in Chester,Virginia, a suburb of the state capital ofRichmond, is the first Indian American to beinducted into the Governor-elects inner cir-

cle of advisors. Born and raised inAhmedabad, Dave is a leading communityand social activist. He was recently unani-mously elected president of the newRepublican Indian Committee, a politicalaction committee.

Dave migrated to the United States in1980, did his internship and residency atCornell University in New York and livedand worked in Manhattan and parts of NewJersey for several years.

After moving to Richmond, he served asthe Chief of Medicine and Chief of Staff atthe South Side Regional Medical Center. He

now serves as a board member on the StateHealth Research Board (HRB) of Virginia.

Until last year, he was HRBs vice-chair-man. He has also served as a board memberon the Workmen Compensation MedicalBoard of Virginia.

Dave was an elected delegate from thefourth Congressional District to theRepublican National Convention in 2008 inMinneapolis, Minn. He is also a director onthe board of First Capital Bank, Virginia, andhas served as a board member of theAmerica Land Fund. IANS

Dr. Dave named advisorto Virginia Governor-elect

Poonam Alaigh is New Jersey health chief

New Jerseys Repub-lican Governor ChrisChristie has named

an Indian American doctor,Poonam Alaigh, as the com-missioner of the state Healthand Senior Services Depart-ment, a cabinet post.

Alaigh, 45, has a multifaceted back-ground in healthcare administration anddelivery, including clinical practice, hos-pital practice, hospital administration,managed care, pharmaceutical medicineand health care policy.

It is important that we have a quali-fied team with the attitude and willing-ness to get to work, make tough deci-sions and strive for results. These

appointments will assurethat the status quo isntacceptable and the healthand education of NewJerseys citizens will be inthe best of hands,Governor Christies said,

while announcing Alaighs name.

The state Senate has to confirm herappointment. Alaigh said her first prior-ity was to help the Governor balance thebudget. Currently, director of HorizonBlue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey,she is also working as an assistant pro-fessor in the Department of FamilyPractice at University of Medicine andDentistry/Robert Wood Johnson Uni- versity Medical School. IANS

Former DD anchor is USAs top commerce official

AformerDoordarshan sports andnews anchor, Suresh Kumar,has become the most senior

Indian American in the U.S.Commerce Department. President andmanaging partner of KaiZenInnovation, Kumar served as a specialadviser to the Clinton Foundation andwas a news anchor withDoordarshanfrom 1970 to 1985.

Kumar said: I could not help but

reflect on the incred-ible journey fromMumbai via Indo-nesia, Singapore andCanada that broughtme to the U.S. 16years ago.

Kumar is now the second most sen-ior Indian American in the Obamaadministration after Rajiv Shah,administrator of USAID. IANS


14/24

4

March 2010

India Review

ScienceNEWS

INDIA TESTS N-CAPABLE AGNI-III MISSILE

I

ndia has successfully tested itsindigenous nuclear-capableAgni-III missile with a range of

over 1,864 miles, consolidatingthe countrys position among a selectgroup of countries that have interme-diate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)-capability.

The missile, that is capable of car-rying warheads weighing up to 1.5tons, was tested from the InnerWheeler Island at Dhamra, a launchsite at Bhadrak district, about 124miles from Bhubaneswar, Orissa, onFebruary 7.

This was the fourth test of the mis-sile.

The test was highly successful. Itmet all the mission objectives. All theevents took place as expected, saidS. P. Dash, director of the IntegratedTest Range (ITR), after the test.

The Agni-III missile is set forinduction in the Armed Forces. Thetest was its last trial, the officialadded.

The missile developed by theDefence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) was earliertested on April 12, 2007, and May 9,

2008, respectively, and both the testswere successful.

Agni-III, one of the Agni seriesmissiles, is a two-stage solid propel-lant missile with a length of 17meters, a diameter of 2 meters and alaunch weight of 50 tons.

While Agni-I is a 466-498 mileshort-range missile, Agni-II has a

range of more than 932 miles.Both, Agni-I and Agni-II have

already been inducted into the Armed

Forces.Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan

Singh congratulated the DRDO sci-entists on the successful launch of Agni-III missile and wished themsuccess in their future efforts.

I convey my heartiest congratula-tions to the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation, the Advanced Systems Laboratory,Hyderabad, and all members of theProject Team for the successfullaunch of the Agni-III missile today,Dr. Singh said in his message.

On behalf of the nation, I com-mend our scientists and engineers fortheir dedication, hard work andexcellence in our march towardachieving self reliance in high tech-nology areas and meeting the coun-trys defense needs, the PrimeMinister added.

Defense Minister A.K. Antonytermed the test of Agni-III as aremarkable achievement and con-

gratulated DRDO chief V. K.Saraswat for making it a success.

India draws roadmap for 1,000 MW fast-breeder reactor

Indian nuclear scientists will takethree steps to improve their expe-rience and expertise before they

start on the design of a 1,000-MW fast breeder reactor (FBR). The reactor

will not only generate electricity, butalso produce more fuel than it con-sumes.

Building a new 120-MW test reactorpowered by metallic fuel, setting up a500-MW fast breeder reactor with theflexibility to convert to metallic fuelfrom mixed oxide fuel, and changingthe existing fast breeder test reactors(FBTR) core into a metallic core, arethe steps laid down by the IndiraGandhi Centre for Atomic Research(IGCAR) toward designing a 1,000

MW fast breeder reactor by 2018. Afast breeder reactor breeds more mate-rial for a nuclear fission reaction than itconsumes. It is key to Indias three-stage nuclear power program.

The key to designing the 1,000 MWreactor is to get things relating to themetallic fuel a mix of 20 percentplutonium and 80 percent uranium right as it not only has a high breeding

ratio compared to the mixed plutoni-um-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel butalso faces technical challenges thatneeds detailed study. The MOX fuelwill power Indias first seven fast reac-

tors, including the upcoming 500-MWprototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR).

The first step is to test the metallicfuel pins and sub-assemblies in theFBTR located at Kalpakkam nearChennai. This will be followed byreplacing FBTRs entire carbide fuelwith metallic fuel, Baldev Raj, directorof IGCAR, said. The second step is tobuild the 150-MW reactor powered bymetallic fuel, and finally the operation ofthe dual fuel (MOX and metallic) 500MW fast reactor.


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15

March 2010

India Review

ScienceNEWS

SCIENTISTS FOR NATIONAL CENTRETO SCALE UP NANO RESEARCH

I

ndia needs to setup a national cen-

ter for incubatingresearch done in

various labs on Nanoscience to enable tech-nology serve society,scientists have said.

Unlike incubationcenters for informationtechnology, centers forNano Science and Technologyrequire special infrastructure. Thenational center must help set upsuch a facility as soon as possible asmany researchers are waiting toscale up their lab products, expertssaid at a three-day international con-ference on Nano Science andTechnology at IIT-Mumbai recently.

It requires proper infrastructureto transform products designed inthe laboratory to prototypes and scaleup further. We have appealed to thegovernment for such a facility, thescientists said.

Creating a special center is essen-

tial and we suggestedthat the Council of

Scientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR) couldprovide an ideal plat-form for Nano incuba-tors. We also proposedthat one of the Nanocenters of the NationalNano Mission could betaken up for incuba-

tion, they added.Nano technology is knowledge-

intensive and helps develop technolo-gies which can influence a wide rangeof products and processes with far-reaching implications for the nationaleconomy and development, said Prof.Dhirendra Bahadur, convenor of themeeting.

The Chairman of the NationalNano Mission, Prof. C.N.R. Rao,said that India would soon set up aNational Nanotechnology RegulatoryBoard to regulate industrial nanotechproducts that are used in day-to-daylife.

$11.94 mn fund to helpbudding scientists

Young researchers struggling tomuster funds to establish theirstart-ups have a reason to smile

since the government has recently setup a corpus of $11.94 million to helpscientists convert their prototypes to

tangible commercial products. This(venture capital) fund will now helpresearchers become entrepreneurs,Minister of State for Science andTechnology, Prithviraj Chavan, said.

The $11.94 million fund will beprovided to start-ups registered withnearly 40 science and business incu- bators that help researchers set upnew companies, in the country duringthe 2010-11 financial year. The fund will be managed by the Science andTechnology Park in Pune, where the

Indian Steps and Business Incubator Association (ISBA) secretariat islocated. Rajendra Jagdale, secretary-general of ISBA, said the fund will helpmany new enterprises to come up as it would help researchers shift their

innovation from the science lab to themarket. This is the first ever venturecapital fund for business incubation.

The whole intention is to convertknowledge to enterprises, Chavansaid at the fourth ISBA conference inNew Delhi on February 8.

This initiative will go a long way inachieving sustainable growth throughscience and technology tools, saidR.M.P. Jawahar, president of ISBA.India is spending around one percentof the GDP on R&D.

The Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) will by April set up the much-

awaited National Apex Committee, a bodywhich will regulate research on stem celltherapy.

Called the National Apex Committee forStem Cell Research and Therapy (NAC-SCRT), it would be a mechanism which willhelp monitor and review stem cell research,technologies, techniques and clinical prac-tices.

All the required procedures and protocolare in place and it will be set up any time,"assistant director-general of ICMR, Dr. GeetaJotwani, said at a public consultancy meet-

ing held at the Nehru Centre in Mumbairecently. Once formed, all institutions con-ducting stem cell research would have toregister under it, besides setting up theirown Institutional Committees on Stem CellResearch and Therapy (IC-SCRT), she said.

NAC-SCRT will maintain a registry for allclinical trials that are conducted in the coun-try. It will also keep a record of stem celltherapy clinics and patients and volunteersparticipating in stem cell research. Currently,all trials are supposed to be self regulatedunder IC-SCRT.

Recognising the importance of the fron-

tier science of stem cells, ICMR, along withthe Department of Biotechnology, whichbrought out guidelines in 2007, havesought public opinion on the ICMR-DBTguidelines on stem research and therapybefore it goes into legislation, Jotwani said.

All important suggestions made at thesepublic consultation meetings will be incor-porated, if necessary, in the guidelines, sheadded. A brainstorming session was held inMumbai for the western region and similarmeetings will be held in Chennai, Kolkata,Delhi and possibly Bengaluru shortly.

ICMR to set up apexcommittee to regulate

stem cell research


16/24

I

ndias fast growing automobilesector is looking for internation-

al design talent, with several topauto-makers hiring designersand engineers from different parts ofthe globe in the recent couple ofmonths.

Unlike the U.S., where the autoindustry is still reeling under the finan-cial meltdown, Indias automobileindustry is on a roll with record sales being registered in financial year2009-2010. Top professionals, includ-ing designers, engineers andresearchers, who see tremendous

potentials for growth in the burgeon-ing automobile sector in India, are willing to relocate to the country onmedium and long-term assignments.I.V. Rao, Managing Executive Officer,Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., (MSIL),Indias largest car-maker, was inDetroit meeting designers and engi-neers in Motown, and urging them torelocate to India. He succeeded in hismission to a considerable extent. Asmany as eight Detroit-based auto

engineers, specialising in auto design,styling and modeling, and engine

development and manufacturing, havenow been taken on MSILs rolls.Some of the designers and engi-

neers from the U.S. are of Indian-ori-gin and were eager to grab the Marutioffer. According to Rao, the interna-tional design talent that the companyis tapping into, would help it launchinnovative models and also train itsengineers. Other Indian automakerslike Tata Motors, Mahindra &Mahindra, etc. are also in talks withinternational auto designers as they

launch ambitious drives to expandtheir in-house design capabilities.

Edgar Heinrich, who was recentlyhired by Bajaj Auto from BMWMotorcycles to head its design func-tion, says: The world has woken tothe paradigm shift in the Indian auto-mobile industry, with out-of-the boxdesigns playing a vital role.

Royal Enfield brought in VenkiPadmanabhan as chief operating offi-cer to look after design and product

development. He had earlier workedwith an advanced engineering team ofGeneral Motors in the U.S.

According to V.G. Ramakrishnan,senior director, automative and trans-portation sector, Frost & Sullivan, thenew focus on the role of designreflects the goal of the Indian compa-nies to tap global markets.

The change in the global auto man-ufacturing scenario, following thedownturn in the U.S. and Europeanmarkets, has also ignited a reverse brain-drain with many designersseeking work in emerging countriessuch as India and China.

Design aspects such as proto-typingand clay-modeling, which were earlierused to be carried out of France, U.K.and Italy, are now being executed bymany automobile firms in India itself.

6


Trends inSOCIETY

Top professionals,including designers,engineers andresearchers, who seea huge potential forgrowth in Indiasautomobile sector,are willing to relocateto the country on

medium and long-termassignments

INDIAN

CARINDUSTRYDesigned for innovationand excellence


17/24

Both domestic and international autofirms are investing significantly indesign centres in India. Some Indianauto majors have started acquiringglobal design models. A series of equi-ty partnerships between local compa-nies and global firms in the past fewmonths have underscored the need forthis aspect of the automobile industry.

Indian auto majors are keen to buyout global design houses in a bid toproduce contemporary products,upgrade their R&D and also becomemore competitive globally throughbetter management of costs.

As global auto manufacturing capabilities shift to Asia, design firms aresetting up offices in India to focus onback-end operations, post the ideationstage. India has already emerged as aglobal hub for design and production

of small, fuel-efficient cars. Keepingpace with the advancing technology,car manufacturers have introducedmany new small cars in the countrywhich have been successful in winningpeoples heart with their compactdimension and improved fuel efficien-cy. Tata Nano has completely revolu-tionized the car market not only in

India but globally. It shows Indiaspotential capabilities to deliver the bestdesign and engineering in accordanceto the need of the next generation cus-tomers. Its display in the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design in NewYork alongside the permanent exhibi-tion of leading innovations in designsis a testimony to the creativity of itsdesigners.

With environmental concerns occu-pying the global centre stage, the era

of small fuel-efficient cars has come.The shift towards India is attributed tolarge market for small cars as well asits potential to become a major hub fordesign and production. Apart fromTata Nano, many other car manufac-turers like GM, Ford Motors also havetheir small cars in pipeline. All thesesmall cars will soon roll out on Indian

roads. India is, therefore, well on theway to becoming a hub for productionof small fuel-efficient cars. As theIndian automobile industry presseshard on the accelerator and movesinto the fast lane, design and R&D inall aspects of automobile productionincluding fuel-efficiency will featureprominently in its overall strategy toemerge as a global leader in this sectorbeyond being one of the fastest grow-ing markets.

17

Trends inSOCIETY




8

ShortSTORY

THE GREEN BUTTONBy Rohini Gupta

The house refused to let her in.Every time she dialed herentry code it said,Processing error and asked

her to try again. She tried the backupfingerprint recognition and that didntwork either. She stood out on the coldporch, shivering in her thin, cottonkurta, thumping in her entry code overand over again.

Damn it, she tried to tell herhouse, near tears, its me, its me. Whydont you recognize me ?

Processing error. Processing error.Processing error....

How was it possible? Houses werethe safest things in the universe. Thecompany which constructed this househad told her this could never happen.But it was happening. The house justwould not let her in.

After half an hour of trying, she gaveup and sat on the cold plasmetal of theporch. She had just returned from a

very long working day, surviving the boring commuters shuttle ride backonly by thinking of the warmth ofhome again, of her house welcomingher in, heating her favorite dinner,playing her favorite music and keepingthe temperature to the exact degree shepreferred.

She was rarely this late. About oncea month she had to work in the headoffice in another city. They knew shelived on the Edge and usually sent her

back in time. But her colleague hadtaken sick leave and she was doing thework of two people. She had thought ifshe was back even five minutes beforedark and before the icy night began, itwould be fine.

Instead, she was here huddled on thenarrow, pillared porch, with no warmclothing and no shelter. Her nearestneighbor was fifty miles away and theshuttle that dropped her home wasgone.

On this planet, the temperature drop


19/24India Review

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ShortSTORY

was instant. In her thin, cotton kurta,to be outside without a thermal suitafter dark was certain death.

Why did I buy this damned house?She asked herself. It was so remote shehad almost decided not to. But the

salesman said she could never go thishi-tech at this price anywhere else.

We are almost giving it away, hesaid, wouldnt you like to come homeand have all the chores done and yourmeal hot on the table? There is literal-ly nothing this house cant do. Its fullyarmed in case you ever need to defendyourself. Two warning shots, thenrapid fire, then household missiles, ifneeded.

She hesitated as it was so far out inthe wasteland. But he told her supplyshuttles came in twice a day. Just typein your list and the computer will orderand receive everything.

She had allowed herself to be per-suaded. As a house it was an excellentdeal. She could not afford the rooflesshouses in the most expensive centrallyinsulated neighborhoods. She wouldhave had to settle for a tiny tenementwith little automation. Imagine havingto come home from work and startcooking and cleaning.

For a while, all the chores were done,the supplies ordered, the music timed,her favorite view channels set, bedmade, pool cleaned, fresh laundry, per-fect dinner on the table steaming hot.The secretary desk had her maildespatched, reports typed and papersfiled with no mistakes at all.

She had even grown used to the des-olate view outside. As far as she couldsee, it was miles of flatland grey greenscrub, the only plants hardy enough to

thrive in this weather.But now, she knew she had to get

help and fast. She sat on the cold stepfeeling the cooling plasmetal throughher thin kurta and fumbled in herpurse. She had the SSKG Type EDevelopers card, the builders of herhouse. She hoped it was still with herand not filed neatly by her secretarydesk inside her inaccessible study.

After some searching she found it.She called. The phone kept ringing,her fear kept growing.

Finally, a click and a cold computervoice said, The number you are call-ing has closed for the day. Please callduring working hours. Thank you forcalling. Have a nice day.

Meera tried to steady herself. Okay,

she couldnt call the company. She had

some personal numbers, but they werein her desk. She would have to call anemergency number. Fortunately forher, regulations demanded that allemergency numbers be printed next tothe keypad of her house.

She called and explained her prob-lem. I need you to deactivate myhouse, she said.

Is your house attacking you? themechanical voice asked.

The question took her aback. Didhouses attack people? No, it justwont let me in. Please deactivate it forme so I can get home.

Please dial in your CIN or CitizenIdentification Number.

She found it and dialed it in, wishingit would just hurry up. She was shiver-ing.

Please dial in your HSC or HouseSecurity Code.

Luckily she had that too, on the card

they had given her when she boughtthe house.

Please dial in your IIC or IncomeIdentification Code.

Oh, God, why do you need that ?Its in the house.

Please dial in your IIC or IncomeIdentification Code.

Listen, I pay my taxes, just deacti-vate my house before I freeze to death,will you please ?

Please dial in your......Exasperated, she hung up and

kicked the plasmetal pillar. She lookedthrough the list of emergency numbersand decided to try the police.

When she got into the Police com-puter she explained her problem again.She dialed in her CIN and HSC num-

ber and hoped it would not ask for her

IIC number. To her relief it didnt.To self destruct dial 1, to deactivate

dial 2She pressed 2 and the computer

asked her to wait while she was con-nected to the House Complaints Cell.She waited. A flat mechanical voicecame on again, assuring her that she would be attended to immediately.After the fifth repetition she was readyto hang up, but the voice faded and

another computer voice said, HouseComplaints Cell. Please state yourcomplaint.

Thank god, she thought andexplained all over again. So can youdo something to help me? she asked.

We will deactivate and reset yourhouse. Meera found herself weak withrelief. Thank god, thank you, howsoon can you come?

Please dial in your.......Here we go again, Meera thought,

dialing in all the numbers. It didnt askfor her Income number. She waited breathlessly as it said, one momentplease.

Please fill in the House Deactivationform under section 537B-D-68.

Listen, Im way out in the middle ofnowhere, and I have about five minutesbefore sunset. Cant you just deactivatethe house and I will fill in any form youwant later.

Please fill in the HouseMalfunctions complaint, and the

Why did I buy this damned house? She asked

herself. It was so remote she had almost

decided not to. But the salesman said she

could never go this hi-tech at this price

anywhere else. Wouldnt you like to come

home and have all the chores done...? There is

nothing this house cant do. Its fully armed in

case you ever need to defend yourself...

March 2010



20

ShortSTORY

Insurance Claims Form and aStandard Disclaimer Form. Whenthose are filed we will get a CourtComputer Order to deactivate yourhouse.

Court order....? Meera repeated,

stunned.Deactivation requires a Court

Computer Order under Section 538X-K-97.

And how long will all this take?After you fill in the forms, it will

take less than 20 standard planetarydays, or 30 local days to deactivateyour house.

For a long time she sat with her headbetween her knees, trying to think ofsomething. She was tired and hungry.It had been a long trip and she neverate the synthetic shuttle food thatlooked good, but tasted as metallic asthe robots who served it.

The shivering had given way to agrowing numbness. It had becomedark, the last sun had set and the softporch light had refused to come out ofthe standby mode. The sensors werenot working either. I cant stay here,she decided, if I delay I will die.

In another few minutes, the porchwould become slippery with ice. I had

better go back to the city and take aroom for the night, she decided. Herhands were too numb to find the cardthat the shuttle cab had given her, soshe tilted her purse and spilt all its con-tents on the floor of the porch.Irritated, she threw her hairbrush atthe door. It clanged against the plas-metal, rebounded and hit a pillar.

She had just found the card when awhizz went past her head and the bushjust off the porch exploded, showering

her with burning leaves.She jumped, seeing nothing.

Another streak shrieked past her andburst in mid air above the small frontgarden. Now she realized it was com-ing from the house. It was attackingher, having construed the hair brush asan attack and was firing warning shots.

Panicked, she grabbed her phoneand the cab company card and ran,losing her dupatta and crunching thecontents of her purse underfoot. Sheslid between the porch pillars, bruising

her knees on the hard soil, a mere halfsecond before the rapid fire began. Thehouse was shooting at random.

It hadnt taken out the missiles yet.Why the hell did I let them talk me intobuying a fully armed house? They told

me that the safeties were so good thehouse would never attack unless Ispecifically programmed it. And nowits attacking me!

The wall behind her shook.Somewhere to the left a plume of fireexploded sending a long column ofearth and debris high into the air. Thehouse had shot a missile.

Meera cowered against the porchwall, making sure she did not touch it.

She crouched low, hoping the bushes would hide her presence, desperatelydialing the cab service in the dyinglight. The explosions continued in thefront garden.

Traid Cab Service only operatesfrom the airport, the mechanical voicesaid.

The wall behind her began to quiver.The house had sensed her presence.She lay flat on the freezing groundhoping it would not consider that athreat.

Please, she whispered into thephone. Get me the number of any cabservice, please.

The wall subsided. Apparently, thehouse sensed no danger.

All computerized cab services shutdown outer city runs before dark, thevoice told her.

The ground under her was freezing.Please, please, she whispered des-perately, I am dying out here. There

must be someone I can call. Isnt therea single cab service that works afterdark ?

After a long silence, the metallicvoice said, There is a human cab serv-ice you may call. I must warn you thatany human service is inferior anderratic and cannot compare with com-puter cabs.

Just give me the number, shepleaded. After another pause the com-

puter gave her the number. She took along, shaky breath and forced hernumb fingers to dial the number. Itkept ringing.

Pick up, for god sakes, pick it up. It

kept ringing.She hung on, obstinately. With a

definite click, a cheerful voice said,Rajesh Human Cab Service. How canI help you?

The human voice after all those deadcomputer voices brought her neartears. She swallowed and managed tospeak. My house is shooting at meand it wont let me in. Please come andpick me up, please. She got it all outin one long breath.

Hey, slow down, did you say your



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house wont let you in?Yes, yes, I will pay you whatever

you ask, please pick me up and takeme to the city before I freeze to death.

Lady, if thats your only problemyou dont need me.

He wasnt going to come. She pan-icked and started to cry.

Hey, wait a minute, there wasconcern in his voice. What I mean isits really simple. Did you say yourhouse was attacking you?

Yes, yes, she sobbed.Has it stopped?Yes, but please, please come and get

me. Please!If you still need me after what I tell

you I will come, I promise you. Nowlisten to me. Are you near the entry keybox?

Her teeth were starting to chatter.How can I be? Didnt you hear me?It was shooting at me!

It has stopped, hasnt it? Dontworry it wont start again for at leastfifteen minutes. Go to your entry box.

I cant.....Listen lady, I know what I am

doing. Houses attack people all thetime. Just go to your entry box. Rightnow.

She got up painfully, expecting anattack any second. But the house did-nt react even when she climbed thelow porch steps. She stepped on some-thing that cracked and didnt even lookto see if it was her credit computer orher data pac that she had destroyed.

What do you mean houses attackpeople all the time? I thought houseswere the safest things in the universe!

He sounded amused. They have tosay something. How else will they per-

suade people to buy houses armed withmissiles and firepower? Are you at theentry box? Open it.

She blinked away the tears frozen tofrost on her cheeks. She almost lost thephone, but managed to open the box.

Good, he said. Now at the bot-tom or side or someplace, there isanother lid. Find it and open it. Whatdo you see inside? It took her min-utes to press the microscopic catch toopen it. There were buttons andswitches and circuits inside.

Do you see a green button?There is a red button and a green

button.Thats it, he sounded confident,

press the green button.Are you sure?Of course Im sure. Houses do this

all the time. Go ahead. Press the greenbutton.

She hesitated. But what if it selfdestructs?

Thats the red button.But what if something goes wrong?

Why dont you just come and get me?Lady, if you are where I think you

are it will take me an hour to get there.Can you last that long? Instead, youcan be home and warm in two min-utes. Listen, I know what I am doing.Press the green button.

But is it safe?He sighed. Lady, the green button

will reset your house computer. Believeme, I get cases like yours all the time.Just do it.

Something in his voice convincedher. She pressed the green button witha frozen hand.

Nothing happened. It didnt work,she said.

Sure it worked. Shut the box andpunch in your entry code.

She punched it in, making errorswith her unresponsive fingers, mutter-ing under her breath, having to goback and correct the numbers severaltimes. Rajesh waited patiently for herto finish.

Finally she got it right, finished thecode and hit enter. For a long momentnothing happened. Then the porchlights blazed and a blast of warm air hither as her front door slid open and thefamiliar computer voice said,Welcome home, Meera.

She stumbled into the light andwarmth and sank onto the soft carpetcrying, as the door shut behind her.Oh, my god, it worked, it worked, thedoor opened. Im home!

Good, Rajesh sounded pleased.Are you alright?

Yes, yes, I am. I just cant believe it!I called everywhere and they told me Ineeded a court computer order...

Well, youre home safe now,Rajesh said. And you know what to doif it happens again. Dont wait for it toattack. Reset it right away.

I dont understand how it couldhappen? They said it could never fail.That there is a backup and both sys-tems cant ever fail together. Nobodymentioned any of this. They told methe house would never use its weapons

at all. But it nearly shot me!Thats the price we pay for living in

a world run by computers, Rajeshsaid.

Thats the price you pay for con- venience. Do you know how manyhouses kill their owners every year?

At that moment she didnt care. Itwas a worry for tomorrow but todayshe was alive and very grateful.

Thank you, thank you, she said,getting up and going to her most com-

fortable armchair. Warmth was com-ing back into her limbs, her favoritemusic played softly, the walls wereshaded with her favorite forest greentheme and the table was laid with herspecial choice of dishes. The mouthwatering smell made her ravenous.

Just remember, he said, thatcomputers rule the world, but there isalways a green button.

I will never forget that, she said,wiping her tears, smiling now, sittingdown to dinner. Home at last.

I dont understand how it could happen?

They said it could never fail. That there is

a backup and both systems cant ever fail

together. Nobody mentioned any of this.

They told me the house would never

use its weapons at all. But it nearly

shot me!


22/24

Grossing $761,000 onFebruary 14, thehighest one-day gross

ever for any Hindi-languagefilm in North America, ShahRukh Khan-starrer My Name Is Khan (MNIK) was on a

record-breaking spree at thebox office.

Distributed by FoxSearchlight in North America, theopening weekend figure for MNIK forFebruary 12-14 stood at $1.94 mil-lion, still a new all-time record for aHindi film, beating the $1.77 millionof 2007s Om Shanti Om.

Starring Khan and Kajol,MNIK averaged a stellar$16,158 from 120 theatersacross the United States andCanada over three days.

My Name Is Khanbroughtthe four-day opening week-

end figure to $2.28 million.This made the Karan Johar

film the fastest Hindi filmever to break the $2 million mark,beating the previous record of 5 daysset in December by 3 Idiots whichgrossed $2.15 million in its five-dayopening over the Christmas holidayweekend.

2

March 2010

India Review

CinemaNEWS

BACKSTREET BOYS ROCKS DELHI

American band BackstreetBoys maiden live perform-ance in New Delhi onFebruary 20 was a treat for

their fans, who danced and screamedalong their way, making sure that theyenjoyed every bit of their favoriteband.

The band took them downmemory lane to the early 90s when thegroup was at its peak.

Backstreet Boys performed at theannual Romanov Red Rock N Indiamusic festival at NSIC ground inOkhla, South Delhi, where South African band Prime Circle & JayceLewis and Indian rock bands IndigoChildren, Five Little Indians andSwarathma also performed. Dressed

in black and white clothes, the groupstarted their performance with their hitsong Everybody accompanying itwell with synchronizing dance moves.

They mesmerized the audience withsongs like Quit Playing Games, andAs Long As You Love Me, amongothers, leaving the audience screamingand shouting with joy.

Formed in 1993, the pop band hadA. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, BrianLittrell, Nick Carter and KevinRichardson as its lead members. Laterin 2006, Richardson left the group topursue other interests.

During their performance, McLeankept clicking pictures of the audienceand told them to check their website tohave a look at them.

Undeterred by the failureof their first outingRoadside Romeo, the

Indian arm of leading anima-tion studio Disney is set tocontinue making films here totap the over $360 millionIndian animation industry.

While their next offering ischild actor Darsheel Safary-starrer Zokkomon, they alsoplan to venture into regionalcontent. Within the country,

there is a lot of resistance togo and watch an animationfilm even today because its

seen as for kids. As a compa-ny, we are committed to forayinto that market. Nowhereelse in the world do you seeanimation doing lower num-bers (like here), SeshasayeKanthamraju, director (mar-keting and distribution), WaltDisney Studios MotionPictures, India, said.

Zokkomon, which hasSafary in the lead, is slated forrelease on May 7.

Disney India to tap Indian animation industry

Tannishtha to workwith Lucy Liu

Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee,who has earned internationalacclaim with films like Brick

Lane and German film Shadows ofTime, has confirmed that she hasbeen signed on to essay the lead rolein a project, to be directed by

American actor Lucy Liu.I can now confirm that I am

playing the lead role in Lucy Liusfilm. Liu is a wonderful person andI am excited to be working with her.My film is based on a novel called Half The Sky and is one of fourshort films being directed by fourdirectors, Chatterjee said.

The four stories will be based on women from countries, includingIndia, Ethiopia and Cambodia.

MNIK tops sales record for Hindi films in US


23/24

March 2010

India Review

23

Travel &TOURISM

M

awlynnong, nestled in thepristine hill state ofMeghalaya in India, is

along the India-Bangladesh border. This cute andcolourful little village is renowned forits cleanliness. The vil

india review march 2010

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