AAPI: September 2016

LISBON, 20th September 2016

Index of this Newsletter

INDIA

INDIA & THE WORLD

21.1. India, US sign military logistics agreement
21.2. India, Myanmar sign four pacts, agree to cooperate on insurgency
22. India among top M&A markets in Asia-Pacific: Study
23.1. Indian generics bringing down global price of hepatitis C drugs, finds WHO
23.2. Sun Pharma partners Mitsubishi Tanabe to sell 14 prescription brands in Japan
24. Syngene sets up R&D lab for Amgen in Bengaluru
25. How Churchill 'starved' India

* * *

LISBON, 20th September 2016

NEWSLETTER, 20-IX-2016

INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

1.1. Swachh Bharat Short Films Competition to encourage participative approach for Clean India

Press Information Bureau | Aug. 23, 2016

New Delhi: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is organizing a Short Films Competition on the theme “Swachh Bharat” that showcases inspiring stories and helps generate awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health. The winning entries will be announced in a special felicitation programme to be held in New Delhi on October 2, 2016. National Film Development Corporation of India has invited entries for the Short Films Competition. The last date for submission of entries is September 10, 2016.

Awareness generation is an important objective of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan to bring about behavioral

change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices. The competition aims to generate such awareness by

involving people from different backgrounds, different regions and from different age groups.

About the Short Films Competition

The short films competition is open to all age groups with its central theme revolving around the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Short films with duration of not more than 3 minutes and shot in HD Format will be considered for the competition.
The film can be made in Hindi, English or any of the listed official languages of India.
The Best Film will be awarded a cash prize of Rupees 10 lakhs and a certificate. Three Second Best Films will be awarded Rupees 5 lakhs each and six Third Best Films will be awarded Rupees 2 lakhs each.

To participate in the competition, interested applicants can log onto www.nfdcindia.com or write to sbsff@nfdcindia.com

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

1.2. Affordable housing market doubles from last year

Times of India | Aug. 19, 2016

Mumbai: The affordable housing market doubled in new launches in the first half of 2016 as against the same time last year, said a report on residential market released by Cushman & Wakefield on Thursday. Of the 60,000 apartments launched in the top eight cities in HI 2016, as many as 17,000 were affordable housing units, a 17% year-on-year increase.

The highest supply of affordable housing was recorded in Pune at 4,170 units followed closely by Bangalore at 4,155 units.

Mumbai saw the highest number of total launches in H1 2016 with over 12,000 units being added to the residential stock across all categories, followed closely by Bangalore with approximately 11,000 units of new residential units launched in H1 2016. Chennai saw the least number of unit launches in the first half of 2016 owing to a slowdown in construction activities in the city.

Mumbai witnessed a 72% increase in total unit launch in H1 2016, second highest after Hyderabad. ``Midsegment remained a favourite amongst developers across city, including Mumbai, which witnessed over 100% increase in H1 2016 as against H1 2015,'' said the report.

Mumbai saw a y-o-y rise of 56% in the number of affordable units launched in H1 2016 as against same time last year with Ambernath in Thane recording close to 50% of these launches.

The other locations that saw new project announcements include Taloja and Panvel in Navi Mumbai and Mira Road in the Western Suburbs. High end segment witnessed a decline by 53% (1130 units) while no launches were recorded in the luxury segment.

Said Gautam Saraf, Managing Director, Mumbai, Cushman & Wakefield, "The city (Mumbai) needs to create a very large stock of affordable housing in order to accommodate the demand from the end users that is largely under serviced. However due to high land costs and higher construction cost within the city, despite intent, many developers are unable to cater to this need.''

He added, ``Therefore we are experiencing a higher concentration of launches in the mid ranged segment (Rs 1 Crore - Rs 2 Crore) segment. Even while there is a clear understanding that this segment is still under serviced, stringent regulations, higher interest on borrowed capital and high land cost are all deterring developers to take up affordable housing projects within the city."

Mumbai saw an increase in average capital values for affordable housing units by approximately 10% in H1 2016 as against H1 2015, while in the same time the average unit size of affordable housing saw a decline of 7%. This has therefore resulted in a marginal change in ticket size of an increase of 2% for the newly launched affordable housing.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

2.1. India has achieved a landmark milestone of economic reforms: EEPC India

Economic Times | Aug. 09, 2016

Kolkata: EEPC India, the apex organisation of the engineering exporters, today said India has achieved a landmark milestone of economic reforms, which would help the government's flagship programme of Make in India giving boost to the manufacturing.

However, it said the GST implementation should be done in a manner to avoid procedural difficulties for exporters.

EEPC India Chairman Mr T S Bhasin congratulated the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and Finance Minister for being able to create a political consensus on the GST Bill and get it passed in Parliament. "Instead of first paying the taxes and then claiming credit for the same, the proposed enabling GST law should exempt exporters from the taxation net since the country does not want to export taxes, " EEPC India Chairman said.

He said the process of refund which shall take not less than 5/6 months and may go beyond any time. Even we consider 6 months on average the impact will be requirement of additional working capital. The purchasers will now have to ensure that their vendors have robust IT infrastructure and compliance process, so that the vendors do not default on timely and appropriate payment of taxes.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

2.2. Cabinet approves initiatives to revive the construction sector

Press Information Bureau | Sep. 01, 2016

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today approved various measures to revive the construction sector which has been undergoing stress.

Under the proposal put forward by NITI Aayog and approved by the CCEA. Government agencies would pay 75% of the arbitral award amount to an escrow account against margin free bank guarantee, in those cases where the award is challenged.

The escrow account can be used to repay bank loans or to meet commitments in ongoing projects. This is a major step which will allow recovery of loans by banks and allow construction companies to speed up execution of ongoing projects. It will also increase the ability of construction companies to bid for new contracts and the resulting competition will be beneficial in containing the costs of public works. This measure will provide a stimulus to the construction industry and to employment.

Government Departments and PSUs have also been instructed to transfer cases under arbitration to the amended Arbitration Act which has an expedited procedure, with the consent of the contractors. In the long run, other measures are also under consideration, including changes to bid documents and model contracts, and increased use of conciliation. NITI will also examine the idea of creating "claim take out funds" financed by private sector investors, while the Department of Financial Services will examine a suitable scheme for addressing stressed bank loans in the construction sector.

Background

The move comes in the backdrop of the need to have a slew of short-term and long-term initiatives to address the issues ailing the construction sector. The construction sector is a major contributor to economic activity accounting for about 8% of GDP. It is the largest creator of direct and indirect employment, employing about 40 million people. It is a highly employment intensive sector with a strong multiplier effect, creating an estimated 2.7 new jobs indirectly for every Rs. 1 lakh invested. It has major forward linkages to sectors like real estate, infrastructure and manufacturing and backward linkages to steel, cement, etc. Thus, this sector is critical for stimulating employment and economic activity.

In recent years, the construction sector has been affected by the large number of projects which got stalled during the period of stagnation between 2011 and 2014. The banking sector also has a large exposure to construction, estimated at over Rs. 3 lakh crores. 45% of the bank loans in the sector are under stress. Studies have shown that a key factor behind the difficulties facing the construction sector is the pendency of claims from Government bodies. An estimated Rs. 70,000 crores is tied up in arbitration. Over 85% of the claims raised against Government bodies are still pending of which 11% is pending with the Government agencies, 64% with arbitrators and 8.5% with courts. The average settlement time for claims is estimated at more than seven years. A majority of arbitration awards have gone against the Government agencies. In the case of the National Highways Authority, out of a total of 347 arbitral awards, 38 went in favour of the authority and 309 went in favour of the contractor/concessionaire. Out of the arbitral awards in NHAI cases, more than 90% were unanimous awards in which all arbitrators including the one appointed by NHAI had concurred in the decision. In many cases, arbitration awards are contested in the courts, even though a large majority of arbitration decisions are upheld by the courts.

However, of late, the construction sector has been several challenges leading to decline in the overall investments and growth. The issues ailing the sector was discussed with the representatives of construction companies, banks, NHAI, concerned Departments/ Ministries. Based on detailed discussions, larger economic importance and multi-sectoral nature of the issues, NITI Aayog put forward the proposal to suggest various initiatives required for addressing the issues ailing the construction industry.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

3.1. Isro plans to launch record 68 satellites in one mission by early 2017

IBEF | Aug. 31, 2016

Bengaluru: Mr Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman and Managing Director of Antrix Corporation, has stated that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to send into orbit a record 68 small satellites from countries across the world, in one mission, by early 2017. The launch is expected to take place in the next six to seven months. In June 2016, ISRO had launched 20 satellites in a single mission, including its earth observation Cartosat-2 series, from the spaceport in Sriharkota, Andhra Pradesh. The space agency had earlier sent 10 satellites into orbit in a single mission in 2008. Mr Sasibhushan further added that these launches are subsidised by the Government of India.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

3.2. Isro joins elite group with successful scramjet test

Business Standard | Aug. 29, 2016

Chennai: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Sunday successfully tested its own scramjets, or air breathing engines, which would help in reducing launch costs.

Two scramjet engines were tested at 06:00 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The two engines were ignited 55 seconds after the rocket took off.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director K Sivan (VSSC) said scramjet engines would make rocket launches cheaper by reducing the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel on rockets. “This is a baby step but a major milestone in history and it aligns with the Prime Minister’s Make in India initiative, as Isro goes for more indigenisation. We are currently using technologies which are around 50 years old.”

Isro’s Sunday test was of the engine was for five seconds. In flight, however, the engine has to work for 1000 seconds.

It might take a decade before this this technology can be used in a rocket. The US, China and Russia have this technology, Sivan said, but have not used it in rockets as it is complicated and has to be mastered completely.

The technology will significantly reduce the weight of a rocket. GSLV rockets, for instance, weight around 400 tonnes, of which 200 tonnes is oxygen. But scramjet technology does not require a rocket to carry oxygen, reducing weight. As a result, the payload capacity of the rocket can be increased.

Theoretically this technology can be used to reach the US in two to three hours using a space plane. Development of the technology started in 2005-06 and was developed for Rs 35 crore. Sunday’s flight demonstration of a hypersonic combustion ramjet engine using atmospheric oxygen in a portion of its journey is a major step for Isro in its pursuit of a space transportation system.

The experimental mission was the first experiment of Isro’s Dual Mode Ramjet (DMRJ) engine, which uses hydrogen as fuel and air from the atmosphere as the oxidiser, at hypersonic (Mach 5 or more — speeds of five times the speed of sound and more) conditions. The programme, with an ongoing one for developing a reusable launch vehicle, would position the organisation as a major space fare agency, with the ability to offer low-cost access to space in the long term.

Most of the current launch vehicles are designed for one-time use and are expensive. Further, their efficiency, in terms of payload to lift-off mass, is barely two to four per cent. In current rocket technology, 85 per cent of the lift-off mass is the propellant. And, 70 per cent of the latter is the oxidiser. The next generation of launch vehicles will have to use propulsion systems which can utilise atmospheric air.

The ultimate goal is developing a single stage-to-orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle configuration, to finally make access to space a routine affair.

One of the concepts for air-breathing technology being studied worldwide is a ramjet. This uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion. Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites. Ramjets cannot move an aircraft from a standstill. Such a vehicle still needs an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate to a speed where it begins to produce thrust. Another concept is the scramjet. A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion, which gives it its name — supersonic combustion ramjet or scramjet. The exhaust gases are then accelerated to hypersonic speeds.

While this is conceptually simple, implementation is limited by extreme technical challenges. When the vehicle

is within the atmosphere, fuel must be injected, mixed, ignited, and burned within milliseconds. Worldwide

efforts are on to achieve powered flight using scramjet engines.

The third concept is a mix of ramjet and scramjet, called DMRJ. There is a need for an engine which can operate at both supersonic and hypersonic speeds. A DMRJ is an engine design where a ramjet transforms into a scramjet over Mach 4-8 range.

Most of the research on air breathing engines is kept secret. Flight testing is the only tool available to master all the key technologies.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

4.1. Byju's raises US$ 50 million from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, others

Livemint | Sep. 09, 2016

Bengaluru: Education technology start-up Byju’s, owned by Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, on Thursday said it has raised $50 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Belgian INVESTMENT FIRMSofina SA, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Times Internet Ltd. Byju also raised about $5 million in venture debt from InnoVen Capital in two tranches between September 2015 and March this year. This is the first Asian investment for Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a personal fund set up by Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. Vivian Wu at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will join the company’s board. Sequoia Capital led the fundraising round.

The company, founded by Byju Raveendran in November 2011, first raised a Series A round of $9 million from Aarin Capital in September 2013, followed by a Series B round of $25 million from Sequoia Capital in July last year. The company went on to raise another $75 million in a Series C round from Sequoia Capital and Sofina in March this year.

Lightspeed Venture Partners invested about $20 million in the firm earlier this year in a secondary transaction, which saw Aarin Capital partially selling its stake.

The latest investment makes Byju’s the most well-capitalized education technology start-up in the country. Byju provides learning programmes for class VI to XII students and preparation programmes for competitive examinations such as JEE, CAT, IAS, GRE and GMAT, among others.

The company will deploy the fresh funds to expand into global markets, especially in the US and UK, introduce new subjects beyond physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics as well as roll out products for classes IV and V.

“This investment was done keeping a couple of things in mind, primarily to get a good partner on board who can help us connect with the international market. We have already started developing products for the international markets. It will take us 12-15 months to complete,” said Raveendran.

With its app-based learning programme, Byju’s business model has undergone a significant change in the last one year, from a classroom-based model to an app-based one.

The company claims its app was downloaded more than 5.5 million times in the last one year, of which 250,000 consumers are paid annual subscribers.

The company, which clocked revenues of Rs120 crore in the year ended 31 March 2016, claims to have turned profitable in India. It claims it has already grossed more revenue between April and August than what it did the last fiscal.

“In India, we are profitable already. Last month, we did more than Rs30 crore in revenue and we are growing about 15% every month. In January, we were doing Rs15 crore in revenue and we have already doubled it. This year, growth will be better than last year,” Raveendran said.

According to Tracxn, a start-up tracker, as many as 271 online education start-ups were founded in 2014, which increased marginally to 293 in 2015. In 2014, about $28 million was invested in the sector across 32 deals, shows Tracxn data. In 2015, 47 deals worth $74.7 million were struck.

According to industry experts, while education technology start-ups may boast of a large user base, they might struggle to make them pay for the content.

According to Byju, about 5% of its overall app users are paid consumers.

“We have really good conversion rates. The good thing about the segment is, if they like the platform, they will continue for many years. We have a renewal rate of 90%, i.e, almost all students are continuing with the service,” he added.

The funding comes at a time when investors have become increasingly cautious about their bets.

Venture capital investment in the country plummeted 58% in the June quarter over the previous three-month period, according to a report by consulting firm KPMG and CB Insights. Venture capital firms ploughed $583 million into India in the April-June period, down from $1.4 billion in January-March, said the report.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

4.2. TomTom launches first global innovation hub in Pune

Economic Times | Aug. 31, 2016

Pune: Navigation and mapping products company TomTom has launched its first global innovation hub in Pune. The 1000 sq. ft. facility will be open to all India employees to enable them to upgrade their skills, innovate and think like entrepreneurs, said the company. Alain De Taeye, member of the management board, TomTom told ET, "Innovation is at the forefront of our culture and we want our employees to act like entrepreneurs. This center was set up with the goal to build a culture of innovation."

The company currently has 800 employees in India and plans to take this up to 1000 over the next few months. Barbara Belpaire, General Manager - India, TomTom who will also head this innovation hub said, "The Innovation Hub reiterates TomTom's approach of being an innovative company with a focus on nurturing the talent in India. This will give employees a platform to develop new software, technology, applications, services and futuristic consumer products in the wearables, mapmaking and data services space. We aim to contribute to the Indian government's 'Make in India' plan where our India team will contribute significantly to innovation globally."

The next step for the Innovation Hub would be to explore tie ups with universities, institutes and other companies. The hub has three broad sections -- demonstration, experimentation and break areas. Here, employees can tinker with TomTom products, as well as some other devices, by making modifications to the software or adding sensors etc. They will also have the option of 'leasing' a TomTom device for a week to use it and then come up with ideas on how to innovate around it.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

5.1. Tata's US$ 300m venture fund plans to invest in startups

Times of India | Aug. 23, 2016

Mumbai/Bengaluru: Mumbai-bred Turakhia brothers turned billionaires as a group of Chinese investors acquired their ad tech startup Media.net for $900 million in cash, in what would be the third largest deal in the industry. The newly set up RNT Capital Advisers, a venture fund launched by Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, will deploy $300 million across startups in India, Southeast Asia and the US. This comes at a time when traditional VCs and other deep-pocketed investors have become chary about the Indian tech ecosystem as the funding environment has sobered perceptibly over the past six months. Structured as an evergreen fund with an indefinite life, RNT Capital has University of California Investments (UC Investments) as its largest limited partner (LPs are individuals or institutions which are investors in funds).

The fund is learnt to have held discussions with mobile advertising platform InMobi and logistics startup Qikpod which counts Flipkart as an investor, along with two US-based companies for potential investments, sources close to the matter told TOI.

Headquartered jointly in Mumbai and Singapore, the fund will typically deploy $10-15 million of capital into companies and will back tech businesses. Mayank Singhal, who was until recently with the Singapore government's investment fund Temasek Holdings, would be leading the India invest ments while Mathias Imbach, who has been with RNT Associates since last year, will look to build the fund's presence in Southeast Asia.

Emailed questionnaires sent to Singhal at RNT Capital, InMobi and Ravi Gururaj, founder of Qikpod remained unanswered at the time of going to press.

"The financing round at InMobi is still to finalise but the other three investments are likely to close soon," a source said on the condition of anonimity .

Qikpod's founder Gururaj, who heads Nasscom's product council, roped in a set of financial and strategic investors last year, including the Taiwanese manufacturer of Apple iPhones, Foxconn, Silicon Valley venture fund Accel Partners, Flipkart and Delhivery .These investors had put $9 million into Qikpod, which is setting up a network of fully automated, self-serve lockers in residential complexes, office compounds, cafes and kirana stores across the country .

In February this year, UC Investments, which has $100 billion in management across endowment and pension funds, said it will invest in Indian enterprises as it tied up with RNT Associates, Tata's personal family office. At the time they did not specify there would be a dedicated fund established.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

5.2. India can break into the top-25 rank in the next 10 years: WIPO Chief

Business Standard | Aug. 22, 2016

New Delhi: In India to launch the Global innovation Index, 2016, Francis Gurry, director-general at the World Intellectual Property Organization, tells Subhayan Chakraborty what India needs to do for being known as an innovator.

Edited excerpts:

How many years will be required for India to get into the list of the top 25 nations in the Global Innovation Index, at the country’s current pace?

Difficult to guess but I feel India would reach there within the next 10 years, a good pace. India's latest ranking reflects a steady progress and, this time, it’s a huge jump. It’ll be difficult to recreate that every year. Especially for a large, complex economy like India's. Smaller countries with a homogenous economy generally tend to find it easier to align their innovation goals. I expect India's progress to be incremental and the accruing benefits will have cumulative effects on innovation.

Which are the areas where more progress can be made?

Better funding of universities for research and development would be one. Creating the linkages between industry and the research sector is important. While there’s an idea at universities, their job is not to be in the productive sector but I believe their job is to transmit knowledge. If such transmission happens through products and services, it improves the quality of people’s lives. The biomedical sector is huge and there’s a lot of interest emerging in this country. Also, there is information and communications technology (ICT). Most innovations will have an ICT component, such as computer-aided design, and India can leverage its strength in this sector. It also has important social repercussions for a country like India for the production and storage of clean energy.

The government has announced it will create a body looking at how to better position India’s innovation drive. What should it keep in mind?

India has a long history of creativity and innovation is the expression of that creativity, through commercial products and services which can be successful. While the government needs to have the right policies in place to enable creativity to thrive, it also has to be addressed by the private sector. Also, the patent system can be of immense help in this regard. Through looking in the database, one can understand the areas which need attention in innovation. It’s an immense source of economic intelligence.

Why do Indian corporates take so long to understand the importance of research and development (R&D?

Returns on investments into R&D are not immediate and corporates everywhere are generally under pressure to demonstrate return on equity to shareholders. If there’s a history of investments into R&D, the returns show after, say, five years.

What is your take on India’s IPR (intellectual property rights) policy, issued in May? Do you feel there’s a disproportionate emphasis on IP generation, rather than creating innovation?

The policy focuses on generation of IP and that sends a positive signal to investors. But, after that crucial first step, you also need to find how to use it. This involves finding the mechanisms for how to use that innovation to generate revenue in a market system or reduce government expenditure or even find funding. It is, thus, imperative to find out how to link the generation of IP to distribution of its benefits to the people.

India is yet to join WIPO's International Design Treaty. On the other hand, it is actively interested in a treaty on protection of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore. Any update?

The objective of both treaties are important for India and go hand in hand. They are significant for this country, with centuries of traditional design forming the rich base for contemporary design. The design treaty is coming along well, with the details being studied, and we are hopeful of next year. We are still searching for an international consensus on the traditional knowledge treaty, which is a new mandate.

For a middle-income country such as India, do you feel IP is a hurdle towards achieving social goals, by focusing such rights into a few hands?

IP can help in achieving goals such as eradicating poverty, by incentivising healthy innovation. Again, getting the distribution of the benefits right is important.

How do we bridge the gap between rich and poor nations on innovation?

Innovation is a long process and industry has to be convinced of its effectiveness in the long term. There are no things which can radically transform innovation performance overnight in a country. Improving awareness measures, focusing on research, securing funding — all are important.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

– AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

6.1. India's retail market expected to double to US$ 3.6 trillion by 2020: report

Livemint | Sep. 02, 2016

New Delhi: Backed by robust economic growth and rising household incomes, consumer spending in India is expected to touch $3.6 trillion (about Rs.240 trillion) by 2020, increasing India’s share in global consumption to 5.8%—more than twice its current levels.

Not just that. By 2020, India’s retail sector is expected to double to $1.1-1.2 trillion from $630 billion in 2015 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12%, said a joint report released by lobby group Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Titled Shaping Consumer Trends, the report was released Thursday at Massmerize 2016— an annual convention on retail, packaged consumer goods and e-commerce.

The report’s projections indicate that the average household income in India will triple to $18,500 in 2020, from $6,400 in 2010—acting as a major driver in retail growth and leading to evolution of new consumer segments.

Customers are getting more sophisticated, driving firms to focus on premium products, the report said. “Increasing disposable income levels and a rising number of sophisticated consumers have given rise to consumers seeking ‘premium’ products,” it added.

According to IMRB’s Kantar World panel report published in 2013, nearly 50% of the total number of new launches in the personal care category has been in the premium segment.

The report highlights that the growth in the retail sector will be fueled by both organized brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce.

“India’s overall retail opportunity is substantial and a strong growth in e-commerce is expected due to a demographic dividend (young population, rising standards of living and upwardly mobile middle-class) and rising internet penetration,” stated the report, adding about 32.18 crore people, accounting for about 25.4% of total population, are using Internet in India, according to digital information and research company e Marketer. The report also noted a shift in the focus of e-commerce players, towards their own private labels.

The report said that private labels account for 10-30% of the total revenues of the e-commerce companies. In 2015, online grocery platform Big Basket (Supermarket Grocery Supplies Pvt, Ltd), which sells fruit, vegetables, meat, pulses and spices under its own brand, generated 35% of its revenues from private labels. According to the report, the e-commerce market is expected to reach $125 billion in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2020, growing at the rate of 31%. GMV is the total value of goods sold over a period of time, without accounting for discounts or sales returns.

The report said that the packaged consumer goods sector will cross the $100-billion mark by 2020, growing at a rate of 18%.

“Rapid macroeconomic, demographic and lifestyle shifts in the country clearly point towards exponential growth in the packaged goods industry. These shifts, bolstered by policy and regulatory changes have a strong potential of taking India towards its goal of becoming largest consumer market over the next decade,” it said.

According to the report, the maximum consumer spending is likely to occur in food, household, transport and communication segments.

Sanjiv Puri, chief operating officer at consumer goods company ITC Ltd and chairman of Ficci FMCG committee, agreed.

“With a lot of investment initiatives and GST (goods and services tax) coming in, there is a great opportunity in food processing,” he said.

FMCG is short for fast moving consumer goods.

Led by opportunities in the sector, ITC has invested nearly Rs.25,000 crore in about 65 projects—“a lot of which is in food processing,” Puri added.

The report said that consumer goods firms will now be focusing on online and social media channels to get into consumer’s mindshare due to the growing mobile internet revolution in India. It said that about 650 million people are expected to be online by 2020, out of which 250 million will be shopping online —spending more than $50 billion. Interestingly, at least $5 billion of this expenditure is expected to be on packaged consumer goods.

“India will be domestic consumption-driven growth story, and, on our part, at Walmart India, we are growing our cash and carry business in the country and plan to take our store count to 70 stores with a full omnichannel strategy. This is an exciting market for us,” said Krish Iyer, president and chief executive at Walmart India.

The report also offers insights on the recent changes in policies (100% FDI in trading of food products produced and/or manufactured in India, clarity on FDI in e-commerce, GST among others) that have led to an increase in investment opportunities.

Vasanth Kumar, executive director at apparel retail brand Max Retail, said there are opportunities in both FMCG and retail sectors. “With the GST coming in, productivity will go up, along with manufacturing and retailing. With that we can participate in the consumption and growth story in India,” Kumar said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

6.2. Gujarat becomes the first state to distribute 20 million LED bulbs under UJALA

Press Information Bureau | Aug. 31, 2016

Under the Government of India’s Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for all (UJALA) scheme, Gujarat has become the first state to distribute 2 crore LED bulbs. Gujarat has reached this milestone in just 96 days and over 42 lakh households have already benefitted from the scheme. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India, is distributing approximately 2 lakh bulbs daily in Gujarat which is again a record in itself.

During his speech in Jamnagar the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said, “There is competition between states to outdo each other in terms of LED distribution. Gujarat, in less than 100 days is now leading in terms of LED distribution across the nation. I congratulate the entire team for implementing the LED Bulb programme. I am confident that every household in Gujarat will adopt LEDs and save on electricity bills. The state will save a lot of energy and will also lead the way in helping protect the environment” The distribution of 2 crore LED bulbs has led to an annual energy savings of 259 crore kWh which is equivalent to lighting up 5 lakh Indian homes for an entire year. Alongside the savings in units, the state has also benefitted from daily CO2 emission reduction of 5,000 tonnes. The programme has also helped the state to avoid 520MW of peak demand.

In Gujarat, 9W LED bulbs are being distributed under the UJALA scheme. These energy efficient bulbs come with a free 3 year replacement warranty for any technical defect. To avail the bulbs, consumers have an option of paying upfront amount of Rs. 70 per bulb or they can choose an EMI option. Consumers choosing to pay through EMI will have to pay Rs. 75 in total, where an amount of nearly Rs. 20 per LED bulb will be added to their bi-monthly electricity bill for a period of 4 bill cycles. Consumers stand to save nearly Rs. 336 every year on their electricity bills per LED bulb, making the LED bulbs free to the user in just 3 months. The state government aims to distribute 12 crore LED bulbs across the state. This would lead to energy savings of nearly 650 Crore kWh and cost savings of about Rs. 2,500 crore.

The list of other distribution centres can be viewed on www.ujala.gov.in. For any queries or information regarding UJALA consumers can also call on the Gujarat helpline 0265- 2343678. During the distribution period, replacements can be done through any of the distribution counters that are operating within the city. Under UJALA, over 15 crore LED bulbs have already been distributed across India. This is leading to annual energy savings of 1948 crore kWh and resulting in avoidance of 3,900 MW of peak demand. Through the programme the estimated cumulative cost reduction of bills of consumers, annually is INR 7990 crores

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

7. 4,497 new projects sanctioned for rural electrification under DDUGJY

Press Information Bureau | Aug. 09, 2016

New Delhi: Under Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), 4497 new projects have been sanctioned in the country with the project cost of Rs. 42392.47 crore for various rural electrification works. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today. In addition to the projects sanctioned under erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana are also subsumed with DDUGJY as Rural Electrification (RE) component, the Minister added.

Giving details of the DDUGJY , the Minister further said that Government of India has this Scheme in December, 2014 for separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders, facilitating supply of power to agricultural & non- agricultural consumers in the rural areas, strengthening and augmentation of subtransmission & distribution infrastructure in rural areas, including metering at distribution transformers/feeders/consumers.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

8. Centre allocated Rs 675.86 crore for Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure in 2015-16

Press Information Bureau | Aug. 10, 2016

New Delhi: The Government is implementing capital investment subsidy sub-scheme “Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI)” of Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) scheme [the erstwhile two schemes viz. (i) Grameen Bhandaran Yojna (GBY), also known as Rural Godown Scheme; and (ii) Scheme for Strengthening/Development of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading & Standardization (AMIGS) have been subsumed into one scheme known as Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) on 01.04.2014].

Under the scheme, capital investment subsidy @ 25% of the capital cost for general category beneficiary and @33.33% for special category beneficiary is provided for construction/creation of scientific godowns and other marketing infrastructure in the country. However, the assistance for renovation is restricted to storage infrastructure projects of cooperatives only. Currently, AMI scheme is temporarily stopped w.e.f. 05.08.2014 for general category promoters due to exhaustion of funds. However, the scheme is open for SC/ST promoters and for promoters in North-Eastern Region.

There is no State-wise allocation of funds under the scheme. The releases of funds are made to the States as per sanction of projects under the scheme in the particular state. The details of the funds earmarked, allocated by the Government and utilized under the scheme during the last three years, is as below:

			(Rs. In crore)
Year	Name of the Scheme	Allocation of funds	Utilization / Release of Funds
2013-14	GBY	344.16	344.10
2014-15	AMI	926.71	878.18
2015-16	AMI	675.86	518.81

Under AMI scheme (storage component) (erstwhile GBY), up to 30.06.2016, a total of 37371 go down projects have been sanctioned for renovation/ construction throughout the country. The State-wise details are given below.

Further, under Private Entrepreneur Guarantee (PEG) Scheme, storage capacity of 134.83 lakh MT has been constructed.

State-wise Godown projects Sanctioned for renovation/ construction under Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (Storage component) (erstwhile GBY) as on 30.06.2016 (Cumulative)

Sl. No.	State/U.T.	No. of Projects	Storage Capacity (in MT)
1	Andhra Pradesh	1296	5156248.38
2	Arunachal Pradesh	1	945.00
3	Assam	266	724805.98
4	Bihar	990	487187.39
5	Chhattisgarh	581	1973538.47
6	Goa	1	299.00
7	Gujarat	11346	4215750.27
8	Haryana	2138	7562826.96
9	Himachal Pradesh	78	24797.61
10	Jammu & Kashmir	10	55648
11	Jharkhand	23	142316.00
12	Karnataka	4228	3552873.37
13	Kerala	206	90006.56
14	Madhya Pradesh	3617	9572573.54
15	Maharashtra	3353	5791410.75
16	Meghalaya	16	21011.76
17	Mizoram	1	302.00
18	Nagaland	1	813.57
19	Orissa	419	781575.24
20	Punjab	1733	6683489.10
21	Rajasthan	1418	2554768.29
22	Tamil Nadu	1084	1260841.34
23	Uttar Pradesh	1122	5243684.58
24	Uttarakhand	278	752792.59
25	West Bengal	2480	1394532.51
26	Tripura	4	25756.00
27	Telangana	681	4063182.81
	Total	37371

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

9. Govt starts work on 99 stalled irrigation projects

Livemint | Sep. 07, 2016

New Delhi: Fulfilling a key promise made in this year’s Union budget, the centre on Tuesday kicked off work to complete 99 major and medium irrigation projects pending for years. Slated to be completed by 2019, these projects will bring 7.6 million hectares of land under irrigation in some of the most drought-prone regions of India.

The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs.77,595 crore, to be spent over four years.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made irrigation a top priority. Earlier, irrigation structures were made but not utilized,” said water resources minister Uma Bharti at an event to launch the scheme in Delhi on Tuesday. Bharti added that the project will cover the drought and (farm) suicide prone regions of Bundelkhand (in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) Marathwada in Maharashtra and Telangana. Overall, 56 of the 99 projects belong to the most parched regions of India.

“This scheme is a major reform in agriculture so that water reaches farmers’ fields,” said Amarjit Singh, mission director of the project at the water resources ministry. “Our main objective is to bridge the large gap between irrigation potential created and utilised.”

Earlier, irrigation projects were beset with cost overruns of an average 1,352%, which is a huge “waste of public money”, according to Shashi Shekhar, secretary at the ministry. “To ensure efficiency in functioning, we have made it mandatory to have participatory management by forming water users’ associations,” he added. Of the 99 projects, 23 will be completed by 2016-17, and 31 and 45, respectively, in the following two years. According to a statement from the ministry, a major reason why the projects remained incomplete was inadequate provision of funds by state governments. “Large amount of funds spent on these projects were locked up and the benefits envisaged at the time of formulation of the projects could not be achieved,” the statement said.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced the creation of a long-term irrigation fund of Rs.20,000 crore under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) in this year’s budget speech, following consecutive years of drought which elevated farm distress across the country.

Of the Rs.20,000 crore, Nabard will get around Rs.1,000-1,500 crore from the budget. It will raise around Rs.6,000 crore through bonds at an interest rate of around 7.4% from the market but this will be repaid by the government. Nabard will separately raise around Rs.12,000 crore through bonds at an interest rate of 7.5%, which will be repaid by Nabard itself, said Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, chairman, Nabard. This will be the first time that the apex rural bank will be lending to both, the central and the state governments, for irrigation. So far, it has been lending only to state governments to meet their irrigation requirements. Nabard’s loans to the government will bear an interest rate of 6%.

“The terms of the agreement will be such that it will ensure that state governments cannot default on the payments,” Bhanwala said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

10.1. Govt panel clears 16 highway projects for bidding

Business Standard | Aug. 31, 2016

New Delhi: A government panel on Tuesday cleared for bidding 16 highway projects worth Rs 7,456 crore in 11 states: Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.

These projects, totalling a length of 622 km, are fit for bidding now but the award of these contracts can only take place after 90 per cent of the land acquisition process is made available, Secretary, road transport and highways, Sanjay Mitra, told reporters here, after the meeting of Standing Finance Committee that approved these projects.

EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) projects would require government investment of Rs 3,876 crore. Of the total number of projects, 13 would be executed in EPC mode, two in hybrid annuity mode, and one in BOT (build, operate, and transfer) mode.

These highway contracts include construction of new roads, widening and expansion of existing highways, and rehabilitation and upgrade of some projects. Mitra said detailed project reports of the projects are complete and the contracts can be put up for bidding.

Large infrastructure companies like L&T, Gammon, Jaiprakash Associates and Punj Lloyd have evinced

interest in executing highway projects on EPC mode.

According to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) data, in the list of 62 EPC projects, L&T bagged seven EPC highway contracts in 2015-16 and two projects between April and June, this year (2016-17). In 2015-16, 87 per cent of the projects were awarded on EPC basis. In 2014-15, the figure was as high as 91 per cent.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

10.2. NHAI signs MoU with IIT-Kharagpur to develop technology to construct maintenance free highways in India

Economic Times | Aug. 10, 2016

New Delhi: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IIT-Kharagpur for research project to develop technology to construct long lasting maintenance free highways in India.

"IIT-Kharagpur will develop 'Paneled Cement Concrete Pavements' for highways. The duration of the research project is 3 years," a statement from NHAI said.

In India, the highways are generally paved with bituminous material produced from refineries. However, it has been experienced that these highways are prone to damage and need frequent maintenance due to adverse climatic conditions such as rain and hot weather prevailing in the country.

Therefore, to overcome this problem, the road transport and highways ministry has recently announced a policy for the construction of concrete pavements for all major highways due to their longevity and

maintenance free life.

"Traditionally and as per the current practices, the construction of these highways requires a monolithic (insitu) layer of cement concrete normally 300 mm thick laid continuously over the prepared surface, therefore, an innovation is required to optimize the design of concrete pavement in its traditional form which can facilitate faster construction at much cheaper cost, thus, consuming less natural resources and promote Green Highways in the country," the statement said.

"The paneled concrete pavement laid on a lean concrete base can provide long lasting maintenance free pavement at a cost on par with those of bituminous pavements," the statement added.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

11.1. Noida is now India's mobile production hub

Times of India | Aug. 26, 2016

Noida: If you unclip the back of your new Samsung smartphone, or one from a homegrown brand like Karbonn, Lava or Intex, you might find a `Made in India' sticker there. And chances are that the device has been assembled in the Noida-Greater Noida region at Delhi's doorstep.

Ever since the Centre introduced a 10.5% duty differential between imported devices and those made locally in last year's Budget, the region has become India's biggest smartphone hub, with a capacity to make more than 140 million devices per annum -40% more than a year's demand.

Not that Qualcomm and Media Tek are stamping out processors here -all the critical components still come from China and Taiwan -but it is a significant start for the industry. Sources said the local industry does about 5-8% of value addition at present, and this can be scaled up to around 35% within five years.

The flurry of investments to the region was perhaps prompted by the presence of Korean giants Samsung and LG. Samsung, which started local manufacturing a decade ago and reportedly has the highest installed

capacity of 40 million devices per annum - the company did not confirm it- seeded a significant number of smartphone component suppliers in the area. The company produces mobile phones from completely knocked-down (CKD) kits.

"All our mobile phones, from feature phones to the Galaxy S7 that we sell in India, are manufactured at our Noida factory, and we will continue to explore future investment opportunities," a spokesperson for Samsung said.

Now Indian brands like Lava, Intex and Karbonn, besides Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron, have also set up shop. In partnership with home-grown telecom retailer and manufacturer Optiemus, Wistron makes phones for LG, China's OnePlus and Oppo, and Taiwan's HTC. Another Chinese vendor, Water World Technology, has partnered local company UTL Group, which is one of the backers of Karbonn Mobiles. Each factory creates 3,000-4,000 direct jobs, employing mostly high-school or ITI graduates.

Proximity to Delhi, where most home-grown phone brands are headquartered, has certainly helped the region bloom despite UP's iffy image as a business destination. "The promoters wanted operations in a region that remains within their reach and under their control," said Narendra Bansal, chairman of Intex Technologies, a major Indian phone brand.

"Noida's proximity to the capital, its growing infrastructure, and development as a large residential hub close to the capital's business districts also helped," the Samsung spokesperson said.

Intex, which has three factories in Noida with an annual installed capacity of 30 million phones (feature and smart), is now setting up a 20-acre base at Kasna in Greater Noida for a larger integrated facility that will also house key suppliers. "There are huge advantages here in terms of the cost and availability of labour. The power supply is largely uninterrupted and the productivity levels are even better than China's in many cases," said Sunil Vachani of Dixon Technologies whose company makes Karbonn and Panasonic devices in a joint venture. But is it easy to do business in UP? "The benefits may be less than in states like Andhra Pradesh, which offer incentives. However, operating in the south is difficult for a north-Indian brand. Moreover, the UP administration is supportive," Vachani added.

Lava managing director Hari Om Rai said availability of land in the Noida-Greater Noida industrial area has also been an important enabler. "There may be a few instances of difficulty in getting approvals, but the broader policies are clear," said Rai whose company has an annual installed capacity of nearly 36 million devices. "We have not faced interventions by the government."

Now, even Chinese vendors and suppliers are gravitating to the region, drawn by its large production capacities. The manufacturing processes are still low-end, with a lot of assembly done manually, but efforts to increase local engagement and add sophisticated processes, such as the assembly of printed circuit boards (PCB), are on.

Analysts said PCB assembly will enhance the quality of local manufacturing. Also, there are efforts to develop R&D and design capabilities within the country , instead of relying on partners in China and Taiwan. "It will take at least 5-7 years to develop a high valueadd manufacturing set-up here," said Pardeep Jain, MD of Karbonn Mobiles.

IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said more initiatives are planned to boost the manufacturing of electronics."Electronics manufacturing is a focus of the government as part of the `Make in India' initiative. The current investments have resulted in as many as 40,000 direct jobs and over 1.2 lakh indirect employment. We estimate that mobile phone production will reach a level of around 500 million devices by 2019-20."

For now, uncertainty over the fate of the 10.5% duty differential in a GST regime is worrying investors, even though they have welcomed the simpler tax structure a GST will bring. "It will be near-suicidal to make fresh investments until GST is described," Jain said. "We do not want to gamble in such an uncertain scenario," Vachani added.

Asked if the duty differential between local manufacturing and imports will be maintained, he said, "Obviously, why not... the interest of India's manufacturers will be kept in mind."

Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

11.2. Gionee to invest Rs 5000 million

Business Standard | Aug. 23, 2016

New Delhi: China-based smartphone maker Gionee will be investing Rs 500 crore to set up a manufacturing unit in India, to be operational in two years.

“We are identifying land for the unit. By next month, it will be finalised,” said Arvind Vohra, its India managing director.

The company currently assembles smartphones in partnerships with Foxconn and Dixon.

About 60 per cent of the devices are made in India. With its own unit (targeted capacity of 30 million devices annually), the company will cater to the entire Indian market with locally made devices and also export these. It has allocated Rs 600 crore this financial year for marketing and branding activities. Actress Alia Bhatt has been hired as brand ambassador. Vohra says Gionee India aims to expand its market share from around five per cent now to 7-10 per cent by March.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

11.3. OnePlus to start manufacturing OnePlus 3 in India by year end

Economic Times | Aug. 16, 2016

Mumbai: Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus might manufacture its latest device OnePlus 3 in India. The company last month suspended local production of its OnePlus X smartphone within five months of launch, due to tepid demand. But, demand for its latest OnePlus 3 model is outstripping supply and the Chinese company could make the handsets at the Foxconn factory in India.

“We are facing a supply crunch. Since we dropped the invite-only approach, demand is higher than expected,” said Vikas Agarwal, general manager, India, OnePlus.

“We are importing handsets from China but are looking to start assembling in India by the end of this year. We are searching for component suppliers for OnePlus 3,” he added.

“We ceased production of OnePlus X recently,” Agarwal said. “The demand was not enough to justify

production,” he added.

According to a CMR report published in June, OnePlus became one of the top five in the high-end smartphone market, with 6.1 per cent market share in 2015.

This segment has smartphones priced above Rs 20,000 and accounts for five per cent of the overall smartphone market in the country.

Samsung dominates the premium segment with 44 per cent market share; Apple has 27.3 per cent, Sony 8.3 per cent and HTC 7.6 per cent.

India is among the top three markets for OnePlus. “When we launched OnePlus One in India, we did not have high hopes. But after a good response, we figured India was a value-conscious market,” Agarwal said. The company manufactures all its devices in its facility in Shenzhen, China, which has a capacity of 500,000 handsets a month.

“We will phase out OnePlus One and OnePlus 2,” Agarwal said, adding, “We would like only one or two flagship products.” OnePlus is working on its next device, which may be launched by the middle of next year. The company is facing increasing competition from other Chinese smartphone makers. Its distribution also is limited to online sales.

“Other brands entering India are in the mass market segments and follow the omni-channel approach. We are a pure premium player,” Agarwal said. OnePlus sells its smartphones exclusively on Amazon in India. Agarwal said the company could look at other online platforms.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Local production of OnePlus X suspended within five months of launch
Reason being tepid demand
To start assembling devices in India by year end &
The company became one of the top five players in the high-end smartphone market
6.1% market share in 2015
Samsung dominates the premium segment with 44 per cent market share
Apple has 27.3 per cent, Sony 8.3 per cent & HTC 7.6 per cent
India is among the top three markets for OnePlus

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

12.1. Fiat debuts Jeep Wrangler, Cherokee models in India

Business Standard | Aug. 31, 2016

Mumbai: Italian car maker Fiat on Tuesday announced the entry of two sports utility vehicles (SUVs) under Chrysler-owned Jeep brand, making it the first launch after the lifting of the ban on sale of big SUVs by the Supreme Court.

Jeep Wrangler has debuted with prices starting at Rs 71.59 lakh while the starting price of the Jeep GrandCherokee is Rs 93.64 lakh (both prices are ex-showroom, Delhi).

Early this month, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on sale of vehicles with diesel engines whose capacity is above 2,000cc in the National Capital Region. This came as a big relief to Toyota, Tata Motors, and Mercedes-Benz which were the most affected.

Both SUVs will come as completely built units though there were expectations the Wrangler would be brought in a completely knocked down form. The luxury SUVs will compete against models of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Porsche and Land Rover.

A third model, which will be a premium SUV will be made in India next year at Fiat's Ranjangaon plant near Pune where it makes the Grande Punto, Linea and Avventura, apart from some Tata Motors models. The Jeep Wrangler comes with a four-door, single-trim version called Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. The premium SUV will get a 2.8-litre eco-diesel, four-cylinder engine with 200ps with an automatic transmission.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee line-up will include the aggressive, fast and athletic Grand CherokeeSRT (Rs 1.12 crore), the luxurious Grand Cherokee Summit (Rs 1.03 crore) and the classy and refined Grand Cherokee Limited (Rs 93.64 lakh).

Kevin Flynn, president and managing director of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India, said: “We have invested $280 million in our facility at Ranjangaon near Pune to mobilise our localisation strategy. We are on track with our plans to manufacture and roll out an all-new, premium Jeep SUV from our plant in 2017. Aftersales, too, plays a significant role in our India strategy. With the launch of theJeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee, we will set a strong foundation for all the aspects that will further strengthen our future in India.”

Fiat Chrysler India will open 10 new distribution outlets in nine cities by the end of this calendar year to sell the Jeep products here. Fiat will have a partial branding of its own brand in at least two of these stores for

promotion.

Ahmedabad will be the first to host a Jeep Destination Store, followed closely by New Delhi and Chennai in September. The Mumbai outlet will open in October, along with a second outlet in New Delhi, both before Diwali, followed by Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Kochi and Bengaluru.

The company will offer a two-year, unlimited-mileage manufacturer’s warranty as standard on both the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Wrangler. The warranty will have international coverage and will be transferable to the second owner. A 24/7 helpline and roadside assistance programme called Jeep Assist is also being offered, which will cover the vehicles for a two-year, unlimited mileage period. Toll-free assistance will be provided 24/7 in case of accidents and breakdowns. Additionally, customers will be provided with a return-journey, business-class air ticket or a hotel stay.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

12.2. We see India as a great manufacturing option

Business Standard | Sep. 09, 2016

New Delhi: As Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India brings in the Jeep brand, the company has robust plans for a 'made in India' variant, the company's president and MD Kevin Flynn tells Sohini Das.

Edited excerpts

What are the plans around the Jeep brand in India? When will we see the CKD (imported and reassembled) models?

We are very excited about the Jeep. There are not many 75-year old car brands that can come into a country with all that heritage and brand DNA. This is the first dealership going live; we have another two going live this month and again next month the Mumbai dealership would be going live. We are now on a roll and progressing very well. We have chosen nine cities, where we would have 10 destination stores. We are

bringing in these cars now as completely built units (CBUs) but in 2017, we will be manufacturing an all-new

Jeep, yet to be seen by anybody in the world. We will be manufacturing that in Ranjangaon (near Pune). That is the next development and the story will continue from there.

How do you plan to position the new locally manufactured Jeep? Will India be the export hub?

India would be playing its role in Jeep's global plans. It'll be a product that is yet to break cover but is already fully developed.We've invested $280 million in the Ranjangaon plant to make it ready. We are on countdown now.

We've always built world-class cars in Ranjangaon. We don't see India as a cheap but a great manufacturing option. We want to make a lot more use of that unit and you will see a significant increase in production from that plant. Other original equipment makers (OEMs) are all exporting from India, and it is a logical step. We're evaluating the opportunity. More of that will become clear as we move towards the announcement of the next vehicle.

What will be the level of localisation in the new Jeep model and how do you plan to position it?

The CBU now attracts 180 per cent duty. The landed cost of the vehicle nearly trebles from the ex-factory price. The level of localisation and how we manufacture the local product is going to help us with the duties. The car will be far more attainable in the Indian market. It is going to be premium because Jeep is premium. The brand aspiration would remain premium but we can enter new segments in the Jeep (currently, Wrangler and Cherokee are available). We have done a lot of work to make sure this car is very relevant to our investments in India. It is a Made-in-India car.

Are the multi-brand showrooms planned to make FCA dealerships more viable?

FCA is our parent, the seventh largest company in the globe. India is one of our focus markets. Maserati is coming. In other parts of the world, we have dealerships that represent a number of brands under the FCA umbrella. We see no reason why that we wouldn't do the same in India. What we wanted to make sure is to have some of these destination stores opened to really establish Jeep for what it is. As the need for greater distribution grows, there is no reason why we cannot operate with a number of brands under one roof. We have worked hard with our dealer partners to give them a business model and a plan that sustains them. We have not achieved the level of growth in Fiat volumes that we had planned and hoped to achieve. We are launching the Urban Cross at the end of this month and that will give us a good volume lift. Our existing partners have an option of becoming a multi brand dealership. We are mapping what are the marketplaces that will have demand for the product portfolio planned, and we will engage in conversations with our dealer partners to see their capabilities, as against our requirements, and how we can develop them as our longstanding partners. We have no unreasonable levels of attrition at the dealer-end so far.

What plans on the components business front, off-the-shelf engines? Magnetti Marrelli is part of your group; do you plan to roll out more AMT variants of your cars?

Legislation is changing across the globe in terms of emissions and in terms of particulate filters on diesel and different Euro-VI requirements. We have a whole commercial unit that looks after the relationships (with OEMs) and we will work to maximise those and our opportunities here. AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) is going to be a very important technology.

In India, it has been more on the premium end of the market, and given the traffic, quite surprising. Our future products would embrace that technology. We don't have AMT on any Fiat cars. We are working on our product development plan for Fiat and the latest trends in transmission would feature in that.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

13.1. Tata Steel declared global industry leader in steel sector

Economic Times | Sep. 12, 2016

Kolkata: Tata Steel has been declared as the global industry leader in the steel sector by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) assessment for the year 2016 out of a list of more than 20 global steel majors who participated in the DJSI assessment. Tata Steel scored 81% in the assessment, an improvement from last year's score of 80%.

The DJSI assessment was created by the investor community in the year 1999 to evaluate large companies based on economic, environmental and social criteria and serves as a benchmark on Corporate Sustainability Leadership. The assessment comprises an annual analysis of the sustainability performance of more than 2,000 companies.

Investors across the globe are increasingly seeking DJSI scores of companies before making their investment decisions. Tata Steel has been providing disclosures under the aegis of DJSI for the last three years.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

13.2. Steel Minister gives green signal to joint venture for first auto-shredding plant in India for recycling of specialized steels & other non-ferrous metals

Press Information Bureau | Aug. 09, 2016

New Delhi: For setting up a Joint Venture Company for the first Auto Shredding Plant in India, a Joint Venture agreement was signed today between MSTC Limited and Mahindra INTERTRADE Ltd in the presence of the Minister of Steel Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh and the Secretary Steel, Government of India, Smt. Aruna Sharma. Speaking on the occasion Chaudhary Birender Singh said this is a unique initiative and will give boost to the “Make in India” programme by providing a source of specialized steel. He said that PPP mode is the way forward for bringing in latest technology into the recycling of high-grade (auto-grade) steel and providing high-grade raw material to the steel plants in the North India as well. He said there is need for zoning of collection centers in the country and more such plants can be set up in the country in future.

The shredding Plant will be first of its own kind in India and set up in association with Mahindra Inter Trade Limited in PPP mode. It will reduce the dependence on present annual import of shredded scrap of 5-6 million tone in our country and consequently reduce the foreign exchange out go. It will also help in domestic sourcing of raw material for secondary steel sector.

As the plant will use end of life vehicle (ELV) aged more than 10 years and white Goods, recycling of the same will also conserve the natural resources such as Iron Ore, Coal, Limestone, etc. which are used in making Steel. The plant will have the capacity of one lakh TPA. In addition, it will alleviate the adverse impact of pollution for a sustainable development.

The Joint Secretary of Ministry of Steel Shri Sunil Barthwal, Member of Group Executive Board of Mahindra & Mahindra, Shri Zhooben Bhiwandiwala, Managing Director of Mahindra Inter Trade, Shri Sumit Issar and Chairman and Managing Director of MSTC Limited, Shri B. B. Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

Shredding Plant – to start Scientific Recycling in the country:

MSTC has embarked upon setting up of the first mechanized Shredding plant in India to bring a whole new method of processing of scrap from the End of Life Vehicles (ELV) aged above 10 years and other white goods like air-conditioners, refrigerators, which after usage for a long period become unserviceable for further operation

Scrappage Policy for end of life vehicles is under active consideration by the Government of India which will ensure steady availability of raw materials for the plant.

It will reduce the dependence on present annual import of scrap of 5-6 million tonnes of Shredded Scrap in the Country, consequently reduce the foreign exchange outgo. In addition, the auto grade steel of vehicles will be recycled into a similar grade of steel as against making lower grade steel by unorganized sector.

As per the ‘Scrappage Policy’ of Government of India, a scheme of incentivizing shredding of Motor vehicles in the form of subsidy/ excise duty relief and additional discounts by vehicles manufacturer will help raw material security for the plant. This may be in line with ‘Cash for Clunkers’ which is in vogue in several countries in Europe and USA.

The main shredding plant will shred the ELV and white goods and separate the ferrous components via magnetic separation. The rest of the output from the main shredding plant is processed through the ‘eddy current’ separator for non- ferrous material to yield two mixtures of non- ferrous metals called Zorba (which is predominantly aluminum) and Zurik (which is predominantly Stainless Steel) in addition to the main output as shredded scrap.

A down- stream non- ferrous separator could be used further to separate the Zorba and Zurik to its component metals so as to tap the market of non- ferrous metals like aluminum, copper and others, in India.

The shredded scrap will help secondary steel sector for its raw material requirements resulting in reduced dependence on imports. The total investment for setting up the shredding plant having a capacity of 1 lakh tones per annum and the collection centers is expected to be about Rs. 120 Cr.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

14. India's first textile city likely to come up in AP

Business Standard | Aug. 29, 2016

New Delhi: India’s first integrated textiles city is likely to come up in Andhra Pradesh. The central government has already initiated the process of identifying land, technology and expertise for the same. According to sources, Textiles Minister Smiriti Irani has spoken to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidu for providing land and other facilities.

With Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party being an ally of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, the proposal, mooted by the NITI Aayog, is likely to be accepted.

Officials said Irani, along with Naidu and top officials from NITI Aayog, would visit China to get a first hand information on the working and structure of the proposed mega textile city.

The city would be largely catering to the export market and build a brand for Indian textiles.

China is a pioneer in building such mega textiles cities. The China Textile City in Keqiao district is one such example.

Founded in the 1980s, China Textile City is the first national professional textile market spread over a construction area of 3.65 million square metres with 29,000 companies managing 40,000 kinds of products.

The textiles sector is the largest employer in the country, employing 32 million people and is critical to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to create jobs in the country.

It announced a special package for the sector in June aimed at improving India’s competitiveness, which would lead to greater production. The reforms, in turn, are expected to generate 10 million new jobs in the textiles sector in three years.

The package is estimated to cost Rs 6,000 crore, which includes funds for additional five per cent duty drawback for the garments sub-sector.

The government will also bear the cost of employers’ contribution under the Employees’ Provident Fund scheme for new employees of the garment sector earning less than Rs 15,000 a month for the first three years.

The government is also working on a revamped national textiles policy, which is expected to be placed before the Cabinet soon. The draft policy focuses on achieving $300 billion exports and 35 million new jobs by 2024- 25.

India exported $36.25 billion worth of textiles and related goods in 2015-16 — a 2.4 per cent decline from 2014-15.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

15.1. Tata firm TAL dispatches floor beams for Boeing from Nagpur

Livemint | Aug. 22, 2016

Mumbai: Tata Group-controlled TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd (TAL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, has dispatched 5,000th Advanced Composite Floor Beam (ACFB) to plane maker Boeing Co. for its 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft.

These ACFBs are shipped out of the aerospace manufacturing facility located in MIHAN SEZ, Nagpur.

Currently, TAL is the only non-US facility to supply ACFBs to Boeing for its 787-9 Dreamliner, and it will also supply this component to the soon-to-be-built 787-10 Dreamliner. The ACFBs are shipped to Boeing partners in Italy, Japan and the US.

“We are dispatching the 5000th advanced composite floor beam for Boeing 787s-9s and Boeing 787-10. The 787-10 is yet to be manufactured. TAL was given the order for the first five 787-19 floor beams because of its reliable and impeccable delivery and quality performance,” Rajesh Khatri, executive director and chief executive officer, TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd.

TAL is six months ahead of its original schedule of dispatch of floor beams.

“We have invested over Rs.250 crore at the Boeing-dedicated facility in Nagpur. We started commercial

production in March 2015,” he said.

Khatri said TAL has a headcount of 880 in Pune and Nagpur, of which 550 are based in Nagpur.

Boeing India President, Pratyush Kumar, called it a major milestone not just for Boeing and TAL, but also for India.

TAL did not disclose the value of the contract.

The Tata firm is associated with other original equipment manufacturers. “We are associated with the A (Airbus) and B (Boeing) of aircraft manufacturing,” Khatri said.

TAL has signed a contract aerospace firm RUAG for supplying parts that will go into A320 planes made by Airbus SAS.

The contract with RUAG is worth $170 million for making 550 sheet metal, machine parts and sub assemblies, which are fitted in to the Airbus A320 family of aircraft.

“We are exclusive suppliers for these parts for RUAG,” Khatri said.

TAL is also working on robots for commercial purpose.

“We are working towards the formal commercial launch of robots, TAL BRABO!” Khatri said.

All three will help us to develop a sustainable and profitable business model enabling TAL to clock a five-fold increase in revenue of over Rs.1,000 crore from Rs.224 crore over the next five years, he said.

He added that TAL would also increase headcount to 1,250 from its current 880.

Aerospace is profitable and robotics will also turn profitable from next year, once commercial production starts, he said.

“TAL is working with next generation aerospace technology with two leading airplane makers. We intend to be the market leader in civil aerospace manufacturing and among the top three aerospace manufacturers in India,” Khatri added.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

15.2. Tata Advanced Materials wins contract from Boeing

Livemint | Sep. 08, 2016

Mumbai: Tata Advanced Materials Ltd, a unit of Tata Industries Ltd has won an order from aircraft maker Boeing to supply composite interior closeout panels for the P-8 military jet.

The P-8 is designed for long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface (ships) warfare, as well as armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. A derivative of Boeing’s Next-Generation 737-800, P- 8 is capable of broad-area maritime operations.

“This contract is another example of Indian companies becoming part of the global supply chain and manufacturing aerospace parts for the world’s most advanced products,” said Sudhi Ranjan Mukherjee, chief executive of TAML. The contract with Boeing will help strengthen TAML’s position as a strong and reliable partner in the aero-structures segment, the company said.

TAML is currently under contract to manufacture the P-8 tail cone and auxiliary power unit door fairing out of India. Additionally, TAML works for Dynamatic Technologies Ltd in support of the CH-47F Chinook, a mediumto- heavy lift helicopter, and for P-8 cabinets.

Boeing and various Tata group companies have established partnerships in India to manufacture aerostructures for Boeing’s commercial and military aircraft. Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd also have a joint venture in India to produce AH-64 Apache fuselages, co-produce aero-structures and pursue integrated systems development opportunities in India.

Defence and aerospace are important growth drivers identified by Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry and significant investments will be made in these areas, Mukund Rajan, member of group executive council and brand custodian at Tata Sons, told reporters in March. In the last five years, revenue from the defence and aerospace business for the group has grown at an average annual growth rate of 18%, he had said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

15.3. Tata Power to make Javelin missile with Lockheed Martin JV

Business Standard | Sep. 01, 2016

New Delhi: Even as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, currently on a three-day visit to the US, assured American and Indian industry that the New Delhi is opening doors for business, two US defence giants — Raytheon and Lockheed Martin — announced they would partner Tata Power in manufacturing the Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) in India.

The Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) — consisting of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin — is partnering the Strategic Engineering Division” of Tata Power (Tata Power SED) to “create a strategy to co-develop and produce the Javelin missile system and integrate platform mounts to meet Indian requirements.

This includes ground combat vehicle, dismounted infantry and rotorcraft applications.”

Sources close to the long negotiations that preceded this announcement tell Business Standard that the US side has committed to Tata Power SED and to the defence ministry that 70 per cent by value of the Javelin would be built in India.

The FGM-148 Javelin is reputedly the world’s most advanced man-portable ATGM. It is carried and fired from vehicles, or by infantry soldiers, at tanks, fortifications or helicopters as far as 4,000 metres away.

Unlike missiles currently in service, the Javelin is a “fire and forget” missile that does not need to be guided during its flight time.

Instead, the operator aims at the target, locks on the missile, launches it, and scurries back into cover while the missile’s infra-red seeker homes onto the target.

Javelin is competing in India with the Spike ATGM — built by Israeli company, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.

On October 25, 2014, the defence ministry had cleared the Rs 3,200 crore procurement of 300 Spike missile launchers and 8,500 missiles for India’s 350-plus infantry battalions, with more to be built at Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad. However, India’s requirement is far larger — it must equip not just its infantry, but also mechanised infantry battalion equipped with the BMP-2 infantry combat vehicle and, later, the Future Infantry Combat Vehicle.

US industry sources say they are not just relying on vehicle-mounted orders. With the Israelis mired in negotiations with the defence ministry, there is no certainty yet that Rafael would get the infantry ATGM order.

The JJV and the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) have been pushing hard in Indo-US defence consultations, particularly the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) for India to consider the Javelin.Now, with Washington amenable to providing high technology for manufacturing the Javelin in India, there could be a favourable re-think.

The establishing of production by the JJV-Tata SED combine would be contingent on winning a substantial order from the Indian military. The consortium gave a presentation to the defence ministry earlier this month, which was also attended by top army generals. The JJV-Tata SED consortium committed to transferring key technologies for manufacture in India. This included manufacturing smokeless propellant, and assembling the missile seeker --- the Holy Grail of missile technology.

Says Tata Power SED chief, Rahul Chaudhary: “This would significantly raise India’s industrial capability and capacity, since no Indian manufacturer has so far built missile launchers and missiles in large numbers. And some of the technologies that Washington has agreed to provide will establish an important precedent for future technology transfer to India.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the US-India Business Council (USIBC) on Tuesday handed Parrikar a report with recommendations on “Ease of Doing Business in India”. Said USIBC president, Mukesh Aghi: “Our members are keen to pursue joint American and Indian private sector partnerships to support Prime Minister Modi’s forward- leaning defense procurement reforms. Our recommendations aim to expand investment flow into India’s defense sector”.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

– SERVICES (IT, R&D, Tourism, Healthcare, etc.)

16.1. 13 years later, Reliance set to 'disrupt' India's telecom market again

HT Business | Sep. 02, 2016

New Delhi: Reliance Jio’s much-anticipated launch on Thursday offering free voice calls and data services at very low tariffs resembles a similar “disruptive” strategy that the company had adopted 13 years ago.

In 2003, Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance India Mobile stormed the market with a “Monsoon Hungama” scheme, which offered mobile connection and a handset at R501.

As incumbent operators jostled to keep their customer base intact, tariffs plunged, making mobile phones affordable for millions and breaking down class barriers.

From about R5 then, a call now costs as low as 45 paise per minute despite intervening years of inflation and growth that makes the rupee go less far.

With voice calls no longer expected to remain the dominant money spinner, a similar tariff war looks imminent on data services as browsing battles move to palmtops.

Reliance Jio has placed its bets firmly on low tariffs to push data volumes, which is evident from the strategy of making calls free. The move will force incumbents to lower rates.

“We foresee operators gradually moving towards simpler all-you-can-eat plans wherein subscribers would be offered unlimited voice and fixed data access for a lumpsum amount, rather than the forest of foggy options available today, ”said Ajay Srinivasan, director at Crisil Research. “Tariffs will tumble, and we project average data realisations halving to less than R0.10 per MB by 2017-18, compared to less than R0.20 per MB currently.”

In 2003 when Reliance entered the market, it was dominated by a few incumbent players, including Airtel, which commanded a significant market share in the voice telephony business.

The conditions are different this time round.

The data sector is still very much in its infancy and remains a fledgling line of business for operators.

This will make it easier for incumbents to adjust their data tariffs to match Reliance Jio’s offer.

“The Indian telecom sector is at an inflection point of massive data adoption, repeating the precedence of the voice market growth trajectory (2007-2011),” said Tanu Sharma, associate director at India Ratings. “This will necessitate continued investment in the key resource—spectrum—during the coverage expansion phase. “Competition has to gear up. Operators have to make increased investment both in terms of coverage and quality,” Rajan Mathews, director-general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), told HT.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

16.2. Huawei sets up biggest global service centre in Bengaluru, invests Rs 136 crore

Economic Times | Aug. 29, 2016

Kolkata: China's leading telecom gear maker, Huawei is setting up its biggest Global Service Centre (GSC) in Bangalore at an investment of Rs 136 crore.

The new GSC will to support Huawei's domestic and international telecom carrier customers in 30-plus markets across Asia, Africa and Middle East. It will handle over 50 projects across these global markets. "Some 1,000-odd techies, comprising engineers and network operations specialists at the GSC will deliver the gamut of network monitoring/management related services to clients in India and overseas markets," Huawei India CEO Jay Chen said Friday.

The new GSC, he said, supports Huawei's `Make In India vision' by harnessing local talent, coupled with the

infusion of hi-tech R&D expertise".

Huawei's India GSC will offer the combined services of a Global Network Operations Centre (GNOC), network integration services, network planning and optimisation and IT integration services for a holistic approach towards a customer-centric operational model.

Telecom minister Manoj Sinha, who inaugurated the facility in Bangalore, said "Huawei's GSC demonstrates

how India with is vast technologically skilled manpower can help address the requirements of the global market," adding that it will also strengthen the domestic telecom industry ecosystem.

Some of these services would include network integration, network planning & optimisation and IT integration. The global services centre is located within the same complex that now houses Huawei India's R&D centre, where some 3,000-odd techies are involved in software development/coding and associated R&D work. The latest investment in the GSC comes a year after Huawei India pumped in $170 million in its R&D centre in Bangalore.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

17. India biggest recipient of remittances in 2015; Kerala gets highest share

Livemint | Sep. 12, 2016

New Delhi: India was the biggest recipient of remittances globally in 2015, with the southern state of Kerala accounting for the highest share, a study showed.

India received $69 billion in remittances, followed by China at $64 billion, according to the report ‘Remittances and its impact on financial inclusion and development in India’, commissioned by Western Union, an American financial services and communications company.

Kerala received 25-30% of the remittances to India, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Punjab.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu used most of the remittances not just for subsistence and debt repayments but also for productive reasons such as education, healthcare expenses and bank savings, the report said.

The report prepared by Edelman India, the research and analytics department of Edelman, a communications firm, was presented by Hikmet Ersek, chief executive and director of Western Union, to finance minister Arun Jaitley on 5 September.

An inward remittance is money sent by migrants to their homes. The paper highlighted the positive impact of inward remittances on financial inclusion, poverty and social factors such as health and education.

The Gulf countries are among the top eight remittance sources for India in 2015.

Five Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman —

contributed 50% of the total value of remittances in 2015, despite their economies suffering from a decline in

oil prices.

“Remittances in the 80s were mainly driven by the economic prosperity in the oil exporting countries. The policies of liberalization during the 90s led to a lot of Indian information technology professionals migrating to the US for better opportunities, thus leading to an increase in remittances. Since the 1990s, migration to other countries like Canada and Australia has also increased but the number is still less compared to the Gulf countries,” the report said.

According to the report, a study was conducted where 52 respondents (among the remittance receivers) across states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi were interviewed. It was found that 90% of the respondents have bank accounts and mostly use them for receiving remittances. In addition, 51.9% and 63% of them cited medical expenses and education, respectively, as their priority expenditure.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

18.1. India fastest growing market for us: Uber

Business Standard | Aug. 30, 2016

New Delhi: Cab aggregator Uber on Monday said India is its fastest-growing market and it will continue to invest in the market. Speaking at the India-US Innovation Forum organised by industry body Ficci, Eric Alexander, head of Uber’s Asia business said the company has invested more than a billion dollars in India. Uber started in India three years ago and is now operating in over 20 cities with thousands of cab drivers. Alexander also revealed that the recently-launched UberPool feature has gone a long way in reducing vehicular air pollution in major cities. “The UberPool feature has allowed passengers to share rides, thereby reduce thousands of extra trips,” he said. This has resulted in stopping a total of 800 tonnes of carbon monoxide from being released in the air, he added.

“Currently, in addition to over 500 Uber employees in India, we have a centre of excellence in Hyderabad and an engineering centre in Bengaluru. We continue to grow our business,” he said.

Talking about start-ups in India, Alexander said the country is a huge driver for budding entrepreneurs. The forum is a joint endeavour by the private sector from India and the US to boost innovation.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Uber made its India debut in August 2013 with luxury, chauffeured cabs in Bengaluru. Ola was already in operation, after modelling its service on Uber. Ola allowed bookings via its call centre or its website, while Uber was an app-only service available for credit card users. Since then, Uber and Ola have been in a race for supremacy. As Uber turns three in India, Business Standard takes a look at the growth of the two taxi services in the country.

OLA

Dec ’10 Ola launches service in India

Aug ’13 Total of 2,000 daily rides and Rs 2 crore in the bank

Jul ’14 Raises $41.5 million from Sequoia, Steadview Capital

Oct ’14 Raises $210 million from SoftBank

Mar ‘15 Ola buys rival TaxiForSure for $200 million; launches Ola Store and Ola Cafe

Apr ‘15 Raises $400 million from DST Global

Jul ‘15 Goes app only; shuts down call centre

Nov ‘15 Raises $500 million from Baillie Gifford

Dec ‘15 Raises $57.3 million/valued at $5 bn

Mar ’16 Launches bike taxi service in India; forced to shut down bike taxi service; launches most affordable service yet, Ola Micro; Ola shuts food delivery & grocery delivery services

May ‘16 Launches outstation cab services; launches luxury taxi service; launches micro, ultra low fare taxi service

Aug ‘16 Shuts down TaxiForSure; lays off 700 employees; claims 450,000 vehicles, more than 550,000 drivers on platform

UBER

Aug ’13 Offers rides on luxury BMW cars; accepts customers with credit cards only; app-only rides; faces scrutiny by RBI

Nov ’14 Ties up with Paytm to get customers use digital wallets; Rajan says Uber violated local norms; launches more affordable UberGo service in India

DEC ‘14 Uber driver allegedly rapes a Delhi woman, causes outrage across India

MAY ‘15 Experiments with cash payment

JUL ‘15 Uber said to invest $1 billion in India (18 cities; 200,000 drivers)

SEP ‘15 CEO Travis Kalanick meets PM Modi at Digital India event in San Jose

DEC ‘15 Uber launches carpool service UberPool in Delhi

FEB‘15 Opens centre of excellence in Hyderabad

MAR ‘16 Opens development centre in Bengaluru; launches two-wheeler taxi service in Bengaluru; forced to shut down bike taxi service; Uber takes Ola to Delhi High Court, says Ola created 93,000 fake rider accounts

JUN ‘16 Uber invests substantial part of $3.5 billion in India; takes Karnataka government to court over local taxi aggregator rules; claims 3,50,000 drivers on platform.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

18.2. By 2020, IoT (Internet of Things) to offer around US$ 15 billion market opportunity for Indian businesses

Economic Times | Sep. 09, 2016

Bangalore: "India IoT Congress is very significant event and recommendations from this event will be very useful in taking forward the IoT ecosystem and its development in the country," J S Deepak, Telecommunication Secretary - Government of India said on Wednesday during the first Internet of Things (IoT) India Congress 2016 organized by IET-IoT panel in association with other industry bodies here. Communication according to Deepak will actually help in such a way that IoT becomes a reality in India. "IoT solutions will bring transformation to lives of people and provide growth opportunities for businesses. It brings huge opportunities in the area of research, communication, data analytics, system integration, IT and other application development," Deepak pointed.

In reply to query on IoT market opportunity in India, quoting experts estimate, Deepak said, "IoT will provide a $15 billion market opportunity for Indian businesses by 2020." In terms of initiatives to boost and support IoT ecosystem in India, he informed that government has allowed 100% equity investment in the telecom and telecom service providers segment, R&D support to startups through setting up incubation and centre of excellence (CoE) and allowing investments from venture capitalists in startups that are into IoT space.

Among the other key initiatives, the Telecommunication Department have created a M2M (machine2machine) roadmap to have synergy between different stakeholders across industries, set up the Telecom Standard Society of India to formulate M2M standards specific to India and C-DoT (Centre for Development of Telematics) has build first open M2M platform.

Besides, the Department of Information Technology is working to come up with a draft on IoT platform that is based on key four areas that includes developing capacity through IoT specific skills development, facilitate R&D in technology and products development specific to India, and converting ideas into products through PPP (public private partnership) model.

Also there's a recommendation to provide additional spectrum to address the needs of IoT in India through the concept of virtual network operators.

Further Deepak informed that government has set up a electronics development fund - a corpus of Rs10,000 crore for help startups that develop India specific solutions. "India looks promising on the IoT front with big investment opportunity but there's need of interoperable and affordable IoT solutions in India," he stressed.

From the industry perspective, Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar, Chairman - IoT India Congress Organizing Committee informed that IoT panel was formed last year with the focus on four verticals including healthcare, energy, retail and agriculture; along with other areas around IoT labs, its education and awareness, standards and legal framework, and the social impact of IoT.

"India is at the brink of a revolution that changes the technology and productivity, thereby transforming society and the way businesses are done across sectors. IoT as a disruptive technology is leading the next wave of transformational change," said Bhatnagar.

"It is an exciting time for all businesses and the IoT India Congress as a platform that brings together industry

leaders from different sectors will open a world of opportunities to collaborate and amplify the impact of IoT in their business environments," he added.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

19.1. Government looking at 6-year plan to upgrade airport infrastructure: Jayant Sinha

Economic Times | Sep. 12, 2016

New Delhi: Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has told ET that the government is looking at a six year plan to upgrade airport infrastructure, given that India's metro airports are bursting at their seams, and are struggling to cope with the crush of passengers and choked runways. The upgrade is almost imperative as Indian airports are expected to cater to a billion footfalls over a decade from now, and airlines have announced mega aircraft induction plans that stretch up to a decade, the minister said.

"Looking at the passenger growth, we expect the size of the Indian aviation market to grow to about 600 million air passengers annually over 10 to 12 years from now.This would mean a billion footfalls at our airports. We are working with a strategy spread over a period of up to six years to ensure that capacity does not become an impediment to the growth in aviation in India," Sinha told ET on Friday.

Sinha further explained that the government is going to work on increasing airport efficiency during the first two years.

"This would include looking at Juhu as an alternative and shift out general aviation traffic from the current airport in Mumbai. Between the second and fourth year, we will be carrying out upgrades at airports like Delhi, airports in the northeast and others. Even as we do this, we will keep awarding new airport projects, which will be available post the fourth year onwards.

We have already awarded Goa, and Navi Mumbai airport is likely to awarded soon," said Sinha. The ministry's plan has come as a respite for airlines in India, which have plans to induct over 500 aircraft in their fleet through a 10-year period, and have started complaining about saturating airport capacity across the country. While Mumbai airport is unable to add any new domestic flight due to lack of free slots, Delhi has not been able to add new flights during peak hours. Airports Authority of India (AAI), the state-run airport operator, is also constrained forcing it to hire consultants to improve efficiency at their airports.

Airlines, however, expressed fears that saturating airport capacity may impact their plans. "It seems we are again back to 2009, when airports capacities were saturating and there were no slots or space for new flights. New private airports came up and state-owned AAI also improved its infrastructure and things improved and airlines grew. Expansion plans might get impacted if airport infrastructure does not catch up with growth," said a senior airline executive, who did not want to be identified.

ET VIEW: Need Proactive Policy

We need heightened investment not just in the metros, but also in multiple no frills airports in tier III towns. It would improve connectivity and should reduce congestion in the metro airports. Apart from holistic policy design, proactivity would be key. The new policy of 100% FDI in airports allows 49% stake via the automatic route, and beyond that by way of case-by-case government approval. Further, the policy of not allowing airlines to have even minority stakes in airports and terminals needs to be revisited.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

19.2. Govt plans 50 new airports in three years to boost connectivity

Livemint | Aug. 24, 2016

Mumbai: India, the fastest growing aviation market in the world, is set to get 50 new airports in the next three years as part of a plan to boost regional connectivity, and of these, at least 10 will become operational over the next one year, said civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in an interaction with reporters in Mumbai in Tuesday.

The government, he added, will support newer entrants in the aviation space by “light hand-holding”. To give wings to the ambitious regional connectivity plan, the government will take up some of the so-called ghost airports through a yet-to-be-finalized viability gap funding plan.

India has more than 30 non-operational airports and more than 400 airstrips dating back to World War II. “It took us some time to roll out the regional connectivity scheme. The idea was to convert the wish list into a work list,” Raju said.

Later in the day, the minister signed a memorandum of agreement for regional connectivity with the Maharashtra government. The state is the first to have done so, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted. As part of the plan, some of the existing non-functional airports owned by the Airports Authority of India Ltd in Maharashtra, including Solapur, Jalgaon, Akola, Nanded and Shirdi, will be developed into no-frills airports at an indicative cost of Rs.100 crore, said the minister.

The regional connectivity model will be based on viability gap funding, under which 80% of the cost will be borne by the state government and the rest by the centre. The subsidies will be doled out for a period of three years.

In a series of tweets after the memorandum was signed, Fadnavis said that operations at the Shirdi airport are set to begin from November.

The new civil aviation policy cleared by the Union cabinet on 15 June aims to take flying to the masses. The civil aviation ministry announced a complex regional connectivity policy that seeks to connect unconnected towns. This will be done by capping fares at about Rs.2,500 for these routes and helping airlines with funding. The funds will be generated by charging a cess on other domestic flights.

On whether any airline has come forward, Raju said most of them have made enquiries and are agreeable to

the scheme. “We believe regional connectivity will take off,” said Raju.

Analysts said using existing non-operational airports and airstrips to boost regional connectivity is a positive

move.

“It is far more cost-effective than developing new airports ground up. It will also offer a far better catchment

area,” said Rahul Gangal, partner at consulting Roland & Berger.

However, the reach has to be backed by operational efficiency of the airlines, he added.

Elaborating on how the government plans to support fledgling airlines such as Air Pegasus and Air Costa that have seen multiple cancellations in the recent past owing to financial woes, Raju said, “We can do light handholding the way we did for SpiceJet, but cannot manage their books.”

The airlines will need to pay their current dues and can clear their arrears in instalments, he added.

Commenting on the performance of state-owned Air India Ltd, Raju said, “There are a lot of people who are into Air India passion. I am not among them. We can’t commit taxpayers’ money till eternity. They will have to pull up their socks.”

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

20.1. India tops global survey for best value flights

Livemint | Sep. 07, 2016

Online travel agency Kiwi.com has produced a ranking detailing countries of the world which offer the least and most expensive flights.

The research, which took into account over 1 million international and domestic journeys, found that India offered the least expensive flight prices per 100km of travel, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) clocked in with the most expensive tickets.

India is ranked number 1, making it the best value location for international and domestic flights worldwide. India offered the least expensive domestic flights on both low-cost and legacy airlines, at $2.27 and $2.67, respectively, per 100km of travel.

India is calculated to have an average flight cost of $3.25 per 100km of travel, factoring in both domestic and international journeys.

China offered the least expensive international flights on both low-cost and legacy airlines, at $1.22 and $2.84, respectively, per 100km of travel.

The UAE offered the most expensive domestic flights on both low-cost and legacy airlines, at $181.38 and $202.36, respectively, per 100km of travel.

Canada offered the most expensive international flights on both low-cost and legacy airlines, at $43.70 and $94.66, respectively, per 100km of travel.

To calculate the rankings, Kiwi.com analysed over a million flights to find an average price of domestic and international flights on a low-cost and a legacy airline from each of the countries.

Domestic flights were calculated by finding an average of flight costs from the country’s capital to up to five major cities within the country (where available), or a major city in a neighbouring country where no domestic flights were available, while international costs were calculated from the capital of each country to up to five international hubs within the same continent. All flights were checked for the same dates of travel (or neighbouring dates where necessary) on- and off-season, taking into account the same destinations and travel scheduling.

“The Aviation Price Index is a fascinating guide to the costs of air travel around the globe,” said Kiwi.com’s chief executive officer Oliver Dlouhý. “We always aim to offer travellers the best possible deals, and hope this ranking informs customers on the countries from which they can expect the most cost effective airfare, and assist them in booking the best value journey.” The study revealed the 10 countries offering the least expensive and most expensive flights.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

20.2. India signs open skies pact with Greece

Business Standard | Sep. 08, 2016

Mumbai: India on Wednesday signed an open skies agreement with Greece, the first after the finalisation of the civil aviation policy in June.

At present, there are no direct flights between India and Greece and passengers travel one stop via Gulf states or Turkey to Greece. In fact, there was no air services agreement between India and Greece till now thus preventing the start of air services between two countries.

The open skies agreement will allow airlines from India to operate unlimited number of flights to Greece while

Greek carriers have been granted unlimited traffic rights to six Indian metro cities. "Greece has become the first country to have an open sky agreement with India under the new policy," said

civil aviation secretary R N Choubey.

Prior to this, India had entered into an open skies agreement with the US and Britain. The open skies with Britain covers airports excluding London Heathrow.

According to the civil aviation policy, the government can enter into an 'open sky' air services agreement on a reciprocal basis with SAARC nations as well as countries with territory located entirely beyond a 5,000

kilometre radius from New Delhi.

Open sky beyond 5,000-km, even without any restrictions, will have very limited or no impact as there is very low demand for additional bilaterals on these routes, Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer, South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation had said last year.

Kaul added that European carriers had unused bilaterals and there was scope for limited growth on these routes." Further, carriers in Latin America, Africa and Australia were unlikely to show interest, he had said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

INDIA& THE WORLD

21.1. India, US sign military logistics agreement

Livemint | Aug. 30, 2016

Washington: The US and India signed an agreement on Monday governing the use of each other’s land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply, a step toward building defence ties as they seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China.

The agreement, a relatively mundane one concerning day-to-day military logistics, is nonetheless a milestone in the US-India defence relationship because of the outsized political importance it had taken on in India, where it had touched on domestic sensitivities, experts said.

The signing of the agreement will “make the logistics of joint operations so much easier and so much more efficient,” US defence secretary Ash Carter said in a news briefing with Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday.

The agreement will allow the Indian and US navies to have an easier time supporting each other in joint operations and exercises and when providing humanitarian assistance, Parrikar said.

Washington’s desire for deeper security cooperation with India had been complicated without the signing of the logistics agreement as well as two other pacts that would allow for secure communications and the exchange of nautical and other data. The agreements are considered routine between the US and its other defence partners.

But India has had concerns such an agreement would commit it to hosting US troops at its bases, or draw it into a military alliance with the US and undermine its traditional autonomy. Carter and Parrikar reached an agreement “in principle” in April, but had yet to finalise the details.

Carter has made closer military ties with India a priority, and established a special unit within the Pentagon last year to promote cooperation with that country. Parrikar’s visit to Washington this week marks the sixth interaction between the two top defence officials.

The signing of the logistics agreement indicates the priority the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi places on a closer defence relationship with the US, said Benjamin Schwartz, until last year the India country director at the Pentagon.

“For years, there has been tremendous misinformation put out into the Indian press about these agreements,” said Schwartz, now with the US-India Business Council, which promotes trade ties between the two countries. “What the signing of this shows is that the Modi government is willing to take and suffer the short-term political criticism of signing these things for the longer-term benefit of building the defence relationship with the US.”

Both Carter and Parrikar went to pains on Monday to make clear that the logistics agreement did not allow for basing of US troops in India.

“It’s not a basing agreement of any kind,” Carter said.

The debate over the logistics agreement had served as a vehicle for the distrust some of India’s political class has towards the US, said Shane Mason, a research associate at the Stimson Center. The US had previously imposed sanctions on India related to its 1998 nuclear test, although the sanctions were eased later.

“From the US perspective this was kind of a low hanging fruit,” Mason said. “We have logistic support agreements with many, many other countries and in most cases it’s a relatively uncontroversial thing.”

The US military has made clear it wants to do more with India, especially in countering China, which US officials say is risking stoking conflict through its claims in the South China Sea, a vital trade waterway.

Without naming China, both Carter and Parrikar mentioned the importance of the free flow of trade to both countries.

“India and the US have a shared interest in freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded commerce as part of rule-based order in (the) Indo-Pacific,” Parrikar said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

21.2. India, Myanmar sign four pacts, agree to cooperate on insurgency

Livemint Aug. 30, 2016

New Delhi: Security and connectivity issues dominated talks between Indian and Burmese leaders in New Delhi on Monday, with the countries signing two pacts to speed up construction of the Asian Trilateral Highway and agreeing to cooperate in efforts to fight insurgency.

The deals to expedite the construction of the trilateral highway, which aims to connect India with South-East Asia, along with another two agreements were signed after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Htin Kyaw of Myanmar.

India also offered full support and backing to the new government in Myanmar, installed in March this year, for its efforts to improve infrastructure.

Htin Kyaw is on a three-day visit to India, his first bilateral state visit after taking over as president in March at the head of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, seen as Myanmar’s first democratically elected government in five decades.

The visit follows Myanmar state councillor and foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to China earlier this month, during which China promised support for peace talks between Myanmar and rebels operating in the north of the country, bordering China.

Htin Kyaw’s trip to India also comes within a week of Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Naypyidaw for talks with her counterpart Suu Kyi—leading analysts to suggest that the new Burmese government is trying to balance its ties with its two large neighbours.

“My current visit to India is aimed at enhancing the traditional ties of friendship between the two governments,” Htin Kyaw said after talks with Modi.

“We thank the people of India for supporting our ongoing reform process and efforts to achieve peace and national reconciliation,” he said.

In his remarks, Modi said Myanmar was a “special” neighbour for India for many reasons, including the linkages of religion and culture, besides being a “land bridge that connects India with South-East Asia”. One connectivity pact signed on Monday provides for the construction of 69 bridges, including approach roads along the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa section of the trilateral highway in Myanmar. The second connectivity pact involves the construction and upgradation of the Kalewa-Yagyi road section, also part of the trilateral highway. The highway, which will connect India to Thailand through Myanmar, is now expected to be complete by 2020, as against the earlier planned 2017.

On Monday, Modi offered support to Myanmar’s new government for developing its priority areas, including agriculture, industry and infrastructure, besides strengthening education and skilling the youth as well as building new institutions.

On security and curbing insurgency, Modi said both countries recognized that their security concerns were closely intertwined.

“We agreed on the need to remain sensitive to each other’s strategic interests and concerns. To this end, the president and I agreed to work together for the safety and security of our people. And actively cooperate to combat the common challenges of terrorism and insurgent activity in our region,” Modi said.

India fully supports efforts by Myanmar to end long years of unrest in its north under the Panglong Conference initiative, Modi said. The reference was to negotiations with the people of the Kachin, Chin and Shan states that Suu Kyi was to hold this week.

India has been concerned about militant groups from its north-east taking shelter in Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh, as well as setting up bases there to mount attacks on India.

India shares a 1,640km border with Myanmar and has been raising the issue of several north-eastern militant outfits having training camps in Myanmar. One of the groups that India believes is based in Myanmar is the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN)’s Khaplang faction. India had signed a peace accord with a second NSCN faction in August last year.

Security concerns were key in India deciding to switch tracks and begin engaging with the military government in Myanmar in the mid-1990s after backing Suu Kyi in her fight for democracy till then. Suu Kyi, who was put under house arrest for many years, called India’s action “disappointing” when freed in 2011.

On Monday, Modi said India and Myanmar were also looking at a “long-term and mutually beneficial arrangement for trade in pulses”. And after supplying power to Tamu, India was willing to “substantially scale up” the supply of power to Myanmar, he said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

22. India among top M&A markets in Asia-Pacific: Study

Business Standard | Sep. 12, 2016

Pune: India is becoming an attractive investment market for inbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the Asia-Pacific, according to a report by Kroll and Mergermarket. The report points to a favourable economic and demographic conditions, plus an encouraging regulatory regime.

Since 2011, inbound transactions have trended up, and India's become a leading destination for global foreign direct investment, ahead of regional economic rival China, it said.

India attracted six per cent of all US outbound M&A transactions (deal volume) in 2015, surpassing the two per cent of outbound M&A directed at China that year as per the Kroll and Mergermarket report (the former is a global risk mitigation entity and the latter is a deal tracking one).

So far in 2016, India has continued to attract US interest, with $3.1 billion through 27 deals, compared to similar US investment in China at $1.3 bn and 13 deals.

“General sentiment among foreign investors for Indian investment opportunities remains strong, creating a bright outlook for inbound M&A through the rest of this year and into 2017. As the pipeline of deals grows, foreign investors are reminded to deploy a due-diligence process that is rigorous, comprehensive and truly independent - one that will assist them in making decisions with confidence and to be in a better position to protect such investments,” said Reshmi Khurana, head of South Asia for Kroll.

Against a backdrop of global volatility, widespread uncertainty and a fragile geopolitical situation in many regions, inbound deal flow in India has increased steadily. In 2015, inbound M&A totaled 227 deals worth $19.6 bn. In the first half of this calendar year, 82 deals worth close to $9 bn were announced, putting the country on track for another banner year of such investment.

Investment into India over the past two years has been led by the US, UK and Japan, which should instill further confidence in India -- all three countries are known for strong regulatory oversight, a culture of in-depth due-diligence and a business environment that seeks growth in international markets, said the report.

Given the country’s advantages, corporations globally are raising their exposure to India. Some are taking the organic route and building on-the-ground businesses from the bottom-up and through alliances. Others will remain more aggressive, inorganically expanding in the market but remaining cautious of a global slowdown, sluggish commodity prices and a deceleration in economic activity in key emerging markets.

"Numerous analysts suggest that India has potential to overtake China as India's growth appears to be accelerating while China's growth continues to slow down. In addition, India is expected to rebalance its growth from services driven sectors to export-oriented manufacturing and this, combined with the ongoing

removal of much of the bureaucratic red tape, will arguably drive further interest from foreign investors," said the report.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

23.1. Indian generics bringing down global price of hepatitis C drugs, finds WHO

HT Business | Sep. 12, 2016

New Delhi: India’s generic drug manufacturers have flooded the market with cheaper medicines to treat hepatitis C after Gilead Sciences Inc’s patent application was rejected in January 2015.

Thanks to domestic drugmakers, the world is looking to India to reduce the price of hepatitis C drug further. “By scaling up the production of generic medicines, India is playing a pivotal role globally in reducing the prices of medicines for hepatitis C,” said Henk Bekedam, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in India .

In Japan, one tablet of sofosbuvir costs Rs 30,000 and in India Rs 350, daclatasvir costs Rs 10,000 and Rs 135, and the combination drug of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir costs Rs 40,000 and Rs 500, respectively.

Sofosbuvir, daclatasvir, and ledipasvir are generic names of drugs used to treat hepatitis C. The virus can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure.

In India, 12 to 18 million people are infected by the disease.

WHO, which has sought fairer pricing of ‘unaffordable’ hepatitis C medicines in western nations, has lauded Indian drug makers for producing cheap drugs.

“No country in the world can afford to treat every patient, who has the potentially fatal liver disease hepatitis C, using new (patented) drugs that cure the condition,” WHO experts said.

Their investigation shows the drug treatment (using patented drugs) of all patients would be very expensive for countries.

It would amount to 10.5% of Netherlands’ annual drug budget, 190% for Poland, and 33% for the UK.

Some states, including Punjab, have negotiated with Indian generic companies and got the antivirals for $300-370 for a 12-week treatment.

Though the treatment is cheaper in India than that in the US or the UK, it is unaffordable for most people.

Natco and Hetero got the Drugs Controller General of India’s approval to launch the combination of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir, and daclatasvir in the second week of December, while Strides Shasun was allowed to make sofosbuvir.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

23.2. Sun Pharma partners Mitsubishi Tanabe to sell 14 prescription brands in Japan

Livemint | Sep. 07, 2016

Hyderabad: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, India’s largest drugmaker, on Tuesday said it has entered into a distribution agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. to market 14 prescription brands it acquired from Novartis AG in Japan this year.

“Under the alliance, following the transfer of manufacturing and marketing rights of Sun Pharma’s subsidiary in Japan, Mitsubishi will market and distribute all the 14 brands as well as provide information on their proper use to healthcare professionals,” Sun Pharma said in a statement.

Out of the 14 prescription brands, 11 will be re-launched by Sun Pharma-Mitsubishi in the Japanese market by the end of December, while the remaining three will hit the market next year.

“Through this alliance we have the opportunity to leverage Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation’s specialised expertise to create a strong business foundation for us in Japan,” said Isao Muramatsu, president and representative director, Sun Pharma Japan Ltd.

“Sun Pharma will focus on expanding its sales channels in Japan’s pharmaceutical market while continuing to

ensure a stable supply of medicines and healthcare information,” Muramatsu said.

Sun Pharma forayed into the Japanese market in March by acquiring 14 prescription brands from Novartis for $293 million.

Till date, Lupin Ltd is the only Indian pharmaceuticals company to have a presence in the Japanese generics market, which currently accounts for 12% of its annual revenue. Lupin has made two acquisitions in Japan: Tokyo-based I’rom Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd in 2011 and Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co. Ltd in 2007—and recently acquired 21 generic brands from Shionogi & Co. Ltd for $150 million.

An ageing population and mounting health costs have prompted the Japanese government to set a target of reaching 80% generic penetration by the end of the decade, bringing the domestic market under the radar of Indian pharmaceutical companies.

As per December 2015 data from IMS Health, the size of the Japanese pharmaceutical market was estimated at $73 billion, accounting for over 7% of the $1 trillion global pharmaceutical market, making it the second largest market for medicines after the US.

Shares of Sun Pharma rose 0.33% and were trading at Rs.784.65 at 10.17am on the BSE, while the benchmark Sensex index gained 0.97% to 28,807.96 points.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

24. Syngene sets up R&D lab for Amgen in Bengaluru

Livemint | Sep. 07, 2016

Hyderabad: Syngene International Ltd, the contract research services arm of Biocon Ltd, is setting up a drug discovery and development center in Bengaluru for Amgen Inc., a biotechnology company based in the US. Named Syngene Amgen Research and Development Center (SARC), will be Syngene’s fourth such exclusive research and development (R&D) center. It already operates dedicated R&D centers for international companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbott Nutrition and Baxter Inc.

“The state-of-the-art dedicated center will be staffed by a team of more than 100 highly qualified Syngene scientists, working in close association with Amgen researchers around the world on the discovery and development of innovative medicines,” Syngene said in a statement.

“In addition to being customized to meet Amgen’s functional requirements, the facility complies with the highest regulatory standards. Its design includes a range of environmentally-friendly features and flexible

layouts, and is configured to minimize solvent and effluent waste with a strong emphasis on laboratory safety and green chemistry,” the statement added.

Syngene has partnered with Amgen in a variety of discovery and development projects. With the establishment of SARC, this association now extends into a multi-discipline collaboration spanning capabilities in medicinal and process chemistry, biologics, bioprocess, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, bioanalytical research, and pharmaceutical development.

California-based Amgen is one of the world’s largest biotech companies. It had revenue of around $21.7 billion in 2015 and spends about 18% of it on R&D.

Syngene has managed to boost its client base to 256 from 221 a year earlier. Its top three clients—Bristol, Abbott and Baxter—account for around 40% of its revenue.

Syngene has committed to spend around $200 million on capital expenditure over the next three years as part of a broader plan to evolve from a contract research firm into a contract research and manufacturing services company with commercial-scale production capabilities.

Shares of Syngene dropped 0.18% to close at Rs.472.35 on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex gained 1.56% to end 28,978.02 points.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

25. How Churchill 'starved' India

Soutik Biswas | Thursday, 28 October 2010

It is 1943, the peak of the Second World War. The place is London. The British War Cabinet is holding meetings on a famine sweeping its troubled colony, India. Millions of natives mainly in eastern Bengal, are starving. Leopold Amery, secretary of state for India, and Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell, soon to be appointed the new viceroy of India, are deliberating how to ship more food to the colony. But the irascible Prime Minister Winston Churchill is coming in their way.

"Apparently it is more important to save the Greeks and liberated countries than the Indians and there is reluctance either to provide shipping or to reduce stocks in this country," writes Sir Wavell in his account of the meetings. Mr Amery is more direct. "Winston may be right in saying that the starvation of anyhow under-fed Bengalis is less serious than sturdy Greeks, but he makes no sufficient allowance for the sense of Empire responsibility in this country," he writes.

Some three million Indians died in the famine of 1943. The majority of the deaths were in Bengal. In a shocking new book, Churchill's Secret War, journalist Madhusree Mukherjee blames Mr Churchill's policies for being largely responsible for one of the worst famines in India's history. It is a gripping and scholarly investigation into what must count as one of the most shameful chapters in the history of the Empire.

The scarcity, Mukherjee writes, was caused by large-scale exports of food from India for use in the war theatres and consumption in Britain - India exported more than 70,000 tonnes of rice between January and July 1943, even as the famine set in. This would have kept nearly 400,000 people alive for a full year. Mr Churchill turned down fervent pleas to export food to India citing a shortage of ships - this when shiploads of Australian wheat, for example, would pass by India to be stored for future consumption in Europe. As imports dropped, prices shot up and hoarders made a killing. Mr Churchill also pushed a scorched earth policy - which went by the sinister name of Denial Policy - in coastal Bengal where the colonisers feared the Japanese would land. So authorities removed boats (the lifeline of the region) and the police destroyed and seized rice stocks. Mukherjee tracks down some of the survivors of the famine and paints a chilling tale of the effects of hunger and deprivation. Parents dumped their starving children into rivers and wells. Many took their lives by throwing themselves in front of trains. Starving people begged for the starchy water in which rice had been boiled. Children ate leaves and vines, yam stems and grass. People were too weak even to cremate their loved ones. "No one had the strength to perform rites," a survivor tells Mukherjee. Dogs and jackals feasted on piles of dead bodies in Bengal's villages. The ones who got away were men who migrated to Calcutta for jobs and women who turned to prostitution to feed their families. "Mothers had turned into murderers, village belles into whores, fathers into traffickers of daughters," writes Mukherjee.

The famine ended at the end of the year when survivors harvested their rice crop. The first shipments of barley and wheat reached those in need only in November, by which time tens of thousands had already perished. Throughout the autumn of 1943, the United Kingdom's food and raw materials stockpile for its 47 million people - 14 million fewer than that of Bengal - swelled to 18.5m tonnes.

In the end, Mukherjee writes eloquently, it was "not so much racism as the imbalance of power inherent in the social Darwinian pyramid that explains why famine could be tolerated in India while bread rationing was

regarded as an intolerable deprivation in wartime Britain". For colonial apologists, the book is essential reading. It is a terrifying account of how colonial rule is direly exploitative and, in this case, made worse by a man who made no bones of his contempt for India and its people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2010/10/how_churchill_starved_india.html

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Thursday 15 September 2016

NEWSLETTER, 20-IX-2016

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

– AGRICULTURE, FISHING and RURAL DEVELOPMENT

– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

– SERVICES (IT, R&D, Tourism, Healthcare, etc.)

NEWSLETTER, 20-IX-2016

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

– AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

– SERVICES (IT, R&D, Tourism, Healthcare, etc.)