India and the US will have more discussions in December on the investment treaty, aimed at providing a fillip to bilateral business ties, US Ambassador, Timothy J Roemer said. Talking to newspersons after a meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah at the Secretariat in Hyderabad, Roemer said the treaty was currently in “negotiations stage and the results would be seen in the months ahead as agreed upon.” “There was a large scope for foreign direct investment in infrastructure projects like construction of roads, bridges, establishing power grids and building power projects,” the envoy said. “There is something positive about the opportunities between India and the US. These will conclude in the months ahead.” The Ambassador said US President Barack Obama was looking forward to hosting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November. “The President is extremely excited and passionate about the relationship with India.

Reva may sport made-in-US tag

Bangalore - based electric carmaker , Reva Electric Car Company may become India’s first auto company to make its vehicles in the US, by assembling its next generation NXR smart car in New York. Reva has roped in a New York-based electric carmaker Bannon Automotive, in a joint venture to assemble its three-door plug-in hatchback, banking on emerging demand for environmentfriendly cars.

The proposed JV is expected to see an investment of over $38 million with $11.6 million funding coming from the local New York State as incentives for the ecofriendly project. It is likely to set up America’s first assembly plant for electric cars. Talks are on to license the technology that can open new revenue stream for the company.

HAL wins contract to supply flaperons for Boeing 777

State-owned aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed an agreement with Boeing to supply flaperons for the Boeing’s 777 series commercial jetliners. It is understood that HAL will supply 600 units of flaperons to Boeing, which will be delivered in phases by 2019. Indian carriers have already ordered a total of 36 Boeing 777s. This includes 23 from Air India and 13 from Jet Airways. The 777 flaperon is a complex composite assembly that is instrumental in controlling the airplane’s maneuverability in flight. Referred to as a ‘control surface’, flaperons work both as an aileron to control roll and as a flap to control lift. “HAL and Boeing share a very special relationship. Showcasing HAL’s composite manufacturing capability on one of the world’s premier long-haul commercial jets positions us for even greater opportunities at the forefront of technology,” Soundara Rajan, Director, Corporate Planning & Marketing, HAL said.

Boeing’s relationship with HAL dates back to 1991. Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said, “The composite 777 flaperon that HAL will produce represents a significant leap forward in technological capability, and supports Boeing’s strategy to work in partnership with India’s aerospace industry for the long-term.”

Pfizer scans India for shopping options

Pfizer has approached several Indian drug makers for possible alliances as a part of its moves to try and bolster revenues threatened by the expiry of patents on key blockbuster drugs in the next three years. The $48-billion US drug maker has tapped Zydus Cadila, Emcure, Intas Pharma and Mankind Pharma, but the Indian companies have not responded favorably to offers by the world’s largest drug maker. While the US firm has approached some of these companies directly, it chose to send feelers to the rest.

Some of Pfizer’s blockbuster drugs, including cholesterol fighting drug Lipitor which accounts for a quarter of its sales, and erectile dysfunction pill Viagra that contributes $2 billion annually to its revenues, are set to go off-patent in the next three years, exposing the company to competition from cheaper copycat versions of these drugs.

Indian companies that sell generic versions of off-patent blockbuster drugs could help the New York-based firm grab a share of the growing generics market. Indian firms have made their presence felt in most of the biggest markets in the world, including the US and Europe. Pfizer is ranked among the top 15 pharma companies in India’s highly fragmented Rs 36,000-crore drug retail market with a share of around 2%.
Pfizer has already linked several deals with Indian firms in the recent past. It succeeded in acquiring one of them, the veterinary business of RFCL, a Delhi-based company owned by ICICI Ventures for around $75 million. It also sealed two drug-supply agreements with Claris Lifesciences and Aurobindo. Globally, Pfizer is in the process of consummating a $68-billion deal with Wyeth. Following Pfizer’s merger with Wyeth in India, the combined entity will have surplus cash of over Rs 1,000 crore.

7Seas Tech ties up with Intel for Kraze game

7Seas Technologies Limited, a Hyderabad-based game development company, has collaborated with Intel to reach out to new gaming customers. Through the tie up, 7Seas’ multi-genre PC racing game ‘Kraze’ will be made available on Intel’s Business Exchange (BX), an online technology marketplace, from next month. Through Intel BX, gaming customers from India will be able to evaluate and purchase Kraze for playing on Intel processor-based PCs and the game has been certified by Intel as ‘Runs Best on Intel Core2 Duo’. Through this initiative, 7Seas’ Kraze will be available to consumers online as well as offline. “This agreement is important for 7Seas’ strategic entry in India for the growth of its online sales,” L Maruti Sanker, managing director of 7Seas, said in a press release. Intel BX is designed for small and medium businesses and consumers to help them discover innovative solutions and leading software applications featuring Intel technology. Those accessing the site can research products and services, request for quotes and get free trials. Resources include product descriptions, interactive demonstrations, whitepapers, case studies and user-submitted product ratings and reviews. Developed with an investment of $500,000 Kraze includes various racing modes like off-road, rally, Formula One and street races.

India to lead global recovery rally; signs of rebound by March

India is expected to lead the global recovery rally as companies in the region are likely to witness significant improvement in their position as early as March next year, says a survey. According to the Regus Business Tracker survey, Indian firms are expected to see signs of recovery by March 2010 — the most optimistic of the 15 countries surveyed, far surpassing the global average. “The relatively positive prediction from Indian firms has to be tempered with an element of caution, with astute firms remaining tightly controlled in the beginning of next year,” Regus’ Country Head Madhusudan Thakur said. The survey pointed out that developed countries like Germany and the US are likely to see economic recovery by August next year, while the UK would witness rebound by September 2010. The findings of the survey indicate that companies would need to maintain their cost management strategies into the New Year and structure any major investments to catch the wave of mid-year global recovery.

Global airlines set sights on Indian skies to fly high

Despite the downturn in the global aviation market, international carriers such as Malaysia-based AirAsia and Dubai-based FlyDubai are looking at India to expand their networks. These carriers are going the whole hog to expand by attracting Indian fliers to fly low cost. Industry experts say India is a huge market with a slice of decent share for each player and hence new players are optimistic about the opportunities they can tap in India. AirAsia, which has been flying to Trichi since last year, is going to launch direct flights to Kolkata, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram from Kuala Lumpur in November. The carrier has also announced all-inclusive fares beginning at Rs 1,499. Similarly, FlyDubai plans to expand at a faster pace in India until 2011. The carrier has already sought permission to operate to destinations such as Chandigarh, Coimbatore and Lucknow. Not lagging behind is a veteran like Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, which has been operating in India for the past 55 years and has announced attractive holiday packages starting at Rs 43,241 to woo consumers here. Samara Capital principal consultant Raj Halve said, India has a growth story with consumers ready to spend on their travel. Being a developing country, airline operators find a huge potential to enhance revenues. Second, there is a huge chunk of Indian travelers visiting either South East Asia or the Gulf region frequently. By flying a huge number of tourists into their country, it has a multiplying effect on the GDP of that country since tourist spending is high when they visit those countries. These carriers are aiming to optimize revenues from India operations by securing high load factors. Analysts say international carriers believe that the longterm prospects of the Indian economy are very strong and this will drive demand for air travel in future.

India tops with US in solar power

India country has emerged as the world’s number one, along with United States, in annual solar power generation. In wind power production, India ranks fifth in the world. And when it comes to space, scope and facilities for renewable energy expansion, India ranks fourth in the world. McKinsey & Company, in its survey ended in May 2009, has stated that India has one of the world’s highest solar intensities with an annual solar energy yield of 1,700 to 1,900 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak (kWh/KWp) of the installed capacity.

This is similar to the US and Hawaii, the two other countries which have been ranked first along with India. After India, US (mainly California state), Hawaii and Spain are the largest solar power producers with 1,500 to 1,600 kWh/KWp followed by Italy, Australia , China, Japan and Germany.

Similarly, in the BP statistical review of world energy, India has been ranked as fifth in the world. While United States contributes 20.7% of the total wind energy in the world, Germany produces 19.6%, followed by Spain (14%), India (8%), China (6%) and Denmark (3%).

According to Ernst & Young’s renewable energy country attractiveness indices, which ranks countries based on regulatory environment, fiscal support, unexploited resources, suitability to different technologies and other factors determining renewable energy growth in a country, India maintains a ranking within the top five countries in the world.

Besides solar and wind, India’s index for development of renewable energy resources in hydropower sector is the fourth topmost in the world after US, Germany and China. Similarly, the country’s development index in biomass is ranked third in the world after US and Germany. Countries like Italy, UK, France, Canada and Australia lag behind India in this world index.

“This implies enormous potential in energy generation running into several hundred Giga Watts with current solar technologies. As the cost of building solar capacity continues to fall over the next five to 10 years, a significant scale-up of solar generation (in multiples of tens of GW) is a very realistic possibility in India,’’ the McKinsey report stated.

It further reveals that India’s biomass potential could be as high as 70 Giga Watts, bagasse 5 GW and agro-waste 18 GW. Use of wasteland for growing feedstock (woody biomass) is another potential source of biomass and a program to cultivate such crops like poplars and cottonwoods on just a quarter of country’s 80 million hectares of degraded land, it could generate 45 to 50 GW of power.

The Ernst & Young’s report stated that India’s gross renewable energy potential (up to 2032) is estimated at 220 GW. “Clearly, with a renewable energy capacity of 14.8 GW i.e, 9.7% of the total installed generation capacities of 150 GW (as on June 30, 2009), India has barely scratched the surface of a huge opportunity. However, given that in the last couple of years itself, the share of renewable energy in installed capacity has grown from 5% to 9.7%, India is definitely looking to make up for the lost time rapidly,’’ stated the report.

[ BY LAVANYA GARIKINA ]