india newsletter 03.2013

India Newsletter | 1

INDIA NEWSLETTERPublished by the Embassy of India, Vienna

Year 3 | Issue 27 | March 2013

Featured IndustryMEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

2 | India Newsletter

News

QUICK FACTSSnapshot of last month’s Highlights

Sugar production in India touched 13.75 million tonnes (MT) during

October-December 2012.

The luxury mar-ket in India is

expected to touch US$ 15 billion by FY 2015.Oilmeal exports from India regis-

tered an increase of 40 per cent to record 767,646 tonnes in January 2013.

Foreign institu-tional investors

(FIIs) have invest-ed over US$ 7 bil-lion in equities so far in 2013.With over 40 million smart-

phone users in the country, India has almost 50 per cent of the users younger than 25 years.

Indian exports stood at US$

25.58 billion in Jan-uary 2013.India’s quick-service restaurant in-

dustry is expected to touch US$ 5.6 billion by 2020.

The ready-to-drink tea and

coffee market in In-dia is expected to touch US$ 400 mil-lion in next 4 years.

The eight core industries have a combined weight of 37.90 per

cent in the Index of Industrial Produc-tion (IIP). The core industries grew by 3.3 per cent during April-December 2012.

The Government of India has al-

lotted 185 grid con-nected solar pow-er plants of 1,172 megawatt (MW) aggregate capacity in the last 3 years.Oil and Natural Gas Corpora-

tion (ONGC) of India has set a world record by drilling at water depth of 3,165 meters (10,385 feet).

The Indian mi-crofinance in-

dustry, the largest in the world, is ex-pected to increase by 20 p.c. in 2013.India Inc has projected an average

salary increase of 10.3 per cent in the country during 2013.

India has emerged as one of the

leading countries in the semiconduc-tor design, with 23 of the top 25 MNCs having their design centres in India.

Investments by foreign insti-

tutional inves-tors (FII) in India touched a record high at Rs 147,268.2 crore (US$ 27.2 bil-lion) so far in FY 2012-13.Public sector banks in India plan to

open more than 60,000 ATMs in

rural areas during the next two years.

Private equity (PE) invest-

ments into the In-dian logistics sec-tor saw 43 per cent growth in 2012 to touch US$ 280.87 million.The India PC shipments stood at

11 million units for calendar year

2012.

The index for the Indian manu-

facturing sector stood at 54.2 points in February 2013.


The IndIAn eConomIC SUrvey 2012-13 Snapshot of the Results

mInISTerIAL vISIT To AUSTrIAIndia-Austria News

AUSTrIAn SpITz LAUnCheS ‘power horSe’ In IndIAIndia-Austria News

Articles

The Indian economy grew at 5.0 per cent in 2012-13 and is expected to grow at 6.1-6.7 per cent in the

next fiscal year. Manufacturing and Ser-vices sector have registered impressive gains. The Survey reports that the servic-es sector registered a growth rate of 6.6 per cent while the manufacturing sector growth rate was 1.9 per cent in 2012-13.

The main highlights of the survey are:

• Indian Economy grew at 5.0 per cent in 2012-13 and is expected to grow at 6.1-6.7 per cent in next fiscal year

• Prioritisation of expenditure key in-gredient of credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan

• India likely to meet fiscal deficit tar-get of 5.3 per cent of GDP in 2012-13

• Overall industrial performance, as reflected by the index of industrial production (IIP) showcased growth of 2.1 per cent in Q3 of 2012-13

• WPI inflation to decline to 6.2-6.6 per cent in March 2013

• Cumulative exports recorded during 2012-13 (April-December) stood at Rs 1,166,439 crore (US$ 217.09 bil-lion), registering a growth of 9.4 per cent

• Imports in 2012-13 (April-Decem-ber) at Rs 1,967,522 crore (US$ 366.20 billion) registered a growth of 29.4 per cent

• Foreign exchange (Forex) reserves stood at US$ 295.6 billion at end December 2012

• Services sector grew by 6.6 per cent, its share in gross domestic product (GDP) goes upto 56.5 per cent

• Manufacturing sector registered a growth rate of 1.9 per cent in 2012-13

• Foreign trade performance to re-main a key driver of growth

• Central Government spending on social services went up to 13.04 per cent this fiscal (2012-13) from 11.06 per cent in 2007-08

• Net capital flows stood at US$ 39.3 billion in the first half of 2012-13

• India’s external debt stock stood at US$ 365.3 billion at end September 2012

Hon’ble Minister of State for External Af-fairs Ms. Preneet Kaur led the Indian del-egation at the 5th Global Forum for UN Alliance of Civilizations held in Vienna on 27-28 February 2013. The Forum was jointly inaugurated by the UN Secretary General and Austrian Vice Chancellor and Minister for European and Interna-tional Affairs Michael Spindelegger. She also held bilateral discussions with the Austrian Minister on issues of mutual in-terest.

Power Horse, an energy drink from the stable of the Austrian company, Spitz KG, has been launched in South India. At a media conference to mark the occasion, Mr Franz J. Krispel, Chief Executive Of-ficer, Power Horse west Asia, said, “Pow-er Horse is a new product here, a new segment that we are trying to open. We need to educate people in India about energy drinks.”

Power Horse is a non-alcoholic drink that contains Taurine and Glucurono-lactone (amino acids), caffeine and vita-mins. A company release said that Power Horse is highly recommended for ath-letes and sports people. A 250 ml can

has an energy value of 112.5 kilo calories. Mr Krispel emphasised that the Austrian health authorities had cleared the drink.

Power Horse is imported by the Chen-nai-based Maluram Enterprises for distri-bution. The drink is available at a price of Rs 96 for a 250 ml can.

On the pricing strategy, Mr Krispel said “we don’t want to target everybody; the product is made for a special group.” The officials said that the product did not con-tain any ingredient of animal origin. Offi-cials from Maluram Enterprises said that, at present, a Port Health Officer checks the contents of the imported drinks and certifies that it is good for consumption.

They declined to forecast volume over

the near future in the light of inadequate

data on the market size. Globally, as well

as in India, Red Bull is the chief competi-

tor for Power Horse.


Articles

India successfully launched PSLV- C20 from the Satish Dhawan Space Cen-tre, Sriharikota on 25th February

2013. The launch placed the second Indo-French satellite ‘SARAL’ in orbit. Six other nano-satellites including TUG-SAT-1/BRITE and UniBRITE from Austria, NEOSsat and Sapphire from Canada, STRaND-1 from UK and AAUSAT-3 from Denmark were also placed in the space during this mission.

The launch of the Austrian satellites was coordinated by the Institute of Commu-nication Networks and Satellite Com-munications of the Graz University of

Technology. The purpose of the BRITE-AUSTRIA / TUGSAT-1 project, funded by the Austrian Space Program, is the de-velopment of the first Austrian satellite. The scientific goal of this nano-satellite mission is the investigation of the bright-ness oscillations of massive luminous stars by differential photometry. The sci-entific instrument is an optical camera with a high-resolution CCD to take im-ages from distant stars with magnitude of 3.5.The spacecraft has a size of 20 x 20 x 20 cm and weights 7 kg. It carries three computers: instrument processor, house-keeping and attitude control computer.

About 6 W of electrical power will be generated by solar cells. The telemetry operates in the science S-band for the downlink and in the UHF band for the uplink. In addition, a VHF beacon is pro-vided. The data rate lies between 32 to 256 kbit/s and the typical daily downlink volume amounts to 2 Mbyte.

Communication Antenna and ground control station are located in Graz/Styria

The Graz University of Technology has confirmed that the First successful con-tact was established with the TUGSAT-1/BRITE satellite at 4:41pm, during its first orbital pass over Graz.

Come early 2014 Bajaj Auto will be the first Indian automobile company whose made in India

motorcycle will burn rubber in the US.

The Indian motorcycle giant will maufac-ture a street bike for its partner KTM AG, the Austrian bike maker in which it has a over 47 stake for the US. KTM till now has been selling only off-road bikes in this market.

These, stylish, high performance and race-oriented KTM Duke 390s would be made in Chakan, Pune plant owned by Bajaj Auto.

Stefan Pierer, chief executive, KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG, in an interview to Business Standard says, “It is a strategic decision together with Bajaj to go for sporty, stylish motorcycles even for the saturated markets because cars have be-come too expensive. We are entering the street bike segment in the US for the first time and beginning next year the Duke 390 built in India by Bajaj will be sold in the US market.”

The US is the world’s biggest market for high-end super bikes (above 990cc). However, due to the on-going financial crises consumers are downtrading to suit themselves with more affordable, ef-ficient and easy-on-pocket products.

The Duke 390, which prior to the US will be launched in Europe by the middle of this year followed by India, is the result of the joint development program by engi-neers of Bajaj and KTM.

The concept of the Duke 390 was de-veloped in Austria but everything else including design and development to the final product was done in India by Bajaj Auto.

Bajaj Auto which owns stake in KTM has successfully launched two models – Duke 200 and Duke 125 – built and sold in In-dia and exported to Europe and other markets.

These small displacement street bikes, which are very peppy by character are ideal for urban commuting especially in saturated markets such as the US and Eu-rope with increasing demand, adds Pierer. So far no Indian company has been able to set foot in the US automotive mar-ket which is widely considered to be the most toughest market.

“What we are talking about is a very powerful (40-44bhp) yet affordable bike, 138kg, so its real powerful agile bike and based on the target price of around Euro 5,000, including VAT, we think it could be a very big success”, added Pierer.

Riding high on such India-made smaller bikes KTM achieved its set target of de-throning German giant BMW last year to become Europe’s largest bike maker with sales of 107,000 as against BMW’s 106,000 units.

The plan forward is to rapidly ramp up production from India and simultaneous-ly hunt for newer markets in ASEAN re-gion and in the Latin American markets.

In some markets of Asia, Bajaj Auto has a

strong network of its own while in other

areas it taps into resources of its other

partner Kawasaki. Similarly the Pune-

based India’s second biggest bike produc-

er has a strong infrastructure in the Latin

American areas.

Pierer expects to do a multi-fold in-

crease in production from Chakan to at

least 100,000 units per year from 17,000

units as of last year, in the next five years.

This will also be exactly half of what KTM

is expected to produce globally by that

time.

“In all we will produce 200,000 in five

years of which 100,000 will come from

India. We expect 10,000 units sales from

the Duke 390 from Europe and the US.

India and other regions will be addition-

al”, added Pierer.

For India KTM has committed a new

model launch every six months. While

the Duke 390 is slated to hit Bajaj-ap-

pointed KTM showrooms later this year,

a full faired version of the existing Duke

200 and later a full faired version of the

Duke 390 will also come in

IndIA LAUnChed AUSTrIA’S FIrST Two SATeLLITeSIndia-Austria News

IndIo-AUSTrIAn bIKeS To bUrn rUbber In The USIndia-Austria News


Articles

India is the 19th largest exporter with a share of 1.7 per cent in the world-wide merchandise trade, Parliament

was informed. On the other hand, the country is the 12th largest importer with a share of 2.5 per cent in 2011.

“As per WTO’s International Statis-tics, 2012, in merchandise trade, India is 19th largest exporter in the world with a share of 1.7 per cent and 12th largest importer with a share of 2.5 per cent

in 2011,” Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

In commercial services, the country is the eighth largest exporter in the world with a share of 3.3 per cent and the sev-enth largest importer with a share of 3.1 per cent, he said.

Due to the global demand slowdown, the country’s overseas shipment during the April-January period of 2012-13 shrunk

by 4.86 per cent to $ 239.6 billion.

The Minister said that exports played an important role in the economic develop-ment of countries and the government has regularly undertaken various policy measures to boost exports.

Recently, the government has extended a 2 per cent interest subsidy scheme for la-bour intensive sectors till March 2014, he said. “Increase in exports generates more employment in the country,” he added.

A declining inflation rate for the fourth consecutive month has boosted India’s economic confi-

dence.

Besides the decline in inflation rate, which stood at 6.62% in January, positive investor confidence was another factor that stoked the country’s economic con-fidence, according to a report by global research firm Ipsos.

According to the “Ipsos economic pulse of the world” survey, India’s economic confidence shot up by 8 points to 68% in the month of January 2013 compared to the month of December 2012, making it the second most economically confident country in the world after Saudi Arabia.

“Shedding its 9-month long hawkish mon-etary policy stance, the Reserve Bank of India slashed its key interest rates by 0.25% taking cognisance of the modera-tion in demand side pressures to inflation and greater than anticipated slowdown in growth. Easing of policy rates will bring in additional liquidity into the system to perk up growth through reduced cost of borrowing,” said Mick Gordon, CEO of Ipsos in India.

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by re-search professionals.

“The year 2013 is likely to see revival in the industrial activity and modest recov-ery in the services sector which would

support recovery in growth levels. The pace of economic reforms that has been initiated must continue uninhibited and it needs to be effectively implemented so that it translates into tangible investment decisions,” said Gordon.

As per the study, 45% of Indian citizens believe their local economy which im-pacts their personal finance is good, a marginal rise of 1 point and an optimistic 53% people expect that the economy in their local area will be stronger in next six months.

The online Ipsos economic pulse of the world survey was conducted in Decem-ber 2012 among 18,008 people in 24 countries.

A comparison of the services per-formance of the top 15 countries for the 11 year period from 2001

to 2011 shows that the increase in share of services in GDP is the highest for In-dia with 8.1 percentage points. These 15 top countries include major developed countries alongwith Brazil, Russia, India and China. While China’s highest services compound annual growth rate (CAGR) stood at 11.1%, India’s very high CAGR of 9.2% was second highest and also ac-companied by highest change in its share. This is a reflection of the fact that India’s growth has been powered mainly by the services sector.

India’s services sector has emerged as a prominent sector in terms of its con

tribution to national and state incomes,

trade flows, FDI inflows and employ-

ment. For more than a decade the sec-

tor has been pulling up the growth of

Indian economy with great stability. The

share of services in India’s GDP at factor

cost (at current prices) increased from

33.3% (1950-1951) to 56.5% in 2012-13,

as per advance estimates. Including con-

struction, this would increase to 64.8%.

With 18%, trade, hotels and restaurants

are the largest contributors to GDP

among the various sub sectors. This is fol-

lowed by financing, insurance, real estate

and business services with 16.6% share.

Community, social, and personal services

with 14% share stand in the third place.

This is followed by construction at fourth

place with 8.2% share.

In 2011-12, although the growth of

“trade” sub-sector decelerated to 6.5%,

its share improved to 16.6%. The share

of the sub-sector “transport by other

means” was 5.4%, while its growth was

8.6%. Banking and insurance was the

most dynamic sector in 2011-12 with

growth of 13.2%. “Other services” had a

share of 7.9% in 2010-11 and 2011-12. It

grew at 6.5% in 2011-12.

IndIA:19Th LArgeST exporTer In worLdIndia’s Foreign Trade

IndIA SeCond moST eConomICALLy ConFIdenT CoUnTryBy Ipsos Study

IndIA hAS hIgheST InCreASe In ShAre oF ServICeS In gdpBy Press Information Bureau


Articles

It was precisely two years ago that Car-los Ghosn targeted India as Renault’s 11th largest market by end-2013. The

French automaker’s Chairman and CEO had outlined a strategic plan, ‘Drive the Change’, in which he reiterated that Bra-zil and Russia, along with India, would be the growth engines of the future.

Last month, Ghosn announced that Re-nault had, for the first time, generated 50 per cent of its sales, totalling over 2.5 mil-lion vehicles, outside Europe. What was even more interesting was that Brazil, Russia and Argentina were among its top five markets.

There was no direct reference to India though it has been in 10th position for some months now, a slot higher than what was envisioned two years ago.

Focus shift

Clearly, Renault will increasingly look at emerging markets, with Europe still see-ing a free fall. Its 2012 numbers in France were down 13 per cent while Italy’s fall

was a lot sharper at 21 per cent and Spain as alarming, at 15 per cent.

In contrast, Russia was up 11 per cent while India was equally impressive with nine per cent growth. Brazil and Mexico grew six and nine per cent each while Ja-pan surged 27 per cent.

Ghosn had also indicated that this year would see Renault focusing on expan-sion in Brazil and Russia while working on a revival plan in Korea. China, he said, was the ‘new frontier’ and India would capitalise on its remarkable turnaround momentum.

While there was no specific reference to Europe, auto industry observers believe it will be unpredictable, which means Re-nault’s sales in the region could fall below 50 per cent globally.

The Duster has been the best thing that happened to the company in India, with the order backlog estimated at over 30,000 potential customers. In 2011, Renault had just parted ways with Ma-

hindra & Mahindra for the Logan project and started operations in Chennai with global ally, Nissan.

It launched the Fluence and Koleos, fol-lowed quickly by the Pulse before the Duster caught the eye of the market and gave the company a huge boost.

Compact car

Will India’s ranking climb further in the Renault roadmap? The next big thing, due towards 2015, is the global compact car, which will be part of the premium hatch-back segment. This is a project spear-headed by Gerard Detourbet, referred to as the father of the company’s entry-car programmes.

If everything goes according to plan, In-dia will be a critical global hub for the car along with Brazil, Russia and, perhaps, another country in the Asean region. In the process, it could perhaps end up be-ing one of Renault’s top five markets by 2015-16.

US coffee chain Starbucks, which opened its seventh store in the country on Wednesday, expects

India to be among the top five global mar-kets for the company in the long term.

John Culver, President, Starbucks Cof-fee China and Asia Pacific, said, “We are committed to the Indian market for the long term and we are looking to grow our business aggressively, expand stores, make investments and offer locally rel-evant innovations.”

He did not specify the company’s expan-sion plans or investment figures but said that India is expected to be among the top five global markets of the company in the long term.

This is the company’s flagship store in New Delhi. It already has presence in the NCR region through two stores at the Delhi International Airport, besides four stores in Mumbai.

Starbucks entered the Indian market in October 2012, and its stores operate under a 50:50 joint venture partnership between Starbucks Coffee Co and Tata

Global Beverages called Tata Starbucks Ltd.

He also said that the company was com-mitted to ethically sourcing and roasting coffee through its partnership with Tata Coffee to elevate the story of the Indian coffee farmer, a unique initiative being un-dertaken in India.

The store at Delhi reflected examples of Indian craft of weaving and sported hand-icrafts made by local artists. The company has kept the Indian palette in mind as the menu includes Indian cuisine like Murg Makhani Pie, Mutton Seek in Roomali Roti, besides also offering Tata Tazo tea which is a co-branded product under its partnership with Tata Global Beverages.

On future locations that have been identified for opening new stores, Avani Saglani Davda, CEO, Tata Starbucks, said India offers diverse growth opportunities and the company will thoughtfully open stores in locations, “where customers want and expect us to be.”

IndIA poISed To emerge Key growTh engIne For renAULTThe India Opportunity

STArbUCKS expeCTS IndIA To be Among Top 5 gLobAL mArKeTSThe India Opportunity


Articles

In 2012, India topped the list of nations with skilled employees ‘Down Under’, said Lachlan Strahan, acting Australian

High Commissioner.

With 30,000 migrants, Indians constitut-ed a fifth of all the migrants to Australia last year, he said at a press conference, adding, “We are looking at skilled em-ployees from a wide range of profession-als as well as business people.”

In Hyderabad as part of the Oz Festival

events during the weekend, Strahan said tourism between the two countries was growing along with bilateral trade. While 190,000 Australians travelled to India last year, about 160,000 Indians visited Aus-tralia. In answer to a question, he said there were a total of 4.3 lakh Indians in Australia.

The Oz Festival, which was launched on October 16, 2012, with a glittering show in Delhi’s Purana Qila, has run over a hundred events in 18 locations in an ef-

fort to go beyond ‘Cricket, Common-wealth and English (common language)’ and create more bridges between the two nations, said David Holly, Consul General for South India. The two-way trade touched $20 billion last year, with India’s contribution being $11 billion. The expectations are that it will double in the next five years. Australia came up with a White Paper in 2012, which puts India as one of the top five countries for trade and relations.

Sweden and India will sign a mem-orandum of understanding for sustainable urban development

sometime in March or April, accord-ing to Counsellor, Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Embassy of Sweden, Karl Edberg.

The agreement would be signed with the Union Ministry of Urban Development. “Once it is signed, it will be open for the entire country. Each city can utilise it to generate energy from waste in a sustain-

able manner and use the biogas generat-ed for urban transport,” Mr. Edberg said.

The Swedish Counsellor was here lead-ing a 15-member delegation that includ-ed representatives of Swedish Energy Agency and businessmen to participate in deliberations with officials of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation on solid waste management. He said cur-rently a waste-to-energy project was go-ing on in collaboration with Indraprastha Gas Ltd and it would close this year.

The biogas produced can be upgraded to CNG, he said. “Sweden has a proven technology for it,” he said. Delhi has 34 sewage treatment plants and 16 sites.

The technology can be adopted for solid waste management by any city, he said. The gains of switching over from fossil fuels to CNG could be immense in terms of reducing pollution and bringing down fuel import.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Railways, Govern-

ment of India and the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF), the French National Railways, for Techni-cal cooperation in the field of Railways. The MoU was signed by Shri Vinay Mit-tal, Chairman, Railway Board, from Indian side and Mr G.Pepy, Chairman and CEO SNCF from the French side. The MoU was signed in the presence of H.E. Fran-cois Hollande, the President of France.

Four areas of cooperation have been identified in the MoU. These are:

1. High speed and semi-high speed rail;

2. Station renovation and operations;

3. Modernisation of current operations and infrastructure;

4. Suburban trains.

Under the High Speed Cooperation Programme, the Parties have decided to carry out jointly an ‘operations and development’ feasibility project on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail.

This project will be funded by SNCF with a support from the French Ministry of Finance.

The MoU is valid for a period of 5 years and is extendable by 1 year with mutual consent. Specific cooperation projects would be undertaken under the MoU as agreed by both the parties.

The French delegation led by SNCF Chairman Mr G. Pepy visited Central Railway and Western Railway installations in Mumbai on15.2.2013 and held meet-ings with the Railway officials

Denmark is setting up an innova-tion centre in Bangalore, extend-ing the co-operation between

the two countries to address the talent shortage and innovate frugally. This is ex-pected to be operational by September. “India, with its ability to develop low-cost

applications and technologies, can be the gateway to Africa. This is a just small step, but we hope for an extended col-laboration with Indian corporates and institutions…,” said Danish Ambassador to India, Freddy Svane. It would recruit about eight people — six from India and

two from Denmark — for the innovation centre. Denmark is also inviting Indian firms to set up operations in the country. At present, the Nordic country’s trade with India is just one per cent of its total trade and largely comprises pharmaceu-tical products.

IndIA TopS LIST oF SKILLed mIgrAnTS To AUSTrALIAIndian Expertise Worldwide

Sweden, IndIA To SIgn pACT For UrbAn deveLopmenTInternational

IndIA And FrAnCe SIgn moU In rAILwAy SeCTorInternational

denmArK To SeT Up CenTre In bAngALoreInternational


While there is little doubt that the power sector has a bright future, challenges like low

fuel availability, rising fuel prices and weak financial health of state electricity boards are daunting. The grid collapse on 30 and 31 July 2012 has reinforced the need to address the issues being faced by the power sector on an urgent basis and has resulted in a growing chorus for power sector reforms ever since.

The rising price of coal, its transportation and low domestic fuel availability pose a great challenge on providing electricity to the end consumer at affordable rates. Acute shortage of coal is keeping power plants on tenterhooks as supply contin-ues to struggle to keep pace with de-mand because of productivity problems, logistics and environmental concerns. According to the latest figures of the CEA, as many as 52 power plants have a “critical” level of coal stock of less than seven days of which 35 power plants have stock for less than four days (as against the normal levels of 20 and 30 days). The gas based power plants are reach-ing “critical” position in terms of PLF and

are operating at poor heat rates due to shortage of gas.

There is an urgent need to launch reforms to accelerate coal and gas development. Regulators and policy makers need to fo-cus even more to bring in better govern-ance. With respect to the issue of use of high price imported coal, reforms such as the ‘Coal Pooling Formula’ for coal pric-ing has been suggested by policy makers which should get sorted out one way or the other. Regulatory commissions may consider approving a fuel mix to allow a certain minimum amount of blending of imported coal by generators so as to ensure energy security and at the same time prevent a situation of sudden over-dependence on imported coal in future. Energy (conversion) efficiency through adoption of new technologies, advanced maintenance and operation techniques will also play a key role in solving the fuel problem for eg efficient super-critical technology based coal plants and ad-vanced combined-cycle gas plants.

The rising fuel cost is compounding the problem of poor financial health of SEBs which has become a major concern

for banks and financial institutions. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs recently approved a major debt restruc-turing scheme for SEBs. There is another silver lining in the recent proactiveness observed in the Regulatory Commis-sions’ tariff orders wherein successive hikes in retail tariffs have been given to distribution companies so as to move closer towards cost reflective tariffs. The bailout package along with recent signifi-cant tariff hikes should help SEBs come out of the financial mess gradually.

However, beyond the onetime cleanup, regulations need to ensure that distribu-tion companies don’t accumulate new unserviceable debts. While retail tariffs should remain in tandem with costs, the Discoms must also ensure that AT&C losses are brought down to reduce the cost per unit billed. Electricity demand for many is highly price elastic; when AT&C losses come down and everyone pays for their usage, prudence in con-sumption is bound to set in.

On the policy front, discussions are cur-rently underway to finalise the power procurement methodology for Discoms and it is likely that going forward, power procurement bids will be fuel source spe-cific which hitherto was never a fair play with power projects using different fuel sources competing on a single tariff num-ber. At the same time, fuel costs are most likely to be fully passed through and gen-eration projects would have to compete based on the ‘Best Convertor’ evaluation, which means innovative financing, equip-ments costs, and equipment efficiency in terms of fuel consumption, collectively termed as ‘Conversion Cost’ will be the evaluation criteria and this will encour-age innovation on these fronts. This is surely a welcome step for future bidding guidelines.

Renewable energy no more remains a futuristic segment and is fast becoming a mainstay. However, a few issues need quick resolution for large scale devel-opment of renewable energy projects. Under the Generation Based Incentive (GBI) scheme for wind power projects, the government of India gave a subsidy of 50 paise/kwh of wind power generated (for a period of 10 years) to the projects registered by the cut-off date of March 31, 2012. Since then, the wind industry

IndIAn power SeCTor: FUTUre proSpeCTSBy Indian Chamber of Commerce Economic Review Report

Articles

Renewable energy no more remains a futuristic segment. “


has been clamouring for another version of this scheme. Fresh installations of wind power capacity in the country in the first six months of the current financial year have however fallen by 40% compared with capacity addition in the same pe-riod last year perhaps due to removal of accelerated depreciation and lack of clarity on roll out of GBI post March 31, 2012. Discussions are currently ongoing to restore the GBI scheme and it is un-derstood that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has recommended renewal of GBI. It is hoped that the gov-ernment will continue with this income stream or else the feed-in tariffs will have to be adjusted upward by the states.

Since the Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) mechanism came into force (effec-tively) in April 2011, no Discom has fully

complied with its Renewable Energy Pur-chase Obligation (RPO) requirements. Also enforcement by SERCs has been lenient because the financial health of most Discoms does not allow room to pay more for green power. This has de-pressed the REC market and non-solar RECs are being traded at floor price of Rs 1.50 per unit in power exchanges for the last six months. The ongoing financial restructuring of Discoms will improve their financial health. Going forward the SERCs can be expected to be strict with Discoms in enforcing RPO obligations.

Enthused by the success of the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, the government is expected to scale up the secondphase (2013-17) target to a higher capacity. The govern-ment has set aggressive growth targets

for renewable energy. While project ex-ecution and policy implementation issues exist, there are many encouraging fac-tors – a) it is expected that renewable energy sources will soon achieve grid parity, wind power is already almost at grid parity and solar is fast approaching that level b) reinforcement of renewable purchase obligations and internal sus-tainability targets of many corporations shall increase demand for green power c) players in the Indian power market are very optimistic on the ‘rise’ of renewable energy and are building long term strate-gies. To conclude, the long term outlook on the Indian power sector still looks optimistic and hence holds promise for the stakeholders. There are clear signs of seriousness on the part of policy makers to reform the sector.

Q: How does Indian engineering talent compare with other global markets?

A: There are lots of similarities in emerg-ing markets, and there is a lot of good engineering talent in India that can build, innovate and design products for cus-tomers in markets like the Middle East and Africa. Last year, we clocked over a million hours of engineering and innova-tion in India across our four major engi-neering centres here. A large part of our talent in the Middle East is from India, and we are also seeing a spurt in demand for Indian engineering talent across Africa. We have 8,700 employees in India and about half of those are engineers. There is a thirst among Indian employees to learn, a willingness to try new things and the ability to adapt to different cultures. That has made the use of Indian talent a very effective strategy for us. We have doubled our headcount over the past 3 years and I do not see a change in that number. We are committed to building engineering talent in India to serve the world.

Q: How has the concept of talent mobil-ity changed over the years?

A If I compare my father’s generation, my generation and the current genera-tion, then the concept of talent mobil-ity has changed dramatically over these three generations. In my father’s genera-tion, it was fairly limited and was about the western markets setting partnerships in other parts of the world. The people

were more interested in an international lifestyle than a career in other markets in those times. In my generation, the shift was also from West to East, but it was about tapping into the emerging markets and setting up our own operations and partnerships.

It was about building a career and get-ting that exposure. In the current gen-eration, talent is going in every direction, and I see a shift from long assignments to mission based assignments, which might be as short as 6 months to 2-3 years as opposed to 7-8 year assignments, and the emphasis in these assignments is on getting that exposure and experience of working in cross cultural environments and learning from it. Over 80% of the global population is interested in interna-tional assignments. About 20 years ago, it was less than 40%.

Q: Tell us about the leadership develop-ment initiatives in the company. What do you demand from leaders at Emerson?

A: We like to be number one in all mar-kets, and look for individuals that have that drive and talent. We have been col-lecting data on successful Emerson exec-utives for 20 years. So we have a profile of what it takes and we want somebody who can be direct but sensitive and sup-portive. In emerging markets, taking the time to build a relationship with an em-ployee is much more important than it is in some of the developed markets so we have a leadership model in our organisa-

tion which says, ‘we want you to be chal-lenging but supportive’. Our fiscal year starts in October, and we are rolling out a programme called Leading at Emerson in India this year that emphasises on this leadership model that is not just about micro management but about building relationships. We need leaders who are not just giving directions, but are also supportive.

Q: The numbers of women engineers in an engineering company are few and far between. How does the company work on promoting gender diversity and inclu-sion?

A: Emerson has looked at several differ-ent ways to engage women engineers. If they are half of our talent pool, it would be naive of us to not leverage all the pos-sible opportunities to encourage women to think of an engineering career at Em-erson. We have several partnerships with engineering schools, we are also trying to engage female students at the pre-university level to tell them if they have an aptitude for it, they should think of en-gineering as a career. We have had several projects over the past year where some of the most talented women engineers took the lead role in making sure the projects were completed. Across our 6 largest design, engineering and innovation centres in India, over 18% of the staff is female. We aim to increase that number to 25% through our growth initiatives by the end of 2015.

IndIAn engIneerIng TALenT IS SoUghT AFTer The worLd overInterview with William Kofahl, corporate VP, HR at Emerson for India, the Middle East and Africa

Articles/Interview


Rising disposable incomes, coupled with macro-economic stabil-ity, have brought a paradigm shift

in Indian consumers’ lifestyles wherein they have started giving huge importance to the ‘entertainment’ quotient in their lives. India’s media and entertainment (M&E) industry, which was pegged at Rs 80, 000 crore (US$ 14.68 billion) in 2011, is largely driven by this new trend. The Indian M&E industry is the fastest grow-ing industry followed by China (14 per cent), Russia (12 per cent) and Brazil (11 per cent) as it is projected to grow at 17 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2012 and 2016, according to the ‘Indian Entertainment & Media Outlook 2012’ report prepared by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII) and consulting firm Price-waterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The report identifies rising advertising and consumer spends, infrastructure and policy support, as the major game-chang-ers for the industry. The industry growth will be further propelled by technologi-cal innovation, leading to better quality of media content being consumed wherein internet access will be the key enabler.

mArKeT dynAmICS

The advertising segment, which contrib-utes about 35 per cent of revenue in the M&E industry in India, is dominated by television (TV) and print that constitute about 80 per cent of the pie, according to the PwC-CII study. The report further pointed out that both the segments will continue to dominate the industry over the next five years. It also estimated that the Indian M&E sector’s boom is largely attributed by burgeoning internet seg-ment, which has the potential to outshine the print sector by 2014.

Achieving the target to cross US$ 100 billion-mark will not only benefit the industry, but will also create large-scale employment, and help achieve India’s goal of being a knowledge-driven economy through effective media.

Moreover, internet and gaming segments have emerged as the fastest-growing sub-segments at 57 per cent and 33 per cent CAGR, respectively. Gaming segment has been recording substantial growth owing

to the rising popularity of mobile and on-line and social media gaming.

TeLevISIon And prInT medIA

Television still dominates as the most effective medium for video and content consumption followed by the internet, according to Deloitte’s State of the Me-dia Democracy Survey - India 2012. TV, along with newspapers has been rated as the most influential way for advertising while almost 72 per cent of the consum-ers use the web on daily basis. Moreover, accessibility to social networking sites has increased tremendously as 2009 sur-vey indicated much lower figures at 3-4 per cent as against current statistics of 45-47 per cent.

rAdIo

India’s radio industry expanded by 15 per cent in 2011 to Rs.1, 150 crore (US$ 211.22 million) in revenue from Rs.1, 000 crore (US$ 183.67 million) in 2010, ac-cording to an M&E industry report by an industry lobby and consulting firm KPMG.

The radio broadcasting sector is pro-jected to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent till phase-three stations commence op-erations by mid-2013, pointed the report, adding that the Government is expected to earn revenues worth around Rs.1,500-1,700 crore (US$ 275.51-312.24 million) from the third auction of FM radio spec-trum. The Government might hold the third auction for FM radio spectrum by March 2013.

Phase three is expected to cover 227 new cities, in addition to the current 86, while 245 FM channels are operational in 86 cities under phase two.

mobILe enTerTAInmenT

TV and mobile devices are being used increasingly for watching online content, according to a latest survey by mar-ket researcher NPD DisplaySearch. The study indicates that even though con-sumers view online content majorly from desktop computers and laptops, mobile devices such as tablets and smart-phones, and television sets are becoming popular

medium for the purpose. The study found that 18 per cent of consumers access on-line content on their television on daily basis.Another survey conducted by Niel-son on behalf of Google India indicated that 7 out of 10 of the buyers know the exact brand and model they want to buy with the help of online research before entering the store. This shift in consumer behaviour is attributed to easy access to information on the Internet - which has immensely boosted the concept of ‘re-search online and shop offline’.

FILmS

The Indian film fraternity will complete its century in 2013. The industry is antici-pated to grow by 9 per cent per annum till 2015 to mark US$ 2.8 billion as its value, according to Deloitte.

Anticipating major cost benefits and ef-fective synergies, PVR Cinemas has de-cided to acquire 69.27 per cent stake in Cinemax India for Rs 395 crore (US$ 72.55 million). PVR would become the largest movie exhibition chain in the country post this deal, as the strategic move will take its total screens to 351 across 85 locations giving the company access to eight new markets. However, Cinemax will continue to operate as a separate entity and its cinemas will not be re-branded.

InveSTmenTS

• Hungama Digital Media Entertain-ment Pvt Ltd has partnered with global mobile media buying platform Adsmobi Inc for mobile advertising to monetise all-India inventory. As per the agreement, Hungama India will monetise Adsmobi’s premium advertising traffic in the country, bringing more brand advertisers to the space of mobile advertising.

• Adsmobi is a US-based mobile me-dia buying platform that operates to place successful mobile campaigns for mobile advertisers, delivers pre-mium advertising traffic for adver-tisers through partnerships with leading mobile mediation and opti-misation platforms.

• Sony Pictures Entertainment’s whol-

Industry

medIA & enTerTAInmenT IndUSTryIndian Industry Sector Close-Up


ly-owned subsidiary Sony Pictures Television has recently bought 32 per cent stake in its Indian television channels holding firm, Multi Screen Media for US$ 271 crore. The deal, which increased Sony Pictures’ stake in MSM to a little over 94 per cent, reflects the company’s robust confi-dence on the potential of the Indian M&E sector.

• Meanwhile, Los Angeles-headquar-tered entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is marking its debut in the Indian market through an equal joint venture (JV) with KWAN En-tertainment & Marketing Solutions. The venture, to be known as CAA KWAN, will represent local talent in India and SAARC nations, and cre-ate global opportunities for clients in areas such as motion pictures and television (including packaging and sales), music, commercial endorse-ments, sports consulting, licensing and merchandising, live events and business development.

• Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) organisation, has decided to invest up to US$ 40 million in 10 innovative technology companies (which include Hungama.com, FocalTech, Jelli, LIFO Interac-

tive, NewAer, PagPop, cloud services provider Tier 3, 3-D game developer Transmension, and mobile advertis-ing provider UUCun). Intel Capital, which ventured into Indian land-scape in 1998, has invested over US$ 300 million in more than 80 compa-nies across 10 cities in the country since then.

governmenT InITIATIveS

In a bid to establish a stronger bi-lateral people-to-people and media partnership, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Prasar Bharati have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), wherein the two entities will share pro-gram content by utilising the extensive Doordarshan and ABC networks, allow-ing audiences in both the countries de-velop a more accurate and up-to-date appreciation of contemporary develop-ments in the other nation.

The ABC-Prasar Bharati MoU endorses co-production (with both parties to explore the possibility of executing tel-evision co-productions), programming exchange (to make content available on each other’s network), the supply of Eng-lish language learning programs by the ABC to Doordarshan, and the possible co-production and sharing of digital con-tent.

Moreover, the Indian Government in-

tends to make India a teleport hub, ena-

bling it to become an up-linking/down-

linking centre, just like Hong Kong and

Singapore. The Ministry of Information

and Broadcasting (I&B), in consultation

with the industry, will explore modali-

ties, challenges and finalise the road map

for the same. The initiative is expected

to facilitate foreign investments, better

technology and sustainable employment

opportunities in the country. The Gov-

ernment has recently given its nod to

74 per cent of foreign direct investment

(FDI) in direct-to-home (DTH), IPTV, and

mobile TV.

roAd AheAd

India’s M&E industry is expected to grow

at a compounded annual growth rate

(CAGR) of 17 per cent between 2012

and 2016 to touch Rs.1.75 trillion (US$

32.14 billion), according to the CII-PwC

report. Print and television will continue

to be the leaders in the advertising indus-

try, wherein TV would have a 43 per cent

share of total advertising in 2016, com-

pared with print’s 41 per cent.

Industry


In this article, Dezan Shira and Associ-ates gives a brief overview of India’s major taxes and duties on business,

including Corporate Income Tax, Divi-dend Distribution Tax, Minimum Alterna-tive Tax, Value-Added Tax, Central Sales Tax, Goods And Service Tax, Customs Duty, Excise Duty (CENVAT) Service Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Wealth Tax, and With-holding Tax.

The central and state governments pro-vide various tax incentives for foreign investors establishing companies in India, including indirect and direct tax incen-tives, reductions in indirect taxes (sales tax and tax depreciation allowance), tax deduction for the first ten years of op-eration of new industrial units in specific areas, and special tax provisions for 100% export-oriented operations. Special eco-nomic zones offer additional important benefits and tax reductions.

1. CorporATe InCome TAx

Corporate income tax is levied against profits and income under the provisions of the Income Tax Act. Corporate in-come tax must be paid by all types of for-eign-invested entities, except for liaison offices, which are not permitted to earn income. Foreign and domestic companies are subject to different corporate income tax rates. A company is considered a for-eign company if its core management (i.e. where key decisions on management are made) is located outside of India for the duration of the year. Corporate income

tax must be paid in increments through-out the year according to the advance corporate tax (ACT) payment schedule.

CORPORATE INCOME TAx RATES*

• Domestic Companies: 30% plus edu-cation fees of 3%

• Foreign Companies: 40% plus educa-tion fee of 3%

*surcharge may be applicable if total in-come is in excess of INR 10,000,000

2. dIvIdend dISTrIbUTIon TAx

Dividend distribution tax (DDT) is levied against the distributing Indian company, not its shareholders, at 16.22% on divi-dends.

3. mInImUm ALTernATIve TAx

Previously, there were large number of companies who had book profits as per their profit and loss account, but were not paying any tax because their income computed as per provisions of the In-come Tax Act was either nil or negative. To tax such companies, minimum alterna-tive tax (MAT) is levied on companies for which income tax payable on he taxable income according to normalprovisions of the Income Tax Act is less than 18% of the adjusted book profits. MAT is levied at 18.5% on book profits, plus surcharges

and education fee

4. vALUe-Added TAx, CenTrAL SALeS TAx, And goodS And ServICe TAx

At time of writing, Indian states impose a Value-added Tax (VAT) on most types of goods at a standard rate of 12.5%, with lower rates of 4% and 1%. There is no VAT on imports into India and exports are zero-rated. Businesses with less than Rs500,000 turnover are exempt from VAT.

Central Sales Tax applies to goods traded interstate. If registered dealers buy and sell goods for the purpose of trading, for manufacturing inputs, or for specified activities, 2% sales tax applies. The gov-ernment plans to introduce Goods and Service Tax to replace Central Sales Tax (CST), with planned implementation in April 2013. The dual GST model would come with two tax rates: one that will be charged uniformly across the states and another by the central government. Leg-islation is still being shaped, but it is likely that virtually all goods and services will be included, with minimum exemptions including alcohol, tobacco and petroleum products.

5. CUSTomS dUTy

Customs Duty is applied to certain goods being imported into and being exported from India. For most goods, customs duty rates are up to 10% on the transaction value of imports or exports. An educa-tion fee of 2% is levied on the aggregate of the customs duty on imported goods.

The rate of customs duty depends on classification under the Customs Tariff Act, which is aligned with the World Cus-toms Organization’s Harmonized Com-modity Description and Coding System of Tariff Nomenclature (HSN).

6. CenvAT (exCISe dUTy)

Central Value-added Tax (CENVAT) is levied on the manufacturing or produc-tion of moveable goods at rates accord-ing to classification in the Central Excise Tariff Act. Most products attract excise duties at a rate of 10%, with the peak at 12%.

7. ServICe TAx

Those providing taxable services are li-able to pay Service Tax, which is levied at 12.36%. Small service providers are exempted from Service Tax where val-ue of taxable service does not exceed Rs1,000,000 in the previous financial year.

Business

An overvIew oF IndIA’S TAxeS on bUSIneSSBy Dezan Shira


In October 2012, CBEC (Central Board of Excise and Customs), the governing authority of Service Tax, changed the ser-vice tax return filling from half yearly to quarterly.

8. CApITAL gAInS TAx

The tax rate on capital gains in India var-ies based on the type of asset (shares, property, debt instruments), the length of time the investor has held the asset, and whether the transactions have taken place on a recognized stock exchange in India. When the income from a sale is classified as business income under Indi-an law, it will be taxable in India, but only if such income accrues or arises in India or is attributable to a “business connec-tion” in India. The rate of tax applicable to the business income of non-residents is higher than the rate applicable to do-mestic entities: approximately 42%.Equi-ties held for more than one year, other assets held for more than three years, and real estate are considered long-term capital and generally taxed at a basic rate of 20%. Short-term capital gains

(securities held for less than one year, three years for other assets) are taxed at the normal corporate income tax rate, which is usually 30%. Relief from certain types of capital gains is often sought through double taxation avoid-ance agreements.

9. weALTh TAx

Wealth tax is charged annually at a rate of 1% on individuals and companies with over INR3 million in non-productive as-sets.

10. wIThoLdIng TAx

The Income Tax Act provides for deduc-tion of tax at source on payments. These provisions are also applicable in case of payment made to non-residents. The person responsible for payments to non-

resident should deduct tax at source at the time of payment or at the time of credit of the sum to the account of the non-resident. Withholding tax rates for payments made to non-residents are de-termined by the Finance Act passed by the Parliament.

WITHHOLDING TAx RATES*

Interest 20%, Dividends 0%, Royalties 10%, Technical Services 10%, plus appli-cable surcharge and education cess, Any other Services (Individuals 30% of net income and Companies/Corporate 40% of net income)

*The above rates are general and in re-spect of the countries with which India does not have a Double Taxation Avoid-ance Agreement (DTAA)

ASSoChAm TAx propoS-ALS For 2013-2014 nATIonAL bUdgeT

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) 2013-2014 pre-Budget memorandum, released in December 2012, called upon the government to make a number of tax cuts. “The Indian industry is facing com-petitive disadvantages due to complex multi-layered tax indirect tax structure having cascading effect on cost, high com-pliance cost and prolonged tax litigation,” the pre-Budget memorandum stated.

Tax proposals in the memorandum in-cluded:

• Bringing the effective rate of corpo-rate tax down from 32.45% to 25%.

• Reversing recent increases to ser-vice tax rates from the current 12% rate, back to the 8% rate in place two years ago, with revenue loss offset by higher customs duty rates. By increasing customs rates, the gov-ernment can protect the domestic industry from unfair competition

from countries like China, the press

release stated.

• Increasing the exemption thresh-

old for personal income tax to

INR300,000 (US$5,500), to improve

tax compliance rates, and boost con-

sumer consumption and savings.

• Industry-specific adjustments:

• Addressing the tax treatment

of the synthetic fiber industry,

which attracts an excise duty

rate of 12%, up from 4% in 2008,

while cotton fiber is exempt

from excise duties.

• Introducing a concessionary 2%

service tax to support the con-

struction services industry and

partially offset the revocation of

the service tax credit that was in

place prior to April, 2011.

• Exempting the domestic repairs,

maintenance and overhaul ser-

vices sector from service tax to

encourage foreign direct invest-

mentin the aviation sector.

• Removing the additional levy

of tax by way of surcharge and

education cesses on corporate

assesses and education cess on

non-corporate assesses. The

surcharges, including the educa-

tion cess, were levied as a tem-

porary measure.

Business

This article was extracted from Dezan Shira & Associates’s publication entitled “India Briefing” .For further corporate assistance, consider contating Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist in foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia. For further details or to contact the firm, please email Mr. Olaf Griease under [email protected] or visit www.dezshira.com


INDIA’S LARGEST INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING SOURCING SHOW

Indian Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS) is India’s largest display of Engineering Products and Services and focuses on build-ing global partnerships for India. IESS is recognized as the only sourcing event in India – a showcase of the latest technology, and a preferred meeting place for buyers and sellers from all over the world. International companies keen to enter Indian markets find IESS as an ideal event for product launches, India distributor / partner search etc.

Trade Shows & Events


Trade Shows & Events

InTereSTed In vISITIng A TrAde Show In IndIA?In case your company is interested in visiting a tradeshow/B2B event in India, be it one listed here or

another one that came to your attention, get in contact with us via [email protected] to get more information about possible assistance/subsidies.

NEW DELHI


LIbrAryThe embASSy’S LIbrAry IS opened

mondAyS And wedneSdAyS From 11Am To 1pmwithout appointment. For scheduling an appointment outside the opening hours,

please contact the information assistant under [email protected] or 01 505 8666 33

bUSIneSS CenTreThe embASSy’S bUSIneSS CenTre IS opened

dAILy (new!!) From 11Am To 1pmwithout appointment. For scheduling an appointment outside the opening hours,

please contact the commercial wing under the contacts given below.Marketing Officer: [email protected] or 01 505 8666 30

Marketing Assistant: [email protected] or 01 505 8666 31

Announcements

STUdenTS weLFAre oFFICerMr. Pawan T. Badhe, Third Secretary in this Embassy has been designated as Officer to look

after welfare of Indian Students in Austria and Montenegro. His contact details are: Tel: +43-1-505866614 Email: [email protected]


The State of Madhya Pradesh is centrally located and is often called as the “Heart of India”. The

State is home to a rich cultural heritage and has practically everything; innumera-ble monuments, large plateau, spectacular mountain ranges, meandering rivers and miles and miles of dense forests offering a unique and exciting panorama of wild-life in sylvan surroundings.

In Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior is the state’s northernmost city and a convenient en-try point. Gwalior’s landmark is its hill-top fort which contains a fine museum and an ancient temple, among, other monuments. 120 km from Gwalior is the medieval city of Orchha with exquisite palaces and cenotaphs. Built by an 11th century king of the Bundela dynasty, Or-chha is now a ghost city containing the remains of what must have been once spectacularly lovely monuments, and which combine Hindu and Muslim ar-chitectural. traditions. Shivpuri, atop a plateau, contains two picturesque lakes and a national park that abounds in spe-cies of deer and antelope. Khajuraho, an obscure village, no more than a clearing in the jungle, now captures world atten-tion for its 22 temples built by rulers of the Chandela dynasty. Each temple, built of stone, is distinguished by carved spires and walls, where the subjects range from aesthetic depictions of major and minor deities and celestial beings to a variety of erotic sculptures.

For more InFormATIon on IndIA ToUrISm:

India Tourism FrankfurtBaseler Str. 48 / D-60329 Frank-

furt Tel: +49 (69) 242949-0

Fax: +49 (69) [email protected]

Tourism

mAdhyA prAdeShIndian State Profile


IndIAn movIe evenIng: rab ne bana di Jodi (ein göttliches paar)Friday, March 22nd, 18:00 | Indian Embassy Business Centre (1st Floor, Kärntner Ring 2, 1010 Vienna)

IndIAn embASSy / wIrTSChAFTSKAmmer JoInT bUSIneSS evenTS In LInz And grAzWednesday, March 20th - Linz | Thursday, March 21st - Graz

Genre: Comedy / Romance

Directed by: Aditya Chopra

Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Shar-ma and Vinay Pathak

Released: 2008

Duration: 167 Minutes

Language: Hindi

Subtitles: germAn

Image Quality: hd

Synopsis: Surinder is married to Taani but

there is a huge age gap between them.

There is no real romance in the marriage.

Then, a dance reality show called “Rab

Ne Bana Di Jodi” airs and Taani wants

to participate but can’t because her hus-

band is not hip and happening. She has a

fear of losing, and she also fears that her

friends will laugh at her. Surinder over-

hears her problem and decides to go in

for a makeover. He watches some movies

and learns to dance in order to woo his

young wife. Throughout the show, Taani

keeps falling in love to with this new-and-

improved Surinder without once realiz-

ing that he’s really her husband.

erfolgreiche und nachhaltige geschäfte in Indien und emerging marketsWednesday, March 20th 10:00 Uhr WKO Oberösterreich (Julius-Raab-Saal,)Hessenplatz 3, 4020 LinzMore information and registration underhttp://portal.wko.at/wk/startseite.wk

wirtschaftsforum IndienThursday, March 21st 09:30 Uhr WKO SteiermarkErzherzog Johann Zimmer 7. StockKörblergasse 111-113, 8021 GrazMore information and registration underhttp://www.ic-steiermark.eu

The Embassy of India, in a joint initiatuve with the Chambers of Commerce Upper Austria and Styria, invites all interested parties to join the upcoming events to take place in the month of March in the Linz and Graz. Both events are targeted at Austrian corporates who wish to gather more information about doing business with and in India. H.E. Ambassador R. Swaminathan shall deliver a speech on current opportunities for Austrian corporates in the Indian markets. Invited guests include specialists in the fields: legal and tax issues of opening and starting a business in India (by Rödl & Partner), logistics (by Cargo Partner) , investment and export risk insurance (by Oberbank and Austrian Development Bank) as well as the cultural impact of doing business with India (by Impact KEG) among others.

Due to limited capacity, seats will be given on a first come, first served basis. Therefore, you are highly encouraged to reserve your seats online at www.indi-anembassy.at or via phone at +43 1 505 866633 (Ms. Lily John).

India in Austria


India in Austria

experiment A-1090 Wien, Liechtensteinstraße 132____Theater am Liechtenwerd___direktion: fritz holy /erwin bail

15.03.2013 20h

Rina Chandra - BansuriGerhard Rosner - Tabla

Theater ExperimentLiechtensteinstrasse 1321090 Wienwww.theater-experiment.com

Entrance: € 15,- Reservation: rinaß[email protected] 0650/5706990

Indian Classical Concert

india newsletter 03.2013

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