India and China strategic level talks start today
New Delhi: The first ever Sino-India strategic dialogue will begin in New Delhi today.

A day ahead of the dialogue, Beijing has said the mechanism is of great significance to further develop the bilateral relationship.

The Chinese side will be led by Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei whille India will be represented by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran.

According to reports, the main focus of the talks will be on important global issues.

The two sides will exchange views on bilateral, international and regional issues of common concern.

United Nations reforms, developments in Iraq and issues relating to Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea are also expected to figure during the parleys.
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Upcoming foreign trade policy to focus on new initiatives
New Delhi: With exports recording a 24 per cent growth this year, the new foreign trade policy in March will unveil a strategy to achieve quantum jump in sectors, which have huge export potential.

"My attempt would be to push up exports in those sectors which can grow manifold with little push and certainly not those sectors which are already doing well," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said.

"If a sector is already doing Rs2,000 crore of exports, it doesn't need much help but I will look at those sectors which can go up to 20 from two crore with a little push", he said.

The minister did not subscribe to the view that high 24 per cent export growth this year was a temporary phenomenon and said that given the fact that India's exports were diversified over commodities and countries, the high growth was sustainable. The Minister said that as seventy per cent of India's exports came for manufacturing, a sustained increase in the productivity of this sector through fresh investments, technological changes, management techniques in firms and low interest rates will push up exports.
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GAIL and BG-ONGC-RIL in pricing row over Panna/Tapti gas
New Delhi: GAIL India has petitioned Petroleum Ministry against the demand made by British Gas, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries Ltd for a higher price of natural gas produced at Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields in offshore Mumbai.

As per the production sharing contract (PSC) for the Panna/Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields, jointly operated by BG-ONGC-RIL, the upper ceiling of gas price can be raised to 5.6 dollars per million British thermal unit (mBtu) from the current 3.11 dollars per mBtu after seven years of production.

BG-ONGC-RIL have invoked that provision and are seeking up to $4 per mBtu from GAIL which buys about 11 million standard cubic metres per day of gas produced at the fields.

With GAIL not willing to pay anything more than the current price of 3.11 dollars per mBtu, BG-ONGC-RIL propose selling the gas to other markets. GAIL has warned that the diversion of gas would reduce gas-based power generation by over 2000 MW or cut domestic fertiliser production by over 5.5 million tonnes per annum.

BG-ONGC-RIL have said an increase in gas price was necessary to generate resources (750 million dollars) needed for boosting output from Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields.
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CII survey: Manufacturing segment records strong growth in H1
New Delhi: The manufacturing sector in the country has experinced strong growth in April-December 2004 on a year-on-year basis, according to the ASCON survey carried out by the Associations Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Out of the total of 134 sectors reporting production, 30 sectors recorded an excellent growth rate of over 20 per cent. While forty-two sectors recorded a high growth rate of 10-20 per cent, 48 sectors registered moderate growth rate of 0-10 per cent, and 14 sectors reported negative growth, said a CII statement.

This shows high growth for the period as compared to last year, wherein only 22 sectors had recorded excellent growth, 46 recorded high growth, 57 sectors reported moderate growth and 20 sectors registered negative growth.

According to the survey, industrial furnaces, telecom cables, castings, washing machines, auto components, middle & heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs), light commercial vehicles (LCVs), cars, mustard oil, utility vehicles, transmission line towers, transformer, fluid power, electrical fans, tractors, sugar machinery, were in the excellent growth category. Power cables, industrial gases, pumps, plastics, drugs and pharmaceuticals witnessed growth in the range of 10-20 per cent.

Out of the 68 sectors reporting sales, 18 sectors registered excellent growth, 19 sectors registered high growth, and 25 sectors reported moderate growth, while six sectors recorded low or negative growth.

The sectors that reported over 20 per cent growth in sales include auto components, castings, fluid power, industrial furnace, LCVs, utility vehicles, air conditioners, washing machines, tractors, precision tubes and textile machinery.

Those in the high growth category include, ball & roller bearings, sponge iron, plastics, electronic components, forgings, motorcycles, and processed food. Cast iron spun pipe, soda ash, tea, and refrigerators, recorded negative sales growth.

On the export front, the Indian manufacturing industry is experiencing higher growth compared to the last quarter results. Exports of 18 sectors including auto components, sugar machinery, mopeds and motorcycles have witnessed over shown over 20 per cent growth in exports.

The high growth category has 16 sectors including abrasives, castings, electronic components, forgings, precision tubes, air & gas compressors, electric cable & wires, automotive tyre, consumer electronics, air conditioners, computer hardware, paper, processed fruit & vegetables, biscuit, construction and cargo in the high growth category.

Ten sectors recorded moderate growth, while nine sectors including cold rolled steel, pig iron, steel, boilers, textile machinery, black and white TV, cigarettes & tobacco and tea registered a fall in exports.
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Two Kerala infrastructure parks get SEZ tag
Thiruvananthapuram: The industrial of parks of the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) in Kochi and Malappuram have been accorded the status of special economic zones (SEZs).

The status has been given to 30 acres of land at Kinfra's high-tech park for electronics industries at Kalamassery, Kochi, and to 30 acres in the food-processing park at Kakkancherry in Malappuram district.

At the Kalamassery park, Kinfra is developing infrastructure of international standards to set up high-tech electronics industries. The SEZ status would help increase the yearly export of products from here by 30 to 40 per cent, the officials said.

The investors in the park will be eligible for various tax and duty concessions and there will be no need for a special licence for imports. They will get full exemption from excise and customs duties and a five-year exemption from income tax. There is a possibility for 100 per cent foreign direct investments in the park, they said.

At the food-processing park in Malappuram, the SEZ status will pave the way for the establishment of a host of industries specialising in the export of the State's ethnic foods. As per 2001-02 estimates, the State's total export earnings during the year were to the tune of Rs7,038 crore, of which Rs4,992 crore was contributed by the food-processing sector.

Kinfra has so far established 16 industrial parks across the State and these include the International Apparel Park and the Film and Video Park in Thiruvananthapuram and the Export Promotion Industrial Park in Kochi. These apart, it has set up integrated infrastructure development centres to cater to the small-scale industries sector.
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DST sets up Rs.150 crore research fund for pharmaceutical sector
Ahmedabad: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has set up an Rs150-crore fund that will provide support to the Research and Development (R&D) effort of pharmaceutical companies.

According to DST, the fund was announced last year, but then it only had a corpus of Rs10 crore. Now that has been increased to a budgetary grant of Rs150 crore and it will become operational by the next financial year.

DST officials have said that the Government wanted to provide incubation and risk underwriting support to companies engaged in drug development. In addition to the Rs150-crore fund, nearly a third of the Department's annual budget of about Rs250 crore was earmarked for the life sciences sector.
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Kamal Nath to lead Indian delegation to Davos WEF meet
New Delhi: The Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, would lead the Indian delegation at the 2005 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. The WEF's Davos Summit is to be held from January 26 to 30.

He would also represent the country at the mini-Ministerial of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be hosted by the Swiss Government at Davos on January 29. More than 30 trade ministers from WTO-member countries including the US, the European Union and China are expected to participate in the mini-ministerial meeting. Preceding the mini-ministerial, there would also be a meeting of the G-20 ministers in Davos.

Besides Kamal Nath, the other members of the delegation are the Minister for Science and Technology and Ocean Development, Kapil Sibal, and the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Dr Rakesh Mohan.

Accompanying them will be a 50-member delegation organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) comprising leaders of industry, academicians and social entrepreneurs.

An official release has said that Kamal Nath will address four sessions at the WEF. These are `India meets Doha', which would focus on the WTO agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the context of healthcare and its implications for research and development and the Indian pharma industry; `Beijing and Delhi- Navigating New Territories' along with the Chinese Trade Minister and other panellists highlighting opportunities for investment in China and India.

The Commerce Minister would also participate in an interactive business session titled `India's bigger, better business horizons', which will discuss foreign direct investment (FDI), the current status of reforms, the new growth opportunities and the Government support to investment; and the `Business interaction group-India', a session of CEOs with the Minister.
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Kerala will be partner-state at Mauritius technology fair
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will participate as a 'partner-State' in an exclusive event to be held at Port Louis in Mauritius to project India's new technologies and products.

Styled `India Week', the event will be held from March 17 to 21 this year. It will be an opportunity for participants to showcase their latest products, machinery and equipment and services to the Mauritian market, according to officials at Kerala Bureau for Industrial Promotion (K-BIP), which is co-ordinating participation at the State level.

The event will also be an excellent platform for interaction with the Mauritian business community to establish strategic alliances, import-export tie-ups, test marketing, locating joint venture partners and project collaborators. Mauritius has been identified as a middle-income group country.

India and Mauritius have a unique relationship based on culture and heritage.
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