CII, British group to train Indian workers
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and City & Guilds, Britain, have launched an initiative to develop international occupational standards in India's current and potential workforce.The Skills Development Initiative aims to make India the "skills capital of the world and create a productive workforce that matches international standards", CII said here Saturday. The City & Guilds is a leading provider of vocational qualifications in Britain.With Chennai and its neighbourhood emerging as an automobile and components manufacturing hub, the first batch to train would be workers in motor vehicle engineering.The four-month training will cover engine systems, petrol and diesel fuel systems, ignition, brake, steering and suspension, electrical systems and safety. Though there is no age limit, a trainee should have passed Class 8.The initiative will be extended to sectors such as agriculture, construction, food processing, hairdressing and beauty therapy, hospitality, manufacturing and tourism.

Foreign exchange reserves increase $1.04 bn
After seeing a decline in the last two weeks, India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $139.57 billion in the week ended June 17 on increased overseas fund inflows, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said Saturday. This represents an increase of $1.04 billion in the country's foreign exchange pile from the previous week, according to the weekly figures issued by the central bank here. During the week ended June 17, the country's foreign currency assets registered an increase of $1.05 billion from the previous week to touch $133.61 billion, said the RBI statement. The bank said foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as Euro, Sterling and Yen held in reserves. Gold reserves remained unchanged at $4.38 billion during the week ended June 17. The country's reserve position in the International Monetary Fund, which is included in the total foreign exchange reserves since April 2, 2004, declined $6 million to $1.57 billion.

South Africa's Sanlam enters Indian insurance market
Johannesburg, May 20 (IANS) Insurance giant Sanlam has become the second major South African company to invest in India. The company announced that it had entered into a joint venture with India's Shriram Group to form the Shriram Life Insurance Company Limited based in that country. Sanlam will hold a 26 percent share of the company. Final regulatory approvals are awaited in India, and it is expected that operations will commence in August. Two years ago, South Africa's oldest insurance company Old Mutual entered a joint venture with Kotak Mahindra to form the first South Africa-India alliance in this field. Sanlam group chief executive Johan van Zyl said the deal with Shriram was in line with Sanlam's strategy for developing its international business. "Both Sanlam and the Shriram Group believe the insurance market in India has significant growth potential." the statement said.

"The Simputer is not Merely a Do-Good Initiative; it has Economic Payoffs"
The Simputer, a computer that has been designed as an 'affordable computing device' for people who are not technologically-savvy, has generated widespread interest worldwide. The UNDP Report on Human Development (2001) described it as a 'technology with great promise for the developing countries' while the New York Times declared it the Biggest Innovation of 2001. An exclusive interview with PicoPeta Computers' CEO Swami Manohar by ICFDC.com's Adite Chatterjee.[15 June 2005]

The Big Outsourcing Scare: Facts and Myths
The hullabaloo over outsourcing and the loss of US jobs ignores the fact that offshoring is lowering costs for US companies and actually creating more jobs. Thanks to a more efficient economy, US shareholders are benefiting and their returns on investment are increasing. Forrester Research predicts that 3.3 million jobs will be lost in the US over a 15 year period, while 22 million new jobs are expected to be added in the US between now and 2010. D.V. Venkatagiri argues that the US economy has gained more than it has lost through outsourcing.[17 June 2005]

FDI and the Indian Retail Industry
Piyush Kumar Sinha, professor and chairman, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, analyses the impact of opening up foreign direct investment in the Indian retail sector. The decision to allow FDI in the retail sector too has caused a lot of concenrn in the industry. However far from killing the small stores, FDI is likely to give the entire industry a boost.[6 May 2005]

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Indian Textile Industry: A Fact Sheet
In the post-quota regime, the Indian textile industry is poised to become a major player in the US $395 billion global textile and clothing market. With the global retailing industry exploring opportunities for outsourcing, Indian exports are expected to surge from the current levels of $14 billion to $50 billion by 2010. ICFDC.com presents an analysis of the sector, the key drivers and the opportunities for Indian players.[9 July 2005]      [Read Factsheet]

Life Insurance Sector: Fact Sheet
India is emerging as one of the two of the largest markets in the world for life insurance products, the other being China. In the case of India, the three key drivers of growth are a large insurable population,  a high savings rate, roughly at about 25 per cent and a low penetration, at a mere 2.3 per cent. India's GDP growth rate of 6 per cent per annum holds great potential for the sector. According to one estimate real life premia are expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 15 per cent over the next ten years.[15 May 2005]      [Read Factsheet]

March 2005
Civil Aviation - Fact Sheet
India has a civil aviation network comprising 449 airports/airstrips. There has been a dramatic rise in the levels of passenger and cargo traffic. From just 5.1 million passengers in 1970, domestic and international passenger traffic has grown to nearly 44 million passengers in 2003-04. During the last ten years the growth in passenger traffic has been a spectacular 125 per cent. By 2010, the forecast is that air traffic will increase to around 90 million. Domestic and international passenger traffic in India is projected to grow annually at 12.5 per cent and 7 per cent over the next decade. Similarly, air cargo exports from India are expected to rise from the present 0.8 million tonnes to 2.4 million tonnes while domestic cargo will rise from 300,000 tonnes to over 1 million tonnes by 2010. This growth potential, coupled with the government's decision to allow private sector participation in the running of five key airports as also in airport modernisation, ground services, aircraft manufacture, makes India a very attractive market for airport and avionics equipment manufacturers and service providers. The Government of India policy to liberalise the civil aviation market also presents foreign firms with significant export and investment opportunities.  (Read the Factsheet)

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