India’s Nano stirs Detroit show, but not present there

Tata to offer for engine options on new Indica.........

New technical institute coming up in the capital....

China to address India’s concern over rising trade deficit...

HCL launches low-cost laptops

NEW DELHI, Jan 15: Information technology company HCL Infosystems Ltd today launched a new range of low-cost laptops with a starting price of Rs 13,990.

The ultra-portable and full functional 'MiLeap' laptops weigh less than a kilogram, have a 7-inch screen and are equipped with an Intel processor.

"The new range of laptops will herald a new category of computing devices and open a wide range of new usage scenarios and application areas," HCL Infosystems Chairman and CEO Ajai Chowdhry said here. (PTI)

India’s Nano stirs Detroit show, but not present there

DETROIT, Jan 15: The most-talked-about car at the Detroit auto show this year isn’t even present: Tata Motors Ltd’s Nano.

The vehicle planned by country’s largest truckmaker would violate emissions and safety regulations in the US, Europe and Japan, auto executives from those markets said.

The 2,500 dollar Nano wouldn’t meet consumer expectations in developed countries for creature comforts such as air conditioning, they said.

Yet they’re all wondering how to respond to it. "What we’re seeing really is the automotive world is divided into two distinct markets," General Motors, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told reporters at the North American International Auto Show.

"It’s akin to the coming of the Ford Model T," Aaron Bragman, an analyst at Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said, and also at Detroit’s annual exhibit of the industry’s latest models.

With the US market coming off its slowest year in a decade, sales down in Japan and Western Europe stagnating, GM, Toyota Motor. And other automakers are turning to emerging markets such as India and China, where sales are growing more than 10 per cent a year.

For GM, Toyota and other automakers the Tata entry means "pressure to come down to that price and play in that field," Bragman said. "It’s a huge untapped market, and they will either have to find a way to do it themselves or find someone who can and partner up."

Tata’s unveiling of a prototype of the Nano, a cheapest car, at the Delhi auto show on January 10 is forcing established automakers to decide whether they want to go head-to-head with such entrants, said John Casesa, managing partner at Casesa Shapiro Group in New York.

Ford Motor decided to announce plans for an Indian investment away from the Delhi show last week to avoid being overshadowed by the Nano news, Ford Executive Vice President John Parker told reporters in Detroit.

"It is a groundbreaking product," Parker said. The Nano will "cause people to think differently about the car. I have a lot of respect for Tata."

The cheapest car in the US is the 9,995 dollar Chevrolet Aveo from GM. In Japan that distinction goes to the Daihatsu Esse at about 6,000 dollar. In Europe the Dacia Logan from Renault starts at just under 11,900 dollar.

Toyota has an early prototype for a model that may be able to compete with the Nano, President Katsuaki Watanabe said at the Detroit show. The vehicle is close to getting a "go sign", he said, without elaborating on when sales would begin or what it would cost.

"We’re not yet able to develop vehicles at that price point," Watanabe said. "Give us a little more time".

Renault, France’s second-largest carmaker, and affiliate Nissan Motor are in talks with Bajaj Auto to build cars that may cost 3,000 dollar. The goal is for such vehicles to be exported to the US and sold for 5,000 dollar with modifications, Renault Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said.

The challenge for Nano will be to "deliver on its promises beyond the price," he said. "You need to deliver the right durability, quality etc." (AGENCIES)

Tata to offer for engine options on new Indica.........

NEW DELHI, Jan 15: Homegrown auto major Tata Motors today said its new Indica, due for a launch in the second quarter of next fiscal, will sport four engine options, two of which will be sourced from partner Fiat.

The company would roll out two variants of the new Indica fitted with Fiat's popular 1.3 multijet diesel engine and its 1.2 litre petrol engine, besides the indigenously developed 1.4 litre DICOR diesel engine and 1.2 litre petrol engine.

"The new Indica would sport Fiat's multijet diesel and also its 1.2 litre petrol engine. The price for the Indica sporting Fiat's multijet engine is still being worked out," Tata Motors Senior General Manager (Engg Systems) S Ravishankar said at the 9th Auto Expo.

The new engine for Indica and Palio would be made at the new Tata-Fiat joint venture plant in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra. The new Indica would be offered at a higher price than the present range.

Fiat has also rolled out a diesel variant of its hatchback Palio Stile fitted with 1.3 litre multijet. The company also has tie-up with India's biggest automobile company Suzuki India to produce the same diesel engine for the car maker.

MSI uses the engine in the diesel variant of its popular premium hatchback Swift. (PTI)

New technical institute coming up in the capital....

NEW DELHI, Jan 15: A full-fledged institute offering degree courses in machine and tool manufacturing will come up in the capital to meet the growing manpower demands in the sector.

To be named as "Delhi Institute of Tool Engineering" (DITE) the institute will be first of its kind in the country offering specialised course on the subject at the graduation level.

DITE is being set up by merging Hitech Vocational Training Centre (HTVTC) and Tool Room Training Centre (TRTC) which were established with an aim to offer short term courses and diploma in tool engineering, a senior Government official said here.

The two centres were established in collaboration with Italy and Danish Governments respectively.

"It was observed that the two were institutes overlapping each other’s activities and therefore we decided to merge them for better output," he said adding that the admission in the institute will begin from the next academic session.

"Though there are over 18 tool room centres and institutes across the country, none of them are offering degree courses except diploma and short-term courses in the subjects," the official said.

"As per our action plan, the industrial machines and equipments at the two centres at Okhla and Wazirpur will be completely revamped to provide theoretical and practical training to the students.

The aim is to produce professionally qualified graduates in Tool Design or Tool Engineering," the official said.

The Government has appointed experts to prepare Detailed Project Report ‘(DPR) while AICTE has been approached to give formal approval to the institute. (PTI)

China to address India’s concern over rising trade deficit...

BEIJING, Jan 15: China has agreed to send frequent buying missions to India to diversify its import basket from the country in the backdrop of New Delhi’s concern over burgeoning trade deficit which crossed USD 9 billion last year in Beijing’s favour.

India also wants to diversify the basket of exports to China by including fruits and vegetables and sought access to its aviation and entertainment sectors and removal of technical and non-tariff barriers specifically in pharmaceutical sector, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath told reporters here.

The assurance on buying missions was given to Nath by his counterpart Chen Deming during a meeting on the sidelines of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s three-day visit.

During the parleys, Nath expressed concern over the growing trade deficit and raised many issues that were restricting Indian exports to the communist giant.

"Mr Chen clearly recognised that such a large trade imbalance is not desirable and sustainable. He offered to send buying missions to India frequently to promote a more diversified basket of exports from India to China," Nath said.

He said he had requested CII and the FICCI to host these promised missions and find suitable niche areas where India had core competency with globally competitive edge.

The Indian concerns arise from the fact that the current bilateral trade that stood at over USD 38 billion and the trade deficit was significantly in favour of China.

India has told China there was no China-specific restrictions on investments in India due to security concerns.

Nath also took up with his counterpart many issues related to Indian businesses’ access to Chinese market.

Beijing’s restraining policy on export of coking coal to India for the steel industry was specifically raised.

The huge cess on coking coal and hiking of the price for Indian buyers was also raised. There was no such cess in 2005 and today it was as high as 25 per cent.

It was pointed out that India was supplying iron ore to China at an export duty realisation of only one per cent.

"We lowered this duty at their request and it is now for the Chinese side to reciprocate in the area of coking coal. Our steel industry is asking for a 40 per cent allocation of coking coal exports for India as China had done for the EU sometime earlier," he said.

On diversification of Indian export basket, Nath said India had permission for export of only three from the agreed list of 17 fruits and vegetables and hoped that Chinese Government would expedite the issues of quarantine and other required permissions to allow more exports to China.

India also raised the issue of investment in the restricted aviation and entertainment sectors in China.

The Indian private airlines were ready to fly directly to China and use Chinese airports as hubs for onward flights to the US and other countries. This would stimulate people-to-people contact and strongly promote tourism between the two countries.

"I am hoping that this proposal will be accepted within the framework of a progressive aviation sector understanding signed a few years ago," he said.

Nath also discussed the downlinking of Indian broadcast channels in China. India has allowed Chinese channel CCTV to downlink in India.

Similarly, China is prepared to allow Zee TV landing rights in China, he said, noting that it would help the people to know each other’s culture and practices.

"I am hoping that this market access proposal will be accepted and in turn will strengthen our cultural understanding of each other. It will also open up the Chinese market for our content services, animation, gaming and special effects in the future," he said.

Nath said he took up the issue of regulatory structures in China in many areas which "sometimes tantamount to Non-Tariff barriers".

Citing the case of pharmaceutical industry, he said it takes three to four years in registering a pharmaceutical drug in China which was a major hindrance to Indian exports.

"Frequent changes in rules and regulations across the trading space was another major hindrance to Indian exports and investment capabilities," Nath said and called for a focus on investment in the two nations.

"We have very little investment as of now in each other’s countries," the Minister said.

Nath said an India-China business summit amounted to a "global summit" because 40 per cent of the world’s consumers were represented in this event.

The two nations were looking for investment not just on each other’s soil but in third countries in Africa and Latin America as they have now emerged as the engines of growth, unfazed by western fears of global economic slow down and problems like sub-prime crisis in the US.

He said trade deficit between India and China per se was not a worrying factor but if it persisted and increased then it had to be addressed.

The Chinese minister told the Indian Minister that they were conscious of the issue and were addressing it.

Inviting Chinese investment in Indian infrastructure, Nath said China has offered India that it could use the infrastructure created by it for the Olympics being held in Beijing in August.

This could be used for the benefit of the Commonwealth Games to be hosted in Delhi in 2010.

To a question on increasing the number of points for border trade, he said the issue was being dealt with at the official level. Both India and China have exchanged the lists on the points to be increased.

China has also proposed a partnership with India in the hydro-electric sector in which India has a lot of potential. Beijiing plans to increase its dependence on renewable energy from 6 to 20 per cent. This cooperation could be extended to third countries also.

Addressing the press conference, CII President Sunil Mittal said the earlier fears of Chinese dumping of cheap goods in India had been met by the Indian industy which was competing well.

However, he hoped the Indian government would open up some sectors of economy in a caliberated manner to face the problem of cheap-priced products from China.

Mittal said because of the state ownership of industry in China, losses in one sector could be made up by the govern ment in another sector and but the Indian industry did not not have such a luxury.

FICCI President H Khorakiwala said India and China should create a collaborative platform that would articulate their complementarities. (PTI)