India is on the way to becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.He was addressing the India-South Africa Business Forum organised jointly by Indian industry chambers CII, FICCI and Assocham in the presence of visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Modi also noted that India had risen to 77th place in the World Bank's latest Ease of Doing Business rankings and is currently among the most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) according to UNCTAD."We are on way to becoming the 5th largest economy globally and have jumped to 77th position in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings," he said. According to the projections released earlier this week by British consultancy multinational PwC, India is likely to surpass the UK in the 2019 rankings of world's largest economies, knocking the latter from fifth to seventh place in the global table.Speaking of India's bilateral trade with South Africa which crossed the $10 billion-mark in 2017-18, the Prime Minister said simplification of the visa regime between both countries, as well as improving air connectivity, would contribute much to boost the trade relationship.He said there is considerable scope for increasing bilateral trade in the gems and jewellery sector, for instance, through direct procurement of diamonds which would "help improve economies of scale and reduce costs."Noting that Indian investment into the African nation is growing and has touched $10 billion, Modi said India will be happy to share its experience with South Africa in the area of policy reforms and setting up ground level agencies. "I assure you that New India would welcome you to look at all available opportunities, particularly in food and agro processing, deep mining, defence, fintech, insurance and infrastructure sectors," he said"Likewise, India could also partner with South Africa in startups, health care and pharma, biotech, IT and IT enabled sectors," he added.In his address the South African President noted that as many as 150 Indian companies are operating in South Africa providing employment to as many as 20,000 local people., while "India is a significant destination for South African exports.""There are 29 South African companies operating in India such as the Airports Company South Africa (a shareholder and technical partner in Mumbai International Airport), FirstRand Bank, Old Mutual, Sanlam and Naspers," he said. " A number of South African companies have shown interest in investing in India. I have brought with me on this visit a large delegation of a cross section of South Afican companies," he said. Ramaphosa also said that in line with the latest BRICS Declaration of leaders on encouraging investment-led trade, he is looking forward to increased two-way investment activity between South Africa and India.

In an effort to further boost India-Africa business collaborations, an "Africa-India Partnership Day" is being organised Thursday on the sidelines of the African Development Bank's annual general meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, May 19-23.

The second such event, being organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Exim Bank, has as its theme "Sharing India's Experiences with Africa", FICCI said in New Delhi Thursday.

It would serve as a platform for sharing India's experiences, knowledge, ideas, policy options and information on project identification, conception, development and financing for infrastructure development in Africa, FICCI added.

"The objective is to ultimately establish the Africa-India Partnership Day as an integral part of the events associated with the annual meetings of African Development Bank," FICCI said.

The Exim Bank is planning to set up a project development company with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to encourage public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Africa. The proposed company will be targeted at bankable projects in Africa, Exim Bank chairman and managing director Yaduvendra Mathur had told IANS here during the recent 10th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership.

India's investments in Africa since 2005 total USD 50 billion and lines of credit to African countries total $8 billion.

Several multinational giants like Tata, Reliance, Bharti Airtel and Ashok Leyland have significant presence in Africa.

Bilateral trade between India and Africa has shot up from USD 25 billion in 2006-07 to around USD 70 billion in 2012-13. The Indian government has targeted it to touch USD 200 billion by 2020.

According to FICCI, the Africa-India Partnership Day "will serve to help in synergizing the priority areas for engagement between the African Development Bank, Government of India and Exim Bank of India."

In an effort to further boost India-Africa business collaborations, an "Africa-India Partnership Day" is being organised Thursday on the sidelines of the African Development Bank's annual general meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, May 19-23.

The second such event, being organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Exim Bank, has as its theme "Sharing India's Experiences with Africa", FICCI said here Thursday.

It would serve as a platform for sharing India's experiences, knowledge, ideas, policy options and information on project identification, conception, development and financing for infrastructure development in Africa, FICCI added.

"The objective is to ultimately establish the Africa-India Partnership Day as an integral part of the events associated with the annual meetings of African Development Bank," FICCI said.

The Exim Bank is planning to set up a project development company with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to encourage public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Africa. The proposed company will be targeted at bankable projects in Africa, Exim Bank chairman and managing director Yaduvendra Mathur had told IANS here during the recent 10th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership.

India's investments in Africa since 2005 total $50 billion and lines of credit to African countries total $8 billion.

Several multinational giants like Tata, Reliance, Bharti Airtel and Ashok Leyland have significant presence in Africa.

Bilateral trade between India and Africa has shot up from $25 billion in 2006-07 to around $70 billion in 2012-13. The Indian government has targeted it to touch $200 billion by 2020.

According to FICCI, the Africa-India Partnership Day "will serve to help in synergizing the priority areas for engagement between the African Development Bank, Government of India and Exim Bank of India."

Global food production needs to be raised 40% by 2030 to keep pace with the soaring demand, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday, calling for unusual measures to ramp up food supplies.

Mukherjee advocated a more meaningful partnership between Asian and African nations in the agriculture sector, adding that vast tracks of land in Africa remains uncultivated while the land resources in Asia is shrinking gradually and their judicious use is of utmost importance. According to the US department of agriculture, global grain production is estimated at 2,443 million tonne for 2013-14.

A shift towards horticulture and food processing will boost growth in the agri-business sector, he said at the inaugural session of the Asia Africa agri-business forum, organised by the agriculture ministry and FICCI.

Analysts have also pointed out that wastages of farm produce, especially fruit and vegetable, if contained by way of scaling up the processing activity, would have the most salutary impact on food inflation in India. The country witnesses roughly 40% wastages of fruit and vegetable a year, according to a report by UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Africa, with huge tracts of uncultivated arable land, presents an opportunity for investments in the farm sector by Asian countries, including India, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday.

“Agricultural land in Asia is under pressure from increasing population and urbanisation. As such, there is an opportunity for responsible investment in agriculture by Asian countries in Africa,” Pawar said, addressing the Asia-Africa Agribusiness Forum organised by the Centre and industry body FICCI.

Investments

But investments in Africa should be according to norms laid down by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, he said.

“India is very clear that while investments in Africa must lead to agricultural growth, diversification and employment, it must not be at the loss of domestic food security,” Pawar said.

Land availability

Though Africa lags other continents in terms of productivity, its great competitive advantage is its 733 million hectares of arable land, accounting for 27.4 per cent of the world’s total arable land.

“Currently, only 183 million hectares are under cultivation in Sub-Saharan Africa and approximately 452 million hectares still remain uncultivated,” Pawar said.

Inaugurating the three-day event, President Pranab Mukherjee called upon investing firms and banks to forge strategic partnerships to meet the credit requirement of agribusiness and food processing sectors in Asian and African countries.

Unlocking the potential

“Access to agriculture markets and finance as well as greater public-private partnerships in agri business and food processing sectors in Asia and Africa are essential to unleash their potential. Major investments in infrastructure, such as irrigation, water conservation, roads, markets and cold chains are also called for,” Mukherjee said.

Growth push

A FICCI-PwC discussion paper on ‘Unlocking the Food Belts of Asia and Africa’, highlighting the growth potential, said that in Sub-Saharan Africa and most of the Asian countries, said the agro-based industry needed a major transformation to generate more job opportunities, revenues and food for the growing population.

Apart from the industrial transformation, farming techniques need improvement to offer good opportunities to a large number of small farmers, who in turn could pave their way out of poverty, it said.

Agricultural growth was a singular contributory factor for food security and plays a pivotal role in creating employment opportunities and promoting socio-economic development, President Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday.

"By 2030, global food production has to increase by 40 percent to keep pace with the world demand," Mukherjee said at the inaugural session of the Asia-Africa Agri-Business Forum organised by industry chamber FICCI.

"One billion people, representing 14 percent of the global population, are still afflicted by hunger. Asia and Africa account for most of them. This cannot continue any further. Food production has to proceed in a business-unusual manner; on a war footing," he said.

The president also said enhanced crop production and productivity were key priorities in Asia and Africa.

Studies have projected agriculture and agri-business to be a $3 trillion business in Africa and almost $4.5 trillion business in Asia by 2030.

He pointed out that the development of agri-business in these continents has remained stunted due to inefficient utilisation of capacity and resources and for want of a more favourable policy environment.

"The sector is plagued by serious constraints in production, demand and supply, export potential and processing capabilities," he said.

The president said that in Africa, weak agricultural performance was a major barrier in the development of the agri-business sector.

The continent is endowed with 733 million hectares of arable land of which only 183 million hectares are currently under cultivation.

Similarly, in Asia land availability for agriculture is continuously decreasing due to rising population, he said.

"The shrinking and deteriorating land resources have to be judiciously used in order to sustain the needs of the future. Adequate policies, strategies, technologies and human resources have to be in place," the president said.

He said the challenge was to translate the woes into business opportunities.

"There is a need for both the continents to overcome the challenges through symbiotic associations. Partnerships must aim at developing the agri-business sector into an efficient business enterprise capable of competing in other international markets.

"On the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for agriculture, he said: "The Accelerating Green Revolution programme in Africa seeks to achieve a quantum jump in productivity and production levels.

"India, which witnessed a Green Revolution in the sixties, is now moving towards an 'Evergreen Revolution', recognising the positive role that information technology can play as powerful catalyst for sustainable agricultural development," he said.

Mentioning that the future of agriculture depends on the adoption of scale-neutral technologies, he said: "Increased mechanization of the farm sector in India has led to improvement in productivity.

"India is today a potential source of high-tech agricultural machinery. Our country can provide agricultural equipment like harvester, thresher and bailer machinery, earth moving equipment, tractors and sowing machinery to African nations.

"The president said a shift in focus towards the development of horticultural crops and food processing industry can provide the impetus necessary for the overall growth of the agricultural sector.

"Africa has tremendous scope for benefiting from the development of the food processing industry. India can provide training in post harvest management of different crops and provide assistance in developing packaging technology in line with world standards.

"India has requisite expertise for each level of the value chain and can assist African countries in developing the same.

"Mukherjee underlined the fact that access to agriculture markets and finance as well as greater public private partnership in agri-business and food processing sectors in Asia and Africa were essential to unleash their potential.

"Major investment in infrastructure like irrigation, water conservation, roads, markets and cold chains is also necessary. I strongly recommend that the investing firms and banks forge a strategic partnership to address the credit requirements of both Asian and African countries.

"This would help the agri-business and food processing sectors to meet their requirement for finance," the president added.

Asian countries including India should invest in Africa's agriculture sector as it lags in farm output despite large arable land for cultivation.

Currently, China leads in farm investment in Africa. Individual farmers from Punjab and private companies like Karturi Global from India have also made small investment in the African continent.

"Agriculture land in Asia is under pressure from increasing population and urbanisation. As such, there is an opportunity for responsible investment in agriculture by Asian countries in Africa," Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said at the Asia-Africa Agribusiness forum organised by FICCI.

Farm investments in Africa should be as per the norms laid down by the UN body Food and Agriculture Organisation, he added.

Pawar further said: "India is very clear that while investment in Africa must lead to agricultural growth, diversification and employment, it must not be at the loss of domestic food security."

Highlighting the scope for agri-investment in Africa, he said it has competitive advantage of 733 million hectare of arable land, which accounts for 27.4% of the total arable land in the world.

"Currently, only 183 million hectares is under cultivation in sub-Saharan Africa and approximately 452 million hectare is still remain uncultivated." he said, adding that Africa's weak performance in agriculture is a barrier for development of agribusiness sector.

He added that with responsible investment, Asia, which has made remarkable progress in raising food production, can help improve Africa's agriculture sector by replicating the farm technologies and high yielding varieties.

Asia, with 2.2 billion people directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, has improved farm output largely on account of introduction of high yielding varieties for cereals, better irrigation, fertilisers, besides credit support, he added.

At present, Africa's agriculture sector contributes around 32% to the total GDP despite 65% of labour force employed in farming. Its farm productivity lags behind other continents and dependent on imports to meet shortages.

Agricultural growth was a singular contributory factor for food security and plays a pivotal role in creating employment opportunities and promoting socio-economic development, President Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday.

"By 2030, global food production has to increase by 40 percent to keep pace with the world demand," Mukherjee said at the inaugural session of the Asia-Africa Agri-Business Forum organised by industry chamber FICCI.

"One billion people, representing 14 percent of the global population, are still afflicted by hunger. Asia and Africa account for most of them. This cannot continue any further. Food production has to proceed in a business-unusual manner; on a war footing," he said.

The president also said enhanced crop production and productivity were key priorities in Asia and Africa.

Studies have projected agriculture and agri-business to be a $3 trillion business in Africa and almost $4.5 trillion business in Asia by 2030.

He pointed out that the development of agri-business in these continents has remained stunted due to inefficient utilisation of capacity and resources and for want of a more favourable policy environment.

"The sector is plagued by serious constraints in production, demand and supply, export potential and processing capabilities," he said.

The president said that in Africa, weak agricultural performance was a major barrier in the development of the agri-business sector.

The continent is endowed with 733 million hectares of arable land of which only 183 million hectares are currently under cultivation.

Similarly, in Asia land availability for agriculture is continuously decreasing due to rising population, he said.

"The shrinking and deteriorating land resources have to be judiciously used in order to sustain the needs of the future. Adequate policies, strategies, technologies and human resources have to be in place," the president said.

He said the challenge was to translate the woes into business opportunities.

"There is a need for both the continents to overcome the challenges through symbiotic associations. Partnerships must aim at developing the agri-business sector into an efficient business enterprise capable of competing in other international markets."

On the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for agriculture, he said: "The Accelerating Green Revolution programme in Africa seeks to achieve a quantum jump in productivity and production levels.

"India, which witnessed a Green Revolution in the sixties, is now moving towards an 'Evergreen Revolution', recognising the positive role that information technology can play as powerful catalyst for sustainable agricultural development," he said.

Mentioning that the future of agriculture depends on the adoption of scale-neutral technologies, he said: "Increased mechanization of the farm sector in India has led to improvement in productivity.

"India is today a potential source of high-tech agricultural machinery. Our country can provide agricultural equipment like harvester, thresher and bailer machinery, earth moving equipment, tractors and sowing machinery to African nations."

The president said a shift in focus towards the development of horticultural crops and food processing industry can provide the impetus necessary for the overall growth of the agricultural sector.

"Africa has tremendous scope for benefiting from the development of the food processing industry. India can provide training in post harvest management of different crops and provide assistance in developing packaging technology in line with world standards.

"India has requisite expertise for each level of the value chain and can assist African countries in developing the same."

Mukherjee underlined the fact that access to agriculture markets and finance as well as greater public private partnership in agri-business and food processing sectors in Asia and Africa were essential to unleash their potential.

"Major investment in infrastructure like irrigation, water conservation, roads, markets and cold chains is also necessary. I strongly recommend that the investing firms and banks forge a strategic partnership to address the credit requirements of both Asian and African countries.

"This would help the agri-business and food processing sectors to meet their requirement for finance," the president added.

President Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said agricultural growth is a singular contributory factor for food security and plays a pivotal role in creating employment opportunities and promoting socio-economic development.

"By 2030 global food production has to increase by forty percent to keep pace with the world demand. One billion people, representing 14 percent of the global population, are still afflicted by hunger. Asia and Africa account for most of them," he said here at the inaugural session of the Asia Africa Agri Business Summit organised by industry chamber FICCI.

The president also said enhanced crop production and productivity are key priorities in Asia and Africa. Studies have projected agriculture and agri-business to be a $3 trillion business in Africa and almost $4.5 trillion business in Asia by 2030.

Africa is literally the land of opportunity for Asian investments in agriculture, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here Tuesday.

In his address at the Asia-Africa Business Forum organised jointly by the ministries of agriculture, commerce, food processing industries and industry chamber FICCI, Pawar said: "There is an opportunity for responsible investment in agriculture by Asian countries in Africa, but it should be as per norms laid down by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation)."

Pointing out the opportunity from 733 million hectares of arable land in Africa, of which over 450 million hectares still remain uncultivated, the agriculture minister said: "India is very clear that while investments in Africa must lead to agricultural growth, diversification and employment, it must not be at the cost of food security."

Productivity in African agriculture lags behind other continents, while this weakness is a major barrier to development of the agribusiness sector, Pawar said.

On the other hand, agricultural land is under pressure from population increase in Asia, which has made much progress in agricultural production through better seed varieties, fertilisers, irrigation as well as credit and price support.

Expressing hope that the three-day conference will help identify business opportunities in both Asia and Africa, Pawar said: "I am glad that India is playing a catalytic role in the emerging partnership between the two continents."

Representatives of 54 countries from Africa and 41 from Asia have been invited for the first ever Asia-Africa Agribusiness Forum Feb 4-6 in New Delhi.

The forum is aimed at providing a platform for industry leaders, policy-makers, governments and other important stakeholders to collaborate on the huge potential for growth, development and business in the agricultural sector in the two continents.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is organising the forum in collaboration with the Indian government.

According to Chiji Ojukwu, director in charge of agriculture and agro-industry of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the event is a timely one as Africa is suffering from a food shortage crisis.

He said the lingering volatility of food prices, which was one of the factors that caused the 2011-2012 food crisis in Africa, has not disappeared in 2013 and is expected to remain in the coming years.

"The current food insecurity the Sahel is experiencing is much more a reflection of the region's chronic, long-term vulnerability, than the result of a sudden, short-term shock such as a single drought in 2011," Ojukwu said.

The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara desert in the north and the Sudanian Savanna in the south.

In addition, Africa has faced very high post-harvest losses of agricultural produce, sometimes up to 40 percent, which, according to the AfDB, are mainly due to lack of transport, processing, storage facilities and links to markets.

The bank has also identified limited access to financial markets and credit, particularly for small farmers who produce the bulk of the food in the continent, as a major problem.

This is hurting their productive capacity as they have little access to technology and inputs.

African governments have not been able to use the private sector to promote agriculture in order to create jobs because of limited returns and relatively high risks associated with agriculture production which the AfDB says are some of the challenges that need to be overcome.

However, FICCI projects that by 2030, the agriculture and agribusiness industry is projected to be $3 trillion in Africa and almost $4.5 trillion in Asia.

"Africa's Agric sector has recorded a growth rate of 3.4 per cent a year, over the last decade while in Asia it has been around 3.1 per cent," FICCI stated.

On its part, the AfDB has put a strategy in place covering 2013-2022 to improve the agricultural sector in Africa.

As part of this strategy, the AfDB would try to unlock the continent's agricultural potential and tackle food insecurity via sustained multi-sectoral interventions.

The desire to improve the sector, according to the AfDB, is because the sector "holds great promise for future growth and job creation,", employs 65-70 per cent of the African workforce and accounts for roughly a third of the continent's GDP.

Representatives of 54 countries from Africa and 41 from Asia have been invited for the first ever Asia-Africa Agribusiness Forum Feb 4-6 in New Delhi.

The forum is aimed at providing a platform for industry leaders, policy-makers, governments and other important stakeholders to collaborate on the huge potential for growth, development and business in the agricultural sector in the two continents.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is organising the forum in collaboration with the Indian government.

According to Chiji Ojukwu, director in charge of agriculture and agro-industry of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the event is a timely one as Africa is suffering from a food shortage crisis.

He said the lingering volatility of food prices, which was one of the factors that caused the 2011-2012 food crisis in Africa, has not disappeared in 2013 and is expected to remain in the coming years.

"The current food insecurity the Sahel is experiencing is much more a reflection of the region's chronic, long-term vulnerability, than the result of a sudden, short-term shock such as a single drought in 2011," Ojukwu said.

The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara desert in the north and the Sudanian Savanna in the south.

In addition, Africa has faced very high post-harvest losses of agricultural produce, sometimes up to 40 percent, which, according to the AfDB, are mainly due to lack of transport, processing, storage facilities and links to markets.

The bank has also identified limited access to financial markets and credit, particularly for small farmers who produce the bulk of the food in the continent, as a major problem.

This is hurting their productive capacity as they have little access to technology and inputs.

African governments have not been able to use the private sector to promote agriculture in order to create jobs because of limited returns and relatively high risks associated with agriculture production which the AfDB says are some of the challenges that need to be overcome.

However, FICCI projects that by 2030, the agriculture and agribusiness industry is projected to be $3 trillion in Africa and almost $4.5 trillion in Asia.

"Africa's Agric sector has recorded a growth rate of 3.4 per cent a year, over the last decade while in Asia it has been around 3.1 per cent," FICCI stated.

On its part, the AfDB has put a strategy in place covering 2013-2022 to improve the agricultural sector in Africa.

As part of this strategy, the AfDB would try to unlock the continent's agricultural potential and tackle food insecurity via sustained multi-sectoral interventions.

The desire to improve the sector, according to the AfDB, is because the sector "holds great promise for future growth and job creation,", employs 65-70 per cent of the African workforce and accounts for roughly a third of the continent's GDP.

Ghana President John Dramani Mahama will pay an official visit to India from November 10 to 13, the external affairs ministry said on Monday.

The president will be accompanied by Ghana's ministers of foreign affairs, finance and economic planning, trade and industry and information and media relations besides senior government officials.

He will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mahama will also address a business meeting jointly organised by FICCI, CII and Assocham.

Ghana President John Dramani Mahama will pay an official visit to India Nov 10-13, the external affairs ministry said Monday.

The president will be accompanied by Ghana's ministers of foreign affairs, finance and economic planning, trade and industry and information and media relations besides senior government officials.

He will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mahama will also address a business meeting jointly organised by FICCI, CII and Assocham.

Indian and African companies should form joint ventures for setting up fertiliser units in the continent as it will help both the regions to enhance agriculture production, said an industry official. "Companies of both the sides should form joint ventures in setting up of units," Sun International Chairman Vikramjit Singh Sahney told PTI here.

Sahney was one of the members of India-Africa Business Council. He was here to attend the second meeting of the council, with Indian industry body FICCI as a partner.

He said countries in Africa like Ghana and Nigeria have gas reserves while huge phosphate rock deposits are there in South Africa and Togo.

India has pitched for early conclusion of the preferential trade pact with African nations, which is expected to help enhance business ties between India and minerals rich countries of the continent. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma urged his South African counterpart Rob Davies to expedite the much delayed India-SACU preferential trade pact that will reduce tariffs on several key products.

Sharma is in Johannesburg for the third Indo-Africa Trade ministers meet. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

India has been waiting for the response from the African side on its proposal of an average margin of preference of 70%. This means imports from SACU will be subject to a tariff 70% lower than the most favoured nation rate.

The bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2015 and $200 billion by 2020 is a modest one and is certainly achievable, Sharma said. Air connectivity and visa related issues were the two other concerns raised at the second India-Africa Business Council ( IABC) meet here, co-chaired by Bharti group chairman Sunil Mittal. Indian business chamber FICCI is the institutional partner of the council.

Sharma assured that the air connectivity issue has been taken up at the highest level and that Air India will resume its flights to Africa from 2014 onwards.

"The issue of air connectivity has to be addressed. The matter has been looked into at the prime ministers' level, and at my level. You will soon see resumption of flights by Indian carriers both Indian private and public", Sharma said addressing the council. On liberalisation of visa regime, Sharma said that both sides can identify the apex industry chambers that can help in this process.

He also strongly took up the case of Indian pharmaceuticals industry saying that India is a supplier of quality low-cost generics drug.

"There is a concerted campaign by vested interest groups and multinational cartels to confuse the discourse which questions the credibility and efficacy of Indian generics. We must remain vigilant against such voices," he said. India exports low-cost generic drugs to over 230 countries in the world and 1/5th of them are directed towards Africa.

Industry leaders collectively identified pharma, agri, minerals and mines and oil as priority sectors of private investment and integration and presented a report to the trade ministers.

India also sought support from the African nations ahead of the ninth WTO ministerial in Bali in December to safeguard interest of the developing nations. India has been pushing for the food security proposal of the G-33 nations, which wants the subsidies that are a part of the procurement for public stockholding from poor and marginal farmers not to be regarded as aprohibited subsidy by the WTO.

Airlines from India will soon resume their operations to Africa, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said today.

Air connectivity and visa related issues were the two major matters which were discussed in the 2nd India-Africa Business Council (IABC) meeting here. It was co-chaired by Bharti group Chairman Sunil Mittal. FICCI is the institutional partner for this meeting.

"I can assure you that you will see again the resumption of flights to Africa by the Indian carriers, private also. We have identified. Jet was flying until recently to South Africa. Air India will also resume flying to Africa in 2014. This has been communicated to me," Sharma told reporters here.

Sharma, who is here for the third India-Africa Trade Ministers meeting, said that businessmen will travel only when there will be a better air connectivity.

"We have been engaged at the highest level, at the level of the Prime Minister," he added.

On liberalisation of visa regime, Sharma said that both the sides can identify the apex industry chambers that can help in this process.

"India has an arrangement with many of its partner countries for long term business visas which are given as part of the understanding for example we have CII and Ficci. The partner or concerned country can also identify the apex national chambers...once they are endorsed by the chambers, the embassy or the high commission of the concerned nation can give the visas," he said.

"Similarly, the apex national chambers in Africa can give recommendation to the Indian high commission and on reciprocal terms, we will immediately grant long term business visas," Sharma added.

On these two issues, Mittal said that he has discussed the matter with African businessmen. He has invested about USD 13 billion in telecom sector in Africa in about 17 countries.

On visas, Mittal said that governments of India and African nations should extend support on the matter to smoothen the movement of professionals. He proposed to provide visa-on-arrival to businessmen of both the sides.

"I do not see any reason why visa on arrival cannot be given. Long term multiple entry visas and business visas can be given. It becomes extremely difficult if the visas are given for 2-3 months at a time. Regular business visitors and officers of the companies they have to exhaust their passports...

"I think this is a huge issue and it can be resolved if our recommendations can be given to external affairs ministry of all the countries here...priority can be accorded to business visas for those who want to do business in Africa and I am sure India will do the same," Mittal said.

Steps to enhance trade, investment, technology transfer and capacity-building will be discussed in two India-Africa meetings in Johannesburg Tuesday, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said in New Delhi.

India's Commerce Minister Anand Sharma will attend the third India-Africa Trade Ministers meeting and the India-Africa Business Council (IABC) meeting.

"Top CEOs from India and Africa are meeting on 1st October, 2013 in Johannesburg under the umbrella of India Africa Business Council (IABC) to draw up a blue print of action for closer economic cooperation," FICCI said Monday.

"To give a further impetus to this engagement, the business delegation will interact with trade ministers on the sidelines of the meeting of the India Africa Trade Ministers to be held alongside the IABC meet," it added.

African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Diamini-Zuma, South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, and trade ministers and officials from nations like Kenya, Malawi and Chad would participate in the day-long meeting.

Indian and African businessmen from sectors like telecommunications, healthcare and aviation would also discuss various issues related with increasing investments between the two regions. Bharti group Chairman Sunil Mittal will co-chair the IABC meeting and Dangote Group Chairman Aliko Dangote will co-chair from the Africa side.

Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Apollo Hospital executive director Sangita Reddy and Sun Group CEO Vikramjit Singh Sahney, among others, are part of the Indian business delegation.

Since IABC's inception in March 2012 substantial ground has been covered in placing the India-Africa engagement on a robust pedestal, FICCI said. Five working groups have been set up on each side and a set of recommendations drawn up in respective areas for deepening India's engagement with Africa.

India-Africa trade has crossed USD 70 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach USD 100 billion by 2015.

Liberia, a West African nation, on Wednesday invited Indian companies to invest in various sectors including infrastructure, agriculture and minerals aimed at strengthening commercial ties between both the countries.

"Liberia is open for providing a conducive business environment and welcomes you. So, we look forward to a partnership with you in several areas like infrastructure, mining, marine and rubber," Liberia's visiting President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said here at an event organised jointly by Ficci, CII and Assocham.

"We will ensure that we will create an open and transparent environment which guarantee investors a good return on their investment, while respecting the rights and dignity of our citizens," Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, added.

Tourism is another area which has a huge potential but infrastructure is the major constraint to the sector's growth as there are inadequate number of roads, bridges, water and power distribution, said Sirleaf.

"Therefore, there is an urgent need to attract more investments in infrastructure as well as hospitality sectors to develop the country's tourism industry," she said.

India and Liberia share close and friendly relations. Liberia's rich natural resources and its programme in the areas of infrastructure and industrial development, provide opportunities for enhancement of trade and investment ties between the two countries.

"We have reserves gold, diamonds, hydro-carbons, besides fertile land. Agriculture is our core strength and rubber is our traditional exports. I think there is a great potential in wood sector and Indian companies can do value addition to this," Sirleaf said.

To attract more investments, she said: "We offer tax incentives and we are harmonising customs duties." Indian companies have invested about USD 189 million in Liberia.

As far the bilateral trade is concerned, India's major exports to Liberia include engineering items, pharmaceuticals, plastic and steel, while imports to India comprise metals, ore and scrap, gold and diamond.

A free-trade area in the Indian Ocean may be a vision too far, but the big idea to emerge from a two-day regional conference was that economic co-operation in the littoral cannot be inward looking and must become a springboard for connecting with existing trade communities in Asia and Africa for its full potential to be realised.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IORARC) has 20 members as diverse and far apart as Iran and Australia. As Commerce and Industries Minister Anand Sharma, who represented India at the conference, put it, the group embraces five distinct regions, and with them distinct regional economic communities — ASEAN in South East Asia, SAARC in South Asia, GCC in the Gulf, SADC and COMESA in southern Africa, to mention just a few.

In keeping with this, the communiqué at the end of IORARC’s first Economic and Business Conference committed the group formally to the concept of “open regionalism”.

That means that while member countries will be encouraged to bring down barriers to doing trade with each other, they can continue to be part of other regional trade groups with different arrangements. In turn, IORARC can leverage this connectivity for engagement with these organisations.

For instance, Mauritius, a founding member of IORARC, and an enthusiastic driver of Indian Ocean economic co-operation, is also a member of COMESA and SADC. Next week, it hosts a trilateral these two organisations and the East African Community.

Several speakers at the conference underlined the potential for connectivity between IORARC and regional economic communities, including Mr. Sharma, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Regional Integration Arvin Boollel.

But IORARC is an unwieldy organisation of countries at different levels on the economic development scale. Four of its members are in the LDC category. Though this was a ministerial level conference that also brought together business representatives, several countries were represented only by officials, and several countries were conspicuous for not sending any business delegations.

According to the communiqué, a Work Program in Trade Facilitation has been initiated by member states, through which it is hoped that intra-IORARC trade and commerce will pick up.

Trade barriers

Besides urging members to “minimise” trade barriers to facilitate intra-IORARC trade, it also urged member states to harmonise trade practices in line with international norms.

Some key areas in which the IORARC members hope for co-operation from each other are in tariffs, the food sector, standards, in setting up regional value chains, mining, pharmaceuticals and traditional medicine, and co-ordination among its EXIM banks.

This was the first time that the IORAC was bringing business delegations together and according to Ficci head Naina Lal Kidwai, there were more than 150 B2B (business to business) interactions. The big news of the day was that a Mauritius company tied up a $ 1 m transfer of technology contract with an Indian pharma company in the course of these interactions.

Indeed, transfer of technology and “building capacity” in countries that needed them, were two themes that came up repeatedly.

IORARC also hopes that member-states will soon identify areas in which they co-operate to harness the Indian Ocean’s resources. One of the sectors that was earnestly discussed was energy security. Minister Sharma underlined how the 57,000-km coastline that IORARC countries together could boast, was conducive for harvesting wind energy.

But, as the Mauritius foreign minister pointed out, what was required was uninterrupted energy supply, and there was no better model for this than agreement for supply of petroleum products to Mauritius by India’s Mangalore Petroleum Refineries Limited, which ensured “predictability of supply”. “This is an example of what IORAC can do,” Mr. Boollel said.

Commerce and Industry minister Anand Sharma has expressed confidence that India will raise the limit for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the defence sector, indicating that defence minister AK Antony's reservations are part of the wider discussion process in the government.

"This is a dialogue within the government...we will continue to engage with each other... nobody is opposed when it comes to induction of new technologies of manufacturing systems in the country. I am sure that will happen and we will discuss it among ourselves," Sharma said on Friday in Mauritius, where he attended the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference.

The comments came after Antony expressed his reservations on further opening of the defence production to foreign investors, upsetting the ambitious reform that is being driven by the ministries of finance and commerce and industry.

A committee headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram had proposed raising the FDI limit in the sector to 49% from 26% as part of the government's ambitious reforms drive to ease restrictions to attract stable capital flows to fund India's large current account deficit.

"There is a viewpoint which is in favour. The finance minister and I and many of our colleagues have been in favour. But defence is a sensitive sector and our aim is for a calibrated approach...I had written to him (Antony) and he has written back. This (is a) very polite letter," Sharma said. One justification for the higher FDI limit is that it will encourage domestic production of many of the defence items that India imports, helping country save precious forex reserves and also generate jobs.

The counter argument is that allowing higher stake to foreigners in strategic sectors will compromise security.

The government is keen to put in place a framework to encourage long-term foreign capital into the country to address the financing challenge of large current account deficit that stood at a historic high of 4.8% in 2012-13.

The finance ministry is also pitching for expeditious change in the definition of control in the FDI policy to ensure that foreigners do not breach the cap through quasi-equity instruments.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has floated a Cabinet note for the change in definition that is expected to be taken up soon.

Sharma will meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday to take forward the discussions on the FDI liberalisation plan.

The DIPP, the administrative department for the FDI policy, has held formal consultations with all stakeholder ministries and departments on the Mayaram panel's recommendations.

India has pitched for reinvigorating a strategic grouping in the Indian Ocean region through deeper trade and economies ties and mooted creation of an institutional arrangement for business to business cooperation among the countries of the region.

"This region is important not just for itself but also for the world...We need to look at trade and investment now," commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said here at the inaugural session of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference on Thursday.

This is the first meeting of the grouping that has seen participation of businesses from its 20 members, 17 years after it was formally launched. Industry supported Sharma's idea of a formal platform but wants governments of the group to undertake measures such as customs harmonisation, a clearance mechanism for conducting trade in local currencies and allowing exim banks to undertake bilateral confirmation of letter of credits. "There is a need for a formalising a formal platform for business to business exchange," said FICCI president Naina Lal Kidwai.

India, which took over as the chair of the organisation in November 2011, has been trying to re-energise the grouping that has so far been focussing on dealing strategic issues in the region such as combating piracy.

"It is important to take forward the momentum of our pan-Indian ocean regional cooperation to the next logical level by creating an institutionalised mechanism for an interaction of our businesses by defining areas of cooperation," Sharma said.

Highlighting the importance of the regional grouping that has not yet been able to evolve into an economic and business alliance, Sharma said more than half of the world's cargo passed through this region and proposed enhanced business cooperation in the areas such as energy.

"We have identified the key areas and our business leaders are keen to take it forward," Sharma said. He said the deliberations of the two-day conference should be to initiate a dialogue for chartering the future roadmap for enhancing trade and investment.

He said the region, as a whole, had managed to maintain a trade surplus in most years of the last decade even when key world economies had been impacted by contraction in their growth.

Sharma also sought relaxation in the norms for utilisation of a special fund set up by the association for effective implementation of infrastructure projects in the region.

Giving his inaugural address, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam mooted creation of a free trade area in the region that could give a new dimension to the economic and business relations in the region. Mauritius, the co-chair of the conference, favoured using complementarities to unleash the potential of the region and asserted on focussing concrete deliverables. "We can't afford to be marginalised. We have to move forward..." he said.

The economic shift towards Asia-Pacific region is here to stay, said commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma, as a result of which, the Indian Ocean region has acquired greater importance.

"The contemporary relevance of the Indian Ocean as the lifeline connecting landmasses across four geographical regions of the world, namely South Asia, South East Asia, Middle East and East Africa assumes greater salience in our strategic perspective," said Sharma in his inaugural address at the First Economic and Business Conference of the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) here on Thursday.

The IOR-ARC comprises 20 members from the four geographical regions. India is currently the chair of the grouping and is co-host of the meet with Mauritius and industry chamber FICCI.

Even as the global economic crisis affected these countries, most have managed to maintain a consistent albeit slow growth of 5 per cent on an average, Sharma said, adding that the numbers can go up if the focus is shifted to deepening trade linkages.

India has pitched for reinvigorating a strategic grouping in the Indian Ocean region through deeper trade and economic ties and has mooted the creation of an institutional arrangement for B2B co-operation among the countries of the region.

“This region is important not just for itself, but also for the world. We need to look at trade and investment now,” commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said here at the inaugural session of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference on Thursday.

This is the first meeting of the grouping that has seen the participation of businesses from its 20 members, 17 years after it was formally launched.

Industry supported Sharma’s idea of a formal platform, but wants governments of the group to undertake measures such as customs harmonisation, a clearance mechanism for conducting trade in local currencies and allowing exim banks to undertake bilateral confirmation of letter of credits.

“There is a need for a formalising a platform for business-to-business exchange,” said FICCI president Naina Lal Kidwai. India, which took over as the chair of the organisation in November 2011, has been trying to e-energise the grouping that has so far been focusing on dealing strategic issues in the region such as combating piracy.

“It is important to take forward the momentum of our pan-Indian Ocean regional co-operation to the next logical level by creating an institutionalised mechanism for an interaction of our businesses by defining areas of co-operation,” Sharma said. Highlighting the importance of the regional grouping that has not yet been able to evolve into an economic and business alliance, Sharma said more than half of the world’s cargo passed through this region and proposed enhanced business co-operation in areas such as energy.

“We have identified key areas and our business leaders are keen to take it forward,” Sharma said. He said the deliberations of the two-day conference should be to initiate a dialogue for chartering the future road map for enhancing trade and investment.

He said the region, as a whole, had managed to maintain a trade surplus in most years of the last decade even when key world economies had been impacted by contraction in their growth. Sharma also sought relaxation in the norms for utilisation of a special fund set up by the association for effective implementation of infrastructure projects in the region.

India has pitched for reinvigorating a strategic grouping in the Indian Ocean region through deeper trade and economies ties and mooted creation of an institutional arrangement for business to business cooperation among the countries of the region.

"This region is important not just for itself but also for the world...We need to look at trade and investment now," commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said here at the inaugural session of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference on Thursday.

This is the first meeting of the grouping that has seen participation of businesses from its 20 members, 17 years after it was formally launched. Industry supported Sharma's idea of a formal platform but wants governments of the group to undertake measures such as customs harmonisation, a clearance mechanism for conducting trade in local currencies and allowing exim banks to undertake bilateral confirmation of letter of credits. "There is a need for a formalising a formal platform for business to business exchange," said FICCI president Naina Lal Kidwai.

India, which took over as the chair of the organisation in November 2011, has been trying to re-energise the grouping that has so far been focussing on dealing strategic issues in the region such as combating piracy.

"It is important to take forward the momentum of our pan-Indian ocean regional cooperation to the next logical level by creating an institutionalised mechanism for an interaction of our businesses by defining areas of cooperation," Sharma said. Highlighting the importance of the regional grouping that has not yet been able to evolve into an economic and business alliance, Sharma said more than half of the world's cargo passed through this region and proposed enhanced business cooperation in the areas such as energy. "We have identified the key areas and our business leaders are keen to take it forward," Sharma said.

He said the deliberations of the two-day conference should be to initiate a dialogue for chartering the future roadmap for enhancing trade and investment. He said the region, as a whole, had managed to maintain a trade surplus in most years of the last decade even when key world economies had been impacted by contraction in their growth.

Sharma also sought relaxation in the norms for utilisation of a special fund set up by the association for effective implementation of infrastructure projects in the region.

Giving his inaugural address, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam mooted creation of a free trade area in the region that could give a new dimension to the economic and business relations in the region. Mauritius, the co-chair of the conference, favoured using complementarities to unleash the potential of the region and asserted on focussing concrete deliverables. "We can't afford to be marginalised. We have to move forward..." he said.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) is yet to exploit full potential of intra-region trade and investment, said Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma.

This was mainly because of lack of a formal platform for doing business, insufficient infrastructure, scant information sharing, and lack of proper logistics.

A similar view was voiced by other member countries as well at the IOR-ARC Economic and Business Conference in Port Louis, Mauritius on Thursday.

“Despite the establishment of a Working Group on Trade and Investment, not much progress has been made for achieving substantial outcomes based on the promise that this region holds out and the potential that has largely remained unharnessed,” the Minister said while addressing the session on ‘Enhancing Trade and Investment in the IOR-ARC Region’.

The fact that this region as a whole managed to maintain a trade surplus in most years of the last decade even when the economies elsewhere were hit by subdued global demand and contracting growth in the West is an indication of growth prospects, he said.

“We have identified the key areas and our business leaders are keen to take it forward,” Sharma stated.

The Minister pushed for exploring institutionalised mechanisms for building regional cooperation for trade and investment, as in other regional groupings like the ASEAN, SAARC, COMESA, GCC and SACU.

“It is important to take forward the momentum of our pan-Indian ocean regional cooperation to the next logical level by creating an institutionalised mechanism for an interaction of our businesses by defining areas of cooperation,” he added.

The two-day conference proposes to bring together the Ministers of Commerce and Industry of the 20 IOR-ARC Member States – Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen – and the six Dialogue Partner States (China, Egypt, France, Japan, the UK and the US).

Some of the issues raised by the industry and other member countries included peak tariffs, trade concentration, close coordination between the Exim Banks of the region, and absence of clearance mechanism for conducting trade in local currencies.

On tariff rates, Naina Lal Kidwai, President of FICCI, said, “We see that while average tariffs have come down over time, businesses still have to deal with peak tariffs and diverse trade policy regimes within member states.”

Seeking to leverage the growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean and give new purpose to their 15-year-old regional association, countries in its littoral spanning three continents have launched an ambitious effort to find a common economic agenda.

Despite the challenges inherent in this task, ministers, officials and business delegations from the 20 countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, who began a two-day meeting in Mauritius on Thursday, were optimistic that their common stakes in the region could lead to successful economic cooperation.

The spirit of what they had set out do was perhaps best captured by Taira Masaaki — Parliamentary Vice Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan — who is a dialogue partner of the IORARC. He gave the example of his country’s automotive industry working through a supply chain that transcends national borders and promotes integration in its own way.

“The parts and components manufactured in Thailand and Indonesia are assembled in India and Australia and sold in Africa and the Middle East,” Mr. Masaaki said as he highlighted Japan’s interest in the IORARC’s agenda.

The reality checks came from FICCI’s Naina Lal Kidwai, who is leading the Indian business delegation. Tariffs, import restrictions on particular products, and the absence of a clearing mechanism for trade in local currencies, were some of the challenges for increasing trade in the region, she noted.

Ms. Kidwai also spoke about the need to diversify and expand the exports basket for better trading opportunities.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma, who is leading the Indian delegation, spoke of how the balance of world economic growth had shifted from the “North-West axis” to the global south, particularly the Asia-Pacific region.

This put the IORARC countries, with their combined GDP of $6 trillion (in 2011), in an advantageous position to create new pathways of cooperation not only among member-states, but with other regions, for the “shared benefit of economic development”.

Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, who was a founding member of the IORARC back in 1997, also sounded a note of urgency about the need for the IORARC, whose members range from Australia to countries in Africa and Asia, to take up the challenge.

Pointing to the proliferation of free trade agreements across the world — the trans-Pacific Partnership, and the recent decision by the EU and the United States to negotiate a Trade and Investment Partnership — Mr. Ramgoolam warned of being sidelined by the new economic map of the world.

“Can we afford to be marginalised within the emerging trade and economic configuration that will characterise the 21st century global trade and economic architecture? Of course not. Going on as before is not an option,” he said in his inaugural speech.

The uneasiness among some member-countries about an IORARC free-trade area, as some were already in such agreements with other countries, Mr. Ramgoolam said, should not prevent the group “from exploring the best possible arrangements” to foster trade and investment “in a structured manner and with clear commitment”.

He urged the group to explore the possibility of adopting “a variable geometry approach”.

Mauritius — the co-host of the event along with the IORARC chair India — is particularly keen to position itself as the main platform for the increasing financial investment in Africa. Foreign Minister Arvin Boolell spoke of a proposal to set up trade and investment promotion agencies on the IORARC platform.

Even as India Inc is hardselling its growth story in Africa and all eyes are on the magic figure of $100 billion bilateral trade between the two by 2015, a shortage of yellow fever vaccine might play a spoilsport.

In fact, many travellers, mostly on their business tours, have been forced to cancel trips to Africa as yellow fever vaccines have run out of stock. The vaccine is mandatory for travel to African and South American countries considered endemic regions for the disease. Yellow fever is a viral, haemorrhagic fever spread by mosquitoes.

According to official sources, the vaccine, manufactured domestically only by one Central government-run institute, is out of stock for the last two-three months. However, the shortage has been there for almost a year, with very few dosages available in retail. While the shortage was primarily caused because government-run Central Research Institute (CRI) in Kasauli stopped manufacturing the vaccine a year ago, the problem grew severe with import procurement also facing procedural delays, an official, in know of developments, told Business Standard.

“The government used to procure yellow fever vaccine through import. But because of some long pending issues in purchase, procedure and payment, the supplies are hampered and that is the main reason for this dire shortage,” the official said.

Industry officials said if the shortage continues, it would certainly hamper business activities in a big way. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry plans to lead a delegation to at least eight countries in Africa during the current financial year —including Liberia, Mozambique, Mauritius, Rwanda, Malawi, Ghana and Zambia. Apart from this, FICCI is in touch with 19 other nations to become participants in its showcase programme Namaskar Africa set to take place in Zambia later this year. The bilateral trade between India and Africa currently accounts for around $70 billion, but the Indian industry is eyeing a major ramp up of operations in the region. In such a scenario, the shortage of the yellow fever vaccine might play a spoilsport.

According to a top CRI official, while the demand for the vaccine is increasing constantly, the government does not have proper infrastructure and required funds to cater to the need. The institute used to manufacture a maximum of 4 million dosages till a year ago, when it stopped production. “The total requirement then was for 10.5 million, so the rest of the need was met through imports. However, the problem has grown because of issues in import,” the CRI official said. The institute stopped manufacturing after two of its machines used for the purpose broke down. “An important part known as a freezer drier, used to dry the liquid form of the vaccine, has been out of order. Since it is an imported machine, it is an expensive affair to repair the machine,” the official said.

Though the sale of the vaccine is allowed through retail, a person travelling to Africa or South American countries is required to get a certification from authorised or designated vaccine centres, which are in a few metropolitan cities. “With these designated centres running short of supplies, those who have to travel to these destinations are forced to cancel their trips,” said Suresh Gupta, General Secretary, All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists. Gupta, who is a wholesaler of medicines, has been contacted by various people in the past two months for the vaccine. However, he added, the vaccine is now in huge shortage even in retail. Besides, the cost of the vaccine in the private sector is between Rs 2,500- Rs 3,000, against Rs 150 at a government centre.

To address the issue, the government has recently started procuring from Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of Sanofi. The company, which imports the vaccine from France and sells it in India under its brand Stamaril, says it is suddenly faced with an unanticipated demand for the medicine.

“Given the current shortage of yellow fever vaccine brands at authorised government vaccination centres across the country, we are faced with an increased and unanticipated demand for Stamaril. To help meet the nation’s urgent requirement, we have immediately sourced and imported quantities of Stamaril. A major part of the first shipment that arrived, has already been provided to government institutions,” a Sanofi spokesperson said. She added the company is expecting further shipments and is working towards ensuring that the vaccine is made available in required quantities as soon as possible.

In an effort to push the bilateral trade between India and Africa from the present $70-billion to $100-billion by 2015, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is gearing up to market India’s growth story in Africa to ensure an upper hand in its investment race with China in Africa.

The apex chamber is leading its delegation to at least eight countries in Africa during the current financial year, including Liberia, Mozambique, Mauritius, Rowanda, Malawa, Ghana and Zambia.

Apart from this, FICCI is in touch with another 19 nations to become participants in its showcase programme ‘Namaskar Africa’ set to take place in Zambia late this year. ‘Namaskar Africa’ is a series of sub-regional India-Africa business networking forum and exhibition for businessmen, policymakers and institutions of India and Africa, organized by FICCI and the ministry of commerce.

FICCI is also batting for an Africa fund from the government to finance Indian investments there.

“The local governments are looking more at public-private-partnership projects with Indian companies like healthcare, mining, roads, railways, agriculture and power. We aim to lead Indian companies in raising the bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2015. Chinese government is itself lobbying for its companies in that continent, so from Indian side, we want to lead the race,” said R V Kanoria, past president of FICCI, who led a delegation to Africa last month.

Currently, out of 54 African nations, FICCI has joint business councils or memoranda of understanding with local business chambers in more than 22 countries. The major countries with which it has tie ups include South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda, Seychelles and Senegal. On the other hand, it also has understandings with regional bodies like The Economic Community Of West African States, East Africa Business Council and COMESA Business Council.

“We are the pioneers in focusing Africa. Now, the country has to focus more on the continent to counter the deep pockets that Chinese companies have,” added Sheila Sudhakaran, assistant secretary general and head, Africa Desk of FICCI.

FICCI also holds 51 per cent equity in Invest India, the country’s official agency for investment promotion and facilitation. In the venture, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry has 35 per cent stake, while each state governments have 0.5 per cent stake. This venture also is looking on African countries and companies to boost the bilateral trade.

India is currently the fourth-largest trading partner of Africa, followed by the European Union, China and the United States. However, the gap between Indian and Chinese presence in the continent is huge. Indian corporates like Bharti, Tatas, Bajaj Auto, Godrej, Marico are present in African markets.

A Nigerian official Friday asked the Indian industry to take advantage of the country's new visa policy, aimed at attracting global investors and tourists.

"The Nigerian government has recently approved a new visa policy, which is intended to ease the entry into the country of strategic visitors, especially investors and tourists, who have much to contribute to the national economy," Babatunde Lawal, director, macroeconomics department at the National Planning Commission of Nigeria said at an India-Africa Business Series event organised by industry body FICCI.

"It is my expectation that this year's forum will provide further opportunity fo deepening the participation of Indians in Nigeria's economic development process and vice versa," Lawal said.

He said as per the Nigeria's "Vision 20:2020" document, the country seeks to diversify the economy and aims to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) into sectors other than oil.

"Energy is a sector where India is increasingly looking westwards, towards Africa. Indian giants like ONGC Videsh, Oil India, are proactive in the oil and gas sector. A large proportion of India's energy needs are imported from Africa. In turn, India is looking into the development of downstream activities and adds value to the African exports," Lawal said.

According to the Nigerian planner, India's mining companies like Vendanta, Tata and the state-owned NMDC have made headway into Africa.

Nigeria is India's largest trading partner in Africa. India is also the second largest trading partner for Nigeria, with bilateral trade touching $17 billion in 2011-12.

Another Nigerian delegation composed of civil and military officials is currently on a study tour of India to understand how the Indian economy has grown and democratic governance has made fruits of the growth available to the people.

The first India-Africa Business Series, which had the theme 'Securing Energy for Emerging Markets: The Africa-Asia Experience', concluded with a networking session between companies in the oil and gas sector of both countries.

India looks to double the trade with West African nations to $ 40 billion by 2015, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said today.

Sharma, who is leading a 200-member FICCI delegation here for 'India Show', said the West African region holds huge potential for Indian businessmen.

"Currently the trade between India and West African region stood at $ 20 billion. I would ask chambers and industries to work towards taking this number to $ 40 billion by 2015. This is our target. This is my considered view that it is doable," he said here while inaugurating the show.

He said that main areas for cooperation include oil and gas, education, health-care, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, small and medium enterprises and infrastructure.

The minister said that Indian corporates are gradually increasing their presence in this region. The companies which have presence in the west African nations include Ashok Leyland, Airtel, Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra.

The government is expected to come out soon with new norms to revive special economic zones, which have lost sheen after imposition of certain levies and proposal to take away tax incentives, a government official said.

“The commerce and finance secretaries are discussing all the issues related to these zones...we have to attract investments,” commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said. Mr Sharma, who was leading a 200-member FICCI delegation, was here to inaugurate a three-day 'India Show'.

The government had imposed minimum alternative tax and dividend distribution tax on SEZs in financial year 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all the levies.
The minister had admitted earlier that due to imposition of these levies, there has been a visible slowdown in growth of export from SEZs.

The Direct Taxes Codes (DTC), being considered by Parliament, proposes to do away with the income tax exemption given to them and instead link tax sops to investments made in them. Profit-linked benefits were the main attraction of the SEZ scheme.

After the SEZ scheme was launched in 2006, initially it was found developers were lining up in big numbers for projects. It was also seen as a real estate opportunity.

To boost investors confidence, the government is planning incentives for developers who want to set up SEZs in remote and undeveloped areas.

The Indian government is expected to come out soon with new norms to revive special economic zones (SEZs), which have lost sheen after imposition of certain levies and proposal to take away tax incentives, a government official said.

"The Commerce and Finance Secretaries are discussing all the issues relating with these zones...we have to attract investments," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told PTI.

Sharma, who was leading a 200 member FICCI delegation, was here to inaugurate the three-day 'India Show'.

The government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax ( DDT) on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.

Earlier, the minister had admitted that due to imposition of these levies, there has been a visible slowdown in growth of export from SEZs.

The Direct Taxes Codes (DTC) being considered by Parliament proposes to do away with the income tax exemption given to them and instead link tax sops to investments made in them. Profit-linked benefits were the main attraction of the SEZ scheme.

The initial phase of SEZ scheme, launched in 2006, saw developers lining up in big numbers for projects. It was also seen as a real estate opportunity.

To boost investors confidence in these zones, the government is planning incentives for developers who want to set up SEZs in remote and undeveloped areas.

According to sources, the government is considering to relax minimum land area requirement for different categories of SEZ, besides extending the benefits of export schemes to SEZ units, that are already available to entities outside the zone.

Exports from SEZs stood at Rs 3.65 lakh crore in 2011-12. With investment of Rs 2.02 crore, these zones provide employment to over 8.45 lakh.

Overseas shipments from the 153 operational tax-free havens have come down to 12 per cent in the country's total exports from about 30 per cent in the previous years.

Sharma added that reform measures were high on the agenda of UPA-II as India needs to attract investments to further boost the country's economic growth.

He said that measures like timely implementation of the Goods and Services tax (GST) would act as a big booster to the economy.

The Indian Government is expected to come out soon with new norms to revive special economic zones (SEZs), which have lost sheen after imposition of certain levies and proposal to take away tax incentives, a government official said.

“The Commerce and Finance Secretaries are discussing all the issues relating with these zones...We have to attract investments,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told news agency

Sharma, who was leading a 200 member FICCI delegation, was here to inaugurate the three-day ‘India Show’.

The Government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.

Earlier, the minister had admitted that due to imposition of these levies, there has been a visible slowdown in growth of export from SEZs.

The Direct Taxes Codes (DTC) being considered by Parliament proposes to do away with the income tax exemption given to them and instead link tax sops to investments made in them. Profit-linked benefits were the main attraction of the SEZ scheme.

The initial phase of SEZ scheme, launched in 2006, saw developers lining up in big numbers for projects. It was also seen as a real estate opportunity.

To boost investors confidence in these zones, the government is planning incentives for developers who want to set up SEZs in remote and undeveloped areas.

According to sources, the government is considering to relax minimum land area requirement for different categories of SEZ, besides extending the benefits of export schemes to SEZ units, that are already available to entities outside the zone.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has asserted that he would hold consultations with state chief ministers, including its ally Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, to evolve a strong consensus on the issue of letting foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. At the same time, he set at rest speculations on dilution of the clause pertaining to 30 per cent mandatory sourcing from small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Mr. Sharma said, “sourcing of a minimum of 30 per cent from Indian micro and small industry having capital investment of not more than $1 million is mandatory, and there is no compromise on it.”.

Mr. Sharma is presently on a visit to Ghana in connection with the “India Show” organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Asked if the FDI in multi-brand retail would be notified after the Presidential polls, Mr. Sharma told The Hindu that no firm deadline could be fixed for it. The government would make an appropriate announcement at an appropriate time, he added.

Mr. Sharma said he had written to a number of chief ministers, including the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and also had held personal consultations with him on the issue. “I would be undertaking further consultations with the chief ministers of various other States in the coming days to evolve a strong consensus on the issue to ensure better crop management and bring down post-harvest losses. Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana are some of the Governments which have already agreed to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, and we should not deprive the States that want FDI in multi-brand just because some others are opposed to it,” he said.

The Commerce Minister said that key stakeholders such as the farmers, the rural population and the consumers were badly impacted by the absence of adequate processing facilities and infrastructure resulting in massive post-harvest losses. “It is imperative to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for whatever is procured from the fields,” he said.

Since the notification of 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail, a number of multi-national companies and big chains had shown interest in setting up shop in India, he said. “Some concerns are raised over the 30 per cent mandatory sourcing in single-brand retail. We are looking at all these issues . IKEA is keen to enter India. It is already sourcing a number of products from India and had indicated that sourcing from SMEs could reach 1.5 billion euro level soon. The country is likely to witness a number of other players enter the Indian market in the single-brand retail in the coming days,” he added.

India has set a target of $40 billion trade turnover with the West African nations from the present $20 billion.

“We are not only looking at enhancing trade with the West African countries but also looking at co-operation in gas and oil sectors. We are looking at Africa as a whole for taking our partnership to a new level through various gestures in different fields,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told journalists.

Mr. Sharma, along with Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister Hanna Tetteh, inaugurated the “India Show” here on Monday. The show has been organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in partnership with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Mr. Sharma is leading a 200-strong business delegation to Ghana as part of the India’s thrust to enhance economic partnership in the region.

Mr. Sharma said that India had also set a target of $90 billion trade with Africa by 2015. The total trade between India and Africa was around $50 billion till last year. India and African financial institutions have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote finance, trade and investment flows. The bilateral trade between India and Ghana is expected to touch $1 billion by 2013.

During 2010-11, the bilateral trade stood at $818 million. Mr. Sharma said that India proposed to set up a $1.2 billion urea fertilizer plant in Ghana. Both the countries have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up the plant in a joint venture. The plant is expected to produce one million tones of urea annually when commissioned. The JV will be between Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. The plant is expected to take three years for completion after the allocation of gas by the Ghana Government. It is located in the Nynkrome region of Shama district in Ghana.

Ms. Hanna Tetteh said as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation was laying the pipeline to carry the gas, it was difficult to fix the price without taking into consideration the overall cost structure. “We are committed to establishing this urea plant as soon as possible. An Indian technical team has already visited Ghana and identified the site for the plant. We are going to seal the issue as soon as the gas price matter is sorted out,” she said.

A three-day trade fair opened in Accra yesterday to showcase Indian businesses and products to the local market.

The exposition is part of efforts by the Indian government to deepen and diversify its engagement with Ghana and the rest of Africa.

The fair, put together by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), with the support of the Indian government, is on the theme: “The India show: Land of limitless opportunities”.

One hundred exhibitors have displayed items from sectors such as agriculture and allied activities, the services sector, including health, Information Technology (IT), telecom and financial services.

Manufacturing inputs in the areas of mining and minerals, energy, infrastructure, construction, consumer durables, pharmaceuticals, science and technology, textiles and education are also on display.

Over 200 business leaders who accompanied India’s Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Mr Anand Sharma, are expected to engage in business discussions with Ghanaian and West African business representatives who are participating in the fair.

According to Mr Sharma, although the West African sub-region was noted for small and medium-scale enterprises, trade volumes between the sub-region and India over the past years rose to about $20 billion.

He charged ECOWAS industries and stakeholder bodies to endeavour to increase investment to $40 billion by 2015.

“India will continue to share its technology to address developmental challenges in Africa, since the technology is best suited for the region in the common quest of Africa’s development,” he said.

He indicated the Indian government’s intention to situate the African Institute of Technology in the country to further aide technological advancement.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, said the large number of business people participating in the programme was a clear demonstration of the Indian government’s vote of confidence in Ghana’s democratic credentials, in spite of Ghana’s general election in December this year.

She said India’s continued partnership had resulted in significant development in all spheres across the country.

The minister said Ghana’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 14 per cent recorded in 2011 was a clear indication that the years ahead would be rewarding and profitable.

While luring the business delegation to explore all available investment opportunities that had the tendency to grow beyond mutual cooperation to profitability, Ms Tetteh expressed the hope that India’s engagement with the West African sub-region and beyond would be reciprocal.

The leader of the delegation, Mr Vikramjit Singh Sahney, in his address, indicated that the recent growth rate in Africa should be a test case for the continent to scale up its activities in the global market.

"With the unfolding of the new economic global landscape focusing on strengthening South-South synergies, West Africa, with its strong economic fundamentals, holds great promise for the future,” he said.

He said South-South cooperation held the key to unlock the potential and create better opportunities for Africa.

India is keen to invest in Ghana's hydrocarbon industry, visiting commerce minister Anand Sharma said as a large Indian trade expo opened in Accra on Monday. Ghana began oil production in 2010 and currently produces about 70,000 barrels a day. Sharma, who is heading a 200-member trade delegation, India's biggest to any African country, said, "We have a keen interest in the Ghana developing hydrocarbon sector and would discuss this and other sectors for close cooperation."

The exhibition is being jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Ghana, which started oil production in January 2010 and partners with the UK Tullow Oil in the country's Jubilee oil fields, has announced that it will peak its production to about 120,000 barrels next year.

India's interest in Ghana's development was part of its growing interest to play a role in the development of the West Africa region and Africa as a whole through trade, Sharma said at a press conference on Monday.

He urged the chambers of commerce in West Africa and India to work towards increasing trade between the two sides from the current US$ 20 billion annually to US$ 40 billion by 2015.

He said, "What we have achieved with trade between India and the West Africa region, it is possible to double the current figure of $20 million over the next three years."

The growth in trade demonstrated India's commitment to partner with Africa for the continent's development, he said, adding the pan-African e-project is "one of the shining examples of cooperation between our people".

Under the project, 47 countries across Africa, have been linked up through the internet and 15 universities have been linked up with their counterparts in India.

"The entire project is without cost or burden to Africa, Sharma said adding, "This is what we believe in and we are not just looking for resources because we believe in investment."

He said India looks at the other needs of its partners and does this by empowering its people. "Within the past three years, India has educated over 20,000 Africans in its institutions."

Ghana trade and industry minister Hannah Tetteh said cooperation between India and Africa is "rooted in good relationship, and that, there are opportunities of growth across the African continent."

She said the decision to hold the exhibition in Ghana was a demonstration of faith in the country's economy. "This is a good time to invest in Ghana because the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 14% last year.

"In addition, there is good prognosis for growth and we intend to keep it so because Ghana is the most stable country in the West Africa region," she added.

Tetteh said investments from Indian companies in Ghana has increased over the past few years.

India is seeking to invest in Ghana’soil and gas sector and double trade with West Africa to $40 billion by 2015 as part of its growing efforts to play a larger role in the development of Africa as a whole.

“We have a keen interest in Ghana’s developing hydrocarbon sector and would discuss this and other sectors for close cooperation,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said after opening a Indian trade expo here Monday.

Ghana, which started oil production in January 2010 and partners with the UK Tullow Oil in the country’s Jubilee oil fields, has announced that it will peak production to about 120,000 barrels next year.

Ghana currently produces about 70,000 barrels of oil a day.

Sharma, leading a 200-member trade delegation, the biggest to any African country, emphasised the need for deepening and diversifying India’s economic engagements with West African countries.

He said India wanted to double its trade with West Africa to $40 billion by 2015 from the current around $20 billion.

“What we have achieved with trade between India and the West Africa region, it is possible to double the current figure of $20 million over the next three years.”

Sharma urged the chambers of commerce in West Africa and India to work towards increasing trade between the two sides.

Ghana Trade and Industry Minister Hannah Tetteh said cooperation between India and Africa is “rooted in good relationship, and that, there are opportunities of growth across the African continent.”

She said the decision to hold the India Show in Ghana was a demonstration of faith in the country’s economy. “This is a good time to invest in Ghana because the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 14 percent last year.

“In addition, there is good prognosis for growth and we intend to keep it so because Ghana is the most stable country in the West Africa region,” she added.

Tetteh said investments from Indian companies in Ghana has increased over the past few years.

Sharma also said the pan-African e-project is “one of the shining examples of cooperation between our people”.

Under the project, 47 countries across Africa, have been linked up through the internet and 15 universities have been linked up with their counterparts in India.

“The entire project is without cost or burden to Africa, Sharma said adding, “This is what we believe in and we are not just looking for resources because we believe in investment.”

He said India looks at the other needs of its partners and does this by empowering its people. “Within the past three years, India has educated over 20,000 Africans in its institutions.”

The expo is being jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

ECOWAS comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo along with Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, São Tome and Principe and the Republic of Congo.

India is likely to ask Ghana to provide assured gas supply at competitive rates to the proposed USD 1 billion urea project of Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd (RCF) in the western African nation.

Country's largest urea maker RCF plans to set up a urea plant with a capacity of 1 million tonnes per annum in Ghana.

"There is an issue of gas pricing for the project. The matter is expected to be taken up by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma during his meeting with Ghana Trade and Industry Minister Hannah Tetteh tomorrow," an official said.

Sharma is visiting Ghana to attend a three-day India show starting tomorrow.

Fertiliser Secretary Ajay Bhattacharya, who is accompanying Sharma, would discuss the issue with government officials there, the official said, adding that the plant is expected to be commissioned by 2016-17.

A FICCI business delegation, led by Sun Group CEO Vikramjit Singh Sahney, is also accompanying Sharma.

The plant is expected to come up in the Shama district in western Ghana.

"The gas price negotiations are pending and are key to the viability of the project," the official said.

State-owned RCF manufactures various grades of complex fertilisers at its two manufacturing units in Thal and Trombay in Maharashtra.

Food processing companies and allied firms have all geared up to make a new partnership in Ghana, the new business partner in West Africa. More than 100 companies including health, IT, ITES, telecom & financial services, value added manufacturing including mining and minerals, energy, infrastructure, construction, consumer durables, pharmaceuticals, science & technology, textiles and education are expected to seek business opportunities in their three-day visit in India show to Accra, a major city of Ghana from July 9.

Led by Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Chairman and CEO of Sun Group, the FICCI business delegation will be participating in this show to promote Indian business strength in West Africa.

India's trade with Africa has risen from US$ 25 billion in 2006-07 to US$ 53.3 billion in 2010-11. India's exports to Africa have risen from US$ 10.3 billion in 2006-07 to US$ 20.9 billion in 2010-11, primarily due to increase in exports of transport equipment and petroleum products.

India has signed trade agreements with almost all West African countries but the volume of trade and investments between India and these countries remains relatively modest. The reasons are lack of infrastructure facilities and other trade amenities, which have limited India's trade to basic commodities. The language barrier is another contributing factor.

Aiming to enhance trade and economic ties with West African nations, over 100 companies including Reliance, Airtel and L&T are expected to participate in the three-day ‘India Show’ in Ghana beginning on July 9. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma will be accompanied by a FICCI business delegation led by Sun Group chairman Vikramjit Singh Sahney at the event. The team will look at opportunities in the Economic Community of West African States, which includes Mali, Niger, Togo, Congo and Senegal.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is organising a four-day The India Show at Ghana starting July 9. Vikramjit S Sahney, who is also a part of Prime Minister’s India-Africa Business Council, will lead the 200-strong CEO delegation.

India is focussing on enhancing economic and trade co-operation with West African nations and has set sights on increasing the trade turnover with such African countries to around $20 billion by 2015 from the present $14.1 billion per annum.

In addition, the focus would be on acquisition of energy assets, including oil and gas, and penetrate African markets for the pharmaceutical sector with generic drugs taking the lead. As a step in this direction, India will be holding a three-day ‘India Show’ in Ghana from July 9 in which nearly 100 leading Indian companies, including Airtel, L&T, Reliance Industries, Sun Group, Ashok Leyland, Apollo Hospitals and Tata Group are taking part.

Besides, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will lead a delegation of businessmen and officials to explore the vast business opportunities in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes nations such as Mali, Niger, Togo, Congo and Senegal, according to Vikramjit Singh Sahani of Sun Group and lead the delegation on behalf of Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The delegation comprised representatives from sectors such as fertilizer, oil and gas, agriculture, food processing, services, health, IT, telecom, manufacturing, energy, pharmaceuticals, textiles and education, Mr. Sahney said.

Interestingly, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the research arm of the Ministry of Defence, will also be showcasing its innovations that have civilian application and particularly in areas where there is suitability for the African sub-continent.

Aiming to enhance trade and economic ties with West African nations, over 100 companies including Reliance, Airtel and L&T are expected to participate in the three-day ‘India Show’ in Ghana beginning on July 9. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma will be accompanied by a Ficci business delegation led by Sun Group chairman Vikramjit Singh Sahney at the event. The team will look at opportunities in the Economic Community of West African States, which includes Mali, Niger, Togo, Congo and Senegal.

Over 200 business leaders are expected to converge on Accra to showcase what India has to offer to the African business community next week.

The first India-ECOWAS show is an initiative of the federation of Indian Chambers of Commence and Industry which is an apex Chamber of Commence in India in collaboration with ECOWAS, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and chamber of commerce in the various West African countries.

The Indian Show, which is scheduled from Monday, July 9th to Wednesday July 11 and themed, “Showcasing India in the 21st Century, will comprising an exhibition and business forum.

Launching the show in Accra on Tuesday, Willson Attah Krofah, a representative from the ECOWAS Private Sector, stated that the economic bloc was partnering India which is one of the fastest growing economies in the world as part of its focus on the Africa initiative.

He was optimistic that the show would be a “win-win situation as it would bring the Indian brand to the shores of Africa and also offer us Africans the occasion to also showcase what we have to India and the world.”

He said it would also serve as a platform for the African businesses to learn about new trade and investment opportunities.

“The Indian show promises to be the perfect opportunity and platform for African businessmen and institutions who seek partnership for trade, joint ventures, technology transfer and investment from their Indian Counterparts.”

The objective of the event includes creating awareness about the best Indian technologies and products, exploring opportunities offered by the West African region.

Rajinader Bhagat, Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, on his part, noted that there has been growing interest of India investors in Africa.

He was hopeful that the show would strengthen the corporation and ties between India and the West African Region in existing and new areas.

West Africa constitutes 18.25 per cent of Africa’s total GDP and 30 per cent of its total population while India is the second largest trade partner of West Africa in terms of value among the five sub-regions of Africa.

As India and Mauritius are engaged in revising their tax treaty to prevent misuse by third-country players, the island nation on Wednesday assured India Inc it did not want to be a route for money laundering and hoped mutually satisfactory solution could be found in negotiation.

However, Mauritius did not divulge whether it was agreeable to India’s demand that New Delhi should be allowed to impose capital gains tax on investments routed through the country.

“We believe we can find a mutually satisfactory solution and a win-win package that would address concern about alleged misuse (of the tax treaty),” Mauritius Prime Minister Navincha-ndra Ramgoolam said at a meeting with Indian business community, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

Yesterday, Ramgoolam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reviewed the status of negotiations on the revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and directed officials to fast-forward talks in this regard.

India and Mauritius had one round of talks in December to revise the treaty after similar negotiations were stalled in 2008. A joint working group was constituted in 2006 to negotiate DTAA with Mauritius and its last meeting was held in 2008. The changes in the treaty would change the way foreign investors structured their investments in India.

The negotiations were stalled for several years, as Mauritius was not ready to revise the DTAA, fearing it would affect interests of its investors.

The review is aimed at preventing evasion of taxes, as over 40 per cent of the total foreign direct investment in India is made through Mauritius, a low-tax jurisdiction. Also, over 40 per cent of foreign institutional investor money is understood to be routed through the island nation, much of which is poured by third-country investors.

Officials had earlier said India would pitch for imposition of capital gains tax on investments routed through Mauritius. India wants capital gains tax should be imposed where source originates, and the source is India because gains are in India. According to the present treaty, it is with the resident country, which is Mauritius. It does not impose the tax.

Ramgoolam said the DTAA had served both countries well. “The India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention has seen, we feel, an unfair criticism, despite the fact that the legitimacy of the treaty has been upheld time and again in legal instances ... We also do not want to have round tripping, money laundering,” he said.

He said avoiding misuse of the treaty was important for Mauritius, as well.

“We have a clean image... So, it’s important for us, as well... I think the latest Supreme Court judgment in India on the Vodafone case said it very clearly... There were some concerns relating to the alleged misuse of the treaty,” he said, adding assurances had been given to them by India that nothing would be done to hurt the economic interest of Mauritius.

Mauritius on Wednesday defended its double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with India, sections of which New Delhi wants amended to ensure companies do not use the this route to evade taxes.

The pact between India and Mauritius provides that capital gains arising in India can only be taxed in Mauritius. However, since Mauritius does not tax capital gains, this route was being misused by entities, mostly from a third country, to invest in India, a practice commonly referred to as “treaty shopping”. There were also concerns about alleged “round-tripping” of funds, or routing of Indian funds through Mauritius, to enjoy tax benefits.

Visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said he had discussed the issue of the amendments with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh who assured him that India would not do anything to hurt the economic interests of Mauritius.

“Too often, the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention, has been, we feel, the butt of unfair criticism despite the fact that the validity of the treaty has been upheld time and again in legal instances. There has been much exaggeration. We do not want to have round tripping, money laundering, corruption,” Ramgoolam told a business meeting organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Ramgoolam stressed that Mauritius ranked high in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) classification for clean financial practices. He cited the Indian Supreme Court judgement on the Vodafone Group Plc tax case last month to reinforce his argument. In its judgement, the apex court recognized Mauritius to be a legitimate route of foreign direct investment and rejected the claim of the tax department that this route was being deliberately used to avoid paying taxes, hastening the need for amending the existing DTAA.

India had some concerns relating to the “alleged misuse” of the treaty, Ramgoolam said, adding that Mauritius was “quite prepared to address these issues whilst remaining guided by the assurance given to us by India that nothing will be done to hurt the economic interests of Mauritius”.

India and Mauritius have begun negotiations for amending the DTAA, with a meeting held in December.

According to the Indian government, $62 billion of investment out of $152 billion received by India during 2000-2011, which is about 40%, has come through Mauritius.

A person familiar with the situation said India and Mauritius had “disagreements” on the subject, but were working on resolving them. Finance secretary R.S. Gujral had said recently that the Mauritian government was reluctant to make changes to the existing treaty.

“The Indian government can ask to include the limitations of benefit clause on lines of the Singapore treaty, wherein companies with an annual spend of $200,000 will only be eligible for treaty benefits. This will ensure that paper companies are kept out,” said Sudhir Kapadia, national tax leader at audit and consulting firm Ernst and Young.

‘Invest India’ and the Board of Investment (BOI) of Mauritius today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on bilateral investment promotion and facilitation.
‘Invest India’ is a joint venture between FICCI, DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) and state governments, set up to facilitate the inflow in investments into India. The MoU was signed by Mr Anupam Srivastava, managing director, Invest India and Mr Ken Poonoosamy, managing director, Board of Investment of Mauritius, according to a release by FICCI.

In terms of the MoU, the two parties have agreed to cooperate in the promotion of entrepreneurship in their respective countries and identify and promote specific investment projects. The two organisations will exchange information on investment procedures, entrepreneurial resources, legal framework and investment opportunities.

For facilitation of investments, the MoU enjoins on the two parties to provide information assistance to companies during the pre-investment stage; identify potential business partners and assist in the selection and negotiation process and assist during project implementation and enable the processing of relevant documentation within a reduced time frame.

Meanwhile, Mr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister of Mauritius, has invited Indian business to enter into partnerships with their counterparts in his country and forge joint ventures by taking advantage of Mauritius’ diversified industrial base, ease of doing business and the country’s safe and business-friendly location.

FMCG player, Marico Ltd plans to scale up its overseas business by almost 40 per cent to Rs 1,000 crore over the next one and half years.

Over and above the organic growth, the company would look at acquisitions in Asia and Africa to expand its international business, according to its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Harsh Mariwala.

Marico's international business currently stands at Rs 700 crore and accounts for almost 25 per cent of its total turnover.

Acquisitions

“We are looking at acquisitions to boost our overseas business. These acquisitions will be in the beauty and wellness segment and we are looking at Asian and African countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Kenya among others,” he said, on the sidelines of a FICCI press conference here on Friday. But he refused to divulge further details.

Marico has been on an acquisition spree over the last two years. It recently acquired the Malaysian brand Code 10, Derma Rx in Singapore via wholly-owned subsidiary Kaya Ltd, Ingwe in South Africa, and also took a 85 per cent stake in International Consumer Products Corporation (ICP) of Vietnam.

Bangladesh account for almost 50 per cent of the company's total international business at Rs 350 crore, he said.

State-owned trading firm MMTC Ltd, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco) and the conglomerate Bharti Enterprises plan to join the growing number of Indian entities engaged in commercial farming in Africa.

Cheap land and labour costs in Africa are attracting a number of Indian firms with interest in agriculture. A large number of people in East African countries such as Kenya work in the cultivation of tea, coffee, corn, vegetables, sugarcane, wheat and fruits, among other things.

India imports around 8 million tonnes (mt) of edible oil worth Rs.26,000 crore every year and 3.5 mt of pulses worth Rs.14,175 crore.

MMTC is keen to grow pulses in Africa to meet shortages at home.

“India has a perpetual shortage of pulses... At present, black-eyed pea and pigeon pea is coming from Myanmar, which is a very unstable market,” said H.S. Mann, MMTC’s director of marketing and acting chairman and managing director.

“So we want to diversify in countries such as Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique. We are looking at avenues such as government-to-government procurement, contract farming and long-term assured procurement,” he said.

MMTC plans to start off cultivating 2 mt of pulses in Tanzania and Kenya, he added.

On 4 August, Mint reported the Adani Group’s plan to set up farms in Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia and Malaysia to cultivate edible oil and pulses.

“We are looking at Africa for agriculture opportunities in contract farming. We are yet to finalize anything,” said U.S. Awasthi, managing director, Iffco.

Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman and managing director, Bharti Enterprises, said Kenya’s ministry of agriculture has invited Indian farmers to cultivate local land.

“There is a discussion which is going on,” Mittal said in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Thursday, where he was attending an India-Africa partnership conference called Namaskaar Africa, organized by Indian business lobby, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Bharti Enterprises is already present in Africa through its telecom firm Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s largest telecom service provider, which acquired Kuwaiti telecom firm Zain’s African assets in a $10.7 billion deal this year.

Responding to a specific question about Bharti Enterprises’ agriculture plans in Africa, Mittal said that Kenya’s invitation was currently to the government of India and that private investment by Indian firms could follow.

He said India and Africa are taking their links beyond manufacturing and services. For both regions, “food security will become the (main) issue over a period of time and I think we need to take the next step forward”.

Bharti Enterprises has a joint venture with Del Monte Pacific Ltd through which it farms 5,000 acres in the Indian state of Punjab. The joint venture produces, locally distributes and exports fruits and vegetables to the UK, West Asia and South-East Asia under the FieldFresh brand.

“Agriculture is one of the seven priority sectors of India’s engagement with Africa.... We import pulses and we will be more supportive of more land being brought under for cultivation and for value addition and India is the market,” India’s commerce minister Anand Sharma told reporters at the same conference.

“India is a big market. We are already importing, so I am sure that India can absorb that production,” Sharma said.

He added that India is food sufficient. “What we import in India is only pulses and edible oil.”

India has long-standing ties with many African nations, forged by its support for their independence movements. India and China, the world’s fastest growing major economies, are also racing to acquire stakes in hydrocarbon blocks in Africa and elsewhere to meet rising domestic power demand.

India has mounted pressure on East African countries against the latter's proposed anti-counterfeiting legislation.

These proposed laws, being brought in allegedly at the behest of the certain multinational drug giants, could affect India's exports of generic (or off-patent) drugs – most of them affordable life-saving medicines – to Africa.

These laws, sources said, seek to equate legitimate generics with counterfeit drugs, a move that could affect the health security of many economically-backward Africans.

Concerns

The Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, has written to his counterparts in East African nations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda expressing his concerns regarding these countries bringing out a policy on anti-counterfeiting. A fifth of India's pharma exports worth over Rs 44,000 crore goes to Africa, according to industry estimates. One-fourth of world's generics and a fifth of world's drugs are made in India, Mr Sharma said.

Mr Sharma, who was here to inaugurate FICCI's ‘Namaskar Africa' initiative, also raised the issue when he called on Kenyan Prime Minister, Mr Raila Odinga. He later said, Mr Odinga appreciatively acknowledged the contribution of Indian generics.

Pharma Benchmarks

Mr Sharma claimed that Indian pharma companies are the best in terms of global standards and benchmarks, adding that the largest US Food and Drug Administration Approvals for non-US companies are of Indian companies.

According to Indian Commerce and Industry officials, New Delhi will follow up the matter with these countries. The Kenyan anti-counterfeit law was passed in 2008, but in April 2010, the Constitution Court in Kenya has stayed the legislation following a petition by HIV-positive patients, the officials added.

Mr Sharma, in his letter to Kenyan Trade Minister, Mr Amb Chirau Ali Mwakwere, warned that such a policy will have long-term implications not just for the countries of East African community but for the entire developing world.

Later addressing the Namaskar Africa function, Mr Sharma said that life-saving medicines were unaffordable for poor people in Africa, Asia and South America as prices were kept high by MNCs' cartels.

Cost Control

The battle against these high-priced drugs were fought by Indian pharma companies by bringing down the cost of drugs in Africa for HIV/AIDS treatment for one patient for one year from $12,000 to currently less than $400.

Similarly, in tuberculosis and malaria, Indian companies and the Government are trying to bring down cost of vaccines.

“Therefore we have to guard against the moves, voices and initiatives which are outside the purview of WTO or WIPO. They try to confuse the generics in the name of counterfeits drugs, but Indian generics are respected across the world,” Mr Sharma said.

Besides, India's domestic legislation is fully aligned with the international best practices, WTO's TRIPs, and other GATT agreements, he said, adding that India's generics and its pharma industry are fully compliant with TRIPs norms.

“Nothing should be done out of the ambit of WTO and WIPO. Indian generics are not counterfeit, they are real,” he said, adding that Indian companies not only exports these products from India, but also have manufacturing facilities in Africa, South America and Asia.

He also raised concerns regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement being discussed by some developed countries and is considered WTO non-compliant.

Mr Sharma said his EU counterpart recognized that EU's seizure of Indian generics shipments in transit towards third countries was incorrect.

The EU Trade Commissioner assured that the EU will plug all loopholes in its Customs norms.

Meanwhile, India and Kenya have agreed to increase cooperation in IT, agriculture including agro-processing, infrastructure, oil and gas, manufacturing and healthcare during the bilateral Joint Trade Committee Meeting on Thursday.

India and Kenya have set a bilateral trade target of $2.5 billion by 2012-13, from the current level of $1.5 billion in 2009-10.

Decision was also taken to fast-track the finalisation of a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) and a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Kenya.

Companies from India and 12 East African nations, belonging to different sectors, are getting together this week at the Kenyan capital Nairobi in a bid to ink deals to the tune of $1 billion.

Mr Rajan B. Mittal, the President of the business body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), will be leading the largest ever Indian business delegation to Africa of 181 members.

The delegates represent leading companies including Bharti Enterprises, TCS, MMTC, BHEL, Apollo, Fortis, Escorts, Essar, KEC International, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Export Import Bank of India, Serum Institute, Greaves Cotton, Hamdard, Kirloskar and Ashoka Buildcon.

Focus Sectors

The focus sectors will be agro-processing, IT/ITeS, telecom, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, banking, power, construction, minerals, roads and railways, e-banking, e-health, e-education and as well as skill development.

These companies will network with their counterparts from East Africa at the two-day ‘Namaskar Africa' event beginning October 14 organised by FICCI with support from India's Commerce and Industry Ministry.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Business Council (EABC) and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the participating 12 African countries are also lending a helping hand.

The last such ‘Namaskar Africa' event was held in Nigeria and was attended by 15 Western African countries and a 153-member strong Indian delegation. It also had targeted businesses worth $1 billion, and managed to strike deals of $750 million, some of which are being followed up now, the FICCI Secretary-General, Dr Amit Mitra, said.

Stating that these events are part of FICCI's larger strategy of covering the whole African continent, Dr Mitra said FICCI will organise a meeting in Southern African region within the next six months with Southern African Development Community member nations. FICCI had arranged a meeting with seven Central African countries in March 2009 at Congo, which saw the participation of 45 Indian and 350 African delegates. It generated businesses of over $150 million, he said. “Even the US covers only seven countries in Africa. But after the Nairobi event, FICCI would have covered 34 of the 51 African countries. The Southern African event will cover the remaining. No other organisation has made this kind of effort in Africa,” he said.

Dr Mitra said the challenges hindering India's engagement with East Africa include inadequate power supply, poor infrastructure, lack of entrepreneurial capacity, lack of transparency, regulatory barriers, and restrictions to external and internal trade.