CII Communique - February, 2010

eport
US-India Strategic Dialogue
Experts in academia, industry and the government
from India and the US came together at the ‘US-India
Strategic Dialogue’ organised by CII and the Aspen
Strategy Group (ASG) on 9-10 January in New Delhi.
The delegates held in-depth discussions in advancing
Indo-US relations with a strategic perspective, as part
of their Track II dialogue. They exchanged views on
issues relating to energy and climate change, the
defence partnership and bilateral relations post the
economic recession. They also discussed possible
options in tackling geopolitical issues in Pakistan,
Afghanistan and China.
Mr Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Environment and
Forests, India, delivered the keynote address on the
first day of the Strategic Dialogue on India’s plans on
energy and climate change and gave a de-briefing of
the Copenhagen accord. On the second day, Mr B J
Panda, MP, gave the keynote on India’s democratic
structure, explaining the rise of regional parties.
The US delegation met with officials from the Government
of India, including Mr SM Krishna, Minister for
External Affairs; Mr Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for
Communications and IT; Admiral Nirmal Verma, Chief of
Naval Staff; Mr Shyam Saran, Prime Minister’s Special
Envoy for Climate Change; Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, and Mr MK
Narayanan, former National Security Advisor.
Dinner with Richard Holbrooke
CII organized a
meeting of India’s
leading industrialists,
former diplomats,
M e m b e r s o f
Parliament, officials
of the Indian armed
forces and officials
of the US Embassy
i n N e w D e l h i
with Ambassador
Richard Holbrooke,
Tarun Das, former Chief Mentor, CII,
U S S p e c i a l
greets Ambassdor Richard Holbrooke, US
Representative for Special Representative for
Afghanistan and
Afghanistan-Pakistan
Pakistan and the delegation accompanying him, on
18 January in New Delhi. The two sides engaged in
wide ranging discussions on India’s strategic role in
reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and promoting
stability in the South Asian region.
IBF Members in the Spotlight
L&T
India's Larsen & Toubro said its whollyowned
unit won two turnkey projects
for computerising the maintenance
of rolling assets of the Indian
Railways.
Ranbaxy
Ranbaxy Laboratories has started discussions to buy
a privately-held Bangalore-based vaccine company,
persons familiar with the development said. While the
identity of the company could not be ascertained, the
Bangalore-based company is said to be small in size
and the deal could be valued around Rs 50 crore.
Tata's Nano
The world's cheapest car is being readied for sale in
the US, but by the time India's Tata Nano is retrofitted
to meet emissions and safety standards, it won't be
that cheap. Reports suggest it could cost $8000 in
the US. Tata Technologies Ltd., the global engineering
arm of the Tata group conglomerate, brought the tiny
car to Detroit.
Tata Communications
Tata Communications has launched its data centre in
Pune and said it plans to invest up to Rs 500 crore over
the next three years. Spread across nearly 55,000 sq
ft, the data centre would offer services like co-location,
managed hosting and storage.
Alstom- Bharat Forge JVs
An Indian cabinet panel has approved the setting up of
joint ventures by a consortium of France's Alstom and
India's Bharat Forge Ltd to manufacture super critical
and sub-critical power plant equipment in India.
US-India Bilateral Update
• The US and India announced the formulation of the
US-India aviation security working group, a bilateral interagency
and inter-ministry working group. The group is
led on the US side by the US Transportation Security
Administration and on the Indian side by the Ministry
of Civil Aviation.
• Spelling out the agenda for the administration in
its second year, the White House has said President
Barack Obama and his team will work towards promoting
stronger bilateral cooperation with countries such as
India, Brazil, China and South Africa.
• Expressing concern over reported US plans to
provide Pakistan with the lethal drones, the Indian
62 | February 2010 Communiqué