Russia will be key partner in industrial townships: Sharma

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SME Times News Bureau | 15 Apr, 2013
Russia will be a key partner in upcoming industrial townships under National Manufacturing Policy, the government said on Sunday.

In a press statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that Commerce Minister Anand Sharma met his counterpart Denis v. Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade, Russian Federation and Andrey Belousov, Minister of Economic Development, Russian Federation in Moscow on Friday and Saturday, and briefed Russian side about the emerging opportunities for investment in India.

"The two countries have active agenda of high-level bilateral interactions in the coming months which will culminate with the Annual Summit in the later part of the year. Trade, Investment and economic cooperation are an important priority area for our two governments and we are keen to work towards enhancing them forward," said Sharma after the meetings.

Sharma and his counterparts also discussed the priority projects that will be monitored at the Ministerial level. Shri Sharma outlined immense investment opportunities available in India in sectors like energy & energy resources, pharmaceuticals, IT & ITES, minerals & metals, infrastructure development, aviation, power generation, shipbuilding, bio and nano- technologies, fertilizers, chemicals, agricultural and foods items, automobile industry and diamond.

He also sought investment partnership in the fields of mining, steel and energy.

On IT sector, the Indian minister asked Russian Authorities to expedite details on their IT innovation policy containing Management, Development of Software, Commercial Terms, and Tax benefits in Russia, etc.

It would facilitate Indian Industries to take decision for their participation in the Russian Technology platform on IT innovation. Salient possibilities for cooperation with Russia in the IT sector are BPO/KPO, business software, setting-up of Techno-Park, e-governance, tele-medicines, and IT training and education.

However, so far, no concerted effort has been made by Indian companies to tap or even assess this potential in the Russian IT market. A renewed emphasis to enhance bilateral cooperation in this sector would be one of the priorities in the future.

Bilateral trade in 2012 has increased to around US$ 6.7 billion mark, registering growth of around 14% as compared to previous year. Exports touched USD 2.15 billion in 2012 compared to USD 1.89 Billion in 2011 and exports stood at USD 4.5 billion as compared to 4.05 billion previous year.