The downgrading of Indian sovereign rating by Standard's & Poor's and Fitch may be premature as India still enjoys high savings and investment ratios, strong human resources, and robust domestic consumption. However, a clutch of reforms is required to restore investor confidence.

 

Lessons leant from the many past family disputes, is leading to many family businesses structure their personal and business assets in a manner which helps in better succession planning minimizing future disputes whilst creating enough opportunities to grow, raise money and create value. Questions are many, should the businesses be held through a trust, company, partnership firm, LLPS. Where should these entities be registered, where should the group IPs and brands be housed- in operating companies or separate companies, what should be the ideal structure - should we have holding companies, trading companies or IPR companies, should these companies be bucketed together or separately and many more strategic issues. Further, the recently introduced LLP provisions and the recent amendment to the FDI norms permitting foreign investment in LLPS provides a opportunity worth exploring for doing businesses through LLPS ring fencing liability whilst better planning taxes. Without doubt, setting up a completely new set up for family businesses or LLPS is relatively easy, transitioning an existing structure into a desired structure/ LLPs has a plethora of tax, commercial and regulatory consideration. This session will explore the possible structuring opportunities and the key challenges to be addressed in this exciting area.

 

76th CII Northern Region Business Outlook Survey is a quarterly study conducted to gauge the sentiment in the economy. Earlier, the survey was conducted bi-annually, but from the 74th Survey onwards the study is conducted on a quarterly basis in order to get a more frequent indicator of business sentiment. The current survey gives an outlook on business sentiments for the first quarter of 2011-12 as compared to the last quarter of 2010-11.

 

National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) has been established by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in partnership with CII, ICSI, ICAI, ICWAI and NSE to function as the National Apex platform for promotion of good Corporate Governance (CG) practices in India.

 

India’s ICTE hardware manufacturing sector has immense potential driven by the explosive growth in electronics and IT consumption. Having identified these as thrust areas, Government of India has undertaken various initiatives, with R&D promotion being one of them. Various departments of the Government have been individually pioneering initiatives aimed at improving indigenous manufacturing through promotion of R&D. Department of Information Technology (DIT), being the nodal Government body for the ICTE sector, has been initiating programs aimed at improving the R&D ecosystem and fostering innovation in the country. It has recently initiated a scheme called the “Multiplier Grants Scheme” (MGS) with the aim to encourage collaborative R&D between industry and academic/R&D institutions for development of products and packages.

 

Presentations done during Dairy Summit 2010.

 

The report notes various development taking place in India towards the development of energy markets in general and energy derivatives market in particular. It discusses several existing barriers that have been impeding further growth of energy markets in the country. In light of the existing barriers, the report proposes way forward for the development of robust markets in the energy industries.

 

Climate change is at the centre stage of global discussions. The warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level. Climate change is undoubtedly one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats, our planet faces today. It impacts all countries, but is particularly severe for developing countries like India, given their vulnerabilities, inadequate means and limited capacities to adapt to its effects.

 

‘Producer gas’ is produced through the process of gasification - an efficient method of extracting heat from biomass. Natural gas, diesel or furnace oil can be replaced by producer gas for making steam in order to generate electricity and heat for industries.

 

The growing importance of wind energy sector in an era of rapidly depleting fossil fuels cannot be overemphasized. Europe, unequivocally, is the world leader in research, development and deployment of wind energy resources. Amongst developing countries, India is the frontrunner in the exploitation of wind energy. The Indian wind energy programme has successfully implemented strategies most of which had European assistance in some form. However, challenges to the larger exploitation of wind energy resources in India and the opportunities that exist between Europe and India for further co-operation in the wind energy sector are not over

 

The need of co-operation in the hydroelectric sector between Nepal and India has been emphasized by various stakeholders for the last almost five decades. However, there is very little progress to show on ground so far. Lack of co-ordination between government agencies on both sides, lack of pace and direction in the co-operation dialogue, complexities arising due to power-water nexus, absence of private participation in the process and non-availability of physical infrastructure have been some of the conspicuous factors for the tardy progress, which is a matter of serious concern.

 

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized a session with Mr Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary and Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India, on 6th April in New Delhi, followed by an exclusive dinner. The session was moderated by Mr Tarun Das, former Chief Mentor, CII.

 

Presentation

 

CII along with the representatives of 19 prominent MSME Associations met the Prime Minister on 26 August 2009 to highlight their concerns and issues regarding MSMEs. The Prime Minister announced the setting up of a Task Force to reflect on the issues raised by the associations and formulate an agenda for action within a period of three months after discussions with all stakeholders. Accordingly, a Task Force under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister was constituted to address the issues of the MSME sector. The report of the Task Force on MSME provides a roadmap for the development and promotion of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)and was presented to the Prime Minister by its Chairman, Mr T.K.A.Nair.

 

Investment inflow influences the economic development of the region in particular and the country in general. Higher FDI inflow brings in new technology, enhances the quality of human capital and creates a strong competitive base for its overall development