Cisco readies plan to set up manufacturing plant in India

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Technology major Cisco is working on a plan to establish a manufacturing facility in India and is in talks with the government for the same, a top official of the company has said.

Terming India as one of its “best bases”, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said the company is “very actively involved in India across the board” and working on a broader base from digitisation to smart cities in the country.

He was interacting with reporters at the Cisco Live 2016 annual conference here.

On expansion plans in India, Robbins said, “… Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very committed to manufacturing. We worked through a business case and… presented to him that… That was fantastic and we have been moving forward.”

He added that the company is moving forward on various healthcare and security initiatives, with a lot happening on the digital cities front.

Cisco is engaged in over 15 smart cities projects in the country. The company is also working with Andhra Pradesh government for rolling out Bharat Net.

The company views India as one of the best bases and is focusing a lot on education as well, Robbins added.

The country is home to Cisco’s second-largest site, which has about 11,000 employees. It is offering education to 24,000 students spread across 47 schools.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/53187492.cms

 

Government lines up over Rs 17k crore to support rooftop solar projects

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The government has lined up almost $2.5 billion (about Rs 16,800 crore) for providing low cost finance to achieve the target of installing 40 GW grid-connected solar rooftop systems.

“The ministry is in negotiations with the KfW Development Bank to secure soft loans of 1 billion euro. They have already provided $100 million funding,” The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Secretary Upendra Tripathy told reporters here.

The World Bank has committed a loan of $620 million, with the Asian Development Bank and the New Development Bank pledging $500 million and $250 million, respectively, he added.

“This will enable participating commercial banks such as SBI, PNB and Canara Bank to extend loan at or near base rates,” Tripathy said.

The secretary further said in the current fiscal, MNRE is trying to arrange an investment of Rs 6,000 crore for rooftop solar projects.

“The government is committed to encourage rooftop solar projects and Power and MNRE Minister Piyush Goyal will inaugurate a national workshop on Roof Top Solar Power on June 7,” he said.

This workshop will have presentations and discussions on various topics including best practices, innovative projects and major policy initiatives on projects, he added.

Besides senior government officials from the centre and states, the conference will also see participation from solar power project developers, channel partners as well as international agencies such as GIZ, KfW and USAID.

The power generated from solar rooftop plants installed even today is almost at par with the commercial tariff for consumers in many states. The cost of solar power is declining, while that of electricity from fossil fuels is rising.

Today, it is possible to generate solar power from rooftop systems at about Rs 6.5 per kilo watt hour, which is cheaper than power generated from diesel gensets and also cheaper than the cost at which most discoms make power available to industries and high-end domestic consumers.

On the issue of storage of solar power generated from rooftop systems, Tripathy said the government is working on providing some kind of subsidy for such projects.

Also there are plans for installing 15 minutes of storage in two projects in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

 

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-lines-up-over-rs-17k-crore-to-support-rooftop-solar-projects-116060301277_1.html

Indian medical tourism industry to touch $8 billion by 2020: Grant Thornton

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According to a CII – Grant Thornton white paper, cost is a major driver for nearly 80 per cent of medical tourists across the globe.

As healthcare turns costlier in developed countries, India’s medical tourism market is expected to more than double in size from USD 3 billion at present to around USD 8 billion by 2020, a report says.

According to a CII – Grant Thornton white paper, cost is a major driver for nearly 80 per cent of medical tourists across the globe. The cost-consciousness factor and availability of accredited facilities have led to emergence of several global medical tourism corridors – Singapore, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico and Costa Rica.

“Amongst these corridors of health, India has the second largest number of accredited facilities (after Thailand). The Indian Medical Tourism market is expected to grow from its current size of USD 3 billion to USD 7-8 billion by 2020,” Grant Thornton India’s National Managing Partner Vishesh C Chandiok said.

Bangladesh and Afghanistan dominate the Indian Medical Value Travel (MVT) with 34 per cent share.

Africa, GCC and CIS regions (whose current share is just 30 per cent) present the maximum possible opportunity for the Indian healthcare sector. Medical tourists from these sectors currently favour the South East Asian medical corridors.

Chennai, Mumbai, AP and NCR are the most favoured medical tourism destinations for the floating medical population who avail treatments in India.

“While the number of MVTs itself is poised to grow at over 20 per cent CAGR, Kerala needs to focus on its visibility as a healthcare destination amongst other states,” said the report.

Kerala attracts only 5 per cent of such medical tourists currently and has the potential to increase its share to a 10-12 per cent with a focused marketing strategy.

As per the study, the key factor to drive medical value tourism in Kerala will be availability of national as well as globally accredited facilities across the entire state, an area where Kerala lags behind in comparison to Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, NCR and Andhra Pradesh.

“… Kerala is already one of the most preferred tourist destinations in the country. For medical value tourism, however, there is a clear need to build and upgrade infrastructure,” Grant Thornton India Partner Vrinda Mathur said.

The white paper suggests tapping a larger share of the health wallet of the African, Asian, Middle East patients as well as welcoming tourists from other regions and countries, as also a marketing campaign with active support of the government and private sector.

Source: http://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/indian-medical-tourism-industry-to-touch-8-billion-by-2020-grant-thornton/49618595

Japan’s SoftBank wins first solar project in India

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Marking its debut in the Indian solar sector after its investment announcement of $20 billion, Japan’s SoftBank won its first solar power project in India. The Japanese firm won the 350 megawatt (Mw) project, under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (NSM), through its joint venture (JV) company SBG Cleantech.

SBG Cleantech bid the lowest tariff of Rs 4.63 per unit to win the entire tendered capacity of 350 Mw. This is the lowest bid this year for solar power. Last month, US firm SunEdison had won a 500-Mw solar power park in Andhra Pradesh at the same tariff.

Indiabulls’ Yarrow Infrastructure, Azure Power, Reliance CleanGen, Goldman Sachs-backed ReNew Power, US’ First Solar and China’s Trina Solar were also in the fray.

“Our goal is to create a market-leading renewable energy company, to fuel India’s growth with clean, reliable and affordable sources of energy. I am glad we could open our account with this win. This project will immensely contribute to the Prime Minister’s vision of meeting the country’s energy demands through clean sources and India’s commitment to providing a safe environment, following the recent Paris convention,” said Nikesh Arora, president and chief operating officer of SoftBank, in a statement.

In June this year, SoftBank had tied up with Foxconn and Bharti Enterprises to invest in the Indian solar energy sector, committing $20 billion. This is its second bid participation after the AP solar park and the first win for any power project through its JV, SBG Cleantech.

“SoftBank is establishing itself as a serious player. The company is likely to be a strong contender in the upcoming national bids as well,” said Jasmeet Khurana, associate director (consulting), Bridge to India.

SBG Cleantech has Bharti veterans Manoj Kohli as executive chairman and Raman Nanda as chief executive. The company is headquartered in New Delhi.

“Of the 100 gigawatt (Gw) target set by the PM, the SoftBank venture will look at solar power generation of 20 Gw. The investment will be made through the next 10 years. Acceleration will depend on the support of the central and local governments, and NTPC,” SoftBank founder & CEO Masayoshi Son had said in June during the launch of the joint venture.

According to market experts, the recent bids show there are only 10-12 developers who have the appetite to continuously try and take up large projects at current tariff levels, which has gone below Rs 5 a unit.

“The government and power distribution companies must be happy about the results and this might be good for continued policy support for new allocations across India. With such results, the states are likely to be much more willing to allocate land to solar parks and take the NSM route to attract solar investments,” said Khurana.

Sun Power

Company Tariff                                                              (Rs per unit)

SBG CLEANTECH LTD (SoftBank)                                      – 4.63

Yarrow Infrastructure Limited (IndiaBulls)                          – 4.64

Azure Power India Private Limited                                        – 4.76

Reliance CleanGen Limited                                                     – 4.88

ReNew Solar Power Private Limited                                       – 5.17

MIRA ZAVAS PRIVATE LIMITED (China’s Trina Solar)  – 5.18

Marikal Solar Parks Pvt Ltd (US’ First Solar)                       – 5.34

*Parent  institutions in brackets

 

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/japan-s-softbank-wins-first-solar-project-in-india-115121500246_1.html