IIT Madras incubated ‘water-tech’ InnoNano Research raises $18mn

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With an aim to making India an exporter of water technologies, the company plans to set up a manufacturing facility, a modern research laboratory and technology delivery offices across North America, Asia and Africa.

InnoNano Research (INR), a clean water technology company incubated at IIT Madras has entered into an agreement with NanoHoldings (NH), an energy and water investment specialist firm from US, to set-up a global water technology company with an investment plan of $18 million.

 

With an aim to making India an exporter of water technologies, the company plans to set up a manufacturing facility, a modern research laboratory and technology delivery offices across North America, Asia and Africa. Nano Holdings, has supported global patenting activity for the team and IIT Madras for the past four years.

 

“These technologies are destined to change the world in a significant way,” said Justin Hall-Tipping, CEO, NH.

 

This is perhaps first of its kind global expansion programme for academia-born Indian material technologies in India.  “IIT Madras is delighted that research at the cutting edge of materials science has led to applications at the very core of human well-being, namely, supply of safe drinking water,” said Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director of IIT Madras.

 

Prof Pradeep, co-founder and advisor of INR said, “Making our science challenging to academia and simultaneously delivering solutions to the common man is an enormous challenge, but we find a purpose there. Water is an area where India needs self-reliance and every technology and every effort matters in this noble objective.

 

Water technologies have to be inclusive as water itself presents enormous diversity, both locally and globally. This would not have happened without the sustained support of Department of Science and Technology, government of India”.

 

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/iit-madras-incubated-water-tech-firm-raises-18-million/251765/

Financial inequality highest in India, China: International Monetary Fund

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According to IMF, China and India have grown rapidly and reduced poverty sharply, however, this impressive economic performance has been accompanied by increasing levels of inequality.

Financial inequality is highest in India and China among Asia Pacific countries despite the two being among the fastest growing economies, IMF has said.

According to the International Monetary Fund, China and India have grown rapidly and reduced poverty sharply, however, this impressive economic performance has been accompanied by increasing levels of inequality.

“In the past, rapid growth in Asia came with equitable distribution of the gains. But more recently, while the fast-growing Asian economies have lifted millions out of poverty they have been unable to replicate the ‘growth with equity’ miracle,” the Fund said.

As per the report, China managed to increase middle class in urban areas, as did Thailand, while India and Indonesia struggled to lift sizeable portions of their populations toward higher income levels.

“In India, differences between rural and urban areas have increased, and have been accompanied by rising intra-urban inequality,” it said.

Many factors have been identified as key drivers of the inequality between rural and urban areas in China and India.

In China, rapid industrialisation in particular regions and the concentration of foreign direct investment in coastal areas have led to substantial inequalities between coastal and interior regions. Other factors also include low educational attainment and low returns to education in rural areas.

On India, the report said inter provincial inequality is lower in India than in China, and rising inequality in India has been found to be primarily an urban phenomenon.

Moreover, the rural-urban income gap has increased, and higher rural inflation has been found to be a key driver of this. Educational attainment has also been identified as an important factor explaining rising inequality in India over the past two decades, the Fund said.

The two countries have introduced a number of policies to tackle the rising inequality.

China introduced the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee Scheme (Dibao) for social protection in the 1990s. Moreover, various social programs are aiming to expand social safety nets and provide support for the development of rural areas and western regions.

In India, the government introduced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to support rural livelihoods by providing at least 100 days of employment. Programs to improve education include the National Education Scheme and Midday Meal Scheme.

The Fund lauded the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) initiative and said that “the JAM trinity initiative helped India in making substantial advances in financial inclusion. More recently, programs aiming for universal bank account coverage were launched”.

Source:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52106291.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

IMF Sees Rising Debt Challenge as Asia Stays Global Outperformer

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The International Monetary Fund said rising debt levels in major Asian economies have become a significant risk, even as the region remains on track to post solid economic growth.

Asia-Pacific economies as a group will decelerate only slightly, to 5.3 percent this year and next, from 5.4 percent in 2015, the Washington-based fund said in an annual regional report published Tuesday. The IMF last month trimmed its global forecasts, and said the world was more exposed to negative shocks thanks to a prolonged weaker pace of expansion.

In Asia, domestic demand, particularly consumption, should be a key driver, but worsening global conditions and high leverage in the region may curb growth, the fund said.

“Downside risks continue to dominate the economic landscape,” the IMF said. “In particular, the turning of the credit and financial cycles amid high debt poses a significant risk to growth in Asia, especially because debt levels have increased markedly over the past decade across most of the major economies in the region, including China and Japan.”

Downward Spiral

The IMF’s singling out of debt as a growing worry is in line with recent statements. The institution warned in a report last month against what it called a self-reinforcing “spiral” of weakening growth and rising debt that could require a coordinated response by the world’s major economies.

In Asia, the IMF said Tuesday, debt levels are high, while credit growth and corporate issuance have remained strong as companies try to take advantage of still-favorable global liquidity conditions.

The ratio of corporate debt to gross domestic product has risen faster in Asia than anywhere else in the world since 2009, the IMF added, and the measure is particularly elevated in China and South Korea. Household debt is a growing worry in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the IMF said.

“Although part of the credit growth reflects financial deepening, some growth has been above that implied by fundamentals,” the IMF said. Financial deepening refers to the spreading availability and use of banking.

Reform Refrain

As in previous reports, the IMF called on policy makers to push ahead with structural reforms to raise productivity, including measures to boost consumption in China. The fund also flagged the risk of an over-reliance on monetary or credit policies to hold up demand, particularly if job losses in manufacturing exceed the gains in services.

On Japan, the only developed economy where it anticipates economic contraction next year, the IMF recommended moves to reduce the difference between life-time and non-regular labor contracts to allow for higher wage increases. It also suggested deregulation and a drive to increase female labor market participation.

The IMF said that recent economic policies in Japan — so-called “Abenomics” — have been “supportive,” but added that “durable gains in growth” are yet to be seen.

The fund also warned against an excess reliance on monetary stimulus. The remark comes less than a week after a surprising Bank of Japan decision to hold off on stepping up its monetary expansion jolted markets and led to a surge of the yen against the U.S. dollar.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/imf-sees-rising-debt-challenge-as-asia-stays-global-outperformer

Rs 15-lakh cr investment promises at Make in India

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The six-day business expo Make in India Week has generated investment commitments worth Rs 15.2 lakh crore for the country, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) said on Thursday at the event’s closing ceremony. Around 30% of these are foreign investment commitments.

Maharashtra generated more than half the total tally, inking MoUs worth nearly Rs 8 lakh crore, expected to generate 30 lakh jobs. Within the state, the Konkan division, which includes the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, cornered the largest share of MoUs, worth over Rs 3.25 lakh crore. The deprived regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada generated MoUs worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Deals for Western Maharashtra and Khandesh totalled Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 25,000 crore.

The big question is how many of these commitments will translate into actual projects. “We expect the conversion rate to be over 80% in the next three years. These are investment commitments, which means pre-clearance work has been done,” said DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant. Besides manufacturing, it had also focussed on innovation and start-ups and created a platform where corporates, policymakers and political leaders could converge, he said.
Considered the largest multi-sector business fair in Asia, Make In India Week was aimed at showcasing India’s manufacturing sector. It generated 8.9 lakh visitors across 102 countries, the DIPP said. It played host to 20 foreign dignitaries, including two prime ministers. Over 9,000 Indian companies and over 2,000 foreign companies participated.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Rs-15-2L-crore-for-India-8-for-Maharashtra-and-3-3-for-Konkan-promised-at-business-expo/articleshow/51043676.cms?