• Wipro IT business crosses $4 billion
• Toyota Expands in India
• Gujarat based EDI to develop one lakh micro-enterprises
• 3 NRIs among top drawing 200 CEOs in US
• India to consider more cement imports from Pakistan
• Suzuki Motors India to Launch new 'world car'
• 'Medical tourism boming in India'
• Reliance to invest $7.5 bn for two microchip units

• India to continue as 2nd largest cotton producer
• Premji launches $1 bn PE fund
• Indian CFOs get highest salary hike in Asia
• Indian Co buys German maker of bulletproof material
• Bangladesh to import 400,000 tons of rice from India
• Tata Consultancy signs pact with US auto major
• India, Myanmar sign pact to avoid double taxation
• Tata group acquires second Spanish company
• India's fashion industry: Stepping out

India is expected to retain its current position as the second largest producer, user and exporter of cotton in the new season beginning in August, says the Washington-based International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). India overtook the US to occupy the number two position after China during the 2006-07 cotton season, says the ICAC. According to ICAC's analysis of the current global cotton situation, India does not face any challenge to its position as American farmers are shifting to other crops like corn. The ICAC, in which India is a founding member, is an international organisation dedicated to promoting cooperation in cotton trade. Agreeing with the projection of the Cotlook Index, the ICAC said, "India is expected to continue in the same position in the next season as well, as in addition to US farmers, growers in other countries are also inclined to shift to the production of soybeans and wheat besides corn." The ICAC noted that India has so far produced 4.74 million tonnes (MT) of cotton in the current season as compared to 4.7 MT of the US. This season, India's output has been pegged at 5.34 MT as against 4.14 MT of the US. According to Cotlook's estimates, India's production next season is likely to touch 5.61 MT while that of the US would decline further to 3.19 MT. The ICAC has also forecast that the cotton prices will go up in the international market because of an expected decrease in the stocks-to-mill use ratio in the world.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 30, 2008

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Wipro on Friday announced its financial results for the last quarter of 2007-08 as well as the annual results for the year. Overall revenues grew by 33 per cent, reaching Rs. 19,957 crore during the year. Post-tax profit grew by 12 per cent, amounting to Rs. 3,283 crore.

Q4 revenue up
The company's revenue increased by 32 per cent year-on-year to Rs. 5,700 crore and the profit after tax by three per cent to Rs. 880 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2008. Adjusting for one-time tax reversals in the quarter under review, the growth in profit after tax, year-on-year, will be 11.3 per cent. The group's mainstay, the IT business, generated total revenues of almost Rs. 17,387 crore ($4.3 billion) in 2007-08, clocking a growth of 28 per cent over the previous year. The Global IT services business unit, which caters mainly to the markets in the U.S. and Europe, generated revenues amounting to Rs. 13,642 crore. The other main unit, Wipro Infotech, which caters to IT services and product markets in India, Asia and West Asia, generated revenues amounting to Rs. 3,746 crore. Wipro Infotech's revenues grew by a relatively healthier 51 per cent; in comparison revenue growth from markets in the industrialised West was a relatively modest 23 per cent. Whether this reflects the company's relatively lower revenue base in the Asian markets or whether it is a reflection of a slowdown in Western markets remains to be seen. While the company's revenues increased by 18 per cent in the IT services space, its income from BPO operations grew 23 per cent during 2007-08. Azim Premji, Chairman, said the company's acquisition of Infocrossing positions the company "strongly" in the outsourcing space. The company has restructured its consulting wing to "embed" them into the company's various "service lines". This unified consulting wing, he said, would employ about 1,000 consultants spread across geographies. Suresh Senapaty, Chief Financial Officer, said the company's "realised rate" of foreign exchange was Rs. 39.94 for the quarter ending March 31, 2008; the average realised rate for the previous quarter was Rs. 39.74. At the end of the last financial year, the company had about $3.5 billion worth of contracts with rates between Rs. 39.50 and Rs. 43.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, April 21, 2008

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Wipro chairman Azim Premji, among the richest Indians, is casting his net wider. Known as an astute investor who picked stocks in his personal capacity across an array of undervalued but promising companies, Mr Premji is now launching a private equity fund with an investible corpus of at least $1 billion. The fund, PremjiInvest, is expected to be sector-agnostic. And if insiders are to be believed, it may even shun pure-play IT services companies. As a first step, Mr Premji named Sudip Banerjee, who till recently was president of the enterprise solutions business, as director on the advisory board of PremjiInvest. This is probably the biggest private equity play by a domestic corporate honcho. However, there are India-origin funds that are bigger-ICICI Ventures, for instance. With about 80% stake in Wipro, Mr Premji's wealth in terms of market capitalisation is pegged at around Rs 68,000 crore. And the 61-year-old promoter is believed to be taking home well over Rs 500 crore in dividends and salary annually. It is believed that the fund would look at venture funding or act as a private equity. On Friday, both Mr Premji and Mr Banerjee were tightlipped on the fund story. But with Mr Premji alone committing almost $1 billion of his personal wealth, the fund is expected to get significantly bigger eventually. Though there is no official word on it, one of Mr Banerjee's key roles will be to raise liquidity from outside investors, sources said. Incidentally, a section of the private equity industry argues that PremjiInvest, with most of the capital mopup coming from Mr Premji himself, may not fit into the definition of private equity strictly. The reason is it may exclude any reasonable play for institutional investors or limited partners . It would rather be a proprietary fund in the role of a private equity, they say. Some years back, Mr Premji made news when he hired the services of a professional fund manager to launch Azim Premji Investments for making personal investments into several companies, both listed and privately-held entities. This personal investment company will be part of larger entity called PremjiInvest. Till date, based on stock market filing, Mr Premji holds 3.33% in Himatsingka Seide while in JM Financial, he owns 2.92%. In Aventis Pharma, Mr Premji holds 1.03%. However, there is no information on the quantum of Mr Premji's holding in cement maker Birla Corporation.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, April 19, 2008

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Toyota is building its second plant in India to increase production in a growing market. The plant, which will cost more than $340 million, is to open in 2010 with an initial annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles, including the Corolla subcompact. Toyota already has one plant in India, on the outskirts in Bangalore, that produced 52,000 vehicles last year. It was set up in 1997 as a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group. (AP)

Courtesy: www.nytimes.com, April 12, 2008

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Finance executives in India Inc have reason to cheer. According to CFO Asia magazine's 2008 Compensation Survey, finance executives in India got the highest pay hikes in all of Asia in 2007. While chief financial officers (CFO) got pay hikes of 25% in their salaries last year, other finance professionals such as financial controllers, treasurers and other second-tier finance executives saw their salaries go up by 28%. In contrast, CFOs got a 14% hike in China, 11% in Hong Kong, 14% in Indonesia, 19% in Malaysia, 10% in Singapore and the average for Asia was 16%. As far as other financial professionals go, the numbers are as follows: 13% for China, 12% in Malaysia, 11% in Indonesia, 9% in Singapore and 5% in Hong Kong, resulting into an Asia average of 15%. The average salary of CFOs in India stood at $92,206, making it the third-highest in Asia after Hong Kong's $169,460 and Singapore's $106,518. The survey points out that "two out of ten CFOs in Hong Kong, India, and Malaysia switched jobs last year, while 15% of CFOs did so in China. Job switching was also pronounced among the second-tier finance executives in China, Hong Kong, India, and Malaysia." But what really accounts for this huge increase in compensation for finance executives in India? What are the forces at work here? One reason is the gap between demand for finance professionals and supply. Says the magazine, "The spurt of economic growth across the region has been so strong that demand is still outstripping supply." Adds Anita Belani, country head (human capital group), Watson Wyatt, "The market is growing and the talent pool is limited. At the top roles get more strategic and the people who can fill those slots become harder to find." The rise in CFO compensation has a lot to do with a change in the CFO's image from a pure finance guy to a business and strategy leader. Says Vishal Chibber, head of HR at Kelly Services India, a staffing company and HR solutions provider, "CFOs in some companies are seen as No 2 after the CEO, a role traditionally played by the sales head or the operations head. Other than pure finance, CFOs today have added responsibilities such as HR and IT." In most cases the CFO compensation is equivalent to that of the sales head. Adds Belani, "With the CFO's role encompassing both finance and strategy, it is becoming hard to find people with those kinds of skills. Hence, companies have to keep compensation competitive." Some of this has to do with the stock markets as well. Says Chhiber, "Because of the IPO boom in the Indian market in the last few years, a lot of companies have been taking the equity route. So they need a strong finance head who knows where to get the funds from the market to take the company into the next level of growth." Also, the emergence of sectors like KPO are having a cascade effect of sorts. Says Chhiber, "With the KPO and BPO boom, there's been a jump in salaries at the entry level for chartered accountants. This has a cascade effect all the way up to the top and is also impacting salaries in other industries."

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, April 09, 2008

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Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India has launched a programme to develop one lakh technology-based micro business enterprises across the country. The institute pioneer in developing entrepreneurship has been entrusted this task by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board. The objective of the programme is to enable graduates in Science and Technology to take to entrepreneurship rather than seeking jobs. All these enterprises would be in the field of Science and Technology. The idea is to make them job providers instead of being job seekers, Director of the Institute Dinesh Awasthi said. The role of EDI is to train S&T graduates and diploma holders from polytechnics in conceiving, planning, initiating and launching an economic activity or an enterprise successfully. Keeping in mind the need for inclusive growth, our thrust will be on states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa that are lagging behind other states, Avasthi said. EDI would work with around 80 organisations, which are already in the field. A sum of around Rs 5 crore has been allocated to the institute for the current financial year. Four types of programmes will be conducted. There will be Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp (EAC) at academic institutions, one-year Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP), a technology based entrepreneurship programme, and a Faculty Development Programme (FDP) across technical colleges to help teachers inspire students. The EDP programme will focus on youth of age group of 18-35. They will be provided with all types of assistance in setting up small and medium enterprises. Food processing has been identified as one of the prominent sectors in which entrepreneurship development will be encouraged.

Courtesy: www.gujaratglobal.com, April 08, 2008

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India's MKU group of companies have acquired AST Security Equipment, a small manufacturer of lightweight bulletproof cladding for helicopters, light vehicles and luxury yachts, the German company said on Monday. The company website says its cladding, made of materials such as Kevlar and Aramid, can be used to armour the cabins of luxury yachts against gunfire in pirate-infested waters like those off Somalia. The deal would allow AST to sell its products worldwide, said chief executive Guenter Stabenau, who declined to disclose the sale price. Stabenau said that he would continue to run the company, which is based in Sittensen, southwest of Hamburg, and has 1.5 million euros ($2.4 million) in sales annually. The AST name would remain and all 25 staff would keep their jobs. Â"The cladding can also protect helicopters or armour-plated cars at moderate cost and little increase in weight,Â" the website said.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 08, 2008

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Three Indian Americans are among the 200 CEOs of large public companies who received an average of over $11 million compensation in 2007. Besides Indra Nooyi and Vikram Pandit, Rajiv L Gupta of Rohm and Haas is one of them. Gupta's package was $7.3 million, cash pay being $2.8 million, according to the CEO pay tabulated on Sunday by The New York Times based on proxies filed by companies. Muzaffarnagar-born, IIT educated, Gupta took over as chairman and CEO of the Pennsylvania-based chemicals multinational in 1999. For Nooyi, chief of PepsiCo, the total annual package was $14.7 million, with a cash pay of $4.9 million, stock awards and option awards making up the rest. Pandit, who took over as chief of Citigroup only in last December, received a total of $3.2 million, out of which a huge chunk of $2.9 million was in stock awards. The highest compensation - a whopping $84 million - went to Johan Thain, chief of Merrill Lynch, while Rupert Murdoch of News Corp took home $24 million. Steven Jobs of Apple chose to take only a token $1. Even the richest man in the world, Warren Buffett, took only $175,000 from his company, Berkshire Hathaway.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, April 07, 2008

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The caretaker government of Bangladesh on Sunday opened a letter of credit to import 4,00,000 tonnes of rice at $430 per tonne from India. Informing the media, Food Secretary Mollah Wahiduzzaman said: Â"India will supply 100,000 tonnes of rice within a month and the rest within two months.Â" Four state-owned Indian companies will supply the rice under an agreement signed by Bangladesh and India in March 2008. The government's highest purchase body approved the import of rice from India from March 30, after weeks of protracted negotiations on the price between the two countries. Adding further, Wahiduzzaman said that Bangladesh has enough supply of rice and the new import is aimed at beefing up its falling stock and putting a lid on the soaring rice prices in the local market. Â"The government was keen to ensure the supply from India as most of the traditional rice exporters have already stopped shipments, resulting in over 50 per cent increase in price in the global markets in past one month,Â" he said. Rice prices in Bangladesh have almost doubled in the past one-year as widespread floods in July and August and the devastating cyclone in November 2007 damaged some 2 million tonnes of rice. The government in January, 2008 started negotiations with India for importing 5,00,000 tonnes of rice. Of the total 5,00,000 tonnes, India sold 1,00,000 tonnes at $399 per tonne. But it hiked the price of the rest 4,00,000 tonnes following spikes in rates in the global market.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 07, 2008

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India will look at importing more cement from Pakistan to check spiralling domestic prices, as the neighbouring country has surplus production IN 2008, a top official in the Industry Ministry has said. "We are looking at importing more cement from Pakistan through the north-western border," Ajay Shankar, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, said on the margins of a seminar on India-Europe tourism opportunities. "We are watching the situation very carefully," Shankar said, referring to the internal monitoring of some commodity prices like steel and cement so as to act if their prices go out of control. "Capacity expansion is taking place and we expect the demand-supply situation to balance this year," he said, referring to the plan to enhance cement capacity by 118 million tonnes over the next four years to touch 298 million tonnes. Ministry officials said state-run canalising agency Minerals and Metals Trading Corp (MMTC) could be asked to import the cement from Pakistan at around Rs 210-Rs 220 per 50 kg bag, against the domestic price of over Rs 230. The state-run firm, they added, may be asked to import around 100,000 tonnes of the commodity. The government's thinking has been warranted by a spurt in prices in recent weeks - caused mainly by food and commodity prices - that has taken the annual rate of inflation to a three-year high of 7 per cent.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 07, 2008

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India's leading software company Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has signed a multi-year contract with US-based automobile manufacturer Chrysler LLC to provide a comprehensive portfolio of IT services. According to the agreement, TCS will deliver IT application and maintenance support services to Chrysler by leveraging its Global Network Delivery Model from various locations around the world, including the recently announced TCS Seven Mills Park domestic delivery centre outside Cincinnati, Ohio, and through a locally recruited team in the Detroit, Michigan, region. The project will include a portion of several functional areas within Chrysler such as sales and marketing, shared services, product development and after sales. N Chandrasekaran, executive director and chief operating officer of TCS said, "Our ability to deliver certainty of results across the entire spectrum of IT services in Chrysler's operations will bring greater efficiencies to their business allowing them to invest more in advanced technology and change-the-business initiatives." The automotive industry is a key focus market for the TCS manufacturing vertical, which accounted for 15.1 per cent of TCS global revenues. TCS provides services to many automotive original equipment manufacturers and tier-one companies in North America, Europe and Japan.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 07, 2008

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Indian venture of Maruti Suzuki will launch the next 'World Car' in Gurgaon by the end of 2008. The managing director of Indian Maruti Suzuki, Shinzo Nakanishi said, "The new model will be launched by 2008 end. To begin with, we have plans to export 1,00,000 units of the new model annually to Europe and the rest of the world." The total investment in the new car plant will be Rs 15.24 billion (USD 384 million) and the capacity of the plant will initially be 1,00,000 cars per annum with a potential to scale it up to 2,50,000 units. Nakanishi added, "I believe that Maruti Suzuki is ready to play a much bigger role in Suzuki's global operations, and my task is to make that happen. Today the company's manufacturing capability has reached a level where we want to make small cars exclusively in India for exports to the European markets." Suzuki currently holds a 54 per cent stake in Maruti Suzuki India. "Of the three million cars that Suzuki wants to sell worldwide, almost 30 per cent would have to come from Maruti Suzuki India," Nakanishi said. Expressing the confidence in the Indian market, Nakanishi said that the auto major would be able to maintain its leadership in the Indian auto market.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 06, 2008

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India and Myanmar on Thursday announced a double taxation avoidance agreement that will ensure both prevention of fiscal evasion by firms operating in the two countries and that incomes are taxed just once. Dividends at the five per cent maximum and interest and royalties at 10 per cent will be taxed both in the country of residence and in the country of source, an official statement said. But capital gains from the sale of shares would be only taxable in the country of source, the statement added. P K Misra, chairman of the India's Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and Kyi Thein, ambassador and plenipotentiary of Myanmar to India, signed the pact in the capital. "The double taxation avoidance agreement provides that business profits will be taxable in the source state, if the activities of an enterprise constitute a permanent establishment in the source state," said the statement. "The agreement will provide tax stability to the residents of India and Myanmar and facilitate mutual economic cooperation as well as stimulate the flow of investment, technology and services between India and Myanmar."

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 04, 2008

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For Indian doctors, western shores could be greener. But for an increasing number of foreign patients, Indian hospitals are fast becoming their first choice. Over 1.5 lakh medical tourists travelled to India in 2002 alone, bringing in earnings of $300 million. Since then, the number of such travellers has been increasing by at least 25% every year. A CII-McKinsey report projects that earnings through medical tourism would go up to $2 billion by 2012. Most patients visiting India are from SAARC countries, but an increasing number of NRIs settled in the US and the UK have also been availing of healthcare services in India. The Planning Commission holds superior quality of medical service coupled with the low cost of surgeries responsible for making the country one of the most attractive destinations for medical value travel. In its latest high-level report, the commission has done a cost comparison of various medical procedures. Released by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday, the report reveals that while a heart bypass surgery would cost a patient $6,000 in India, the same surgery would cost the person $7,894 in Thailand, $10,417 in Singapore, $23,938 in the US and $19,700 in Britain. A heart valve replacement surgery would cost patients $10,000 in Thailand, $12,500 in Singapore, $200,000 in the US and $90,000 in Britain. In India, it would cost just $8,000. While a bone marrow transplant would cost $30,000 in India, doctors in US would charge anywhere between $250,000-400,000 while those in UK would charge $150,000. A cosmetic surgery would cost $3,500 in Thailand, $20,000 in the US and $10,000 in Britain. But in India, it costs only $2,000. According to the American Medical Association data, a spinal fusion would cost $62,000 in the US, $5,500 in India, $7,000 in Thailand and $9,000 in Singapore.

The report, prepared by member Anwarul Hoda, says: "The hospitals established by private corporate players are world class. They not only have the latest medical technologies, but also the services of Indian doctors and nurses with high degree of proficiency. The hospitals are completely equipped, upmarket and proficient and can measure up or even outshine any hospital in the West." India also launched in 2006 an accreditation programme for secondary and tertiary hospitals by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH). NABH with 120 qualified assessors on its panel has so far granted accreditation to 11 hospitals and 43 are in various stages of evaluation. According to the report, the government plans to provide visa facilities on priority for medical tourists. But it highlights how the main impediment for medical tourists coming from the UK and US for major surgeries is the fact that the insurance companies are not willing to cover treatment in India. "However, the cost savings involved in getting treatment done in India is bound to result in the insurance company imposed barriers breaking down in the future. Already, some hospitals are entering into alliances with international insurance companies for making it possible to send patients to India for treatment," the report says. Union health minister A Ramadoss had earlier said: "In the last five years, the number of patients visiting India for medical treatment has been rising by 20%. India boasts of the best private-owned hospitals. When it comes to becoming a doctor, India also has some of the stringest criteria. Language is another plus factor - English is widely spoken and most importantly, there are no waiting lists."

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 4 Apr 2008

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AContinuing its acquisition spree in Spain, the TATA group has bought controlling stake in another Spanish company- Comoplesa Lebrero, a week after buying strategic stake in Serviplem, a construction equipment firm. Telcon, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, has acquired 60 per cent stake in Lebrero which is located at Zargoza like Serviplem and manufactures road construction equipment. "This acquisition helps Telcon's strength and adds relevance to last week's Serviplem deal in enhancing product offering in the road, general construction value chain," said Ranaveer Sinha, managing director of Telcon. Since 1954, Lebrero has developed its own technology and has sold its machinery globally. It also makes bitumen tanks and auxiliary machinery for public works. The acquisition of Lebrero gives Telcon and its joint venture partner, Hitachi, access to compaction equipment technology that the Indian company could exploit internationally. As in the case of Serviplem, the cost of the acquisition has not been disclosed. A statement from Telcon said that under the agreement, the existing shareholders will retain 40 per cent stake and continued to associate themselves with the venture. Sinha said that Telcon, Hitachi and Lebrero would work jointly to identify business opportunities worldwide and leverage their presence for mutual benefit. According to a company statement, Lebrero has been dealing with Telcon for some four years in sourcing components for its products and hence the acquisition was only expected to strengthen the association further.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 04, 2008

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The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, a giant in areas ranging from oil exploration to petrochemicals, proposes to invest $7.5 billion over the next 10 years to set up two microchip-manufacturing units in India. The first unit with an investment of $2.9 billion will come up in Jamnagar in Gujarat to make solar-grade and polysilicon ingots and is expected to generate employment for 11,000 people, a communication ministry statement said in the city on Thursday. Location of the second facility has not been finalised, as it will depend on the type of incentive to be offered by a state government. However, it is expected to employ 4,000 people. Â"The company would locate this facility at Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore or Haryana,Â" the statement said, adding the investment proposed in this unit is estimated at $4.6 billion. The country's semiconductor policy was announced in 2007 and offers a host of fiscal incentives to develop India as a major hub in the area. The government has received investment proposals worth Rs 650 billion so far, including that of Reliance. Â"Under a special incentive package scheme, the central government has to provide incentive of 20 per cent capital expenditure during the first 10 years for units in special economic zones (SEZ) and 25 per cent of the capital expenditure in non-SEZ units,Â" it said.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, April 03, 2008

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The world beckons, but the biggest market for Indian designers is at home. A RAVEN-HAIRED model slinks down a catwalk in Mumbai, wearing a tiny orange top trimmed with gold lamé. The garment, in a style usually worn demurely under a sari, is quintessentially Indian. Less traditional are the bare expanse of taut stomach, the skin-tight hipster trousers and the six-inch stilettos. Fusions of Indian dress and edgier Western styles were the most popular trend on the catwalks of Mumbai's fashion week, which ended on April 2nd. Only eight years after the country held its first fashion show, India's fledgling designer-fashion industry is stepping out into the international market, with silhouettes designed to appeal to the foreign buyers who are given the best front-row seats at the twice-yearly shows in both Delhi and Mumbai. At Delhi's fashion week in March-a rival and larger affair, with 82 designers to Mumbai's 57-some 70 of the 150 buyers came from abroad. In Mumbai, more than 30 of the 150 buyers were foreign. They are not yet spending a lot of money. India boasts only a handful of designers that sell well overseas. In the past year several, including Manish Arora, known as "the John Galliano of India", have begun to show at Paris fashion week, the most prestigious event in a global fashionistas' calendar. But Indian designer-wear is estimated to generate just $50m-250m of sales in a market worth some $35 billion. Pretty in pinkIt is India's potential as a source of future design stars that attracts the foreigners. In Mumbai Albert Morris, a consultant for Browns in London, said he was looking for that "polished diamond" able to combine Western cuts with India's talent for embellishment-and its famously fine textiles. But foreign buyers complained that although the fabrics were gorgeous, the cuts were often poor, and it was difficult to spot a single trend amid the riot of styles, even within one show. Many Indian designers also lack the organisational skills and infrastructure needed to handle large orders. Veronique Poles, a fashion consultant from Paris, said producing half a dozen of the same frocks could be a stretch for some Indian designers, "and then getting it delivered on time-pah!" But as Indian designers attract investors, their business skills will no doubt improve. Although many emerging designers have their sights on the global stage, their biggest and fastest-growing market by far is at home. Some 85% of sales at Delhi fashion week were to Indian buyers, who like more traditional subcontinental styles. This presents a quandary for Indian designers and their financial backers. In Mumbai, even those who set their sights on the global market could not quite leave India behind. Narendra Kumar Ahmed, a rising star, sent his models onto the ramp in resolutely Western designs: dresses (pictured), structured jackets and trousers. But almost every piece was pink, a tribute to Rajasthan's "pink city" of Jaipur.

Courtesy: The Economist, April 03, 2008

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