Previous Issues
DECEMBER 2009
 
SCAN AROUND THE GLOBE
Co-operation between ECO Countries

At the 19th meeting of the Regional Planning Council of the Economic Co-operation Organisation (ECO) in the beginning of the year 2009, the establishment of an ECO Science and Technology Office in Kazakhstan was approved in a bid to promote science cooperation between ECO member countries. Located in Almaty, the office will coordinate the scientific interaction of the 10 ECO member- states including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It will also promote exchange of knowledge and technology between the ECO scientific research centres, will organise symposia, conferences and workshops, public lectures, discussions, and will work with the local media to promote public understanding of science.
(NAM S&T Centre Mar, 2009)
Co-operation in Food Processing

France has offered to set up a joint working group with India and has offered its expertise and technology in the area of food processing. It is felt that agro- food sector in India ahows a huge potential that is yet to be tapped. So far, only 3% of the overall agricultural production (in India) is being processed; 35% in the dairy sector. In France, 70% of agricultural output is processed into value-added products. An Indian delegation from the food processing sector was to visit Paris to have meeting with various French food processing companies.

The food processing sector in India was facing various bottlenecks like lack of infrastructure, packaging and grading centres, quality control and testing facilities, wherein France’s experience and expertise is expected to be helpful. French delegation is reported to have identified agro-food as one of the industries in which cooperation is called for. Bilateral trade between the two countries is growing despite the global economic crisis. The trade between the two is currently at euro 7 billion. Although the trade is balanced both ways, efforts are on to meet target of doubling up the current euro billion by 2010.

France has also expressed interest in the infrastructure sector, particularly the railways as well as other projects.
(The Economic Times, Oct 27, 2009)
Eli Lilly-India-China Co-operation

Lilly Singapore Centre for Drug Discovery, part of the $20-billion Eli Lilly and Company, looks both at India and China to partner with contract research organisations (CROs) to discover new drugs in areas of cancer and metabolic disorders. Lilly Singapore Centre is collaborating with CROs, especially for its work in the biomarkers space. Biomarker discovery and patient tailoring approaches are conducted at the Centre to identify the right drug for the right patient, resulting in improved patient outcomes. Studies indicate that Indian contract research and manufacturing market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 41.7% to touch $2.46 billion be 2010.

Lilly has R&D facilities in eight countries and manufacturing plants in 13. The company has more than 60 molecules under various stages of development in its drug pipeline. The Centre employs close to 150 professionals, some of which are also drawn from India.
(The Financial Express Nov 20, 2009)
German-Chinese Year of Science

Since its launch in March 2009, the German- Chinese Year of Science 2009-2010 has already triggered a number of new developments. Year of Science, initiated by the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Professor Annette Schavan, the Chinese Minister of Research, Professor Wan Gang, and the Chinese Minister of Education, Professor Zhou Ji, aims to enhance the awareness of and intensify Sino-German cooperation in the areas of science and education. From March 2009 until May 2010, there will be numerous bilateral projects, workshops and other events in both Germany and China, some of which are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Register for the newsletter to learn about the latest developments in the German- Chinese Year of science, based on the slogan “Together on the road to knowledge”.
(International Bureau of BMBF, Oct, 2009)
ICTP - Iraq Collaboration

International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Italy has recently entered into an agreement with Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHERS) to collaborate on physics and mathematics training for Iraqi scientists. Under the agreement, up to 15 Iraqi scientists may visit ICTP annually to participate in ongoing and relevant activities. ICTP will also assist Iraqi scientists in their plans to build a centre for physics and mathematics in Baghdad, culminating in an ICTP affiliated centre in the next five years. ICTP will offer scientific and organisational advice to the centre once it is created.
(ICTP Portal-Jul, 2009)
OECD for Biotech Support

A recent new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has suggested that biotech in agriculture and industry should be supported by “substantially greater” investments to solve challenges. By 2015, virtually all new drugs, about half of global production of the world’s major crops, and an increasing number of everyday products (e.g., food additives plastics, fuels, and detergents) will be produced using biotechnology, said the report. However, the huge potential of the future “bioeconomy” could fall victim to the current economic crisis, unless governments act to support the biotech industry more vigorously, particularly in the fields of agriculture and energy, OECD said. Today, only 6% of business biotechnology R&D expenditure in the OECD is related to agriculture and industry, even though 75% of the potential economic contribution of biotechnology is in these two areas, the report revealed.

The report titled ‘The Bioeconomy to 2030: Designing a policy agenda’ examines the role of biotechnology in the global economy over the next two decades and outlines policies that could maximize its benefits. One of the main recommendations of the OECD report is that governments use green stimulus packages to focus on alternative energy and sustainable agriculture. According to an expert opinion, industrial biotechnology can help mitigate climate change, create jobs; and boost the green economy.
(Chemical Weekly-Jul 7, 2009)
SESAME –ICTP MoU

ICTP and the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening scientific collaboration between the two institutes. SESAME, located at Allan, Jordan, is the Middle East’s first major international research centre. Its mission-to build scientific capacity and contribute to economic development in the Middle East, the Mediterranean region and surrounding areas by enabling a wide range of excellent applied science, and to build bridges between different peoples through scientific and technical collaboration-will be boosted by the implementation of the MoU.

The MoU implementation can allow for “joint and collaborative activities that contribute to the missions of ICTP and SESAME.” It is expected that the activities will include developing and organising research and training programmes and scientific events taking advantage of the existing schools and training programmes at ICTP. The MoU was signed on 20 July at the SESAME council meeting in Istanbul.
(SESAME-Aug, 2009)
SPECIAL FEATURE

CONNECTING Global Science

Introduction

International Cooperation is more important than ever before in science and research since they are seeking the solutions to global questions such as climate change and the fight against dangerous infectious diseases. Additionally, research makes an important contribution to intercultural understanding and the stabilization of crisis regions. The Federal Foreign Office is supporting the global knowledge network through its Research and Academic Relations Initiative in 2009.

Research has the power to improve people’s lives. It also builds bridges to other continents: every student and researcher who works across borders forms a new link in the global network.

Further scientists working collaboratively at the same time, but in different locations around the world make networking more user friendly by ultra-high-speed broad band networks and special software developed as part of a national science Foundation funded program called the ‘OptiPuter’.

OptiPuter

Computer scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Electronic Visualization Laboratory- a key partner in the OptlPuter project- think the process should be more user- friendly. NSF has just awarded the UIC team a three-year, $1.9 million grant to make it happen.

Chicago’s Electronic Visualisation Laboratory (EVL) experts were instrumental in creating software that allows scientists gathered in remote locations to load huge amounts of digitalized data from supercomputers and visualize images, graphs or anything else on ultra-high-resolution, wall-sized display panels. Scientists at any participating site can manipulate that data, simulate, compare and learn things from this shared experience. Nearly 40 OptlPuter research centers around the globe, called OptlPortals, have been tested over the past few years and work very well.

EVL has several goals. Besides making it just easier for anyone to use these collaborative networks, it is hoped to make it easier to run simulations and add data to a visual display wall using devices ranging from a typical laptop computer to the Blue Waters Petascale supercomputer being built at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They want to make it easier to edit or manipulate visualizations on the displays and stream additional data, which now can be hampered by things such as format conflicts. The product will also consider the types of workflow software packages commonly used by various scientific communities and make them compatible, rather than a source of conflict when a global network of scientists is connected and tries to get to work.

Science needs international networks and the network grows larger with every Ph.D student that enages in international network. Research and Academic Relations initiative launched be Federal Foreign Office sees science and research as a global bond between Germany and its partners around the world. Global challenges like climate change and research into renewable energies or combating pandemics are global issues to which researchers worldwide are seeking solutions. “Bacteria don’t stop at frontiers and neither should scientists.”Says Professor Seyed Hasnain, infection biologist and vice-chancellor of the University of Hyderabad in India.

The tuberculosis expert is conducting research in Germany during 2009 as recipient of a Humboldt Research Award. He has worked closely with Professor Jorg Hacker, the President of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin for ten years. Together, they founded the Indo-German Liaison Office (IGLO), which has already initiated a dozen research partnerships.

When it comes to innovation, international knowledge transfer also acts as a catalyst for new ideas. Against the background of global competition, creativity and innovation play a key role. The Research and Academic Relations Initiative aims not only to promote Germany as a centre of innovation, but also to contribute to the democratic development in conflict regions and countries in transition.

Global Interchange

The worldwide networking of people and societies has become an everyday reality in the 21st century. Communication is daily affair with colleagues, partners and friends from all parts of the world. Particularly in science and research global cooperation has long since become routine. Research is primarily carried out in international teams. All benefit form this global exchange of knowledge, ideas and ‘technologies, because it is the driving force behind innovation and growth.

Moreover, interchange increases mutual understanding between countries and cultures. However, this global networking does not only offer opportunities; it also presents with new challenges. Problems such as the instability of financial markets, energy insecurity and climate change, affect every region on Earth and therfore cannot be solved by one country acting alone.

Additionally, networked research contributes to intercultural dialogue, to stability and tile preservation of peace. Competition is increasing on the global education market and new centres of knowledge are emerging in other parts of the world and becoming new economic and cultural hubs. Tried and tested instruments of academic co-operation are being expanded and supplemented by new measures.

This is how German foreign policy is contributing what it can towards the internationalization of our research landscape. It creates additional incentives and favourable framework conditions for the crossborder development of science and scholarship. Research and academic relations policy is an answer tothe challenges and above all the opportunities of the global networking of societies. It makes it possible to move people, build bridges and connect worlds of knowledge.

Concluding Observations

Finally connecting Worlds of knowledge are important for strengthening international cooperation. For example foreign research and education policy has long been an integral part of German foreign policy. Every year the Federal Foreign Office spends more than 250 million euros on science, research and development in Germany and worldwide. Most of this money benefits foreign guest students and visiting researchers in the form of scholarships.

The Federal Foreign Office works closely with some 25 partner organizations, including the DAAD, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the German Archaeological Institute in order to promote international exchange in research and education. What that means in concrete terms is, for example, the creation of new scholarship programmes for highly qualified international graduates as well as students from conflict regions. In partnership with German universities, centres of excellences are being established in Russia, Thailand, Chile and Colombia that enable new levels of interchange. German science and innovation centres are being founded in India, Brazil, Japan, Russia and the USA-as showcases of German research abroad.

Language is an essential element in interchange. In many cases English forms the common denomintor, but German is an important language of research, too, and it is therefore also fostered by the Research and Academic Relations Initiative.
(Biotech News.Aug2009)
 
COUNTRY SPECIFIC
CERATIZIT- Austria 

 

General

Part of the Austrian major Plansee Group, CERATIZIT is one of the world’s top five producers of hard materials. Headquartered at Luxembourg, it is supported by a sales network spanning over 50 countries worldwide. A leader in the material science technology, the company’s annual turnover stands at a staggering 600 million Euro and it currently employs over 400people. CERATIZIT is committed to technological leadership & employ state of the art manufacturing techniques like robotic presses, extrusion presses, injection moulding, sinter hip, in house cvd & pvd coating & many more. The company deals in a wide range of products, which include inserts & tool holders for turning & milling, mss system for parting, grooving, threading, ecocut-special design for drilling, turning, boring with one tool.

Market Potential

CERATIZIT is the world market leader in selected industry sectors for unique and consistently innovative hard material products. It provides their business partners with direct competitive advantages, and in this manner remain on the pathway of continuous growth. One of its important strength is the possibility to manufacture blanks and finished, round and flat carbide wear parts for different applications according to customer’s requirement. CERATIZIT carbide grades are supporting short delivery time and reproducible quality with highest precision.

Company has benefited from favourable economic conditions in Asia and Eastern Europe, as well as from strong demand in the NAFTA region. The company’s most important customers are in the engineering, aerospace, energy and transportation industries. The integration of US company Newcomer Products enabled CERATIZIT to strengthen its position in North America. Based in Latrobe, the Company has now become CERATIZIT’S head office and logistics centre for its US operations.

Expansion Prgramme

To further expand the global sales network, it has opened new offices in Mexico and China. The company with its offices at Kolkata in India is taking the Indian market seriously. At its site in Kolkata 150 colleagues design, produce and sell carbide products. Also more and more multinational holdings are starting up production plants in India. The most important industry sectors for CERATIZIT India are the automotive, aerospace, bar peeling and oil & gas industries. Moreover, the Indian team is not only in the cutting tool business. For more than two years they have produced and sold wear part items, mainly cold heading pellets for the Indian market. The company is active in the steel industry and deals in Carbide Rolls for hot rolling, TC Rings, Guide Rollers.

Key Products

Finally, along with making its presence felt at the global level, company is presently pioneer in following technological key products.

(i) Wear Parts: Carbide specialties, discs, PCB blanks, tool and dyes, knives, nozzle and hobs.

(ii) Wear Part Industries: Metal forming Cutting tools: Drilling, turning, milling, parting & grooving, threading and multifunction tools.

(iii) Cutting Tools Industries: Automotive, aerospace, railway industry, distribution partners, tool makers roll machining, bar peeling, tool makers, roll machining, bar peeling, bearing, turbines and petro industry.

(iv) Wood Machining: Tips for circular saws, indexable knives, blanks for profiling, rods, strips, drill tips, blanks for routers.

(v) Stone Machine Tools: Hammer tips and masonry tips.

(vi) Working Industry: Tips for Masonry drill, hammer drill, Glass drills.
(Deutschland 4/2009)
FINANCIAL COLLABORATIONS
Comprehensive Economic Partnership

India has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the Republic of Korea in Seoul on 7 August. This is India’s second CEPA with any country, the first being with Singapore in 2005. This is also India’s first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with an OECD country. CEPA is more than and FTA as it covers not only trade in goods but also investments, services and envisages bilateral cooperation in other areas of common interest. Under the CEPA, tariffs will be reduced or eliminated on 93 per cent of Korea’s tariff lines and 85 per cent of India’s tariff lines. It will facilitate trade in services through additional commitments made by both countries to ease movement of independent professional and contractual service suppliers. Both countries have committed to provide “national treatment”and protect each other’s investments to give a boost to bilateral investments in all sectors except these specifically exempted from it. It is believed by Assocham that the agreement between the two countries would substantially improve bilateral agreements in areas of automobile components, heavy engineering, electronics and electrical appliances.

(Chemical Weekly – Aug 18, 2009)
EU – India Joint Initiative

Funding Programme in Neurosciences

The Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF) and American National Science Foundation (NSF) have launched a new funding programme in the important field of neuroscience. On the basis of the funding collaboration agreement, both countries have pledged to jointly support German-American research projects beginning in 2010. Of course, there have always been cooperative projects between researchers in both countries, but these were usually the result of spontaneous collaboration and often had to be integrated into existing projects. This new agreement will simplify and intensify research cooperation, and hopefully raise it to a new level.

American and German partners will now be able to obtain financing through a joint funding programme, especially designed for this purpose, and work together on joint projects. Germany’s leading position is also the result of intensive financial support provided by the BMBF. For example, the BMBF established the “German Bernste in Network Computational Neuroscience”, a series of supplementary and coordinated funding measures, for which the BMBF has allocated more than 100 million euro. One of the key questions in the neuro sciences concerns how the brain functions. Computational neuroscience is a young research field which is trying to find answers to this by simulating brain activity - along with experimental investigation - in computer-based models.

(FM of ER – Oct, 2009)
Funding Joint Biotech Project

Investment to Upgrade Green Technologies

Recently Australia has announced an investment of $ 50 million to develop green technologies in India. Canberra also decided to scale up its collaboration with India in science and research by pledging over $70 million in areas straddling energy, agriculture and environment. Australia would invest $50 million for the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, $1 million for an innovative joint solar cooling research project and $20 million for research into dry land farming in India. The Indian government reciprocated by agreeing to match Australia’s increased investment in bilateral research projects. The fund is already supporting 50 projects cutting across scientific disciplines, including astronomy, climate change and evolution, malaria vaccines, the impact of global warming on agriculture, water management, computing and biotechnology.

Energy cooperation has become an important area of cooperation between the two countries. The solar cooling research project, a joint project between Australian agency Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Teri, aims to develop a zero emission solar cooling system for use in remote rural communities in un-electrified areas. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research will be supporting research into dry land farming in India with $20 million over five years.


(The Financial Express, Nov 13, 2009)
 
SCAN AROUND US
Computer Sciences Centre
A premier German institute would set up a centre in computer sciences in New Delhi India in collaboration with the Ministry of Science & Technology, a move to provide high research avenues in this area in India. The Max Planck Society’s centre in New Delhi will also have partnership with IIT Delhi.

The society gives the people 24,000 Euros per annum to set up laboratories and the project also gets some additional funding from the Indian Government. The funds are being given for a period of five years during which the institute keeps track of research being carried out by the laboratories.

The society is looking for increased cooperation with India to utilise the scientific manpower which the country has. India is the only country where the society has a representative office. The research institutes of the Max Planck Society conduct basic research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences and humanities. In particular, the society takes up new and innovative research areas that German universities are not in a position to accommodate or deal with adequately. The variety of topics in the natural sciences and the humanities at Max Planck Institutes complement the work done at universities and other research facilities in important research fields.

(PTI ScienceServic-Nov1-15, 2009)
 
Economic Partnership Agreement

Indian Government has approved the singing of a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea. The India-Korea CEPA comprises of six agreements: Agreement on Trade in goods; Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures: Trade Facilitation and Customs Cooperation; Trade in Services, including Specific Commitments; and Investment and Dispute Settlement. The CEPA also contains chapters on “Competition” and IPR. Korea has put additionally 60% of tariff lines, under immediate tariff liberalization for India. Most of the items are of India’s export interest to Korea. This way India is going to benefit most from the tariff negotiation. According to an official statement from the Indian government, due care has been taken to protect the interest of agricultural and textile sectors. “India’s exclusion and sensitive list contain mostly agricultural, textiles and auto-sectors items,” the statement added, with no product offered for complete elimination of duty in this sector.

Salient provisions of the Investment chapter include market access for industries; national treatment; repatriation; safeguards against expropriation; investment protection; and settlement of disputes.

(Chemical Weekly Jul14, 2009)
 
India-EUERA-Net
DBT (India) had agreed to be part of the International Era-Net project (European Research Area) named NEW INDIGO aimed at fostering and coordinating the scientific cooperation between European Research Area (ERA) and India to also provide relevant framework for the scientific community and institutions of India to gain to European Research Area. This is the first ERA-NET project India would participate in. The FP7’s ERA-Net scheme intends to strengthen the European Research Area by improving the cooperation and coordination of national research activities through:

Awareness raising both in participating EU member countries and in India through development of harmonized financial and administrative tools and efficient evaluation and monitoring process for future joint activities by:

An EC delegation comprising of representatives from Austria, France, Germany and Netherlands visited DBT in September 2009. It was mutually agreed that the joint call for proposals would be issued by December 2009 and the funding of the projects would begin by September 2010.

(Biotech News- Oct, 2009)
 
India-UNIDO Projects

With a broader cooperation programme with India, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is launching new industrial projects totaling nearly USD 9 million.

Agreements on this were signed recently in Vienna. A USD 5.9 million cluster development programme for India will focus on technology, management, skill development, and the environment. It will be implemented by 2014 at sites in Pithampura, Chennai, Pune, Ankhleswar, Kanpur, and New Delhi, matching the specific needs of each industrial location.

The cluster programme combines projects that will help improve resource productivity and environmental performance of small and medium enterprises in particular in automotive components, leather and chemical sectors. They will focus on enhanced market access for small and medium sized automotive component manufacturers in Indian auto-clusters. They will also enable local leather- based industry to sustain conversion of locally available raw hides and skins into exportable products, either directly as genuine leather or as derived finished products, for example footwear.

The machine tool industry is the backbone of India’s engineering sector. It has come a long way, but now needs to be further strengthened to cost-effectively produce quality machine tools through technological upgrade and market development. The machine tool industry project will be implemented in coordination with the UNIDO Regional Office in New Delhi and within the framework of a programme of cooperation between India and UNIDO for 2008-2012.

(UNIDO Asia-Pacific Programme Aug 7, 2009)
 
Pact to Fight Climate Change

India and China signed an agreement in October, 2009 to co-operate on ways to fight climate change. They will also continue to work together in international climate deal negotiations. The agreement emphasised that the “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol are the most appropriate framework for addressing climate change”. India and China have been negotiating on climate change as part of the bloc of 131 developing countries commonly known as the G-77.

The agreement signed by the two countries called for cooperation on addressing climate change. The two countries will cooperate on mitigation policies, programmes, projects, technology development and demonstration relating to greenhouse gas emission reduction, which will extend to the areas of energy conservation and efficiency, renewable energies, clean coal, methane recovery and utilisation, afforestation and sustainable management of forests and ecosystem, transportation and sustainable habitat.

(The Economic Times-Oct22, 2009)
 
Research Agreement on Solar Energy
Research is playing an increasingly significant role in promoting bilateral relations between India and the UK. Initiatives such as the UKIERI have shown how the two countries are taking an active step in promoting not only mutually beneficial and complimentary research but also better cultural understanding. A workshop on India–UK Cooperation in Solar Energy Research was organized at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi recently. The main aim of the workshop was to discuss the priorities for a multimillion dollar joint initiative for collaborative research projects on solar energy—an agreement for which has been signed. The cooperation agreement signed during the workshop will act as a statement of intent to cooperate towards the fostering of genuine and mutually beneficial research collaboration in solar energy research through a multimillion-dollar research programme to be initiated in the coming months.

(Akshay Urja Volume 2 Issue 6)
Technology Safeguards Agreement
The technology safeguards agreement (TSA) signed by India and US recently will expand satellite launch market and boost revenues for India Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Agreement is likely to facilitate the launch of U.S. satellites and satellites with U.S. components on Indian launch vehicles. The new Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) to be signed will cover launches involving satellites owned by U.S. Government or academic institutions or by third country space agencies and universities which have U.S. equipment on board. The civilian non-commercial satellites are those launched by government-owned agencies to monitor weather, natural calamities, provide health and education coverage and take up other social services through satellite link- ups. Hitherto, the US was unwilling to allow Isro to launch either civilian satellites with American equipment or third country satellites carrying American payloads. Satellites owned by American universities and other academic institutions can also be launched by Isro.

Isro has so far put into space 16 foreign satellites from countries like Belgium, Canada, Korea, Germany, Japan and Indonesia.

(mydigitalc.com Jul 21, 2009)
 
EXPERTS CONVERGE
Meeting on Biotechnology of SAARC Countries  

The third meeting of the working group in Biotechnology of SAARC countries was held in Colombo in June, 2009. Representatives of all the member states participated in the meeting. One of the agenda items for discussion was consideration of a concept paper on co-operation in biotechnology prepared by India. The broad subject areas of co-operation are medical, agriculture, environmental, animal and marine biotechnologies and also bioinformatics. It also provides provisions for holding conferences/workshops among the member states, post doctoral fellowships, developing joint research projects in the area of mutual interest, and exchange visits of scientists. The sending side shall meet the international travel cost (up to the relevant entry city of the host side) as well as the medical insurance. The receiving side shall take care of the living costs of the visiting scientists. Organizational expenses for the mutually agreed meetings /workshops shall be paid by the host country.

The Meeting, after extensive discussion, endorsed, in principle the concept paper on cooperation in biotechnology. Participants also recommended that emerging areas such as nano-biotechnology, stem cell research, and RNA interference technology should be included in the Programme of Cooperation. The financial provisions of the concept paper will be subject to approval by the concerned authorities of the Member States. Participants underscored the importance of the private sector for effective development and application of biotechnology in the region. It was agreed that a common platform needs to be established to exchange experiences among member states on the involvement of private sector. Models of public-private partnerships developed and adopted by India could be tried by other member states. The meeting welcomed the offers to host the Regional Conference on Agriculture Biotechnology in Pakistan in 2009 and Workshop on biofertilizers in the first quarter of 2010 in India respectively. Members also welcomed the offer of Sri Lanka to host the Fourth Meeting of the Working Group on Biotechnology in the second quarter of 2010.
 
KNOWLEDGE SPREADS
New Industries from New Places  

Above named book published in March 2009 by Stanford University Press, World Bank, presents a comparison of the growth of the IT industries in China and India, based on interviews with over 300 companies. It explains the different growth paths of the software and hardware sectors in each country, providing insights into the factors behind the emergence of China and India as global economic powers. It provides a compelling case study of how differences in economic policies and the investment climate affect industrial growth.

Contact- ISBN: 0-8213-6478-2
ISBN- 13:978-0-8213-6478-9
SKU: 16478

Strengthening China’s and India’s Trade and Investment Ties to the Middle East and North Africa

Published in April 2009 by World Bank the book indicates that the region as a whole has benefited from the rise of China and India in terms of better terms of trade, significant increases in oil and gas exports, and cheaper imports. However, producers of industrial goods have been negatively - and in a few cases severely – affected by competition with the two Asian countries in both third and domestic markets. For the labor-abundant, non oil-producing countries, competition with China and India will increase. But the lack of competitive manufacturing industries and services, the insufficient attention given in the past to building technological capabilities and promoting openness and entrepreneurship are constraining their ability to respond to competition. They need to accelerate productivity to tackle unemployment, especially among youth.

For details contact ISBN: 0-8213-7776-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-821 3-7776-5
SKU: 17776