  
Mr.
Sanjay Puri
Chairman, US India Political Action
Committee (USINPAC) |
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Positive
trends and policies notwithstanding, there are
a number of ways USINPAC believes U.S.-India
trade relations can still be enhanced. One of
these areas is to open discussions on forming
a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two
countries. said Mr. Sanjay Puri, Chairman,
US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC).
He is also Chairman
of the US India Business Alliance (USIBA).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
M. G. Kiran
IT Secretary, Govt. of Sikkim
India
Considerable
political stability; crime free state with no
insurgency problem; and a large English speaking
population -- all these are the right ingredients
for IT enabled Services (ITeS) in the state.
“It is here that we have an edge over other
states”, said M.G. Kiran, IT Secretary,
Government of Sikkim
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
V. S. Bhaskar
IT Secretary, Govt. of Assam
India
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The
state capital Guwahati can become a gateway
to South East Asia and Far East Asia due to
its aerial proximity to the region. Government
of Assam has been trying for sometime to attract
one of the major IT companies of India to set
up a development centre in Guwahati, said Mr.
V.S.Bhaskar, IT Secretary, Government of Assam
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Lalu Prasad
Railway Minister, India
Indian
Railways is in a strong financial position today.
“The image of the Railways has brightened
so much that we are getting loans from abroad
at low rates. We are executing our projects
in the country with our own resources”,
said Mr. Lalu Prasad, Indian Railway
Minister.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Sudhir Kumar
OSD to the Railway Minister, India
The
turn around magic lies in the Railway Minister’s
leadership. “It is his leadership that is helping
to build up this beautiful team and excellent consensus
and teamwork”, said Mr. Sudhir Kumar,
Officer on Special Duty to the Railway
Minister Mr. Lalu Prasad
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Dr.
Debesh Das
Information Technology Minister
Govt. of West Bengal
Software
alone cannot take India to greater height. The country
has to put equal emphasis on Hardware that is an integral
part of IT. West Bengal would like to take special
care and give required emphasis on hardware, its chip
design related activities in particular in the state,
says Dr Debesh Das, Information Technology
Minister of West Bengal.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
S. K. Ghosh
Chairman
Industrial India Trade Fair |
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India’s
share in Vietnam’s total foreign trade is very small (0.89
percent in 2005). The significant imbalance in trade balance
could be largely corrected and overall trade volume raised,
if Free Trade Agreement is put in place," so feels
Mr. S. K. Ghosh, Chairman
of Industrial India Trade Fair.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Azher Saeed Butt
Co President
India Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Pakistan
and India can dominate world trade if both the countries
can have a long-term trade policy. "One of the
major reasons of low volume of trade" between
the two countries, "is lack of confidence and
unclear policies", says Mr. Azher Saeed
Butt, Co President, India Pakistan Chamber of Commerce
& Industry
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Oknha
Kith Meng
President
Phnom Penh Chamber of Commerce
(Cambodia Chamber of Commerce) |
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India
is one of best friends of Cambodia. To boost Indo-Cambodian
bilateral trade one best solution is to "somehow India’s
investors relocate their production units to Cambodia and
start diversifying products of Cambodia in order to raise
exports from this country," says Mr.
Oknha Kith Meng,
President of the
Phnom Penh Chamber of Commerce (Cambodia
Chamber of Commerce).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Ron Somers
President
US India Business Council (USIBC)
2006
will be a historic year in the US-India relationship.
“The fifth-ever visit of a U.S. President to India
is bound to be successful. A bounty of opportunity
will ensue – far beyond mere commercial measure,”
says Mr. Ron Somers, President of
the US India Business Council (USIBC).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Dr.
G. D. Gautama
Principal Secretary
Dept. of Information Technology
Govt. of West Bengal |
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With
the significant changes in perception about West bengal,
the IT industry is witnessing significant qualitative as
well as quantitative development. The ITeS sector is also
no exception, in fact has become an integral part of this
development process, so feels Dr G.D.Gautama,
Principal Secretary, Department of Information
Technology, Government of West Bengal.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Sanjay Puri
Chairman
US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC)
Not
by any political convenience, the U.S.-India relationship
will continue to be defined as much by shared values
as it is by the foreign policies of the two countries,
so feels Mr. Sanjay Puri, Chairman of
the US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC)
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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H.E.
Ong
Keng Yong
Secretary-General
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) |
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In
the current era of globalization, ASEAN places premium in
developing regional processes that are transparent, open
and outward-looking. “If we fail to do this, Asia’s
emergence in the 21st Century will not be sustainable,”
said His Excellency Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Ms.
Neelam Dhawan
Managing Director
Microsoft India
In
it's India agenda, Microsoft’s topmost priority is
“to become relevant” to country’s one billion population.
The
software giant's consumer strategy is aimed at enabling
Indian consumers to embrace a Digital Lifestyle enabled
by a rich constellation of Microsoft products, services
& partnerships, says Ms Neelam Dhawan,
Managing Director, Microsoft India.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr. Gautam Banerjee
Executive Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Singapore |
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A
common platform and global standards in Governance-Risk
Management-Compliance (GRC) are strongly required as companies
around the world compete for capital funds, observes Mr.
Gautam Banerjee, Executive Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) Singapore. "I expect a push towards
a common platform and global standards" in GRC. The
corporate governance in India is becoming a very important
issue with multinationals growing rapidly in the country
and "more importantly", with Indian companies
going global, he says.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr. N. Balasubramanian
Chairman & Managing Director
SIDBI
Most
of the entrepreneurs in the SME sector are blissfully
unaware of the wide range of SIDBI support and offerings.
Knowledge gap is the biggest road block for the SME
sector to grow, said SIDBI Chairman and Managing
Director N. Balasubramanian. We are trying our
best to bridge that gap as much as possible but to
achieve that a more concerted efforts by all other
banks and other key players are essential, he added.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr. Ranjit Sen
President
Indo-American Chamber of Commerce |
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India
should now exploit to the fullest extent the opportunities
being thrown by the New Strategic Partnership with the
US unlike in the Cold War era when the country was closer
to the erstwhile Soviet bloc, the policy that provided
China an opportunity to open up and expand trade with
the US. "Once the door is opened up fully and restrictions
are taken away, I think the sky is the limit", says
Mr. Ranjit Sen, President of the Indo-American
Chamber of Commerce.
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Mr.
Mark Kobayashi-Hillary
Director (Global Research)
CBC Technologies
India
can no longer sell itself as a low cost outsourcing
destination because other locations are now competing
on the cost front, so feels Mr. Mark Kobayashi-Hillary,
Director (Global Research) of CBC Technologies.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Ms.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Republican Congresswoman |
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The
relationship between the United States and India is playing
an increasingly important role in regional and world affairs
in the post-Cold War world, says Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican Congresswoman and a friend
of India.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Allen Ma
President, BT Asia Pacific
India
today is one of the top priorities in the global telecom
giant BT's business strategy for Asia Pacific "We
remain fully committed to service in the market. India
is in the world’s spotlight, and as frontrunner,
we also continue to develop our share in this market,"
says Mr. Allen Ma, President, BT Asia Pacific.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Rob Durie
CEO of Australian Information Industry Association
(AIIA) |
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The
prospects of India and Australia forging together to emerge
as an IT super power in the Asia-Pacific region are bright,
feels Mr. Rob Durie, the CEO of Australian
Information Industry Association (AIIA). “The combination
of the successful Indian companies with their blue chip
customer base and the innovation available in Australia
could be a compelling proposition if we get it right”,
he says.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
M. Rajaram
Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (SICCI)
Singapore
has always championed India’s case in ASEAN
and this will continue to be the position. With its
branding, Singapore can be used as the platform from
which Indian products and services can be launched
to the ASEAN and the rest of the world, says Mr.
M. Rajaram, Chairman of the Singapore Indian
chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Martyn Hart
Chairman of the National Outsourcing Association
(NOA), UK |
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The
language capability of India means that the country will
be" at the forefront of the global BPO offshore market
for English speaking countries in the West," so feels
Mr. Martyn Hart, chairman of the National
Outsourcing Association (NOA), UK. This language skill is
one of the main reasons why India today is the number one
offshoring destination selection for UK organizations, he
says. "The outsourcing of HR administration, finance
and accountancy, procurement, customer management, administration
and back office functions is becoming a more attractive
option for organizations, looking to concentrate on core
competencies. This is the real opportunity for India",
the NOA chairman maintains.
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Mr.
Don McKinnon
Secretary-General, The Commonwealth
The
53-nation Commonwealth is "investing a great
deal of energy into promoting democracy and good governance.
Strong democratic institutions provide the best foundation
for economic growth", says Mr. Don McKinnon,
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. Information
Technology is an important tool for fostering development.
Global communications and the Internet are key engines
of this economic growth. The Commonwealth is also
trying to bring an end to the discriminatort trade
policies whereby some developed nations are advocating
free trading but in practice at home they are following
protectionist policies, he observes.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Dr.
Mohan Kaul
Director-General and CEO, Commonwealth Business
Council |
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The
most important objective for the Commonwealth Business Council
(CBC) is the economic empowerment of the people that can
be achieved if most of the countries have higher economic
growth rate but that for us can only be achieved by increasing
the role of the private sector, so feels Dr Mohan
Kaul, Director-General & Chief Executive of
the Commonwealth Business Council.
Click here for full text of the
interview
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Mr.
Raman Roy
Chairman, Wipro Spectramind.
To
acquire and retain a sizeable share in the global
market in future, Indian BPO industry has to go a
long way. "The journey is very long...There is
still lot to be done but the first mover’s advantage
can never, never, never be taken away from us by other
countries", asserts Raman Roy,
Chairman and Managing Director of Wipro Spectramind.
the industry would require massive incremental investment
to the tune of US$ 3 billion to create 1.0 million
professionals to be required by 2008. How such a massive
fund requirement could be met is very big question
to be answered both by the industry as well as government,
he points out.
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Mr.
S. K. Mitra
Managing Director, WEBEL |
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One
finds a see-change in the IT sector in West Bengal. But
what is the propelling force behind this "tremendous
growth and resurgence"? "The image of our Chief
Minister. What he says and what he does are basically putting
lot of shine on the image that West Bengal had", said
Mr. Subhendu Kumar Mitra, Managing Director
of WEBEL, the nodal agency for the state's IT activities.
"This perception front is being turned around"
he observed.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Kiran Karnik
President, NASSCOM
The
Indian IT industry has now reached a stage of maturity
where it can be a very reliable and safe partner for
meeting the requirement of our global partners and
also capable of doing or has the capacity to do innovation,
said Mr. Kiran Karnik, President
of NASSCOM. India’s national platform of the
IT and IT Services industry. “We have now reached
the stage where we can innovate and not just do what
customer wants us to do”, he said.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Harris Miller
President, IT Association of America |
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Unshackling
of Indian economy from tariff barriers in 1991 by Mr. Manmohan
Singh has made India a major IT power today, says Mr.
Harris Miller, President of the IT Association
of America. On outsourcing, he thinks, it has come to stay
he said but Indian companies may have to face more and more
competition from companies in the US, China and Russia in
this segment.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
G. D. Gautama
Principal Secretary, Dept. of IT, Govt.
of West Bengal
In
last three years West Bengal has made enormous progress
reflecting exponential growth in IT sector, says Dr.
G.D.Gautama, Principal Secretary, Department
of Information Technology, Government of West Bengal.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Manabendra Mukherjee
IT Minister, Govt. of West Bengal |
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West
Bengal produces the best quality human resources at cheapest
price. This is the greatest advantage that Bengal offer
to the IT industry, says Mr. Manabendra Mukherjee,
IT minister of West Bengal.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Joseph Crowley
Democratic Co-chair of the Congressional
India Caucus
Over
the past four years the Bush administration has been
positively engaged with India. In the bilateral trade
front, US can expect military equipment sector to
grow. An US company that may have a substantial presence
in India today to serve the US market, in 10-15 years
time this investment could be predominantly serving
the Indian market, says Mr. Joseph Crowley,
Democratic Co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Rick Rossow
Director of Operations, US-India Business Council
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The
Strategic Partnership Agreement underscores the US government's
commitment to India and "that will certainly help reassure"
American investors. To US companies, India is still the
destination of choice for BPO services says Mr.
Rick Rossow, Director of Operations, US-India Business
Council (USIBC).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Joe Wilson
Republican co-chair, Congressional
India Caucus
The
Indo-US relationship under President George Bush has
strengthened further and this is strongly reflected
in historic joint military exercises, increase in
bilateral trade, and in better understanding and appreciation
of India’s security concerns, so feels Mr.
Joe Wilson, Republican co-chair of the US
Congressional India Caucus. “I feel India has
become a scapegoat over this issue..”, he commented
on the issue of outsourcing.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Dasho Bap Kinga
Vice President, Bhutan Chamber of Commerce
& Industry and BCCI's SAARC Desk Chief |
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India
being a Software giant, can help Bhutan in terms of technical
know-how, expatriate skills, etc, says Mr. Dasho
Bap Kinga, Vice President, Bhutan Chamber of Commerce
& Industry and BCCI's SAARC Desk Chief.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
M. Macky Hashim
President,
SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry
The
'businessmen-to-businessmen' relationship-building
measures initiated by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (SCCI) have started yielding positive
results overarching the political shadows that are
occasionally clouding the bright prospect of SAARC
to emerge as a strong regional trade body like ASEAN
and the European Union, so feels Mr. M. Macky
Hasim, President of SCCI.
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Ms.
Benazir Bhutto
Chairperson, Pakistan Peoples Party |
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Ms.
Benazir Bhutto, the PPP Chairperson and former
Prime Minister of Pakistan, strongly believes that both
Pakistan and India should seek to improve bilateral trade
relations "without prejudice to their respective positions
on political issues such as Kashmir". Both the countries
need to signal to the world community that they are committed
to the peaceful management, peaceful dialogue and peaceful
solution to the bilateral issues, she said.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Riaz Ahmed Tata
President, The Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce & Industry
India
being the biggest and most influential county in The
South Asian Region can play pivotal role in removing
all the political and economic barriers", said
Mr. Riaz Ahmed Tata, President, Federation
of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry. Commenting
on the role of India, he said as a "big brother",
India should extend "generous help by ignoring
tiny issues and facilitate business activities.
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Mr.
N. Chandrababu Naidu
President, Telugu Desam Party |
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If
voted back to power, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which had
been extending full throat support to the NDA government
led by Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, would continue
to do so. The unstinting support to NDA, would be there.
The Party is not going to budge an inch from this stand,
asserts the TDP supremo, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu...
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Y. Sato, President
Japan Information Service Industry
Association (JISA)
With
highly skilled engineers/services for lower costs
from Indian IT companies, Japanese IT industry will
be able to sharpen further its global competitive
edge, says Mr. Y. Sato, President
of Japan Information Technology Services Industry
Association (JISA).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Hemant Kanoria
Chairman, Infrastructure, CII (ER) |
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One
of the greater challenges India is facing today perhaps
is that of developing and deploying country’s infrastructure
to keep pace with constant change that is revolving around
the country, says Mr. Hemant Kanoria, Chairman,
Infrastructure, Confederation of Indian Industry (Eastern
Region).
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Sanjay Puri
Executive Director, of US India
Political Action Committee (USINPAC)
The
economic cooperation between US and India is
very positive with trade being at the highest
level and military cooperation is very high
with joint exercises and other activities going
on, says Mr. Sanjay Puri, Executive
Director of US India Political Action Committee
(USINPAC), a leading political action committee
for Indian Americans...
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Mr.
S. Roychowdhury
Director, UCO Bank |
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Once
virtually dumped as a non-performing asset of the Indian
banking industry, UCO Bank under the leadership of Mr.
V. P. Shetty has not only turned around, it has
repositioned itself as a much more strong force in the industry
so much so that it offered a part of its stake to the public
in this September. Creative elements and industrial harmony
were largely responsible for this turn around, so feels
Mr. S. Roychowdhury, Director of the Bank. Turn Around was
no magic that would vanish in the air as soon as the magic
spell is over, he asserted adding that "investors have
gone by the fundamentals rather than propaganda."
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
APS Mani
President, India IT Club, Japan
Today
Indian IT companies have greater opportunities in
the Japanese market. In fact, over last three years,
Indian firms have gained a strong foothold in Japanese
IT market, says Mr. APS Mani, President
of the India IT Club, Japan.
Click
here for full text of the interview
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His
Highness Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al-Saud
Chairman
of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA)
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The
Chairman of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA),
His Highness Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al-Saud,
is of the view that "there is good basis for a constructive,
mutually beneficial relationship and we believe the future
holds definite promise for stronger Indo-Saudi ties".
In an interview with Amitabha Sen he said that the Kingdom
is keen to build up a even stronger and stable bilateral
relationship with India in coming year.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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His
Excellency Mr. Kamaluddin Ahmed
Ambassador of India to the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
The
Indo-Saudi relations are passing through "a very
exciting phase and the future of these relations is
very bright ahead", so feels His Excellency Mr.
Kamaluddin Ahmed, Indian Ambassador to the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In an exclusive interview
with Amitabha Sen, he said that both the countries
shared a large number of areas where they can benefit
from their complimentary strengths.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Dr.
Jacques Derron
Economic Counsellor, Embassy of Switzerland
in India |
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India
can expect higher inflows of FDI into the country if it
opens up sectors such as insurance, banking, retail trading,
and also remove bureaucratic hassles faced by foreign investors
in India, so feels Dr. Jacques Derron,
Economic Counsellor, Embassy of Switzerland in India. In
an interview with Amitabha Sen, he also observes that to
make business in India more attractive, the foreign companies
"definitely look forward to reducing of import tariff
and non-tariff barriers in India, as well as easing of administrative
burdens and rigid labour laws."
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Mr.
Sushil K. Premchand
President of Swiss-Indian Chamber of
Commerce (SICC)
Mr.
Sushil K. Premchand, President of the Swiss-Indian
Chamber of Commerce (SICC), is of the view that if
the Swiss SMEs are tapped properly and if proper focus
is given on them, India can expect substantial amount
of FDI in aggregate terms. In an interview with Amitabha
Sen, Mr. Premchand who is the Chairman
of the Premchand Group, says that he personally feels
that in the WTO regime, with the gradual opening up
of the market, Indo-Swiss trade will boost up, provided
India does not resort to non-tariff barriers to protect
the domestic Indian markets.
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Osamu Watanabe
Chairman, JETRO |
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Mr.
Osamu Watanabe is the Chairman of the Japan External
Trade Organization (JETRO). In an interview with Amitabha
Sen, Mr. Watanabe said that to step up foreign investment
in India, further economic reforms and deregulation are
required. The JETRO Chairman also pointed out that there
is still room for potential growth in the IT area in which
there are possibilities for increased imports from India
and investments by Indian companies. He also asserted that
high cost of investment should not be a barrier to India’s
investments in Japan.
Click
here for full text of the interview
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Mr.
Ashok Soota
President, CII
Mr.
Ashok Soota is the President of Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII). In an interview with Amitabha
Sen, Mr. Soota said that with global opportunity for
ITES projected at US$ 611.4 billion by 2005 and given
the growth rate of the industry in the country, India
has the potential to address more than a third of
the market...
Click
here for full text of the interview |
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Mr.
Kiran Karnik
President, NASSCOM |
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Mr. Kiran Karnik is
the President of Nasscom. In an interview with Amitabha
Sen, Mr. Karnik said that to ensure a larger share of the
the global IT business, Nasscom is formulating strategies
to build up a strong India Inc. brand. Indian industry,
he feels, needs greater presence and visibility in various
international IT forums. It's an on-going process. To ensure
greater involvement of the Indian IT in globalisation process
taking place in other parts of the world, Nasscom is intensely
interacting with its counterparts in other countries...
Click
here for full text of the interview
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