Manitoba, Canada Trade Offices Open Throughout India

September 22, 2009

Manitoba Trade Offices Open Throughout India

 

The Province of Manitoba in Canada now has an extended arm in India, centered in the entrepreneurship city of Ahmedabad! 

 

Manitoba Trade and Investment, Department of Competitiveness, Training and Trade, is pleased to announce that Global Network International has been appointed as Manitoba's Representative of Trade and Investment in India.

 

Global Network is an international trade consulting firm with head office in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and branch offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jamshedpur, Alleppey, Ichalkaranji, Surat & Rajkot. The firm has an extensive trade background, including projects for UNIDO, USAID, GTZ, The Commonwealth Secretariat, the U.S. Government, Government of Oman, Government of Brunei and several Ministries of the Government of India. Global Network's experience has involved leading 79 trade missions, hosting 34 international trade delegations and conducting 245 international trade related conferences & seminars. 

 

Manitoba Trade has worked with Global Network on numerous projects since 2005.  In this new capacity as Representative for the Province of Manitoba, Global Network now has a continual working relationship to assist Manitoba companies with key intelligence on doing business with India, market research to aid entering Indian markets, facilitating business meetings for Manitoba trade delegations to India and taking Indian trade delegations to Manitoba. They will advise Indian companies on various aspects of Manitoba, Canada - investing, trade information, business opportunities, trade agreements with Canada, development cooperation and science & technology resources in Manitoba.

 

 

Ford Motor Studies Kenaf and Coir for Plastics Reinforcement

September 11, 2009

You don't often think of glass reinforcement as an issue when it comes green engineering. But engineers at Ford Motor Company are taking a different tack.

Dr. Deborah Mielewski, who heads plastics research at Ford, is studying several different plant materials as a substitute for glass as reinforcement in plastics. One of the big payoffs is a 30 percent weight reduction. The other issue, she says, is that glass fiber is a very energy-intensive process. Mielewski's six-woman engineering group is taking a close look at kenaf, hemp, coconut fibre ( COIR ), and wheat straw.

 

 

Science council in Kerala to establish patent information centre

The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) is preparing to establish a patent information centre for small industries as part of plans to help them improve the marketability of their products and boost brand value.

The centre for micro, small and medium enterprises will guide industrial units in protecting their intellectual properties and facilitate filing of applications for patents and copyrights and registration of designs, trademarks and geographical indications.

The project, funded by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), will identify MSME clusters and assess their intellectual property (IP) needs.

KSCSTE executive vice president E.P. Yesodharan said the project was designed to help the largely unorganised small industries sector overcome the marketing problems.

He said it would be discussed with officials of the Industries Department and District Industrial Centres next month. The MSME clusters would be identified at the meeting and a steering committee constituted for the supervision of the IP facilitation centre. A sum of Rs. 42 lakh was earmarked for the project.

The centre would conduct training programmes on the significance of protecting IP and help the clusters obtain rights on their products. It would also provide legal, technical, legal and financial assistance to small industries.

In the initial phase of the project, the KSCSTE would identify five different industrial clusters from various sectors and organise sensitisation programmes for the groups to create better awareness about IPR. Government departments, universities and industries would be roped in for the sensitisation programme.

The centre would collaborate with the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) under the Department of Science and Technology to process the applications filed by the clusters for patents, designs, trademarks and geographical indications.

Principal Scientific Officer of KSCSTE Ajith Prabhu said the proposed IPR centre would offer support to the industrial sector in the crucial area of IPR and improve the marketability of their products.

"Many of the products manufactured in Kerala, such as chips and toys to the Beypore dhow and Aranmula mirror, lack brand value. Helping the manufacturers obtain rights for their products will enable the small industries sector to overcome this problem".

The council already has a Patent Information Centre (PIC) functioning under it. It provides technical, legal and financial support for students, research scholars, scientist, technocrats, professionals, industrialists and grass root innovators in searching patent databases and filing patents.

 

News for MSME's

Blow for small enterprises as reservation goes

In a blow to micro and small enterprises (MSEs), the government on Friday permitted big companies to foray into the remaining 21 items reserved for the exclusive manufacture by the small and micro industries.

The only conditions slapped on the industrial houses for manufacturing these items -- including pickles and aluminium utensils -- are that they will have to obtain the industrial licence and export a minimum of half of the annual production within maximum three years.

A notification (Press Note No 6 of 2009) issued by a Joint Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion says the licensing for the manufacture of the items reserved for micro and small enterprises will be mandatory, with or without foreign direct investment.

The industrial undertaking will have to also secure prior approval of Foreign Investment Permission Board if the foreign investment is more than 24 per cent in the equity capital.

These industries will now be guided like other large enterprises as far as FDI is concerned.

"The present policy on FDI in MSE permits FDI subject only to the sectoral equity caps, entry routes and other relevant regulations," according to Press Note 6 issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

However, if non-medium and small enterprises manufacture any of the 21 items, including pickles, aluminium utensils, reserved for MSEs, any FDI above 24 per cent will require the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's approval.

The new note replaces press note 18 of 1997 which stipulated that for foreign collaboration, maximum equity participation for small scale units was 24 per cent.

There are about 2.61 crore (26.1 million) ) units in the MSME sector employing 5.97 crore (59.7 million) people.

The micro and small entrepreneurs earlier used to enjoy reservation of 114 items that the bigger enterprises cannot manufacture, but the enactment of the Act saw their number falling to 21 and even that little reservation gets wiped out with the latest notification.

The official reason to the phased deletion of products from the list of items reserved for the exclusive manufacture by the micro and small enterprise is that it will facilitate investments for technological upgradation and higher productivity.

The enterprises having plant and machinery of less than Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million) are treated as micro enterprises and those with investment up to Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 billion) are small enterprises.

 

Make export-oriented coir industry competitive: Chairman

Make export-oriented coir industry competitive: Chairman

PTI

Tuesday, August 04th, 2009 AT 1:08 PM

 

KOCHI: Coir Board Chairman V S Vijayaraghavan has called upon the export-oriented coir industry to make use of the financial and technological support being extended by the Union Ministry of MSME to remain competitive in the global market.

He was speaking after inaugurating the third Business Development Services (BDS) training programme of Alappuzha Coir cluster here.

The World Bank DFID aided four-year project, 2007-11, being implemented by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was aimed at enhancing the competitiveness and business development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) of the industry in areas including management, development, training, domestic marketing and ISO certification, he said.

The BDS project implemented by Cluster Pulse, a non-profit NGO, has so far conducted 50 awareness seminars and workshops for MSMEs on ISO certification, e-marketing, export management development and Intellectual Property Rights.

Utilise Central aid, coir industry told in BDS program

Utilise Central aid, coir industry told

Express News Service

First Published : 04 Aug 2009 02:05:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 04 Aug 2009 11:24:34 AM IST

 

ALAPPUZHA: COIR Board chairman and ex-MP V S Vijayaraghavan has called upon the exportoriented coir industry to make use of the financial and technological support being extended to them by the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME) to remain competitive in the global market.

He was inaugurating the third Business Development Services (BDS) training programme of the Alappuzha Coir Cluster here on Monday. "World Bank-DFID aided four-year project(2007-2011) being implemented by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was aimed at enhancing the competitiveness and business development of the Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) in areas like management development training, domestic marketing and ISO certification," he said.

He promised all support of the board for technology upgrading and product diversification of the labour intensive coir industry for market expansion, both in domestic and overseas sectors, as well as for employment generation.

The three-year-old BDS project implemented by Cluster Pulse, a non-profit NGO, has so far provided 50 awareness seminars and workshops for MSMEs in ISO certification, e-marketing, export management development and Intellectual Property Rights besides extending short term courses on computer education and management development for small scale societies jointly with the Alleppey Coir Cluster Development Society (ACCDS).

Its activities also include generating greater awareness and stimulating demand for natural fibre during the International Year of Natural Fibre- 2009. It has worked in 78 clusters spread over various countries like India, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, USA and UK in association with global funding agencies like the World Bank, UNIDO, USAID and ILO.

Cluster Pulse general manager Mignesh Parekh spoke on the scope and opportunities as a BDS provider. The training programme, attended by 36 BDS providers, also included brainstorming on Coir Domestic marketing, and business audit and group discussion on various topics.

 

 

Going green with natural fibres

The possibilities for natural fibres have expanded beyond traditional fabrics into applications no one ever imagined.

And the United Nations has 'caught the wave. Following on last year's worldwide celebration of the potato, the international body declared 2009 as International Year of Natural Fibres.

It has given a boost to research efforts which include work now being done at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) station in Morden.

Rising oil costs, greater awareness of the environment and advances in science and technology have combined to create an exploding market for enviro-friendly fibres.

Natural Fibres Year will help promote the sustainability, desirability and utility of natural fibres and encourage international partnerships for research and trade among natural fibres interest groups.

This spring, AAFC announced more than $9.6 million in funding for creation of the Natural Fibres for the Green Economy Network (NAFGEN) under the Agricultural Bioproducts Innovation Program.

NAFGEN is a multidisciplinary network developing value-added markets for flax and hemp fibres. It brings together Canada's top researchers, industry and producers to breed better varieties and solve problems with harvesting, processing, storage, transportation and grading.

The network will also develop technologies to convert fibre and associated residue into a range of new industrial products and chemicals. The end result will be new markets for farmers growing these crops.

Along with Natural Resources Canada and the National Research Council, AAFC will work in support of the network. NAFGEN is led by Flax Canada 2015, which represents the flax industry's interests here, and includes several other academia and industry partners.

 

AAFC scientists are playing key roles on the flax research side.

Dr. Scott Duguid and his team from the Morden research station will identify and characterize genes and genetic mechanisms involved in the production of fibre yield in flax.

"The new information we glean will translate into flax bred with higher fibre yield and seed yield," said Duguid.

He is also spearheading the development of crop management practices to enhance flax fibre production.

"Our team will be looking at the effects of seeding date, seeding rate, nitrogen application and fungicide use on fibre yield," explained Duguid.

Meanwhile, Mark Stumborg from the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, is leading the evaluation and development of systems and equipment for harvesting and curing flax.

"Our study will improve the quality, quantity and value of natural fibres and co-products in flax production," said Stumborg.

And in Summerland, British Columbia, Dr. Joe Mazza and his team from the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre will investigate and develop new conversion technologies used in natural fibre-based biorefineries.

"We're working on cost-competitive green technologies that will extract and convert flax straw and shives into two streams – distinctive materials and compounds for further processing," explained Mazza.

Flax shives are the woody residue left after fibres are removed from straw. They yield 2.5 tonnes per tonne of fibre produced. The massive amounts of flax shives available worldwide could turn an effective processing method for this material into economic gold.

Except for a few niche markets, flax and hemp are currently underutilized in the natural fibres industry. However, the possibilities for end use are virtually limitless: from plastic composites (replacing fibreglass in car panels and sewage pipes) to geotextiles for use in horticulture (serving as a mulch or weed barrier) and in construction (reducing levels of dust and erosion).