Dr Vince Cable: enormous potential in India.

A series of multi-million pound export orders to India has been welcomed by Business Secretary Dr Vince Cable. The business includes deals for hovercraft and telecoms technology plus architects services and construction equipment in what is predicted to be the fastest-growing economy in the world this year. 

Speaking in New Delhi on Thursday alongside Indian Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath, Dr Cable said that the deals showed the enormous potential offered by partnering with firms in India.

Explore opportunities

Dr Cable said: ‘I warmly welcome today’s announcements. India is a country where you don’t have to be a multinational to succeed. We have superb UK companies operating here in partnership with Indian firms, and I would encourage more UK firms to explore the opportunities here.’

Among the deals announced on 29 July were:

• London-based Benoy has won three major projects (two in Bangalore and one in Mumbai) worth over £1.6 million in fees for the international, award-winning British architect. The projects include the first major retail venture for RMZ in Bangalore. GKW Residences, an exclusive 195,000m² luxury residential development in Bangalore, and High Street Phoenix Mumbai, the urban regeneration of a 270,000m2 prime mixed-use site that will become an iconic central landmark for Mumbai. Some 75% of Benoy’s workforce of over 100 people in the UK are employed on international projects.
• In a multi-million pound deal, Rancore Technologies Ltd has selected Bath-based picoChip's technology for the development of base stations to be used in 4G mobile broadband networks in India and around the world. Rancore will use picoChip's picoArray(tm) PC203 multi-core digital signal processor and picoChip physical layer (PHY) software at the heart of the base stations that will form the foundation of India's next-generation (4G) broadband wireless networks. The company is expanding and planning to double its 150-person workforce by 2012.

  Griffon Hoverwork: largest-ever order.

   
• Southampton-based manufacturer, Griffon Hoverwork has won a £34 million contract to sell hovercraft to the Indian coastguard. This constitutes the largest-ever order for UK hovercraft and will provide three years of work for the company. The company’s business in India is enabling it to add 110 jobs to its workforce. (Pictured right is a hovercraft from a similar deal with the Kuwait Coast Guard.)
• London-based Xchanging plc has signed an agreement with the Indian State Government of Karnataka to build a 2,000-seat processing centre on a six-acre site in a new special economic zone. Xchanging is the first multinational company to set up a centre in a Tier-3 location in India. This will also be a first for ‘green technology’ based centres.
• JCB announced the production of its 100,000th vehicle. One out of every two construction vehicles sold in India is a JCB. Their facility in Ballabgarh is the world’s largest Backhoe Loader manufacturing facility. The company has its UK base in the West Midlands.

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