Japanese Consortium Keen to take Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project

New Delhi, March 10, 2015 : A Japanese consortium led by East Japan Railway Company, is keen to take  the contract for building the 500 km railway high speed network linking  Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The just concluded 21^st Indian Engineering & Technology Fair (IETF) 2015 witnessed a comprehensive presentation made by Japan about it’s capabilities and appropriateness of its “Shinkansen”   bullet train technology to India. Incidentally, Japan was the partner country for the exhibition.

The East India Rail Company, which is also known as JR-East had set up the prototype of its high speed trains and pitched how its designs, engines, interiors and most importantly safety standards are the best in the world.

The Indian and the Japanese governments initiated a joint feasibility study in late 2013 for the project and the final report is expected to be released by mid-2015. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JETRO) is also participating  in the feasibility study. Incidentally, Japan is one of the largest players in the high speed train space in the world, competing for the project.

The estimated cost of railway linking Mumbai and Ahmedabad  is between US$ 12.2 billion to US$ 13.9 billion. There will be 12 stations to be built along the route The high speed train, which can accelerate into a speed of 320 kph can cover the distance in two and a half hours from the present eight hours.

For construction to start in 2017,  India  has to work out the necessary details, including fund raising, land acquisition etc.. Japanese official development agency -JICA-  may propose to help / support raise required funding for the project.

Importantly, there are a few areas that need to be sorted out before grounding the project. Important among them is unbundling the project. India seems to be keen about manufacturing the rolling stocks indigenously as a part of its “Make in India” program and leaving the laying of track, safety measures, signaling etc. to the foreign partners.  Importantly, while creating track for the railways, there  may be the need for tunneling in rough and complex terrains, which needs higher degree of precision and expertise.

India proposes to have, in stages, around 4500 kms of high speed train tracks in the country. Most prestigious among them is the diamond quadrilateral corridors connecting four metros-Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai and Kolkata.   Apart from this, there will be nine corridors which will  be running semi-high speed trains, with speed ranging from 160kmh to 200 kmh. These routes will be eventually converted into bullet tracks.

The East Japan Rail Company is doing a lot of home work in popularizing its bullet technology across the world. At the IETF 2015, it has sensitized about the forthcoming 9^th World Congress on High Speed Rail to be held on 7-10 July 2015 in Tokyo. It is being organized jointly with UIC World Congress for the first time in Japan. The Congress is being held after a lapse of several years. The Conference cum exhibition will be a forum for showcasing the Shinkansen to over 1000 delegates who are expected to assemble from all over the world. The Japanese expect a high powered delegation from India to visit Tokyo for the show.

IETF – The convergence of technologies through Inter – Sectoral linkages enabling “Make in India”- Partner Country: Japan

This IETF 2015 (21st International Engineering and Technology Fair)  organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)  since 1975 will provide the Engineering Industry a forum to showcase their capability.  The interaction in this event will provide direction for their future growth plan.

Mr. Ajay Shriram, President, CII mentioned that as this edition of IETF has come at an appropriate time when the county is contemplating major reforms for the manufacturing, this will offer open platform to the Indian Industry to present its views and expectations, especially when several policy decisions have been initiated by the New Government. The Nation is currently focused on manufacturing through the “Make in India” campaign and plans to launch major initiatives to revamp and upgrade the Engineering Sector.

The show has been portrayed as a platform for buyer seller meets, conferences and seminars, business networking technology assessment, strategic partnership, and vendor development for the global business community, said Mr. Shriram.

Japan is the “Partner Country” at the 21st IETF 2015 showcasing their technology prowess.  Around 60 Japanese companies would display and demonstrate their latest products and offerings to the Indian Market, besides, a delegation of 27 members from Keidanren would interact with the Indian Industry towards strengthening the bi- lateral relationships. Key brands at the Japan Pavilion includes Maruti Suzuki, Panasonic, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters, Japan Rail East, Hitachi, Japan Science & Technology Agency (JST), Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, Motherson Auto, NIDEC Corporation, Nippon Gasket, Sumitomo Electric, Toshiba Mitsubishi Electric, etc. among others.

Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, observed that with over 300 exhibitors from 15 countries, the IETF 2015 will cover specific areas like Machinery & Automation for the Automotive sector, Digital Office, Green Mobility, Logistics, Metal & Metallurgy, Skills, Solid Waste Management, Water Management & Plumbing Technologies,  etc. covered under “Make in India” campaign. And act as an enabler for the Indian Industry to adopt the 3S approach – Speed, Skill and Scale – into its business, in order to compete in the market.

This edition of IETF has number of new initiatives during its 2015 edition. First, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship along with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) would conduct the finals of world Skills competition – National Selection with 27 trades, which includes Welding, Auto Body Repair, Car painting, Wall and Floor tiling, Plumbing & Heating  etc.

Second, Ministry of Labour & Employment is participating through their Education &Training Department (DGET), portraying Career Centre Vocational Training Apprenticeship – Industry participation.

Third, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has recently announced a programme to support Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Industry, supporting the Green Mobility initiative by the Industry in India by incentivizing R & D and manufacturing set up for this segment. Against this backdrop, CII has launched a new show -International Green Mobility Expo (GMX 2015) to showcase new trends and developments in this sector with the support of Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), and ARAI. The show would display latest eco-friendly mobility solutions in an exclusive Pavilion.

Some of the key participants at IETF are L&T, NMDC, Renault, SAIL, Piramal Sarvajal, Essar Steel, JSW Steel, NALCO, Tata Steel, JCB, Kirloskar, Clair, RICOH, HP, ISGEC, Hero Electric, Toyota, Adani, TVS Logistics, Air India, Voltas, India Post, DHL, Hamriyah Free Trade Zone, etc. along with a large number of MSME sector companies from India and overseas.

IETF 2015 is scheduled to be inaugurated jointly by the Ambassador of Japan to India, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India on Thursday, 26th February, 2015 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

IETF enjoys the support of relevant Ministries & Departments of Government of India, since its inception, This Edition is supported by:  Ministry of Labour and Employment, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce,  Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Ministry of Urban Development, and Delhi Jal Board.

Commerce Secretary & Dipp Secretary To Address Inaugural Session Of International Engineering & Technology Fair (Ietf) 9.30 Am, February 26, 2015, Conference Hall, Hall No. 18, Pragati Maidan Entry From Gate No. 8

CII is organizing International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF) from February 26-28, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Japan is the “Partner Country” at the 21st IETF 2015 showcasing their technology prowess.  Around 60 Japanese companies would display and demonstrate their latest products and offerings to the Indian Market, besides, a delegation of 27 members from Keidanren would interact with the Indian Industry towards strengthening the bi- lateral relationships. Key brands at the Japan Pavilion includes Maruti Suzuki, Panasonic, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters, Japan Rail East, Hitachi, Japan Science & Technology Agency (JST), Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, Motherson Auto, NIDEC Corporation, Nippon Gasket, Sumitomo Electric, Toshiba Mitsubishi Electric, etc. among others.

India – Japan Business Leaders Forum

There is a high degree of complimentarity between the economies of India and Japan, like the demographic structure of India and the increasingly aging population of Japan.

The Japanese economy is characterized by production structure that is highly capital-intensive and India’s production structure is dominated by the labour- intensive activities.  The export structure of the two countries also shows a good degree of complimentarity, Japan has core-competency in hi-tech and industrial goods, whereas India is increasingly becoming a manufactured goods exporter, besides the fact that India has comparative advantage in agricultural goods.

Bilateral trade between India and Japan increased by 34% in 2012 -13 $ to 18.5 Billion compared to $13.7 Billion in 2011 -12. The two countries had set a target of doubling bilateral trade to $ 25 billion by 2014.  Besides trade India and Japan have great potential to develop strategic economic partnerships into an alliance based on mutual complementarities and geopolitical significance.

Coinciding with the visit of the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh to Japan on 29 May 2013, the 4^th meeting of the India – Japan Business Leaders Forum will discuss:

• Japan-India CEPA and regional economic alliances;
• improving the business environment and market access;
• Infrastructure Development in India and Promotion of Japan-India Cooperation, with a key focus on the DMIC project and the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor;
• Strengthening Indian and Japanese Cooperation in Strategic Areas like energy ( including nuclear), automobiles, machinery, chemical industry, cutting-edge technologies in areas such as electronic hardware, telecommunication equipment, heavy industries, rail transport management systems, as well as technological exchanges in agriculture and environmental management
• development of high-caliber human resources as a form of “soft infrastructure” for promoting joint projects in strategic fields; cooperation to promote skills enhancement through initiatives like training and certification, bilateral student exchanges, and corporate internships
• Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region.

A Joint Statement will be presented to Prime Minister Singh and Prime Minister Abe after the meeting by the members of the Forum from both Indian and Japanese side at KANTEI ( Japanese Prime Minister’s residence).

Some achievements of the Forum have been – Permission for Japanese Mega banks to open their branch offices at city centers; Relaxation of regulations to JBIC providing for Swap Status for JBIC and its Non-Resident Co-financiers for DMIC project.;  Subscription of Social Security Agreement and Launch of an India-Japan US $ 4.5 billion DMIC facility, equity participation and provision for inclusion of board members from the Japanese government to the DMICDC

Mr Baba Kalayani , Indian Co– chair  of the Forum will be accompanied by senior business leaders including Mr S Gopalakrishnan, President CII & Executive Co – Chairman, Infosys Technologies; Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, DG – CII, Mr Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor; Mr Amitabh Kant, MD & CEO, DMICDC; Mr Sunil Kumar Srivastava, CMD, Oil India and Dr Surinder Kapur, Chairman, Sona Koyo.