The Hindu Business Line : Maran moots thrust areas to widen ties with Lombardy

Mr Roberto Formigoni, President of the Lombardy region, a leading industrial area in Italy, calling on the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Murasoli Maran, in the Capital on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI, April 16

INDIA has sought cooperation with Lombardy Region, Italy in upgrading competitiveness of industrial clusters in the country, particularly in the context of the latest Exim policy's thrust on conferring focussed attention on industrial clusters to realise higher export volume.

This was highlighted at a meeting between the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Murasoli Maran, with Mr Roberto Formigoni, President of the Lombardy Region, Italy here on Tuesday.

Mr Maran suggested facilitating linkages, to begin with, between five sectors in the Lombardy industrial region and industrial clusters in India with a view to enhancing the competitiveness of identified industrial sectors.

Mr Maran further suggested that some of these linkages could include setting up and operating modern tool rooms to serve the units in the clusters (on contract basis), training of shop floor and supervisory personnel in latest technology and modern manufacturing practices, to identify technology gaps in existing units as also to identify machinery, equipment and processes required to bridge these gaps and finally to help set up performance benchmarks in terms of quality and productivity.

"The cluster model of industrial growth of Lombardy, with its dynamism, flexibility, and global competitiveness is a model for industries for India," Mr Maran noted.

The President of Lombardy said that his visit was aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations between India and Italy in general and with Lombardy in particular.

Referring to Lombardy's experience in small and medium enterprises and industrial clusters, Mr Formigoni said that Lombardy with a population of nine million has eight lakh small companies which mean one company for every seven people.

Concurring with Mr Formigoni about the potential for greater trade, Mr Maran said that bilateral trade between India and Italy had crossed the $2 billion mark during 2000-01.

During discussions, the Lombardy delegation raised the issue of tariff and non-tariff barriers being faced by Italian entrepreneurs.

Mr Maran assured that specific cases brought to his notice could be looked into and resolved, an official release said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
Cars give a lift to auto exports

Wolfensohn moots 7-point plan for development aid

HP Plan fixed at Rs 1,840 cr

Some `solid' lessons in waste management

Maran moots thrust areas to widen ties with Lombardy

`Slow pace of CBM projects due to lack of database'

68 PSUs identified for second phase of reforms

Oil cos slash product prices

Kerala: Levy on POL products revised