NORTHERN REGION

The Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
c/o Embassy Of Italy
50-E Chandragupta Marg
(Entrance through Nyaya Marg)
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021
Tel: +91 (11) 2688 2156
Fax: +91 (11) 2688 5281
Email: iicci.delhi@indiaitaly.com

Regional Manager
Ms. Gurpreet Ahuja

Regional Committee

The Northern Regional Office of the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce was the first regional office, established in the year 1984.The journey that began from the PHD Chamber premises to ultimately the Italian Embassy has witnessed a significant growth in the overall activities of the Chamber's northern hub. This year indeed marks also the creation of the ‘Sportello Unico’, the single window system for Italian institutional organisations, viz the commercial section of the Italian embassy, ICE (Trade Commission of Italy) and the Chamber, operating in one facility. The Northern Regional Office also enjoys proximity to Indian government offices.

As part of the Chamber’s activities of promotion and successful implementation of business and commercial interactions between Italian and Indian companies (for all commercial and industrial sectors), the Northern Regional Office has hosted many delegations from and to Italy. This has been done through B2B meetings, seminars, road shows, participation in various fairs and the two annual mega events ‑ Festa Italiana in India and Namaste India in Italy.

A glimpse of some of the recent events hosted and organised by the Northern Regional Office are: visits by eminent personalities, such as, in 2007, Francesco Rutelli, Deputy PM; Roberto Formigoni, President of Lombardy; and the delegation from Fruili-Venezia-Giulia; participation during the visit of President Ciampi in 2005; multi-sector delegations, during 2005 and 2006, from Piedmont, Campagna and Veneto and Forlì-Cesena; participation and representation at various fairs, such as EPCH, AAHAR and Iflows, in 2007; EHEF and IETF in 2006, etc; and seminars on knowledge sharing and expertise, such as a lifestyle seminar, educational seminars such as Invest your Talent in Italy, in 2006. The Chamber also works in close association with Pisa University facilitating scholarships for Indian students (2007); organises B2B meetings, such as Ethic Match in 2007, which hosted more than 250 (one-to-one) meetings; road shows on tourism for ENIT in 2005 and 2006; and recently a seminar on infrastructure certification sector ICMQ.

The Northern Regional Office has also focused on four sectors namely: agri-food, infrastructure, manufacturing and tourism. These have been chosen in keeping with the strengthsof the north Indian states. With the coming of the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi, the infrastructure sector combined with the tourism sector will see further escalation of Indo-Italian business relations. Working on further enhancing these sectors, from this year onwards all the agri-food related enquiries (from both countries) are being handled by the Northern Region office.

Just to complete the hat trick, this year also marks the recent opening of the Consorzio Poliexport Confindustria Macerata Desk in the Delhi Office. The Desk will be another catalyst for developing relations between India & Italy.

The Northern Region works closely with associations such as FICCI, CII, FDCI, PHD, ASSOCHAM, AEPC etc., to enhance the commercial and cultural fabric of these two countries. The Northern Regional membership network presently is 170, and continues to increase, thus increasing  its range of activities and the scope of the Italian and Indian business community the North India.  

Regional Background

Delhi

Delhi has a per capita income of around 54,000 INR (almost 1,000 €), which is around 2.5 times of the national average. The tertiary sector contributes 70.95 per cent of Delhi's gross SDP followed by secondary and primary sectors with 25.2 per cent and 3.85 per cent contribution respectively. Delhi's workforce constitutes 32.82 per cent of the population showing an increase of 52.52 per cent between 1991 and 2001.

Delhi is not only the largest commercial centre in northern India, but also the largest centre of small industries. These are manufacturing a wide variety of items like television, tape recorders, light engineering machines and automobile parts, sports goods, bicycles and PVC goods including footwear textiles, fertilizers, medicines, hosiery, leather goods, software, etc.

Delhi's service sector has expanded in part due to the large skilled English-speaking workforce that has attracted many multinational companies. Key service industries include information technology, telecommunications, hotels, banking, media and tourism. Delhi's manufacturing industry has also grown considerably as many consumer goods industries have established manufacturing units and headquarters in and around Delhi. Delhi's large consumer market, coupled with the easy availability of skilled labour, has attracted foreign investment in Delhi. In 2001, the manufacturing sector employed 1,440,000 workers while the number of industrial units was 129,000. Construction, power, telecommunications, health and community services, and real estate form integral parts of Delhi's economy. Delhi's retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India.

Delhi’s new millennium industrial policy, emphasises setting up of hightech and sophisticated industries in electronics, telecommunications, software industries, IT enabling services, etc. The industries, which are non-polluting and encourage high value addition and depend largely on skilled manpower are being promoted.

Punjab

Punjab State with only 1.5 per cent geographical area of country produces 22 per cent of wheat 12 per cent of rice and 12 per cent of cotton in the country. The cropping intensity of Punjab is more than 186 per cent which has earned the state the name of ‘‘Food basket of the country and granary of India’’. It has been pooling 40-50 per cent of rice and 50-70 per cent of wheat for the last two decades. In Punjab per hectare consumption of fertiliser is 177 kg as compared to 90 kg at national level.

Punjab has the best infrastructure in India and, as a result, it is becoming attractive to foreign companies looking for bases and manufacturing zones for their Indian operations. The Indian National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has ranked Punjab's infrastructure as the best in India. Its road, rail, air and transport system is rated best in the country with ranking of 210 points compared to the national average of 100 in NCAER’s infrastructure index. It has highest per capita generation of electricity in India, which is 2.5 times the national average. All major Punjabi cities benefit from this and having one of lowest tariff's in India, including all of Punjab's villages, which have been electrified and connected to the Punjabi electrical power grid since 1974.

Haryana

Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. About 70 per cent of residents are engaged in agriculture. Wheat and rice are the major crops. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's central pool of food grains. Other crops include sugarcane, cotton, maize, bajra, and oilseeds. About 86 per cent of the area is arable, and of that 96 per cent is cultivated. About 75 per cent of the area is irrigated, through tubewells and an extensive system of canals. Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution in India in the 1970s that made the country self-sufficient in food production.

More than a thousand medium and large industries with a capital investment of Rs. 2000 billion or $ 40.4 billion have been established in the state in mainly Gurgaon, Panchkula, Faridabad and Bahadurgarh. These include Hindusthan National Glass, Maruti Udyog Limited, Escorts, Hero Honda, Alcatel, Sony, Whirlpool India, Bharti Telecom, Liberty Shoes and Hindustan Machine Tools. In addition, there are more than 80,000 small-scale industries in the state which cumulatively bring in a substantial income for the state and its people. Yamunanagar district has a BILT paper mill, Haryana has a large production of cars, motorcycles, tractors, sanitary ware, glass container industry, gas stoves and scientific instruments.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is a very fertile region and a major contributor to the national foodgrain stock. Partly this is due to the fertile regions of the Indo-Gangetic plain, and partly owing to irrigation measures such as the Ganga Canal. Lakhimpur Kheri is the largest sugar producing district in the country. It is also home to 78 per cent of national livestock population. Uttar Pradesh is the second largest economy in India after Maharashtra: the State’s rapid industrialisation in the recent past has been possible mainly thanks to the launch of policies of economic liberalisation in the country. In March 1996, there were 1,661 medium and large industrial undertakings and 296,338 small industrial units employing 1.83 million people. The per capita state domestic product was estimated at Rs 7,263 in 1997-98, and there has been some decline in poverty in the state. Yet nearly 40 per cent of the total population lives below the poverty line. Uttar Pradesh's gross state domestic product for 2004 is $339.5 billion by PPP and $80.9 billion by Nominal.

Under the public sector, mining of limestone, magnesite, phosphate, dolomite and silicon-sand is carried out. The bulk minor and some of the major minerals like limestone, silica-sand, pyrophyllite and diaspore is mostly with the private sector. Important based industries include large cement plants in Sonebhadra.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan's economy is primarily agricultural and pastoral. Wheat and barley are cultivated over large areas, as are pulses, sugarcane, and oilseeds. Cotton and tobacco are cash crops. Rajasthan is among the largest producers of edible oils in India and the second largest producer of oilseeds. Rajasthan is also the biggest wool-producing state in India. There are mainly two crop seasons. The water for irrigation comes from wells and tanks, whilst the Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates northwestern Rajasthan.

The industrialisation of Rajasthan slowly began in 1960s. The main industries are mineral based, agriculture based, and textiles. Rajasthan is the second largest producer of polyester fibre in India. The Bhilwara District produces more cloth than Bhiwandi, Maharashtra.

Rajasthan is pre-eminent in quarrying and mining in India and the state is the second largest source of cement. It has rich salt deposits at Sambhar, copper mines, zinc mines and opencast. Dimensional stone mining is also undertaken in Rajasthan: Jodhpur sandstone is mostly used in monuments and residential buildings.

Endowed with natural beauty and great history, tourism is flourishing in Rajasthan. The palaces of Jaipur, lakes of Udaipur and desert forts of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer are among the most preferred destinations of many tourists, Indian and foreign. Tourism accounts for eight per cent of the state's domestic product. Many old and neglected palaces and forts have been converted into heritage hotels. Tourism has increased employment in the hospitality sector.