A 200-member Australian trade delegation, now on tour of India, is extremely upbeat on collaboration with Indian businesses in a wide range of areas including automotives, infrastructure, real estate, clean technologies and energy sectors, according to Mr Jeremy Lester, Chief Executive of GroconInternational.

Mr Lester is part of the delegation from Victoria State, Australia, headed by Mr Ted Baillieu, Premier of Victoria and Minister of Arts, on tour to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

India is Australia's fifth largest trading partner and fastest growing export market with a two-way trade totalling $22 billion in 2010.

During the Delhi visit, a lot of business interest was centred around the opportunities Australia offers in terms of energy sector, both in mining operations for coal and other assets, but surprisingly, many companies expressed their keenness in the oil and gas resources and potential to partner with companies back home.

Referring to the regulatory issues, he felt that the Indian Government could actually accelerate some of the decisions which would help bring in more foreign direct investments. He mentioned that Australian companies could share their experience in better managing the area of food processing, particularly post harvest and cold chains. These could help reduce wastage.

Focussing on areas such as sustainable urban development projects, including green buildings, Grocon is engaged with Lodha Developers as consultant for one of the tallest business-cum-residential towers panned in Mumbai. Significant benefits could be brought about to construction and execution period for constructing a single floor could be brought down to seven days from the present level of 13-14 days.

>vrishi@thehindu.co.in

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