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7 INDO-ITALIANChamber the of C O M M E R C E and younger workers' labour contracts. The people who were protesting against the new law were students who had a much better chance of getting jobs than those marginal workers, whom the law was meant to help immigrants, people with less education, and so on, Mr Snower said in an interview with the Financial Times. The failure of the big continental European economies particularly France, Germany, Italy and Spain to tackle high levels of unemployment will limit the extent of the current economic upswing in the 12- country eurozone, Mr Snower warned. From his seaside office near the port of Kiel, Mr Snower, an American, can see Germany s massive trade surplus being shipped abroad. German exports largely explain soaring eurozone business confidence but Mr Snower said: There is no reason to assume that this recovery will last particularly long. The fundamentals are not there. Unemployment in continental Europe during the past three decades has been prone to surprisingly persistent upward shocks, he argues in other words, when it rises, it tends to stay high for a long time. Eurozone unemployment remains at more than 8 per cent of the labour force, compared with about 5 per cent in the US and UK. France, Germany and Spain have about 9 per cent. Tackling mass unemployment requires addressing the insider outsider problem by easing entry into the workforce and ensuring that benefit and tax systems give sufficient incentives for the unemployed to seek work, Mr Snower argued. His proposal for unemployment accounts would meet those criteria, he says. With conventional unemployment benefit, people are, in effect, rewarded for being unemployed and penalised for being employed (because they then pay tax). I N D U S T R Y 40 YEARS INVEST YOUR TALENT The Invest Your Talent in Italy programme promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is offering 50 scholarships to Indian Postgraduate Students, had a most successful Road Show in India in early April. The scholarships are available for a one- or two-year Master s degree in IT, Business Management and Design from Italy s top universities. The courses also include a period of paid work experience at leading Italian companies who are participating in the programme. (For more information, visit: and Organised by the Chamber, the Road Show consisted of seminars in Mumbai (3 April), Bangalore (5 April) and Chennai (6 April), to present the programme to Indian universities and interested students. The delegation from Italy, headed by Dr Mauro Battocchi, Head of Trade and Investment Promotion, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, included representatives from Italian chambers of commerce and the academic institutions and businesses participating in the programme, as well as journalists. The seminars were opened in Mumbai by Mr Narinder Nayar, President, Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Dr Giuseppe Zaccagnino, Consul General; and in Bangalore and Chennai by Dr Leonardo Gastaldi, Scientific Attaché, Embassy of Italy, as also Mr Guido Sagone, Consular Correspondent of Italy, in Chennai. Dr Arun Sawant, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai; Professor S P Thyagarajan, Vice Chancellor, Madras University; and Professor Eresi, Head, Department of Commerce, Bangalore University, also addressed the seminars in their cities. Dr Battocchi introduced the programme, and members of the Italian delegation made presentations on their various institutions and the courses or work experience offered. The seminars were followed by extremely enthusiastic one-toone meetings between the Indian participants who totalled more than 250 in all the three cities and the representatives of the Italian academic institutes. Similar schemes have already been successfully tested in Singapore, Mr Snower says. This is not some really fancy rocket science or an unrealistic intellectual proposal. This is something that can be easily implemented. The Italian delegation were extremely impressed and pleased with the way the Chamber organised the entire project and have expressed great hopes of collaborating again on similar academic projects in the future. Ralph Atkins in Kiel / Copyright, Financial Times, London Reproduced with permission Members of the Italian delegation for Invest Your Talent in Italy Road Show in Bangalore

8 INDO-ITALIANChamber the of C O M M E R C E and I N D U S T R Y 40 YEARS ITALIAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE ASIA AREA AND SOUTH AFRICA MEETING 2006 Each year Italian Chambers of Commerce from the Asia and South African region meet for an annual Area Meeting. This year, the meeting was hosted in Bangkok by the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce on 13 and 14 March, at the Plaza Athenee Royal Meridien Hotel in Ploen Chit area, located in one of Bangkok's most famous business districts. During the afternoon, issues relevant to the Asian and South African area as well as prospects for further development and consolidation of the Chambers regional network were discussed. The public session on 13 March was opened by H E Ambassador of Italy Ignazio di Pace; Director of ICE Ms Flavia Farrugio, President of Assocamerestero Mr Gaetano Fausto Esposito and President of the Italian Chinese Chamber of Commerce Mr Davide Cucino. The topic of the public seminar was: Asia and its Crisis: Comparative Analysis of the Damage and Repercussions on the Italian Economy. The speakers were Professor Pavida Paranond MADE IN INDIA ITALIAN SPORTS CAR A delegation from COMIT (Consorzio Mobilità Innovativa Torino), a consortium of 11 premier Northern Italian engineering companies and prototype suppliers for some of the largest European car manufacturers, came to India this month seeking partnerships with Indian companies in one of their latest projects. Supported by the Piedmont regional government and CRF (Centro Richerche Fiat), and with a turnover of about 35 m euros in 2005, the companies comprising COMIT specialise in modelling and design, chassis engineering, prototypes and low volume production activities, primarily in the automotive sector. The new project proposes the development of a super light sports cars in collaboration with Indian firms. Dressed with body panels from Italian designers studios and made from Indian automotive components, the car will be branded to provide the supporting car manufacturer with multiple benefits. The project aims to explore and utilise the strengths of both European and Indian firms and to combine them for mutual benefit. As the automotive market becomes increasingly globalised and standardised across nations, the obstacle for European firms is price competitiveness, and for Indian firms it is VINITALY As part of the ongoing Asia Invest project, WINEBAR, the Chamber and the Maharashtra Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, with technological support of CRPV and Centuria Rit of Romagna province, Italy, organised a high level delegation of Indian government officials and wine producers to the province from 8 from Thammasat University; Mr Roberto Penno, President of Italian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore; Ms Pina Costa, Trade Analyst of Assocamerestero; Mr Narinder Nayar, President of the IndoItalian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr Davide Cucino, President of Italian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce; and Ms Cecilia Pavanello, Secretary General of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. The private sessions scheduled on the 14 March provided our Chambers with an opportunity to discuss activity programmes, common concerns and shared goals, as well as opportunities for integration and cooperation in the region. often competitiveness in terms of technology, performance and brand. The Chamber assisted COMIT during its visit to India, in their search for Indian manufacturers and suppliers of automotive components, with B2B meetings arranged with interested companies, from 7 9 April in Mumbai, followed on 10 April in Pune and from11 13 April in Delhi. The project will give Indian automotive firms the opportunity to increase their presence in the European market and to improve their quality, processing and technology through the development of a high quality, low cost sports car. This combination of Italian design and Indian capabilities will allow entry into the worldwide niche market for exclusive super-light sport cars, with an extremely desirable, beautifully designed car at a very competitive price. A Euro-4 compliant power-train will be supplied by a leading car manufacturer, who will participate in the project development and will provide aftersales assistance. An annual production of 1000 units is expected. For more information on the project please contact: Reemma Dalal tel: ext r.dalal@indiaitaly.com 5 8 April, to increase the visibility of Maharastra state as the wine producing state of India. The delegation also visited Vinitaly, the annual Italian wine fair in Verona. also wine consumption in preference to other alcoholic beverages. At present, the growth of the domestic wine market in India is over 100 per cent a year. Maharashtra is the largest producer and consumer of wine in India. The state has taken the initiative in implementing a policy to encourage wine grape cultivation and The delegation, which comprised Mr K V Jairath, Secretary for Industries, Government of Maharashtra; Mr Rajiv Jalota, CEO, Maharashtra Industrial

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