President Patil asks Cyprus companies to invest in India

President Pratibha Patil, presently visiting Cyprus as part of her weeklong tour, on Friday asked the business fraternity of Cyprus to invest in India, as it is an excellent destination for investment.

Addressing business leaders from Cyprus and India at the Cyprus Chamber Of Commerce and Industry, Patil said: "I invite Cyprus companies to participate in business projects individually or in-joint ventures with Indian firms."

"Our strong domestic demand and an upwardly mobile middle class population creates a big market and hence an attraction for the global business communities. A remarkable feature of India's economy is its emergence as a global player in knowledge-based industries," said President Patil during the Cyprus-India Business Meet in Nicosia.

On this occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between India and Cyprus for solar energy cooperation. It was signed between Cyprus-based Indian companies NORASCO Limited Cyprus, Upturn Trading Limited, Case Neuberg Solutions and Photovolataic Technology Group of University of Cyprus.

Samer Arnous, Director of the Upturn Trading Limited, said on this occasion that he foresees India as a big market for solar projects.

"I believe there is a big market available in India for solar projects, so its a good market for us to tap into and we will use our expertise from our European and US connections to help us progress in Indian market," Samer Arnous told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

Meanwhile, Roger Kumar, Managing Director, CASE Group, the Indian technology and engineering partner for setting up turnkey solar energy plants in India, said that the project would fetch good returns as it involved a long-term prospect.

"We are luckily getting a grant from EU as well as we have a whole lot of subsidies from the Indian government and depreciation schemes also so I don't think it is expensive if you if you covered everything. We will definitely have to be helped definitely but then if you see there is absolutely no running cost so if you take it as in five years or ten years it is always an advantage," said Roger Kumar.

Cyprus is the leading European country in the field of research and implementation in solar power. By Ravi Khandelwal (ANI)

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