Sydney breaks bread with Sangrur – the wheat link

21/01/2013 0 Comments read Business and Trade

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 21.01.2013 (Business Standard): Wheat collaboration between Australia and India is likely to be extended, after experiments combining strengths in each other’s varieties show rising promise.

India and Australia are collaborating on research to enhance the volume and quality of grown wheat. The five-year bilateral programme on marker-assisted wheat breeding concludes in May 2012 but is set to be extended.

It has been exploring molecular technologies, management practices and more heat-tolerant cultivars, to face the challenges of climate change. India and Australia are particularly vulnerable to increasing temperatures, warns a leading Australian wheat scientist.

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We hope Indian Railways would be interested in our product line: Trevor Rowe

20/01/2013 0 Comments read Business and Trade

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.01.2013 (Business Standard): Leading Australian train manufacturer and engineering firm, UGL, has a joint venture with India’s rail freight car manufacturer and diversified engineering services company, Texmaco Rail & Engineering of the K K Birla Group, to establish a manufacturing plant in Belgharia, Kolkata. UGL’s Chairman, Trevor Rowe, speaks to Neena Bhandari about the plant, set to start production by July 2012, initially for the Australian market. Edited excerpts:

When did you start thinking about establishing a manufacturing facility in India and why?

The idea crept in about two years ago when UGL was thinking of its long-term procurement strategy. While the other Australian manufacturer of rolling stock and locomotives have been making bogies and wagons sourced from China, we, too, needed an alternative venue to source them. Consequently, we entered into a joint venture with Texmaco. Ours is an equal partnership signed last December, and since then we have had people involved in management, design and engineering of the plant visit India several times.

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Cruise takeaway – Onboard the MS Amsterdam from Melbourne to Sydney

20/01/2012 0 Comments read Travel

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.01.2012 (Khaleej Times): With the advent of summer, cruise liners begin port calls on Australian shores. So instead of a 90-minute flight or 10-hour drive, I embark on my maiden cruise on Holland America’s MS Amsterdam from Melbourne to Sydney. Overzealous customs officials greet me at the Melbourne Port before I am ushered on board by cheerful crew.

The classic interior, broad staircases and polished decks display Dutch heritage and tradition. At the epicentre is the Planeto Astrolabium, a signature sculpture soaring in a three-story atrium, which tracks constellations, the planets, world time and ship time.

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