EDI students return from China visit

Ahmedabad: Chintan Shah, a student of Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) has just struck upon a business idea of importing affordable solar water heaters from China. Another student of EDI Gaurav Bagaria has become more confident about his business plan for exporting iron ore to China. 

Shah and Bagaria are part of a group of 10 students of EDI who visited China to understand the ambience, characteristics and opportunities of entrepreneurship there. It was their first visit to China. The visit that was organized by the institute in association with Yunnan University of Finance and economics in China has given the students of the institute various business ideas and new lessons on Chinese business models. 

“We learnt that the Chinese entrepreneurs are very quick in responding to changes in the market demand. As soon as a product loses its demand they will loose no time to innovate and manufacture another product. Unlike us the Chinese have a strategy of manufacturing in a large bulk to cut down the cost of manufacturing and then focus on selling it by using various means,” said Bagaria. 

The students also learnt about government policies which, they think, could be lessons for the Indian government. Talking about such a policy, EDI student Nakul Mistry said, “We learnt that the Chinese government has strongly encouraged foreign traders to come and set up their business in China. They have set up special huge malls as facilities for this initiative. This helps the country and its people to better link with foreign countries. This is one of the reasons why Chinese products are penetrating various foreign markets.” 

Faculty at EDI Satya Acharya, who led the team of students to China, said, “While we have a flat tax rate in our country, the Chinese government has worked out different tax rates and benefits for different industries. This is a good way to control the composition of industries.” 

Chinese language course introduced. This year, EDI has introduced course in Chinese language in the institute to equip its students to explore and set up entrepreneurial links with China. Chief faculty at EDI Sunil Shukla said: “The curriculum for the 60-hour-module has been prepared and the students who are entering EDI this year will be able to opt for the course.” For the first time at EDI, the institute had organized a trip to Kunming in China for a team of 10 students who returned on June 26. Such trips to China are going to become more frequent for students of the institute. The institute will tie up with universities in China for students exchange programmes. 

Source : The Times of India

IIM-A plans for green Ahmedabad in 2050

First-Of-Its-Kind Study Suggests Ways To Keep Emissions At 2005 Level

Ahmedabad: By 2050, Ahmedabad city will grow to over four times its present size. From its size of 190sqkm (AMC area) in 2005 with a population of 4.7 million, Ahmedabad city will grow to 900 sqkm with a population of 12 million by 2050. The per capita income of the city too will increase by no less than 12 times. 

That will also mean that if the city and the people carry on with the current trends of energy consumption, the CO2 emissions in the city, around 10 million tonnes a year now, will increase to 86.3 million tonnes a year in 2050. 

This detailed picture of the city’s future and carbon footprint is projected by a study — which charts a roadmap for a carbon-free city — headed by IIM-A professor P R Shukla. Ahmedabad is the first city in the country with such a detailed low carbon society (LCS) roadmap in compliance with internationally agreed standards. Shukla is also a member of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which won the Nobel Prize. He heads the public systems group at IIM-A. 

The study predicts that per capita income of the city will grow from Rs 65,000 in 2005 to Rs 8,24,000 in 2050. This increase will raise the carbon footprint of each person from 2.16 tonnes a year in 2005 to around 7 tonnes in 2050.

    

The major emission reduction potential is from improvements in energy intensity of economic activities and fuel switch in power transport and industrial sector. The study plans a roadmap to bring down the total carbon emission of the city and maintain it at around that of 2005 to make it an LCS city. 

    

Talking about the study and the areas where the city’s planning should focus to achieve carbon emission targets, Shukla said, “While efficiency in vehicles reduces carbon footprint, the planners need not worry much about this segment as automobile manufactures are already deeply concerned. The major potential lies in fuel switch and energy efficiency. The power plants should switch their fuel from coal to gas or renewable sources like solar and wind”.

Source: Times of India