| News has it
that possibly next time one sees a Hollywood actor
brandishing a sword or an axe in a period film,
chances are that some of those weapons might have
come from India. The world’s movie capital
is the latest to join a growing list of US producers
to outsource products and services to India to rein
in ballooning costs. Kingdom of Heaven, a Crusades
epic from Gladiator director Ridley Scott, features
combat gear made by a small firm in Dehra Dun, a
town located in the Himalayan foothills about 250
km (155 miles) north of the capital New Delhi. Windlass
Steelcrafts, which set up shop in 1943 to supply
daggers to the British army in India, also made
weapons and costumes for Troy, Lord of the Rings
and The Mummy Returns.
Already
Indian animation firms, which provide cartoon film
footage and animated computer images for television,
cinema and the internet, have taken advantage of
low costs to grab work from Europe and North America.
India is also encouraging US studios to shoot films
in its more exotic locations and use its studios
and low-cost workforce for production work. Most
recently, parts of The Bourne Supremacy and Oliver
Stone’s Alexander were shot in India. |
| India and
Israel have signed an agreement to set up a joint
industrial Research and Development fund to encourage
investment and joint ventures. Minister of state
for science and technology Kapil Sibal and Israeli
deputy Prime Minister and minister for trade and
industry, Ehud Olmert signed the agreement. According
to the agreement each side will contribute $ 1 mn
each initially to provide risk-free grants to entrepreneurs
from both sides.
Olmert, who visited
India in December, said he was struck by the immense
possibilities of cooperation between the two countries.
"There is enormous potential. I think India
is emerging as a major economy and Israel has designated
India as one of the main targets of our foreign
trade in the next five years," he said. Market
demand will be the basic guiding principle for the
Fund, which will adopt a bottom up policy in selection
of the projects and proposals.
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