US tech city Fremont explores India for trade

A business delegation from tech city Fremont in California is exploring trade ties, including partnerships, with Indian firms for investments and job creation back home.

"India is the market to reach and explore contrary to the general perception that China is the country to pursue such opportunities," Fremont vice mayor Anu Natarajan told IANS here Monday.

Bangalore-born Natarajan, heading the 13-member high profile delegation, is a non-resident Indian (NRI) at Fremont.

During its 12-day trip since Nov 15, the delegation is visiting Bangalore, Chennai and Jaipur, a sister city, to help Fremont firms gain market presence in India and tie-up with local firms for two-way investment and trade.

"We are here to enable our tech firms have presence in India through partnerships and help Indian firms keen on investing in the Silicon Valley," Natarajan said.

As the fourth largest city in the San Francisco Bay area, Fremont's Silicon Valley location is the ideal setting for business, especially in the technology domain.

"We are also looking for collaboration with Indian biotech firms and promote academic tie-ups between our and Indian universities and educational institutions," she noted.

Home to about 1,200 high-tech, life science and clean techn firms, Fremont is a ethnically and culturally diverse city in the Bay Area, with Asians, including Indians in majority, accounting for 50 percent of its over 217,000 population.

"The timing of our visit is right as our city is bouncing back from recession and we are upbeat to tie up partnerships during this visit with Indian firms, which in turn could spur growth for the sister cities," Natarajan said.

The official-cum-business delegation includes Fremont economic development director Kelly Klein, city council member Vinnie Bacon, deputy city manager Nadine Nadar, city's chief operating officer Mark Donaj, Metabyte founder and chief executive Manu Mehta and Yantra global delivery president Vikram Bhandari.

"Fremont has enabled us to foster an environment of innovation and provided an enriching lifestyle to our employees, where they could live, raise families and succeed at work," Mehta told IANS.

As a leading tech product and services firm, Metabyte caters to Fortune 500 clients and mid-market enterprises like Cisco, Salesforce.com and Johnson & Johnson.

The delegation visited India's leading biotech firm Biocon Ltd and interacted with its chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, IT bellwether Infosys Ltd , EKO Vehicles, which develop electric cars and software firm NextGen.

"We will visit Tuesday e-Parisara, a electronic waste management firm, and participate in the panel discussion to promote societal causes, hosted by Gudville, an organization using social networks, and Enterprise Nube, a next generation business solutions firm," Natarajan said.

In Chennai, the delegation will visit the offshore development centre of the US-based global software major Cognizant, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, the biotech part and a manufacturing hub.

In Jaipur, Rajasthan, Fremont-based Lawrence Berkeley Labs will tie-up with the city's civic body for the sustainable development of the pink city.