New jobs and new export markets won on successful mission to India – Bruton

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD today (Friday) concludes a five-day trade and investment mission to India during which new jobs and export markets were won on the trade, investment and education fronts. During the mission three Irish companies announced contracts and business growth worth over €15 million and two Indian companies announced plans to set up operations in Ireland and create 75 new jobs.

Three education institutions announced new alliances and programmes with third level Indian education partners, underpinning Enterprise Ireland’s strategy to grow the number of Indian students to over 5,000 over the next five years, generating €50 million in fee income, with a further €50 million direct spend in the wider economy. Further contract announcements and investments are expected over the coming months.

The mission of 42 Irish companies and Higher Education Institutions was organised by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and supported by the Embassy of Ireland in India. It was aimed at supporting Irish companies and education institutions to increase exports to India, and attracting investment and jobs into Ireland from key Indian companies.

At the end of the highly successful mission Minister Bruton said: “The Indian market offers tremendous potential for Ireland. Irish companies and education institutions are winning more and more business in the area matched by an increasing interest among Indian companies in Ireland as a location for setting up new operations to target the European market. Central to the Government’s plans for jobs and growth is driving an export-led recovery, and this trade and investment mission and the work of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and our Embassy in India are all part of our combined efforts to open doors for Irish companies and win more investment for Ireland.

“Key growth markets such as India are particular targets and over the past two years we have increased the intensity of our programme of Ministerial-led trade missions so as to grow exports and investment and create jobs at home. To that end the Government has doubled the number of trade missions since launching the Action Plan for Jobs, and this is the 17th trade mission I have led in 32 months”.

Among the announcements made during the trade mission were:

· The Kilkenny based Taxback Group is expanding into the Asian market with the launch in India of PaytoStudy and has announced contract agreements with two of the top five educational agents in India, among others. These are expected to generate €15 million in new revenue for PaytoStudy.

· Aditi Technologies, a ‘Cloud First’ Technology Services company, is to establish its European Services and Business Development Centre in Dublin with the creation of 40 local jobs.

· Synowledge, an Indian company specialising in the provision of drug safety and regulatory affairs services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device sectors, is to establish an international headquarters in Dublin with the creation of 35 new high quality jobs.

· Dublin company Globoforce, a world leader in employee recognition programmes, announced a new multi-year contract with Tata Communications, part of Tata Group, India’s leading conglomerate.

· Kilkenny company Connolly RED MILLS has also captured significant business since launching in the Indian market in 2012, and has now opened a new representative office in Bangalore.

· UCD launched an office in Delhi to support partnerships in education, research and innovation with institutions, companies and other organisations in India, as well as support students who apply to UCD. UCD also announced ‘V.V. Giri’ Global Excellence Full Tuition Fee Scholarships. V.V. Giri, the fourth President of India, studied Law in UCD between 1913 and 1916.

· Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with two prestigious Indian Universities, VIT University Vellore and Manipal Institute of Technology (Manipal University) focussing on collaborative research and staff and student exchange programmes. This brings to 27 the number of formal MoUs beween Irish institutes of higher education and Indian counterpart higher education institutions.

· UL launched its new Bachelor of Technology in Aircraft Maintenance and Operations.

During the intensive mission schedule Minister Bruton attended over 30 high-level meetings and events to promote Irish companies exporting to India as well as promoting Ireland as a destination for Indian multinational investment. He also met with Anand Sharma, Indian Government Minister for Commerce and Industry.

“These announcements, partnerships and new investment from India announced this week demonstrates the ongoing success of Irish companies and colleges as they continue to win new business in this major market, and the increasing profile for Ireland in successfully attracting investment from India into Ireland. This all contributes to boosting the economy and creating new jobs in Ireland”, said Minister Bruton.