No.42 June - July 2010Embassy of India, Tel Aviv

INDIA NEWSLETTER

Information Technology); a 35-member Following the signing ceremony there delegation of senior representatives of was a special session on business top Indian IT & Telecom companies; and opportunities in India in the areas of a 15-member delegation of senior Telecom and IT, which was attended by businessmen / investors from the Indian senior representatives of leading Israeli Angel Network. and Indian IT and Telecom companies. The highlight of the event from the Notable speakers included senior Indian point of view was the signing of officials from Tejas Networks, ECI MOUs between the Israeli High-tech Telecom, Alvarion, BDO I2I, Sagitaur Industry Association (HTIA) and three Ventures India, Siklu, and Canaan leading Indian High-tech Associations - Partners.

Three high level Indian delegations the Indian Telecom Manufacturers visited Israel from June 6-10, 2010 to Association (TEMA), the Indian Chip attend the Israeli High-tech Industry Industry Association (ISA) and the Association (HTIA) Annual event in Ind i an G loba l En t r ep reneur s Jerusalem: a 3-member delegation of Association (TIE). The signing ceremony senior officials from the Government of was attended by Indian Ambassador, India, Department of Information Navtej Sarna and Second Secretary Technology (led by Dr. G.V. Ramaraju, (Economic & Commerce), Mr. Sanjay Senior Director & HOD, Department of Vyas.

Visit of Members of Parliament to IsraelOpposition Tzipi specially acknowledge the presence of Livni, Dy. PM and the delegation by the Speaker and the M i n i s t e r o f Members of the Knesset. Intelligence Dan During their stay, the delegation also Meridor, Deputy visited Naan to experience at Foreign Minister firsthand the latest advances in D a n n y A y a l o n , irrigation and water management, a Bank o f Israe l dairy farm to check out the progress Governor Stanley that Israel has made in this sector along Fi s cher among with visits to the Weizmann Institute, others. Better Place and a counter-terrorism President Peres facility among others. met the delegation on July 19 and

A group of six MPs which included Mr. underlined the huge potential for future Naveen Jindal, Mr. Prakash Javadekar, cooperation in areas such as water, Mr. Kalikesh Singh Deo, Mr. Jayant ag r i cu l ture , R&D, nano - tech , Chaudhary, Mr. Sanjay Jaiswal and Mr. renewable energy and so on. President Naresh Gujral visited Israel from July Peres called Mahatma Gandhi a biblical 17-July 22, 2010. The visit was prophet and said that Gandhi was an organized by FICCI. exceptional figure. The delegation also The MPs delegation called on President visited the Israeli Knesset and witnessed Shimon Peres and met Speaker of the the Parliament in session. The session Knesset Reuven Rivlin, Leader of was stopped for a few minutes to

Kibbutz

The delegation meets with President Shimon Peres

HTIA Annual Event

The signing ceremony

Signing of MOUs between the Israeli High-techIndustry Association and three leading Indian

High-tech Associations

Mr. Naveen Jindal, MP, presenting a book onIndian Tricolour to President Shimon Peres

Kiriati, Director, Israel Export and In te rna t iona l Coopera t ion Institute (IEICI) visited India from June 7-11, 2010 as part of the GroWin project (under the Shavit program). The objective of the visit was to further increase the cooperation between the two countries in Agriculture and Water Management with focus on the

A 15-member delegation of senior States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. representatives of leading Agricultural During the visit the delegation met with and Water companies led by Mr. Yitzhak senior government officials and

(Jain Irrigation has 50% stake in Israel’s NaadDanJain Irrigation). In addition, Mr. Amnon Ofen, Director of NaanDanJain Irrigation, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award for promoting business between Israel and India. Ambassador of India, Mr. Navtej Sarna, Ambassador of Sri Lanka, Mr. Donald

The Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce, Perera, and Ms. Dafna Steinmetz, Vice headed by Mr. Ran Cohen (former President and the Corporate Chief Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor) Innovation Officer at Comverse, held its annual event on June 3, 2010. participated in a panel which discussed Several Ambassadors and senior officials the challenges faced by Israeli from various Asian countries (including companies that wish to enter the Indian India, China, Japan, Nepal, South Korea and the Sr i Lank an marke ts . and Sri Lanka) participated in the event Ambassador Sarna presented before the which was held at Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv. audience the tremendous opportunities In addition, the event was attended by the that the Indian market has to offer to Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Israeli companies, and explored the Labor, Mr. Benjamin Ben Eliezer, Deputy various areas in which the potential for Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Daniel mutual collaboration is still untapped. Ayalon, Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Yitzhak Cohen and other senior officials from the Israeli government and heads o f l e a d i n g I s r a e l i e c o n o m i c organizations. Minister Ben Eliezer handed over awards to several distinguished companies including India’s Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. which won an award for its outstanding activity in Israel and its investment in NaanDanJain Irrigation

2

ECONOMIC NEWS

Israel - Asia Chamber ofCommerce Annual Event

Ambassador Sarna participates in the panel

GroWin delegation to India

Group photo of the GroWin delegation

The awards ceremony

Ambassador visitsBank Mizrahi

Tefahot

Bank M i z rah i Te f aho t in v i t ed Ambassador Navtej Sarna on July 14 for a briefing about the bank and its future plans of expansion in Asia and South America.Mr. Jacob Perry, Chairman of the Board, Mr. Eli Yones, President & CEO and other senior officials of the bank made presentations about international economy.Ambassador Sarna spoke about the India-Israel trade relations and explained in brief about Government of India’s policies allowing foreign banks to operate in India.

Ambassador with Mr. Jacob Perry, Chairmanof the Board, Bank Mizrahi Tefahot

Ambassador at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot

representatives of leading Indian agricultural companies including the Yash Birla Group, Tata Chemicals, Kaveri Seeds and others.The delegation also attended a business seminar on advanced agricultural technologies in the areas of irrigation, greenhouses, water management and dairy farms.

Meet ing o f K imber ley Process Certification Scheme.On the agenda of the meeting were a number of initiatives relating to the on-going work of the Kimberley Process and to the consolidation of such processes as the creation of an office for administration and support and the establishment of a Working Group on Trade Facilitation.

Mr. Anil Mukim, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India, led a 6-member delegation of government officials and senior representatives of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) to Israel from June 21-24, 2010 to participate in the Interssesional

3

and International Cooperation Institute.

In addition, the delegation visited

various sites of interest including the

world-acclaimed academic institution,

the Technion Institute of Technology as

well as various leading automotive

companies such as Palsan Sasa, Better

Place, and Tadir Gan Group. In addition, the delegation met with

senior officials from the Israeli Ministry

of Industry, Trade and Labor.The

delegation also met with Ambassador

Navtej Sarna.

Mr. Jayant Davar, President of the p r o d u c t s a n d

Automotive Component Manufacturers t e c h n o l o g i e s i n

Association of India (ACMA), led a 16- specific.

member delegation to Israel from July The delegation met

10-14, 2010. The delegation’s objective with various Israeli

was to further explore the Israeli a u t o m o t i v e

Automotive Industry and seek possible companies during a

collaborations with leading Israeli spec i a l Seminar

automotive companies in general, and which was organized

companies which offer innovative new by the Israeli Export

Indian Automotive delegation visits IsraelECONOMIC NEWS

The delegation meets with Ambassador

An Indian delegation participates inthe KPCS meeting

At the Seminar

Group photo of the delegation

Visit of IndianMedia persons

A group of twelve Indian media-

persons visited Israel in July 2010.

The visit was organized by the

American Jewish Committee.

During their stay in Israel, the group

also called on the Ambassador who

hosted a dinner in their honour.

Ambassador with media-persons from India

4

(which was selected as the Life

Science Advisor of IEICI).The delegation held one-on-

one meetings with leading

Indian life science companies

and visited various sites of

i n t e r e s t i n c l u d i n g t h e

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital

and the Medicity Hospital in

New Delhi

A 9-member delegation of senior

representatives of leading Israeli

Medical Devices and HealthCare IT

companies visited India from July 26-

29, 2010.The delegation was organized by the

IEICI (as part of the SHAVIT program)

and India’s SkyQuest Technology Group

Yes Bank and Poalim CapitalMarkets entered into alliance

ECONOMIC NEWS

advise Indian and Israeli companies on cross-border deals between the two countries.The alliance will play an active role towards further i n c r e a s i n g investments flows in the Indo-Israel i corridor. Yes Bank and Poalim Capital Markets will be able to leverage their

Yes Bank, India’s new age private sector combined expertise, strong local bank and Israeli Poalim Capital Markets knowledge and excellent corporate Ltd, one of the leading Israeli investment relationships to open up Mergers and banks and part of Bank Hapoalim, Acquisitions, Joint Ventures, Equity announced that the two companies have Raising, and Merchant Banking entered into a co-operation agreement to opportunities for their respective clients.

Israeli Life Science Delegationvisits India

B2B meetings between the Israeli delegates andleading Indian companies

Group photo of the Israeli delegation

From left to right: Mr. Roy David, Managing Director Head of InvestmentBanking, Poalim Capital Markets; Mr. Arun Agrawal,

President & Global Head – International Banking, Yes Bank Limited;Mr. Amir Aviv, President & CEO, Poalim Capital Markets and Mr. Vikas Dawra,

Managing Director, Investment Banking, Yes Bank Limited

Siva

n Fa

rag

“Colours of India” -Indian classical

dance performance

Indian classical dance performance - Colours of India - was presented by Ms. Yael Tal, ICCR scholar on July 26, 2010 at Yerushalmi Theatre, Suzanne Dellal Centre, Tel Aviv.Ms. Yael Tal performed Kuchipudi dance and Ms. Mayala performed Kathak dance at the event. The event was followed by a Q & A session.Mr. Sharad Srivastava, First Secretary, attended the show and appreciated the artistes for the performance and promoting Indian culture in Israel.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Ms. Yael Tal performing the Kuchipudi dance

Ms. Mayala (left) performing the Kathak dance

5

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Tel Aviv - 5, Druyanov St., Tel: 03-5250332, Fax: 03-5250786Tel Aviv - 24 Saadiya Gaon St., Tel: 03-7610255, Fax: 03-7602033Jerusalem - 19 Hillel St., Tel: 02-6220018, Fax: 02- 6240724Haifa - 8, Khatib St., Tel: 04-8650241, Fax: 04-8670886Ben Gurion Airport - El-Al Building, Tel: 03-9717998

C O N S U L A R M A T T E R SThe Embassy has outsourced visa services (with effect from May Street, Tel Aviv, Tel. No. 03-5250332, Fax No. 03-5250786, website: 15,2010) to two new agencies (a) M/s Caspi Aviation Ltd., 1- Ben www.smvisa.co.il. The above mentioned agencies have offices in Yehuda Street, Tel Aviv, Tel. No. 03-7962000, Fax No. 03-5108365, different parts of the country as under. The Embassy website website: www.caspi-aviation.co.il and (b) S.M. Visa, No. 5, Droyanov (www.indembassy.co.il) also contains all relevant details.

Branches of Caspi AviationTel Aviv - 1, Ben Yehuda St., Tel : 03-5100214, Fax: 03-5107673Bat Yam - 79, Balfur St., Tel : 03-5070797, Fax: 03-6596557Netanya - 27, Dizengoff St., Tel: 09-8841830, Fax: 09-8332735Petah Tikva - 20 Hahitadrut St., Tel: 03-9136136, Fax: 03-9307919Ashdod - 17 Rogozin St., Tel: 08-8521521, Fax: 08-8522505Haifa - 20 Nordau St., Tel: 04-8624919, Fax: 04-8624032

Branches of S.M.Visa

India Day – Inter Religious Tolerance atHebrew University

The students committee of the books, etc.). The event concluded with Department of India Studies, Hebrew Indian snacks.University in Jerusalem organised India Day - Inter Religious Tolerance on June 1, 2010.The event included Yoga lessons, stories/lectures on India, traditional Indian music/songs and photography contest. Prof. Yohanan Fridman, Dr. Yael Ben-Tor, Dr. Eviatar Shulman and PhD scholar Michal Hasson delivered lectures

India (Incredible India CDs, posters, on India at the event. The Embassy tourist/cultural pamphlets, coffee table provided books and publicity material on

Yoga lesson in progress

Students busy with artwork

Jamming with Indian musical instruments

Indian classical dance/music performance

Ambassador’smeetings

Ms Ofra Hoffman performing the Bharatnatyam

was presented by Ms. Ofra Hoffman, an ICCR scholar, on July 8, 2010 at Inbal Centre, Suzanne Dellal, Tel Aviv. The performance was attended by a large audience.The Embassy was represented by Mr. Sharad Srivastava, First Secretary.Indian classical dance (Bharat Natayam)

Ambassador met Minister of Welfare and Social Services Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on June 30. Besides discussing India-Israel bilateral relations, they also discussed potential for bilateral cooperation in the sphere of welfare and social services.A delegation of four academicians from the South East Asia Studies Department, Tel Aviv University (TAU) led by Prof. Raine called on the Ambassador at the Embassy on June 14, 2010. The de l ega t i on d i s cussed the possibilities of enhancing the cultural and academic exchange between Embassy and TAU.

6

INDIAN BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC NEWS

INDIAN ECONOMY

TELECOM / IT / BIOTECHNOLOGY

Forex reserves jump US$ 1 billion to US$ 283 billionRupee becomes only 5th currency to

get a symbol

Repo rates increased by Reserve Indian carriers to add 60 A380s to Bank of India

fleet over 20 years

Exports in June 2010 touches US$ 17.75 billion

IT, BPO to create 30 million jobs by 2020: Nasscom

Personal computer sales rose to 18% Manufacturing expands for the 16th in 2009-10consecutive month in July 2010

Government approves 18 FDI proposals worth US$ 479.5 million

HCL Infosystems buys 60% stake in NTS Group

Global VCs upbeat on Indian economy: Deloitte

Indian telecom user base up 17.98 million in June

businesses will significantly increase in India, according to the survey. The global survey was conducted in association with venture capital Foreign exchange reserves rose sharply associations in US, Canada, UK, France, during the week ended July 23, largely on In keeping with India’s growing economic Germany, China, India, Brazil and Israel. A account of inflows through the portfolio might and its status as a major investment vast majority (41%) of survey respondents in investment route and partly due to destination, the hitherto humble rupee is all India expect the number of venture firms to revaluation of non-dollar assets in reserves. set to get a distinct identity in the form of a increase and also anticipate a significant The country’s forex reserves rose by US$ new symbol. The Union Cabinet on Thursday increase in amounts available for investment, 1,037 million in the week ended July 23. The gave its approval to the symbol which in contrast to 62% of the global respondents reserves are at US$ 282.9 billion. The entire combines the Roman letter ‘R’ with the expecting the venture firms and amounts pile-up in reserves during the week was on Devnagri ‘Ra’.available for investment to reduce, it says. account of the growth in foreign currency

assets comprising dollars, British pounds and euro, among others. All other components of The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its first reserves, including the value of gold in Indian airline companies will acquire 50-60 quarter review of the monetary policy, hiked reserves, special drawing rights, or SDRs — Airbus A380 aircraft, the largest passenger the repo and reverse repo rates by 25 and 50 the reserve currency with the International plane flying today, over the next 20 years. This basis points, respectively. This is the fourth Monetary Fund — and the reserve capital will resultin business of over $15 billion for hike in the key policy rates in 2010. The repo with IMF, remained unchanged during the Airbus, the Europe-based aircraf t rate (the RBI's short-term lending rate to week. manufacturing giant. There is tremendous banks) stands at 5.75% and the reverse repo

potential for the use of A380 by Indian airlines rate (the RBI's short term borrowing rate) at since traffic here is growing much faster than 4.50%. However, lending rates are unlikely to other parts of the world. Due to strong The exports touched US$ 17.75 billion in June go up before October. The cash reserve ratio economic growth, air traffic in India is 2010, posting a 30.4% growth as compared to (CRR), a portion of deposits that banks have expected to double in 10 years while it will the corresponding period in 2009. The to maintain with the RBI has been left take 15 years for many other markets.exports witnessed a positive growth for the unchanged at 6%. The RBI said that credit and

eighth consecutive month on the back of good deposit growth will evolve along the projected results reflected by major sectors such as trajectory, as indicated in the April policy engineering, oil, iron ore, chemicals, gems statement, of 20% and 18%, respectively, in and jewellery.Financial Year (FY) 2010-11.

After a tough year that saw the IT & BPO industry cutting back on hiring, Nasscom has

India's personal computer (PC) sales now given a positive forecast for the next India's manufacturing witnessed an upswing including desktop computers and notebooks decade. Nasscom estimates that the IT & BPO trend in July 2010 on the back of new orders rose to18% to touch 8,030,000 units in FY sector will provide direct employment of 10 and better export demand, as per a private 2009-10, on the back of demand revival million and indirect employment of 20 survey. The HSBC Market Purchasing across consumer and office segments. The million by 2020. By 2020, the industry Managers' Index (PMI) went up to 57.6 in July sale in the notebook segment stood at expects to have around 5 million women 2010 from 57.3 in June 2010, marking 16th 2,500,000 units, rising to 65% in 2009-10, employees on its rolls. Currently, the industry consecutive month of expansion in while the sales figure for the desktop stood at has around 37% women employees and manufacturing.5,520,000 units with a growth rate of 5%. The around 26% of the female employees are Manufacturers' Association for Information chief wage earners. Technology (MAIT) expects the growth rate of The government has approved 18 foreign desktop in 2010-11 to be higher at 12%. direct investment (FDI) proposals worth US$ Households accounted for about 56% of the HCL Infosystems on Thursday announced the 479.5 million. Transcend Infrastructure Ltd total notebook sales and registered a growth of acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in Dubai-(TIL) accounted for FDI inflow worth US$ 83% in FY 2009-10 whereas businesses based IT services and solutions company, NTS 412.51 million for setting up communication accounted for 44% of the market; it grew at Group, for an estimated $6.5 million. NTS and broadcasting towers business. The 47% on an annual basis. Printer sales grew provides solutions ranging from IT hardware company plans to build, acquire and lease 6% to 1,720,000 units, led by laser printers in to software services and consulting. Specific towers for the communications and FY 2009-10. areas covered by NTS include computer broadcasting sectors, according to a finance

hardware, enterprise software solutions, ministry statement. Meanwhile, other infrastructure and networking solutions, e-proposals which received clearance include

The billion dollar Indian venture capital security solutions and web development Frigorifico Allana for setting up a joint venture, industry is likely to significantly expand in services.involving FDI of US$ 26.7 million. Others India, in contrast to US, where it is likely to include the proposal of GETIT Infoservices, contract, says a 2010 Global Venture Capital involving FDI of US$ 20.5 million; the Survey by consulting firm Deloitte. Venture company planned to increase foreign equity Telecom operators have added 17.98 million capital investments in cleantech, healthcare, and undertake additional activity relating to new users in June, taking the total telephone biopharmaceuticals, medical consumer publishing, the statement added. subscriber base in the country to 671.69

Popular Indian Recipes

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

Method: In a pitcher, combine the yogurt, milk, water, pulp, and sugar. Whisk briskly until completely mixed. Chill.To serve, pour over crushed ice. Sprinkle the ground pistachios over the top.

7

3 cup plain yogurt1 cup milk 1 cup water1 cup mango pulp1/2 cup sugar1 oz pistachios, ground

million. The wireless subscriber base (GSM, CDMA and fixed wireless phones) reached 635.51 million by the end of June, from 617.53 million in May, registering a growth of 2.91 per cent, according to figures released by telecom regulator TRAI. The overall teledensity reached 56.83 per cent.

Tata Communications and Google have joined hands to offer the latter's portfolio of business tools in India on a ‘pay-as-you-use' model. The companies would work together on a revenue-sharing model to provide business tools such as e-mail, instant messaging, calendar functionality, video and office presentations over the Internet using the Google Apps sof tware sui te , Tata Communications announced in a statement.

Marck Biosciences Ltd, manufacturer of sterile dosages, that has developed Paracetamol IV in plastic pack, plans to launch it in India by the end of 2010 and is aiming at generating business worth Rs 2 crore (US$ 432,713) from the new product.CordLife may start development unit in IndiaSingapore-based stem cell bank CordLife is exploring the possibility of starting a development unit in India to work on more applications for stem cells in the treatment of various diseases, including diabetes. The company will partner an Indian hospital or

Tata Communications joins hands with Google

Marck Biosciences to launch Paracetamol IV in plastic packaging

in India by year-end

INDIAN BUSINESS

those with necessary medical infrastructure to carry out the development work.

Australian auto component firm MtM announced that it is exploring the possibility of setting up a manufacturing facility in India to meet the growing demand for automatic transmissions. The company recently started supplying automatic gear boxes for the Mahindra Scorpio SUVs to be exported to the US.

Finnish firm KWH Mirka Ltd, maker of abrasives used in automotive sector and for other industrial applications, announced the setting up of a fully-owned subsidiary in India. With a base in New Delhi, the company has already tied up with 10 distributors and appointed 100 distributors across the country. It has also obtained approval from several automotive OEMs such as Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mahindra & Mahindra and Swaraj Mazda.

Ford India said that it started exporting 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre high-compression petrol engines from its Maraimalai Nagar plant to Thailand. The first batch of engines was shipped out to AutoAlliance Thailand, a sister manufacturing plant.

AUTOMOBILESAustralian company MtM looks to set

up gear-box unit in India

Finnish abrasives maker Mirka sets up India unit

Ford India begins engine exports to Thailand

Summer Drinks:Lassi (Yogurt Drink)

Mango Lassi

India International Jewllery Show IndiaChem 2010(IIJS) October 28-29, 2010, Mumbai August 19-23, 2010, Mumbai

World Dental Show 2010Agritech India October 29-31, 2010, MumbaiAugust 20-22, 2010, Bangalore

Asian Herbal Show2nd Bangalore Space Expo November 26-28, 2010, ChennaiAugust 25-28, 2010, Bangalore

5th Vibrant Gujarat Global SummitAutomation 2010 January 12-13, 2011September 21-24, 2010, Mumbai Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Power India 2010 India Soft 2011October 27-30, 2010, Mumbai March 25-26, 2011, Pune

www.biztradeshows.comwww.iijs.org

www.wds.org.in www.biztradeshows.com

www.biztradeshows.comwww.bsxindia.com

www.biztradeshows.com www.vibrantgujarat.com

www.indiapowershow.com www.indiasoft.org

FORTHCOMING EVENTS IN INDIA

Pineapple Lassi

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup ripe, fresh pineapple (peeledand diced)2 cup plain yoghurt1 cup water1/2 cup sugarcup ice cubes

Method: Place all ingredients in the jug of an electric blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.

8

How to reach

Udhagamandalam, popularly known as Ooty and located at an altitude of 2,240 meter above sea level in the mountainous Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu bordering Karnataka and Kerala, is the most famous hill station of south India. Set amidst cloud-kissed peaks, dense forests, gushing streams, flower-bedecked valleys and hills, Ooty, is a veritable paradise that beacons tourists all round the year. Like most other well-known hill stations of India, Ooty, too, owes its discovery to the British, who developed it as the summer capital of the erstwhile Madras Presidency by providing it with road and rail connectivity as early as the mid 1800s.The more than 150-year-old Nilgiri Mountain Railway, which connects Ooty with Mettupalayam, was recently accorded the world heritage status.

By Air:By Rail:By Road:

For more on India tourism, visit:www.tourindia.com ; www.tourismofindia.com

Tourist attractions

India Calls: Ooty

Nearest airport is at Coimbatore, about 100 km away. Main railhead is at Mettupalayam, about 46 km away. Well-connected by road from Coimbatore and otherimportant cities.

Climate Winter:Summer:Best time to visit:

Maximum temperature is 21ºC, minimum is 0ºC. Maximum temperature is 25ºC; minimum is 10ºC.

March-June and September-December.

Botanical Garden:

Doddabetta:

The Mukurthi Peak & National Park:

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary (1,140 meter):Ooty Lake:

Kundal Mund: Coonoor:

one of the world's unique This sprawling garden tribes. of over 50 acres has Located rare varieties of exotic about 10 km from Ooty, it is a n d o r n a m e n t a l the highest peak (2,634m) plants that were laid in the Nilgiris and offers out in 1847. It is beautiful vistas of the hills, situated near the Raj plateaus and plains, which Bhavan (residence of can be viewed through a telescope atop the hill.

the governor of Tamil Nadu) and is about two km from Ooty About 40 km away railway station. The lovely garden has a rich collection of from Ooty, the Mukurthi National Park on the south-eastern different species of plants from many parts of the world. A corner of the Nilgiri mountains surprisingly has flora and fauna widely-attended horticultural show is held every year here in the that compare well to those of the Himalayan ranges. month of May. This is the

This beautiful lake is set in a picturesque valley and first sanctuary to be set up in India and forms part of the offers boating facilities with row boats, paddle boats and motor Jawaharlal Nehru National Park. It is located 36 km from Ooty. boats for hire. Fishing is permitted under licenses issued at the Spread over an area of 321 sq km, the sanctuary is home to office of the assistant director of fisheries. diverse habitats.

This is a village 9 km from Ooty where the tribal Located only 17 km from Ooty, Coonoor at an altitude people, the Todas, live traditionally in tiny domed huts and wear of1,839 meter is a well-developed hill station and a tea garden decorative tattoos and vivid hand woven shawls. The Todas are town. It has a milder climate than Ooty and is a popular remnants of a great race and are of anthropological interest. weekend getaway. They have been featured on the National Geographic Channel as