GE unveils 'go big' vision for India

New Delhi, November 13, 2006 "� Technology and Innovation can help serve as GDP multipliers for India, said GE today as it unveiled its 'go big' vision for India at the 61st GE Day and the first ever GE Day to be hosted in India. Designed as a showcase of technology and innovation, GE Day displayed and demonstrated the latest GE technologies and innovations that are being used in India, with many completely or partially developed in India.

"We are at the cross-roads of a very important milestone for India as it takes the big leap to realize its ambition of double digit growth in GDP. It is ambitious and brings with it many challenges for a country of India's diversity and size. To unshackle its past and pave the way towards consistent progress, India has identified two clear priorities "� first is to improve the quality of life with a focus on education, rural healthcare, water availability and rural electrification and secondly, economic growth where the focus is on better infrastructure with power generation, infrastructure, transportation and agriculture reform," said Scott R Bayman, President and CEO, GE India.

He added, "Accelerated economic growth will require depth in areas where GE excels: infrastructure and technology. We are committed to being a growth partner for India and our vision for India is to 'go big' by leveraging our diverse set of businesses to help India meet some of its priorities and contribute to India's economic development. Our target is $8 billion in revenues and $8 billion in assets by 2010. This is big. And success will depend on how we innovate. It requires different thinking. It requires smart solutions. It requires imagination."

GE Infrastructure -- Building big dreams

"Infrastructure is the 'GDP Multiplier' for India. For India's GDP to grow at 7-8% per annum, core infrastructure areas in Transportation, Energy, and Water have to grow double digit per annum. At GE Infrastructure, our vision is to be the Enabler of India's GDP growth," said Pratyush (Prat) Kumar, President & CEO, GE Infrastructure India. "We have a successful business model at GE Infrastructure "� win with technology, grow with service and serve customers globally. Currently, GE Infrastructure in India is a US$500 million business and we are on track to double our business to over US$1 billion by next year."

GE Healthcare -- Solving big challenges

To showcase the GE 'go big' strategy with technology and innovation, V Raja, President & CEO, GE Healthcare South Asia & Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare shared how GE Healthcare is re-imagining the way healthcare is being delivered in India.

Healthcare in India faces several mounting challenges stated V Raja, all of which are familiar lifestyle diseases -- the emerging obesity epidemic, the rising toll in premature death and disability from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions.

India is home to 60 million coronary heart patients, with 30% below age 40. Two million deaths in India occur annually due to cardio vascular diseases (CVD). The World Health Organization estimates that as much as 60% of the world's coronary heart disease (CHD) patients will be Indians by 2010.

According to various sources, cancer is becoming a growing concern with an estimated 0.83 million suffering from cancer today against 0.53 million in 1985. Unfortunately, 70% of the cancers are detected very late. Breast Cancer is of particular concern with over 80,000 women in India diagnosed with breast cancer every year and 40,000 dying every year from breast cancer. India is also home to over 1 million cases of patients suffering from strokes, which is the 6th major cause of disability-adjusted years. Stroke contributes 1.2% total deaths in India.

India also faces the challenge of making healthcare affordable and accessible to patients not just in urban India but also in rural India. According to the Medical Council of India, the present doctor to patient ratio is 1:1722. The best approach is to move to a higher level of sensitivity and specificity in diagnostics, which allows focus on predictive healthcare rather than the "see and treat" type of health care system that is prevalent in India today.

"Our goal is to help predict, diagnose, treat and monitor disease earlier so people can live life to the fullest. Today, 70 to 80% of the resources in healthcare are devoted to managing symptom-based, advanced disease. Shifting resources to 'early health' and developing technologies that allow healthcare providers to diagnose disease at the earliest possible stage, when there can be many treatment options, is better medicine. It also makes simple economic sense. The tools now exist to transform healthcare and deliver it more efficiently and effectively to millions of people. At GE, we believe in 'early health' and we are investing in it. The technologies we are developing are enabling clinicians to provide more promising options to patients," said Raja.

Talking about present trends, Raja said that medical tourism, lower duties and greater demand for the latest technology is driving the introduction of many of GE's latest technologies sometimes within weeks of its global launch.

Some examples of latest technologies recently introduced in India are GE's next generation volume computed tomography scanner, LightSpeed™ VCT, high definition MRI, Digital Mammography System, Digital Flat Panel Cathlab, 4D Ultrasound and Discovery™ ST PET/CT systems. Introduced last year, GE's LightSpeed VCT is a huge success with 15 top institutions across India choosing this next generation technology to non-invasively capture images of the heart and coronary arteries in 5 heartbeats, something no other CT system can offer. More and more institutions are opting for this great technology.

The fusion of hybrid imaging positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) is the tool of choice among oncologists for earlier detection and monitoring of cancer. GE's Discovery ST PET/CT, the latest high-end technology fusion imaging system is leading the Indian market by winning every Indian customer's purchase decision for a PET/CT system this year. The first system is up and running at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and four units are currently under installation.

Recently GE Healthcare announced its plans to set up India's first Radiopharmacy Centre in Delhi to offer radio-isotopes for hospitals to help them assist in detecting a variety of diseases. GE also set up India's first Integrated Development Centre in Bangalore to do clinical trials. Information obtained from these trials will be combined with data from other global centers towards development of new, clinically useful contrast agents or new indications for existing agents that will assist in earlier detection and diagnosis.

GE Healthcare is also using research and development to create innovations and improvements in existing global technologies as well as creating "In India for India" products customized to make technology more accessible and economical. Some of these designed in India for India products include the Ultrasound systems, low cost ECGs, HF Advantage X-ray Systems, surgical c-arm systems, accessories and sub-systems.

Today the company employs over 1,000 engineers for R&D (up from 150 in 2000) , with 50% having advanced degrees "� PhDs or MS. Till date, GE Healthcare in India has filed 400+ invention disclosures with 128 patents granted including 80 international patents and 40 country patents.

GE Industrial -- Meeting big needs

"In India, we have been growing at a steady 30% over the past 2 years and we expect to grow our business 3x by 2010," said Samir Inamdar, President & CEO, GE Consumer & Industrial, India Region. "We serve several segments of customers in India and we are presenting the power of One GE through our Consumer & Industrial, Fanuc, Security and Sensing businesses to offer use of our vast array of technologies to meet their growing demand for the world's best technology solutions."

Some significant projects of GE Industrial include protection & automation solutions for large substations of Power Grid Corporation; electrical distribution, sensing and automation solutions for large NTPC Power Plants; lighting, security and sensing solutions for building and commercial infrastructure projects such as Reliance Retail; process automation, MES and enterprise solutions with power control and lighting for Tata Steel, VSP & ESSAR; flood lighting solutions for stadiums including the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur, the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai and the Saifi Stadium at Itawah in Uttar Pradesh.

GE Plastics' current revenues for India are over $100 million and the business is poised for a double-digit growth rate. Mr. K. Venugopal, President & CEO, GE Industrial, Plastics said that this growth will be driven by the introduction of new technologies in wire coatings (PVC replacement), automotive roofliners (PU replacement), body panels (HMD), heat blocking polycarbonate roofing sheets and other high end materials. The business also achieved a significant breakthrough at Railways for coach interiors and under carriage applications.

GE Commercial Finance -- Creating big value

Sunil Kapoor, Commercial Leader, GE Commercial Finance said, "GE Commercial Finance India has a 'AAA' rating by CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of India). Real Estate, Construction, Transportation, Infrastructure, Healthcare, Energy, Biotech and IT & Telecom are all high-growth sectors and they are our key focus areas. We are going beyond simply selling products to understanding a customer's unique market, competitive advantage, business processes and needs. By taking a more holistic view, we are delivering value across multiple measures."

GE Money "� serving big aspirations

Vishal Pandit, President & CEO, GE Money "� India Region said, "We are using technology and GE's Six Sigma processes to innovate and meet our customers' growing aspirations for a better quality of life. Today we have 1.2 million customers and over 3 million credit cardholders across India. Our investment in technology and telecommunications gives us the advantage of being able to give approvals across 91 cities through a centralized NBSM and an automated work flow solution makes it possible for us to give loan approvals to our sales finance customers in 45 minutes flat. This approval response is also sent via SMS alerts. To offer the best in Customer Loyalty programs we created a Customer Loyalty Platform offering Rewards for doing business with SBI Card & GE Money to our card holders, we are the first credit card company to offer instant earn and burn reward points for more than 6 Co-Branded Partner Credit Cards."

JFWTC & IIC -- Growing big with innovation

"We are working on projects that have an impact on most GE businesses "� be it aviation, oil & gas, transportation, healthcare, consumer and industrial, energy, plastics. We are working on projects that help reduce emission in locomotives, make engines more fuel efficient, rural electrification, and many more and increasingly we are investing time and resources in serving the needs of our businesses in India," said Dr Guillermo Wille, Managing Director, John F Welch Technology Centre.

He added that the Centre is instrumental in helping GE realize its "In India for India" strategy. The Centre presently employs over 2,700 scientists, researchers and engineers, with over 60% having advanced degrees. The John F Welch Technology Centre has filed for more than 405 patents for research and development activities in Bangalore and been granted over 70 to date. The areas of research & development at the state-of-the-art labs of the John F Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore include mechanical engineering, electronic and electrical system technology, ceramics and metallurgy, catalysis and advanced chemistry, chemical engineering and process, polymer science and new synthetic materials, process modeling and simulation, power electronics and analysis technologies.

The India Innovation Center is a dedicated engineering design and IT development center for GE's US$ 36 billion global business - GE Industrial. Established in 1999, the India Innovation Center is today among the largest design and development centers for the GE Industrial business globally. The Engineering Technology teams at IIC work on New Product Introductions and ecomagination products for GE's global customers and work on the latest technologies. The IT team at IIC serves as a one-stop shop that develops applications and software solutions for customers of GE Industrial

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com