Solarcon India 2009 is a megaevent organized by SEMI PV Group and SEMI India, in association with Intersolar India, and supported by Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corp. Ltd. (APIIC), the premier organisation in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, vested with the objective of providing industrial infrastructure through the development of industrial areas. The India Semiconductor Association (ISA) is a partner association and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) – the voice of India's business community, is the coordinating partner. The inaugural keynote will be delivered by Dr. Eicke Weber of Fraunhofer ISE. There will also be a panel discussion: Solar/Photovoltaics & Climate Change, which will include industry leaders from Tata BP Solar, Moser Baer PV, Solar Semiconductor, TERI, Sustainability, Energy & Climate Program WWF India, SEMI (representing US EPA programs on climate change). I myself have had the pleasure of having played a key role in attracting Dr. Henning Wicht, Senior Director & Principal Analyst, iSuppli, Germany, as a speaker at Solarcon India 2009. Dr. Wicht will be speaking during Session 2 on Government Policies Shaping the Growth of the Industry, where he will speak about “Market drivers in key markets – a case study approach – international markets,” on November 9th. There are some other interesting session on day 1 as well. These include: Session 1: The Photovoltaic Market Landscape for India Session 3: Strategies for Cost Competitiveness in India Session 4: Creating Awareness About the Industry Day 2 of Solarcon India 2009 will have sessions on: Markets, Policy & Finance, PV & Climate Change, and PV Products & Applications. Day 3 will have sessions on APIIC & APInvest, Balance of Systems – Innovative Concepts, and PV Project Planning & Implementation – Issues, Challenges and Solutions. What I'd also like to say here is that there have been some comments in the recent past such as all this talk of the potential of the Indian PV market being more of estimates rather than actuals, and that the global situation in the solar PV industry is well known! Yes, I quite agree with that scenario right now that India does not quite have a sound domestic market. However, all of that should change soon. Keep faith in this market, friends. I won't dwell on the Indian solar PV market right now, unless readers want to know more! Pradeep Nov. 4, 2009