India is the second largest bicycle maker in the world with an annual turnover of 12 million units per year, the industry one of the most established and stable industries in the country. Chennai-based cycle manufacturer is thinking big; TI Cycles has become the second largest cycle manufacturer in India and number one manufacturer in special segments like mountain bikes, Sports Lite Roadsters and racing bikes, with manufacturing capacity of around three million bicycles every year at its plants in Ambattur near Chennai, Nasik in Maharashtra and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. "Every cycle we make and every cycle we sell is an effort towards mitigating climate change", says B K Singh, senior vice-president, sales and marketing of TI cycles. Set up in 1949 by the Murugappa group in collaboration with an UK-based company, Ivan Stedeford's Tube Investments, TI Cycles is the maker of popular brands like the Hercules, BSA and Philips, with a market share of 33 per share and an annual turnover near-ing Rs.6.00 billion. TI cycles is importing electric bikes from Taiwan and China as completely knocked down units for reassembly in India and has the go ahead from the Automotive Research Association of India for three, possibly four, models of 250cc bikes. About 1,000 electric bikes are being made available annually through BSA Go retail network as well as other outlets including exclusive electric two-wheelers showrooms. It is also increasing BSA Go (located in cities retailing BSA branded products), Hercules Express (tier-II cities) and Hercules-BSA Zone (multi-brand outlets). TI Cycles has also tied up with a French retailer and is scouting for partners in the US and Europe to export fully-built bicycles with unit prices ranging from Rs 13,000 to Rs 1.6 lakh. Charging an electric bike costs only about Rs 5-8 per day. Such bicycles are growing in popularity in Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Vietnam and the US. In Japan, Yamaha Motor markets 17 electric bicycle models. The motor switches off automatically once the speed reaches 24 km/hour (15 mph) and it is being used in uphill rides and even by the elderly. The models in the Indian market include Hybrid (Camaleonte II, Aeron Sport, Spillo Quarzo and Adventure 5), Mountain (Cannondale F4, F5, F7, F9, Rush 7 and Scalpel 4) and Road (Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon and Via Nirone 7 Alu). TI Cycles works in close association with bike clubs and in Tamil Nadu has built a cycling track in Udhagamandalam (Ooty). A special track is now available in Yercaud and Kodaikanal too. Says Tamil Nadu's secretary, tourism and culture, V Irai Anbu, "We want to make Tamil Nadu the ultimate adventure sports destination." The local bike giant could not agree more. TI Cycles is also promoting cycling among school students by awarding bikes to the toppers of 600 schools across India. On October 11, the city of Bengaluru will see 7,000 biking enthusiasts participating in a cycling event billed as the 'BSA Hercules-Sports 18 Cyclothon Bengaluru 09'. Satish Menon, CEO, Sportl8, says a "Mother of all events is needed" to really bring cycling to headlines in India. In January this year, a 10-member team of Mechanical Transport Training Institute and the Indian Air Force held a cyclothron in Bangaluru, on its way to becoming the cycling capital of India. The teams travelled through places like Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Hosur, Arakkonam and Chittoor. "What is really needed is a government push to encourage cycling on a large-scale," says S Radhakrishnan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cycling Association which has 18 chapters in 18 districts of the state. Small states like Goa and Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and small cities like Pune, Vizag, Coimbatore can become cities where cycling is specifically encouraged, Radhakrishnan says. ? Not yet in the cycle lane India's minister for environment and forests says that India wants nations to agree on fixing a specified per capita emission limit for each country. This, of course, has to be based on population. For a billion plus people, India's per capita emission level is low, at present it is 1.2 tonne of carbon dioxide when compared to China's 3.9 tonne emission. Ramesh has categorically told the world India "cannot commit to reduce" its greenhouse gas emissions, that the developing countries "have the right" to take up development projects to fight poverty. In its race towards development China's total emission is about 5,060 million tonne, almost as much as that of the US's while India's total emission is 1,147 million tonne.