New Delhi:Dixon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd, a world-class electronics products manufacturer in India, and Lighting Science Group (OTCBB: LSCG), the world’s premier maker of LED lighting solutions, announced today a manufacturing/distribution partnership to launch a pioneering full range of LED lighting solutions in India. The Lighting Science Group/Dixon Technologies products, including street lights, outdoor and industrial light fixtures and replacement bulbs, will set a new standard for lighting product performance, producing more light for less energy than any similar products currently available in India. At a press conference today, the companies demonstrated one of their first joint products: a high-performance, sub- Rs. 675, 60-watt equivalent omnidirectional A19 LED bulb that will be available in India later this year and will be sold worldwide by Lighting Science Group early next year.

The Indian market for LED lighting is expected to grow to 1,600 crores by 2015 (53% per annum), making it one of the fastest-growing sectors of one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. . According to India’s Ministry of Power, the country plans to build 80 new coal-fired power plants to keep up with rising electricity demand over the next 5 years, and the potential savings from simply changing light bulbs to the new LED technology can significantly reduce their county’s electricity demand by as much as 40%.

“With India’s peak load electricity deficit expected to increase upwards of 15% in the near-term, the adoption of energy efficient technologies will prove critical in meeting India’s infrastructure needs and demands of continued economic growth. Our partnership with Lighting Science Group will make LED technology available for large scale implementation in the Indian market and we expect to be the market’s leading seller of LED lighting within two years,” said Sunil Vachani, chairman and managing director of Dixon Technologies.

Consistent availability of good quality electricity can be a constraining factor on economic growth, and moving to LED lighting is the low lying fruit of efficiency initiatives without polluting the environment: easy to implement with rapid repayment of the investment from power savings.  The newly announced Lighting Science Definity® bulb fits perfectly into existing screw-in light sockets and creates a clean, bright light level equivalent to a conventional 60-watt incandescent bulb using 85% less electricity and is designed to handle the variable quality of power in India and other emerging economies.  Even compared with relatively efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), the new bulb uses 35% less electricity and, unlike all fluorescent lights, contains no toxic mercury.  At a retail price of Rs. 675, the payback from electricity saving versus traditional incandescent light bulbs is 8 months and the LED bulb has an expected life of approximately 8 years.

“With 800,000,000 incandescent light bulbs and 300,000,000 CFLs sold in India each year, the market is ripe for these highly efficient, long lasting and nontoxic products,” said Atul Lall, deputy managing director of Dixon Technologies. “The economic and environmental implications of this partnership are significant: old-style light bulbs use 60 billion units of electricity each year, 7% of India’s total, and our Lighting Science Group Definity® lamps could save over 70% of that, equivalent to 32 coal fired plants with 500MW capacity.”

With its high efficiency, long life and high quality light, LED technology is transforming the $100 billion global lighting industry. That is why the Indian government is targeting LED lighting as a sector of excellence and as a driver of the future Indian economy.

“As India undergoes an infrastructure transformation in the next few years, the country has an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog the rest of the world by becoming an early, large-scale adopter of LED technology,” said Mr. Fred Maxik, Chief Technology Officer, Lighting Science Group. “Augmenting our production capabilities by utilizing Dixon Technologies’ manufacturing facilities in Noida, we’ll be able meet the expected strong demand from individuals, businesses and government in India and I expect that our LED lighting products–particularly the new 60-watt equivalent bulb—will quickly become some of the best selling lighting products in the world” he added.