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NOTE 1 - OVERVIEW
9 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Disclosure Text Block [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations [Text Block]
NOTE 1 – OVERVIEW

a)  India Globalization Capital, Inc. (“IGC”)

Through our research on phytocannabinoids, we develop intellectual property for the treatment of life altering or life threatening conditions; and for the purpose of leasing, we build state-of-the-art farming facilities.  In Malaysia, we develop and manage residential and commercial real estate.  In India, we lease heavy equipment.

Our short-term plans are to develop, test, and patent phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical therapies.  Our long-term plan is to establish IGC as a specialty pharmaceutical provider of phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

Unless the context requires otherwise, all references in this report to “IGC,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to India Globalization Capital, Inc., together with the subsidiaries listed on the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.  We exclude our investments and minority non-controlling interests, and any information provided by them is not incorporated by reference in this report, and you should not consider it a part of this report.

Our principal executive offices are located at 4336 Montgomery Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, and our telephone number is (301) 983-0998.  We maintain a website at http://www.igcinc.us. The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in this report, and you should not consider it a part of this report.

Phytocannabinoid-based therapies

We have filed five provisional patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), in the combination therapy space, for the indications of pain, medical refractory epilepsy, and cachexia as part of our intellectual property strategy focused on the phytocannabinoid-based health care industry. There is no guarantee that filing a provisional or a non-provisional patent application will result in a successful registration with the USPTO.  As we develop our intellectual property, and expertise, we intend to build leading edge facilities that we can use to grow, extract, and supply pharmaceutical grade phytocannabinoids, when and if federal laws become more favorable. The table below provides a status of our patent filings:

Indication
Provisional Filing
PCT Filing
Subsequent Activity
Pain (Case 1)
9/16/14
9/16/15
US National Case Filed – 6/15/16
Seizures (Case 2)
6/15/15
6/14/16
US National Case Filed – 6/15/16
Seizures (Case 3)
4/1/15
4/1/16
PCT Application Published- 10/6/16
Eating Disorders (Case 4)
8/12/15
8/11/16
US and National Filing Anticipated 2/12/18
Seizures (Case 5)
6/15/16
Anticipated- 6/15/17
US and National Filing Anticipated 12/15/18

Cannabinoids are chemical compounds that exert a range of effects on the human body, including impacting the immune response, gastrointestinal maintenance and motility, muscle functioning, and nervous system response and functioning. Phytocannabinoids are cannabinoids that occur naturally in the cannabis plant, they are abundant in the viscous resin produced by glandular structures called trichomes. There are over 480 different compounds in the cannabis plant.  Many of them have been identified as cannabinoids. Of these THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main psychoactive component (“high”) in the plant and is, broadly, pursued by the recreational users.  The medical community, on the other hand broadly pursues many of the non-psychoactive phytocannabinoids, CBD (Cannabidiol) for example.

The pain market represents a significant component of the healthcare system and The Journal of Pain in September 2012 reported that the annual estimated national cost of pain ranges from $560 billion to $635 billion.  This figure exceeds the entire cost of the nation’s priority health conditions.  Additionally, The American Pain Society recommends that pain be made more visible and be categorized as the fifth vital sign; recognizing that terminal illnesses are often accompanied by unbearable levels that are so severe and difficult to treat that death seems preferable. According to the Arthritis Foundation, arthritis has been particularly problematic for women; since 1999 there has been a 22 percent increase in the number of women who attribute their disability to arthritis.  Current treatment protocols such as the utilization of opioid-based drug therapies present several challenges and may result in debilitating consequences that affect patient day-to-day functioning and patients’ productivity. Commonly reported side effects include hallucinations, constipation, sedation, nausea, respiratory depression, and dysphoria. Our patent filing is based on a novel therapy that uses extracts from the cannabis plant for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and scleroderma pain. The therapy uses a cream that is applied to the joints, using a variety of delivery mechanisms including a bio-adhesive patch.

Approximately 50 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy (Sanders, 2003).  Epilepsy is thought to be due to multiple factors that include sodium, potassium, GABA (gamma amino butyric acid) and NMDA (N-Methyl-d-aspartate).  It is believed, for example, that to maximally control epilepsy, modulation of one or more of these receptors is required and that mono therapy is adequate in up to 25% of patients.  The onset of epileptic seizures can be life threatening, including long-term implications (Lutz, 2004) such as mental health problems, cognitive deficits and morphological changes (Swann, 2004, Avoli et. al., 2005). The onset of epilepsy also greatly affects lifestyle as sufferers live in fear of consequential injury or the inability to perform daily tasks (Fisher et. al., 2000). The scientific community (1980 Cunha et. al., 1986 Ames, 1990 Trembly et. al. recent testing by GW Pharmaceuticals, among others) have shown that Cannabidiol (CBD) has anti-convulsive properties in humans.  Other studies, (Davis and Ramsey) have shown that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can also help reduce seizures.  Two of our patent filings involving novel therapies use phytocannabinoid extracts from cannabis, in combination with other drugs, to treat medical refractory epilepsy in humans and seizures in dogs and cats.  

Cachexia is a condition that accompanies severe illness such as cancer and results in the weakness and wasting away of the body. Cachexia physically weakens patients to the extent that response to standard treatments is poor.  In the U.S., it is estimated that a population of approximately 1.3 million are experiencing cachexia associated with cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS and other progressive illnesses. Cachexia is secondary to an underlying disease such as cancer or AIDS and is a positive risk factor for death.  As an example, cancer induced anorexia cachexia is responsible for about 20% of all cancer deaths.  Our patent filing involves a novel therapy that uses phytocannabinoids to stimulate senses (smell and taste) with a combination of drugs to stimulate appetite.  Our approach addresses the veterinarian market as dogs and cats also suffer from pain, epilepsy and cachexia and getting a product to market for the veterinarian industry is significantly less time consuming than getting products approved for human healthcare.  We expect to file more patents and continue to develop intellectual property in this industry.

Real estate management and other businesses

 In Malaysia, our subsidiary Cabaran Ultima is the project manager of an estimated $262 million five-star hotel planned to be built on approximately 6 plus acres in Genting highlands. Genting is a hill resort one hour from Kuala Lumpur that boasts many attractions including a casino and is home to the 20th Century Fox World theme park slated to open in 2017. The site is located within walking distance to the theme park and casino. We own 10% of the hotel project through our investment in a Malaysian company called Brilliant Hallmark with recourse to the land assets through a Tag Along Agreement in the event of non-performance. HBA Architecture, the hotel’s master planner and designer, have a prestigious design resume that includes numerous developments such as the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel Refurbishment in Vietnam, Marrisle Boutique Leisure Resort and Club Med Gongshan Island Resort, both located in China.  During the build-out phase we expect to receive revenue from project management and after it is built, from the disposition of the hotel.  In Malaysia, we expect to evaluate other resort projects and develop this side of the business. 

In Hong Kong, through a majority owned subsidiary called Golden Gate that we renamed as IGC International, we operated an electronics business. Most of our revenue in fiscal 2016 come from that business. We had no revenue from Golden Gate since the quarter ended June 30, 2016.  We have moved away from the electronics business as there is a macroeconomic slow-down in the electronics sector and without scale meaningfully competing is difficult.

The purchase price of the acquisition consisted of up to 1,209,765 shares of our common stock, valued at approximately $1,052,496 on the closing date of the acquisition.  The terms of the Acquisition Agreement called for the delivery of 205,671 shares of IGC common stock at the signing of the Agreement and the remaining 1,004,094 shares were contingent on the electronics business meeting annual thresholds for revenue and profit through fiscal year ending on March 31, 2017.  The contingent shares were not delivered as IGC International was unable to meet the targets.  We are in negotiations for the return of all or some part of the initial 205,671 shares that were delivered to the principals of Golden Gate at the signing of the acquisition. We have no disputes with the initial principals of Golden Gate and the decision to curtail this business was mutual.