INDIA Newsletter
#3 2016 July - September
Message from H.E. Mrs. Banashri Bose Harrison Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia
programme combining conferences, lectures, roundtables and an exhibition. The first NPS in India will be held in January 2017 in connection with the biennial summit “Vibrant Gujarat”.
T he
last three months –which bring my tenure in Sweden to an end – have been a great mixture of cultural and economic activities.
With Latvia, bilateral relations got a big boost with a very productive official visit to Riga of Minister of Electronics & IT and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad from September 13-16. The visit, which was the highest level political visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Latvia, twenty-five years ago, provided an opportunity for productive and fruitful discussions with the Latvian leadership including the Speaker of the Parliament, who was also acting as the President in the latter’s absence, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Economics. He also interacted with the small but growing Indian diaspora in the country.
We celebrated the 70th Independence Day of India in Stockholm with the Indian community at India House as well as in Riga, where many government and political dignitaries joined the reception where we showcased the colourful Rajasthani tradition folkdance, Kalbelia. This dance has been inscribed on the Intangible Cultural World Heritage list by UNESCO and thanks to the Indian Council of Cultural Affairs and the organizers of the Stockholm Culture Festival; we were able to introduce this vibrant dance to residents of Stockholm as well. It was also one of the highlights of ‘Namaste Gothenburg’, the whole day event organized by the Embassy under the India Unlimited platform. It was part of the week-long Gothenburg Cultural Festival and attracted a full house. I am optimistic that the popularity of the event will convince the organizers to make it a part of the Gothenburg Cultural Festival every year!
This month I had the honour of making farewell calls on His Majesty in Stockholm and on the Hon’ble Speaker in Riga. I also had farewell meetings with the State Secretaries in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Sweden and Latvia. It is now my turn to bid farewell to the readers of this Newsletter. It has been a very fulfilling tenure for me. With both countries, India’s relations have grown and diversified. Whether it is business exchanges, political interaction or people-to-people contacts, there has been steady progress which point to a very bright future ahead. I would like to end by thanking all of you for the interest that you have shown in my country; I am confident that you will always remain a Friend of India…as I will always remain a friend of Sweden and Latvia.
Sweden has long been a leading nation for innovation and the Nobel Prize has been a global inspiration for excellence and innovation. Therefore, I was delighted to be present at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on September 1 between the Department of Biotechnology of Indian Ministry of Science and Technology and the Nobel Media for jointly organising the Nobel Prize Series (NPS) in India for five years. The goal is to stimulate the young minds in India towards creative thinking and engagement in science by bringing them in contact with Nobel Laureates through a
Sincerely,
(Mrs) Banashri Bose Harrison / (श्रीमति) बनश्री बोस हैरीसन Ambassador of India / भारि की राजदिू
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INDIA & SWEDEN
Ambassador speaks at Linnaeus University’s Summer School
Ambassador Harrison was invited to deliver a lecture in the Summer Academy of the Linnaeus University on the subject of ‘India in a Globalized World’ on July 20. Ambassador spoke about India’s global role and the values that it can add to that process. She showed the students a film called ‘India’s profile’ to give them a feel of the country. Her talk was followed by a lively interaction. Vice Rector of the University, Nils Nilsson and Dean of the School of Business and Economics, Dr. Helen Anderson were present along with some other faculty members. The Ambassador and the Vice Rector discussed possible institutional collaboration of the Linnaeus University with Indian universities for regular exchange of faculty and students.
An India Evening at the Opera festival in Dala-Floda Ambassador Harrison visited the town of Dala-Floda in the Dalarna county of Sweden from August 12-13 to participate in the India evening that was organised as a part of the annual Dala-Floda opera festival. It was the first time that an India evening was added to the festival’s programme. The progamme consisted of musical performances and concluded with a dinner which included cuisines from different parts of India. The event was attended by around 70 guests including a number of local dignitaries and the Swedish Ambassador to India, Mr. Harald Sandburg.
Independence Day celebrated in Sweden The 70th Independence Day of India was celebrated on August 15 at India House. It was attended by more than 100 persons mainly members of Indian community. After the unfurling of the Tricolour by Ambassador Harrison, the President's address was webcast. In her short address Ambassador Harrison described the highlights of India-Sweden relations in recent months; in particular the visit of the Swedish Prime Minister to Mumbai in February 2016 and the visit of India’s Communications and IT Minister, Mr Ravi Shankar
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Prasad to Sweden in May 2016. She concluded her remarks by calling on every member of the Indian community in Sweden to contribute in any way that they could towards the strengthening of relations between our two countries. She also underlined that the Embassy was there for all Indians and would gladly extend any help that anyone in the community may need. She also introduced newly arrived First Secretary (Consular & Culture), Parvez Kamal who said that as the Community Welfare officer, he was available 24x7 to every Indian in Sweden. Short cultural programmes by Srutilaya and Omkara groups, mainly by children, followed which showcased the history of India’s Independence and the richness of its traditions including Yoga, Ayurveda and Diversity. Indian snacks were served at the end of the event. Earlier on August 14, Ambassador and Embassy officers attended a function organized by an Indian association ‘Sanskriti’ to celebrate the Independence Day which showcased the rich and diverse culture of India
Kalbelia Dance enraptures audience at Stockholm Cultural Festival Thanks to the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, on August 19th the Stockholm Cultural Festival for 2016 was able to provide the residents of the city a unique opportunity to watch two performances of one of India’s most colourful folk dances: KALBELIA from the state of Rajasthan which is inscribed on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Both the performances had people tapping their feet and clapping with great enthusiasm.
First Namaste Gothenburg gets enthusiastic response Under the India Unlimited platform, the first ‘Namaste Gothenburg’ was organized by the Embassy on August 21 in collaboration with the ICCR, Gothenburg Cultural Festival and RANG, an organization of Indian students studying in Gothenburg. It was part of the week-long Gothenburg Cultural Festival, an annual feature of the second largest city of Sweden and was slotted as the finale of the popular event. Inaugurating the ‘Namaste Gothenburg’, Ambassador Harrison underlined the importance of cultural relations between India and
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Sweden and expressed the hope that Namaste Gothenburg would become an annual feature of the Gothenburg Cultural Festival. The main highlight of the event was the Kalbelia Rajasthani troupe’s performance, which enthralled the audience with their folk dances and songs. The venue with a seating capacity of 400 was packed and audience enjoyed the performance by dancing with folk artists on stage and outside for more than six hours.
UP Delegation visits Sweden A 5-member UP Government delegation, led by Shri Yasar Shah, Minister of State for Transport, including Shri Kumar Arvind Singh Dev, Principal Secretary, Transport Department; Shri Naveen Kumar, Special Secretary, CM Office; Ms. Aditi Singh, Additional Managing Director, UPSRTC and Shri Jaideep Verma, C.G.M (Tech), UPSRTC, visited Sweden from August 24-26. The delegation held meetings with the Scania representatives and paid site visits to their headquarters in Södertälje in Stockholm. Also, the delegation visited the IKEA headquarters in Älmhult and interacted with the IKEA officials and visited the IKEA Museum, Design Center and Test Laboratory. On August 24, Ambassador Harrison, hosted a lunch for the delegation, where she gave an exhaustive briefing about IndiaSweden relations and opportunities that Sweden offered for the development of the State of Uttar Pradesh, especially with respect to smart transport and urban development. Counsellor Vijai Kumar accompanied the delegation during the visit.
Embassy hosts Roundtable on Water Management and Sanitation A 3-member Indian delegation, led by Mr. Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, including Mr. Nipun Vinayak, Deputy Secretary, Swachh Bharat Mission, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation; Mr. Tikender Singh Panwar, Deputy Mayor, Municipal Corporation of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh; who visited Stockholm for the World Water Week, participated in a Roundtable discussion on water treatment, re-cycling and sanitation on August 30 at India House. Eleven Swedish companies and agencies joined the Roundtable to exchange information on ongoing and upcoming
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projects and schemes in India and the related technological expertise of the Swedish companies. Commercial Counsellor Vijai Kumar, on behalf of the Ambassador, welcomed the participants to the Roundtable, which was moderated by Mr. Robin Sukhia, Secretary General, Sweden India Business Council. Mr. Parameswaran Iyer gave a presentation on the Water and Sanitation situation in India and the impact and scope of the recently launched Government of India initiative 'Swachh Bharat Mission' and National Rural Drinking Water Programme to improve water quality. Nobel Laureates to stimulate students’ creative thinking and engagement in science A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on September 1 by the Government of India, represented by Dr. Vijay Raghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Nobel Media for jointly organising Nobel Prize Series (NPS) in India for five years. The NPS is a unique programme combining a conference, lectures, roundtables, an exhibition and other meeting spaces aimed at stimulating innovation and creative thinking.
Another trilateral Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Department of Biotechnology, Nobel Media AB and the Government of Gujarat as the first Nobel Prize Series in India will be held in January 2017 in connection with the biennial summit “Vibrant Gujarat”.
Ambassador hosts Roundtable on ‘Business and R&D Opportunities in Gujarat’ A Breakfast Roundtable meeting to present the business and R&D opportunities in Gujarat’ was hosted by Ambassador Bose Harrison at the India House in Stockholm on September 2. Mr. P K Taneja, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries and Mines), Government of Gujarat made a presentation on the future plans and development of Gujarat describing its robust physical and urban infrastructure and the fact that the state ranked #1 in ‘Ease of Doing Business 2015’ and achieved the top spot amongst all states in DIPP & World Bank’s EODB Index. He invited Swedish companies to participate in the upcoming Vibrant 5
Gujarat Global Summit 2017, to be held in Gujarat from 10-13 January 2017. A brief presentation was made thereafter by Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology regarding the Government’s plans to promote and embrace innovation in the society and the economy. He urged Swedish companies to take advantage of India’s strength in human resources to carry out more R & D activities in India and to focus on finding solutions to the challenges that the country was facing. The Roundtable was attended by about twenty senior representatives of Swedish companies, which included ABB AB, Atlas Copco, Ericsson, Sandvik, Saab, Gunnebo, Energeotek AB, Boliden, Scania and Stora Enso which also made presentations. The event concluded with an interaction, which was moderated by Mr. Robin Sukhia, Secretary-General, Sweden-India Business Council (SIBC).
Ambassador calls on Swedish Minister for Energy and Policy Coordination Ambassador Harrison called on H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Baylan, the Swedish Minister for Energy and Policy Coordination, on September 7 to discuss plans for the Minister's forthcoming visit to India in October, 2016. The Ministerial visit is aimed at giving a boost to bilateral collaboration in different energy-related fields, including energy efficiency, transmission and renewable energy sources. The Swedish Ministerial delegation is visiting Chennai and New Delhi to hold talks with relevant Indian Ministers and senior government officials, besides participating in the Nobel Memorial Week organized by the Swedish Embassy in India and some other international conferences.
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INDIA & LATVIA
Latvian President meets the Vice President of India On the sidelines of 11th ASEM Summit in Mongolia, President Raimonds Vejonis met the Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari on July 16, 2016. Both the leaders took stock of the bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed other global and regional issues.
Ambassador visits Riga and JĹŤrmala Ambassador visited Latvia from August 2-6. She went to an Ayurvedic center opened in July 2016 by Mr. Aleksejs Kovalevskis, which aims at providing treatments based on purely Ayurvedic panch karma principles. The Ambassador also met with Dr. Somit Kumar of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy and discussed the progress of the Ayurvedic training programme that was started in the University of Latvia in 2015. He apprised Ambassador of the EU support that has been received for a project to test the efficacy of Ayurvedic oil.
Embassy participates in 15th anniversary celebration of Latvian Cricket Federation First Secretary (Consular and Culture), Kamal Parvez visited Latvia to participate in the 15th anniversary celebration of the Cricket Federation of Latvia on August 8. The initiative to promote cricket was taken by Indian community living in Latvia under the presidency of Mr. Sundars Vaidesvarans. The Latvian Cricket Federation also enjoys the support of the International Cricket Council, London. The Indian Corporate Club team, Sledge Hammers, along with popular film actor, Mr. Shakti Kapoor as Brand Ambassador came from India to play the anniversary event match with the Latvian Cricket Federation team comprising Indian students and NRIs. The Mayor of Tukums, Mr. Eriks Lukmans, inaugurated the match.
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MoU signed for the establishment of an academic chair in Ayurveda A MoU was signed between the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and University of Latvia on the establishment of an academic Chair in Ayurveda on August 19 in New Delhi. The MoU was signed by Dr. Vaidya K.S. Dhiman, Director General, CCRAS, and Dr. Valdis Pirags, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Centre of Complementary Medicine, University of Latvia, in the presence of Shri Ajit M. Sharan, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH; Shri A.K. Ganeriwala, Joint Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH; and Ms. Stella Ankrava, First Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Latvia. The MoU will provide a structured framework for taking forward academic and research activities in Ayurveda through the deputation of an Ayurveda Professor to the University of Latvia.
India’s Independence Day celebrated in Latvia The Embassy, in collaboration with the Indo-Latvian Chamber of Commerce (ILCC), organized a reception in Riga on August 23 to celebrate the 70th Independence Day of India. About a hundred guests attended the celebration including Dr. Atis Lejins, Member of Latvian Parliament and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Relations with India and Member of the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs; Ms. Inguna Sudraba, leader; `For Latvia from the Heart` political party; other Members of Parliament; senior officials from government; universities; diplomatic corps and members of the Indian community. Ambassador Harrison, in her speech, highlighted the common values and experiences that India and Latvia shared including their struggle for independence through non-violent perseverance. Noting that 23rd August was being celebrated as Baltic Unity Day, she reiterated India’s solidarity with Latvia and the Baltic States She briefly mentioned the highlights of India-Latvia relations over the last year and welcomed the steady strengthening of bilateral ties. Dr. Atis Lejins gave a short speech. It was followed by cultural performances by the Kalbelia troupe, sponsored by the ICCR, and Latvian folk dances by the Talsu Kursi group. 8
Minister of Electronics & IT and Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad visits Latvia Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Cabinet Minister of Electronics & IT and Law & Justice, paid an official visit to Latvia from September 13-16. The visit, which was the highest level political visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Latvia twenty-five years ago, provided an opportunity for productive and fruitful discussions with the Latvian leadership. Minister Prasad met the Speaker of Saeima, Ms. Inara Murniece, who was acting as the President in the latter’s absence and other important Parliamentarians. He also called on the Latvian Prime Minister, Mr. Maris Kucinskis. He had discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economics, Mr. Arvils Aseradens, and the Latvian Minister for Justice, Mr. Dzintars Rasnacs. The Chairman of the India-Latvia Friendship Group in the Latvian Saeima, Mr. Atis Lejins, hosted a lunch in honour of the Minister. The two sides agreed that there was a need to identify specific areas which held the best potential of the bilateral cooperation and that it would be a good step to have a meeting of a Joint Group of experts to work out a roadmap for enhancing and expanding cooperation, including in the sectors of economy, education and tourism. During the visit, Minister Prasad addressed and interacted with the Indian Diaspora at a reception hosted by Ambassador Harrison, which was attended by about 100 members of the 600-strong Indian community in Latvia. The visit was highly appreciated by the Latvian leadership as well as the Indian diaspora. It is expected to give a strong boost to the existing close bilateral relations between the two countries.
Indian Minister with the Latvian Prime Minister, Mr. Maris Kucinskis
Indian Minister with the Latvian Speaker of Saeima, Ms. Inara Murniece
Indian Minister with the Latvian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economics, Mr. Arvils Aseradens
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INDIA & WORLD
Prime Minister of India attends 14th ASEAN India Summit & 11th East Asia Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lao PDR on September 7-8 to attend the 14th ASEAN –India Summit and 11th East Asia Summit. On the sidelines, Prime Minister Modi also had bilateral meetings with the President of the USA, Republic of Korea, Prime Ministers of Japan and Lao PDR and State Counsellor and Foreign Minister of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Prime Minister Modi announced that India would host a commemorative summit in 2017 on the theme of shared values, common destiny, as well as an ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, a Business Summit and other cultural events. An additional grant of US$ 50 million to the ASEAN-India Fund was also announced.
Prime Minister visits Vietnam Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam on September 2-3, 2016. He met the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen, Xuan Phuc, Chairperson of the National Assembly, President, Tran Dai Quang and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The relationship between the two countries was upgraded from a strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership. A new US$ 500 million defence line of credit was announced by Prime Minister Modi. Twelve agreements/MoU/Protocols in the field of double taxation avoidance, energy, outer space, cyber security, IT, Health, among others, were signed. India announced a grant of US$ 5 million for setting up a software park and scholarship for Sanskrit and Buddhist studies in India.
President of Myanmar visits India President of Myanmar, U Htin Kyaw, accompanied by several Ministers, paid a state visit to India from August 27-30, 2016. He met President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Four agreements, in the fields of infrastructure, renewable energy and traditional systems of medicines were signed.
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President of Egypt visits India The President of Egypt, H.E. Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi paid a State visit to India from September 1-3, 2016 at the invitation of the President of India. He was accompanied by a high level Ministerial delegation including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Trade and Industry in addition to senior officials and businessmen. He met President of India, Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Modi and President Al-Sisi jointly addressed the media. A joint statement covering the present and future bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries was also issued.
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India has become an attractive investment market for inbound mergers & acquisitions (M&As) in the Asia-Pacific market, led by developed countries such as US, UK and Japan, which led to 227 inbound M&A deals totaling US$ 19.6 billion in 2015, and recording 82 deals totaling US$ 9 billion in first half of 2016, due to attractive growth prospects, as per a report by Kroll and Mergermarket.
The Rajya Sabha has passed the constitution amendment bill for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is expected to bring down tax evasion, empower the states, increase revenue, and provide a boost to the Indian economy.
India’s gross domestic product is expected to grow by 7.9 per cent in FY2016-17 with agricultural sector growing at 4 per cent, following normal rainfall so far and expectation of a surplus monsoon during the rest of the period, according to a report by CRISIL.
Total inflows into India from listed funds stood at US$ 1.3 billion in August 2016, which is the highest among emerging markets and the largest so far in 2016, according to data from Kotak Institutional Equities.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appreciated Indian generic drug manufacturers, for being able to produce off-patent Hepatitis-C drugs at low costs, thus increasing the affordability of treatment for the disease and help cure fatal conditions such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure.
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