India Newsletter June 2019

INDIA NEWSLETTER Indian Embassy, Vienna

Published by the Embassy of India, Vienna Year 9 • Issue 81 • June 2019

India Newsletter. 1

Indian Embassy, Vienna

Digital Infrastructure as a Core Utility to Every Citizen

Governance and Services on Demand

Digital Empowerment of Citizens

Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Find out more under:

www.digitalindia.gov.in

Infrastructure Development

Accelarate Manufacturing Growth

Focus on Skill Development

Sustainable Energy Sufficiency

Improved Business Environment

The Government of India has prepared a five-pillar strategy to drive India’s growth, which offers multiple avenues of collaboration and investments. Find out more under:

www.makeinindia.com

India Newsletter. 2

Indian Embassy, Vienna

POSITIVE NEWS FLASHES

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Institute of India (FTII) under India's GDP is AICTE's newly created expected expand 7 per cent Applied Arts and Crafts year-on-year in FY20, category. according to Mr KrishnamurthySubramanian The Defence ,Chief Economic Adviser, Research and Development Government of India.

Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS - HighIndia's services exports grew 6.6 per cent speed Expendable Aerial year-on-year to US$ 17.94 Target (HEAT) from Interim billion in March 2019, as per Test Range, Chandipur in data from the Reserve Bank Odisha on May 13, 2019

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of India (RBI).

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Higher growth in Indian economy and increased disposable incomes can accelerate the deposits growth in the Indian banking system, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

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The Government of India's efforts to boost local manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) under the revised Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles Scheme (FAME 2) have been encouraged by top Indian automakers.

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The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India are working on an indigenous charging standard for electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce the cost of establishing new stations in the country.

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India's IT and business services market is expected to reach US$ 13.1 billion in 2019 and US$ 14.3 billion by 2020

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India's pharmaceu-

tical exports reached US$ 19.14 billion in FY19, growing in double digits at The All India 10.72 per cent after three for Technical Education years, according to the Export (AICTE) has granted Pharmaceutical Council approval to five courses of Promotion (Pharmexcil).

Film and Television

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IT/software sector is expected to create the largest number of jobs in India in 2019, as per a report by online job portal Shine.com.

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Indian start-ups have now entered a new phase where they are successfully building products for the world, according to Mr Mukesh Aghi, President, US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF).

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Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments in India's electric vehicles (EVs) segment increased to Rs 160 crore (US$ 23 million) in 2018 and are expected to grow further.

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IT & IT enabled services (ITES) exports by the state of Telangana increased 17 per cent in FY19 to reach Rs 1.09 trillion (US$ 15.54 billion).

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Goods and Service Tax (GST) collection rose 10 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.13 lakh crore (US$ 16.25 billion) in April 2019.

India Newsletter • 3

Indian Embassy, Vienna

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR AUSTRIAN CITIZENS e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) for Austrian citizens The Government of India has extended e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) scheme to the citizens of Austria w.e.f. 26th February 2016. Under e-Tourist Visa scheme, citizens of Austria may now apply online (https:// indianvisaonline. gov.in/visa/ tvoa.html) to obtain the Electronic Travel Authorization for travelling to India. This facility is also available to the citizens of Montenegro.

Queries related to e-TV; for any assistance call 24x7 Visa support center at +91-11-24300666 or send email to indiatvoa@gov.in.

Instructions for e-Visa

1. e-Visa has 5sub-categories i.e. e-Tourist visa, e-Business visa, e-Medical visa, e-Medical Attendant visa and e-Conference visa.

2. Applicants of the eligible countries/territories may apply online minimum 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 120 days.

3. e-Visa fee is country/Territory specific.

4. Applicant should carry a copy of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) along with him/her at the time of travel.

5. Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at Immigration on arrival in India.

6. The validity of e-Visa (except e-Conference visa) will be 60 days from the date of arrival in India.

7. This facility is in addition to the existing Visa services.

8. e-Visa can be availed for maximum of three times in a calendar year i.e. between January to December.

9. e-Visa is non-extendable, non-convertible & not valid for visiting Protected/Restricted and Cantonment Areas.

NEWS ARTICLES ‘Make in India’ boost for Indian Railways! ICF, world’s largest coach manufacturer, rolls out 60,000th coach: Devanjana Nag ----------------------------------

ICF, which is the largest coach manufacturer in the world, makes a large number of coaches in various designs including selfpropelled passenger coaches, semi high-speed train sets like Vande Bharat Express as well as luxury coaches.

Big ‘Make in India’ achievement for Indian Railways! The Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai has rolled out its 60,000th coach.

ICF, which is the largest coach manufacturer in the world, makes

a large number of coaches in various designs including selfpropelled passenger coaches, semi high-speed train sets like Vande Bharat Express as well as luxury coaches.

The 60,000th coach which was recently flagged off at ICF was a self-propelled inspection car.

The factory is now eyeing breaking its own record by producing more than 4,000 coaches in the next year itself.

All Indian Railways coach factories have now switched to the production of LHB coaches, which are safer and more comfortable than the old ICF-design coaches. The national transporter is now focusing on augmenting production capacity of selfpropelled train sets like Vande Bharat to reduce travel time and reduce congestion on

the network.

According to a senior railway official, in the current financial year, the coach factory will take up the design, development and production of Train 19. The Train 19 is a sleeper version of Train 18 in the lines of Rajadhani Express.

The official further said that the factory is also going on full steam to produce more Vande Bharat Express train sets and a total of 40 such train sets will be rolled out from the factory in the immediate future.

Moreover, in a bid to improve the safety of Train 18, in the event of cattle crossing, the ICF has planned to fit the driver cabin crash guard with aluminium design in place of FRP. The first Vande Bharat India Newsletter. 4

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Express was flagged off

by PM Narendra Modi in the month of February, this year. The semi-high speed self-propelled train that currently runs between New Delhi and Varanasi, boasts many modern features such as European-style comfortable seats, aircraft-like diffused lighting, modular bio-vacuum toilets, disabled-friendly toilets, rotating seats in the executive chair car coaches, mini pantry, automatic temperature control system, wheelchair parking spaces, automatic doors with sliding footsteps among others.

Recently, the train completed the one lakh kilometre journey mark.

FY20 electricity generation seen rising 5-6%: FE Bureau ----------------------------------Electricity generation in India is expected to grow by 5-6% in FY20, analysts at CARE Ratings said. The country had generated 1,307 billion units (BU) of electricity in FY19, recording an annual growth of 5.3%. “We expect the benefits of improved demand from newly connected households (under the Saubhagya scheme) to kick-in during FY20,” the agency said.

Care Ratings also projected that coal production to grow steadily by 6-7% during the ongoing fiscal. Domestic coal production grew by 7.3% to 739.4 MT in FY19, much faster than the 2.6% growth rate seen in FY18.

The rating agency’s forecast are much lower than that of the Central Electricity Authority

(CEA), which expects generation to touch 1,330 BU from the conventional power sources (excluding renewables) in FY20.

Though the estimates sound positive for private power plants running at low plant load factors (PLFs), actual generation from private power plants in FY19 has risen only 2.2% annually.

Sula Vineyards crushing of grapes rises 50%: Nanda Kasabe ----------------------------------

Sula Vineyards, the country’s largest wine producer, has crushed over 9,000 tonne of wine grapes in FY20, about 50% more than the previous season.

The company attributed this to a decent monsoon and conducive weather conditions for cultivating wine grapes.

According to top company executives, these figures are expected to help Sula cross its previous sales record of 2018 of over 1 million cases worldwide. “This year, the distribution amongst the varietals was around 55% of red variety grapes and 45% of white grapes rushed. Most of the grapes are crushed and processed in Nashik and the southern parts of Maharashtra although some harvesting and crushing is also done in Karnataka for the wines to be made and sold in Karnataka by Sula Vineyards under its brand, Kadu,” Karan Vasani, chief winemaker, senior vicepresident for Vineyard and Winery Operations, said. While 2019 was positive for grapegrowing conditions, the weather may be indicative of the

impacts of climate change. The harvest was slightly delayed this year, starting in mid-December and went on till the first week of April, he explained. Sula said it expanded its cellar capacity by 20 lakh litres, up by about a fifth.

“Wine-making is such an old process, the challenges will always be the weather,” Sula Vineyards founder and CEO Rajeev Samant said. Sula is also cultivating additional land across Maharashtra and Karnataka. It planted 360 acres in 2018 and plans to plant an additional 340 in 2019. “This will take our total area under wine grape plantations to about 3000 acres. Today, almost 510 farmers from Maharashtra and Karnataka are working with Sula.”

Sula is also cultivating additional land across Maharashtra and Karnataka, giving a boost to the agri sector.

Sula planted 360 acres in 2018 and will plant an additional 340 in 2019. This will take their total area under wine grape plantations to about 3,000 acres which will also add to the rural employment numbers. Today, almost 510 farmers from Maharashtra and Karnataka are working with Sula with assured buyback contracts.

Maharashtra saw a bumper grape harvest this season with figures from Nashik district crossing 1.43 lakh tonne of grapes.

Earlier this year, Sula Vineyards began exporting its wines to China. It has partnered with Nanjing Glory International, one of China’s major importers and distributors of wine and liquor.

The Nashik-based company enjoys a 65% market share in India and exports to 30 countries across Asia, Europe and North America. The wine producer is now considering Oman as the India Newsletter • 5

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next country for its expansion in West Asia.

Indian Overseas Bank bets big on ‘bank on wheels’: FE Bureau ---------------------------------

Chennai-based public-sector lender Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched ‘bank on wheels’ in 14 districts spread across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Vijayawada region of Andhra Pradesh.

The facility will enable the public, especially senior citizens, to conveniently get doorstep banking facility available at identified locations of the bank’s lead districts, it said. A dedicated banking correspondent will accompany the vehicle with a micro ATM inside the van to take care of banking services such as account opening, enrolment of customers in social security scheme, passbook printing and other financial inclusion activities. Mobile van services will be facilitated through a preannounced programme to customers at various locations of each district.

IOB MD and CEO R Subramaniakumar said: “This initiative will help customers develop greater trust in the bank as well as its services and help them forge a long-lasting and positive relation with IOB.”

Artificial intelligence adoption to raise productivity by over 2 times in India by 2021: Microsoft, PTI ----------------------------------

Adoption of artificial intelligence is expected to help double the

rate of industrial innovation, and may result in over two times jump in employee productivity in India by 2021, a study by tech giant Microsoft said Monday.

The study, conducted by research firm IDC on behalf of Microsoft, said organisations that have adopted AI saw tangible improvements in the range of 8-22 per cent in areas like customer engagement, margins and competitiveness.

“By 2021, artificial intelligence (AI) will more than double the rate of innovation at organisations (2.2 times) and employee productivity (2.3 times) in India,” the study titled ‘Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through AI’ said.

However, only one-third of the organisations (respondents) in India said they have embarked on their AI journeys. The study found that India business leaders and workers hold positive viewpoints about the AI’s impact on the future of jobs.

About 64 per cent of business leaders and 63 per cent of workers believe that AI will either help to do their existing jobs better or reduce repetitive tasks. When it comes to creating or replacing jobs, 16 per cent of business leaders believe that AI will create new jobs, but 18 per cent also feel that the technology will replace workers.The report said that about 85 per cent of businesses prioritise skilling and re-skilling of workers in the future and plan to invest in the human capital evenly or even more compared to investing in technology.

business leaders and 202 workers in India.

Fifteen countries were part of the report including Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore among others.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, which used Microsoft’s AI expertise, showcased a new solution that deploys AI to process vehicle insurance claims and renew policies more efficiently.

Girish Nayak, Chief – Service, Operations and Technology at ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, said the company recognised the potential of AI in providing high quality car damage evaluation services. “With data being generated at an exponential level, this technology will help us derive insights to inspect and process claims with utmost efficiency, this will allow us to meet customer demands quicker without compromising on service excellence,” he added.

13 govt schools in Mangaluru to turn smart : SCC ---------------------------------

Nowadays, schools are turning to technology to help them save money. As many as 13 government schools under Mangaluru City Corporation will turn smart under Smart Mangaluru Project.

These schools together will be funded with Rs 16 crore in two phases.

These 13 schools are some of the oldest government schools situated in eight wards of MCC. The decision taken under Smart Mangaluru Project will not only upgrade its infrastructure, but The Asia Pacific study also improve them academically. was based on response from The project aims to create smart 1,605 business leaders and schools that are on par with 1,585 workers, including 200 private schools in the city.

India Newsletter. 6

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DIGITAL INDIA Digital India is a programme to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

E-governance initiatives in India took a broader dimension in the mid 1990s for wider sectoral applications with emphasis on citizen-centric services. The major ICT initiatives of the Government included, inter alia, some major projects such as railway computerization, land record computerization, etc. which focused mainly on the development of information systems. Later on, many states started ambitious individual egovernance projects aimed at providing electronic services to citizens.

It is an Umbrella Programme that covers multiple Government Ministries and Departments. It weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them is seen as part of a larger goal.

Each individual element stands on its own, but is also part of the larger picture. Digital India is to be coordinated by the Ministry of Electronics and IT and implemented by the entire Government.

The programme aims at pulling together many existing schemes. The schemes will be restructured and re-focused and will be implemented in a synchronized manner. Many elements are only process improvements with minimal cost implications. The common branding of programmes as Digital India highlights their transformative impact.

9 Pillars of Digital India

9 Pillars of Digital India1.

Broadband Highways :

This covers three sub components, namely Broadband for All - Rural, Broadband for All - Urban and National Information Infrastructure (NII).

2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity : This initiative focuses on network penetration and filling the gaps in connectivity in the country.

3. Public Internet Programme :

Access

The two sub components of Public Internet Access Programme are Common Services Centres (CSCs) and Post Offices as multi-service centres.

4. e-Governance – Reforming Government through Technology : Government Process

re-engineering using IT to simplify and make the government processes more efficient is critical for transformation to make the delivery of government services more effective across various government domains and therefore needs to be implemented by all Ministries/ Departments.

5. e-Kranti, electronic delivery of services : Considering the critical need for transforming e-Governance and promote mobile Governance and Good Governance in the country, the approach and key components of e-Kranti were approved by the Union Cabinet on 25.03.2015 with the vision of “Transforming e-Governance for Transforming Governance�.

6. Information for All : Open Data platform facilitates proactive release of datasets in an open format by the ministries/departments for use, reuse and redistribution.

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MyGov.in, a platform for citizen engagement in governance, was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 26th July, 2014. It has been implemented as a medium to exchange ideas/ suggestions with Government and will facilitate 2-way communication between citizens and Government to bring in good governance.

7. Electronics Manufacturing : This pillar focuses on promoting electronics manufacturing in the country with the target of Net Zero Imports by 2020.

This ambitious goal requires coordinated action on many fronts like taxation, Economies of scale, smart cards, microATMs, Incubators, clusters, Skill development, Government procurement, safety standards and R & D in electronics to name a few.

8. IT for Jobs : IT for Jobs focuses on providing training to the youth in the skills required for availing employment opportunities in the IT/ITES sector.

9. Early Harvest Programmes : Early Harvest Programme consists projects which are to be implemented within short timeline.IT Platform for Messages, Government Greetings to be e-Greetings, Biometric attendance, Wi-Fi in All Universities, secure Email within Government,Standardize Government Email Design, Public Wi-fi hotspots, School Books to be eBooks, SMS based weather information, disaster alerts and National Portal for Lost & Found children are the major projects under the Early Harvest Programme.

TIMELINE: From blackboards to digital boards: India infuses ₹90 billion to modernise classrooms, BI India Bureau.

In line with its ‘Digital India’ development agenda, the Indian Government is reportedly planning to invest heavily in modernising classrooms in India. The Indian government launched an initiative to bring digital boards as part of a broader digital initiative, promising an investment of ₹90 billion in state-run schools and colleges. eCourts app brings reforms in justice delivery system, TNN, Times of India. eCourts services is touted as a revolution in court management in the country and is expected to speed up India’ quest for attaining top ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business. A new digital app, available on both android and iOS, has already seen 17 lakh downloads within few month of its launch, recording almost 5,000 downloads a day, making it so popular that it has bagged the top Digital India award this year.

Big boost for Digital India and Make In India! 4000 more Indian Railways stations to get free public WiFi; record coach production on cards, ZEE-BIZ When it comes to Digital India, Indian Railways has been on the forefront in taking PM Narendra Modi's scheme to the masses.

From rail ticket booking app to provide free WiFi at railway stations, the railways has not only eased its several cumbersome processes but also has helped people go digital.Around 800 stations provide free WiFi and another 4000 railway stations across the countryare being planned to get WiFi services.

Tracking passport application status becomes easier: Now check progress with UMANG app, Financial Express Tracking the status of your passport application has become easier now with the integration of passport tracking and related services with the UMANG application.

UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is envisaged to make e-governance . It is developed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and National eGovernance Division (NeGD) to drive Mobile Governance in India. UMANG provides a single platform for all Indian Citizens to access pan India e-Gov services ranging from Central to Local Government bodies and other citizen centric services.

The move is in the direction of streamlining public services through the digital India mission of the government.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad shared information via Twitter that one can track passport status and other services of Passport Seva using UMANG app. He added that the app offers 334 services from 67 departments in 17 states of the country.

India Newsletter. 8

Indian Embassy , Vienna

FORUM FOR INDIAN SCIENCE DIPLOMACY Major collaboration between PM-STIAC and IIT-Delhi on waste management -------------------------------The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have collaborated for setting up a Centre of Excellence for Waste to Wealth Technologies. The joint effort commemorates the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and is intended towards application of sustainable, scientific and technological solutions for waste management.

Workshop on “Space Warfare and Technology” held by the Directorate of IDU --------------------------------

Two-day workshop was held by the directorate of Indian Defence University (IDU) in New Delhi on 2nd and 3rd May 2019. The workshop was organised for senior and middle level officers from the three services and covered various topics such as; weaponisation and militarisation of space;space innovations and technology exploitation; adversarial capability in space domain and way forward for the Indian Armed Forces, among other relevant areas. The workshop featured useful talks from eminent speakers from the industry, academia, IITs, DRDO, ISRO, think-tanks and services to share their pragmatic knowledge about

warfare technology.

Breakthrough in Semiconductors by IISc Bangalore --------------------------------

Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) Bangalore have developed India’s first ever emode Gallium-Nitride Power Transistor in a major breakthrough research study marking India’s strong presence in the niche field of semiconductors.

The transistors made of gallium can operate at very high voltages, switch ON and OFF faster and occupy less space as compared to silicon-based transistors and hold potential of reducing the import costs and making India self-reliant in transistor technology. The project is funded by the Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) initiative of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.

CSIR-IICB, Kolkata designs novel compounds for cancer treatment -------------------------------Researchers from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (CSIR-IICB) and the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) have synthesised 25 quinoline derivates showing potent anticancer activity.

The compounds are found to be effective against breast and colon cancer, as suggested by preliminary studies. Results of the study have been published

in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Cost-effective, natural bio-fertiliser developed

by IIT-Kanpur -------------------------------Researchers from IIT-Kanpur have developed biomoleculebased fertiliser that can help address the drawbacks of chemical fertilisers. The costeffective bio composite is made up of iron carbon nanofibers and the biomolecule N-acetyl homoserine lactones; have a favourable impact on the germination of seeds and also protect the plants against from fungal infections such as rusts and anthracnose.

Cooperation between Denmark and India in Renewable Energy -------------------------------The Union Cabinet has given its approval for a strategic cooperation agreement between India and the Kingdom of Denmark in the field of Renewable Energy.

The special focus of this agreement would be Off-shore Wind Energy and would enable measures to develop and sustain a highly efficient wind industry. In addition, an IndoDanish Centre of Excellence in Integrated Renewable Power would be established that would in turn facilitate hybridisation of wind, solar, hydro and storage technologies,lead to skill development and capacity building in the renewable energy sector between the two countries.

India Newsletter. 9

Indian Embassy, Vienna

MAKE IN INDIA IT & BPM

India is the world's largest sourcing destination, accounting for approximately 55 per cent of the US$ 185-190 billion market in 2017-18. India’s highly qualified talent pool of technical graduates is one of the largest in the world and the country has a low-cost advantage by being 5-6 times inexpensive than US. The cloud market in India is expected to grow three fold to US$ 7.1 billion by 2022 with the help of Growing adoption of Big Data, analytics, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT), according to Cloud Next Wave of Growth in India report.

At US$ 137 billion in 2018-19. Export revenue from digital segment forms about 20 per cent of the industry’s total export revenue. India’s IT industry contributed around 7.7 per cent to the country’s GDP and is expected to contribute 10 per cent of India’s GDP by 2025.

India’s IT-BPM sector is expected to expand to US$ 350 billion by 2025 and BPM is expected to account for US$ 50-55 billion out of the total revenue. Moreover, revenue from the digital segment is expected to form 38 per cent of the total industry revenue by 2025. IT industry employs nearly 3.97 million people in India of which 105,000 were added in FY18. The industry added around 105,000 jobs in FY18 and is expected to add over 250,000 new jobs in 2019.

The computer software and hardware sector in India attracted cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows worth US$ 35.82 billion between April 2000 and December 2018 and ranks second in inflow of FDI, as per data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

India’s IT & ITeS industry grew to US$ 181 billion in 2018-19.

Exports from the industry increased to US$ 137 billion in FY19 while domestic revenues (including hardware) advanced to US$ 44 billion.

Spending on Information Technology in India is expected to grow over 9 per cent to reach US$ 87.1 billion in 2018.* Revenue from digital segment is expected to comprise 38 per cent of the forecasted US$ 350 billion industry revenue by 2025.

The global sourcing market in India continues to grow at a higher pace compared to the IT-BPM industry. India is the leading sourcing destination across the world, accounting for approximately 55 per cent market share of the US$ 185-190 billion global services sourcing business in 2017-18.

India Newsletter. 10

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Investments/ Developments Indian IT's core competencies and strengths have attracted significant investments from major countries. The computer software and hardware sector in India attracted cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows worth US$ 35.82 billion between April 2000 to December 2018, according to data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Leading Indian IT firms like Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Tech Mahindra, are diversifying their offerings and showcasing leading ideas in blockchain, artificial intelligence to clients using innovation hubs, research and development centres, in order to create differentiated offerings.

Some of the major developments in the Indian IT and ITeS sector are as follows: Nasscom has launched an online platform which is aimed at up-skilling over 2 million

technology professionals and skilling another 2 million potential employees and students.

Revenue growth in the BFSI vertical stood at 6.80 per cent y-o-y between JulySeptember 2018.

As of March 2018, there were over 1,140 GICs operating out of India.

PE investments in the sector stood at US$ 2,400 million in Q4 2018.

Venture Capital (VC) investments in the IT & ITeS sector stood at US$ 53.0 million during Q4 2018.

programme that will enable efforts in Artificial Intelligence and will help in leveraging Artificial Intelligence technology for development works in the country.

In the Interim Budget 2019-20, the Government of India announced plans to launch a national programme on AI and setting up of a National AI portal.

National Policy on Software Products-2019 was passed by the Union Cabinet to develop India as a software product nation.

Government Initiatives

Achievements

The government has identified Information Technology as one of 12 champion service sectors for which an action plan is being developed.

Also, the government has set up a Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 745.82 million) fund for realising the potential of these champion service sectors.

As a part of Union Budget 2018-19, NITI Aayog is going to set up a national level

About 200 Indian IT firms are present in around 80 countries.

IT exports from India are expected to reach highest ever mark of US$ 126 billion in 2017-18.

Highest ever revenue was generated by Indian IT firms at US$ 181 billion in FY 2018-19.

India Newsletter • 11

Indian Embassy, Vienna

INDIAN STATE ECONOMIC PROFILE BIHAR Bihar is located in the eastern part of the country. It is an entirely land–locked state, although the outlet to the sea through the port of Kolkata is not far away. Bihar lies mid-way between the humid West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. It is bounded by Nepal in the north and by Jharkhand in the south.

The Bihar plain is divided into two unequal halves by the river Ganga which flows through the middle from west to east.

Being one of the strongest agricultural states, Bihar's percentage of employed in population agricultural production is around 80 per cent, which is much higher than the national average. It is the fourth largest producer of vegetables & the eight largest producer of fruits in India. Food processing, dairy, sugar, manufacturing and healthcare are some of the fast

growing industries in the state.

The state has planned initiatives for the development of other sectors such as education and tourism and also provides incentives for information technology and renewable energy.

The state enjoys a unique location specific advantage because of its proximity to the vast markets of eastern and northern India, access to ports such as Kolkata and Haldia and to raw material sources and mineral reserves from the neighbouring states.

The state has a large base of cost effective industrial labour, making it an ideal destination for a wide range of industries.

Total FDI for Bihar & Jharkhand, between April 2000 and December 2018, stood at US$ 113 million.

Total merchandise exports from the state stood at US$ 1,345.31 million during 2017-18. During April-December 2018, the exports stood at US$ 1,243.34 million.

Major initiatives taken by the government to promote Bihar as an investment destination are: ► Bihar is the 4th largest producer of vegetables & the 8th largest producer of fruits in India. ► With 88.61 million mobile subscribers in January 2019, Bihar including Jharkhand accounted for the third largest mobile subscriber base among all Indian states. ► In 2018, Patna airport handled 25,866 aircraft movements and 3,726,697 passengers. During the same period Gaya airport handled 2,335 aircraft movements and 185,865 passengers. ► In 2018, Bihar had a total installed power generation capacity of 4,341.47 MW, of which 3,734.32 MW was contributed by central utilities, 70.70 MW by state utilities & 536.45 MW by private utilities. ► As per 2018-19 Budget, 1.25 crore children are provided daily mid-day meals in 70,371 schools.

India Newsletter. 12

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INDIAN TRADE FAIRS INTERESTED IN VISITING A TRADE SHOW IN INDIA? In case your company is interested in visiting a tradeshow/B2B event in India, be it one listed here or another one that came to your attention, get in contact with us via comm1.vienna@mea.gov.in to get more information about possible assistance/subsidies.

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India Newsletter. 14

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GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

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Mumbai (July 17) • Hyderabad (July 19) Chennai (July 22) • Bangalore (July 24) Kolkata (July 26) • New Delhi (July 28).

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Indian Embassy, Vienna

Global Housing Technology Challenge- India (GHTC-India) Global Housing Technology Challenge- India (GHTC-I) intends to get the best globally available innovative construction technologies through a challenge process. It aims to demonstrate and deliver ready to live-in houses in minimum time and minimum cost with high-quality of construction in a sustainable manner.

This challenge seeks to promote future potential technologies through Incubation support and accelerator workshops, in order to foster an environment of research and development in the country. The process flow chart of GHTC- India is summarized as below:

www.ghtc-india.gov.in India Newsletter• 17

Indian Embassy, Vienna

INVEST INDIA The Investors Desk of the Make in India Campaign The national investment promotion agency, provides handholding and facilitation services for attracting investments, including: Following up on approvals from Government departments/ agencies on behalf of the investor and the investing community.

Providing handholding facilitation services from the point of arrival to the point of departure, including land/site identification and entry procedure advisory. Interacting with all States in a Hub & Spoke Model and providing investors with State policies relating to land/labour/capital and investment.Fixing meetings/ appointments between investors and different Government departments/agencies.

The team of domain and functional experts provide sector- and state-specific inputs, and handholding support to investors through the entire investment cycle, from preinvestment decision-making to aftercare.

Invest India assist with: ■ Market strategy ■ Business plan advisory ■ Location identification ■ Expediting regulatory approvals ■ Facilitating meetings with relevant government and corporate officials ■ Initiating remedial action on problems faced by investors

Contact Information

Mr. Anmol Bansal +91 9821 897 017 (Direct) anmol.bansal@investindia.org.in +91 11 2419 0300

www.investindia.gov.in

India Newsletter • 18

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TOURISM

Tripura

Dangling between North East India and Bangladesh, the state of Tripura is tucked in mythology, and a history of over 2,500 years and 186 kings. According to the 'Rajmala’, Tripura’s celebrated court chronicle, an ancient king named 'Tripur' ruled over these territorial domains, which explains the current name.

Tripura’s peacefully pristine co-existence down the annals of time, constitute its irresistible charm as a tourist destination. The diversity of cultural streams and faiths, ancient temples, an epic history, spellbinding archaeology, handicrafts, traditional arts and music, bountiful biodiversity, and flushing meadows are but a few of the experiences of Tripura.

Many researchers explain the name 'Tripura' from its etymological origin: the word 'Tripura' is a compound of two separate words, 'tui' (water) + 'pra' (near) which in totality means 'near water'. The geographical location of the state with it's close proximity to the vast water resources of eastern Bengal coupled with the generic identity of the state's original inhabitants as 'Tipra' or 'Twipra' apparently justify this explanation of the State's name.

Endowed with rich variety of tourist attractions consisting of archaeological monuments, palaces, water bodies, temples, mosques & Buddhist Stupas of religious significance, forest and wild life, traditional craftsmanship, rich cultural diversity, Tripura offers vast potential for growth of Tourism. It is surrounded on all sides by deltaic basin of

Tripura State Museum; Ujjayanta Palace, Agartala, West Tripura

Bangladesh except for a small part in NorthEast which adjoins Cachar district of Assam and Mizoram.

Tripura's ethnic mosaic is as colourful as the state's landscape and is termed as the veritale 'Daughter of Mother Nature'. The grace and grandeur of Tripura's lush green landscape is heightened by its rich human resource reflected in the ethnic , linguistic and cultural diversity of the population.

Places to visit in Tripura: UJJAYANTA PALACEUjjayanta Palace located in the capital city of Agartala evokes the age of Tripura Maharajas.

The name Ujjayanta Palace was given by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It is a unique experience to witness history and royal splendour within the walls of Ujjayanta Palace. This Palace was built

by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya in 1901 AD; this Indo-Saracenic building is set in large Mughal-style gardens on a lakefront. The palace has three domes each 86 feet high, stunning tile floors, curved wooden ceilings and wonderfully crafted doors. There are many temples set around the Palace. It housed the State Legislative Assembly up to 2011. Today the India Newsletter. 19

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Royal Palace houses the State Museum with an impressive collection of royal and cultural artefacts.

DUMBOOR LAKEDumboor Lake is a charming water body located in Amarpur Sub Division 120 Km. away from Agartala. The look of the lake is like tabour shaped small drum, "Dumboor" of Lord Shiva from which the name "Dumboor" originates.

A massive and breathtaking water body of 41 sq.km. with an unending spell of luxuriant green vegetation all around stands majestic for her exceedingly charming beauty. Migratory birds and water sports facilities are additional attractions. There is a Hydel Project near the lake from where River Gomati originates and this is called Tirthamukh where on 14th January every year famous 'Pous Sankranti Mela' takes place.

SEPAHIJALA WILDLIFE SANCTUARYSepahijala wildlife sanctuary, 28 kms from Agartala is the biodiversity heaven of Tripura with an area of 18.53 km. The Sepahijala biocomplex came into existence in 1972. With addition of a Botanical Garden, a deer park and a zoo, the bio complex was subsequently attributed the status of Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary in early 1987. The sanctuary has approximately 456 plant species, many kinds of bamboos and a variety of grasses and medicinal plants.

UNAKOTIUnakoti, 178 kms from Agartala is a ‘Shaiba’ (Saivite) pilgrimage site dating back to 7th – 9th centuries located in the Kailashahar subdivision in the northern part of Tripura.

Unakoti means one less than a crore and it is said that these many rock cut carvings are available here.

JAGANNATH TEMPLE-

AKHAURA BORDER-

A famous pilgrim site in Agartala, Built in the 19th Century by the than Maharaja Tripura, Maharaja RadhaKishore Manikya . The temple is also a remarkable architectural feat with its octagonal base and its 'Pradhkshin Patha' round the sanctum. The pillars are crowned by square and pyramidal cones.

Akhaura is 5 kms from Agartala and is the international border between the India and Bangladesh. This border has the facility of both passenger and freight movement.

Every evening a flag ceremony takes place at the border which is popular with the tourists.

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