Consulate General of India, Vancouver www.cgivancouver.org
Vol. 02, Issue No. 05 February 02, 2018.
India in Vancouver Weekly Newsletter
India Perspectives India Perspectives is the flagship publication of the Ministry of External Affairs. Richly illustrated, this magazine provides our readers with an insight into India’s culture and tradition along with elements of contemporary India. Click here to read more‌. Ministry of External Affairs, India
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Vol. 02, Issue. 05, February 02, 2018.
Consulate News Consulate General of India, Vancouver Advisory against taking satellite phones to India All visa seekers have already been advised against taking and using satellite phones (including Thuraya and Irridium) in India. It is further informed to all visitors to India that under the Indian law, satellite telephone services are not permitted in India. If any unauthorized use of such satellite telephone sets, such as Thuraya, Irridium etc. is detected, with people including tourists, these sets will be seized and the holder can be prosecuted under Section 6 of Indian Wireless Act and Section 20 of Indian Telegraph Act *** 29 January 2018
Republic Day 2018 evening Reception CGI Vancouver hosted a Reception on the evening of 26 Jan 2018 in celebration of the 69th Republic Day of India. Hon'ble Jinny Sims, Minister for Citizen Services, Govt of BC was the Chief Guest on this occasion. Hon'ble Raj Chouhan, Senior Deputy Speaker, BC Legislative Assembly along with Hon'ble MLAs Mr Jagrup Brar, Ms Rachana Singh, Hon'ble MP Mr Deepak Obhrai, Hon'ble MLAs from Legislative Assembly of Alberta Mr Prabh Gill and Mr Rick Strankman, as well as Hon'ble Wally Oppal and Hon'ble Amrik Virk graced the event. The reception was attended by several Consul Generals, Hony Consula and members of the Consular Corps as well as leading members of the Indo-Canadian community, ethnic media, cultural and business organizations, academicians and friends of India. A dynamic Bhangra performance by a group of students from the Royal Academy of Bhangra enthralled the guests.
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Vol. 02, Issue. 05, February 02, 2018.
Consul General’s Meeting with the University of Fraser Valley, Abbotsford Consul General Mrs Abhilasha Joshi visited the University of Fraser Valley, Abbotsford on 30 Jan 2018. She was warmly welcomed by President Ms Jackie Hogan, Academic Vice President Dr Eric Davis and Director, South Asian Studies Institute and Principal, UFV India Prof Satwinder Kaur Bains along with other faculty members who briefed her about the University and particularly the various projects being undertaken by the South Asian Studies department. About 700 Indian international students are enrolled at UFV in various undergraduate courses. Consul General appreciated the contribution of UFV in fostering closer educational ties between Canada and India. After the interactive meeting, she was given a tour of the National Historic Site Gur Sikh Temple, the oldest standing Gurdwara in North America. Consul Mrs Abha Gosain also participated in the meeting.
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Vol. 02, Issue. 05, February 02, 2018.
Budget for 2018-19 - Highlights Indian economy is now 2.5 trillion-dollar economy – seventh largest in the world. On Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis, we are already the third largest economy. • • • •
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372 specific business reform actions identified to improve ease of doing business; Reduced corporate tax by 25 pc extended to companies with turnover of up to Rs. 250 crores (Approx. 39M USD). Import of solar tempered glass for manufacture of solar cells exempted from customs duty. Agri-Market Development Fund with a corpus of 2000 crore (Approx. 311M USD) to be set up for developing agricultural markets. Food processing sector growing at 8 pc; Allocation for food processing has been doubled from Rs 700 crore (Approx. 108M USD) to Rs 1400 crore (Approx. 217M USD). Restructured National Bamboo Mission to be launched with an allocation of Rs 1290 crore (Approx. 200M USD) to promote bamboo sector in a holistic manner National Highways exceeding 9,000-km will be completed in 2018-19. 99 cities selected for smart cities project with an outlay of Rs 2.04 lakh crore (Approx. 31.76B USD). 36,000-km of rail track renewal targeted in coming year. Wi-Fi, CCTVs to be progressively provided at all trains; escalators at stations with 25,000-plus footfalls. Government to expand capacity of airports by five times to cater to one billion trips a year. Regional air connectivity scheme shall connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads. Government to launch flagship National Health Protection scheme to cover 10 crore (100M) poor and vulnerable people; set up 24 new medical colleges and hospitals by upgrading district level ones. Digital India focused on driving digital payments in India and boosting the optical fiber network in rural areas to improve internet connectivity and access. 5 lakh (0.5M) Wi-Fi hotspots to provide broadband access to 5 crore (50M) rural people. Highlights of the Budget speech Full text of the speech in English
PM’s statement on the Budget Full text of speech in Hindi
Forthcoming Events in India
After the astounding success of the past three editions of Global Exhibition on Services (GES), the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) are organising the 4th Global Exhibition on Services from 15th - 18th May 2018 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. GES event is targeting participation from 100 countries and will also host 30 knowledge sessions and thousands of B2B & B2G meetings. 2. An annual flagship event of India, the first GES was inaugurated in 2015 by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The subsequent editions were inaugurated by then President of India in 2016 and 2017. GES 2017, was a huge success with participation from over 573 companies from 73 countries (including India) and more than 5000 structured meetings. 3. GES 2018-Mumbai proposes to focus on Services sector excellence in India and expanding our global footprint. It will feature the following services sectors - IT & Telecom, banking & financial services, education, energy services, environmental services, exhibition & event services, facility management, healthcare, logistics, media & entertainment, next gen cities, printing & publishing, professional services, railway services, retail & e-commerce, skills, space, sports services, starts-ups/SME, tourism & hospitality and wellness. 4. The buyer’s nomination is purely on first cum first basis. Selected buyers will get return economic class air fare and hotel. The last date of registration for “Foreign Buyers” is 1st March 2018. You may register your confirmation to Mr Rajesh Wadhwa at rajesh.wadhwa@cii.in Tel: 91-124-4013875 / 4014060 or visit http://www.gesindia.in/buyer.htm Visit www.gesindia.in for more information and click here to read the GES brochure. 3|P a g e
Vol. 02, Issue. 05, February 02, 2018.
THE PARTNERSHIP SUMMIT 2018 - “Charting New India’s Global Integration Strategy” 24-26 February 2018: APIIC Grounds, Harbour Park, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh is organizing the 24th edition of its annual flagship initiative Partnership Summit 2018, a mega international event, for the third consecutive year in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from 24- 26 February 2018. 2. Mr Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister for Commerce and Industry is the Chair of the Summit and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh is the ‘Partner State’ to this edition of the prestigious initiative. 3. The Partnership Summit, started in 1995, to mark the centenary of CII has established itself as an ideal platform for business networking between key stakeholders to develop best strategies and policies to help countries overcome the obstacles to improving competitiveness and integrate better into the globalized world. The 24th edition of the Summit aims to provide opportunities to look at how both advanced and emerging economies can collaborate and build new bridges to foster balanced and equitable growth. 4. Plenaries Sessions planned over three days of the Summit will feature discussions on Charting New India’s Global Integration strategy; The Reform Calculus: Continuous Change for India; Redefining the Global Value Chain: Dynamic Workforce, New Consumers and Starship Enterprise: The Universe of Startups to name a few. Please visit http://www.cii.in/ for registration and more details.
Cultural – Heritage Tourism in India City of Ahmedabad The 606-year-old walled city of Ahmedabad, which was founded by emperor Ahmed Shah, has become India’s first World Heritage City. It presents a rich architectural heritage, notably the Bhadra citadel, the walls and gates of the Fort city and numerous mosques and tombs as well as important Hindu and Jain temples of Later periods. For over 600 years, Ahmedabad has stood for peace and unity with its elegant carvings in its Hindu and Jain temples as well as displaying some of the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture and Hindu Muslim art. Beyond this, it epitomizes the United Nation’s objective of sustainable development as it accelerates in its development. In this regard, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) started the Heritage Cell way back in 1996 to preserve the historical legacy of the city. The AMC launched the heritage movement with the active participation of the citizens of the city adhering to the UNESCO system of demands culminating in this achievement. Due to this recognition by UNESCO, Ahmedabad will see an influx of Heritage enthusiasts and focus in conservation of its “Living heritage”. The city entered the world heritage list on 12 July 2017.
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Vol. 02, Issue. 05, February 02, 2018.
News from India 1. India's Republic Day- A historic occasion India is a proud Republic, with a vibrant democratic system with the largest constitution of the world, which guarantees inalienable equal rights to all of its nearly 1.3 billion people. But the road to Republic has not been smooth. There was a long struggle to realize the dream of a vast population to be an independent nation and a Republic. Much sweat and blood went in to the struggle. On December 9, 1946 the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in the Constitution Hall of Parliament House, with the intention of putting together the document that would go on to form the backbone of the independent India’s government. Exuberant and full of hope, the 207 members out of 292 presents in the first session started the debate and discussions which would continue .......... (The Indian Panorama, Thu, 25 Jan, 04:58pm)
2. National Bravery Awards: PM Narendra Modi presents awards to 18 braveheart children for their heroic acts One of the awardees, Karanbeer Singh of Gaguwal village in Amritsar managed to save the lives of 15 children, as the bus carrying the children fell into a drain. Karanbeer was himself hurt, but he risked his life to save these children. Another girl, Mamata Dalai, is the youngest of all. This six-year-old girl saved her sister from a crocodile, while they both were taking bath in a pond. A girl named Netravati M Chavan, lost her life in order to save two young boys who were drowning in the river and didn’t know how to swim. The father of this chivalrous girl, Mahatensh Chavan, will receive the award on the behalf of his late daughter. Another Mizoram boy, Lalchhandama, lost his life while attempting to save his friend who was drowning in the river. He failed to save his friend and both of them died. When the body was received, the boy’s arms could be seen wrapped around his friend’s corpse. In another incident, Sebastian from Kerala was riding a bicycle when his friend fell on a railway track. In order to save him, the boy rushed to save him even as the train was fast approaching. Parents of those children who died while saving others will be receiving the awards on their behalf. (Financial Express, Thu, 25 Jan, 10:56am)
3. PM ON MANN KEE BAAT JANUARY 2018 –
4. India hits 20GW solar capacity milestone India has achieved 20 gw (giga watt) cumulative solar capacity, achieving the milestone four years ahead of the target for 2022 originally set in the National Solar Mission. The achievement comes on the back of a major renewable energy push by Modi government, which after coming to power in 2014 had scaled up the target to 100 gw of solar capacity by 2022. (Times of India, Wed, 31 Jan, 04:38pm)
5. This Innovation Is Allowing The Chennai Metro Rail To Generate Its Own Power! In adopting the regenerative braking technology, each train of the Chennai metro rail system generates approximately a third of the power it consumes to run, according to this report by the Times of India. Speaking to the publication, Chennai metro rail officials claim that a four-car rake running 400 km per day can generate power worth approximately 1,900-kilowatt-hour (kWh). To operate 400 km per day, a train consumes nearly 6,300kWh. Whenever a vehicle slows down using brakes, it loses its kinetic energy in the form of heat in the brake pads. With regenerative braking, this wastage is avoided. Since the Chennai metro rail system, which operates 13 trains on 29 kms of operational line, meets nearly 30% of its energy requirements through its own trains, there is a significant reduction in the use of fossil fuel-generated power. (Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk, The Better India, Sat, 27 Jan, 01:42pm)
6. ORF ranked best Indian think tank in Asia The Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has once again been ranked as one of the best Indian think tanks in Asia in the latest Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, released globally today. ORF also became the largest ranked institution from Asia with 25 appearances in various categories in the 2017 Index, prepared by the Pennsylvania University. (ANI, Outlook India, Wed, 31 Jan, 12:45pm)
7. Abdul Hakeem Faizy Adrisseri: The first Indian to join the governing body of League of Islamic Universities Malappuram might be thousands of miles away from Cairo, but that has never deterred the exchange of ideas and scholars. And Abdul Hakeem Faizy Adrisseri, a 60-year-old resident of the Malabar district is the latest addition to the list of Indian Muslims who have made it big in the world of Islamic education. A few days ago, Adrisseri became the first Indian to be selected to the 21-member apex body of Cairo-based League of Islamic Universities (LIU) as its first executive member. The functionaries were impressed with the integrated education model of which Faizy is an untiring advocate. (Shafeeq Hudawi, TwoCircles, Sat, 27 Jan, 01:27pm)
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