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MAN OF STEEL ................................................... 06 Interview with Union Minister of Steel and Mines, Mr Narendra Singh Tomar CANADA CALLING ............................................. 19 High Commissioner Nadir Patel speaks to India Empire PORTUGAL IN FOCUS ........................................ 29 Ambassador Joao da Camara on India Portugal relations FICCI VOICE ........................................................ 18 Secretary General Dr A Didar Singh’s road map for the chamber
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DIPLOMATS SPEAK ............................................ 28 What Mission heads have been telling us NATIONAL DAYS ................................................ 35 The Netherlands and Israel celebrate in style MONGOLIAN DIARY .......................................... 45 Ambassador Gonchig Ganbold writes a column BEING AFRICAN ................................................. 25 Ambassador (retd.) Malay Mishra articulates his views DIASPORA .......................................................... 50 Article on Kartar Singh Sarabha by GOPIO International Chairman
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Cover Story—PolitiCal interview Pictures © siPra Das
Mr NareNdra SiNgh ToMar MiNiSTer of STeel aNd MiNeS
“We will become world’s second largest steel producer by 2025” The BJP led NDA has completed two years in Government. While hearteningly India is now the fastest growing major economy in the world, one of the sectors that will keep this impressive growth going is steel. To make this sector highly robust and productive Minister for Steel and Mines Mr Narendra Singh Tomar has drawn up a long term strategy. What he plans is to position India as the world’s second largest producer of crude steel in the next 10 years, by overtaking Japan. The nation’s flagship steel company, the SAIL, is being given more powers of expansion. An industry driven Steel Research and Technology Mission is being put in place. With more budgetary support for infra-expenditure projects like railways, highways, airports and housing, Make in India programmes, rapid urbanization, and increased automobile manufacturing, steel production and consumption will receive a boost. On all this and more, Minister Tomar spoke with Editor and Publisher Sayantan Chakravarty at his office India is today the 3rd largest producer of crude steel in 2015, and the largest producer of sponge iron in the world. Yet, per capita consumption of steel in India in FY 15 was 60 kg against the world average of 217 kg. How do you address this issue of slow takeoff ? The scenario of slow takeoff has been real. But we are working hard to be in second position in the steel producer’s chart. It is difficult, though, to reach the first position because as of now there is a huge difference in production between us and China. India’s per capita consumption of steel is about 60 kg which is much lower than the global average which you mentioned. We are still a developing country, and the manufacturing sector is yet to develop to its potential, just like in other emerging economies and developing nations. Also, one must remember that India has a very large population that makes per capita consumption figures quite low when juxtaposed with the current steelmaking capacity. But we are confident that steel production and consumption will grow with planned investments in infrastructure and real estate. The Make in India programme promotes local manufacturing, and that will contribute towards increasing steel consumption. Do you see per capita consumption rising in view of a vibrant industrial sector, growing infra expenditure projects in railways and highways, and housing? In the current scenario, India is the only steel market of significant size where demand is growing. The World Steel Association has also identified a 5.4% increase in steel demand in India in 2016. With infrastructure de6
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mand, urbanization, industrialization likely to pick up in the near future, we expect India to reach steelmaking capacity of 300 MT of by 2025. There is awareness that structures made using steel are more durable compared to other material. We also need to look at Government’s increased investment infrastructure. Both the Prime Minister’s Make in India and the current budget indicates that there will be a boost for the steel sector. For large projects such as roads and bridges, Government would be investing around Rs 1 lakh crore. It includes national highways and rural roads, both of which will increase consumption of steel. The other areas where steel will be required in large measure are construction of airports, laying of new rail lines, and building new ports and renovating older ones. We are confident that with inland water ways becoming more navigable, the pricing of steel will come down due to lower transportation costs, and will once again increase production. We have also requested the steel association to promote use of steel among common people, and that measure will also pay dividends. Last year you had spoken about SAIL’s expansion and modernization programme that would increase production capacity to 23 million tonnes. What is the status of that modernization? SAIL has undertaken the modernization and expansion of five integrated steel plants at Rourkela, Burnpur, Bhilai, Durgapur and Bokaro. The same is being done in steels plant at Salem which include raw material resources and related facilities. This combined effort will increase hot
STEELY RESOLVE: Minister Tomar is determined to strengthen steel production through expansion of capacity in steel plants, and better R and D
june 2016 | india empire
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Cover Story—PolitiCal interview
LONG TERM VISION: Apart from revamping the steel sector, Minister Tomar is also ensuring that total transparency returns in the mining sector
metal production capacity to 23 million tonnes and crude steel production capacity to 21 million tonnes. It is also to be noted that the modernization and expansion of Rourkela Steel Plant, IISCO Steel Plant, Bokaro Steel Limited, Durgapur Steel Plant, and Salem Steel Plant have been completed. The Bokaro and Durgapur plants are yet to be dedicated to the nation. The expansion and modernization of Bhilai Steel Plant is going on, and is expected to be completed by December 2016. With modernization comes increased production. While we are targeting 23 million tonnes from 13 million tonnes, so far we have seen an increase of 4 million tonnes. We should meet our target in less than two years time. Similarly at the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), we have reached 6 million tonnes from 3 million tonnes. Our goal is to reach 7.3 million tonnes. By 2025, we have plans in place to increase production to 50 million tonnes. How are the 4 SPVs with Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Karnataka working out? In order to fulfil the vision of achieving production of 300 Million Tonnes of Steel by 2025, a concept of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been introduced. The SPV concept will fast track the process of land acquisition, statutory approvals of ore and water linkages for speedy 8
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implementation of large capacity Greenfield Steel Projects in four iron ore rich states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. As per information available till December 2015, two MOUs have been signed by the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand for setting up Greenfield steel plants with initial capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) each, to be later enhanced to 6 MTPA. It is to be noted that more than Rs. 70,000 crore will be invested for setting up of these steel plants. The work of the SPVs in Jharkhand and Karnataka is being led by NMDC. In Odisha it is being steered by the RINL while in Chhattisgarh, SAIL is at the helm. Our production capacity will increase by 24 million tonnes once these four plants become fully operational. Initially, we will commission 12 million tonnes capacity, and then take it up to 24 million tonnes.
You have gone on record to say that research in steel remains an area of concern. How are you addressing this area? The Ministry of Steel is constantly promoting Indian iron and steel sector through various R&D initiatives and towards this purpose has undertaken several steps. They include pursuing of two schemes namely R&D through Steel Development Fund (SDF) and also through Plan Fund to supplement R&D expenditure in iron and steel sector. Ministry of Steel has sent an advisory to all major steel companies in public and private sector for increasing R&D expenditure up to 1% of their sales turn over. In association with CSIR-NML Jamshedpur, Tata Steel & RINL, we are pursuing a joint collaborative R&D project through pilot plant initiative for indigenous development of CRGO steel sheets in the country. MECON has submitted final DPR. As per the DPR, the pilot plants would include CRGO Complex for development of CRGO steel and also a Bar Mill Complex for development of special / niche long products. We are facilitating the setting up of an innovative institutional mechanism, namely Steel Research & Technology Mission of India (SRTMI) to spearhead R&D activities of national importance through joint collaborative research program in steel sector. SRTMI will be an Industry led initiative and will be setup as a registered society in close co-
operation amongst the steel companies, Ministry of Steel, indigenously produce over 100 million tonnes by 2019-20. academia and relevant R&D institutions in the country. SRTMI will be governed by a Governing Board of CEOs Please talk us through ‘Operation Khanij Khoj’… of steel and associated companies, domain experts of naOver the years, Geological Survey of India has cartional and international repute, and one nominee from Min- ried out numerous investigations that have resulted in istry of Steel. We are providing Rs 100 crore to STRMI from discovery of significant mineral deposits in India. Most the Steel Development Fund and it is being matched by pri- of these deposits are located close to the surface and vate steel producers like Tata, Jindal and others. We would be are, thus, amenable to direct observation. As almost all focused towards automotive steel. Through the Steel Devel- of these deposits have been explored, the focus is now opment Fund, our Ministry is creating a Center of Excel- on concealed and deep-seated deposits, i.e. areas which lence in Steel Technology in four regions. Accordingly, IIT are not directly amenable to observation or exploration. Kharagpur, IIT Bombay, IIT BHU and IIT Madras have As much as 60% of India’s geographic area is under a been selected. A Steel Research centre at IIT Kharagpur has cover of younger volcanics such as Deccan basalts, been set up. Centres of Excellence at IIT Bombay and IIT Indo–Gangetic alluvium or sedimentary basins. ExploBHU are under progress. The center at IIT Madras has been ration in these areas has to be carried out by indirect approved by the Empowered Committee under the Chair- methods. manship of Secretary (Steel). In view of the above, GSI has initiated a project named You have put systems in place for meeting the iron “Uncover or Khanij Khoj” in 2016 for probing deep ore requirements of the Indian steel industry. Please seated/concealed mineral deposits. The main components talk us through these systems… of this initiative would be: Iron ore is one of the key raw mate● characterizing India’s cover rial for steel sector. In India, iron ore is ● investigating lithospheric architecture We are providing either sourced through captive mines or ● resolving 4D geodynamic and metalfrom merchant players. Following initialogenic evolution Rs 100 crore to tives have been taken to increase its ● detecting and characterizing the distal STRMI from the availability for meeting increasing dofootprints of ore deposits. mestic demands: Steel Development ● Mining bans in Karnataka and Goa Two projects of three year duration Fund and it is have been lifted and efforts are are envisaged in a pilot study to test the being made by state Governments model. These are: being matched to restore production to pre-ban ● Searching for concealed and deep by private steel levels. seated mineral deposits below unclassi● The Government has notified fied sediments in parts of Aravalli and producers MMDR Amendment Act 2015 Bundelkhand Cratons. which prescribed competitive bid● Deep crustal mapping across western ding by auction as the method to be followed for aland eastern dharwar cratons for searching concealed location of Mining Leases (MLs) and ‘Prospecting and deep seated mineral deposits. License-cum-Mining Lease’ (PL-cum-ML) thus ensuring adequate supply of iron ore to the domestic GSI will seek collaboration with prestigious agencies in steel industry. India, such as National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) The availability of iron ore is quiet sufficient. After the and institutions from abroad for execution of this project. MMDR Act, we have increased production of iron ore and other minerals, in fact there has been a 12 per cent increase in What about mining sector reforms… mineral production after the amendment in the Act, the figure There is now transparency in the allocation process after is now 155 million tonnes, up from 126 million tonnes. There an ordinance was brought in January 2015. Since the amendis no shortage. The challenge is to curtail transport costs. Our ments in Mining Sector Act came into force, we have fastMinistry as well as the PMO is looking to reduce transport tracked auctions. So far we have been able to auction 6 costs. If the inland waterways start, then import of iron ore mines, and issued auction notice to 47 in all. State Governwill become cheaper. While by road transporting one tone ments have benefited to the tune of Rs 18,946 crore through costs a rupee, by waterways it would cost only 20 paise. the 6 auctions. We increased fine from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5,00,000 per hectare for illegal mining. Punishment period What is the long term goal of the National Steel is now up from 2 to 5 years. The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Policy? Shetra Kalyan Yojna is a revolutionary step by the Modi Our policy objective is to build a modern and efficient Government. Now there is a fund created under this scheme steel industry in India which is capable of catering to a di- for those who are affected and displaced by mining. An versified steel demand. The focus of the policy is to amount of Rs 6,000 crore each year will come to the mineral achieve global competitiveness not only in terms of cost, states, including through royalties. It will change the lie of quality and product mix, but also in terms of global people, increase possibilities of sustenance, provide skill debenchmarks of productivity and efficiency. The goal is to velopment, clean water and fundamental requirements. ❐ june 2016 | india empire
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PolitiCal lanDSCaPe Pictures Š siPra Das
RAISING THE POLITICAL HEAT
Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi had to repeatedly wipe his face in the extreme heat while he addressed a large Vikas Parv rally in Balasore. Seen on the right is Union Minister of State (IC) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, sprear-heading BJP activities in Odisha
BJP President Mr Amit Shah greets the Press in Delhi soon after his party’s outstanding success in the Assam state elections 10 india empire | june 2016
BUSineSS—loGiStiCS
ECU WorldWidE
brings thE World to
yoUr doorstEps By shantha Martin
E
conomies operate in a growth and we are glad to be spurring well coordinated fashion it with our world-class services in the with every passing year EXIM trade. and geographies get Our new tagline, ‘Geography Simcloser with technical inplified’ reinstates our conviction that novations. As the leadwe intend to simplify geography for ing less than container load (LCL) our customers through our core capaconsolidator and a pioneer in the intebility of virtually reaching out to every grated logistics service, we need to coninhabitable corner of the world and in stantly innovate and adapt to the the process reach out to every heart. dynamic changes to be able to offer suSmart integration of technology, perior customer experience across the superior customer service and agility globe. drives the identity change. We are emOver the years, we acquired compabracing newer opportunities and crenies as a strategic business decision and ating new products which will enhance affirmed our leadership with gradual our deliverables and customer service. expansion across 160+ countries with We are committed to proactively proMs shantha Martin 300+ offices. Today, we stand consolipose solutions to surpass their expecCEO – ISC, Middle East, Africa dated as ECU Worldwide, signifying tations. and East Mediterranean our tightly knit comprehensive network As leaders, we will continue on of offices. the path of growth. Being an ambitious and forward-thinkThe change denotes that we are going beyond being ing organization, we will continue to challenge the status port-to- port operator to door-to- door service provider, quo. And we will do so with a revamp of our approach to through multi-modal services such as ocean, air and road in business, in order to pursue bigger and better opportunities certain geographies. Our extensive presence across regions globally. ❐ and well connected networks on key trade routes make us —The author Ms Shantha Martin is the CEO – ISC, the preferred partners. India stands at the face of robust Middle East, Africa and East Mediterranean
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BUSINESS AND GOVERNANCE
BUSineSS anD GovernanCe
CM MEETS PRESIDENT Picture © Rashtrapati Bhavan
ONGC VIDESH MOU
Assam Chief Minister Mr Sarbananda Sonowal calls on President of India Mr Pranab Mukherjee and presents him with a shawl
COFFEE TABLE BOOK RELEASED
Picture © FICCI
(L-R) Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, Past President, FICCI & Chairman, Max Financial Services; Shri Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog and Dr. Dana (Keoki) Jackson, Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin Corporation releasing coffee table-book ‘Transforming India through Innovation’ depicting 10 years journey of the DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme at FICCI in New Delhi in early June
MINDSET CHANGE Mr Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, and New and Renewable Energy, while delivering the keynote address at Deutsche Bank’s dbAccess Asia Conference 2016 at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore, in May said that the biggest achievement of the Government was changing the mind-set of the people and instilling confidence that India can change for the better. He remarked that pessimism and cynicism has been replaced by optimism, hope and confidence. He also delivered the keynote address at the India-Singapore Energy Technology & Investors Meet which was jointly organised by the High Commission of India, FICCI, Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS).
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Mr S P Garg, Director (Finance), ONGC Videsh Limited (right), and Mr Arzu Azimov, CEO, SOCAR Trading SA, during the signing of the MoU ONGC Videsh Limited and SOCAR Trading SA signed an MoU on May 27, 2016 at Geneva. The MoU will explore possibilities of joint marketing of ONGC Videsh's crude oil portfolio by leveraging SOCAR Trading's experience in oil trading. The MoU was signed by Mr S P Garg, Director (Finance), ONGC Videsh Limited, and Mr Arzu Azimov, CEO, SOCAR Trading SA. Initially, both parties agreed to initiate discussion on Joint Marketing Agreement in respect of ONGC Videsh's equity crude from ACG, Azerbaijan, and based on the performance of this agreement both parties will mutually agree to optimise price realisation of other crudes from ONGC Videsh's portfolio either through Joint Marketing or Joint Venture route. Picture © Sipra Das
Mr Piyush Goyal
business and governance
BUILDING INVESTOR DECK STUDY REJECTED There are several ways to build an investor deck for seed round. There is no perfect deck, of course, but all successful decks are short and clear. A succinct seed deck can clearly and simply cover the key areas that investors care about. In just 10 slides you can cover the key Mr Jayant Borkar areas investors must understand to make a funding decision. Team: List the team, and your background. Highlight specifically what, if anything, qualifies you to start this business. List relevant experiences. Also list key advisors and investors, if you have them, and if they are well known. Vision: What is your vision? Why did you start this? What is your true north? Clear and simple one liner. Problem: What problem are you solving? Again be brief. Add data and market research to support your statement. Explain why this is actually a problem, and a big problem worth going after. Solution: What is your insight? What is unique about it? Be very specific. If your solution involves a platform / defensible technology, be sure to illustrate it. Add another slide, if that makes sense. Demo: Show, don't tell. Embed a one-minute demo video of your solution. Make it awesome. Be product obsessed. Traction: State key metrics that drive your business. Show charts, make them awesome. Speaking to your metrics and growth is important. Even if your traction isn't huge, speaking to it illustrates you are metrics driven. Investors want to back metrics-driven founders. Business model: Describe clearly how you are making money or planning to make money in the future. If you don't know yet, be ready to explain which key metric is important for your business and why. Competition: Avoid magic quadrants, they are tired. Instead, list all your major competitors and highlight their strength. Then below, explain in 0ne line what makes you different. Opportunity: Describe your addressable market, and size it. Give clear backing to how you arrived at the numbers. Avoid top down analysis: we are in $X billion market. Instead, show clearly what the actual addressable market is. Attach bottom up / unit-economics analysis to back the number. Financing: Describe how much you are raising, and what milestones you will achieve with the money. Good growth milestones are revenue, customers and users. Each financing is done to get you to either profitability or, more likely, another financing. This is why it is important to get the milestones right. ❐ 16 india empire | june 2016
Picture © Sipra Das
Mr Prakash Javadekar The Government has rejected a study on pollution published in the Geophysical Research Letters Journal of the American Geophysical Union. Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr Prakash Javadekar, said, “we reject the claims made in the so-called research article that Indians lose six years of their lives because of pollution. The Ministry of Earth Sciences does not agree with the study and has completely rejected the study. The Ministry of Earth Sciences has made it clear that it does not subscribe to any of the conclusions emerging out of the reported study. The study is based on regional atmospheric chemistry model and statistical algorithm to construct estimates and this is based on studies in Europe and America, which have been extrapolated on India. This study has not been done on sampling, it has not been done on ground studying and it is not based on longterm observations.”
GANGA REJUVENATION In May, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ms Uma Bharti launched nine projects for rural sanitation initiatives under Namami Gange Programme for conservation of river Ganga in Sahibganj, Jharkhand. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said the entire 83 km stretch of Ganga in Jharkhand will be Ms Uma Bharti covered under this programme. She said the project will focus on three significant interventions: Promotion of safe, individual hygiene practices to ensure open defecation free status of all 78 villages along the river Ganga, Promotion of cost-effective, appropriate local, low cost, easy to manage technologies using local resources to ensure improved access, sustained use and maintenance of infrastructure created for effective management of solid and liquid waste and strengthening of local institutions including panchayats, village level sanitation committees and self-help groups to effectively manage, enhance and maintain facilities established for improved sanitation in the villages and an integrated and a holistic livelihood approach.
business and governance
voice WPI INFLATION NUMBERS ommenting on the latest WPI based inflation numbers, FICCI said that the pressure which was seen arising from the food segment seems to be moderating, with prices of vegetables and fruits reporting a decline. Further, recent meteorological prediction indicates expectation of normal rainfall this year which is a huge positive. With recovery in the global economy still weak, key commodity prices remain suppressed.
‘EASE OF DOING RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS’ FICCI appreciated the efforts of the Environment Minister for his leadership in taking measures, particularly aimed at reducing time and transaction cost, and ensuring greater transparency and accountability in granting environment and forest clearances as the weighted average time taken in granting environment clearance has been reduced from 599 days to 192 days. Yet, issues faced by the industry such as RATE REDUCTION BY RBI multitude of clearances, lack of coordiWelcoming the reduction in repo rate nation between Centre and State GovDr A. Didar Singh by 25 bps, FICCI said that RBI’s decision ernments, cross-cutting issues within to cut the repo rate and follow accommodative monetary Ministries and timely revision of laws, still remain. policy stance is a positive step, given the favourable conditions with respect to inflation and fiscal stability. FICCI has BILATERAL TRADE BETWEEN INDIA AND IRAN for long advocated the need for greater cuts in the policy FICCI stated that given the fact that oil market is plagued rate to stimulate demand and investments in the economy. by risk of high and low price cycles as a result of demand Additionally, several steps announced to ease liquidity and supply shocks, in such circumstances, there is a need to should help in effective transmission into lending rates by jointly manage price risk and demand and supply shocks by the banks. The banks already have enough room to pare the both the consumer and producer nations. In a changing enlending rates owing to recent reduction in small savings in- vironment, India needs to position itself not only as a desterest rate upto 1.3 per cent as well as the introduction of the tination for Iran energy supplies but also as a hub of marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR). investments and provider of technology and services. Due to abundant oil and gas endowment and geographic IIP DATA FOR FEBRUARY 2016 proximity, Iranian oil and gas sector is bound to act as a catWhile the modest growth in manufacturing remains a alyst to boost the bilateral trade between the two regions. concern in the short term, we are optimistic that the reforms undertaken by the Government would boost growth in com- PRESIDENCY OF BRICS BUSINESS COUNCIL Mr. Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman, India Chapter of the ing months, said FICCI. There is immense potential for growth in the manufacturing sector, but currently with the BRICS Business Council, who assumed Chairmanship of demand scenario not so optimistic, industry is also cautious the BRICS Business Council, has outlined a four-fold agenda during his tenure as Chair. The core mantra, he said, would on any large scale expansion. Global investor associations and the Green Infrastruc- be ‘Continuity with Consolidation’. ture Investment Coalition (GIIC), representing over USD 60 trillion of assets under management, have pledged their The four-fold agenda would emphasize on four tracks: support for the International Solar Alliance (ISA) objective – First is aligning of the Council’s work with the priorities that have been set by our respective governments. of mobilizing USD 1 trillion investment in photovoltaic power generation assets in member countries by 2030. In a – Second, the role of the New Development Bank and the support expected from it for carrying forward some of Solar Investor Statement released at the Terrawatt Initiative the ideas floated in the working groups is important. (TWI)/International Solar Alliance, “Trillion Dollar Opportunity” Roundtable in New York, the groups have un- – Third, while bringing regulatory coherence and eliminating administrative barriers are very important. dertaken to support the swift mobilization of billions in – Fourth, is to develop a set of programs that Indian capital for solar investments. ❐ Chapter would organize in the coming months. On the release of the Solar Investor statement, FICCI and GIIC Member stated that GIIC has the potential to gal—Dr A. Didar Singh is the Secretary General of the vanize long term funds which would be a significant game Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry changer for solar energy applications.
C
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india and canada
Interview with High Commissioner for Canada to India, His Excellency, Mr. Nadir Patel
“The Canada-India relationship is thriving on several fronts” Canada and India are taking their bilateral relationship to a new high. The man playing the role of a brisk catalyst and also one with an insider’s view of this heightened level of engagement, is Canadian High Commissioner to India, H.E. Nadir Patel. Facts speak for themselves—two way trade has gone up by nearly a billion and a half dollars in just a year. After a gap of nine years, a direct flight between Toronto and Delhi has been revived, and another one will be introduced between Vancouver and Delhi in October 2016, the combined investment of over half a billion dollars in two dreamliner aircraft indicative of Canada’s faith and marked confidence in the Indian market. Indian students studying in Canada have doubled in two years. In just about 12 months, 80 new Canadian companies have established a physical presence in India, taking the overall number to 380. To catch up and get a closer snapshot of this exciting phase between the two nations, Editor and Publisher Sayantan Chakravarty caught up with HC Patel for his second interview to India Empire magazine in the last 11 months
During our last interview with you in June 2015, you’d mentioned that Canada’s priorities include an ongoing focus on trade and investment. How have things progressed since? We have seen unprecedented success since I last spoke to you. In 2014 - 2015, statistics say that we’ve seen 32 per cent increase in 2-way trade between Canada and India, in one year. It went from CAD 6.8 billion to CAD 8.2 billion. We saw roughly 34 per cent growth in exports from Canada. Two way investments have hit record levels as well. I think the total stock of Canadian investments in India has gone up several billion dollars just in the past year. So the bottom line is that in one year we’ve had record two-way trade, record investments, record exports, and all of this is important because even with the uncertainty in the global economy, the Canada-India trading relationship is thriving. In other indicators, when you look at tourism statistics both ways, they are increasing. Students studying in Canada from India have gone up dramatically. Educational collaboration is increasing quite a bit. And the number of Canadian companies doing business in India is about 700 now, of those 380 have a physical presence in India. And that’s gone up from 300 to about 380 in one year. So you have enough large 20 india empire | june 2016
manufacturing, small rep offices, it’s a real mix. But in the overall business, trade and investment side compared to June 2015 when we last met, a lot has happened. Even at that time you were almost upbeat about such a huge growth… Well, we were working hard to make all this happen. You never know where it lands, but we were working very hard. And it has moved in the right direction. Along with trade and investment there are areas like education, innovation around science and technology, energy, clean energy, renewable energy that are also on your priority list. Is cooperation in these areas gaining momentum? Yes, there has been quite a bit of momentum in all of those areas. So if you look at education, first of all, the number of Indian students studying in Canada has gone up dramatically. It used to be 50,000 a couple of years ago, it is over 100,000 now. We are also trying to bring Canadian students to study in India. That’s very small, but we are trying to increase the size. We are also interested in faculty exchanges, train-the-trainer kind of programmes, to build ca-
pacity in Indian institutions. We are also looking at research collaboration between Canadian universities and Indian partners. There’s also some big focus on technical and vocational skills. In the past we focused a lot on pure academics. We are now looking at not only that, but how we can feed into Skill India, for instance. Through our series on community college we’d be focused on vocational skills. Not only to feed into Skill India but also Make in India. We work closely with companies, colleges, training partners, skill development councils, including the NSDC as well, here in India. And there’s been a lot happening in the last year. On innovations, science and technology in particular, we do have a MoU that was renewed between Canada and
the department of biotechnology, another programme MANY REASONS TO that was renewed on funding DELIGHT: As High for small and medium enterCommissioner, H.E. Nadir prises that brings technology Patel, has overseen some to business. So there’s been a very good times in fair bit on science and techrelations between Canada and India. Bilateral trade, nology, and business. We also commerce, investment, have a joint working group on and confidence of Canada science and technology that in the Indian market has met in the last year at the never been higher deputy minister, secretary level. So there’s lot happening on ICT, we have an accelerator programme, incubator programme, all in the last year that have been gaining a lot of ground. On clean energy and renewable energy front, a couple of large solar and wind announcements have happened last year. We are working very closely with the Ministry of Power, on hydroelectricity as a clean energy option, and some capacity building. We did a joint workshop with the Ministry of Power. We had a lot of support from Minister Piyush Goyal and his officials on hydroelectricity development. The first shipment of uranium took place in December 2015, and that’s part of nuclear energy, which is a clean energy option. So that relationship is very strong. All of those areas that we have discussed, there’s been a lot happening. But I believe we are still at the infancy of our potential. And so I think we can do more, and you’ll see the momentum continuing. Our focus now is that when you see a 30 per cent increase on year-by-year trade, that’s great, but how do you keep that going. And when you look at the fact that Canada is a 2 trillion dollar economy, and so is India, 8.2 billion CAD is still small relative to our full potential. So we want to see more. Also, since we last interviewed you, Indian Canadians have more than doubled their representation in Canadian Parliament, from 8 to 19. In some ways is this going to bring more robustness and possibilities to the current engagement between the two nations? Well, let me say three things here. First of all, this is a true reflection of Canada’s multiculturalism, open society, Canada’s diversity. It is a country that anyone can succeed in any domain. Secondly, our new Government has made it a priority to june 2016 | india empire 21
india and canada
leverage diversity, harness diversity, and value diversity of the population, and that’s cultural, linguistic, religious. It is part of our values. To see 19 Parliamentarians of Indian origin is a record. The most at any one point was 10, and in the previous Parliament, as you say, we had 8. So, it has almost doubled, the most we’ve ever had, which is very significant. And then our cabinet—Prime Minister Trudeau appointed 30 cabinet ministers, 4 of those cabinet ministers are of Indian origin, so more than 10 per cent are of Indian origin. And, of course, 50 per cent of our cabinet is made up of women. So for us diversity includes Indian diaspora, their ethnicities and also women, and we are focusing on that diversity and leveraging that. It is indeed heartening to see so many women make a mark in Canada’s political scene… Prime Minister Trudeau made a commitment to do that, and he kept it. And we have a lot of talented Parliamentarians to choose from, so 50 per cent are women. On the Indian diaspora, yes it is quite something. Regardless of the diaspora, India according to our Prime Minister, remains a top priority. It certainly helps that you have knowledge of India, around the cabinet table, around the halls of Parliament. India’s a priority. It is positive overall, it is a reflection of Canada. It is our openness, our multiculturalism that is there before us. We welcomed many refugees from Syria, so all of it points to this inclusiveness, this harmony. It is welcoming, which I think is a testimony to Canada. We do not see that too much broadly around the world these days. The Komagata Maru incident was a watershed moment in Canada-India relations. Prime Minister Trudeau recently said that the Sikh community deserves a full apology for the incident that happened over 100 years ago. What significance does such an apology hold in the context of the presence of a large number of Sikh families in Canada? We have approximately 500,000 Sikh community in Canada which I believe is the largest outside of Punjab. And so I think while I cannot speak specifically for the community, I think this is something that has received very positive reception. But you know from our Prime Minister’s perspective, it is an important thing to do, and it is the right thing to do. And so I think it is less about what the reception is going to be, it is more about something that is long overdue and is the right thing to do. From that perspective we will be looking forward to that happening on May 18 in the house. Saskatchewan is exploring more opportunities for partnering India and enhancing trade. Could you please elaborate on this? All of our provinces are actively involved here. So for example earlier this year we had the premier of Ontario here. We had the premier of Prince Edward Island here. Both of those visits resulted in successful trade deals and a number of other linkages. And other premiers have been visiting India on and off for the past several years. And Saskatchewan is one of those provinces. Saskatchewan has made it very clear that India is a top priority for the province. If you look at exports from Canada, pulses, lentils and peas, 22 india empire | june 2016
the majority of those imported by India from Canada come from Saskatchewan. And the number is quite significant. I don’t know what the number is now, but it was 35 – 40 per cent of all imported peas and lentils from Canada which is pretty big. The uranium supplies that we talked about earlier, they come from a Saskatchewan based company. Other provinces are just as much interested, but Saskatchewan has certainly made it very clear that it will continue its commitment to the Indian market. There is no firm date for another visit by the premier, but we’ll certainly hope that one will take place in the not too distant future. And Saskatchewan’s Minister for Agriculture was just here recently, and we’ll see more trade delegations coming from the province as well. Canada and India have signed a MoU in cooperation in Rail and Air transportation. What kind of benefits do you expect to flow out of this cooperation? I think the benefits are mutual. If you look at both rail and air aviation, Canada has a very strong, robust aerospace, aviation industry. We host the International Civil Aviation Organization, we have the IATO headquarters, we have companies like Bombardier, CAE that makes flight simulators. We have an entire ecosystem of space and aviation. We are also closely aligned with American aviation companies as well. So we have a lot of depth and lot of capacity. Here in India, besides selling aircraft, we have companies that design and build airports, navigation systems, runways. And so the civil aviation MoU essentially brings forward an opportunity to collaborate to help India develop its aviation industry. The Minister of Civil Aviation has said that they look forward to working with foreign partners to develop its industry. So the MoU allows us to share policy expertise, share best practices, and bring technology and companies to the table that can help grow civil aviation infrastructure—everything from airports to runways to airplanes to new routes to passenger systems to security at airports, everything. Similarly, with rail, we look at companies like Bombardier that specialize in rail cars, signaling systems, entire infrastructure. There are a number of other companies that focus on smart cities and urban infrastructure design that includes rail, metros, and subways. We feel that Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu is extremely dynamic and playing a strong leadership role in developing this sector. And Canada can be a central player in this regard. Under your charge and stewardship in India, Canada has enhanced its engagement with the Eastern and North Eastern parts of India. What is the nature of this engagement? The nature for us right now is exploratory in the context of opportunities where we can help develop the north east but also help develop Canada and Canadian companies. For example, we have had a couple of delegations going up to the north east provinces, to key states to get an idea of what are the needs in terms of infrastructure, in terms of education, in terms of urban development, water, irrigation, transports, airports. Because there is quite a bit that needs to be done there, we can play a role. Secondly, in terms of the relationship building, I think, it’s an opportunity for us to do more. I recently met with the chief secretary of Arunachal Pradesh. We talked quite a bit about hydroelectricity, about clean energy development, about
environmental safeguards, about transportation infrastructure development. We are also looking at investment opportunities, I mentioned earlier. The magnitude of investment from Canada to India is rising dramatically and some of those are in large scale infrastructure projects. So right now your question is ‘how do you characterize that’, I’d say that we are interested in engaging in the North East. Secondly, we are at the exploratory stage of what the opportunities are. There are some business, trade, and other initiatives underway but they are limited and they have the potential to grow more. And the final comment here is that the fact that Prime Minister Modi has placed an emphasis on the North East is important, but the reality is, and I mentioned this before, we are interested in doing more where we haven’t done a lot before. In Delhi and Mumbai we have a very strong presence, and we are fully developed, and there are 170 other ambassadors that we are working with for similar things. When we go up to the NE, to different states, we are welcomed quite a bit there because there’s limited engagement there. So we want to be more in places that we haven’t engaged. So it’s a well thought out, conscious decision on our part to engage with the NE. And it’s a proactive one. After a long time, we once again have a direct flight between Delhi and Toronto. Would you see this as an outcome of more reinvigorating engagements between the two nations following the visit of PM Modi to Canada? As an example, following PM Modi’s visit to the US West Coast, now we have a direct flight from Delhi to San Francisco since December 2015. Here’s what I’ll say. I’ll say Prime Minister Modi’s visit encouraged greater collaboration in terms of business, trade, investment, movement of people, tourism, business traffic, cargo everything. There’s no doubt. But at the same time these decisions are taken on commercial grounds. And so what I’ll say is that the Delhi Toronto flight is a reflection of the confidence that Air Canada has in the Indian market. And by extension it is a reflection that Canadian businesses and Canadians themselves have in the market, because the flights are very successful. They launched the flight in November, and they’ve been doing quite well. And they would not have invested, and we look at this as an investment—the dream liner costs almost 300 million dollars, so it’s an investment of 300 million dollars. So I think that to some extent Prime Minister Modi made it clear that relations are to be strong, but I think it is more of a sign that this confidence in the relationship and the market here, and I talk about the trade numbers and the immigration numbers, and all of that feeds into that. So that’s the first point, success and the confidence in the market. And secondly which you may or may not know, about a week and a half ago, Air Canada announced a second non-stop flight between Vancouver and Delhi, starting in October. This is huge news, and you should make sure that you make a point of that. This will also be a new dreamliner. So if anything, that’s doubling their investment in the market and further reflection of their confidence in the market here. And it’s important to note that if you look at the non-stop flights from India to North America, I believe there’s Air India to San Francisco, Chicago and JFK, there’s United that goes to New York. There’s only a handful of non-stops, two of those are now through Air Canada.
DREAM RUN: During H.E. Patel’s tenure, Air Canada introduced a direct flight between Delhi and Toronto (November 2015). An announcement has been made to introduce another one between Vancouver and Delhi in October 2016. Canada’s sizeable investment of about CAD 600 million in two dreamliner aircraft is a reflection of its long term business interest in India
Please talk us through Canada’s role in India’s first space astronomy mission… We launched a Canadian satellite through the Indian space programme. So we have a good relationship with ISRO and we continue to dialogue and we see that type of collaboration taking place more in the future. It’s a good relationship with ISRO and we are very optimistic and pleased with what India is doing in its space programme. To launch a Canadian satellite through an Indian space agency is I think really solid. And the head of Canada’s space agency was here last year, underscoring the importance of the collaboration. And this should be of interest to readers, our Minister of Transport Marc Garneau is also an astronaut, and was Canada’s first man in space in the 1980s. In December 2015, 20 leading Canadian infrastructure companies visited India to explore partnerships with local companies. Was the visit by that delegation successful, and if so, would it pave the way for more such significant visits in future? We have a lot of delegations in different sectors coming through. Infrastructure is very important because it is an area of focus here, something that is needed, and it was very successful, and we anticipate more of those types of delegations happening in the future. There’s also the World’s Future Cities Summit taking place in Canada. And Canada has been identified by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit as having the top smart cities in the world. So this is just a natural extension of what we can offer there. In fact in the number of shortlisted smart cities in India, a number of Canadian companies were involved in urban designing and planning for winning their smart cities designations as well. ❐ And we’ll see more of that going forward. june 2016 | india empire 23
diPLoMaTic coLuMn
BEing AfRiCAn
A
By Malay Mishra
frica has always been a troubled continent, intensely exploited and savagely colonized, leaving behind an ignominious trace in the racist appellation of ‘apartheid’, a slur on the face of humankind. But then, those like me who have served in the ‘Dark Continent’ (I did three of my postings there, one in inner Black Africa and the others in two small islands of the Indian Ocean) would attest to the fact that the Africans are a fiercely nationalistic people, draw great pride in their continent as the ‘cradle of civilization’, and rightly so. I also recall my meeting with the late President of Senegal, Leopold Sedar Senghor where he elaborated on his grandiose theory of the Negroid Africans having been linked with the Dravidian Indians geographically as well as anthropologically. He recounted his research on ancient Gondwanaland which he said was a huge mass of land joining the African continent with Asia in pre-historic times. We are one people, he said. That vision has stayed in me as I look around the world with astonishment to see it divided in caste constellations, the Blacks and the non-Blacks. And I, for one, having mingled with Africans in remote parts of the continent, thanks to my many subsequent visits, could never dream of people having to indulge in acts of racism in today’s world. Gandhi, in some of the latest commentaries, has been perceived to have taken up the Asian cause solely, for which he suffered retribution from the natives, during his long innings in Africa, though at the end of it, he had moulded himself into a leader of peace and non-violence and given the world the famous mantra of ‘Satyagraha’. And Nelson Mandela, the most prominent African of the 20th century, in battling all his life against apartheid would invoke Gandhi’s method of peaceful non-cooperation again and again. In India an innate loathing for the dark skin has surreptitiously crept into our national psyche. One has to just turn the pages of matrimonial advertisements to understand what I mean, the obsession for fair complexion in the arranged marriage market. It is rather worthwhile to go into the root cause of such attacks and address them strongly. Remember, our Africa policy, a post-colonial drum-beating of Gandhiji’s 21-year long association with South Africa and the INC’s championing the cause of decolonization, even bringing apartheid on the UN agenda, has been activated in recent times, hardly a decade back, and the recent Africa Summit with over 40 Heads of States and Governments taking part in Delhi could have been its fruition. India has developed a lot of stakes in Africa today, over US$ 40 bln in investments alone, besides assistance in HR, medicare, hous-
ing, IT and education, soft portfolios in which India can maximise its core competencies. On the flip side, however, is a serious dichotomy between public pronouncements emanating from government policy, and private action. The man in the street, any street of Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Goa for that matter, can get easily provoked by an African’s behaviour, seemingly in bad taste, and easily stands disposed to take law into his own hands. Who can forget, in this context, the obnoxious behaviour of the then Law Minister of the Delhi government in March last year, when he rounded up an African nationals’ habitat and went ecstatic assaulting males and females alike, all in the pretext of their vitiating the locality! Thus you see the deadly assault of May 26 on Congolese student Olivier, followed by a spate of assaults on African nationals in Delhi and elsewhere, in a clearer perspective. It was but natural that the African Students Association would take out a protest march and the African Diplomatic Corps would demand stringent action on the part of GOI, the diplomats even refusing to attend the Africa Day celebrations organized by the ICCR, an important date in the calendar of African nationals in India. Tempers can be doused, the Foreign Secretary could meet the African Ambassadors and give the government’s commitment that their nationals would get all due security and cooperation of the Indian authorities. But this will soothe tempers until the next event only. For in all fairness, the public does not give much importance to the future of India-Africa relations, nor to the 3-million strong Indian diaspora which could bear yet another backlash of such attacks on their people in India. The losses will be incalculable, and the dynamics of our Africa relations, carefully nurtured over these years, would stand to be violated, difficult to be repaired again. The moment calls for nation-wide introspection, government-led advocacy cautioning our people against the adverse consequences of such actions and immediate precautionary measures by enforcement agencies. In the run-up to PM Modi’s 4-nation tour of Africa in July, barely a month away, such containment measures need to be taken with sensitivity, alacrity and utmost respect for the human being, despite the colour of the skin. India’s links with Africa have been forged in common destinies and a shared historical experience bringing to bear several affinities between our peoples. It is time we recognized that and led our people to understand the fragility of the sit❐ uation and the futility of such destructive tendencies. —The author, a former ambassador, has served in Senegal, Mauritius, Seychelles, France, Germany, Iran, Trinidad, USA and Hungary. He can be reached at malay.mishra55@gmail.com
june 2016 | india empire 25
LaW and diPLoMacY coLuMn
IMPORTANCE OF
GST By K K Anand
The wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect equality —Andrew Jackson
M
r Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, speaking as early as the beginning of the 19th century, wasn’t too far away from the truth. Clearly, there are different taxation regimes in place across the world, as in India, which unsurprisingly enough make it less profitable to run businesses in one state, but profitable in another. The inequality can be exasperating, especially for those potential investors and business conglomerates that are looking closely at making their presence felt through Make in India and other Mission Mode projects. Also at this point in time, with the world’s diplomatic community watching India closely—and India too engaging world leaders like never before—it is imperative that the country demonstrates its resolve for structural reforms by implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the earliest opportunity. There is absolutely no doubt that one of the major impediments to running of smooth businesses, especially in the manufacturing sector, is the uncertain and unpredictable indirect tax regime. The implementation of the GST would result in the abolition of multiple taxes, and bring in much needed uniformity and certainty in tax rates. It would ensure that tax at each stage is creditable, thereby, avoiding 26 india empire | june 2016
double taxation. Besides, manufacturers will then be required to deal with only three laws. POSITIVE OUTLOOK The IMF that recently released its Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific has forecast that economies in China and Japan are further expected to slow down sharply over the next two years. But the outlook for the Indian economy looked favourable with GDP growth projected to strengthen to 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal in spite of “the absence of major structural reforms like GST” according to Mr Ranil Manohara Salgado who heads the Regional Studies Division at the Asia and Pacific Department in IMF. “GST that is struck in Parliament, is a priority for India,” the IMF economist has said. It would create a single national market, enhance the efficiency of intra-Indian movement of goods and services, and boost GDP growth further. This is critical, especially now, with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to India gathering momentum. Several steps have been taken in recent years by the Government of India to liberalize and simplify the FDI regime, including raising the ceilings on FDI in many sectors of the Indian economy. FDI inflows to India went up from USD 34 billion in
cricKeT diPLoMacY in cHHaTTisgarH
Team Swachh felicitated Jaydev Bisht in Raipur
A
group of 30 young adolescent girls and boys from Rajnandagaon district of Chhattisgarh were felicitated in May by senior officials of the state Government, the CEO of Delhi Daredevils team and UNICEF for their special feat in making their respective villages free from open-defecation. These 'Team Swachh' champions also interacted with the members of Delhi Daredevils players. The interaction was held under the backdrop of the UNICEF and Delhi Daredevil's joint initiative, 'Dare to Care', which urges Indian citizens and the large support base of Delhi Daredevils to advocate for the rights of adolescent girls, especially those who are excluded and marginalized. Rahul Dravid, mentor Delhi Daredevils team, Imran Tahir, Mayank Aggarwal, Rishab Pant, J.P Duminy and commentator Ian Bishop shared cricketing experiences with the young boys and girls from Team Swacch. They also discussed the importance of separate toilets for girls in all schools, so that girls remain in school and don’t drop out. Eighteen-yearold Bharati who is a leader-champion from Heeravahi village led the campaign by ensuring a toilet for every woman and girl of her village. According to Swachhta Status Report 52.1 per cent of people in rural India choose open defecation as compared to 7.5 per cent in urban India. Speaking to the media, Mr. M K Raut, Additional Chief Secretary, said, “I congratulate both Delhi Daredevils and UNICEF for the grand success of the initiative. I am confident, that our Team Swachh champions will help catalyse the larger public and create much-needed awareness on the importance of sanitation.” He added that the Government has made significant strides in making the state free from open defecation, ensuring safety and dignity for women. At the time of launch of the SBM-G in 2014, we had only 20 ODF villages in Churiya block of Rajnandagaon to begin with. Our efforts have resulted in making 1,850 villages open defecation-free across the state. Mr. Prasanta Dash, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Chhattisgarh, said, “UNICEF will continue to lend support to the state Government in using Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) model to end open defecation with special focus on women and adolescent girls.” Rahul Dravid said that through the 'Dare to Care' initiative with UNICEF, the team was successful in highlighting urgent issues of adolescents, particularly those related to education, child marriage, sanitation and participation. “I congratulate UNICEF and Government of Chhatisgarh for this fantastic campaign which impacts so many lives especially the lives of the young girls,” he added. Mr. Hemant Dua, CEO, Delhi Daredevils too lauded UNICEF's efforts in engaging the adolescents. “I, along with 34 india empire | june 2016
Rahul Dravid, Mentor, Delhi Daredevils while felicitating the young “Team Swachh champions” said, “simple steps such as educating every girl in the country and ensuring that no girl is married before the age of eighteen, can ensure that the nation progresses”
Children of Rajnandagaon district, Chattisgarh with stars
my team, am proud to be associated with UNICEF and our collective 'Dare to Care' initiative. I am sure that the Team Swachh champions will help bowl out diseases from the lives of children,” he said. About Team Swachh Team Swachh is a visionary social movement for sanitation and toilet use towards an open defecation-free India. About UNICEF UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood. About Dare to Care “Dare to Care” campaign – a joint initiative of UNICEF and the Delhi Daredevils and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. ❐
diPLoMacY
Heads of Missions Gather
President of India Mr Pranab Mukherjee addresses the annual meet of heads of Indian Missions at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Minister of State for External Affairs General V.K. Singh is also present
President Mukherjee greets Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as Minister Singh looks on
38 india empire | june 2016
diasPora and MigraTion
Book launch at World Bank in DC
O
n May 10, 2016 at World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, “Politics of Migration: Indian Emigration in a Globalised World” written by (Dr) A. Didar Singh, S. Irudaya Rajan was launched in the USA by Dr. Didar Singh who provided a comprehensive and very informative synopsis and engaged in an interactive session with the audience. Dr. Didar Singh is currently Secretary General of FICCI and Chair of World Bank's Bank’s Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) Thematic Working Group on mobilizing Diaspora Resources and previously Secretary of India’s Ministry of Indian Affairs. The book presentation and subsequent panel discussions on “Emerging Diaspora Opportunities and Challenges” and “Leveraging the Diaspora as a Source of Innovation, Technology, and Research” was held in collaboration with FICCI From left: Dr. A. Didar Singh (FICCI), Dr. Renuka and the World Bank's KNOMAD. Speakers included: Dr. Misra (Indian Diaspora Council), Ashook Didar Singh; Dilip Ratha (Head of World Bank's KNOMAD Ramsaran (Indian Diaspora Council) and Lead Economist, Migration & Remittances Unit, World Bank);Jacob Kirkegaard (Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics); Dr. Devesh Kapur (Director, Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania); Satyam Priyadarshy (President, TiE DC). “Politics of Migration: Indian Emigration in a Globalised World”studies the politics surrounding Indian emigration from the 19th century to the present day. Bringing together data and case studies from across five continents, it moves beyond economic and social movers of migration, and explores the role of politics-both local and global-in shaping diaspora at a deeper level. The book is highly recommended as invaluable to scholars and students of migration and diaspora studies, development studies, international politics, and sociology as well as policy-makers, and non-governmental organizations in the field. Dr. Didar Singh spoke of “immigration as a matter of immediate importance and considerable contention. The issue of migration is on the forefront of the American public and political consciousness as well. Presidential campaign rhetoric has repeatedly highlighted concerns about refugees and immigration, while the US Congress has held ongoing hearings on contentious migration labor policy issues, such as the H1-B system”. ❐ —Ashook Ramsaran in Washington
42 india empire | june 2016
Mind and bodY
THE INCREASED PREVALENCE OF
MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS Issues of Quality in Psychiatric Education
T
MR EdgARd BElfoRt
he WPA seeks to improve the mental health of people living in the world including Latin American region, by promoting the strengthening and dissemination of an integrated, comprehensive and proactive response by the Health Sector, while encouraging the implementation of mental disorder awareness, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs. In Latin America and the Caribbean, as in other continents, economic progress, social transformation and extended longevity have been accompanied by an increase in psychosocial issues and in the prevalence of mental disorders. When restructuring mental health educational programs, professionals should consider these economic, social and health developments as essential, not only for welfare of the individual, but also for economic growth and for reducing poverty in specific communities or countries. To address the problem of increased prevalence of mental disorders, it is necessary to seek opportunities for change that will enable care that is efficient and of high quality. Mental health educational programs must include training on the problems of vulnerable groups, such as indigenous peoples and communities affected by natural disasters, or children and adolescents, as well as suicidal behavior, alcohol and/or substance abuse, and different forms of violence. This requires the active participation of government mental health services departments (which deal with these problems) in mental health education programs, as a priority of their public health strategy. Training programs (both undergraduate and post graduate) should address the real mental health needs of the population. This calls for harmonization and integration of approaches, including transversal or cross-cutting gender, ethnicity and culture based approaches. ACTION PLAN The WPA Education action plan should be a comprehensive and interdisciplinary program that combines research and education, self-learning and teamwork. It would develop regional training activities, particularly in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, and adapt these training programs to local circumstances, working hand in hand with the presidents of the societies and institutions in these regions. Evaluation and measurement in mental health programs 48 india empire | june 2016
requires clear definitions of the programs objectives. This will permit better evaluation of the programs and their impact. We must emphasize the effectiveness and validation of educational programs (including curriculum and performance assessment), and adapt this approach to different countries and their realities. Geographic and linguistic diversity must also be addressed carefully in creating mechanisms for participation. Attention to local cultural frameworks must become a key element in defining future classification concepts. By definition, primary care settings represent the best opportunity to improve the identification and effective treatment of people with mental disorders. The WPA Secretary for Education suggests that an action plan should: ● Find ways to assist local actors in identifying and solving their own problems through integral programmes that focus mainly on existing programs to promote health, prevent disease and reduce risk. ● Stimulate the development of mental health and hygiene programmes. ● Include research findings on health equity and other ethical issues, and stress the important role these concerns play as cultural forces.. ● Stimulate and motivate the humanization of hospitals and health centres. ● Motivate and strengthen outpatient and community services, using social networks. ● Stimulate and motivate optimal use of the newest therapeutic approaches and techniques, because of the advantages they can offer. ● Pay attention to psychosocial risk factors, such as nicotine poisoning of children, drug abuse, criminal behaviour, domestic violence, poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, early and risky sexual activity, accidents, illiteracy, etc. ● Organize Fellowship Program to support the participation of highly promising early career psychiatrists from across the world. Increasing efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness and reinforcing legislation protecting human rights are specific requirements to achieve a higher quality psychiatric practice in the care of people in Latin America, as well as in the rest of the world. ❐ — The author is WPA Secretary for Education
DIASPORA NEWS
120TH birTH anniversarY
RemembeRing KaRtaR Singh SaRabha By Inder Singh
K
artar Singh Sarabha was one of the first to sacrifice his life for India’s freedom. He was 15 years old in 1912 when he came for higher education at U.C. Berkeley. On reaching San Francisco, the teenager was asked humiliating questions by the Immigration department. He saw other Indians being subjected to similar treatment while potential immigrants with Caucasian features were let in with the barest of formalities. He asked someone sitting next to him as to why this was happening. “It is because Indians are slaves,” he was told. The degrading experience stayed etched in young Kartar’s memory. Kartar Singh met other like-minded Indians at the university campus and came to learn more about the injustices being meted out to the Indian expatriate community. Several students used to work as farm labor during the summer or winter breaks and faced unequal treatment. Kartar had also worked as a fruit picker alongside several other Sikh laborers and knew of the racial slurs that were thrown at them. He had realized that they were paid less than other farm workers because of the color of their skin. In April 1913, Indians in Astoria, Oregon, formed Hindustani Association of the Pacific Coast with its main objective to liberate India from the British colonialism and help establish a free and independent India. The headquarter of the association was established Mr Inder Singh in San Francisco and a newspaper Chairman, titled Gadar was launched for free GOPIO International 50 india empire | june 2016
distribution to promote the aims, objectives and activities of the association. Gadar was published in Punjabi and Urdu and in some other Indian languages and was sent to Indians all over the world. Kartar Singh was put in charge of Gadar in Punjabi language. It carried articles about the atrocities of the British on Indians and racial prejudice and discrimination against Indians in the United States. The articles exhorted people to join the association, and urged them to unite and rise up against the British rule. The Gadar magazine became very popular for its revolutionary and patriotic ideas and over a period of time, the Hindustani Association of the Pacific Coast itself became known as the Gadar Party. The organization was still very young, when in August, 1914, World War I broke out, and the British forces got busy fighting war against the Germans. The Gadarites decided that the time for action had come as World War I provided them a golden opportunity to attain their goal. They published ‘declaration of war’ against the British in the August issue of Gadar and sent to Indians everywhere, especially to Indian soldiers in British cantonments. The Gadarites inspired thousands of Indians who left for India for rebellion and to overthrow the British Government. Kartar Singh left the United States on September 15, 1914, with Satyen Sen and Vishnu Ganesh Pingle. They met with the well-known revolutionary Rash Behari Bose in Benares and shared their plans for throwing the British out of India. Unfortunately, this information reached the British and several Gadarites were arrested at the ports on landing. Meanwhile, Kartar Singh went about preparing the base for the revolution in Punjab. He drew plans to infiltrate the Indian army, went to several cantonments with Pingle to excite the soldiers to fight – not for the British but against the British Empire – and free India from the shackles of British imperialism. On 25 January, 1915, Rash Behari Bose reached Amritsar and went about assessing the preparations.
Kartar Singh went to trial with the other Gadarites in Lahore in what came to be called the Lahore Conspiracy case. In September 1915, the sentence was pronounced—he was to be hanged till death. On 16 November, 1915, Kartar Singh Sarabha was only 19 years old and along with twenty seven of his comrades, he was to be hanged to death
Kartar Singh Sarabha
At a meeting on 12 February, 1915, the date for the revolt was set – 21 February 1915. The plan was to attack cantonments of Mian Mir and Ferozepur while Ambala was to be prepped for a mutiny. As the Gadarites went about making their final preparations for the attack, they were unaware of a traitor, Kirpal Singh in their midst, who had revealed the plan to the police. The planned daring attempt to free India from the British serfdom was foiled by the traitor. Many Gadarites were arrested and put in jail. Kartar Singh, Harnam Singh Tundilat and Jagit Singh escaped the police net. They decided to go to Afghanistan and continue their struggle from there. But Kartar's conscience did not permit him to run away when all his com-
rades had been arrested. On 2 March 1915, they came back to Sargodha and started propagating rebellion amongst the army people there. Risaldar Ganda Singh who was to help them get rifles, got them arrested instead. Kartar Singh went to trial with the other Gadarites in Lahore in what came to be called the Lahore Conspiracy case. In September 1915, the sentence was pronounced— he was to be hanged till death. On 16 November, 1915, Kartar Singh Sarabha was only 19 years old and along with twenty seven of his comrades, he was to be hanged to death. But so severe was the public outcry at the judgement that Lord Hardinge, the Governor General of India, had been forced to intervene. At the last moment, the sentence of 17 of the Gadarites was changed from death to imprisonment and deportation for life in the Andaman Cellular jail. But for Kartar Singh Sarabha, the gallows awaited. During the trial, Kartar Singh had refused counsel. While the judge was impressed by the young man’s intellect, he showed no mercy. He labeled the young boy the ‘most dangerous of all rebels’. The judge said, “He is very proud of the crimes committed by him. He does not deserve mercy and should be sentenced to death.” Witnesses say that the 19 year old sang patriotic song all the way to the gallows, kissed the hangman’s noose, and embraced martyrdom. At the age of 19, Kartar Singh, student, revolutionary, inspiring jewel in India’s freedom struggle, became Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha. No wonder, this young man inspired the likes of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, who is known to have called him his guru. ❐ Inder Singh regularly writes on Indian Diaspora. The article is based on an article on Sarabha in author’s book The Gadar Heroics—life sketches of over 50 Gadar heroes. He is Chairman of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). He was president of GOPIO from 2004-2009, president of National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) from 1988-92 and chairman from 1992-96. He was founding president of Federation of Indian Associations in Southern California. He can be reached at indersingh-usa@hotmail.com june 2016 | india empire 51
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SIKH AwARENESS By Kavita Bajeli-Datt Even 15 years after 9/11, Sikhs in the US feel they are more likely to face profiling, bigotry and backlash than the average American because of the two symbols of their distinct identity - beard and turban. To dispel this misperception and spread better awareness about the religion, a new Sikh art exhibit will be held in New York later this year to showcase the pride taken by the community in their religious and cultural practices. UK-based photographers Amit and Naroop will click portraits of Sikh Americans under "The Sikh Project" mounted by The Sikh Coalition. These protraits will be unveiled around the 15th anniversary of 9/11. The Coalition is the largest Sikh American advocacy and community development organisation in the US and works towards the realisation of civil and human rights for all people, particularly Sikhs. After their critically acclaimed exhibit in the UK, the two photographers, who are proud of their Sikh heritage, said they are "very excited" about their upcoming exhibition. "We are very excited! In the US, it will serve as an educational piece as well as an art project as the awareness of the Sikh identity is still misunderstood; so we are hoping it will have a wider impact," the two photographers told this correspondent in an email interview from New York. The photography exhibit, which explores the beauty, style and symbolism of the Sikh articles of faith, will include both turbaned men and women and feature a combination of iconic Sikh Americans and a few selected winners. Speaking about how the idea of 'Sikh Project' came to them, the two photographers said it was in 2013 that it struck them when they "noticed men of different backgrounds and ages growing beards for fashion, as part of their identity." "Being Sikh photographers, we wanted to show that in our culture, the beard has been a part of the Sikh identity for hundreds of years," they said in the joint interview. They said their UK exhibition got "overwhelming response" and was "appreciated" and "respected" for the message it was giving and the way it was executed. "The content and context resonated with people from different backgrounds as it is not just about Sikh's, it's about pride for your identity". The two, who have worked in the US earlier also, want their latest project to "stand up to the UK Singh Project and if anything even better than it." "In the UK, we have witnessed how powerful art can be in positively educating the broader public about the Sikh community. We can't wait to begin photographing the Sikh American experience and sharing those stories with the world as well." Amit and Naroop, in partnership with the Sikh Coalition, are currently casting for additional photography candidates and are asking turbaned Sikh Americans of all ages and genders to take part in this groundbreaking project. The deadline for entries was May 1. According to Coalition's Executive Director, Sapreet Kaur, "The goal with bringing this project to the United States is the opportunity to combat bigotry by sharing a positive narrative of Sikhs in America through portraits and the incredible stories behind them." The Coalition was founded by volunteers on the night of September 11, 2001, in response to a torrent of violent attacks against Sikh Americans throughout the US. Talking about the response of the people, the two photographers said it has been "fantastic". "The subjects involved have seen the success we have had, so they are excited to be involved. It's the complete opposite of the UK Singh project as nobody wanted to be involved at first and it took a while for it to build momentum." They strongly feel that such exhibition will help in showing the Sikh community in the US in a positive light and help fight bigotry they face in their daily lives. "Each one of the subjects has a story to tell, which will sit alongside the portrait. Some are positive, some are more dramatic, but through the stories, visitors of the exhibition will get to learn what it means to be an American Sikh, both in identity and also in spirit." "Yes 52 india empire | june 2016
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Being Sikh photographers, we wanted to show that in our culture, the beard has been a part of the Sikh identity for hundreds of years
I believe so," he said when asked whether the exhibition will help in highlighting the importance of the beard and turban, an important article of faith of the Sikh community. "An accompanying video interview of each subject will allow visitors of the exhibition to learn more about the way Sikhs are treated, both positively and negatively, and the courage it takes for the subjects to continue to wear their articles of faith," they say. The project, they said, is a fusion of
their Sikh heritage and British upbringing. "It is traditional in content but the execution is modern and contemporary. Hopefully this has allowed it to spread to a wider audience. Has it been successful? It's hard to judge. People have to be open to learn and understand other faiths and identities. "All we can do is to try our best to spread the message. From the response we have had, it appears to have done the job, but there are always more people to reach." â?? june 2016 | india empire 53
coLuMn: Yogi asHWini
Mind and bodY
MOVE BEYOND
FIVE SENSES By Yogi Ashwini Yogi Ashwini
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ill the time you have a physical thought, you will not be able to access the higher centers and as a result you will not understand anything beyond the five senses. It is okay to first indulge in the five senses and to experience them for a while, but disastrous to make them a basis for your journey into yog. They are only a transition and not the basis. So you must change. In order to awaken higher senses, you first need to close the lower senses and only then the energy will rise upwards giving you higher experiences. Before that, you will continue to get foolish thoughts like, “when I get up from dhyan today, there will be a windfall in my business” and when such things will not happen, you will blame me that “I am doing dhyan for over two years now and no such thing has happened.” Or “My relationship with x person was this, why is it not so today? Has the person changed?” Yes, the person has changed. In comparison, he has evolved and you have devolved. If you had continued to evolve with him, then the relationship would have got deeper and better. I reduced my own business involvement to minimum long time back despite it giving me phenomenal returns. It might seem illogical to most but when I sat down to do the math of the number of days I spent roaming around, the tension that I took, the debates and arguments it got me into and the meals that I missed to work out business plans, then the money earned seemed of little value in comparison to the damage I caused to myself. I was convinced that it is just not worth it and reduced my working days from 30 to 3 in a month as that much would be enough to meet my requirements. Same goes for my relationships also. Think about it, even if you earn that extra money you will only spend it on wasteful indulgence as you do not really need it, you will not only damage your health but also spoil your karma and janam by hoarding on to resources and eating into someone else’s share. It is a misconception that good karmas bring you large fortunes. An honest person who follows the yamas, even if he is making a bare minimum, would be satisfied with it. To make super profits and hoard, you have to make strategies and lie to people, and the one who does that can never spend the money so earned as he knows of the ‘effort’ that has gone into making it. Such a person would also not do charity and I can assure you, he would not be enjoying his wealth, he would be dissatisfied 54 india empire | june 2016
and troubled, trying to guard it all the time. That money is spent by his children who are only concerned about their life and they would do it in front of his eyes and he will not be able to say anything to them because after all he earned that money for them only! I am yet to meet someone who is happy with the way his/her children are. So when you do not think your children are good, then for whom are you earning and collecting? You very well know what will become of your hard-earned money and yet you are sacrificing your janam and karma in earning a little more and not sharing it with creation. This is maya, which will not let you enter yog, or go beyond. It is okay to earn, it is okay to enjoy, it is okay to spend but it is not okay to not share. If you observe the thoughts that disturb you most during dhyan, they would be centered on the people who are closest to you – spouse, children, parents, the next would be financial problems and third would be office problems. None of you will be disturbed or get up early from dhyan because you have to feed someone or help your neighbour. If that is happening, it is a progression, otherwise you are simply disturbed by the play of maya and are ruining your life and birth under its influence. Understand that whatever is disturbing you is temporary. It will disappear sooner than you think it would. Everything in the physical is bound by time and whether you are 20 or 40 or 60, that time will pass very soon and since time will pass, so will that object of desire that is disturbing you. What will not pass is dhyan because when you go into the state of dhyan, time ceases to exist. And when there is no time, nothing passes. Time is the swaroop of maya, for you it is the 5 senses and the 5 elements constituting your body. Once you still your thought process, i.e. when the death of mind happens, then your 5 senses become shant and so do the 5 tattvas and once that happens there is no time, your body does not age and you have no problems. The period for which you sit in dhyan, that much time doesn’t exist for you and the result of that is that the effect of maya starts declining on you. Till there is effect of maya, you cannot do yog or dhyan. And the effect of maya is what I mentioned before— you earn and someone else spends it, you take tension and someone else enjoys it. Have you ever seen tension on the ❐ face of the one who is spending your money? —The writer Yogi Ashwini Ji is the head of Dhyan Foundation, Delhi. For details contact: ashwiniyogi@yahoo.co.in