India Empire October 2019 by India Empire

India-Diaspora, Diplomatic, Business and Political Connectivity

INDIA

EMPIRE

Editor’s Desk

bhijit Vinayak Banerjee joined an illustrious list of Indians and persons of Indian origin in winning the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences. It was set up in memory of founder Alfred Nobel in October. The US-based Banerjee shared the prize with his economist-wife Esther Duflo and another US-based economist Michael Kremer. The Swedish academy announced the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences for the economists’ experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. Banerjee and his co-workers tried to measure the efficacy of actions such as Government programmes in improving people’s lives. The Mumbai born 58-year-old Banerjee spent his early life in West Bengal, and attended the South Point High School in Kolkata (see box). After graduating from Presidency College, Kolkata, he received his post-graduation degree in economics from New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1983. In 1988, he obtained a PhD in economics from the Harvard University. Banerjee was born to a Maharashtrian-Konkani mother and a Bengali father— both of whom taught economics in Kolkata. While Nirmala Banerjee (nee Patankar) taught economics at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, Dipak Banerjee was professor and head of the department of economics at the Presidency College, Kolkata. Banerjee is presently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He earlier taught at the Harvard University and at the Princeton University, both in the USA. Duflo, his wife since 2015, is professor of poverty alleviation and development economics at MIT. The Nobel Prize itself is bestowed by Swedish and Norwegian institutions in recognition of advances made in academic, cultural and scientific fields. Five Nobel prizes were established in 1895 in chemistry, literature, peace, physics, and physiology or medicine through the will of the Swedish chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel. The prizes were first awarded in 1901. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, started the prize in economic sciences. The Indian list of Nobel winners includes Rabindranath Tagore for Literature (1913), Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1930), Har Gobind Khorana for Physiology or Medicine (1968), Mother Teresa for Peace (1979), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar for Physics (1983), Amartya Sen for Economic Sciences (1998), Trinidad-born person of Indian origin Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul for Literature (2001), Venkatraman Ramakrishnan for Chemistry (2009), Kailash Satyarthi for Peace (2014). Elswhere in the magazine we’ve stories of multiple and varied interests. Hope you enjoy going through them.

Volume 15 No. 5 October 2019 www.indiaempire.com RNI No.: DELENG/2005/16693 GLOBAL ADVISORY BOARD

Dr Rami Ranger, Dr Kamalanathan Sappani, Mr Mridul Pathak, Ms Priya Tandon Editor Sayantan Chakravarty Consulting Editor Yogesh Sood (Business and Commerce) Sipra Das (Photography) Kul Bhushan Jayant Borkar (Mumbai Affairs) Sanjay Sharma (BJP Affairs) Paras Ramoutar (Caribbean Affairs) Vishnu Bisram (New York) Premchand Ramlochun (Mauritius) Liladhar J. Bharadia (Kenya) Jay Banerjei (Toronto) Head—Art and Print Jaydev Bisht Additional Contributions From Arul Louis, Nikhila Natarajan, Yogi Ashwini Registered Office: N-126, II Floor, Greater Kailash I, New Delhi - 110 048. Contact: +91.11.2923.3647, +91.11.2923.1515. Our Associate Offices: Hyderabad: Abhijit Bhattacharjee, Tel: +91.9848033874. Mauritius: 28, Cnr. Jasmins and Lataniers Avenue Résidence Sunsetville, La Caverne, Vacoas 73310 Republic of Mauritius Trinidad and Tobago: 61 Main Road, Caparo, Trinidad, W.I. Canada: Suite 209 885 Progess Ave, Toronto, ON M1H G3G Canada New York: 260, Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10016 ADVERTISEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: contactindiaempire@gmail.com info@indiaempire.com sales@indiaempire.com M: +91.9899117477, +91.98116.27971 Printed, published, owned by Sayantan Chakravarty. Editor is Sayantan Chakravarty. Published from N -126, II Floor, Greater Kailash I, New Delhi 110 048, INDIA. Printed at Archana Advertising Pvt. Ltd., C-78, Okhla Industrial Area, Ph-1, New Delhi 110020. All rights reserved throughout the world. Any kind of reproduction in any media is prohibited. All disputes are subject to jurisdiction of courts in Delhi.

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Sayantan Chakravarty is in a select group of 12 writers alongside Nobel Laureate William Butler Yeats, RK Narayan (Padma Vibhushan and Sahitya Award winner), journalist and poet Walt Whitman, writer Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), poet Nissim Ezekiel (Sahitya Akademi Awardee), writer Jerome K Jerome (author of Three Men in a Boat), poet Edward Lear, Roald Dahl (16th on Time Magazine’s list of greatest British writers) and others chosen by Scholastic Education to promote advanced English literature for schools worldwide. Sayantan Chakravarty’s stories featured in Best of Indian Express of 25 years and Best of India Today’s 25 years.

coNteNtS 06

october 2019

DOING INDIA PROUD .......................................... 06 Nobel winner Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee

BUSINESS TRAFFIC INTO INDIA ........................ 19 Major developments

NEIGHBORHOOD ................................................ 09 Myanmar-India relations

NEIGHBORS ........................................................ 20 Deepening ties with Bangladesh

ASIAN NEIGHBORHOOD ..................................... 10 Mongolia-India ties

ZERO TOLERANCE .............................................. 36 Coming down hard on Delhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unruly traffic

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october 2019 | india empire

COVER STORY—DIASPORA RECOGNITION

nobel laureate abhijit banerjee

DoinG inDia

ProuD By Arul Louis

bhijit Banerjee has been awarded the Economics Nobel Prize along with his wife Esther Duflo and another US academic, for their research on how to alleviate poverty that has helped education of the poor in India and also revolutionized the field of development economics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) announced on October 14, 2019. Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Banerjee, an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Calcutta, is the second person of Indian Origin to be awarded the prize after Amartya Sen who received it in 1988. He is the tenth person of Indian origin or citizenship to win a Nobel. Banerjee’s work encompasses a broad area in India from using in iron-fortified salt to fight anaemia in Bihar and education in West Bengal to e-governance in dealing with programme leakages and police reform in Rajasthan. Announcing the prize in Stockholm, RSAS Secretary-General Goran Hansson said Banejee, Franceborn Duflo and Harvard professor Michael Kremer were being honoured for “their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.” Banerjee is the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT and Duflo - the second women to win the Economics Nobel and the youngest person - is the Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics Professor there. 6

india empire | october 2019

MIT economists Mr Abhijit Banerjee and Ms Esther Duflo sitting outside their home after learning that they’d been named co-winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in economic sciences

The Economics Nobel Prize winner Mr Abhijit Banerjee meeting the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi in New Delhi in October 2019 Banerjee received his BSc from University of Calcutta in 1981, his MA from JNU in 1983 and his PhD from Harvard in 1988. He is now a US citizen. He follows in the footsteps of Sen, whose work in economics also focused on poverty’s causes and its alleviation. Banerjee was one of the advisers to the Congress in this year’s elections in moulding the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) programme it proposed to give a minimum guaranteed income to 20 per cent poorest people or 50 million families in India. The electorate did not buy into the financial incentive the party offered. “When Less is More: Experimental Evidence on Information Delivery During India’s Demonetisation,” is one of the research papers he co-authored. He and Duflo founded the MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in 2003, along with Sendhil Mullainathan, now a professor at Chicago University. “The kind of work we’ve done over the years, when we started, was marginal in economics” and the award is “great for the development field” within economics and reflects the significance of the work done by many of his colleagues, the MIT quoted him in a press release. In field research applying their experimental model, Duflo and Banerjee found, for example, that immunisation rates for children in rural India jumped dramatically when their families are offered modest incentives for immunisation, such as lentils, MIT said.

A small incentive to parents like a couple of pounds of lentils led to a massive increase in child immunisations, from 6 per cent to 39 per cent, it said. Jakob Svensson, a member of the awards committee, said at a news conference in Stockholm that their work has helped tackle the “learning crisis” around the world and 60 million children in India and Africa have benefited from it. The prize of Swedish Kroner 9 million (about $915,000) will be shared by the Banerjee, Duflo and Kremer. Awards committee chair Peter Fredriksson said that their field experiment work has “completely reshaped development economicsa by introducing field research. Participating in the Stockholm news conference by phone, Duflo said that the prize recognised “a movement much larger than usa of researchers, NGOs and economists who have developed the field experiments in development economics. She said that their work is to “make sure that our fight against poverty is based on scientific evidence”. She said that the poor are often caricatured and even those who try to help them do not understand the deep roots of the problem. “We do try to understand the roots, the interconnected roots of poverty,” she said of their work. Duflo also said she is “humbled” by her success in winning the Nobel prize for economics and hopes it will “inspire many, many other women”, the BBC reported. “I hope showing that it is posoctober 2019 | india empire

COVER STORY—DIASPORA RECOGNITION

sible for a woman to succeed and be recognised for success is going to inspire many, many other women to continue working and many other men to give them the respect they deserve like every single human being,” she said. Banerjee and Duflo, along with others, published a paper this year on E-governance impact on programme leakage in India. He has also co-authored research papers on topics like the untapped math skills of Indian working children and “teaching at right level” in India. Another programme of the J-PAL in India was about microfinance based on the work of Bengaluru-based Bharatha Swamukti Samsthe (BSS), the MIT said in an earlier press release. It assessed how participation in microfinance programmes increased when socially influential people got to know about them first. The press release quoted Banerjee, saying: “While there was a body of elegant theory on the relation between what the network looks like and the speed of transmission of information, there was little empirical work on the subject.” Participation in the microfinance programmes increases by about 11 per cent when well-connected local residents are the first to gain access to them, according to the study, MIT said. “It could thus be a guide for an organization that tries to (place) a piece of information in a network,” Dufolo was quoted as saying. In 2011, Banerjee was named one of Foreign Policy magazine’s top 100 global thinkers. Noted historian Ramachandra Guha said that Banerjee’s ground-breaking scholarship apart, he is also a superb cook and a connoisseur of Hindustani classical music. “He represents the best of Indian culture and scholarship, while always being open to what the world has to offer,” Guha wrote on Twitter while congratulating the Nobel laureate. The other people who are of Indian descent or citizenship who have won or shared Nobel Prizes are: Ra8

india empire | october 2019

a very big day for us, says abhijit banerjee’s alma mater Calling it a very big day for the institution, the South Point High School in Kolkata rejoiced at its alumnus Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee getting the coveted Nobel Prize for Economics. “This is a very big day for us. No school can expect more from its students,” SPHS Principal Rupa Sanyal Bhattacharya told a hurriedly-convened media meet. Banerjee passed his higher secondary exam from the school in 1978. “But this was expected. For some years, we were hearing that he was being considered for the coveted award for his work,” said a beaming Bhattacharya. South Point, the first co-education school in Kolkata and still one of the leading schools in the metropolis, found its name in the Guinness Book of Records (1984-1992) as the world’s largest school in terms of the number of students. Bhattacharya said Banerjee was still in touch with the now retired teachers of the school who taught him. “He replies to e-mails from his teachers till date, despite his busy schedule at the MIT. “This is a great quality - a quality of a great human being,” she said. bindranath Tagore (for literature in 1913); C.V. Raman (physics, 1930), Har Gobind Khorana (1968, medicine); Mother Teresa (peace, 1979), Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, (physics, 1983); Amartya Sen (economic, 1988), V.S. Naipaul (literature, 2001), Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (chemistry, ❐ 2009), and Kailash Satyarthi (peace, 2014).

NEIGHBOURS

India-Myanmar discuss Sittwe Port

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi discussed issues relating to the operationalising of the Sittwe port, being built by New Delhi, as well as a section of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and border demarcation. During the talks in early November, the leaders cordially exchanged views on extending cooperation between the two countries, exchange of highlevel visits, continued constructive assistance from India, and ASEAN-India cooperation, based on common interest. They also discussed other issues including cementing bilateral relations, trade, transport, operation of the Sittwe Port, a sector of Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, demarcation of the remaining part of the common border between Myanmar and India, arriving at a cross-border traffic agreement, upgrading of a female police training school in Yamethin, capacity-building for public servants, and human resources development, said Mizzima, a Myanmar news outlet. Suu Kyi reaffirmed the importance her Government attached to the partnership with India, and her appreciation of India’s consistent and sustained support for the widening of democracy and deepening of development in Myanmar. The two leaders agreed that a stable and peaceful border was an important anchor for the continued expansion of our partnership. Prime Minister Modi emphasized the value that India attaches to Myanmar’s cooperation in ensuring that insurgent groups do not find space to operate across the India-Myanmar border, said Mizzima. Modi also emphasized the priority India attaches to Myanmar as a partner at the crossroads of India’s Look East Policy and the Neighbourhood First policies. He emphasized India’s continuing commitment to improve physical connectivity to and through Myanmar to Southeast Asia, including through building road, port and other infrastructure. India would also continue to strongly support the expansion of capacity for Myanmar’s police, military and civil servants, as well as its students and citizens. The leaders welcomed the expansion of air connectivity between the two countries, and the growing interest of India’s businesses in Myanmar, including the plans of the government of India to host a business event for the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) in Yangon by the end of this month. With regard to the situation in Rakhine, following the completion of the first Indian project to build 250 prefabricated houses which were handed over to the Myanmar government this July, Modi expressed India’s readiness to

Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi meeting the State Counsellor of Myanmar Ms Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of the 16th India-ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2019 carry out more socio-economic projects in the state. He emphasized that the speedy, safe and sustainable return from Bangladesh of displaced people to their homes in Rakhine was in the interests of the region, the displaced persons, and all three neighbouring States: India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Sittwe Port in Myanmar, constructed with India’s assistance, is part of the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project. Its objective is to create a multi-modal sea, river and road transport corridor for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar through the port as well as to the northeastern region of India via Myanmar. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and Myanmar on October 22, 2018 for the operationaliza❐ tion of the port. october 2019 | india empire

ASIAN NEIGHBOURHOOD

joint unveiling of buddha Statue by Prime Minister Mr narendra Modi and President of Mongolia he Mr. Khaltmaagiin battulga

The Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and the President of Mongolia Mr Khaltmaagiin Battulga jointly unveiled a statue of Lord Buddha and his two disciples, installed at the historic Gandan Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, at a function in New Delhi on September 20, 2019

rime Minister Narendra Modi and H.E. Mr Khaltmaagiin Battulga, President of Mongolia, jointly unveiled a statue of Lord Buddha and his two disciples, installed at the historic Gandan Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar. Prime Minister had offered prayers at the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery during his visit to Mongolia in 2015 and had announced to gift a statue of Lord Buddha to the monastery, underlining the common Buddhist heritage and civilizational links between our two countries and peoples. 10 india empire | october 2019

The Statue depicts Lord Buddha in a sitting posture along with his two disciples conveying the message of compassion along with peace and co-existence. The statue was installed and consecrated at the Gandan Monastery earlier this month during the third edition of SAMVAAD dialogue held in Ulaanbaatar from 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 September 2019. Third edition of SAMVAAD dialogue brought together Buddhist religious leaders, experts and scholars from different countries to deliberate on contemporary issues related to Buddhism.

Gandan Tegchenling Monastery is a prominent centre of Mongolian Buddhists and a treasure house of valuable Buddhist heritage. It hosted the 11th General Assembly of Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) from 21-23 June 2019 marking the 50th anniversary of the Conference. Over 150 guests from 14 countries including India, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, North Korea, LPDR, Thailand, Japan etc. had participated in the event. The Statue unveiled today by Prime Minister and Mongolian President H.E. Khaltmaagiin Battulga symbolizes the shared respect of our two countries for the universal message of Lord Buddha. â?? october 2019 | india empire

DIPLOMACYâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;NEW HEADS OF MISSION IN NEW DELHI

CREDENTIALS PRESENTED BY HEADS OF MISSIONS

H.E. Katrin Kivi, Ambassador, Estonia

H.E. Brendan Ward, Ambassador, Ireland

H.E. Hans Jacob Frydenlund, Ambassador, Norway

H.E. Dr Godfrey Majoni Chipare, Ambassador, Zimbabwe

H.E. Claudio Ansorena Montero, Ambassador, Costa Rica

H.E. Dionyssios Kyvetos, Ambassador, Greece

12 india empire | october 2019

H.E. Faduma Abdullahi Mohamud, Ambassador, Somalia

H.E. Sun Weidong, Ambassador, China

H.E. Joel Sibusiso Ndebele, Ambassador, South Africa

H.E. Yerlan Alimbayev, Ambassador, Kazakhstan

H.E. Federico Salas Lotfe, Ambassador, Mexico

H.E. Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador, France

H.E. Freddy Svane, Ambassador, Denmark

H.E. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador, European Union october 2019 | india empire 13

qUOTE UNqUOTE

DiPloMatS to inDia eMPire “On September 27, 2019, we held the official Reception dedicated to the Independence Day and the 101st Anniversary of the Foundation of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia inNew Delhi. We were most honoured to have Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism & Culture as the Chief Guest at our National Day Reception. His presence was the best testament of India’s goodwill towards Georgia and the strong friendship that exists between us. We were delighted that on the same day when we held the Reception, the Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, our Georgian colleague and friend, visited New Delhi, to proudly celebrate the World Tourism Day in the presence of many delegates from around the world. The event dedicated to the World Tourism Day was attended by Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India and Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism and Culture of India. Tourism and the development of its potential is one of the top priorities of the Georgian Government. Tourism is the most effective tool for gaining knowledge about different cultures and traditions, exploring new dimensions and discovering beauty of our planet in many parts of the world. We support and encourage tourism cooperation. Earlier this year the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India have completed a Joint Feasibility Study on Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was launched in 2017with the objective to create favorable conditions for more comprehensive economic cooperation between India and Georgia. The study illustrated that the Free Trade Agreement between India and the Republic of Georgia will positively affect the economic prosperity of the countries and the bilateral trade in terms of trade of goods and services as well as the investments in the field of trade, which, in turn, will facilitate the creation of new opportunities for business.” —H.E. Mr Archil Dzuliashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to India

“Kazakhstan is the main trading partner of India in Central Asia. Bilateral trade turnover exceeds the combined Indian trade turnover with the rest of the region’s countries all together and estimated at $ 1.5 billion by the end of 2019. Only over the period from January to August 2019 trade turnover between Kazakhstan and India already exceeded $ 949 million. We are predicting this number to increase even more than the last years. Kazakhstan – India cooperation is a two-way road, since we are not only beneficiaries, but also investors to Indian economy. Kazakhstan is also widely considered to have the best investment climate in the region, having attracted over $ 300 billion in foreign direct investment in last 2 decades. According to the 2019 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report, Kazakhstan now ranks at 25th spot out of 190 countries. We simplified the process of bringing in foreign labor for priority investment projects by getting rid of some of the most cumbersome quotas and permits. There are direct less than 3-hour flights between Delhi and Almaty operated by our flag carrier “Air Astana” 14 times a week. Besides the business climate, political stability and well-educated workforce, access to a fastgrowing regional market, including Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia), Central Asia and China. Kazakhstan is open for business. Open for tourists and new opportunities. We look forward to many future visits of Indian people to Kazakhstan—for business or leisure.” —H.E. Mr Yerlan Alimbayev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to India

New Indian Ambassador in UAE India’s new Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Pavan Kapoor has assumed office. In a tweet, the Embassy welcomed Kapoor and announced that he had commenced his first day in office by offering floral tributes to a Mahatma Gandhi bust which was unveiled as part of his 150th birth anniversary, Gulf News reported. “Embassy warmly welcomes our new Ambassador Pavan Kapoor. @Ambkapoor commenced his first day in office by offering floral tributes to #MahatmaGandhi,” the tweet said.

14 india empire | october 2019

H.E. Mr Pavan Kapoor

The Indian Consulate in Dubai also welcomed the Ambassador. “Consulate General of India Dubai welcomes Ambassador Pavan Kapoor on assuming charge as Ambassador of India to UAE today. We look forward to work(ing) under his guidance to further strengthen India-UAE bilateral relations,” the Mission stated. Kapoor was appointed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs on August 28 as the country’s new Ambassador to the UAE. The 1990 cadre IFS officer last served as India’s Ambassador to Israel for more than three years.

DiaSPora newS

DIASPORA—USA AND UAE

‘Howdy Modi’ hits world headlines Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s grand ‘Howdy Modi’ rally in Houston along with US President Donald Trump in September made headlines in the world media which described the event in glowing terms. “Around 50,000 people gathered for what Mr Trump called a ‘profoundly historic event’ on Sunday in Houston. The ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event was billed as one of the largest ever receptions of a foreign leader in the US,” the BBC said. The New York Times noted that “Trump joined the ‘Howdy, Modi’ party here to proclaim, with the Indian Prime Minister, a great future of shared values and mutual reinforcement for the world’s two largest democracies.” “That was some spectacle in Houston with Donald Trump joining Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at NRG Stadium,” said the Wall Street Journal. According to

PM Modi with President Trump at the ‘Howdy Modi’ event

the Washington Post: “Deafening drums marked the entrance of Trump and Modi as they clasped hands and walked across the stage in a packed Texas stadium, sending a message of unity between the world’s two largest democracies.”

India-US are friends for decades: Carolyn B. Maloney US Representative for New country of Indian American congreYork’s 12th congressional district gation,” Ms Maloney said at an Carolyn B. Maloney in September event. recalled ties between India and the “Seven decades since India’s indeUS saying we share not only friendpendence is very appropriate that the ship but also strategic partnership on world’s largest democracy is our such many sectors, the remark which was good fried... We share not only friendtweeted by Prime Minister Narendra ship but also strategic partnership Modi. with India in so many sectors like commerce, trade and even values,” Ms Maloney also expressed how she said. Mr Modi was welcomed in “Howdy, Mr Modi later tweeted the video in Modi!” event organised at the NRG which Ms Maloney was speaking at stadium in Houston where historic Inthe event. dian American gathering was noted. The Prime Minister said: “Eminent “When he came to New York Ms Carolyn B. Maloney Congresswoman from New roughly five years ago, we gave him a York,@RepMaloney speaks about the welcome by 25,000 people but in strong ties between India and USA, as well as the #HowdyTexas 50,000 people welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is the largest gathering in the history of our Modi community event in Houston.” 16 india empire | october 2019

Nikki Haley, Senator ted cruz hail ‘HowdyModi’ Nikki Haley, the former US Ambassador to the UN who is an IndianAmerican, and Florida Republican Senator Ted Cruz hailed ‘HowdyModi’, saying the Houston event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Donald Trump shared the stage contributed to strengthening of ties between New Delhi and Washington. Ms Haley, who was the second Indian-American to serve as a Governor in the US, said in a tweet in September: “The US and India have a great partnership and it has only strengthened with the friendship of Ms Nikki Haley @realDonaldTrump and @narendramodi.” She retweeted Trump’s tweet that said: “The USA Loves India!” in response to the Indian Prime Minister’s Office ‘Howdy Modi’ video link. Senator Cruz was present at the event and also addressed the 50,000-strong audience of Indian-Americans. In his speech he said that “India is the largest democracy on face of earth and America is proud to be your friend”. He also posted images on Twitter where the Senator was seen with his wife and the Indian Prime Minister. “Heidi and I were honoured to welcome @PMOIndia to Houston today and to celebrate our shared values and goals. Excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for our two coun-

Mr Ted Cruz

tries,” he captioned the images. Mr Cruz took to Twitter ahead of the event where he said that ‘HowdyModi’ was “an important opportunity to reflect on the enormous value of the relationship between the US and India and the progress we’ve made together”. Meanwhile, other prominent Indian-Americans also praised the event. Ravi Batra, a New York-based Indian-American attorney, tweeted: “HowdyModi! triumphant moment for Indo-US ties: “precedents were broken and protocol-embedded wisdom discarded in Houston when Modi introduced Trump at the event. “Such warmth, usually between brothers or best friends, can displace protocol for something better.”

Indian women in UAe launch mission to protect environment The Indian Ladies Association (ILA), a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based community welfare body, has launched a year-long mission to protect the environment through a series of initiatives, including collection of discarded paper, ewaste, cleaning of beaches and tree planting in Abu Dhabi. In an interview with Gulf News, Sunita Wagle, President of the ILA, said in early October: “We just collected 500 kg of paper from the community. It included used office papers, magazines, books, paper bags, notebooks, textbooks and newspapers copies.” The ILA has committed to run sustainable environmentally friendly and social awareness campaigns in the community each month and this would continue throughout the year to educate people about the environment and seek their participation in making the world a greener place. “By the end of October, we will launch our plantation drive to encourage people to plant ghaf and neem trees. We will plant the trees and arrange for their regular irrigation.

“The ILA just provides a platform to the community to come forward and participate in the environmentally friendly campaigns,” Ms Wagle added. october 2019 | india empire 17

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Governance

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INDO-BANGLA TIES

bangladesh PM reaches out to india inc for investment

Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Ms Sheikh Hasina at the joint press statements at Hyderabad House in New Delhi in October, 2019

angladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in early October asked the business community in India to invest in Bangladesh, saying that her country offers a conducive environment and sustainable development. “We also want to see trade and investment together where Indian big investors can set up industries in Bangladesh to the southeast Asian countries taking advantage of the improved connectivity between us,” she said while addressing a business meeting jointly organised by business chambers ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI in New Delhi. “The trade and investment between our two countries are increasing and volume of bilateral trade has steadily

20 india empire | october 2019

grown during the past years. The balance of trade, however, is still largely in India’s favour. The volume of trade between two countries is nearly $10 billion. In 2018, Bangladesh was India’s eighth largest export destination with $8.8 billion export and our export to India also crossed $1 billion mark for the first time last year. So, the progress is visible, but there is lot of scope for further deepening our relations in the area of trade and investment,” PM Hasina said. Noting Bangladesh has achieved remarkable economic progress in the last decade, often recognized as “development model”, she said her country is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It is the second-largest garment exporter, third-largest inland fish producer, fourth-largest

freshwater fish producer, fourth-largest rice producer and eighth-largest remittance earning country, she said, adding: “If all these positive trends continue, we expect eventually to implement our Vision to make Bangladesh a developed country by 2041.” She said that “a few statistics would further highlight strength of our economy”, citing how inflation has been reduced to 5.4 per cent, per capita income grew 3.5 times to around $2,000 in 2019 from $ 543 in 2006, foreign currency reserve rose to $33 billion, and exports grew three-fold Prime Minister Modi and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Ms Sheikh Hasina witnessing from 2005-06 to reach the exchange of MoUs at Hyderabad House in New Delhi in October, 2019. In the $40.53 billion in 2018-2019. foreground (left) is Bangladesh High Commissioner H.E. Syed Muazzem Ali “With a large population, young people mostly under the age of 25 are ready to be “Our ties of neighbours should go beyond ties of engaged at very competitive wages. Rapid urbanisation fed friends, it should be ties of brotherhood, ties of oneness, by increasing consumption of electricity and burgeoning and the ties of one family working for a better future. growth of middle class indicates the market potential in Bangladesh’s vision to make it a developed nation by 2041 Bangladesh for investors. is truly very encouraging and India would like to be a part “We are in the process of establishing 100 Special Eco- of the growth story,” Mr Goyal added. nomic Zones. About a dozen of them are ready with four ASSOCHAM President B.K. Goenka said that allotments to three countries. A number of high-tech parks Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. are also ready for technology and innovative enterprises. “Over the last 10 years, India and Bangladesh have made Bangladesh has offered three Special Economic Zones for unprecedented progress in furthering bilateral ties and movIndian investors at Mongla, Bheramara and Mirsarai. Sub- ing towards building a multi-faceted relationship, which stantial investment from Indian investors in these three In- today covers cooperation in a wide range of areas, includdian Economic Zones in Bangladesh would help broaden ing security and border management, trade and investment, our exportable base,” she said. connectivity, energy and power, space, development projPM Hasina said that persistent growth of global FDI in ects, culture, and greater people-to-people exchange. Bangladesh since her government took over in 2009 reflects “India being its oldest ally and the closest neighbour enthe increasing confidence of the foreign investment in joys growing trend in bilateral relationship with Bangladesh. Bangladesh, and its strategic location provides tremendous Total bilateral trade between both the countries stands at potential for being the economic hub of the region. $10.46 billion in year 2018-19, rising by 28 per cent as com“With India on the west, China on the north and South- pared to previous year,” he said. east Asia on the east, Bangladesh is in the middle of a comCII President Vikram Kirloskar said that India is a combined market of 4 billion people,” she said. mitted development partner of Bangladesh, and has exIndia’s Commerce and Industry and Railways Minister tended $8 billion in concessional financing to Bangladesh Piyush Goyal said: “India stands committed to every request under three Lines of Credit, and the projects covered under that Bangladesh will make on the railway sector. I would like these will help improve infrastructure in Bangladesh in secto see in the very near future, an end-to-end connectivity tors like ports, power, railways, roads and airports. with Bangladesh and can look at a seamless corridor which “There is need for greater cooperation in the energy seccan help enable people and goods movement from either tor, in building roads, railways, ports and inland waterways side.” “There is a great chemistry between our two leaders and in using such connectivity for mutual benefit. This will and the people, and we would now like to see the same en- create jobs, reduce costs and enhance mobility for both gagement in the business communities and this visit will be countries. There is a need to work together to leverage the harbinger of better times to come. All of our cultural India’s experience with Digital India to provide a boost to and sporting ties will help the engagement going forward Digital Bangladesh. India experience in rolling out the digand follow the path shown by both our founding fathers, ital services to remote and rural areas can help Bangladesh Mahatma Gandhi and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rah- in its mission to provide the same services to its own citi❐ man,” he said. zens,” Mr Kirloskar said.

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INDO-MONGOLIAN BUSINESS

EIL to soon start work on $1.2bn Mongolian refinery project

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan with President of Mongolia H.E. Mr Khaltmaagiin Battulga

ecks have been cleared for state-owned Engineers India Ltd (EIL) to begin construction of a petrochemical refinery in Mongolia. EIL, a PSU under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is the project management consultant for the development of the oil refinery. The roadmap for commencing construction of the refinery has been finalized during the visit of India’s federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan. The refinery is being touted as the largest project being undertaken by the Government of India under its Lines of Credit program. The petrochemical refinery near Sainshand in southern Dornogovi province is to be built at an approximate cost of $1.25 billion. It is being developed under a line of credit of $ 1.236 billion extended by India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mongolia in 2015 and subsequently enhanced during the state visit of the President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga to India in September 2019.

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The refinery is expected to be completed by 2022 and will help Mongolia to cut some of its dependence on Russian fuel. Though Mongolia is self-sufficient in oil and has its own oil fields, almost all of its crude oil is exported and all of its finished petrochemical products are imported. The refinery will reduce Mongolia’s import dependence and will ensure energy security for the country. The refinery is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 mmtpa (million metric tons per annum), with diesel and gasoline as the primary products and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), fuel oil and jet fuel being produced as secondary products. Apart from the refinery, India has also developed infrastructure that would support the operations at Sainshand. Construction of 27 kilometres of railway line, 17.5 kilometres of road and 19 kilometres of power transmission line to connect the refinery to existing networks is almost complete and help the refinery operations immediately after production commences. ❐

INDIA-SOUTH KOREA TIES

SAMSuNg HEIR IN INDIA

amsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was in India in early October, provoking speculation that the South Korean tech giant may make further investments to expand its presence in the country, industry sources have said. On his arrival, Mr Lee was briefed by Samsung Electronics officials. It is his first visit to India since March. Samsung is one of the equipment suppliers for Reliance Jio’s 4G network business. With the Indian telecom firm planning to establish a 5G network in the country, industry observers speculate that the two moguls may consult on the issue if there is a meeting. “There’s also a possibility that Mr Lee could meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” a source said. In July 2018 Samsung India set up one of the world’s largest mobile manufacturing facilities in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. PM Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inaugurated the 35-acre Samsung Electronics facility. Samsung currently has two manufacturing plants—in Noida and in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu—and five research and development centres in India. The company has one design centre in Noida with workforce of over 70,000 people. India today is the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world after China. According to a survey conducted by mobile industry body ICEA, the 268 mobile handset and accessories manufacturing units in the country employ about 6.7 lakh people. Due to the focus on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ programmes, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the new hub of mobile manufacturing in the country over the past few years. The new Samsung facility in Noida was set up with the aim of doubling its capacity for mobile phones in Noida from 68 million units a year to 120 million units a year, in a phase-wise expansion to be completed by 2020. India currently has over 450 million smartphone users. The number of smartphone users in the country is expected

Mr Lee Jae-yong Vice Chairman, Samsung Electronics to reach 859 million by 2022, according to an ASSOCHAMPwC joint study. In such a scenario, Samsung’s heir’s visit is important in the festive season when the consumer electronics market is booming and consumer spending is witnessing an all-time rise, especially from the smaller cities and towns. Samsung India is targeting business worth Rs 3,000 crore by selling over 2 million smartphones online before Diwali that falls on October 27. “Mr Lee’s recent visits show Samsung has a big interest in the Indian market,” the source added. Mr Lee is the only son of hospitalized Samsung ❐ Group chief Lee Kun-hee.

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INDIA-SOUTH KOREA TIES

South Korean firms show interest in odisha

orgetting the Posco episode, the South Korean industries have shown interest in investing in Odisha as the state government rolled out a red carpet to attract investment. A nine-member business delegation led by Ambassador of Republic of Korea Shin Bong Kil met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar in September and evinced interest in investing in Odisha. Senior executives from Korean companies, like Samsung India, Hyundai Motor India, Kia Motors, Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Capital, and organisations such as, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency, are visiting the state. Welcoming the Korean envoy and the delegation, the Chief Minister said there was significant opportunities for both South Korea and Odisha to strengthen trade, investment and tourism ties. The state has envisaged growth in six sectors—electronics manufacturing, petroleum, chemicals and petro-chemicals, textiles, tourism and downstream to metal and food processing. The state would provide conducive business environment, industry-ready infrastructure and skilled workforce, he said. He said the state would soon promulgate a strategy document, Vision 2030, to ensure value-addition to 50 per cent of primary metals produced in the state. The Korean Ambassador appreciated the Odisha government’s approach for investment and industrialization. He said there were strong possibilities of investment in various

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H.E. Mr Shin Bong Kil, Ambassador of Republic of Korea met Mr Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha in Bhubaneswar in September 2019 sectors, including agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and services. Stating that Posco could not set up the plant in the state for various reasons, he said Korea would start a new relationship with Odisha. Notably, South Korean steel major had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in 2005 to set up $12 billion steel plant at Jagatsinghpur. But it shelved the plan following legal hurdles in getting mining block and opposition to land acquisition. ❐

RELIANCE AND SKODA-VOLKSWAGEN

Anmol and Anshul Ambani join rInfra board In a major move within the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), Anmol Ambani and Anshul Ambani, the sons of Group Chairman Anil Ambani, have joined the board of Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra), as non-executive Directors with immediate effect, the company announced in October. The duo has been appointed as “additional directors on the board of the company in the capacity of non-executive directors,” an RInfra statement said. It also said that the duo would hold office as additional directors up to the ensuing annual general meeting (AGM). The 28-year-old Anmol Ambani joined Reliance Capital in 2014 and is on the board of some other ADAG companies. Anmol Ambani completed his undergraduate studies— BSc in Management - from Warwick Business School, UK. Anshul Ambani, aged 24 years, graduated in December 2018 from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, the statement said. He has been associated with Reliance Infrastructure from January 2019 and is on the board of some of the group companies. In another major move, Syed Ata Hasnain has also been appointed as an additional director in Reliance Infrastruc-

Anil Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Group (centre), along with his sons Anmol Ambani (left), and Anshul Ambani ture in the capacity of an Independent Director. The 66-year old army veteran Hasnain is also on the board of Reliance Home Finance Ltd.

Volkswagen India arms merge into Skoda Auto Volkswagen India

Mr Gurpratap Boparai

The Skoda Auto-led Volkswagen Group India in early October announced the merger of its passenger car subsidiaries—Volkswagen India Private Ltd, Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Ltd and Skoda Auto India Private Ltd— into a new entity Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Private Ltd (SAVWIPL). “The Skoda Auto-led Volkswagen Group India, having secured the prerequisite regulatory and statutory approvals, announced the transformative merger of its three

passenger car subsidiaries,” the company said in a statement. The entity will be led by Gurpratap Boparai, who will assume the role of its Managing Director, the statement said, adding that the the company will be headquartered in Pune. It will operate production facilities in Pune and Aurangabad, and have regional offices in Mumbai, and New Delhi among other locations across the country. “The integration will make more efficient use of the existing synergies in this important growth market,” the statement said. Commenting on the merger, Mr Boparai, who takes over as the Managing Director of the merged entity, said: “With this merger, we plan to combine the technology and management expertise of our team in India and realise our true potential in a challenging, competitive environment. We want to further strengthen our presence in India, ensure the professional development of our employees and safeguard sustainable profitability for our dealers.” The statement further said that with the emergence of the merged entity, the brands Skoda Auto, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini are envisioned to serve across market segments and budgets. These brands shall retain their distinctive identities, dealer network as well as implement their own customer experience initiatives, it added. october 2019 | india empire 25

empire feature

TULIP LEAF The Premium Towering Group Housing Project By Yogesh Sood

‘T

ulip Leaf ’ is the latest Group Housing project, located at sector-69 Gurugram, launched by Tulip Infratech! One of the leading Real Estate development organizations in Gurugram and the NCR, Tulip is highly successful and has set a high benchmark in the Real estate world, ever since it was founded more than a decade ago. Tulip is majorly into Group Housing and Commercial Projects, which have spread at a fast pace in Gurugram NCR region. Mr. Parveen Jain is the CMD of Tulip Infratech. He is also the Vice Chairman of NAREDCO (National Real Estate Development Council). Mr. Jain founded Tulip Infratech in the year 2005 and within a very short span of time, he made a wave in the Real Estate Market. The reason behind the outstanding success story of Tulip is in its ability to deliver projects on time to its clients, which it has been doing year after year with hundred percent success rate. This has resulted in Tulip becoming one of the most trusted and leading brand names, climbing the ladder of success in the Real Estate Sector of Delhi NCR. TULIP LEAF Tulip Leaf is a premium, single 20 storied tower with a double basement. It is a Group Housing project that has 3BHK apartments. Tulip Leaf shall have a total of 80apartments, four on each floor. Tulip Leaf is located beside Tulip Purple and in proximity to the Southern Peripheral road. Tulip Leaf shall be a much sought after Group Housing project at a prime location, located on the 60 meter wide sector road, joining the Southern Peripheral Road and having easy access to the National highway (NH-48). Tulip Leaf ’s is only about half a kilometer away from the proposed metro line, easily approachable to DLF Cyber City, International & Domestic Airports and in close proximity to Sohna road which is already equipped with world class amenities. Tulip Leaf ’s main features are highlighted as the following. 1) Gorgeous Entrance and Exit gate

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2) Grand Drop-off area 3) Community Centre/ Club 4) Gym 5) Ramp leading to basement 6) Exquisite Landscaping 7) Swimming Pool 8) Kids play area 9) Multipurpose court 10) Yoga deck 11) Sunken Lawn 12) Skate Park 13) Water Feature 14) Walking Jogging track 15) Open Gym 16) Cricket practice pitch 17) Commercial Plaza The Ground floor of Tulip Leaf is dedicated to Club and Community area with multiple facilities like coffee shop, Gym, indoor games etc. A gorgeous swimming pool will be provided on the Tulip Leaf site. Tulip Leaf has been designed to provide a luxurious high end premium lifestyle with world class amenities. Tulip Leaf shall be well equipped with the state of the art facilities like 24x7 three tier security, dedicated car parking facilities, earthquake resistant RCC framed structures, modular kitchens, high speed elevators, Water feature, swimming pool, club, community centre, shopping arcade, kids play area, Skate Park, Cricket Practice Pitch, jogging track, tree lined roads and walkways, Yoga Deck, exotic landscaped green lawns with beautiful bollards and lighting poles, ergonomic street furniture and other desired paraphernalia. TULIP LEAF using Mivan Construction Technology The special feature of Tulip Leaf project is that it is using the latest ‘Mivan’ construction shuttering technology. This is an Aluminum formwork technology where the

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EMPIRE FEATURE

whole structure is of RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) and brick walls are not used. This gives a very strong earthquake resistant structure, easy to make typical floors with cement concrete pouring at one go for a large area with pipes & conduits embedded in it. The construction time taken is reduced to a great extent and it also results in a smooth finish. Also ‘Mivan’ technology reduces the need for skilled labour, masonry and rendering work. These are a few major advantages of Mivan technology over conventional Brick Wall Construction methods and this shall add an eminent value to the project, Tulip Leaf. TULIP’s ACHIEVEMENTS Talking about the achievements of Tulip, the successful delivery of its projects comes to the mind, which Tulip has been doing year after year, The Group housing projects of Tulip are mainly concentrated on Sohna Road Badshah pur Gurugram. The nomenclature of Tulip Group Housing projects reflects the various colors of Tulip, for example Tulip Ivory, Tulip White, Tulip Purple, Tulip Violet, Tulip Lemon which are located around 75 acres of land in sector69 & 70 on Badshahpur Sohna road Gurugram. There are around 5000 apartments in these Group Housing projects. All the above Tulip projects are adjacent to each other and reflect a Tulip Mini city. These Tulip projects have all the location advantages as they are only half a kilometer from proposed Metro on Southern Peripheral road, have a 60m wide approach road, Darbaripur road, adjacent to Sohna road having shopping malls and big Offices and all modern amenities, easily approachable from NH-8 and a

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fast drive from IGI & domestic airports. Tulip Grand, another group housing project, is in Sonepat. While Tulip Ace and Petals, are located at Pataudi road in Gurugram. Providing best quality homes with precision, implementing new construction technologies like Mivan, going for Environment friendly and Sustainable Green buildings, using Eco-friendly materials, bestowing exquisite Landscaping to impart Pollution free atmosphere with a radiant ambience and aura, providing modern amenities and sports facilities in the vicinity of projects, consistently improving even further with every project, raising the benchmark bar with on time delivery of projects every time, following Client Centric strategies by giving clients’ interests and convenience as the top most priority are the major contributing factors for Tulip’s outstanding success. TULIP’s NEW PROJECTS The second new upcoming Tulip Group Housing project is ‘Tulip Yellow’ which is under TOD-1 (Transit Oriented development) policy. This is located adjacent to Tulip Violet. Besides these, a grand Temple is coming up adjacent to Tulip Ivory which shall be cynosure of all eyes and where the Residents can celebrate festivals and perform Puja and Religious activities. Adjacent to this Grand Temple, Tulip Club project is coming up which shall be near to Tulip Violet. In totality a sort of Tulip mini city is being created where all Tulip projects are adjacent to each other in sector-69, 70, creating a serene, ambience and aura with a pollution free green atmosphere coupled with exquisite landscaping in all Tulip projects. ❐

Pictures By: siPrA DAs

Photo Gallery

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ANALYSIS—CREDIT SUISSE

India can win big from inevitable $350-550bn exports moving out of China: Credit Suisse By Nikhila Natarajan

ndia could potentially be one of the big winners from the US-China trade war, according to a Credit Suisse survey of 100 companies with global sales of $1 trillion that projects $350550 billion of exports will shift out of China and that this is “inevitable even if slow”. This survey insights land at the same time when US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is saying in New Delhi that India has a “wonderful opPeak pressure begins only now portunity right now, to take advantage Multiple pressures to move manof trade dissension elsewhere”. $1 ufacturing out of China are likely to billion translates to approximately Rs peak now because “80 per cent of Mr Wilbur Ross 7,000 crore. the finished goods sold to conUS Commerce Secretary “We’ve actually prepared a chart sumers come under tariffs only about what are the areas where now”. The report connects the dots China is the big exporter to us? How does that compare to similar goods in earlier lists which saw price rise, lower with what India is exporting to us? And what are possible demand and a shift in production. solutions to how do we change that mixture?” Mr said at the India Today ‘India Economic Summit’ event in New Companies keen to move out Delhi in October. The Credit Suisse report, reviewed by Companies that have spoken to Credit Suisse have said IANS, has said that firms in China plan to move produc- “they would shift manufacturing out of China even withtion to Vietnam, India, Taiwan and Mexico. out tariffs”. They list a “shrinking Chinese workforce” as Mr Ross’ comments and the Credit Suisse report both one of the main issues: “50 million fewer workers by 2030”. come as China’s top trade negotiator prepares to lead an Firms plan to move production to Vietnam, India, Taiwan upcoming 13th round of talks aimed at resolving the on- and Mexico, says the report. going trade war with the US. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington for the negotiations and Shrinking workforce trade talks would take place after China’s National Day “In five years though, with the Chinese manufacturing holiday which falls on October 7. The Credit Suisse re- workforce shrinking by another 9-15 million after a 20 milport lists three main themes that inform the $350-550 billion decline since 2015, we expect $350-550 billion of exlion “shift”. ports to move out of China. It could be more, if other

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countries improve absorption capacity: Vietnam is too small you look at our trade deficit it has two components, one’s (but should gain the most), Bangladesh a pure-play on ap- called automotive and the other’s called China,” he said. parel, and India has seen good import substitution in elecDuring his comments, Mr Ross made the distinction betronics but is struggling to grow apparel tween “small trade deficits with other exports. Hon Hai and Pegatron would countries” and “China” as two separate be negatively affected, L&T, Havells and issues. “We believe that most of the Feng Tay would benefit. In the nearthings we’re requesting particularly of “We believe that term, tariffs would raise prices in the US India would not only help us vis a vis most of the things (13 per cent of firms absorbing them), India, we think a lot of them would we’re requesting help India itself,” he added. and shift Chinese exports to other “So, (I) don’t want you to think that countries (possibly at lower prices).” particularly of India we’re just focusing on deficit, we’re foUS President Donald Trump’s adwould not only help cusing also on total trade. And what the ministration first imposed tariffs on us vis a vis India, world needs is more total trade. This reChinese imports in 2018 in a bid to win we think a lot of cent diminution in the forecast, that concessions from China, which rethem would help world trade will be down to 1.2 per cent sponded with tit-for-tat tariffs. A deal this year, is a very bad omen for the remains elusive as the dispute escalates India itself” world because normally, trade, global between the world’s two largest trade has been growing at a percentage economies. In New Delhi, Mr Ross spoke about the “third kind of point or so. So if it’s really true, that world trade will only barrier” that “bothers” the US, which he said was neither grow at around 1 per cent. That does not speak very well for about competitive advantage nor one country actually need- the world GDP. So that’s a source of separate concern,” Mr ing a certain product because of locational constraints. “If Ross said. ❐

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VOLVO AND ESSAR

Punjab seeks investment from Infosys, Volvo Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in August called on Infosys co-founder and non-Executive Chairman Nandan Nilekani and Volvo Group Managing Director to seek investments in his state. Mr Nilekani evinced interest to develop a start-up ecosystem in view of the excellent infrastructure in the Information Technology city Mohali, an official statement said. During the deliberations, the delegation, also comprising Public Works Minister Vijay Inder Singla, impressed upon Mr Bali to setup a Volvo design centre and a service centre in the state, besides opening a skill development centre to impart basic training to drivers. The Finance Minister apprised the Volvo Group President about incentives and concessions being offered by the state. The congenial investment climate coupled with the investor-friendly state industrial and business policy has revived the industrial growth in the state, which was reflective from huge investments worth over Rs 50,000 crore since this government assumed office in March 2017. Highlighting the other initiatives, the minister said the Invest Punjab was a ‘One Stop Office’ for providing regu-

Mr Manpreet Singh Badal

latory clearances on fast track and extending investment support to the prospective investors and entrepreneurs. Additional Chief Secretary, Investment Promotion, Vini Mahajan assured all support and cooperation to the investors and industrialists.

essel to sell solar units to Adani

Mr Subhash Chandra

Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group has sealed a deal with Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) to sell its solar units in Punjab, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh for an enterprise value of Rs 1,300 crore. “The Group has signed an agreement with Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) to sell 205 MW operating solar assets of Essel Green Energy Private Ltd and Essel Infraprojects Ltd at an enterprise value of Rs 1,300 crore. The assets are located in Punjab, Karnataka and Uttar

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Pradesh,” Essel Group said in a statement. All the assets have long term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with various state electricity distribution companies. The diversified group, which runs the Zee network of channels, said that it remains focused towards its commitment made to its lenders and is furthermore confident on completing the overall repayment process. “The Group is also constantly working towards arriving at a closure on the divestment of the additional 480 MW solar assets portfolio,” it said. An Essel Group spokesperson noted that its asset divestment process is well within the purview of the agreed timelines with its lenders. “The sale of the Group’s solar assets to AGEL is yet another positive step taken in this direction,” the executive said. The proceeds from the solar asset sale are set to help promoters of Essel group to bring down its debt level. The promoter’s debt which was earlier Rs 11,000 crore got reduced by Rs 4,224 crore post Invesco Oppenheimer deal, bringing the figure down to Rs 6,776 crore. US-based Invesco-Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund had last month agreed to pick up 11 per cent stake in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), the flagship media company of Essel Group, for a total of up to Rs 4,224 crore.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

IT Ministry partners google on ‘Build for Digital India’

Union IT Minister Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad shakes hands with Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google, Mr Karan Bhatia after signing a state of intent with Ministry of Electronic and IT in New Delhi in August 2019

he Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in August entered into a partnership with Google with the aim of rolling out “Build for Digital India”, a programme that will give engineering students a platform to develop market-ready, technology-based solutions that address key social problems. The programme will invite ideas from students to focus on areas of healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, women safety, smart mobility and transportation, environment, accessibility and disability and digital literacy. As part of the programme, engineering students across the country will be invited to apply and join in a learning journey that will help them transform their bright ideas into realworld solutions. Applicants will take part in online and offline learning opportunities on key technologies such as Machine Learning, Cloud and Android. These will be offered through Google’s Developer Student Club network and other Google Developer networks. Google will also offer mentorship ses-

sions in product design, strategy and technology to the most promising products and prototypes. “I am delighted that Ministry of Electronics and IT and Google have come together for ‘Build for Digital India’ initiative. This initiative will not only motivate the college students across India to innovate but will also produce some good technology solutions for some major social challenges of India,” IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a statement. A formal call to join the programme will be announced soon, Google said. “Advanced new technologies like Machine Learning and AI can help address at scale some of the toughest social challenges that India faces today,” said Karan Bhatia, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google. “We are pleased to be partnering with MeitY to reach, inspire and equip today’s young engineers with the technical and entrepreneurial skills and the mentorship they need to turn their bright ideas into tomorrow’s breakthrough solutions,” Mr Bhatia added. ❐

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LAWYERS-POLICE CLASH

POLICEMEN & FAMI

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LIES PROTEST IN DELHI

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DELHI TRAFFIC POLICE

ZERO TOLERANCE

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october 2019 | india empire 37

COLUMN: YOGI ASHWINI

MIND AND BODY

chanGinG

tiMeS by Yogi Ashwini

he sciences propagated by the Vedic rishis were given in the form of shrotras in Satyug, in the form of smritis (memories) in Tretayug, in the form of puranas in Dwaparyug, and finally as tantra and yog in Kalyug. The above presentation of the same knowledge in different forms is indicative of the constantly changing aspect of the manifested creation. As we are witnessing the last phase of Kalyug, so we are experiencing things which have never ever happened before in manifested creation...to a sadhak my point should have been clear by now. For the normal houseyogi Ashwini holder I shall elaborate further. In no yug has mankind witnessed the sale and purchase of the revered sciences. If Guru Drona did not want Ekalavya as his shishya then he did not; Ekalavya had to pay with his thumb for acquiring gyan through deceit. If Parashuram chose that Karan would lose the gyan given by him at the time when he would need it the most, then no force could save Karan. This was the power and ability of the Guru. No amount of wealth, I am sure, could have changed Parshuram’s or Guru Drona’s mind! This last phase of Kalyug is witnessing a phenomenon that is unique to it. Aspects of yog and tantra are being sold and bought in the open market. And like the theory of demand and supply, the meeting point of the two curves of demand and supply determines the price! You can imagine the oversupply by the fact that in mere Rs. 200 you can have your energy centres corrected - having no bearing to the karmas you have done and just Rs 600 can get you a certificate of being a yoga teacher. I remember the words of Sir John Woodroffe here. He told that in earlier times, the Gurus had just around 15-20 shishyas to whom they had given the Shaktipath, now-a-days some Gurus give Shaktipath to thousands of people or more. These Gurus must be super beings for surpassing the ancient masters strengths and abilities, because one Shaktipath takes away a significant amount of the life force from the giver, and it takes long hours of practices to regain that force. It is a mystery how so many can be given Shaktipath at the same time. I hope I have triggered the thought process of the reader.... ❐

—Yogi Ashwini is the guiding light of dhyan foundation and can be reached at www.dhyanfoundation.com 38 india empire | october 2019