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July 2019

Dear Friends,

The result of the Indian general elections was declared on May 23, 2019 which saw over 610 million

voters exercise their franchise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi‟s government was re-elected for a second

term with bigger mandate than before signaling support for continued economic growth and reforms.

The Union Budget for 2019-20 was announced by the Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs,

Government of India, on July 05, 2019. The budget focuses on reducing red tape, building social

infrastructure, job creation in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and investing heavily in infrastructure.

The Government has also committed to substantially boost investment in Agriculture, Social Sector,

Education and Health.

On the economic front, the IMF‟s World Economic Outlook 2019 Report published in April 2019 has

projected that India will grow at 7.3 percent in 2019 and 7.5 percent in 2020.

The Embassy of India in The Hague organized a seminar on Indo-Dutch cooperation in the area of

agriculture and food processing sector. We had high level delegation visits from India – Chief Minister of

Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Jai Ram Thakur, focusing on

areas of cooperation in water management and agriculture. Embassy celebrated International Day of Yoga

on 16 June 2019 in the prestigious Dam Square and was one of the largest celebrations in the history of

Netherlands.

We will be celebrating India‟s 73rd Independence day on 15 August, 1000 hours at India House in

Wassenaar with a flag hoisting event and open House.

We look forward to more engagements in the coming year,

Best wishes for the holiday season.

Venu Rajamony

Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Netherlands.

India Economic News Bulletin

Embassy of India

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Embassy news and events

A seminar on Indo-Dutch Cooperation in the Agriculture and Food Processing Sector

In events, the Embassy organized a seminar on Indo-Dutch Cooperation in the Agriculture and Food

Processing Sector in March 2019 which focused on the robust intellectual property regime (IPR) in India.

Speakers from Unilever and SPAR shared their experience on working in India and Mr. Jaap Bond, Vice

Governor of Province of North Holland and Mr A.Gierveld, Deputy Director General in the Dutch Ministry of

Agriculture shared their thoughts on opportunities for Dutch companies in India.

Digital Health Conference

The Dutch and Indian expertise in digital technologies, apex Healthcare industry body-NATHEALTH and

the Netherlands Embassy organized a Digital Health Conference on 24th June in New Delhi. The

conference aimed at driving digital innovation in healthcare. The Dutch healthcare experts were in India

on a Digital Health Mission to explore bilateral collaborations in the sector. The Conference brought the

Dutch Delegation in contact with relevant stakeholders from the ecosystem to help forge partnerships in

the eHealth domain.

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Visit of the Chief Minister of Kerela Shri Pinarayi Vijayan

We had high level delegations visiting the Netherlands. In May 2019, a delegation led by the Kerala Chief

Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan visited to explore possibilities of cooperation in water management, flood

prevention and agriculture. He also met with Ms Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Dutch Minister for

Infrastructure and Water Management. Please click the link to view the press release. Photos of the event.

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Visit of the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shir Jai Ram Thakur

In June 2019, a delegation led by the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jai Ram Thakur visited to

promote “Rising Himachal: Global Investors‟ Meet” taking place from November 7-8, 2019 at

Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Thakur was also the chief guest at the International Yoga

Day celebrations that took place on June 16, 2019 at Dam Square. Please click the link to view the press

release. Photos of the event.

Yoga Day 2019

This was the first time the Dam Square hosted the International Yoga Day. The event saw participation in

the opening ceremony by the Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Bikram Singh, International Cricket

Star Suresh Raina, Dutch actor, model and photographer Ms. Micky Hoogendijk, Mr. V.K. Arora, CMD of LT

Foods and Dr. Deepak Mittal, Chairman, International Tractors Ltd. Representatives of the Royal Dutch

army also joined the celebrations for the first time.

A unique addition to the program this year was also the promotion of Indian handicrafts through a „Made

in India‟ display featuring live demonstrations by five national award winning master artisans from India

throughout the day. From the commercial side , a stall was put up by the Maharishi Ayurveda Centre

provided advice on yoga, wellness and healthy living while five special food trucks provided vegetarian

and vegan food as well as vegan ice cream for the participants and onlookers. A stall was put up by LT

Foods, pioneers in best specialty grains and foods displaying their varied food products. Our major

sponsors for the Yoga day were Citizen M, Sonalika tractors, LT foods, Pacques International and Meru.

We are grateful to our sponsors for their support. Please click the link to view the press release. Photos of

the event.

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NextWeb Summit

delegation from India comprising Tech Startups and Invest India attended the NextWeb Summit at

Amsterdam in May 2019. They also interacted with leading startup incubators and had a discussion

session at the Embassy of India focused on the Dutch business environment for Indian companies.

Photos of the event.

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Seminar on Indo-Dutch Cooperation in water management

A seminar on Indo-Dutch Cooperation in water management was co-organized by Foundation for Critical

Choices for India (FCCI) and The Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce & Trade (NICCT) on April 5. A

book authored by Ambassador Venu Rajamony “What Can We Learn From The Dutch – Rebuilding Kerala

post 2018 Floods” was released in the event. Photos of the event

Interactive session with the leading Indian companies

Embassy of India organized an interactive session with the leading Indian companies based in the

Netherlands in various sectors. Ambassador Venu Rajamony interacted with the leaders of major Indian

companies based in the Netherlands like TCS, Tata Steel, Infosys, HCL, Jet Airways, Tech Mahindra,

Kirloskar, Suzlon, LT Foods, Poonawalla Science Park, & Sri Sri Company.

Photos of the event.

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Trending News

India to become 5th largest economy globally this year; 2nd in APAC region by 2025: June 04 2019

India is forecast to overtake the UK to become the world's fifth largest economy this year and projected to

surpass Japan to feature at the second position in the Asia-Pacific region by 2025, IHS Markit said. In a report

on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP party's victory in the national elections, it said the economic

outlook "looks positive" for the second term of Modi government, with GDP growth forecast to average around

7 per cent per year over the 2019-2023 period.

"India is forecast to become the world's fifth largest economy in 2019, reaching a total GDP size exceeding

USD 3 trillion, and overtaking its former colonial ruler, the United Kingdom. By 2025, Indian GDP is also

forecast to surpass Japan, which will make India the second-largest economy in the Asia-Pacific region," it

said.

As India continues to ascend in the rankings of the world's largest economies, its contribution to global GDP

growth momentum will also increase. India will also play an increasingly important role as one of the Asia-

Pacific region's major economic growth engines, helping to drive Asian regional trade and investment

flows.Read more

President Ram Nath Kovind addresses joint session of Parliament: Highlights: 20 June 2019

In this Lok Sabha election, more than 61 crore citizens cast their vote and set a new record. The people of India gave a clear mandate. The government is working for 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'.

I am happy to say that my government has made it a priority to reach out and uplift people from poverty and provide all the basic needs to live with dignity. Rural and urban India, both must progress.

Water conservation, help to farmers and families of soldiers are a priority of my government. Jal Shakti Ministry is a decisive step in this direction.

My government is working to increase seats in higher educational institutes by 50 per cent by 2024, will create 2 crore more seats. Efforts to further simplify GST will continue.

Empowering the women is a top priority for my government. Not just empowering the women but to lead under the empowered women is my government's approach. Employment opportunities for rural women is being facilitated.

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PM sets up panel on big agri sector reforms, says $5-trn economy achievable: June 15 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked Chief Ministers to increase the economic size of their

respective states by 2-2.5 times to ensure $5-trillion national economy by 2024 from the current level of $2.7

trillion. This, he said, would help generate additional jobs and increase the purchasing power of the common

man.

Chairing the first governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog in his second term as Prime Minister, Modi

announced setting up of a high-powered committee on structural reforms in the distressed agriculture sector.

The panel, which will also include some of the Chief Ministers, will examine legislative changes required for

reforms. Later at a press conference, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said, "The composition of the

panel will be announced in the next few days."Read more

NHAI tweaks strategy for USD 42.91 billion projects under Bharatmala scheme: May 13 2019

High land acquisition costs have forced the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to tweak its strategy

for project implementation. The NHAI has decided to consider only those projects that require minimal land

acquisition as it finalises highway contracts worth about Rs 3 trillion (USD 42.91 bn) under the Bharatmala

scheme.

Reprioritising its execution strategy, the Authority will change the weight it gives to different factors while

planning projects. Earlier, freight movement and revenue from projects were given precedence over land

acquisition. This essentially means existing projects that need expansion may get priority over new ones. Read

more

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India ready to take a giant leap into space, to set up own station: June 14 2019

Having entered the Mars orbit in its first attempt and given the world evidence of water on the moon, India

announced plans to set up its own space station, marking its biggest leap yet in space exploration.The 360-

tonne International Space Station (ISS) circling the earth 400 km above its surface is the only space station

with a human crew. A multinational collaboration of Europe, the US, Russia, Japan and Canada, it has six

astronauts on board at anytime of the year. Read more

India may have 88 million 5G connections by 2025: GSMA: June 6 2019

Global telecom industry body GSMA expects India to have 920 million unique mobile subscribers by 2025

which will include 88 million 5G connections."5G connections in India are forecast to reach 88 million by

2025...This will leave India trailing regional peers such as China, which is set to see almost 30 per cent of its

total connection base on 5G by 2025," the GSMA Intelligence report released in May said.It said there were

close to 750 million unique subscribers at the end of 2018 and expected to reach almost 920 million by

2025."India alone will generate almost a quarter of the world's new mobile subscribers over this period," it

said.Read more

FDI flows to India grew 6% in 2018 to USD 42 bn: UN report: June 13 2019

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to India grew by 6 per cent to USD 42 billion in 2018, with strong inflows in

the manufacturing, communication and financial services sectors, and cross-border merger and acquisition

activities, according to a UN report that ranked India among the top 20 host economies for FDI inflows in

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2017-2018. The World Investment Report 2019, released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD), said global FDI flows slid by 13 per cent in 2018 to USD 1.3 trillion from USD 1.5 trillion the

previous year the third consecutive annual decline.Read more

Major ports cargo traffic rises 6 pc to 60 MT in Apr: May 20 2019

India's 12 major ports recorded 5.65 per cent rise in cargo handling to 60.07 million tonnes (MT) in April this

fiscal year, mainly due to higher demand for coal, petroleum, oil and lubricants, industry body IPA said.These

top ports, under the central government, had handled 56.86 MT of cargo in April last year.Increased demand

from various sectors, including coal, POL (petroleum, oil and lubricant) and containers, was the main reason

behind the growth in traffic, as per the latest data from the Indian Ports Association (IPA).Read more.

Indian pharma exports hit US$ 19.14 bn, report double-digit growth after 3 yrs: May 03 2019

Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil)'s year-end report has pegged the total pharma exports

from India at $19.14 billion for 2018-19 with a growth of 10.72 per cent over $17.28 billion in pharma exports

last year.The double-digit growth has returned to pharma exports after three years of flat-to-marginal export

growth, driven by formulations exports to North America among other destinations, according to the report.

Indian pharma exports registered a double digit growth of 10.17 per cent at $16.89 billion last time in 2015-

16.Giving a performance break-up of individual categories within the pharma segment, the Union Commerce

Ministry's nodal agency said that the export of drug formulations and biologicals, which grew at 12.13 per

cent, alone added close to $1.5 billion to the total pharma export revenues this time around.With a total

contribution of $13.56 billion, formulations accounted for 70.87 per cent of the total pharma exports in the

year 2018-19, according to data.Read more

Addressable market for e-pharmacies in India to reach US$ 18.1 bn by 2023: EY: May 30 2019.

The total addressable medicine market for e-pharmacies in India is likely to reach USD 18.1 billion by 2023,

driven by increasing internet penetration through smartphones, healthcare spend and rise in chronic diseases,

according to a report.As per the report 'E-pharma: Delivering Healthier Outcomes' by consultancy firm EY, the

addressable medicine market for e-pharmacies in the country stands currently at USD 9.3 billion and is

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estimated to grow at a CAGR of 18.1 per cent.The key growth drivers for e-pharma market in India are

increasing internet penetration and smartphone ownership along with the ease of ordering medications

through an e-commerce platform, it said.Read more.

India to be among top-10 media markets by 2021: Study: April 01 2019

India is expected to be among the top-10 entertainment and media markets globally by 2021 in terms of

absolute numbers, according to a joint study by ASSOCHAM-PwC.

The country's per capita media and entertainment spending is likely to be capped at USD 32 or Rs 2,080 by

2021, the study noted.By some estimates, India is among the fastest growing OTT markets in the world and

will be one of the top-10 by 2022, it said.The market size is expected to reach USD 52.68 billion in 2022 from

USD 30.36 billion in 2017, it claimed. Read more.

Indian MSMEs can create 10 million jobs in 4-5 years: Report: April 10 2019

India's MSME sector has the potential to create up to 10 million new jobs in the next 4-5 years by focusing on

developing the enterprises in certain segments through partial substitution of imports, a report has said.The

report by Nomura Research Institute (NRI Consulting & Solutions) on the country's micro, small and medium

enterprises (MSMEs) said dedicated focus on developing MSMEs in select segments can create additional 7.5 –

years through partial substitution of imports.

The manufacturing 10 million employment opportunities in the next 4-5

sector in India needs to shoulder the dual responsibility of accommodating the shift of labour from agriculture,

and also cater to the added labour force, the report said.Read more

India highest recipient of remittances at USD 79 billion in 2018: World Bank: April 09 2019

India retained its position as the world's top recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending a whopping USD

79 billion back home in 2018, the World Bank said in a report.India was followed by China (USD 67 billion),

Mexico (USD 36 billion), the Philippines (USD 34 billion), and Egypt (USD 29 billion), the global lender

said.With this, India has retained its top spot on remittances, according to the latest edition of the World

Bank's Migration and Development Brief. Over the last three years, India has registered a significant flow of

remittances from USD 62.7 billion in 2016 to USD 65.3 billion 2017. Read more.

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India develops pan nation electricity mobile app for ensuring 24X7 supply: April 11 2019

In what will help ensure round-the-clock electricity across India, the union government has developed a crowd

sourcing mobile app for accessing real time consumer feedback on quality and availability of power from

across the country.

This comes in the backdrop of a need for data integrity, with many States claiming to have achieved 24x7

power for all, despite outages. Electricity availability has been a contentious issue as India goes to polls for the

17th LokSabha.

The app named Jagruk or „aware‟ developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) will also have an

automatic mode wherein electricity supply data will be collected during the charging of the phone. The pilot

project for the app will shortly be launched in all the union territories and the states such as

Odisha,Uttarakhand, Assam and Bihar. Read more

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Trade fairs and exhibitions

Roorkee Water Conclave at IIT Roorkee during February 26-28, 2020

The first edition of the Roorkee Water Conclave will be on Hydrological Aspects of Climate Change and it will

be held at IIT Roorkee during February 26-28, 2020. The Conclave details are available

on www.iitr.ac.in/rwc2020/.

Global Exhibition on Services (GES) 2019 brochure

GES 2019 is organized by Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India

in partnership with the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) and the Confederation of Indian Industry

(CII).

Vibrant Terry Towel Global Expo and Summit 2019

Global buyers from towels and bath linen sector will gather at Vibrant Terry Towel Global Expo and Summit

2019 and meet shortlisted Maharashtra suppliers to negotiate their forthcoming procurement deals and private

labels. Vibrant Terry Towel Global Expo and Summit 2019 will showcase a variety of towels along with unique

jacquard woven Terry Towels and other bath linen products to forge business linkages worldwide.

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India International Cooperative Trade Fair (IICTF) on 11-13 October, 2019 at Pragati Maidan,

New Delhi, India.

International buyers can be from cooperative, corporate, private, government, IICTF covers

exhibitors/sellers/buyers who have primary focus on the Cooperative-to Cooperative trade on sectors such as

agriculture and allied sectors complete value chains, commodities, exports, technology, climate smart

agriculture, processing, packing, storage, machinery, brand promotion, marketing, coop-banking, IT, Cyber-

security, livestock, dairy, fisheries, handloom, handicrafts, textiles, consumer goods, retail, hospitality,

insurance, finance healthcare, products by women groups and capacity development.

Vibrant Goa Global Expo and Summit 2019

Vibrant Goa Global Expo and Summit 2019 (VG GES 2019) will be first of its kind expo focused on multi-

sectoral opportunities in Goa. Bringing customers, manufacturers, importers, buyers and sellers, service

providers, professionals, traders, infrastructure providers and technologies together on a common platform to

discus share, debate and celebrate the best of multiple industries.

International Crop Science Conference & Exhibition and PMFAI-SML Annual Agchem Awards to

be held at New Delhi, India on 14th and 15th November 2019

International Crop Science Conference & Exhibition and PMFAI-SML Annual Agchem Awards to be held at New

Delhi, India on 14th and 15th November 2019, organized by Pesticides Manufacturers and formulators

Association of India.

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Karnataka International Travel Expo.

'Karnataka Tourism' is pleased to announce the inaugural edition of 'Karnataka International Travel Expo', to be held at Bangalore from the 25 - 27 August 2019. The Government of Karnataka, India would like to invite key tour operators buyers from your region on a fully-hosted activity for this event followed by FAM tours in Karnataka.

The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) with its membership strength of 3500 companies, is the

apex organisation under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India, to promote

the export of leather and leather products and footwear.

The Council regularly participates in international trade fairs and organises Buyer Seller Meets abroad towards facilitating B2B meetings with the Indian exporters and foreign importers and thereby enhancing India‟s export share in the global market. As part of export promotional activities, approved by Govt of India, the CLE is organizing the following two RBSM‟S 1. RBSM in Kolkata September 25 – 29, 2019. 2. RBSM in Delhi, October 10-11, 2019 .

Important Links Please find below some important and useful links for more information on India.

https://www.cii.in/

https://www.ibef.org/

https://dipp.gov.in/

https://www.mea.gov.in/

https://www.imf.org

https://commerce.gov.in/

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