INDIAA MoNthly E-NEwslEttEr froM thE hIgh coMMIssIoN of INDIA IN AustrAlIA

ChronicleNov.2014

Issue No 108

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Nobel Peace Prize Winner Kailash Satyarthi calls on PM MORE [+]

Tinchuley: A Himalayan Treat MORE [+]

PSLV-C26 Successfully Launches India’s Third Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1CMORE [+]

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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi lighting the lamp at the “Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit 2014”, at Indore, Madhya Pradesh on October 09, 2014. The Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan and other dignitaries are also seen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets the audience at the summit. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the gathering at the “Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit 2014”, at Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

PM inaugurates “Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit 2014”Press Information Bureau (PIB), New Delhi, 9 October 2014

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, declared that the centre would stand shoulder to shoulder with all states, irrespective of political affiliation of the state government, to facilitate investment and economic growth.

Shri Narendra Modi said he wanted the centre and each state government to work together in the spirit of “one and one - eleven.” Delivering the inaugural address at the “Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit - 2014” at Indore, the Prime Minister said that following his recent summit level interactions with Japan, China and the US, “investment worth 100 billion dollars had applied for a visa to India.” It is now upto the states to grab a share of this investment, he added.

The Prime Minister emphasised that India’s strength is inherent in its states, and if India is to be developed, states must go forward. He said he stands for Team India - a team consisting of the Prime Minister and all Chief Ministers. If this team works together, a

lot can be accomplished, he added. Shri Narendra Modi said the centre and states are not competitors or enemies; they are complementary.

Complimenting the Madhya Pradesh government and Chief Minister for rapid strides in development, the Prime Minister said that the team of Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan deserves full credit for it. He said Madhya Pradesh has ample land, good infrastructure, and effective governance; and therefore is an excellent investment destination. He also complimented the state government for quick follow-up action to derive benefit from key policy initiatives of the centre, such as the “Make in India” vision and defence manufacturing policy.

The Prime Minister said India is a country of youth, and therefore employment is the primary aim of all investment initiatives.

Ambassadors of 28 countries were present at the summit - which also had nine partner countries.

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PM launches Swachh Bharat AbhiyaanPIB, New Delhi, 2 October 2014

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, exhorted people to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Clean India. Launching the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan at Rajpath in New Delhi, the Prime Minister paid homage to two great sons of Mother India, Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, on their birth anniversary. He recalled how the nation’s farmers had responded to Shri Shastri’s call of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan,” and made India self-sufficient in food security. He said that out of Gandhiji’s two dreams – Quit India, and Clean India, the people had helped to ensure that the first became a reality.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the cleanliness drive for Swachh Bharat Mission from Valmiki Basti, in New Delhi on October 02, 2014.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at Rajpath to launch Swachh Bharat Mission, in New Delhi on October 02, 2014. The Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu and the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari are also seen.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Nation on the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission, at Rajpath, in New Delhi on October 02, 2014.

Clean India, the people had helped to ensure that the first became a reality. However, the second dream – Clean India – still remained unfulfilled. The Prime Minister said it was our social responsibility as citizens of India to help fulfil Gandhiji’s vision of Clean India, by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.

The Prime Minister applauded and appreciated the work done by all previous Governments and social, religious and cultural organisations towards cleanliness. He repeatedly emphasised that the work of cleaning India cannot be done by one person, or by Government functionaries alone – it has to be done by 125 crore people, who are sons and daughters of Mother India. He said the work of Swachh Bharat should become a mass movement, and people should neither litter, nor let others litter (na gandagi karenge, na karne denge).

The Prime Minister said that according to the World Health Organization, an average of Rs. 6500 per person was lost in India due to lack of cleanliness and hygiene. He said Swachh Bharat would therefore make a significant impact on public health, and in safeguarding income of the poor, ultimately contributing to the national economy. He exhorted people to devote 100 hours every year towards the cause of cleanliness. The Prime Minister also emphasised the importance of building toilets. He said sanitation should not be seen as a political tool, but should only be connected to patriotism (rashtrabhakti) and commitment to public health. The Prime Minister said he had invited nine public figures: Mridula Sinha, Sachin Tendulkar, Baba Ramdev, Shashi Tharoor, Anil Ambani, Kamal Hasan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Team Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma – to make a contribution towards Swachh Bharat, share the same on social media, and invite nine other people to do the same,

However, the second dream – Clean India – still remained unfulfilled. The Prime Minister said it was our social responsibility as citizens of India to help fulfil Gandhiji’s vision of Clean India, by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today exhorted people to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Clean India. Launching the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan at Rajpath in New Delhi, the Prime Minister paid homage to two great sons of Mother India, Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, on their birth anniversary.The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today exhorted people to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Clean India. Launching the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan at Rajpath in New Delhi, the Prime Minister paid homage to two great sons of Mother India, Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, on their birth anniversary.

He recalled how the nation’s farmers had responded to Shri Shastri’s call of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan,” and made India self-sufficient in food security. He said that out of Gandhiji’s two dreams – Quit India, and

hence forming a chain. He urged people to share their contributions on social media using the hash-tag #MyCleanIndia.

The Prime Minister congratulated the winners of the crowdsourcing contests for logo and tagline of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan – Anant from Maharashtra and Bhagyashree from Gujarat. The tag-line is “Ek Kadam Swachhta Ki Ore”. The Prime Minister was joined by noted film actor Aamir Khan on stage, as he administered the Swachhta Shapath (Cleanliness Pledge) to the large assembled gathering. Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari also addressed the gathering.

Earlier, the Prime Minister visited Rajghat and Vijay Ghat to offer floral tributes to two great sons of India, Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, on their birth anniversary. He later visited the Valmiki Basti, where Gandhiji had once stayed, and initiated a cleanliness drive there. The Prime Minister also paid a surprise visit to the Mandir Marg police station in New Delhi. He himself picked up a broom to clean dirt. He later exhorted police officials to maintain cleanliness.

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ECONOMY

Govt to set up Rs. 1 lakh cr petro SEZ in Bina, MP

The continuing rise in car sales for five months has given automobile component majors such as Motherson Sumi Systems reason to redraw their focus. The Noida-based company earns nearly 80 per cent of revenue from outside India, primarily Germany.

“Given the positive outlook for the Indian car market, we plan to focus on domestic sales,” says G N Gauba, chief financial officer, Motherson Sumi. The maker of wiring harnesses and mirrors for cars has all major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as clients. It is also a leading supplier of plastic components and modules to the automobile industry. Now, it plans to increase content per car in India.

The Indian automobile industry has witnessed weak demand for almost three years. After rising by about 30 per cent annually in 2009-10 to 2010-11, growth in auto component production slowed to 14 per cent in 2011-12 and three per cent in 2012-13. It worsened with a one per cent decline in 2013-14. However,

Auto component makers expect robust growth aheadBusiness Standard, Mumbai, 16 October 2014

brokerage ICICI Securities says the industry’s long-term growth story remains intact with production projected to grow 11-14 per cent annually between 2013-14 and 2018-19.

“We believe component players will be a beneficiary of a cyclical turnaround in auto sales,” said ICICI Securities analysts Nishant Vass and Venil Shah in a note issued on Wednesday. They saw pent-up demand and lower penetration as reasons for the revival. Besides, sentiments have improved after the elections and the direction of growth and inflation is favouring demand. Also, fuel prices have peaked after being deregulated.

Sales of nine of the country’s leading automobile companies during September stood at 208,923 vehicles, seven per cent more than sales in the same month of 2013. This follows 18 per cent growth in August. Slow growth in September was expected as demand is usually feeble during Pitra Paksha, a fortnight when Hindus abstain from acquiring assets.

“We have seen offtake from OEMs improving in the past couple of months and we expect this to gather momentum close to Diwali,” says Surinder Kapur, chairman of the Gurgaon-based Sona Koyo Steering Systems, India’s largest maker of steering systems for cars and utility vehicles.

At $38 billion, India’s auto components industry is a mere five per cent of the $800-billion global market.

Seeing India’s potential as an emerging manufacturing hub, global automobile companies Volvo, Volkswagen,General Motors, Bosch and Magna are investing here. But while suppliers for car makers are upbeat, ancillary companies dependent on commercial vehicle makers are still waiting for a revival.

“We have not seen any recovery yet but expect it to pick up in the current quarter as economic growth revives,” says S G Joglekar, Chief Financial Officer at Pune-based Bharat Forge.

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UK-India Financial Partnership (UIFP) launched to strengthen links between financial services industries of both countries

At the seventh UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue held in Delhi on July 8, 2014, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne welcomed the deepening of Financial Services links between the two countries and launched the UK-India Financial Partnership. The Partnership will strengthen links between the Financial Services industries of both countries and

deepen cooperation between London and Mumbai, two of the World’s leading Financial Centres. The Ministry of Finance, India and HM Treasury are now pleased to announce the industry leaders who will direct this partnership. Mr Uday Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, will represent the Indian Financial Services industry, and Sir Gerry Grimstone, Chairman of Standard Life and The City, UK; will represent the UK.

The Partnership will initially focus on the following work-streams: (i) Collaboration to develop the corporate bond market; (ii) Mutual sharing of expertise on banking regulation and capitalisation; (iii) Enhancing financial training and qualification; (iv) Financial inclusion and (v) Developing programme around the opportunities to improve cross border provision of financial and insurance services. Both the industry leaders will convene working groups of professionals to examine key areas of common interest and will report the progress and make recommendations to the Minister of Finance, India and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK ahead of the next UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue in 2015.

The government on Friday announced it would set up a Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) near the Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of around Rs. 1 lakh crore. This would be the fifth PCPIR in the country and the first in a land locked state. PCPIR is usually a delineated area of around 250 sq km for setting up manufacturing facilities for domestic and export led production. In March 2007, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved the proposal to set up PCPIRs in four states - Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. “We have held two meetings with petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and we have decided to set up a PCPIR at Bina refinery, between Gwalior and Bhopal,” said Ananth Kumar, minister for chemicals and fertilisers at the concluding day of the 4th Global Investors Summit at Indore. “This project cost will be Rs. 1 lakh crore,” Kumar said. Till now government has announced PCPIRs in Dahej, Gujarat, Paradeep in Odisha, Vishakhapatnam-Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and Cuddalore-Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. These projects entail a cumulative investment of Rs. 7.6 lakh crore.

PIB, 13 October 2014

Hindustan Times, Indore, 13 October 2014

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ECONOMY

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises gets ISO 9001: 2008 Certificate

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification, demonstrating the Ministry’s mission of promoting the growth and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with dedication and commitment. Speaking on the occasion Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises expressed happiness over this accomplishment and stated it is a matter of pride that the Ministry is one of the first in Government of India to be awarded ISO certification. He appreciated the hard work put in by the officers and staff to align the systems and procedures with the requirements of ISO standards. He further stated that implementation of ISO standards will enable the Ministry to identify areas for improvement and also bring in transparency and accountability in the functioning.

Cabinet Secretariat had issued Guidelines to all Ministries/Departments for obtaining ISO Certification. Accordingly, this Ministry had started the preparations in December 2013 by constituting a Management Committee to give direction and momentum to the implementation of ISO 9001:2008. Several rounds of training were imparted to the Ministry’s personnel and the Quality Manuals were prepared in line with the ISO requirements. During implementation of ISO 9001: 2008 standards, the Ministry was able

to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for its functions and activities and compare and benchmark these standard operating procedures with other similar organizations in Government of India, states, private sector or international organizations.

The award of ISO 9001:2008 certification indicates that the Ministry has implemented a quality management system that enables it to consistently provide services that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. TUV India Ltd was engaged as the Certifying Body for audit of Quality Management Systems of the Ministry as per ISO Standards. Subsequent to the successful completion Stage1 and 2 Audit in September, 2014, the Certifying Body has awarded ISO 9001: 2008 Certificate to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Implementation of ISO 9001: 2008 standards will help the Ministry to identify areas for improving functioning and also bring in transparency and accountability in the operations of government machinery.

Indian Railways proposes to install solar power plants of about 8.8 Mega Watt (MW)-capacity at railway stations, railway office buildings and level crossing gates throughout the country under railway funding. These include; Provision of 10 KWp solar PV modules each at 200 stations under various Zonal Railways, provision of total 4.05 MWp Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) at roof top of 21 railway office buildings and provision of total 1.3 MWp capacity Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) plants at 2000 Level Crossing gates on Indian railways.

Indian Railways proposes to harness solar energy by utilizing roof top space of railway stations, other railway buildings & land including through the PPP mode as per the feasibility, the modalities of which are being worked out. However, solar power plants have been provided on top of two narrow gauge trains plying on Pathankot-Jogindernagar route in Kangra Valley section and Kalka-Shimla section on trial basis. On evaluation of trial and cost benefit analysis, further study of economic viability will be undertaken. The estimated cost of about 8.8 MW-capacity for projects of providing solar panels under railway funding for works mentioned above is about Rs. 100 crore. The benefits of these projects are reliable power supply particularly at remote locations and saving in diesel due to reduced running of Diesel Generators.

Corporate bond issuance at 7-year high in Sept

Railways to install solar power plants at 200 stations under own funding

Business Standard, Mumbai, 21 October 2014

PIB, 24 October 2014 PIB, 08 October 2014

Corporate bond issuances through the private placement route touched the highest in the past seven financial years in September, owing to a fall in borrowing costs, comfortable liquidity and bond buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The latest data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) show companies raised around Rs 58,000 crore in September through private placement of bonds, the highest raised in a single month since FY08.

According to estimates of issue arrangers, the borrowing cost of bonds dropped by 40 basis points in September, which encouraged corporates to resort to bond raising. The coupon rate for these bonds works out to be 9-10 per cent depending on the credit rating of the corporate.

A senior official with IFCI said: “We can borrow through corporate bonds for a longer tenure. This allows me to have a comfortable position with respect to asset-liability. When it comes to borrowing through bonds, the coupon payments are usually semi-annual or annual. In case of bank loans, we have to pay interest monthly.”

IFCI’s public issue of bonds opened on Monday and the company plans to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore. IFCI bonds are available in the tenures of five, seven and 10 years, while

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the coupon rate per annum ranges between 9.40 per cent and 9.90 per cent. There is an additional incentive of 0.10 per cent per annum over coupon rate applicable for retail individual investors and high net-worth individuals (HNIs).

Issue arrangers believe corporates such as IFCI would have probably paid interest rates in the range of 10.25-11 per cent if they were borrowing from banks. The cost of raising funds through private placement route works out to be cheaper than a public issue. However, companies still decide to go for the public issue, as they want to broaden their investor base by including the retail investors and HNIs.

Even though there have been 312 issues in September, the demand for bonds was intact.

“FIIs started buying corporate bonds since the G-sec limit was almost full. Everybody is expecting softer interest rate scenario due to which bond issuances may continue to happen,” said Ajay Manglunia, senior vice-president (fixed income) at Edelweiss Securities.

In the current financial year, many non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) which are key bond issuers stayed away from the market. “The regular borrowers which are primarily NBFCs had not borrowed much in the first quarter of this fiscal (FY15) due to anomalies in the Companies Act. These anomalies were later rectified due to which they started borrowing again,” said Arvind Konar, head of fixed income at Almondz Global Securities. Sebi data show that during April-September of FY15, corporates raised Rs 1,45,290.79 crore compared to Rs 1,42,818.82 crore in the same period in FY14.

Liquidity in the system remained comfortable in September after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s revised liquidity framework came into effect where the central bank said it would conduct more frequent term repos. For most of the days during September, the weighted average call money rate was below eight per cent. RBI wants the call money rate to hug the repo rate, which is at 8 per cent and earlier in FY15, the rate had even breached 9 per cent.

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TRADE AND INVESTMENT

The Government of India will be investing Rs.50,000 crore to revive four fertilizer plants and set up two new plants to produce farm nutrients, minister of chemicals and fertilizers Ananth Kumar said while inaugurating the IndiaChem event in Mumbai. The four plants which will be revived under the plan are located in Talcher in Odisha, Ramagundam in Telangana, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and Barauni in Bihar.

In the recent union budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced Rs.10,000 crore for setting up a national gas grid. These fertilizer plants will be supplied gas through the grid. The Talcher plant revival would cost the government around Rs.9,000 crore while the Ramagundam plant revival would need an investment of Rs.6,000 crore Kumar said. The government will also set up two 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) greenfield fertilizer plants in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, said Kumar. “The greenfield plants will need an investment of Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,000 crore each,” he added. In addition, the government is also in talks with the Government of Iran to set up 1.2 MTPA Urea plant in Iran on the lines of India’s joint venture (JV) with Oman, he said.

“The proposed JV with Iran would require an investment to the tune of $2 billion,” said Kumar. The minister also announced that India’s first reverse special economic zone (SEZ) will be set up in Iran. The reverse SEZ will be for the manufacture and supply of chemicals feedstock to India. India is also contemplating setting up such reverse SEZs in Myanmar and Mozambique. Talking on the petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment region (PCPIR) project, he said that four steering committees have been set up to speed up the four approved PCPIRs.

Livemint, Mumbai, 10 October 2014

Govt to invest Rs50,000 crore to revive fertilizer plants

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Ministry of Steel to set up “Steel Research & Technology Mission of India”

Four verticals for each of the deputy governors

BGR Energy Systems secures orders worth Rs 250 crore

PIB, New Delhi, 22 October 2014

Ministry of Steel will set up a “Steel Research & Technology Mission of India” (SRTMI) to promote collaborative research programmes in steel sector. The Union Minister of Steel, Mines, Labour & Employment, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar accorded in-principle approval for setting up SRTMI, in a meeting with senior Ministry officials on October 20, 2014. Shri Tomar remarked that SRTMI will be steel industry’s contribution to ‘Make in India, Made in India’ initiative. Investment on Research & Development in the steel sector must increase from present level of 0.2-0.3 per cent of turnover to international benchmark of 1-2 per cent of turnover by the leading companies, he added.

The Union Minister for Mines, Steel and Labour & Employment, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chairing a review meeting of SAIL, in New Delhi on October 28, 2014 The Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Shri Rakesh Singh is also seen.

The conceptualization of SRTMI was done by a high level task force set up by the Ministry of Steel. The task force had recommended that SRTMI is to be formed as a registered society in close cooperation amongst the steel companies, Ministry of Steel, academia and relevant institutions in the country. SRTMI will be governed by a Governing Board of CEOs of steel and associated companies, domain experts of national and international repute, and one nominee from Ministry of Steel. There will be an Oversight Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Steel) to periodically assess the functioning & performance of SRTMI.

SRTMI will carry out R&D in priority areas of national importance covering best usage of available raw materials & conservation of natural resources, optimum energy conservation & minimum emissions leading to innovations and in-house development of design, engineering & manufacturing facilities of key steel plant equipment. The task force further proposed that SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL, Essar Steel, RINL, NMDC & MECON will be the initial participating companies who will sign MOU besides Ministry of Steel.

The Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Shri Rakesh Singh, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Shri Vinod Kumar Thakral and other senior government officials were present on the occasion.

As a part of its organisational restructuring, the central bank has created four verticals which will be looked after by each of the deputy governors. In the new scheme, Deputy Governor H R Khan will look after financial markets and infrastructure, while Urjit R Patel has been given the charge of monetary policy and research. Banking supervision and regulation has also been separated in two distinct verticals, with R Gandhi in-charge of the regulation and risk management. S S Mundra has been assigned with the responsibility of supervision and inclusion. Earlier, RBI had increased the number of executive directors to 11 from nine - which was a part of the restructuring programme. However, to implement the proposal for a chief executive officer with the rank of a deputy governor, RBI Act will have to be amended.

Power company BGR Energy Systems has secured orders worth Rs 250 crore in the electrical sub-stations segment of its electrical projects division. The company provides EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) services for power projects in India. The electrical projects division has secured three substation orders from Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation ( TANTRANSCO) for a 230KV AIS substation at Puraisai in Villupuram district, a 110KV GIS substation at Thirumangalam South and a 400/230-110 KV AIS substation with all associated equipment, systems and civil works at Palavadi in Dharmapuri district.

Business Standard, 10 October 2014

Business Standard, 10 October 2014

“We are also in talks with the Governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka for setting up of chemical investment zones,” said Kumar.

On the issue of subsidy for the three naptha plants of Madras Fertilizers Ltd, Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Ltd (SPIC) and Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd, Kumar said the companies are ready to work on naptha till they are provided with natural gas supply through the planned southern grid and the companies have asked for subsidy at the rate of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG). The ministry will soon take a decision on this, he said. The minister also said that his ministry is in the midst of formulating national fertilizer and chemical policies, which should be ready in the next three to four months.

The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Ananthkumar addressing the gathering at the “Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global Investors Summit 2014”, at Indore, Madhya Pradesh on October 10, 2014.

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TRADE AND INVESTMENT

The Make in India slogan to encourage local manufacturing and create jobs may still be on the drawing board, but state-owned Air India (AI) is already prepared with Asia’s largest repair in India facility for aircraft, two airline executives said. By the end of this month, the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Nagpur built by Boeing Co. will be handed over to Air India, in a relief for domestic airlines which fly to West Asia or Singapore for the purpose. Boeing built the facility as part of its obligations while selling 68 aircraft to India in 2005.

Built at an estimated $107 million, the facility is ready for transfer to Air India, albeit with a delay of three years. The facility, sprawling across 50 acres, can accommodate three widebody aircraft such as Boeing B777 or Airbus A380 model at a time.

Separately, Air India will build an engine MRO unit along with engine maker General Electric Co. for $89 million, next to the airframe MRO facility built by Boeing. The airline has acquired 50 acres for the purpose. The company is also investing in similar facilities in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi.

“We are trying to create a one-stop shop for maintenance, repair and overhaul of airframes and aircraft engines. Once all MROs are operational, Air India will offer these facilities to third parties to shore up revenue,” one of the executives said. Both officials declined to be named.

Boeing declined to comment. An Air India spokesperson confirmed the development.Air India will transfer all functional MRO

Air India set to open Asia’s biggest MRO facility Livemint, Mumbai 10 October 2014

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Engineering, R&D export revenue may touch $45 billion by 2020: NasscomLivemint, Mumbai, 9 October 2014

Engineering and research and development (ER&D) export revenue from India may touch $37-45 billion by 2020, up from an estimated $12.4 billion in financial year 2014, according to software industry lobby body Nasscom. With over 600 local and 400 global ER&D centres, employing over 200,000 engineers from service providers and engineering firms, India is fast emerging as a solution provider to the global challenges in the engineering and design arena, Nasscom said in a statement.

Some examples include L&T Technology Services—a unit of India’s largest engineering and construction company Larsen and Toubro

Ltd (L&T), which announced its plans to buy the engineering services division of US-based Dell Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Ramco Systems Ltd, yet another software services firm, specialising in aviation engineering announced it had bagged three deals from clients in the US, UK and Dubai.

According to the ‘Global R&D Service Providers Rating 2013’ annual study by advisory firm Zinnov Management Consulting, global companies are expected to spend over $27 billion on engineering analytics by 2017, with Indian service providers accounting for over 23 per cent of the global ER&D market.

Big- and mid-sized Indian information technology (IT) services providers like Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd, KPIT Technologies Ltd and Tata Technologies Ltd also have big clients in the engineering vertical, and partner with networking companies to provide similar solutions that take advantage of technologies like M2M or Machine-to-Machine (where information is collected by a sensor transmitted across a network of wired or wireless devices), and smart meters—that monitor consumption and use analytics.

“The next decade will largely be driven by disruptive technologies, changes in competitive landscape and consumer preferences, increased digitization and demand for mobility. We are positive that these opportunities will continue to be addressed by engineering companies to establish India as a strong destination for innovative solutions,” said B.V.R Mohan Reddy, Vice Chairman of Nasscom.

facilities to Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), a subsidiary, which is expected to clock Rs.1,000 crore revenue in three years, with half of it coming from the parent company.

“Firstly, MRO in Nagpur, which is Asia’s largest facility, will decongest Mumbai airport as there is no more space left for hangars. Second, as the MRO is situated in MIHAN (Multimodal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur) special economic zone, the cost of repairing would be lower compared to other MROs. Lastly, Air India MROs can offer these facilities to other domestic and international airlines,” the second official quoted above said.

A March report by consultancy firm KPMG estimated India’s current MRO market at around $700 million. Indian airlines are expected to double their fleet by 2020, which would call for a strong domestic MRO industry. The report pointed out that merely 5-10 per cent of the MRO work for domestic scheduled carriers is carried out

in India, with the rest outsourced to third-party service providers outside the country.

“We have invested $17 million in Hyderabad facility while another $13 million is invested for aircraft engine MROs in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Nagpur MRO can handle GE 90 and General Electric GEnx engines,” the second Air India executive said. The airline has also invested $13 million at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to repair narrow body planes, he added.

Air India has already secured the contract to do minor maintenance check of Vistara airline, floated by Tata Sons Ltd and Singapore Airlines Ltd. Vistara is awaiting final clearances from the Indian aviation regulator and plans to start flying by this year end. The same executive added that Air India’s financials will improve after it hives off the MRO company into a separate unit. There are sceptics as well.

“Nothing will change until and unless Air India’s MRO units secure big third-party orders and turn profitable before three years. Otherwise, the parent will have to bear the burden of MRO subsidiary too,” an airline consultant said, requesting anonymity.

Air India, that has a total debt of Rs.40,000 crore, posted a net loss of Rs.5,100 crore in 2012-13 and a net loss of Rs.7,100 crore in 2011-12. It is in the middle of a Rs.30,000 crore government bailout programme. Air India will post an operating loss of Rs.2,100 crore and a net loss of Rs.3,900 crore for the year ended 31 March, Mint reported on 17 March. Air India hasn’t disclosed earnings for the fiscal year 2014 yet.

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NEWSMAKERS / NRI

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014, Shri Kailash Satyarthi, called on the Prime Minister on 11 October. The Prime Minister congratulated him warmly on winning the award. Shri Kailash Satyarthi expressed enthusiasm about the Prime Minister’s initiatives on “Swachh Bharat” and “Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana” and said he was keen to contribute to these causes. He expressed his commitment towards a child-labour free India. The Prime Minister shared with Shri Satyarthi his views on the use of social media and internet for tracking missing children. He also mentioned that he had established the world’s first “Children University” in Gandhinagar. He wished Shri Satyarthi well in his future endeavours. Shri Satyarthi’s family members including Mrs. Sumedha Kailash, Miss Asmita Satyarthi, Mr. Bhuvan Ribhu, Mrs. Priyanka Ribhu and Shri Rama Shankar Chaurasia accompanied Shri Satyarthi.

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Nobel Peace Prize Winner Kailash Satyarthi calls on PMPIB, New Delhi, 11 October 2014

The Nobel Peace Prize awardee from India, Shri Kailash Satyarthi calling on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on October 11, 2014.

Prime Minister of Vietnam Calls on President

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City on 29 September 2014. During his interaction at the Council, the Prime Minister made it clear that while India is not against a trade facilitation agreement, the welfare of the large number of poor people in India must be taken into account, and therefore, agreements on trade facilitation and food security must be secured together. In reply to a question on non-alignment and India’s foreign policy, Shri Narendra Modi said that in the 21st century, the world was interdependent, and all countries had a stake in each other’s welfare.

The Prime Minister said terrorism is an enemy of humanity and therefore all humanitarian forces across the world must unite to fight terrorism. He said all terrorism

PM’s address and interaction at Council on Foreign Relations in New York CityPIB, New York, 30 September 2014

His Excellency Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan 28 October 2014. Interacting with the Prime Minister, the President said that he

The Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung calling on the President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, in New Delhi on October 28, 2014.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the Council on Foreign Relations, in New York on September 29, 2014.

is delighted to welcome him on his second State Visit to India. He is confident that this visit will further consolidate the special relationship shared by India and Vietnam. It will open up new areas of mutual assistance, cooperation and collaboration between the two countries. The President said he is happy the Vietnamese Prime Minister is accompanied by large delegation of business leaders.

The President said he was pleased with his visit to Vietnam last month. He expressed the hope that Mr. Dung’s visit to Holy town of Bodh Gaya and the Mahabodhi Temple was successful and said Buddhism symbolises the shared cultural heritage of the peoples of India and Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister warmly reciprocated the President’s sentiments and said Vietnam was keen to work with India in taking the relationship to greater heights.

PIB, New Delhi, 28 October 2014

in India was “exported” terrorism, and was not homegrown. He said as far as India was concerned, its symbols were Buddha and Gandhi.

The Prime Minister said that the United States should not repeat the mistake of Iraq in Afghanistan. He said the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan should be gradual.

The Prime Minister said, India and the United States had a partnership based on shared values of democracy and openness. He said India and China had the capability to resolve the boundary question and there was no need for arbitration in the matter.

The Prime Minister said people had voted for good governance and development in the recent general elections, and there was an atmosphere of confidence. He said the government was working to reduce red-tape and facilitate investment.

In reply to a question, the Prime Minister said electricity was now a necessity and his government was committed to providing 24x7 electricity to people. He said development and environment were not adversaries, and a balance could be achieved. He also spoke about the government’s initiatives for clean energy.

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NEWSMAKERS / NRI

Mumbai University, it turns out, has produced more billionaires than IITs. Singapore-based research firm Wealth-X and Swiss bank UBS said in a recent report that Mumbai University ranks ninth in the world, ahead of even premium institutions such as the London School of Economics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with about 12 billionaire alumni.

University of Pennsylvania led the list with 25 billionaires. There is a difference, though. Most of the individuals in Mumbai are part of old, large business families and have inherited part of their wealth, compared to the emerging rich from the new economy such as IT and services. Some families that can trace their origins to Mumbai

Mumbai University in world top 10 for billionaire alumni

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Press Information Bureau, 4 September 2014

include the Ambanis, the Mahindras and the Piramals, among others.

“Mumbai was the industrial and financial capital for India (since British times),” said Dileep Choksi, a former managing partner of Deloitte, who now looks after the affairs of large business families through Universal Trustees. But growing population and inadequate infrastructure is forcing businesses to shift away from Mumbai.

“This could eventually lead to a fall in the number of billionaires as money will be made elsewhere,” said Mita Dixit, family business adviser and leading researcher of Indian business families.

“Moreover, the new generation of most families are diversifying, which will take some time to grow,” said Dixit. Although UBS did not elaborate, some of the individuals who feature on the list include Mukesh Ambani ($23.6 billion), Anil Ambani ($6.3 billion), Kumar Mangalam Birla ($9.2 billion), Ajay Piramal ($2.1 billion), Rakesh Jhunjhunwala ($1.9 billion), Ashwin Choksi ($1.7 billion) and Niranjan Hiranandani ($1.2 billion).

According to Sunil Shah of Evergreen Family Business Advisors, the main reason for the concentration of wealth in Mumbai is that large business families work on creating growth with harmony. And family disputes have been mainly responsible for the decline of wealth in cities such as Delhi and Kolkata. Mumbai University is the only institution outside the US and the UK to feature in Wealth-X’s list. The Indian Institutes of Technology did not feature even in the top 20, though they are the best institutions in the country in terms of academic excellence.

The government is discussing a plan to set up a special zone with tax benefits for diamond import and trading in Mumbai, to try and develop the country’s financial capital as a rival to Antwerp and Dubai, which are currently trading hubs for the precious stone.

Commerce & Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman held preliminary discussions with commerce secretary Rajeev Kher and revenue secretary Shaktikanta Das and asked officials to work out a possible road map.

Gems & Jewelry Export Promotion Council’s (GJEPC) estimates suggest that in volume terms, 85 per cent of the global cutting work takes place in India. At the same time, around 15 per cent rough diamond is imported directly from the producing countries, while a majority is shipped in from the trading hubs.

“A trading hub in India will mean that the role of middlemen is limited and the concerns over invoicing, that we often hear from tax authorities, are reduced,” said Parag Parekh, vice-chairman of GJEPC, which is pushing the plan. Parekh said the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex has been suggested as a possible option.

An official, however, said discussions on the likely location have not yet started and initially the government is looking at the package of measures that may be needed. The move to set up a special notified zone was first proposed by a task force headed by Anup K Pujari, the then director general of foreign trade, but

Govt plans diamond hub in MumbaiThe Times of India, New Delhi, 10 October 2014

the UPA failed to decide on it, prompting the BJP government to revisit it. An official said the move may help check China’s growing influence in the area as some Chinese companies had started acquiring shares in mines in Africa and are also pursuing direct deals with governments there for the supply of rough diamonds.

The task force had suggested several tax-related moves, including duty-free re-import quota for cut and polished diamonds up to a specified level and fixing the net income, while allowing payment of taxes only on invoices raised to Indian companies. Similarly, easier valuation norms at ports had also been recommended. The task force had also suggested a shift to a presumptive taxation regime in the long run, with easier rules introduced for the time being.

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Wipro all set to invest in start-upsWipro, the Bangalore-based IT services company which had set up a separate venture capital fund is pretty close to making a couple of investments in innovative start-up companies. Announcements to this effect are expected anytime soon, T K Kurien, CEO of the Bangalore-based company told Business Standard.

“You will see some announcements soon,” Kurien said. “All of those will be minority investments because we don’t want to acquire companies and kill them. The idea is to make investment which are small, effective and which can help us improve our business,” he added. In July this year, Business Standard had reported that Wipro had set up a venture capital (VC) fund with an initial corpus of around $100 million (around Rs 600 crore) with an aim of investing in early-to-middle stage technology startups globally. The fund is currently being spearheaded by Rishad Premji, the chief strategy officer who is also the elder son of chairman Azim Premji.

It is reliably learnt that the team that is managing the fund has been meeting the start-up companies independently as well as with the help of various startup incubators launched by industry body Nasscom as well as various global companies. Rishad Premji himself is learnt to have visited Nasscom start-up warehouses in several occasions in the recent months. Last month, a team of practice heads from Wipro visited Microsoft Ventures office in Bangalore meet and assess software product startups. According to sources privy to that development, Wipro is following a model wherein it wants to explore new revenue streams by making such investment while at the same time keeping the portfolio companies at an ‘arm’s length’.

INFOTECH

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PSLV-C26 Successfully Launches India’s Third Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1C

ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C26, successfully launched IRNSS-1C, the third satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), in the early morning hours of 16 October 2014 at 0132 hours IST from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. This is the twenty seventh consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The ‘XL’configuration of PSLV was used for this mission. Previously, the same configuration of the vehicle was successfully used six times.

Minister of State (Space), Dr Jitendra Singh, witnessed the launch from the Mission Control Centre at SDSC, Sriharikota.

After the lift-off of PSLV-C26 with the ignition of the first stage, the important flight events, namely, stage and strap-on ignitions,

heat-shield separation, stage and strap-on separations and satellite injection, took place as planned. After a flight of about 20 minutes 18 seconds, IRNSS-1C Satellite, weighing 1425 kg, was injected to an elliptical orbit of 282.56 km X 20,670 km, which is very close to the intended orbit.

After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1C were deployed automatically. ISRO’s Master Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming days, four orbit manoeuvres will be conducted from Master Control Facility to position the satellite in the Geostationary Orbit at 83 deg East longitude.

IRNSS-1C is the third of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B, the first two satellites of the constellation, were successfully launched by PSLV on July 02, 2013 and April 04, 2014 respectively. Both IRNSS-1A and 1B are functioning satisfactorily from their designated geosynchronous orbital positions.

IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users - and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorised users.

A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite control, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in as many as 15 locations across the country.

In the coming months, the next satellite of this constellation, namely, IRNSS-1D, is scheduled to be launched by PSLV. The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to be completed by 2015.

The Minister of State for Science & Technology (I/C), Earth Sciences (I/C), Prime Minister Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Dept. of Atomic Energy and Dept. of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh being individually introduced to each member of the ISRO team by the ISRO Chairman, Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, after the successful PSLV-C26 launch, at Sriharikota on October 16, 2014.

ISRO, New Delhi, 16 October 2014

Business Standard, Bengaluru, 27 October 2014

While the floating of a VC fund to make investment in startups is a recent development at Wipro, the company has already done couple of successful investments in a few global technology companies. The company has already seen a successful exit when Axeda, a machine-to-machine technology provider wherein it had invested $5 million in June 2013 got acquired by PTC in July this year. This week, the company also announced making further investments in Opera Solutions LLC, a global big data and analytics company. With the latest round of investment of $8.2 million, Wipro’s has increased its stake in Opera to close to 20 per cent with a total investment of around $53 million.

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INFOTECH

India’s IT spending to grow 10 per cent to $73.3 billion in 2015: GartnerThe Economic Times,16 October 2014

IT spending in India is expected to reach $73.3 billion in 2015, a 9.4 per cent increase from the 2014 forecast, according to market research firm Gartner.

“India is forecast to be the third largest IT market within the Asia/Pacific region by the end of 2016 and will further progress to become the second largest market for IT by the end of 2018,” said Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President at Gartner and global head of Research. “Much of the growth from being the number four market in Asia/Pacific to number three is likely to happen in 2015.”

IT services will record the strongest revenue growth at 15.7 per cent in 2015, as per Gartner. Software will grow at 14 per cent. Devices will continue to account for the second largest part of the market with 33 per cent share of revenue and will grow 12.6

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per cent in 2015. The telecommunication services segment will account for 39.3 per cent of the Indian ICT market and it is set to grow at 4.2 per cent revenue growth in 2015. In 2014, mobile devices will grow 13.5 per cent, and will dislodge mobile voice services to be the largest segment within the overall IT market in India. Mobile data services will be the fastest growing segment in India, growing 18.2 per cent in 2014, Gartner said.

“The impact that the digital business economy is having on the IT industry is dramatic. Since 2013, the number of Chief Data Officers and Chief Digital Officer positions have doubled. In 2015, all of these things will double again,” said Sondergaard. Gartner defines digital business as new business designs that blend the virtual world and the physical worlds, changing how processes and industries work through the Internet of Things.

“This year enterprises will spend over $40 billion designing, implementing and operating the Internet of Things,” Sondergaard said. “Every piece of equipment, anything of value, will have embedded sensors. This means leading asset-intensive enterprises will have over half a million IP addressable objects in 2020.”

According to Gartner, digital businesses will impact jobs in different ways. By 2018, digital businesses will require 50 per cent fewer business process workers. However, by 2018 digital business will drive a 500 per cent boost in digital jobs. Hottest skills in digital business will be in mobile, user Experience and data sciences.

Japan offers assistance in promoting Intelligent Transport Systems

Google sees e-commerce swelling up to $40 billion by 2020

Japan has offered to assist India in developing Intelligent Transport Systems(ITS) in urban areas of the country. The two countries identified new areas of cooperation in urban development sector at the end of the day long meeting of the India-Japan Joint Working Group.

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Toursim will assist in developing ITS architecture, capacity development in respect of ITS besides in developing Ring Roads of major cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi etc. it will also hold working level meetings and exchange of knowledge in earthquake resistant construction technology. India has suggested sharing information on sewage networks including water reuse and continued sharing of experiences in the field of urban transport. The 9th meeting of the India-Japan Joint Working Group on Urban Development will be held in Japan next year.

IBM is setting up its first cloud data centre in India to gain a bigger share of the cloud computing market in the country. The company has built a 30,000 sq ft data centre facility in Airoli, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The new Mumbai IBM Cloud Center is part of a 15 cloud center expansion, and a $1.2 billion investment by IBM Cloud to grow its cloud presence around the world.

“With the new data centre, IBM will be able to tap into BFSI, telecom and government sectors, which haven’t been able to move to cloud in a big way due to regulatory requirements,” said Lingraju Sawkar, Director, Integrated Technology Services, Global Technology Services at IBM India/South Asia. According to Gartner, public cloud services market in India is expected to grow from $423 million (Rs 2,550 crore) in 2013 to $1.3 billion (Rs 7,800 crore) in 2017. Gartner expects India to be the fastest growing market for cloud adoption globally.

IBM recently partnered with SAP to host SAP’s HANA Enterprise Cloud on IBM cloud. The new data centre in Mumbai would allow SAP to offer its cloud-based platform to Indian customers who have been wary about their data residing in other countries. IBM is also providing resiliency services through the new facility to let enterprises continue with their business during a disaster.

Enterprises across the world have started demanding cloud providers to host their data locally to meet requirements for data sovereign. About 100 nations and territories have already adopted laws that dictate how governments and private enterprises handle personal data. This demand is especially high in banking & financial, telecom and government sectors and is pushing large cloud players to set up local data centres.

Justifying the euphoria over online retail, Google has estimated Indian e-commerce to touch $30 -40 billion by 2020, from only $3 billion to 4 billion now. Indian retail market would have a size of $1 trillion by 2020, said India director for e-commerce and local classified, Nitin Bawankule.

“So, even if e-commerce is three to four per cent of that, e-commerce itself would be $30-40 billion.” Bawankule said there was a five fold increase in query on ‘shopping’ in October and Google was getting half of these from beyond six metro cities. Indian e-commerce has been in the news constantly for the fund-raising spree by companies in the sector. Snapdeal has raised $627 million from Japan’s Softbank Corporation which was preceded by $ 1 billion fund raising by Flipkart. Amazon committed investment of $ 2 billion in India.

PIB, 31 October 2014The Economic Times, Mumbai, 27 October 2014

Business Standard, 31 October 2014

IBM’s first cloud data centre in India to focus on private services for SMEs

11

FEATURE

Whenever we utter or hear the name of Mahatma Gandhi, the first word comes to mind is ‘Non-violence’. Similarly, when we take the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, what we recall is the word ‘Iron Man’. The project of building world’s tallest statue of the ‘Iron Man’ in Gujarat has been declared a ‘National Project’ in the union budget 2014-15 for which the centre has allocated Rs. 200 crores. The Gujarat government has already given Rs. 500 crores in its budget to construct this iconic structure which will stand tall in the waters of river Narmada to represent the oneness of Indians despite the long standing socio-cultural diversity that exist in India and commemorate the man behind this unity and oneness of the nation. That’s why Government of India has decided to celebrate Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary on October 31 as ‘National Unity Day’.

STATUE OF UNITY: AN ICON OF INDIA

An Iconic 182 meters Statue, that’s a tribute to the Iron Man of India, is to be built at the Sadhu-Bet Island, approximately 3.5kms south of Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in the Narmada district of Gujarat. This inspiring memorial site, with a number of edu-tainment components, is between the Satpuda and Vindhyachal Ranges rising near Narmada River, impounded by Garudeshwar, the Sardar Sarovar Dam and the town of Kevadia. The majesty of this grand monument will be enhanced by a picturesque backdrop. Its unique location will prove to be beneficial for eco-tourism and regional development.

The ‘Statue of Unity’ is a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It symbolizes Patel’s impeccable work of uniting the disintegrated groups of nearly 565 princely states after the independence and building the Indian State. It stands as a tribute to the extraordinary administrative skills and bravery shown by the then home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in uniting India after the bloody and painful partition. The Sardar’s 182 meters high first of its kind statue will undoubtedly lead to development of tourism with tourists inflow from all across the globe to visit India to admire its beauty and salute the man behind the Indian spirit and unity. The work order for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project ‘Statue of Unity’ the world’s tallest statue of India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, has been issued by the Gujarat government to leading engineering company Larsen and Toubro (L&T). Work on the 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Patel is to be completed at a cost of Rs 2,979 crore, which is far more than the total sum of Rs 700 crores allocated so far. But, by declaring it a National project, the government has ensured speedy construction and adequate funding to the project.

“This huge construction work will be completed in four years at a cost of Rs 2,979 crore. The contract has been given to the country’s leading construction company Larsen and Toubro”, said Gujarat Chief Minister Smt. Anandiben Patel. Rs 1347 crore will be spent on the main statue, Rs 235 crore will be spent on the exhibition hall and convention centre, while Rs 83 crore will be spent on the bridge connecting the memorial to the main land and Rs 657 crore would be spent to maintain the structure until 15 years after it is completed. The 182-metre-tall ‘Statue of Unity’, which would be double the size of New York’s ‘Statue of Liberty’ (93 metres), would inspire future generations. The project will include an exhibition hall and audio- visual presentation on the life of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which will become the centre of attraction for tourists from the all over the world. 75,000 cubic metres of concrete, 5,700 metric tonne of steel structure, 18,500 steel rods and 22,500 metric tonne of bronze will be used for the project. It goes without saying that the ‘Statue of Unity’ project will generate employment in the tribal area of Narmada district as well as boost the tourism sector. The project was launched by the former Gujarat Chief Minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2013, on Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary.

Statue of Unity, an Icon of India: a marvel beyond imaginationPIB, 29 October 2014

Shri Modi had also launched a country wide campaign to collect iron to build the ‘Statue of Unity’ and the Gujarat government has claimed that iron was collected from around seven lakh villages across the nation.

It’s indeed a moment of pride for Gujarat that a leader from its soil is getting the honour of getting erected at an unprecedented height. No wonder the whole Gujarat would love to bow before him. But, restricting Sardar Patel to Gujarat will be a dishonour to his work. His work, although started from the state, steadily crossed all the borders to leave an impact over the world and humanity in general. The words of Sardar Patel still resonate all over the world therefore there is no wonder this project was declared as a national one. We hope that the world would see it truly as a national project not a political one and every Indian takes pride in it.

The proposed height of the world’s biggest statue is almost double the height of New York’s world famous ‘Statue of Liberty’ and five times higher than the Rio de Janerio’s statue of Christ the Redeemer. It will even be taller than the Sardar Sarovar dam. The statue is neither meant for merely taking pride in its magnitude nor will it stand like a silent memorial. Rather a special work plan has been designed to make this statue a vibrant working centre. The ‘Statue of Unity’ is being built not only to remember India’s freedom struggle but also to inculcate Sardar Patels’s visionary ideology of unity, patriotism, inclusive growth and good governance.

This statue will soon be developed into a fully functional economic centre which will connect people, provide health and education facilities, run various developmental activities for tribal population in the region. An agriculture research centre will also be established within it. Due to this project, Narmada district will have modern infrastructure which will benefit the district as well as the state. Modern infrastructure will give a boost to industrial development in the district. Various environment friendly industries can be established in the region which will not only provide employment to the local people but also help improve their standard of living. Farmers will also be benefited once the agricultural and bio-technological research centres are set up in the region. Last but not least the establishment of the marvelous statue will rejuvenate tourism industry.

The government envisages making the statue a vibrant centre of development. Although the project has been criticised in some quarters as wastage of resources and money but if the purpose behind the project gets served then it will certainly emerge as a modern centre for development for our country. Once completed, the iconic statue would indeed attract tourists, scientists, businessmen, intellectuals and researchers from across the world and project India’s a new identity in the world. Just like Sardar’s spirit and will, the statue would surpass the rest of the mute memorials in the world by being a vibrant economic centre.

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TOURISM

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A Himalayan Treat Tinchuley

The lure of anonymity and the thrill of travelling the ‘less travelled’ path make Tinchuley tucked away in the northern part of the state of West Bengal, a real treat. Just 28 km from the very popular hill station of Darjeeling, at an altitude of about 5,500 ft, it is easily accessible from New Jalpaiguri railway station. The fame of the place lies in its sustainable tourism concept and the only accommodation that you get here are home-stays.

Literally Tinchuley means ‘teen chullas’ or three ovens. A unique initiative of the inhabitants of this village has made it into a self-sustained eco-village. Numerous ‘view points’ allow a panoramic view of the entire eastern Himalayan range with the mighty Mt Kanchenjungha, the third highest mountain in the world, ruling the skyline.

Visit the Tinchuley Monastery, , Durpin Dara, the Teesta River, the Rangit River and Gombu Dara View Point. Numerous trekking trials dot the area. Amble up to the Gumba Dara view point and have a view of the magnificent River Teesta. Locals say there are many caves hidden beneath the Gumba Dara rocks, which are impenetrable. The walk to Gumba Dara is a pleasure in itself, with huge coniferous trees to enchant you. The area is full of tea gardens. The famous Rangli-Rangliot brand comes from this area!

ChOta Mangwa

Chhota Mangwa is 45 minutes by car from Tinchuley. Quaint well-maintained cottages (Darjeeling Blossom Ecotourism Complex) run on solar power, with big hanging verandahs and an unobstructed view of the snow-covered peaks of the great Himalayas. What more can one want? While away your time in the surrounding woods and orchards. If you need activity, take a car to Pedong, Loleygaon, Lava and Delo, from Chhota Mangwa.

Bada Mangwa

A hike to Bada Mangwa (though you can take a car) is advised for the adventurous amongst you. It is a lovely trek, just 2 km, and goes through pine forests and small enchanting villages. From Bada Mangwa (Bada Mangwa Farmhouse), watch the silently meandering Teesta following you. Visit the Greenlawn’s Juicy Trees Garden, for a ‘fresh from the tree’ experience, of the sweetest and juiciest oranges.

GETTING THERE Bagdogra is the nearest airport, to arrive at Darjeeling, and is connected by flights to major cities such as Kolkata, Delhi and Guwahati. New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the nearest station; it is just 10 minutes to Siliguri and an hour and a half to Darjeeling, by car. You can hire a vehicle to Tinchuley from NJP. Darjeeling is 686 km from Kolkata, 80 km from Siliguri and 86 km from New Jalpaiguri.

For more information:

Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal2, Brabourne Road, Kolkata - 700 001, Phone: 033-2225 4723/4724, E-Mail :director.tourism@gmail.com

West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.Hemanta Bhawan, 4th Floor,12 B.B.D.Bag(East), Kolkata - 700 001, Phone: 033-4401-2086/4401-2082, Fax: 033-2248 8290

E-mail : wbtdc@vsnl.com, visitwestbengal@yahoo.co.in

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CALENDAR

PUBLISHER: Sun Media Pte Ltd MANAGING EDITOR: Nomita DharTel: +65 6735 2972/6735 2986/6735 1907 Fax: +65 67353114 E-mail: admin@sunmediaonline.com Website: www.sunmediaonline.comThis newsletter is published for the High Commission of India, Australia.While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all information contained, the publisher cannot be liable for loss incurred in any way whatsoever by a company or person relying on this information.

For further enquiries, contact: The High Commission of India 3/5 Moonah Place Yarralumla, ACT - 2600 Tel: +61 2 6273 3999, 6273 3774, 6273 3875 Fax: +61 2 6273 1308

IndIa ChROnICLE | EXPO CaLEndaR

gLOBaL R&d SuMMIt 2014Global R&D Summit 2014, a two-day integrated conference, exhibition and award function, to be held from 12-13 November, 2014 at The Lalit, New Delhi, will be a magnanimous milieu of local and global experts and institutions from industry, academia, government, non-profits, bilateral/ multilateral agencies, funding organisations and associated establishments that constitute the R&D ecosystem.

Accomplished individuals from India and across the globe, comprising, senior R&D experts, policy-makers, business leaders, innovators, investors and entrepreneurs from various sectors and areas of specialization will be brought together to exchange fire wire ideas, experiences and best practices in R&D management and strategy, delivered through a mix of plenary addresses, panel discussions, presentations and workshops.

The event also aims to create a unique networking ground for people to explore new collaborations, refresh existing ones and showcase projects, programs and demonstrated success stories to connect with players and stakeholders of the R&D community.

Date: 12-13 november 2014 Venue: The Lalit, New Delhi, India

Website: www.ficcirndsummit.com

IndIa IntERnatIOnaL CnC & tOOLIng EXPO haRIdwaR

FICCI announces the 11th Annual Real Estate Summit 2014. The event, being one of the biggest platforms for real estate in the country attracts more than 200 delegates from India and abroad. This is an annual platform for updates on global and Indian real estate sector, government policies, emerging trends, investor mindsets, sharing of new ideas & concepts and exploring business partnerships.

FICCI invites you to participate in India’s largest annual real estate convention and listen to renowned developers, authorities, policy makers and financial institutions in powerful panel discussions and networking sessions. • Insights and vision of top leaders from industry• Real estate market trends: Global and India• Comprehensive coverage of policy issues and burning topics of real estate• Thought provoking panel discussions• Industry shares its vision, issues and expectations • Policy makers respond to industry concerns and share forthcoming policies• Release of FICCI–EY Knowledge Report on Real Estate• Ideal platform for networking, business promotion and learning

Date: 13 november 2014Venue: Hotel Lalit, Mumbai, India Website: www.ficcirealestatesummit.com

CORCOn 201412-15 nOvEMBER 2014HOTEL GRAND HYATT, MUMBAI, INDIAwww.corcon.org

aSIa-PaCIfIC tRadE agREEMEnt (aPta) BuSInESS fORuM13 - 14 nOvEMBER 2014 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN TRADE (IIFT), B-21, QUTUB INSTITUTIONAL AREA, NEW DELHI-16 www.ficci.com

fICCI hIghER EduCatIOn SuMMIt 201413-14 nOvEMBER 2014 FICCI, FEDERATION HOUSE, NEW DELHIwww.ficci-hes.com

fICCI PRESEntS thE IndIan LuXuRy EXPO14-16 nOvEMBER 2014 CHANDIGARH, INDIAwww.ficci.com

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16th annuaL InSuRanCE COnfEREnCE24 nOvEMBER 2014 TAJ LAND END, MUMBAI, INDIAwww.ficci-insurance.com

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19th EntERPRISE OdISha 201426 - 30 nOvEMBER 2014 IDCO EXHIBITION GROUND, BHUBANESWAR, INDIA www.enterpriseodisha.com

CII autO ShOw gujaRat 201428 - 30 nOvEMBER 2014 MAHATMA MANDIR, GANDHINAGAR, INDIAwww.autoshowgujarat.com

12th IntERnatIOnaL MInIng & MaChInERy EXhIBItIOn 201403 - 06 dECEMBER 2014 SALT LAKE STADIUM GROUNDS, SALT LAKE, KOLKATA, INDIAwww.immeindia.in

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