SANCHI: THE LAND OF STUPAS - cse.iitk.ac.in fileSanchi is the site of three Stupas. Stupa No. 1, ... with the decline of Buddhism in India, Sanchi became a ... around 50 monuments

CONNECTING INDIA WITH ITS DIASPORA

Vol 1 Issue 6 June 2008

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs www.moia.gov.in, www.overseasindian.in

SANCHI: THE LAND OF STUPAS

S anchi is a small village in Raisen district, located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar andVidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is home to several Buddhist monuments dating fromthe 3rd century BC to the 12th century CE.

Sanchi is the site of three Stupas. Stupa No. 1, also called the ‘Great Stupa’ is one of the most magnificent monu-ments of its time. Emperor Ashoka probably started its construction in the middle of the 3rd century BC and was lat-er enlarged. It is enclosed by a massive stone railing pierced by four gateways. These gateways have elaborate carvings,depicting the life of the Buddha. Each gateway is made up of two square posts, topped by statues of animals and dwarfs.It consists of a base, bearing a hemispherical dome (anda) representing the dome of heaven enclosing the earth. It is sur-mounted by a square-rail unit (harmika) from which rises a mast (Yatsi). It symbolises the cosmic axis. The mast bearsumbrellas (chatras) that represent the various heavens (devaloka).

Stupa No. 2, with railing decorations, has carvings relating to late Sunga period (1st century BC) while Stupa No.3, with its single gateway (torana) was constructed in late 1st century AD. These stupas attract thousands of visitorsevery year. Other prominent features of Sanchi include a commemorative pillar erected by Ashoka (265-238 BC).There is also a famous temple Gupta temple built in early 5th century AD and contains some of the best specimens ofIndian sculpture.

However, with the decline of Buddhism in India, Sanchi became a forgotten place. In 1881, a British officer, GeneralTaylor, took the initiative to preserve this land. Amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters had by then ravaged thesite. Between 1912 and 1919 the structures were restored to their present condition under the supervision of Sir JohnMarshall, then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India . Today, around 50 monuments remain on thehill of Sanchi, including three stupas and several temples. The monuments have been listed among the UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites.

M I N I S T R Y O F O V E R S E A S I N D I A N A F FA I R S

Revolutionon a wireRevolutionon a wireWWith 300 million telephone subscribers, India hasith 300 million telephone subscribers, India hasthe second-largest telecom network in the world the second-largest telecom network in the world


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A pril wasn’t the cru-ellest month, notcertainly for India’s

telecom industry. Thecountry, at rank bottom ofthe digital divide, shot toNo. 2 in the world in

mobile subscription after China, replacing the UnitedStates, the supremo in the wireless market for decades.Today, Indian telecom companies add an astounding 9to 10 million new subscribers to the network everymonth. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authorityof India (TRAI), the country’s telecom watchdog, 10.16million new wireless subscribers joined India’s telecomnetwork in March to take the total subscription to 300.51million with a tele-density of 26.22 percent. In the samesegment, the subscriber base in China stood at 550.50million and 250.93 million in the United States.

“If the last few years in telecom were exciting, it willbe even more exciting in the coming years,” says TRAIChairman Nripendra Misra. “In terms of numbers wewould easily achieve the target of 500 million by 2010,”Misra tells Pravasi. Such are the perspectives on India’stelecom revolution. This issue of Pravasi presents a van-tage view of a sector which seems to have ignored theglobal economic slowdown and spiralling inflationarytrends. A Price Waterhouse Coopers report adds theclincher: It says at a compounded annual growth rate of28 percent, India could very well achieve 539 millionmobile subscribers by 2010, with revenues topping $35billion from the $22 billion now. Only connect, said E.M.Forster, in a different context.

This issue of Pravasi takes a quick detour and looks atNRI remittances and foreign investments in India. Anestimated 5.7 million India workers abroad sent home$27 billion in 2007 to make India the top recipient ofmigrant remittances, according to World Bank datareleased in March 2008. There was a difference though.Instead of the Middle East with its estimated 5 millionNRI workers, the United States with about 2.4 millionNRIs was the main remittance source. So, the demo-graphics of remittances are shifting. However, what hasit meant for the country and how are trends in invest-ments by foreign investors shaping the country’s eco-nomic activities. We take a tour of the key facts and fig-ures. But at the heart of it all what is gladdening is whatRBI Governor had to say at a forum in New Yorkrecently: “Following sustained higher growth in India,a reverse process of brain flow has also begun by way offoreign nationals and expatriate Indians expressing theirinterest for pursuing more fruitful ventures in India. Asa result, corresponding trade and private business link-ages have also started growing.”

From the month of June, a quiet but decisive revo-lution takes place in foreign travel: India will get its firste-passports. To be issued to diplomats and officials first,it will eventually reach the citizens within the next fewmonths. The other big news making a splash is that ofReliance Big Entertainment foraying into Hollywoodproduction and tying up with the likes of Brad Pitt, TomHanks and six other big stars in the United States.

Come 2012, India aims to produce 124 million tonnesof steel and by 2015 hopes to become the world’s sec-ond-largest producer of finished steel. Meanwhile,financials have been pretty good with public sector steelundertakings posting a profit before tax of Rs. 206.24billion in 2007-08 from Rs. 53.98 billion in 2003-04.Around 193 memoranda of understandings have alsobeen signed with various states including Orissa,Jharkhand, Karnataka and Chattisgarh. Another devel-opment brought a glimmer to India’s infrastructure sec-tor: the opening of the Bengaluru International Airport.The spanking new airport, a product of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model is expected to handle10-12 million passengers till 2012. Read more aboutthese and other news in our economy section.

We also look at the stories and personalities shapingour diaspora narrative in our regular sections.Environment has been one of chief concerns and wetake you to Manila, a small village in Karnataka, where79-year-old Achyutha Bhat has for decades carried outa “suranga revolution” — a nature-friendly method oftapping water, one of humanity’s most valuable and fastshrinking resources. Join Bhat for a sojourn in surangacountry.Happy reading...

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the Ministry ofOverseas Indian Affairs

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Pravasi Bharatiya is a monthlypublication. The views expressed in thisjournal are those of the contributorsand do not necessarily reflect the viewsof the Ministry of Overseas IndianAffairs (MOIA). All rights reserved.No part of this journal may beproduced, stored, or transmitted in anyform or by any means — electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording,or otherwise, without the permissionof MOIA.

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INDIA RINGING

REMITTANCES TOPNRI PRIORITY

RAANNDEZVOUSKUTCH

From the rank bottom of the digital divide to No. 2 in the world for mobile phonesubscribers, India is adding on at a rate of nine-ten million new subscribers everymonth. By 2010, revenues will top $35 billion from the $22 billion now. The Indiantelecom story is an amazing tribute to the country’s capacity for scalable growth.

The benefits of remittances in generatinghigher levels of consumption may come atthe expense of long-term growth. Recipientstates should, therefore, devise policies tohelp promote economic growth and socialwelfare, says Kul Bhushan.

With amazing vistas, an intriguing historyand a rich tradition coloured by mysticalenchantment, Kutch’s experience is at onceremote and strange...

Correction: In the preceding issues, the Confederation of Indian Industryhas been inadvertently referred to as the “Confederation of IndianIndustries” in the advertisement on the back inside jacket of PravasiBharatiya. The error is regretted.

Makhan Singh, an unsung Sikh heroof the Kenyan freedom struggle, andlargely forgotten today, was thefounder of East African trade unionmovement.

ROYALS WIN INAUGURAL IPLRegarded as underdogs early on, Rajasthan Royals, led by the intrepidShane Warne, clinched the inaugural Indian Premier League beatingChennai Super Kings in a last-ball win thriller. Yusuf’s blazing 56 runs,studded with 4 huge sixes and 3 fours, and his 3 wickets earned himthe Man of the Match in the final. Under Warne’s stewardship, playerslike Yusuf Pathan and Swapnil Asnodkar blossomed into future Indianprospects.

PP 1199

PP 3388

PP 3344

IN TRIBUTE

LORD OF THE RINGS — KHALI . . . . . . 36E-PASSPORT IN JUNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8GURUKULA FOR ‘SURANGAS’ . . . . . . 40FORGING NEW FRONTIERS . . . . . . . . 24AUTHOR’S VOICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

PP 1122

>

> PP 4444

W ith the government nego-tiating a slew of labourtreaties, Indian workers

may soon find job-hunting in the con-tinent relatively painless. India has alsoagreed to join the InternationalOrganisation for Migration (IOM)further paving the way for smootherlabour movement to Europe.

The Indian cabinet had on May 1approved of India applying for admis-sion to the 122-member, Geneva-headquartered IOM — the multilat-eral body that facilitates inter-govern-mental migration consultations andprojects.

Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs(MOIA) Vayalar Ravi will lead a del-egation to the IOM Council meetingin Geneva on June 18 to 19, whenIndia’s application will be formallysubmitted, considered and approved.

An official noted that the “mostimportant advantage” for India’smembership would be the capacity of

the IOM to “facilitate bilateral instru-ments with potential destinationcountries”.

The first in line may be Denmark,only the latest European country tocome to India looking to plug itsdemographic hole of young workingpopulation. Earlier on May 8, a fact-finding team of the DanishImmigration Services had come toIndia — a follow-up to the visit ofDenmark’s Prime Minister AndersFogh Rasmussen in February.

“We are planning to sign a socialsecurity agreement, as well as a labourmobility partnership,” an MOIA offi-cial, who spoke on condition ofanonymity, said.

The Indian side has proposed thatthe labour mobility agreement be a tri-partite one, with the IOM as third par-ty.” The Danish seemed to welcomeour suggestion. But it is still in an ear-ly stage, so this has to be decided," saidthe official.

pravasi bharatiya | june 2008 9pravasi bharatiya | june 20088

I ndia’s firste-passport,which will

make traveleasy, is expect-ed to be issued

in the month ofJune. It will be

issued to diplomatsand officials first.

Others may have to waitfor about 10 months — or

even more. If all goes well, the first e-passport will be issued around June 15to President Pratibha Patil or PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh — orboth.

The e-passport project is on a roll. Arecent test conducted in a U.S. gov-ernment laboratory was so impressivethat American officials remarked thatthey would need to study the Indiantechnology. An eight-member officialIndian delegation in May had visitedWashington carrying 25 test e-pass-ports made in India. The e-passportwill have thicker front and back cov-

ers. The rear cover will have a smallsilicon chip, smaller than a postagestamp, as well as an embedded rect-angular antenna.

The eight officials, drawn from theministry of external affairs, theNational Informatics Centre (NIC),the Indian Security Press (Nasik) andthe Indian Institute of Technology(IIT)-Kanpur, had an appointment tokeep at the inter-operability test cen-tre in the U.S. Department ofHomeland Security.

“We found that while the Americane-passport took a minimum of 10 sec-onds to be read, our passports tookjust four seconds. The reason for thequicker response of the chip in Indianpassports was the software developedby IIT-Kanpur and NIC,” said abeaming Indian official.

“Unlike the U.S. software which isproprietary and developed by vendors,ours is entirely made in-house. Sothere is no commercial aspect to it,”said Rajat Moona, professor of com-puter science at IIT-Kanpur. And

those extra seconds will make valuabledifference when the immigration dealswith long queues. “The Americanswere highly impressed. If it is two anda half times faster, it means the crowdcan be cleared that quicker,” the offi-cial said.

The International Civil AviationOrganisation has set down normshow e-passports may be ‘read’, but itdoes not prescribe how the informa-tion in the chip is to be ‘written’ orhow its security features should be.These guidelines were decided by atechnical committee headed by theNIC director general and were madepart of tender notice.

There are certain advanced securi-ty features incorporated in the Indiandesign. For example, to prevent any-body from reading the passport fromafar, other countries prescribe thatthe document should be carried in ametal jacket. But the Indian e-pass-port cannot be read unless it comesinto contact with the ‘reading’machine.

Europe favours legalIndian workers

I ndia and Bahrain will sign alabour agreement in June tofacilitate labour mobility and

manpower development, a ministry of overseasIndian affairs (MOIA) official said onApril 26.

The decision was taken after talksbetween Minister for Overseas IndianAffairs Vayalar Ravi and visitingBahrain Labour Minister Majid Al-

Alawi at Kumarakom, Kerala — afamous tourist destination.

“A draft of the memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) has been ini-tialled and the agreed minutes to thiseffect have also been cleared at thehighest level. The MoU delves intolabour mobility and manpower devel-opment,” said the official.

Further details were announced lat-er at Kochi where Ravi addressed apress conference.

There are about 280,000 Indiansworking in Bahrain and nearly 80 per-cent of them are believed to be fromKerala.

India has signed similar labouragreements with the United ArabEmirates and Kuwait to safeguard theinterests of Indians working in thosecountries.

ews N

T he Indian High Commission in London —among the busiest of diplomatic missions — bida cheery farewell on May 29 to snaking queues

and grumpy customers surrounding its visa section. For as of May 29, the task of issuing visas to Britons

wishing to visit India were outsourced to the world’slargest company handling such work — fittingly an Indianfirm. To many of the estimated half a million Britons whovisit India every year, the move could not have come a daysooner — inefficiency at the Indian visa section in Londonis legendary, and a security staff was roughed up by anannoyed female applicant earlier this year.

Launching the first of five visa offices to be openedacross Britain, India’s new High Commissioner ShivShankar Mukherjee said on May 27 the new facilitieswould enable people to apply online and obtain a visa with-out even having to turn up at the offices.

“The person who needs to travel to India is the most

important customer we have,” Mukherjee said, describ-ing the Indian mission in London as “easily the largestvisa-issuing mission India has.”

Offices are to be opened at two locations in centralLondon, another in Southall — a London suburb with alarge ethnic Indian population — and two more in thecities of Birmingham and Edinburgh. The work will behandled by VFS Global, a wholly-owned subsidiary of thetravel company Kuoni India handling 10 million visa appli-cations for 23 missions in 42 countries.

Starting out with about 75 employees, the company willconduct a review later this year and open more offices ifneeded, an official said. The application of new technolo-gies means visa applications can be made online, paid forby credit cards and can be tracked at each stage of the pro-cess because they will be bar-coded, Mukherjee said.“These should help remove hassles, apprehension andsuspense,” he added.

India, Bahrain toink labour pact

At UK mission visa lines go virtual

India secondbiggest exporter

to UAE

India has become the secondbiggest exporter to the United

Arab Emirates (UAE) after China,following a sharp drop in the valueof the U.S. dollar-pegged local cur-rency, the dirham.

India has come to the secondposition for the first time after thecreation of the UAE, 37 years ago,the Emirates Business 24-7 newspa-per reported, citing figures issuedby the government-controlledEmirates Industrial Bank (EIB).

Stating that the UAE’s importsfrom India shot up seven timeswithin 5 years, it said the value ofIndian imports rose from 9.2 bil-lion dirhams ($2.5 billion) in 2002to 67 billion dirhams ($18.2 billion)in 2007. According to the report,India accounted for around 16 per-cent of the UAE’s total imports of418.7 billion dirhams ($114 billion)last year. China’s exports to theUAE in 2007 stood at an all-timehigh of 69.9 billion dirhams ($19.03billion), an increase of around 33.9percent over previous year.

“There are several factors for thisincrease — the decline in thedirham against other currencies,mainly the U.K. pound and theeuro by over 40 percent andbecause of the sharp fall in the U.S.dollar, to which the dirham ispegged. This made imports fromother countries, mainly Asian morecompetitive,” it said.

Another reason for India’s risewas that the European Union (EU)has been reluctant to sign a freetrade pact (FTP) with the UAE andother Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) members “at a time whenthere has been substantial progressin negotiations for such an agree-ment between the GCC, India andChina”.

After US tests, India to get first e-passport in June


I ndia has fixed the minimum wage for Indian domes-tic workers in Oman at 75 Omani riyals ($195) permonth, effective from June 1. “The Embassy of India

in Muscat, Oman, has, under the instructions of theGovernment of India, decided to raise the wages of Indianhouse maids coming to the Sultanate from the existingRO50 ($130) per month to RO75 per month with effectfrom June 1, 2008,” the Indian embassy said in statement.

India’s Ambassador to Oman Anil Wadhwa said in thestatement that this was necessitated by inflation and risingcost of living worldwide, particularly in Oman, as the wagesof Indian household workers have remained static for over15 years. Other countries supplying household workers inOman are the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia,Tanzania and Bangladesh.

The embassy also stated that during 2007, it registered7,797 labour contracts of household workers from Indiaand helped in repatriating home 65 household workerswho were facing problems.

According to Wadhwa, the embassy was also taking sev-eral steps for the welfare of Indian household workers inthat Gulf nation. These include making prior attestationof labour agreement by the embassy mandatory to allowhousehold workers to leave India, orientation programme

for household workers prior to their leaving India, con-tractual binding for the sponsor to provide a pre-paidmobile phone to the household worker on arrival, thesponsor allowing the household worker to report to theembassy within four weeks of his/her arrival in Oman, freelegal and assistance for any household worker who is ill-treated, and the embassy paying for the medical treatmentand airfare in deserving cases.

This apart, the embassy, in collaboration with Oman’sMinistry of Manpower, has prepared flyers in six languages,including four Indian regional languages, containing ‘dosand don’ts’ for Indian household workers in Oman.

These have been placed at all immigration counters andin commercial aircraft, which are normally used by Indianhousehold workers coming to Oman.

According to the statement, apart from the helplinenumber (8007 7000) operated round-the-clock by theOmani manpower ministry, the Indian mission also has around-the-clock helpline number (2469 8491) that anyaggrieved Indian household worker can call and recordhis/her complaint.

In 2007, the embassy stated, it issued 41,637 passportsand 22,671 visas while the figures for the first five monthsof the current year were 18,133 and 12,221, respectively.

I ndia and the United ArabEmirates (UAE) have agreed toinstitutionalize the India-Gulf

Cooperation Council (GCC) dialogueprocess with regular meetings.

The two sides agreed to institu-tionalize the dialogue process, whichas of now is held on the sidelines ofthe UN General Assembly (UNGA)meeting, during a meeting betweenvisiting Indian External AffairsMinister Pranab Mukherjee and hisUAE counterpart Sheikh AbdullahBin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“A proposal was put forward by theIndian side to institutionalize theIndia-GCC dialogue process and theUAE side has agreed to this,” India’sambassador to the UAE TalmizAhmad said on May 13, briefing

reporters about Mukherjee’s two-dayvisit to this Gulf nation.

The India-GCC dialogue processstarted in 2003 on the sidelines of theUNGA meeting and the practice hascontinued over the years.

The GCC — comprising the UAE,Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrainand Qatar — is increasingly coordi-nating the political, economic anddefence and security policies of itsmember states. The GCC CustomsUnion, formed in 2005, constitutesthe world’s second largest trading bloc.The group is now working on adopt-ing a single currency by 2010.

It is in the face of this that the India-GCC dialogue process was started sothat the region can have a combinedpolitical relationship with India.

India, UAE agree to institutionaliseIndia-GCC dialogue process

M ultinational assurance, taxand advisory servicescompany Pricewater-

houseCoopers (PwC) has launchedan India-Africa desk in Johannesburgon May 22 in an effort to stimulatetwo-way foreign investments andjoint ventures.

Project leader Troopti Naik said theinternational desk was being launchedto facilitate business linkages and jointventures between entities in India,South Africa and the rest of Africa, andvice-versa. Naik said a comprehensivesurvey report on business between

India and South Africa, to be releasedby the end of May, would featureinterviews with the leaders of compa-nies from both countries. It will alsolook at the business trends and assessthe psyche of Indian companies wish-ing to do business with Africa.

Stanley Subramoney, PwC’sDeputy Chief Executive Officer, whois piloting this ground-breaking pub-lic-private sector initiative, said: “Weare very excited about the India Deskinitiative and at growing its relevanceand profile within the business com-munity, both in both countries.

PricewaterhouseCoopers to launchIndia-Africa desk

ewsNHollywood bigs join Reliance venture

A fter being namedamong the 100 most

influential people in theworld by Time magazine,head of India’s TataGroup Ratan Tata hasbeen included in the listof 73 biggest brains in business forhis Rs.100,000 car — Nano.

Conde Nast Portfolio, a US businessmagazine, in its May issue on all-round brilliance, has identified busi-

ness’ biggest brainsincluding media czarRupert Murdoch,Microsoft founder BillGates, Google co-founders Larry Page andSergey Brin, and investor

Warren Buffet. Tata is considered a ‘game chang-

er’ by the magazine, other categoriesin its brilliant list being connectors,taste-makers, rebels and upstarts.

Ratan Tata in world’s top business brains list

Minimum wage fixed for Indiandomestic workers in Oman

R eliance Big Entertainment,the media and entertainmentarm of the $100 billion

Reliance Anil Dhirubhai AmbaniGroup, on May 18 announced amajor foray into Hollywood by pro-viding development funds to BradPitt, Tom Hanks and six other super-stars in the US. Apart from Pitt’s Plan

B Entertainment and Hank’sPlaystone Productions, Reliance BigEntertainment has struck develop-ment deals with Nicolas Cage’s SaturnProductions, Jim Carrey’s JC 23Entertainment, George Clooney’sSmokehouse Productions, ChrisColumbus’ 1492 Pictures, and JayRoache’s Everyman Pictures.

Reliance Entertainment chairmanAmit Khanna made the announce-ment at a press conference at theMajestic Hotel, Cannes on the side-lines of the Cannes Film Festival.

“This is just the beginning of ourjourney into Hollywood,” saidKhanna. “We have a dominant posi-

tion in India, but when it comes tomotion pictures it has been obviousthat we need to extend our footprintto Hollywood”.

This is the biggest foray of an Indianentity in Hollywood’s motion pictureindustry. It provides for the creationof a development silo for each of theproduction entities. Thirty films arelikely to emanate from Reliance’s co-financing and 10 will go into produc-tion.

“We watch Hollywood movies. But,do we make it? Not so far. Today wesay, we can,” said Prasoon Joshi, cre-ative director of Reliance BigEntertainment.

21 Indian BPOs inworld top 100

Twenty-one Indian companies,including Infosys Technologies,

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) andWipro, are among the top 100 BPOfirms in the world, according to a newstudy. Five of the Indian firms figur-ing among the 10 best outsourcingservice providers are: Infosys (No.3),TCS (6), Wipro (7), Genpact (9) andTech Mahindra (10), according to thestudy — ‘2008 Global Outsourcing100’ — compiled by the InternationalAssociation of OutsourcingProfessionals (IAOP).

Accenture and IBM head the listpublished as an advertising feature byIAOP in the current Fortune 500issue of Fortune magazine.

The evaluation team was led byIAOPs' managing director ofThought Leadership, Jagdish Dalal, arenowned outsourcing expert.

Australia, Indiamove towards FTA

The Australia-India Free TradeAgreement (FTA) may come

through as early as next year withAustralian Trade Minister SimonCrean and India’s Commerce andIndustry Minister Kamal Nath agree-ing last month that the FTA feasibil-ity report would soon be ratified.

During the annual Joint MinisterialCommission meeting on May 20,Crean discussed Australia’s marketaccess requests with Nath, as well asits concerns about India’s sugar exportsubsidies. Both countries reaffirmedtheir commitment to bringing abouta successful conclusion to WTO’sDoha Development Round talks thisyear. India is Australia’s fastest grow-ing major export market for bothgoods and services, increasing at over30% annually over the last five years.

pravasi bharatiya | june 2008pravasi bharatiya | june 200812

From the bottom of the digitaldivide to No. 2 in the world

for mobile phone subscribers,India is adding on at a rate

of nine-ten million newsubscribers every month.

By 2010, revenues will top$35 billion from $22 billion

now, reports ArvindPadmanabhan…

for the future — 500 million tele-phone connections, 40 millionInternet connections and some 20million broadband connections,” headded.

According to figures available withthe sector’s watchdog in the countryTelecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia (TRAI), 10.16 million new wire-less subscribers were added to India’stelecom network in March to bringthe total number of subscribers to300.51 million with a tele-density of26.22 percent.

Specifically in the wireless segment,the subscriber base rose to 261.09 mil-

lion — against550.50 million forChina and 250.93million in the U.S.estimated by thetelecom regulator.

“If the last fewyears in telecomwas exciting it willbe even more exciting in the comingyears,” said TRAI ChairmanNripendra Misra. “In terms of num-bers we would easily achieve the targetof 500 million by 2010,” Misra toldPravasi Bharatiya (See interview).

The predictions by the regulatory

authority chief was also reinforced bya recent report prepared jointly by theAssociated Chambers of Commerceand Industry (Assocham), a leadingindustry lobby, and global consultan-cy and accounting firmPriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

A pril saw an unprecedented development in the Indian tele-com industry’s history. The country, which was at the bot-tom of the digital divide with a rather abysmal penetration

of its telecom network about a decade ago, was ranked No.2 in theworld for mobile phone subscribers after China, replacing the pre-vious leader in the wireless market for decades — the United States.

In fact, Indian telecom companies now add an astounding nine-ten million new subscribers to the network every month, makingevery major global player, be it in the handsets, services or infras-tructure businesses taking a closer look at the country — if not hav-ing a presence in India already.

“Three years ago, a target of 250 million telephone subscriberswas considered too ambitious. You have proved the critics wrongand reached the milestone well in time,” Prime Minister ManmohanSingh told a telecom conference here recently.

“I am very happy the telecom department has ambitious targets

INDIA Ringing

13

March 2006 March 2007 March 2008

Wireless 98.78 165.11 261.09

Wireline 41.54 40.75 39.42

Total 140.32 205.86 300.51

(Source: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)

Growth of Indian telecom industry(Subscriber base in mn)

over StoryC

At a compounded annual growthrate of 28 percent, India is all set toachieve 539 million mobile sub-scribers by 2010, said the report,adding, revenues will top $35 billionfrom $22 billion now.

The report also said that the nextphase of growth would be in the hin-terland for which operators needed todevise relevant packages for rural sub-scribers, both in terms of handsets andservices. Similarly, another major con-sultancy Boston Consulting Groupsaid only one in 20 of the world’s firsttwo billion mobile subscribers livedin India, as many as one in every fourof the next billion subscribers will bean Indian, with a major growth in therural areas.

“The tele-density in the urban areasis over 50 percent, in rural areas it isaround 8 percent. The digital dividecontinues. So clearly the future lies inthe rural areas,” said Misra.

“Telecom access to rural India isgoing to be the most important devel-

opment in the country since theGreen Revolution of the 1970s and1980s,” the watchdog chairman added— a view universally shared by expertsand industry leaders.

“Metros have roughly reached theirsaturation point. It is the villages andsmall cities that will be targeted for

increasing consumer base,” saidTarvinder Singh of Motorola, whooversees its marketing and productmanagement division.

“Over the course of next two-threeyears service providers will be aggres-sively expanding to remotest areas ofthe country. Motorola has been push-ing handsets for the rural market atdirt-cheap prices for sometime now,”he added.

And the competition in rural areasand smaller cities and towns — oncethought of as low-volume, low-rev-enue business — is also beginning tohot up, as S.D. Saxena, Director-Finance for the state run BharatSanchar Nigam Ltd explains.

“We used to have an edge in therural and small town markets. But itis not the same today with global play-ers coming in. We take competitionvery positively. We think it’ll bring thebest out of us,” Saxena said.

In fact, the fast growth and thefuture potential for telecom in India

has led to all the five top global mobilehandset manufacturers — Nokia,Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsungand LG Electronics — to set up man-ufacturing bases in India.

The country imposes no cap on for-eign direct investment in the manu-facturing of telecom equipment in thecountry, though a 74-percent limit hasbeen set in the case of telecommuni-cations services.

Some global consultancies predictthat even though mobile handsetmanufacturers in India were mainlyaddressing local demand, next fewyears will see as much as 30 percent ofthe production being exported toAfrica, the Middle East and other partsof South Asia, which have significantdemand for low-cost handsets.

The Department of Telecom(DoT) says revenues from telecommanufacturing sector was expected tohave crossed $6.5 billion in 2007-08,with this segment set to become oneof the largest globally by 2010.

The Chief Executive of Finland’sNokia Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who hadvisited the company’s manufacturingfacility in Chennai and New Delhi lastyear said India had overtaken the USas its second largest market for hand-sets after China.

Kallasvuo said 60 million handsetswere shipped

from thefactory near

Chennai, theTamil Nadu

capital, since itstarted produc-

tion two yearsago and that he

also expectedto maintain

its growthin thecountry

andexpand its

headcount. “India is

playing anincreasingly

important role in the

global economy buoyed by impressivegrowth, skilled manpower andtremendous business opportunity,”said Kallasvuo, whose group invested$500 million in the factory, employ-ing around 4,700 people.

Little wonder, global consultancieslike Gartner have made fairytale-likeprojections for the Indian telecommarket. The US-headquartered techresearch firm said revenues of theIndian mobile phone segment willexceed $25 billion in four years, grow-ing at 22 percent annually.

“With more marginal users form-ing the bulk of addressable market,low service costs and inexpensivehandsets will help to unlock the iner-tia and facilitate adoption of mobileservices,” says the firm’s senior ana-lyst Madhusudan Gupta.

“This trend, coupled with theemerging-market handset initiative byvendors and operators, will boostadoption of mobile services in India’ssemi-urban and rural provinces.”

It was for these reasons that Britain-based global mobile phone giantVodafone created a major interna-tional buzz by acquiring a controllingstake in India’s third largest privatephone company Hutch-Essar for$10.9 billion, sending the valuationssoaring for rivals like Bharti Airtel and

Reliance Communications. “India isa tremendously exciting and fast mov-ing market and I am confident that theHutch-Essar business would make amajor contribution to the Vodafonegroup over the coming years,” thegroup’s Indian-born chief Arun Sarin,who steps aside in July, said whilemaking the announcement on thetakeover.

He also said Vodafone would beinvesting $2 billion over the next twoyears in the Hutch-Essar telecom ven-ture to particularly tap the rural mar-ket, multiply the infrastructure andimprove the tele-density in the coun-try. As India enters a new phase ofgrowth, telecom operators and thesubscribers are also waiting for theintroduction of next generation tele-phony.

Communications Minister A. Rajasays the new policy on for 3G tele-phony will be ready by June.

“Foreign players will also be allowedin 3G. We have a 74-percent foreigndirect investment limit in the telecomservice sector. Whether there is com-mon auction or open auction, therewill be no bar on foreign players,” theminister added.

(Arvind Padmanabhan is ExecutiveEditor-Business at IANS and can be con-tacted at [email protected]).

pravasi bharatiya | june 2008 15

over StoryC

pravasi bharatiya | june 200814

Q: What has been the main driverof India’s robust telecom growth andwhere does the potential lie for thefuture?

A: The telecom sector in India hasregistered remarkable growth duringthe last few years propelled largely bythe unprecedented growth of mobiletelephony. The growth in an infras-tructure sector like telecom is not justthe growth of a sector — it has a mul-tiplier effect on the whole economy.The key to the growth of telecom inIndia has been liberalisation, reformsand competition. The positive regu-latory framework has played a majorrole. Three years ago, a target of 250million telephone subscribers by2007 was considered too ambitious.We could achieve this target a few

months ahead of schedule.The telecom policy of

1999 envisaged a tele-den-sity of 15 percent by theyear 2010. The overall tele-density of the country isalready over 26 percentnow. Today, we have over300 million telephone sub-scribers of which around 40million are wire-line sub-scribers. Ours is the sec-ond-largest network afterChina. The developmentsin the sector have resultedin massive investments andexplosion in supply — signsof a vigorous, competitiveand fast-growing sector.

While tele-density in theurban areas is over 50 percent, in ruralareas it is around 8 percent only. Thedigital divide continues. Clearly, thefuture lies in rural areas.

Telecommunication access to ruralIndia is going to be the most impor-tant development since the GreenRevolution. Research analysts feel thatmobile voice is overwhelmingly theengine of growth followed by NextGeneration Network (NGN), broad-band and data.

Q: What is the future potential fordomestic and global players? Do youthink the projection of 500 million tele-com subscribers by 2010 is feasible?

A: The target of 500 million tele-phone connections by the year 2010is very much achievable. Even with300 million telephone connections,the tele-density of the country is onlyabout 26 percent. Mobile telephonyis growing at an annual rate of over 90percent. On an average, over 8 mil-lion subscribers are being added everymonth. Besides the basic telephoneservice, there is a huge potential fordifferent value-added services. In fact,the real potential for telecom servicegrowth is still lying untapped. Thetelecom sector is attracting significant

domestic and global investment. Thecapital investment made by the tele-com service industry during 2006-07was Rs. 340.21 billion (around $8.5billion) out of which Rs. 23.55 billion($550 million) was foreign directinvestment.

The margins and profits of almostall the telecom companies have beenincreasing. In fact there are caseswhere a significant portion of profitof international telecom companieshave been from their operations inIndia.

Q: How well is India pre-pared for the introduction ofnext-generation (NGN)mobile phone services? Do youthink the Indian telecom mar-ket, in terms of technology, isgrowing on a par with theglobal scenario?

A: India is well prepared forthe introduction of NGN.Being a late starter in the tele-com scenario, India has theadvantage of using the latesttechnology and so it is in abetter position when com-pared to many other countriesas far as introduction of NGNis concerned.

Besides, the TRAI has iden-tified NGN as a priority area. I can saywith confidence that technologically,the Indian telecom network is secondto none.

Q: How important has competitionin the sector helped nurse growth inIndia and what has been the telecomwatchdog’s stand in this regard?

A: The ideal strategy is to allow freecompetition and the market forceswould ensure healthy competition.The Indian telecom sector is the liv-


over StoryC

‘More exciting timesahead for Indian

TELECOM INDUSTRY’

With over 300 milliontelephone subscribersand a tele-density of26 percent in India,the next few yearswould prove to beeven more excitingfor the industry,Nripendra Misra, theChairman of theTelecom RegulatoryAuthority of India(TRAI), the sector’swatchdog, tellsPravasi Bharatiya inan interview.Excerpts:


F oreign Direct Investment(FDI) inflows (including rein-vested earnings according to

international FDI classificationnorms) into India touched $29.89 bil-lion during the period April 2007-March 2008, up from $22.07 billionduring last year, an increase of 35.43percent according to RBI.

In 2007-08, the country receivedFDI of $24.5 billion as against $15.7billion in 2006-07, showing a growthof 56 percent. In 2005-06, the growthwas even sharper at 184 percent, upfrom $5.5 billion in 2004-05.

Encouraged by the performances inthe last four years, Commerce andIndustry Minister Kamal Nath recent-

ly expressed confidence that India willreceive $35 billion FDI in financial2008-09. Nath said rise in FDI showsthe growing confidence of the foreign

investors over the Indian economy.He said that even when the world wasin the midst of a financial turmoil,India has continued to be a safe andstable investment destination.

Nath said the proactive measurestaken by the government also hadpushed FDI into the country. Headded that the recently announcedcivil aviation policy had also helped inattracting foreign investment.

The Commerce Minister furthersaid that foreign investments of about$9 billion, for which shares of therespective companies could not beenissued in 2007-08, have already beencarried forward into the first monthof the current fiscal. With this, he said,

FDI leaps 56 percent in 2008


nvestment WatchI‘Reverse brain flow

has begun’

Speaking at the World Leaders’Forum, Columbia University,

New York, in April this year, Dr. YV Reddy, Governor, Reserve Bankof India, observed: “We areoptimistic about a continuedmutually beneficial engagementwith the global economy. Indiansare providing services in variousparts of the world — United States,Middle East, Britain and East Asia.Their services range from the less

skilled, at one end of the spectrum, to the very highly skilled professionalsat the other end. Their annual contribution by way of remittances is about3 per cent of GDP now. These are in addition to export of services, especiallysoftware which are of the same order. Indians are among the most significantforeign students to attend the universities for higher education in the UnitedStates, Britain, Australia, Canada, Singapore and China among others.

“Following sustained higher growth in India, a reverse process of brainflow has also begun by way of foreign nationals and expatriate Indiansexpressing their interest for pursuing more fruitful ventures in India. As aresult, corresponding trade and private business linkages have also startedgrowing.

“Recently, a global bank launched a product in India — ‘Account forExpatriates’ — to provide value-added services for the rapidly growingexpatriate community in India. This engagement with the global economyhas matured into a self-reinforcing process as benefits are perceived bymany and they are percolating to a large number of people in India.”

about three percent of India’s GDP. “In many developing countries,

remittances provide a lifeline for thepoor,” said Dilip Ratha, senior WorldBank economist. True. The IMFstudy shows that workers’ remittancescan contribute up to a whopping 25-20 percent of the GDP of some coun-tries like Haiti, Tonga and Bosnia; 20-15 percent for Yemen, Jordan,Lebanon, Haiti and Albania.

Many NRIs and Indians think thatthe GDP of Pakistan relies a great dealon remittances from its workersabroad but Pakistan does not featureamong the top 20 recipient countriesin this list.

The IMF report, ‘MacroeconomicConsequences of Remittances’, by sixeconomists has a surprising omission— India — in its list of top 20 recipi-

ent countries for 2004, the year thathas comprehensive global data on thissubject.

The top slot is occupied by Mexicoat $16.6 billion in remittances for2004. Yet the World Bank’s ‘Migrationand Remittances Factbook 2008’ givesthe figure of $27 billion for India in2007.

This figure cannot be for just thatyear because NRIs have been send-ing money home for over half a cen-tury. It’s not just this chart withoutIndia as the text categorically states onpage 10, “Mexico was the largestdeveloping country recipient of work-ers’ remittances in 2004 with US$16.6 billion, followed by thePhilippines, Lebanon, China andMorocco (figure 3.3)”.

Strangely, there is no mention of

India among the top 20 althoughPakistan stands at No. 7.

The IMF report goes on to state:“Taking a longer term perspective, thefive largest developing country recip-ients of workers’ remittances over theperiod 1990-2004 were, in order,India, Mexico, Lebanon, Egypt andTurkey.”

The report’s conclusions do con-tain some home truths. Initially, theworkers send money to support theirpoor families.

Later, they send more for domesticinvestment in white goods, housingand land; and for bank deposits forfuture security. This comprises mostof the remittances.

Today, the workers insist on howtheir remittances should be used sincethe recipients act as their agents.

The Fund, however, study foundthat the benefits of remittances ingenerating higher and continued lev-els of consumption may come at theexpense of long-run growth. Highremittances may actually decreaseeconomic growth in some countriesdue to lower productivity. So therecipient governments should deviseeconomic and other policies to pro-mote economic growth, stableexchange rates to discourage illegaltransfers and social welfare.

Some of these negative outcomescan be seen in Punjab and Kerala withhigh migrant workers’ remittancesalthough these are not evident on theIndian economy as a whole driven byhigh domestic investment, produc-tion and consumption.

The IMF report concludes:“Globalisation and the ageing of somedeveloped country populations willensure that demand for migrantworkers remains robust for years tocome. Hence the volume of workers’remittances is likely to continue togrow and, with it, the challenge ofunlocking the maximum social ben-efit from these transfers.”

In other words, the NRI moneywill keep flowing in more and more.


“I am confident the momentum willcontinue,” he added.

In 2006, India ranked fourth afterChina, Hong Kong and Singapore as amajor investment destination in Asia.“We now expect our position couldhave reached the third position, afterChina and Hong Kong,” Nath said.

If reinvestment of the foreign earn-ings is accounted for, FDI in 2007-08 will be $30 billion as against $19.5billion. Global firms have brought inmost of the investment through taxhavens like Mauritius and Singaporeduring 2007-08. Therefore,Mauritius and Singapore are the twobiggest investors in the country. Theinflows from Singapore have morethan doubled to $1.67 billion in 2007-08 as against $578 million in the pre-vious year. Investments from Japanhave grown the fastest from $55 mil-lion in 2006-07 to $761 million in2007-08. Besides Mauritius andSingapore, the US and UK were thelargest sources for FDI in the first 11months of 2007-08 — $1.02 billionand $1.12 billion, respectively.

Nath said that nearly 80 percent ofthe FDI inflows in 2007-08 are forgreenfield projects and not for expan-

sion or acquisitions of the existing pro-jects. The major sectors that attractedFDI are telecom, real estate, con-struction, electrical equipment, soft-ware and hardware and banking sec-tor. CMP Asia, Mauritius, has invest-ed $654 million in HDFC Housing

Finance. Singapore-based BiometricsMarketing invested $459 million inRelogistics Infrastructure in thepetroleum sector. More investment isexpected in petroleum, manufactur-ing and electronic hardware sectors aswell. —IANS

T he Indian telecom markethas come into sharp focus inthe Gulf with a number of

telecom operators of the regionexpressing their intention to foray intothe subcontinent. Even as the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE)-based telecomoperator Etisalat eyes a $1-billion stakein India’s Tata Teleservices, Bahrain’sBatelco said that it was keen to enterthe Indian market.

“The big opportunities are in Africa,or India and Asia-Pacific,” mediareports quoted Batelco’s PeterKaliaropolous as saying. “Really, in therest of the Middle East, there is noth-ing.” Qatar’s Qtel has also said that itwas interested in the Indian GSMmarket so that it could “capitalise on

nvestment WatchIThe investment

routeThe existing Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) policy permitsinvestments under the ‘automatic route’and the ‘approval route’ in most, thoughnot all, of the activities. Under theautomatic route, the investors are allowedto invest in the identified sectors up to thethreshold specified for those sectors,without the need for a prior approval

from regulators or the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Inrespect of the other sectors, the investors will need a prior approval of theFIPB, before undertaking any investment. The FIPB is functioning underthe aegis of the Ministry of Finance and comprises representatives of variousgovernment departments, who are expected to ensure that the proposedinvestment addresses the administrative and other concerns before allowinginvestments in the concerned activity. Similarly, under the FII route, theFIIs registered with the securities market regulator (the Securities andExchange Board of India — SEBI) can invest in the secondary market.

India attracting Gulf telecom operators

the country’s growth potential”.“The reasons behind this interest in

the Indian telecom market by Gulfoperators are not too difficult to see,”said Abhijit Barua, head of strategy atleading Indian ICT company SifyTechnologies.

“In India the telecom penetrationlevel is lower compared to the Gulf.Etisalat has penetration levels ofaround 150 percent in the UAE witha subscriber base of 6.4 million as of2007. The UAE’s other telecom oper-ator Du got 1.5 million subscriberswithin a year of starting.” he said.

“At the same time, the Indian tele-com market has opened up in a majorway with the authorities issuingaround a dozen fresh licences in therecent past,” Barua said.

“Among those who have acquiredthese new licences are companies withnon-telecom backgrounds and theywould obviously be looking at havingpartners with telecom technologyexpertise,” he said.

Under Indian rules, foreign firmscan acquire up to 26 percent stake inan Indian operator. Videocon, for one,has been approached by severalMiddle East telecom operators.

“There is interest from Middle Eastfirms. Etisalat, Qatar Telecom haveapproached us,” published reports

quoted Videocon chairman VenugopalDhoot as saying.

Gulf companies have keen interest-ed in the Indian market as these com-panies have huge cash surpluses andthe Indian market gives wide-rangingopportunities.

Etisalat, for example, had revenuesof $6 billion in 2007 and profits of $2billion in 2007 with a subscriber baseof 6.4 million. This happened despiteincreasing competition and liberalisa-tion of the country’s telecom market.

“We will continue to invest in ourchosen segments and will continue tofurther transform Batelco to effectivelyface additional competition in thefuture,” Batelco’s Kaliaropolous wasquoted as saying.

Telecom rates in the Gulf areamong the highest in the world, whilein India it is among the lowest.

Yet the opportunities in Indiaremain too lucrative to be ignored.

“Though India has the lowest ser-vice rates in the world, telecom com-panies in India have still made theircost structure very profitable,” Sify’sBarua said. It is not mobile servicesalone where opportunities exist in theIndian market. There is scope in addi-tional services too.

While operators like Bharti,Reliance and the state-run BSNL haveboth wireline and wireless operations,companies like Vodafone and Ideahave only wireless operations and theywould very much like to offer addi-tional services, according to Barua.Another avenue opening up in Indiais the mobile virtual network operator(MVNO) under which a foreign firmcan use the existing infrastructure ofan Indian operator and then customiseits own products and sell these underits brand name.

“The opportunities in Indian tele-com sector are seemingly limitless.Vast areas in rural India still do nothave basic telecom connectivity. Thisis where India’s incredible telecomgrowth story is likely to head,” he said.

—Aroonim Bhuyian/IANS/[email protected]

India with its increasing numberof millionaires is likely to reach

the 8th position among the world’stop 10 wealth centres by 2017, saysa report by banking giant Barclays.This, according to the report, sig-nals a global shift in the distributionof wealth and could make terms like‘G7’ or ‘Developed’ outmoded cat-egorisations for wealthy economies.

The Household Wealth Index,developed by both Barclays Wealthand the Economic Intelligence Unit(EIU), forecasts that India from itscurrent position of 14 wouldbecome the eighth-largest wealthmarket by the year 2017.

The index also predicts that thenumber of dollar-millionaireswould increase from the currentnegligible number to more than400,000 in the coming ten years.India will experience one of thelargest absolute increases in thenumber of dollar-millionaires overthe next decade, ahead of nationssuch as Canada, Spain, Hong Kingand Italy, forecasts the researchreport. It also stated that the wealthheld by high networth Indianhouseholds would total to about$1.7 trillion in 2017.

The factors that will drive India’swealth going forward is inheritedwealth, promoter’s wealth, contri-bution from professionals andcelebrities, says Satya Bansal, CEO,Barclays Wealth, India.

“This report reflects a seismicshift in world wealth holdings, withincreasing focus on emerging coun-tries like India in the global wealthmanagement industry. We are see-ing a cultural change driving atti-tudes towards wealth in the coun-try. Barclays Wealth is expected tostart its operations in India by thesecond half of this year. —IANS

‘India to becomeeighth wealthiest

place by 2017’


I ndia’s annual steel production will touch 124 milliontonnes by 2012 with a planned investment of Rs. 2.76trillion ($64.46 billion), up from 109.17 million tonnes

in 2007-08, Minister of Steel Ram Vilas Paswan said in NewDelhi on May 23. Paswan released his Ministry’s four-yearreport card Forging New Frontiers, detailing the headwaymade by the steel industry in the four years of the UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA) rule. Paswan said the country’scrude steel production was growing over 10 percent annu-ally from 34.71 million tonnesin 2002-03 to 53.90 milliontonnes in 2007-08.

By 2015, India hopes to be thesecond-largest steel producer inthe world, Paswan said. “Theproduction of finished steelwent up to 55.27 million tonnesin 2007-08 against 40.71 milliontonnes in 2003-04,” he said,adding that the total investmentin steel sector would go up to Rs.8.70 trillion ($203 billion) in2020.

The state-owned SteelAuthority of India Limited’s(SAIL) proposed Rs. 540 billionexpansion plan is expected toboost its production capacity to

26.2 million tonnes by 2010 and 60 million tonnes in 2019-20. “The Ministry is committed to making SAIL a globalplayer in all respects,” said Paswan.

The consolidated profit before tax (PBT) of all publicsector steel undertakings had increased to Rs. 206.24 bil-lion in 2007-08 from Rs. 52.98 billion in 2003-04, headded. Regarding expansion and investment in the indus-try, Paswan said 193 memorandum of understandings(MoUs) have been signed by various states, including Orissa,

Jharkhand, Karnataka, andChhattisgarh, with total plannedcapacity of around 243 milliontonnes and a proposed invest-ment of over Rs. 5.14 trillion($120 billion).

“Many private companieswant to set up steel plants inOrissa, Jharkhand and otherstates, but are yet to get adequateland and other facilities.”Paswan said that there wouldbe no scarcity of steel productsin the country and the InterMinisterial Group, constitutedin July 2007, was coordinatingand facilitating speedy imple-mentation of steel investmentsacross the country. —IANS

conomyE

Dateline 2012: India targets124 million tonnes of steel

Steel SEZ in Tamil Naduby 2010: SAIL chief

The special economic zone (SEZ) of the SteelAuthority of India Limited at Salem in Tamil

Nadu will be ready by 2010, S.K. Roongta, chairmanof the state-owned steel giant, has said.

“It will be spread over an area of 230 acres of land,and will be ready by 2010,” Roongta told reportersin New Delhi.

SAIL will provide land to the SEZ, and will offercustomised steel products to prospective units thatcome up in the economic zone.

“These units will manufacture architecturalfacades, railway applications, dairy plants, chemicaland pharmaceutical plants, machines for the foodprocessing industry, tubes and pipes, autocomponents, panels for lifts, and so on,” he said.

A n Indian company,Technology Frontiers, isentering European football

stadiums with giant and small screens,breaking the hold of European andAmerican digital screen solution out-fits on the market. The Rs. 280 million($7 million) Chennai-based companywill shortly install its digital screens atfour European football stadiums —two each in Romania and Poland.

“We will soon sign the contract withthe football stadium authorities there.The contract value will be around $2million per stadium over a five-yearperiod,” said M.S. Muralidharan,managing director of the company.

“Talks are also on with three stadi-ums in Greece as also with an icehockey association in North Americafor the screens,” Muralidharan toldIndo-Asian News Service.

“Overseas clients not only look atthe robustness of the systems in per-formance but also at the aesthetics,”he added.

Although a cricket-focused compa-ny, Technology Frontiers is nowbranching out into football.

The company was able to reach newfrontiers thanks to the recently con-cluded Indian Premier League (IPL)cricket tournament. —IANS

Indian giant screens for European football stadiums

T he much-awaited Bengaluru International Airportfinally opened on May 23 to commercial opera-tions, with an Air India Airbus A320 from

Mumbai being the first to land at 22.37 p.m. carrying about110 passengers and crew.

The much-awaited launch of the airport was put offthrice owing to delays in setting up the air traffic control,training operators, and government clearances.

The Rs. 25-billion ($625 million) greenfield airport issituated at Devanahalli, about 40 km from India’s IT hub.The Bengaluru International Airport is surrounded bygreenery and farmlands, with the historic Nandi Hills

forming the backdrop. The new airport has been built ina record 36 months under the Public-Private Partnership(PPP) model to handle about 10-12 million passengers perannum till 2012.

The PPP consortium consists of the Unique ZurichAirport, Siemens Project Ventures and Larsen & Toubroas private promoters. The Airports Authority of India andKarnataka government are the state promoters.

With the opening of the new airport, the 50-year-oldstate-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) airport in thecity was shut for civilian traffic despite protests by corpo-rate leaders against its closure. —IANS

Robust demand andan investment boomin the Indian steelsector is drivingproductioncapacities. By 2015,India aims to be thesecond-largest steelproducer in the world.

Bengaluru Intl’ Airport is born

F ree software and open source tools are helping arange of Indian entrepreneurs to build softwaresolutions that enhance the potential of computing.

With names like Hindawi, Zmanda and Dhvani or KDEHindi, these products are helping an entire new generationof software developers.

Hindawi (hindawi.in) is a suite of open source program-ming languages. It allows people to write computer pro-grammes in languages other than English.

The Zmanda Recovery Manager (zmanda.com) is a perl-based utility used to automate backup and recovery ofMySQL databases. Prominent on its management team areIndian names like Chander Kant, Paddy Sreenivasa, Ram‘TK’ Krishnamurthy, and K.K. George.

Dhvani (dhvani.sourceforge.net) is a text-to-speech Indian-language initiative and allows a Simputer to read what theuser types. To use the Simputer, the user need not be literateand can do without English language skills. Using imagesin conjunction with voice output in local languages makesa computing device accessible to a larger section of theIndian population. Other winners are Fedora Spins, andKDE Hindi of indlinux.org.

MayaVi (mayavi.sourceforge.net) is an open source tool thatallows interactive three-dimensional visualisation of data.

In 2000, Prabhu Ramachandran, then a IIT-Madrasaerospace engineering student, started work on the MayaViproject with his colleagues to visualise computational flu-

id dynamics data. “Popular tools available for the purposeat that time were proprietary and prohibitively expensive,”noted the Linux For You magazine, published from Delhi,which has announced its FOSS (Free and Open SourceSoftware) India Awards for those involved in a “saga ofinnovation”.

Peter Thomas of Satyam worked on JTrac (jtrac.info), aFOSS “issue-tracking web application”. JTrac is a com-puter software package which manages and maintains listsof issues, as needed by an organisation. It can create, updateand resolve reported customer issues.

Abhas Abhinav’s DeepRoot Linux team has developeddeepOfix (deeproot.in/deepofix), which “gives many propri-etary mail servers a run for their money”, said Linux ForYou.

Another of the Indian winners was Tux Type — intowhich five students of the Government EngineeringCollege at Thrissur built Unicode Malayalam support. Thismade TuxType (tuxtype.sourceforge.net) the first FOSS typingtutor to bundle Unicode support for Indian languages, ata time when Indian language solutions in computing iseagerly awaited, so that the potential across the country canbe better tapped.

WANem (wanem.sourceforge.net) is a wide area network(WAN) emulator, from the Tata Consultancy Services.Other WAN emulators were hardware-based, expensiveand available to only a select few in test labs. —IANS

S audi Arabia has requestedIndian authorities to lift theban on rice exports to the Gulf

nation following shortage of the com-modity in the country.

“The Council of Saudi Chambersof Commerce and Industry has beentouch with Indian officials on the issueof rice imports,” Rajeev Shahare,Deputy Chief of Mission at the IndianEmbassy in Riyadh, told the ArabNews newspaper.

“Moreover, the whole issue ofIndian rice exports to the Kingdomwas discussed at length when Dr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia, DeputyChairman of India’s PlanningCommission, visited the kingdom(earlier in May),” he said.

One of the top rice buyers in theworld, Saudi Arabia imports about625,000 tonnes of basmati annually,of which 575,000 tonnes come fromIndia alone.

In April, during a visit to Dubai,

India’s Commerce Minister KamalNath said that rice production wasbelow par in India and that actionwould be taken only when it becamenormal.

When it was pointed out that the1.56 million expatriate Indian com-munity in the Gulf was sufferingbecause of the ban on export of rice,he told reporters: “We are awaiting thenext crop and we will soon discuss thematter internally.”

India had banned exports of all non-basmati rice in March 2008 to meetdomestic demand.


I ndia’s banana exports crossed a newmilestone early last month when a con-tainer load of the fruit bound for Jeddah

left Jaghadiya in Gujarat. About a thou-sand farmers, who produced the

fruit on a contract basis for DesaiFruits and Vegetables Pvt. Ltd(DFV), cheered as the 18-tonne

special reefer container movedout from the company’s cold storage com-

plex. The consignment was sent as part of a multi million-dollar contract signed with Saudi Arabia’s MohammedAdallah Sharbatly Co. Ltd.

“This is in effect the 51st container which is going. Theprevious 50 containers were sent on a trial basis,” said P.K.Khandelwal, CEO of DFV.

Bananas were till now exported through merchantexporters and this is the first time a container load wasshipped out.

The company plans to despatch container loads of fruits

to seven more countries within a month. With this, Indiawill join Latin American countries and the Philippines inthe Far East as a global supplier of bananas.

A large retailer in India has approached DFV for the sup-ply of premium quality bananas at a good price. This willbe finalised in the next two months.

India is the largest producer of bananas in the world with23 percent of the global production, which is estimated at72.5 million tonnes a year. Brazil, China, Ecuador andPhilippines are the other major producers. Bananas are thedeveloping world’s fourth-most important commodityand rank first as a commonly eaten fruit.

DFV, founded in 2001 by Ajit Desai, a Gujarat farmer,pioneered the export of bananas from India. With earn-ings of over $750,000 in 2006-07, the company has becomeIndia’s largest banana exporter. DFV’s 2007 turnover wasclose to $8 million. The company’s equity holding is inthe nature of 80:20. While 80 percent is owned by ContractFarming India, a firm based in Zug, Switzerland, Desaiowns 20 percent. —IANS

Indian banana sets sail for Saudi Arabia

conomyESaudi Arabia to

procure rice from India A sserting thatinflation

was a “short-termconcern” and“will come downin a few months”, PlanningCommission Deputy Chairman Dr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia on May21 said a 9 percent gross domesticproduct (GDP) growth target forthe next five years was attainable.

“Over five years, a 9 percent GDPgrowth target is not unreasonable.Over 8 percent growth is expectedin the current fiscal. India is movingtowards higher growth rate againstall constraints,” Ahluwalia said at aninteractive session on ‘India Inc —2020’ organised by AssociatedChambers of Commerce andIndustry (Assocham).

Describing inflation, which hasrisen considerably recently, as ashort-term concern but legitimateconcern, Ahluwalia said prices ofcommodities would be moderatedin a few months.

‘Inflation will comedown in a few months’

Free open source software helpsIndian techies in many projects


conomyE

28

Ficci predicts 16% growth

W ith growing demand forhigher lifestyle category

products and increasedaffordability, the Fast MovingConsumer Goods (FMCG)industry is poised to clock a 16percent growth in sales during2008-09 compared to 14.5 percentin the last fiscal, an industry bodyhas forecast.

The survey conducted byFederation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (Ficci)predicts the value-added andaspirational products that spurredthe sector growth last year woulddrive the growth further in fiscal2008-09. The survey covered about28 consumer goods items.

Mumbai firm to develop SEZ

M umbai-based infrastructuredevelopment company SKIL

signed an agreement on May 21 withthe Government of Oman and thePort of Rotterdam in the Netherlandsto develop a Special Economic Zone(SEZ) near the port of Sohar in Oman.

The Oman government and thePort of Rotterdam had signed anagreement in 2007 to expand theSohar port area from 2,000 hectaresto 6,300 hectares to include the4,300-hectare SEZ. The Sohar SEZis expected to be operational thefourth quarter of 2008.

Tata to launch world truck

T ata Motors will launch theirworld truck, simultaneously

in India and South Korea, in June,said company’s managing directorRavi Kant in Mumbai on May 28.

The world truck would be fittedwith 200-500 horsepower (hp)engines and will be replacing theexisting range of 100-180 hp trucks.

The launch will be followed withother new variants in bothpassenger and commercial vehicles.

T he confidence of a robustgrowth in the services sectoris the highest in India among

the four BRIC countries includingBrazil, Russia and China, with noneof the 1,400 respondents of a surveyby a global consultancy anticipatingany drop in revenues.

“Confidence was highest in theIndian service sector. Around 60 per-cent of firms expect a rise in activitywhile none expects a decline,” accord-ing to the findings of KPMG, releasedin New Delhi last month.

The respondents of the Indian ser-vice sector also expect the growth inactivity to be supported by a strong risein volumes of new business with 56percent of all companies forecastingan increase in new work.

Revenues are also set to rise

markedly, underpinned by increasedmarketing activity, the introduction ofnew products and entry into new mar-kets, says the survey.

Approximately 38 percent of com-panies stated that the availability ofcredit had improved where as, onlyaround eight percent of firms noteddeterioration in credit availability,compared to the situation prior to thefinancial market turmoil last summer.

Just two percent reported that theirbusiness was being constrained as aresult.

“The buoyant confidence in theBRIC service sector suggests thatrapid economic expansion is set to bemaintained in 2008 and into 2009,”said Ian Gomes, chairman ofKPMG’s New and EmergingMarkets Group.

BRIC: India tops servicesgrowth confidence

A dlabs Cinema has launched India’s first six-dimension (6-D) movie screen at Agra, wherecutting edge technology would provide a multi-

sensory cinematic experience as never experienced by theaudience.

Explaining the 6-D cinema concept, Adlabs Cinema’schief operating officer Tushar Dhingra said that the newtheatre’s technology employs cutting-edge visual and audioeffects that allows the audience to simultaneously experi-ence sight, sound, smell, touch, motion and even interactwith the characters.

Part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, the6-D theatre — in collaboration with Cinema ParkNetworks — is located near the Taj Mahal. In the 6-D the-atre, two digital video players play simultaneously and pro-ject a 3-D film on the screen. The visitors sit on SmartMotion Seats that move around, have bass shakers and

multiple ticklers. Viewers also experience special effects,such as breeze, water spray and smoke.

In the Interactive Theatre, which is the first ever inter-active cinema theatre in the world, each viewer holds awireless remote, enabling them to participate in a triviagame about the theme of the film.

An introductory special 30-minute film called ‘India InMotion’ has been shot where actor Anupam Kher takesthe audiences through India’s evolution from an ancientcivilisation to a modern nation.

With the 6-D screen, the Cinema Park Network putsAgra on an impressive list of destinations worldwide thathost this attraction. Their 450 projects include cities likeJerusalem, Rome, Baltimore, Athens, Warsaw, Tel Aviv,Orlando, Mexico and Sweden.

Adlabs is India’s largest cinema chain with 163 screensacross 63 cinemas across the country. —IANS

Corporate Snippets

UK-India submarine cable in 2010

B harti Airtel and 15 other lead-ers of the global telecommu-nications industry have

signed a deal to build the first, high-bandwidth optical-fibre underseacable system from Britain to India.

The 700 million-pound EuropeIndia Gateway (EIG) cable system isexpected to “significantly enhancecapacity and diversity” between thecountries of three continents, the EIGconsortium said.

Sixteen telecommunications com-panies are investing in the project —AT&T, Bharti Airtel, BT, Cable &

Wireless, Djibouti Telecom, Du,Gibtelecom, IAM, Libyan Post,Telecom and InformationTechnology Company, MTN GroupLtd, Omantel, PT ComunicacoesS.A., Saudi Telecom Company,Telecom Egypt, Telkom SA Ltd andVerizon Business.

The 15,000-km cable system,expected to be operational in the sec-ond quarter of 2010, will connectAsia, Africa and Europe.

The EIG cable system will also pro-vide seamless interconnection withother major cable systems connecting

Europe, Africa, Asia and NorthAmerica.

Thirteen landings have beenplanned along the cable’s route:Britain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco,Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, SaudiArabia, Djibouti, Oman, United ArabEmirates and India.

The system will utilise state-of-the-art next-generation technologydesigned to provide up to 3.84 terabitsper second (Tbps) upgradeable trans-mission facilities that will supportinternet, e-commerce, video, data andvoice services. —IANS

S eventy Indian companies set upin Britain 2007-08, created5,000 more jobs, Britain’s

Trade and Investment Minister LordDigby Jones said. Trade between Indiaand Britain grew by 9.1 percent dur-ing the financial year, adding around9 billion pounds to the total value,Lord Jones told a gathering of Britishinvestors in London last month. In aspeech to business executives at theIndia Investors Summit, the Britishminister also welcomed Indian High

Commissioner Shiv ShankarMukherjee’s statement that theeconomic reforms process inIndia was “irreversible”.

However, Jones stressed thatthe speed of reforms was also“crucial”.

“We have seen our commer-cial relationship blossom atboth ends of the spectrum —from Tata’s takeover of Jaguarand Land Rover in my home

town of Birmingham to the smallerend with the U.K. India BusinessAngels Network bringing togetherentrepreneurs and venture capitalistsfrom both countries,” Lord Jones said.

The minister added that Britishexpertise and business were wellplaced to bag contracts that would fol-low on from increased investments ininfrastructure — expected to be in theregion of $500 billion over the nextfive years. —IANS

‘Indian firms created 5,000jobs in Britain in 2007’

Adlabs launchesIndia’s first 6-Dmovie screen

London

M anjula Sood, an Indian-born councillor, madehistory by becoming the

first Indian woman to be made a LordMayor in Britain — appropriately, ina city dubbed Little India.

Although the post is largelyceremonial — unlike that of theelected mayor — it marks an Indian’s

success as this year marks the 800thanniversary of the creation of the LordMayor’s office in the city of Leicester,home to between 72,000 and 90,000people of Indian origin.

Sood, who moved from Punjab tojoin her husband in Leicester in 1970,told a glittering ceremony that it wasa “great honour for me to representthe city”.

“This year will be an historic timefor Leicester in many ways, and I amreally looking forward to doing all Ican to promote what’s going on here,across the world,” she said.

Sood first became a Leicester citycouncillor in October 1996, forLatimer ward, after working as aschool teacher for nearly 20 years.

She was inspired to take up the rolefollowing the loss of her husbandPaul Sood, who had been thecouncillor for that ward until hisdeath in May 1996. Last year, shebecame the first Asian woman to jointhe city council’s cabinet, where shetook on the new portfolio of Healthand Well-being.

She is also a member of theLeicester Council of Faiths, and agovernor at Leicester College. Andshe recently joined a national taskforce for black, Asian and ethnicminority women formed by Britishminister Harriet Harman. Accordingto Britain’s 2001 census, 26 percent ofLeicester’s 280,000 population is ofIndian origin.


iasporaD

B ookmakers havenamed Indian-bornnovelist Salman

Rushdie’s Midnight Childrenas the favourite to win theBest of Booker award afterorganisers announced ashortlist of six novels domi-nated by postcolonial themes.

A global vote to select the winnerbegan on May 12 and will continueuntil July 8. The Best of Booker willbe announced on July 10, the organ-isers said. The six shortlisted novelsare Pat Barker’s The Ghost Road(Britain, 1995); Peter Carey’s Oscarand Lucinda (Australia, 1988); J.M.Coetzee’s Disgrace (South Africa,1999); J.G. Farrell’s The Siege ofKrishnapur (Britain, 1973); NadineGordimer’s The Conservationist (SouthAfrica, 1974), and Salman Rushdie’sMidnight’s Children (Britain, 1981).

Although the much-decoratedRushdie, whose bag of honours

includes the knighthood, isa British citizen, India con-tinues to be the dominanttheme of his novels — andnone more than the cele-brated Midnight’s Children,based around the partitionof India.

Midnight’s Children won the onlyother celebratory award created for theBooker — the 25th anniversaryBooker of Bookers in 1993.

Now 15 years on, William Hill hasoffered Rushdie 6/4 odds as thefavourite to win again.

Victoria Gendinning, a British nov-elist who chaired the shortlisting pan-el, said: “It was a great experience,revisiting all the Booker and ManBooker Prize winners, and very tougharriving at the shortlist — but we real-ly feel that the six novels we pickedrepresent the best fiction-writing ofthe past 40 years and that each one ofthem will stand the test of time.

Rushdie tipped to win Best of Booker, voting on

NRI industrialist RamiRanger has been given the

Pride of India Award for his con-tributions to British business andindustry. The award, presented byIndia’s then Acting HighCommissioner Asoke Mukerji,recognised Ranger’s successfultrading business, Sun Oil Ltd,which exports grocery items to 62countries including India.

As well as representing topMNCs such as Unilever, Nestle,Mcvities, Beechams, Mars andCadburys, Sun Oil also producesits own range of products.

Other recipients of the awardinclude actress Ayesha Dharker,Lord Khalid Hameed, CEO ofCromwell Hospital and C.B. Patel,publisher and editor of Asian Voice.

RangerwinsPride ofIndiaAward

Vienna

W hen Naseem B. Khan stepped outof university campus with adegree in business management,

he was delighted to discover that Germanywas bonkers about Bollywood.

It did not take long for this German, bornof Gujarati parents, to combine his own lovefor Indian cinema with an adventurous careerin publishing. Wasting little time on “ifs and buts”, Khanfounded the Ishq Publishing Group in Dinslaken, an indus-trial town near Dusseldorf and in 2006 launched aBollywood lifestyle magazine with the same name in theGerman language. At first, he printed 5,000 copies of Ishqand today he rolls out 30,000 copies per month. This is adaring venture in Germany, a country of about 82.5 mil-lion people and 33 million households, out of which 98percent have at least one television set.

Khan, who looks more like a film star than a publisher,spoke to Indo-Asian News Service about the craving for lit-

erature on different aspects of Bollywood likethe biographies of stars in the German lan-guage.

Germany boasts of a buoyant magazine sec-tor with nearly 900 general magazines and overa thousand specialised periodicals already inthe market and is second only to Britain wheremore books are sold than anywhere else.

Khan’s calculation was simple. He studiedsurveys that said three million people watched

the first Bollywood film aired on the small screen by RTLII, a German entertainment channel in 2004. The Hindiblockbuster ‘Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham’ was screened atprime time and the response was so encouraging that RTLscheduled ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’, ‘Main Hoon Na’ and ‘KuchKuch Hota Hai’ soon after. Overnight Shahrukh Khan,who stars in all these films, became a household namehere. As payback to viewers, Bollywood films were dubbedinto German for the next set of screenings.

What Ishq does is to facilitate German fans to follow anentire lifestyle as popularised by Bollywood.

Stoking love of Bollywood in Germany...

Vancouver

Amid shouts of “Bole So Nihal”, Canada’s BritishColumbia provincial assembly in Victoria city for-mally apologised for the Komagata Maru tragedy

involving immigrants from India 94 years ago.The Komagata Maru was a Japanese ship that was hired

by a wealthy Sikh, Gurdit Singh (from Malay, nowMalaysia), to bring 376 Indians to Vancouver from HongKong to challenge Canada’s racist “continuous journey”policy of that time. Under that policy, only those immi-grants could enter Canada who came directly from Indiawithout breaking journey. Since there were no direct ship-ping connections between India and Canada at that time,Indians could not enter Canada because they had to breaktheir journey in Hong Kong to catch another ship. TheKomagata Maru passengers were not allowed to land andforcibly sent back to India two months later. On their arrival

in then Calcutta, 21 immigrants were killed by BritishIndian police and many hanged later.

On May 23, as about a hundred Indo-Canadian leadersand the South Asian media gathered in the assembly galleryto watch the proceedings, ruling Liberal Party House lead-er Mike de Jong introduced the motion offering an apol-ogy to the Indo-Canadian community. “During the 70-minute debate, 18 legislators from the ruling Liberal par-ty and the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) spokeabout the racist treatment of Komagata passengers,” legis-lator Jagrup Brar told Indo-Asian News Service on phonefrom Victoria.

The House leader introduced the apology motion, read-ing: “The House deeply regrets that the passengers, whosought refuge in our country and our province, wereturned away without benefit of the fair and impartial treat-ment befitting a society where people of all cultures arewelcomed and accepted.”

UK gets first Indian-originwoman Lord Mayor Komagata

Maru apologyamid ‘Bole SoNihal’ slogans

Sepia Tribute

Los Angeles/New Delhi

I f Ravi Singh, CEO of one of America’s first internetelectioneering sites, has his way, Indian political par-ties will be campaigning on the web in the next round

of elections. With nearly 640 campaigners signing up withit in the U.S. in 2007, ElectionMall TM Technologies,Singh’s brainchild, is creating waves in the world of polit-ical campaigning. Especially in the heat of the presidentialelections there this year.

Globally, internet campaigning is a $75 billion market.In the U.S. alone, it is a $9.8 billion market. “The idea ofpolitical campaigning using technology, the internet, sig-nifies a paradigm shift. And it’s working. Through the

internet, not only is there a greater outreach to people butvoters also have a wide choice at their fingertips in decid-ing whom to cast their votes for,” Washington-based Singhtold Indo-Asian News Service.

Singh, who keeps shuttling to and from Los Angeles, isin India to emulate a similar module and has invested $2million in his ventures here. India’s general election is tobe held next year. “I was 25 when I decided to join politicsin the U.S. but failed to make a mark. My failure made merealise the disadvantages while campaigning, the loopholesof being unable to reach across to the people. That’s whenI developed ElectionMall in 1999 with just one computer.Today, it’s recognised as one of the industry pioneers andpeople call me a campaign guru!” the 35-year-old said.


A ssamese NRIs in the U.S.who remain concerned overincreasing incidents of rhino

poaching in their native state arepreparing a white paper on the one-horned rhinoceros.

“We think volumes have been writ-ten and spoken about the ineffective-ness of the present measures to pro-tect the rhinos in Kaziranga NationalPark and other sites. Now it is time to

act,” Rajen Barua, chief office-bearerof the Friends of Assam & SevenSisters (FASS) with its headquartersin Houston, Texas, told Indo-AsianNews Service. He said the initiativewould give an overall historical per-spective on the animal and the presentstate of affairs on the sensitive issue ofrhino poaching. It would also giverecommendations with the objectiveof saving the endangered creature.

The FASS has been consistentlyraising its voice for a credible andhigh-level inquiry into the killings ofrhinos, and has demanded disciplinaryaction against the officials and indi-viduals responsible for failing to pro-tect the animals.

The organisation, in a statementissued from Houston in March, hadinsisted that “since the Assam gov-ernment had failed miserably in itsduties, the administration ofKaziranga should immediately beplaced under the army for the timebeing with strict orders to treat thepoachers as terrorists”.

S riram Hathwar, an eight-year-old Indian American boy, hasbecome the youngest speller in

the history of the Scripps NationalSpelling Bee even as he failed to gotoo far in the popular contest. Butnine other of the 30 Indian Americanparticipants made it to the semi finalsof the 83-year-old competition byspelling words like “leptocercal”,“bizarrerie” and “trochophore”.

Indian kids have dominated theevent in recent years, winning thechampionship five times in the lastnine years. The last Indian winner wasAnurag Kashyap in 2005, correctlyspelling “appoggiatura”.

The nine Indian kids among 45

spellers advancing to the Semifinalswere: Easun Arunachalam ( steeve),Arushi Jauhari (leptocercal), ShivaKangeyan (ozostomia), VaibhavVavilala (luftmensch), Sameer Mishra(quadrat), Kavya Shivashankar(bizarrerie), Akshat Shekhar(monophthalmic), Sidharth Chand(purslane) and Jahnavi Iyer (tro-chophore).

In all, 288 children in the 8-15 agegroup from across America, Canadaand eight other countries qualified forthe gruelling two-day competition, butonly 63 made it to the quarter finals.In the preliminary rounds, Sriramquickly nailed the word judges gavehim, barely pausing between letters.

S ix Indian Americans, includ-ing three doctors and three

entrepreneurs, have been chosenfor the Ellis Island Medal ofHonour for 2008, given to U.S.citizens of diverse origins for theiroutstanding contributions to theirown ethnic groups, their countriesof origin, and to the U.S.

The six Indian Americans toreceive the medal were Sampat S.Shivangi, obstetrician-gynaecolo-gist; Dhiraj H. Shah, retired radi-ologist; Bhupendra Patel, oph-thalmic plastic and facial cosmeticsurgeon; and entrepreneursMukesh Patel, Nadadur Vardhanand Pamela Kwatra.

6 PIOs chosen for Ellis Island awards

An 11-year-old IndianAmerican boy won the 2008

National Geographic Bee contest,taking home a $25,000 collegescholarship and a lifetime mem-bership. Akshay Rajagopal, a gradesix student from Lincoln,Nebraska, emerged winner at thecontest held in Washington forstudents from fifth through eighthgrades, aged 10 to 14.

Nearly five million students takepart in the National GeographicBee contest each year.

PIO boy wins NationalGeographic contest

An Indian American has takenover as president of the

American Society of GeriatricCardiology, becoming the firstAsian to head the 22-year-oldorganisation based in Washington.Navin C. Nanda, 65, professor ofmedicine and director of the HeartStation & Echocardiography Labsat the University of Alabama inBirmingham, intends to take ini-tiatives during his one-year term tofulfill the society’s mission ofreducing the burden of cardiovas-cular disease in older people.

Indian American headof cardiology body

Indian American brings Internetelection campaigning to India

iasporaDNRIs prepare white paperon one-horned rhino

Eight-year-old Indian Americanboy spells history

Indian American named to US body on terrorismWashington

A leading Indian Americanlawyer, Rahul ‘Richard’Verma, has been appointed

to a U.S. Congressional Commissionon the Prevention of Weapons ofMass Destruction Proliferation andTerrorism. Verma, who was SeniorNational Security Advisor to SenateMajority Leader Harry Reid, is cur-rently a partner with Steptoe &Johnson LLP, a top international lawfirm in Washington. “There’s proba-bly no more important security chal-lenge facing our country than keep-ing weapons of mass destruction out

of the hands of terrorists,” Verma saidon his appointment to the commis-sion set up on the recommendationof the independent, bipartisan 9/11Commission.

“Hopefully, the work of the com-mission will help guide the newCongress and administration in thiskey area,” he said.

The commission will assess currentAmerican activities, initiatives, andprogrammes aimed at preventing theproliferation of weapons of massdestruction and terrorism while pro-viding a clear, comprehensive strategywith concrete recommendations toachieve this crucial goal.

Bhubaneswar

AMauritian civil servant hasdiscovered that his great greatgrandfather was an Indian —

in all likelihood from Orissa — andwas brought to Mauritius asindentured worker over 135 years ago.Ramroop Jugurnauth, 47, is a civilservant in the Human Resource cadrein the Ministry of Civil Service of

Mauritius. “My great greatgrandfather, Juggurnauth ImmigrantNo.352036 (this is how indenturedworkers were all identified), came toMauritius as an indentured worker in1870. I have been interested in myroots since my childhood when Iusually heard my grandfather speakabout his family,” Jugurnauth toldIndo-Asian News Service. “I carried outresearch at the Immigration Archives

in Mauritius and found that they cameto Mauritius in 1870 as indenturedlabourer from a village called Jajporein the district of Cuttack,” he said.

When slavery was abolished, thethen British rulers had to find waysand means to sustain development ofthe island for their own interests. Sothey took recourse to indenturedlabour from India, which was also aBritish colony at that time, he said.

The Americandream is alive

and shining. A bustof Dalip SinghSaund, the firstIndian-American

elected to the House ofRepresentatives, now adorns theAmerican Center library in theheart of the Indian capital.

The bust of Saund, an iconic figure for Indian and Asian immigrants to the U.S., wasinstalled in the American Centerlibrary May 7 to inspire all thosewho continue to look at the U.S. asa land of opportunity.

Dalip Singh bustunveiled in Delhi

Mauritian civil servant finds Indian roots

Houston


A forgotten son ofIndia and Kenya


M akhan Singh was an Indian-born labour union lead-er who is credited with laying the foundations oftrade unionism in Kenya. He was born in Gharjakh,

a village in British-ruled India’s Gujranwala district, a Sikh-majority area in the province of Punjab (since 1947, his nativeregion has been part of Pakistan). In 1927, at the age of 13, hemoved with his family to Nairobi, a municipality which, since1905, had functioned as the administrative capital of the BritishEast African protectorate.

In 1935, he formed the Labour Trade Union of Kenya and,in 1949 he and Fred Kubai formed the East African TradeUnion Congress, the first central organisation of trade unionsin Kenya. Trade unionism was not the only activity in whichMakhan Singh took such a keen interest; he was also one ofthe spearheads in attempting to relieve Kenya from the yokeof colonialism and advance it towards full freedom. On April23, 1950, in an impassioned speech at the Kaloleni Hall, heurged that the time had come for the people to unite and to

demand in a single voice that the country was theirs andthat no foreign power had the right to rule over it. He setthe ball rolling for eventual independence.

After having spoken out in clear and strong terms againstBritish occupation and colonial rule in Kenya, Singh wassoon arrested on May 15. At a trial in Nyeri, Chanan Singh(later Justice Chanan Singh) defended him eloquently andwith rigour. He was acquitted.

But what distinguished Makhan Singh from many leg-endary leaders was that he went out of his way to bringtogether all the races in his politics.

He refused to accept a trade union movement segregat-ed by race and poisoned by the colonial apartheid that clas-sified black Africans and Asians in a humiliating hierarchy.

He demonstrated, for the first time in colonised Kenya,that Asians and black Africans were bound by the same fateand that their liberation was inextricably linked.

This was a challenge to all communities that made up Kenya, not just Kenyan South Asians, to come together and see what united them rather than what separated them and work together for a truly proper mul-ti-racial and multi-cultural future. This quiet, unassum-ing man had a will of steel and a mission to fight for socialjustice for all Kenyans irrespective of colour, tribe, race,creed or religion.

In the late 1950s, Makhan Singh was detained for tenyears in the desert prison camp near Lodwar, NorthernKenya, under the “control orders” issued by the Britishrulers of Kenya colony, echoing both the Guantanamo Bayand Belmarsh Prison detentions of 2000.

Like the Belmarsh prisoners and their detentions inBritain, the then Kenya Colony governor, Sir PhilipMitchell, ordered that Makhan Singh be detained for anindefinite period. He was released after ten years of beingconfined without any charge or trial on October 20, 1961.He died of a heart attack in Nairobi at the age of 59.

What distinguished MakhanSingh from many leaders wasthat he went out of his way tobring together all the races in

his politics. He refused toaccept a trade union movement

segregated by race andpoisoned by the colonial

apartheid that classified blackAfricans and Asians in ahumiliating hierarchy.

amous PravasiF

Makhan Singh in Nairobi, January 1950

Makhan Singh with Jomo Kenyatta (first Prime Minister(1963–1964) and President (1964–1978) of Kenya.

Makhan Singh leading a demonstrationfor better working conditions inNairobi in 1950. (A painting)

Makhan Singh, an unsung Sikh hero of the Kenyan independencestruggle, and largely forgotten today, was the founder

of East African trade union movement.

Makhan Singh

H e is 7 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 190 kg. Cladin a white summer shirt straining at the 63-inchchest, the ‘Great Khali’, an Indian professional

wrestler who is the current rage on the World WrestlingEntertainment (WWE) television shows, lives up to hisname. He is the current world No. 1 after clinching theWorld Heavyweight Champion’s title at the Great American Bash, a live wrestling series on television, in 2007.

Seated at the head of a conference table at the OberoiHotel in New Delhi, he looks like Goliath. Matted locksfall like a curtain round his massiveshoulder and his square jaws flare atthe chin to give him the look of agiant. But the man, who twice puton the mat ‘The Undertaker’, one ofthe most vicious fighters on theWWE team, lights up when some-one mentions his childhood. And hehas a message for the kids. “Tell yourchildren at home not to try to wres-tle like the way I do on screen. Theyshould not emulate me because itmight harm them. Wrestling is atough sport,” the wrestler told Indo-Asian News Service.

The Great Khali, born DalipSingh Rana in Dhirana village inHimachal Pradesh, was in India for three weeks recently.He has a busy schedule promoting Ten Sports, with whichhe has tied up, other than meeting people and the media.

The US-based wrestler is the brain behind bringing themost barbaric wrestling match in WWE to the GreatAmerican Bash — The Punjabi Prison Match, where hedefeated The Undertaker. Khali has fought several bignames in the ring like Funaki of SmackDown (a wrestlingshow), world champion Rey Mysterio, Tommy Dreamer,John Cena and Shawn Michaels.

“Wrestling and body building are good career choicestoday for the Indian youth, provided they learn from pro-fessionals and follow a strict discipline,” he said.

He felt that government bodies were not doing enoughto promote the sport. “I personally cannot do much to pro-mote wrestling in India despite the fact it is a traditionalsport. I am hardly left with time for anything else after myprofessional commitments. At the most, I can call a coupleof kids over to the US and train them,” he said. But young-sters, said Khali, were not serious about physically demand-ing sport these days. “They mostly want to work and donot want to wrestle because the training process is time-taking. I had to spend a lot of time on the sport.”

Khali, who has liked jousting ever since he was child,was spotted at the age of 15 by asenior Punjab police official whoencourages him to join the force asa constable at Jalandhar under thesports quota. Khali, a former Mr.India (1995 and 1996), moved to theUS in 2000 with the help of his fam-ily, friends and the Punjab Police.However, he has no plans of leav-ing his job in the force even as hecontinues to live abroad.

Khali was a body-builder and anaccomplished boxer before he tookto professional wrestling. He madehis first appearance in the Americanring under the name Giant Singh atthe All Pro-Wrestling in 2000 and

made his WWE debut in 2006. The WWE fighter is knownfor his finishing and signature moves known as the “Khalibomb” and the “Khali vice grip”. “But my most memo-rable fight is the tie for the World HeavyweightChampion’s crown in 2007, where I fought 20 giants forthe top slot,” he said.

He was born to Jwala Ram and Tandi Devi and is is oneof seven siblings. Singh married Harminder Kaur in 2002.

Khali follows a simple fitness routine. “I eat four mealsa day, may be a little more than normal folks. It’s mostlyvegetarian, and I work out for two hours.” He avoids fat,sugar and oil. Khali took on the ringname ‘The Great Khali’after the fierce Hindu goddess Kali.


RI of the MonthN

Khali was spotted at theage of 15 by a senior

Punjab police official. Hejoined the force as a

constable at Jalandharunder the sports quota.

Khali, a former ‘Mr. India’,moved to the US in 2000but says has no plans to

quit the police force.

‘The Great Khali’, is the brain behind bringing the most

barbaric wrestling match in WWE to the Great American Bash —

The Punjabi Prison Match, where he has defeated

The Undertaker, the mighty.

The Great Khali in India with fans The Great Khali at a WWE fight

Let theFightBegin...

On the fringes of India’s border withPakistan is the vast marshland called Kutchin the western state of Gujarat — a waste-land of breathtaking beauty that is hometo a hardy, creative people who are not

only rewriting rules of gender and hierarchy but have madeit the region with the highest density of craftspeople any-where in the country.

Often called “Nature’s most hated child”, Kutch neverfails to amaze visitors with its dried wells and arid beauty. Avast swathe of the 45,612 km district with 966 villages formsthe Rann of Kutch, the great salt marsh.

Geological evidence cites that the Arabian Sea scooped outmassive hollows of brine in the region that mingled with thearid topography to form intermittent salt flats that broadenedinland into a shallow arid basin. It is said Kutch was onceunder water. As one travels through Kutch, the dry grass andsparse crop of castor seeds and peanuts give way to the pris-tine white deserts of the Rann of Kutch.

Somewhere en route to the last village in the region,Kaladungar, which is nearly120 km from the towncalled Bhuj, a strange sightcaptivates. The endlesswhite desert that stretches

into the horizon suddenly seems to melt into the sky to forma plain sheet.

“This sight baffles everyone. It’s amazing isn’t it? Pity, onecannot do full justice to it with cameras. The best of the besthave tried, the Discovery channel and the NationalGeographic to name a few, but everyone failed,” said PavitranVittal, an official in the state tourism department.

Kutch is a survivor, it has stood the test of time since theJurassic age when dinosaurs roamed its desolate terrain andthe first civilisation fanned out along an ancient delta at themouth of the Kutch basin. Archaeologists have discoveredthe biggest Harappan civilisation site in a village called Kuranin the Pachcham island of Kutch.

Located strategically along the India-Pakistan border, Kutchhas survived two skirmishes with Pakistan and several earth-quakes, including one that almost razed the town of Bhuj.But hardships have tempered Kutch with steel.

It is one of the upcoming tourist destinations in the state.For more than a decade now, the Rann Utsav, an annual cul-tural festival, has been luring tourists with three-day pack-ages that include tent homes, camel cart rides on full moonnights and outdoor soirees of traditional Kutchi and Gujaratifolk arts. “The desert almost comes alive on the full moonnight with the colours of ethnic Gujarat,” says a seniortourism official. The crowd is a mix of Indian and foreigners.

The Gujarat government is planning to celebrate the fes-tival next year in a bigger way to increase the number of foot-falls in the state and build a fossil park following the discov-ery of dinosaur fossils in Kaladungar.

Another rural tourism project, Shaam-e-Sarhad, givestourists a feel of rural Kutch. It remains packed with visitors

between October and March, the best time to visit Kutch. A striking feature in the villages of the region is the

attire of the people. The Kutchi people love adorningthemselves in bright and colourful outfits with lots ofmirror work, and ample heavy jewellery. Kutch pridesitself in its tradition of crafts and embroidery like Kharek,Paako, Rabaari and Mutuwa; and not surprisingly hasthe highest density of craftspeople in the country. Theembroidery, mostly done by the women, maintains thegender balance at home. “We take equal part in house-hold decisions with our husbands,” said 20-year-oldweaver Natha Behn in her tiny home in Ludiya village.“It takes me a month to make a kanjari (long blouse),complete with the embroidery and the mirror work. Itcosts me about Rs. 200 (approximately $5) and I sell itfor about three times more. I also make bags, blankets,dolls, cushion covers and other items,” Natha Behn toldIndo-Asian News Service.

Kutch is a storehouse of treasures. A hill in Kaladungarhas become the latest hunting ground for archaeologistswho have discovered fossil remains of dinosaurs in theregion. Atanu Chakrabarty, secretary of the state’s tourismand small-scale industries department, said numerousdinosaur fossils have been found in the region. TheGeological Survey of India (GSI) and the ZoologicalSurvey of India (ZSI) have authenticated them.

“The fossilised eggs of dinosaurs and their body, embed-ded in rocks, were discovered in the hills of Kaladungarand they have been authenticated by the GSI and ZSI offi-cials. It dates back to 65 million years ago,” Chakrabartysaid. Plans, still at a preliminary stage, are on to developthe place into a dinosaur fossil park.

OTHER ATTRACTIONSAINA MAHAL: Built in the 18th century, it was the palace

of Maharao Lakhpatji. Now a museum, it has a Hall ofMirrors. As the name suggests, the white marble walls ofthe palace are covered with mirrors. Adding to the glitterare gilded ornaments embedded in the walls. The Mahalhouses some of the most rare idols.PRAG MAHAL: Located in the city of Bhuj, the splendidpalace was built in 1879. Made of Italian marble and sandstone, the palace’s most striking feature is itsCorinthian pillars and ‘jali work’ depicting European plantsand animals. CENOTAPH COMPLEX: The complex, located in Bhuj,is made of red bricks. Of all the tombs in the complex, RaoLakha, built in 1770, is the largest of all and polygonal inshape. Other monuments are the ones of Rao Rayadhan,Rao Desai and Rao Pragmal.


ravelT THREATS TO WETLANDSIndia has a wealth of wetland ecosystems. Most of the wet-lands in India are directly or indirectly linked with majorriver systems such as the Ganges, Cauvery, Krishna,Godavari and Tapti.

However, the Wildlife Institute of India’s survey revealsthat 70-80 percent of individual freshwater marshes and lakesin the Gangetic flood plains have been lost in the last fivedecades. At present, only 50 percent of India’s wetlandsremain. Among the major factors that have seriously affect-ed India’s wetlands are:

Urbanisation: Wetlands near urban centres are under increasing devel-opmental pressure for residential, industrial and commercial facilities.Urban wetlands are essential for preserving public water supplies. Anthropogenic activities: Due to unplanned urban and agricultur-al development, industries, road construction, impoundment, resourceextraction and dredge disposal, wetlands have been drained and trans-formed, causing substantial economic and ecological losses. Agricultural activities: Following the Green Revolution of the 1970s,vast stretches of wetlands have been converted to paddy fields.Construction of a large number of reservoirs, canals and dams to pro-vide for irrigation significantly altered the hydrology of the wetlands. Hydrologic activities: Construction of canals and diversion of streamsand rivers to transport water to lower arid regions for irrigation hasaltered the drainage pattern and significantly degraded the wetlands ofthe region. Deforestation: Removal of vegetation in the catchments leads to soilerosion and siltation. Pollution: Unrestricted dumping of sewage and toxic chemicals fromindustries has polluted many freshwater wetlands.Aquaculture: Demand for shrimps and fishes have provided eco-nomic incentives to convert wetlands and mangrove forests to devel-op pisciculture and aquaculture ponds. Introduced species: Indian wetlands are threatened by exotic intro-duced plant species such as water hyacinth and salvinia. They clogwaterways and compete with native vegetation.Climate change: Rising air temperatures, shifts in precipitation,increasing frequency of storms, droughts and floods, rising atmosphericcarbon dioxide concentration, and sea-level rise also affect the wetlands.

With breathtaking vistas, anWith breathtaking vistas, anintriguing history, and richintriguing history, and richtradition, colour andtradition, colour andenchantment, Kutch’senchantment, Kutch’sexperience remains bothexperience remains bothremote and strange. Yet, theremote and strange. Yet, theregion remains unsurpassedregion remains unsurpassedin terms of beauty andin terms of beauty andexuberance that no one withexuberance that no one witha taste for adventure,a taste for adventure,excitement, and the exoticexcitement, and the exoticwould like to miss....would like to miss....

RAANndezvous KutchRAANndezvous Kutch

nvironmentE

pravasi bharatiya | june 200840 pravasi bharatiya | june 2008 41

L ike the surangas, the man-made tunnels forwater, this 79-year-old Karnataka farmer, whohas been attached to the suranga system of har-vesting water, for more than 50 years, remains

unknown to the world outside. Manimoole Achyutha Bhat,an arecanut farmer, brought an age-old water harvestingsystem to the village of Manila in Dakshina Kannada dis-trict. Thanks to this system, today Bhat and many of hisneighbouring farmers have no water shortages.

Bhat’s family has nearly 20 surangas in their property, 14of which are still functional. Surangas provide water notonly for irrigation, but also for drinking and domestic pur-poses too. What is more, they don’t have to spend a singlepenny on diesel or electricity to draw this water. The wateris free flowing — in the sense that they flow owing to grav-itational pull.

In the family’s 15-acre barren hill slope, nearly five acresof arecanut and coconut gardens owe its existence to thesurangas. No other water body, like wells, is quite practi-cable in this part of the state because of the slope and soil

type. “If and when we foresee water scarcity,” explainsAchyutha’s son Govinda Bhat, 51, “We go for one moresuranga.”

There are about 20 houses in Manimoole, an area inManila, which have surangas that yield a fair amount ofwater. For most of these, Bhat may have divined water.

As the land is sloping, cultivating it is possible only bylevelling plots at different heights. What the Bhats do is amuch planned, decentralised system of irrigation. Beforelevelling a plot, they dig a suranga, 25 feet above that. Oncethey strike water, the plot levelling continues. The water,oozing out of the suranga, is then collected in an earthentank and the irrigation carried out by mist jets. Thus theyensure pumpless irrigation to all the farming plots. Today,they have six water tanks. A few of these tanks are also inter-connected.

The Bhats’ old house which stood at a lower level was fedby a suranga. After they constructed their present house,the force from the old suranga was not enough to supplywater to the house. So they went higher and dug a suran-

ga there. Today, starting from the kitchen, to all the watertaps inside and outside the house, this suranga suppliesfresh water. “Fortunately, we are blessed with water with-in 50 kolu (one kolu is equal to 2.5 feet), if we dig a suran-ga after careful divining,” Govinda says proudly. His cal-culation is simple. “For a 50 kolu suranga, we need Rs.15,000, as per present wage rate. But once we spend that,there is no worry later with no recurring expenditure. Wedon’t need diesel nor do we have to bear with power cuts.”

Bhat was first struck by this water harvesting method inhis childhood. It was in a nearby village where he readSanskrit that Padre first saw a suranga. His father who fre-quented the Sanskrit school was so impressed by the suran-ga that he wanted to dig one too. So, when Bhat turned10, Malayalee moplahs from northern Kerala were broughtin to dig the first suranga of the village. Observing the pro-cesses, the family learnt its intricacies. There was no look-ing back since.

“If the banks start giving loans for this purpose, therewould be more takers. Why can’t they finance this tradi-tional, proven sustainable system, than financing bore wellsthat aren’t dependable,” Bhat asks.

In most cases, the farmers dig surangas in their own land.Yet at times — very rarely — it may go beneath the neigh-bour’s land like a metro train line. At present suranga dig-ging does not need permission from the panchayat or anyother governmental body.

Bhat was attracted to surangas for many reasons. First,they provide ever flowing water. Second, as the water flowsowing to gravity, no other energy or fuel is required. Stepby step, he mastered all the departments of suranga dig-ging like water divining, digging at a gradient, carefullyextracting the loose soil, sensing danger while digging,changing the direction of the suranga if need be.

According to an estimate, today Manila village has morethan 300 surangas. The village houses a total of 480 homes.Says Govinda, “At least half of the houses have at least onesuranga for their drinking water purpose.”

However, says Bhat, “Digging surangas is not an easy skill.It needs working hard and common sense.”

Interestingly, he doesn’t entrust suranga digging to pro-fessionals. Almost invariably, he gets it done by regular,ordinary workers by giving them incentives. Thanks toBhat, at least two dozen farm labourers have learnt the artof digging surangas.

Manimoole can be described as a ‘gurukula for surangas’.“Of course, those who learn the skill from here have beencalled to dig surangas from nearby villages,” says Govinda.Added to that, Bhat can now identify potential areas for asuranga.

How does he do that? “Generally, I look out for waterindicator trees such as dhoopada mara (Vateria indica) andbasari mara (Ficus virens) and the like. Even the fast grow-ing uppalige mara (Macranga indica) is an indicator. Termitehills on a row is another indication,” he says.

Starting from the Sixties — since then suranga digging

has substantially increased in Manila — though he hasn’tkept count, he has located areas for at least 100 suranga own-ers. He recalls, “A few out of this, like Aithu Naika, whowere planning to sell their property thinking that there wasno water, today have water in plenty.”

At 79, Bhat is still very active. Laughs Govinda, “He hasthis habit of entering the suranga after the labourers haveleft and digging for half an hour himself. His enthusiasmto look for water can’t be dampened. Even if we start a newsuranga tomorrow, I’m sure he will physically join handswith the workers.”

Of late, surangas have been on a decline largely owing tothe introduction of bore well machines that dig a well aday. The number of skilled workers who can dig surangashas also declined. In fact, they get better remunerationworking rubber plantations. Besides, there is some risk insuranga digging. Though rare, injury or death during thedigging has happened in the past.

But Govinda is optimistic. He doesn’t think the skillwould die anytime soon. “As long as there are people inter-ested in surangas, it won’t die. It won’t die for want of dig-gers,” he says confidently. Bhat who brought surangas toManila has not only been instrumental in propagating it,but has also kept the tradition alive for decades by trainingmany in the art of the suranga.

(This article was first published in India Together at www.indiatogether.org and is republished here with permission.)

Transporting dug-out soil in a handpulled trolley. (Pics: Shree Padre)

Achyutha Bhat has had a passion forsurangas since his childhood.

79-year-old Achyutha Bhat79-year-old Achyutha Bhatbrought brought surangas surangas to Manilato Manilavillage in Dakshina Kannadavillage in Dakshina Kannada

district of Karnataka. Hisdistrict of Karnataka. Hispassion for the water caves,passion for the water caves,which help tap and supplywhich help tap and supplywater, and his commitmentwater, and his commitment

to training newcomers in theto training newcomers in theart of suranga-digging hasart of suranga-digging has

been a boost for local been a boost for local farmers, says Shree Padre.farmers, says Shree Padre.

A gurukula forSURANGAS

M anoj Night Shyamalan hasbeen one of the few film-makers of Indian origin

who have made their mark inHollywood. His work has also beenacknowledged by India, which hashonoured him with the Padma Shri.“It was great! It made me feel re-con-nected with my roots. It made me feelIndia understood the relevance of ajourney that was so meaningful to me.”

The man behind global hits like‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘Signs’, howev-er, feels that India is obsessed with hisbox-office performance. “You can’tjudge my career by the box-officealone. It feels like everyone is five yearsbehind. When I go to Europe they talkabout my (newer films) ‘Unbreakable’and ‘The Village’,” said the filmmak-er who was nominated for the Oscars

in 1999.Shyamalan alsodisagrees withthe criticism thathe is a ‘one ponytrick’ man as allhis movies havea supernatural

twist. “I never had an agenda. All mymovies are conversations about faith.The supernatural element just hap-pened. I think my life illustrates a shiftin culture where I may be American.But at heart I remain very Indian.”

When told that ‘The Sixth Sense’remains a most ripped-off film, hesaid: “At the end of the day we’re allborrowing from one another. I wasripping off Steven Spielberg anyway. Ieven told Steven that.” When told thatsome of his films were critical failures,

he said: ‘The Sixth Sense’ being oneof them. Yes, it did get nominated forthe Oscars. But if you’re talking aboutOscars, that’s just 500 of my peers. Myvery next film disproved the myth thatyou’ve portrayed about my movies.‘Unbreakable’ is actually my most res-onant movie. I feel I surpassed myprevious film as a movie maker overhere, although it was my lowest-gross-ing movie for a while. That was anirony for me. And time has proventhat it was wrongly received. It’s mypersonal favourite.”

Talking about his latest film, helights up. “‘The Happening’ is defi-nitely my scariest movie. It’s probablythe most intense experience that I’vehad so far. The 90 minutes of playingtime offer the most incredibly intenseexperience for the audience.” —IANS

B ollywood diva Madhuri Dixitwas awarded the Padma Shri,the fourth-highest civilian

award of India on May 10. She wasconferred the award for her contribu-tions to the Indian cinema.

Madhuri came from Florida alongwith her family to receive the presti-gious award from President PratibhaPatil. Manoj Night Shyamalan, HansRaj Hans, Tom Alter and BaichungBhutia also received Padma Shriawards. The function was held at theRashtrapati Bhavan. Ratan Tata,Lakshmi Mittal, E. Sreedharan,Viswanathan Anand were among theother recipients of the Padma Awards.

Former bureaucrat P.N. Dhar, for-mer Chief Justice of India A.S. Anandand head of the Nobel Prize awardeeIPCC Dr. R.K. Pachauri received thecoveted Padma Vibhusan award.

Madhuriawarded

Padma Shri

I rip off Spielberg: Shyamalan

T he character of Ghatothkach in the upcoming ani-mation film ‘Ghatothkach — Master of Magic’has been adopted as a brand ambassador by

People for Ethical Treatment to Animals (PETA) for their“Save The Elephant” campaign.

Speaking at the release of the film’s music album, PETAcampaign manager N.G. Jayasimha said: “Through thefilm ‘Ghatothkach’, we want to spread the message thatelephants do not belong in zoos or circuses. They have anatural habitat which they must be allowed to live in. Wewant the people to be ‘ele-friends’.”

PETA campaign coordinator Sachin Bangera told Indo-Asian News Service: “Ghatothkach’s best friend is an ele-phant called Gajju who lives in a free environment. Thiswill definitely make people think about the animal’s natu-ral habitat. Besides, a message will also be carried beforethe film to generate awareness for the animal.”

The film is the sto-ry of Ghatothkach,the son of Hindumythological figureBheema and his wifeHidimba. In themovie, Ghatothkachis shown to have mag-ical powers. The filmis an interesting mixof magic, action,romance, comedy andfantasy.

The film, which was premiered at the Cannes FilmFestival on May 17, has been directed by SingeetamSrinivasa Rao, who has earlier made internationallyacclaimed films like ‘Pushpak’, ‘Appu Raja’ and ‘Little John’.

“We have hired the best talents from Britain, the UnitedStates, Singapore, Canada, the Philippines and India. Thiswill be a landmark film in Indian animation,” said the 77-year-old director whose first animation film was ‘Son ofAlladin’.

The live stage show ‘TheMerchants of Bollywood’, pro-

viding entertainment along with aninsight into the Mumbai-based filmindustry, ended the South African legof its international tour on May 31with sold-out shows in capitalJohannesburg and Durban. Theshow entertains and educates the

audience about Bollywood’s devel-opment through the decades, and alsosubtly gets the spectators to questiontheir own values, stigmas and diffi-culty with change. The plot revolvesaround the conflict betweenBollywood choreographer AyeshaMerchant and her grandfatherShantilal who considers dance sacred

and refuses to compromise with tra-dition. Putting all this into a fascinat-ing spectacle through impressivesound, lighting and props, it hassomething for all ages — from thesnatches of classical items that are theroot of all Indian dance and music tothe modern-day Western stylesadopted by Bollywood. —IANS

The Bachchan family’s‘Unforgettable’ world tour that

will see Bollywood icon AmitabhBachchan, his son Abhishek anddaughter-in-law Aishwarya RaiBachchan perform together on stageon hit numbers like Kajra re, beginson July 18 in Toronto.

The first leg of the tour will haveperformances in Trinidad & Tobago,Houston, Atlantic City, New York,Vancouver, London, said a statementby Wizcraft International Entertain-ment, the company which is puttingtogether the tour. —IANS

‘Ghatothkach’ frontselephant campaign

‘Merchants Of Bollywood’ thrill South Africans

The Bachchans’ worldtour begins July 18

43pravasi bharatiya | june 200842

ollywoodB


From Right: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan,Abhishek Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan arrive at the 61stCannes International Film Festival on May 17 in Cannes.

R ajasthan Royals are the champions of the inaugu-ral Indian Premier League (IPL). In a tense, last-ball finish they beat Chennai Super Kings by three

wickets at the D.Y. Patil Stadium at Nerul in Navi Mumbaion the night of June 1.

The Royals, dubbed as underdogs initially, steadily grewinto the best team by the end of the Twenty20 tournamentunder Shane Warne’s leadership. Fittingly, he was at thewicket to calm his team mates’ nerves and pull off a gamethat was tremulously balanced on the knife’s edge whenLakshmipathy Balaji bowled the last ball with the scorestied.

Royals needed 18 runs from the last two overs and asluck would have it Balaji was not at his best in the gamewhen he was asked to bowl the last over. He could not steelhis nerves while Parthiv Patel behind the stumps was notexactly at his best. A wide resulted in a bye and that nulli-fied a dot ball he bowled.

Winning the toss and electing to field, Royals bowledand fielded superbly to restrict Super Kings to 163 for fiveand then reached the target, notwithstanding a few anx-ious moments, to lift the glittering trophy and with it thewinners’ cheque $1 million.

After the two tame semi-finals, it was a fitting final,

which could have been scripted differently if Super Kingshad spaced their innings a bit better in the last five overs,which only yielded 46 runs even though they had fivewickets in hand. Yet, it was a needle contest that could havegone either way.

Once again it was Yusuf Pathan who did the star turnfor the Royals. When Super Kings innings was trundlingalong nicely, The Baroda all-rounder struck three crucialblows with his steady off-spin to put the Chennai lowerorder batsmen under pressure. Then when his own team’sbatting seemed to be floundering, he came in to clout 56runs with four sixes.Shane Watson made a valuable 28 forRoyal. In last over Royals were requiring eight runs — wasa close affair, but the advantage was always with the bat-ting side and with one ball to go and the scores tied, SohailTanvir swung Balaji away for the winning runs.

Pathan walked away with the Man of the Match in finaland Watson was adjudged Man of the Series. Sohail Tanvirwon the purple cap for his 22 wickets and the orange capfor the highest scorer went to Shaun Marsh of Kings XIPunjab.

ICC president-elect David Morgan and BCCI presidentSharad Pawar were among the dignitaries present at thefinals. —IANS

O lympian Pargat Singh sees a ray of hope in theIndian hockey team’s performance in the AzlanShah Cup held last month and believes the day

is not far when the game will get back its memorable days.Singh, who was the manager of the team which emergedrunners-up in the tournament at Ipoh, Malaysia, said theplayers had put in a lot of hard work to beat some of thebest teams in world to reach the title-clash.

“Indians might have lost the final to Argentina in AzlanShah but the team has done exceptionally well to reachthere. I could see a big improvement, If India keeps on per-forming like this, I am sure that we will get back the gold-en days of hockey in two years’ time” Singh said.

The young Indian team scripted an amazing turnaroundto win four successive matches after two defeats. “The sameteam lost to Argentina 1-5 in the league. But in the finals,they took it to the extra time. That itself shows the play-ers are learning from their mistakes,” he said.

Archery: Indian men bagfirst World Cup gold


portS

T he Indian men’s team clinched its first ever goldmedal in a Meteksan World Cup archery com-petition since its inception three years ago when

it defeated Malaysia 218 points to 215 in the final of thethird edition this year at Antalya in Turkey on May 30.

The second-seeded Indian men’s team, comprisingRahul Banerjee, Mangal Singh Champia and JayantaTalukdar trailed fourth-ranked Malaysia in the first twoends of 12 arrows only to recover in the next two ends of12 to clinch the issue by a difference of three points.

The Indians have won individual gold medals in WorldCup competition but never a team gold. The last time Indiawon a team gold was in the 15th Asian archery champi-onship at Xi’an in China last year where Mangal SinghChampia earned India an Olympic quota place.

At the World stage, the Indian team’s best performancewas finishing second, behind Korea at the 2005 MadridWorld Championship.

In the semifinals, India had got to face a tough challengefrom Chinese Taipei with a clash of 218-210. It was notan unusual affair at the grand event as the Indian archershave won four golds previously, though individually.

But the men’s team won’t be able to represent India inthe Beijing Olympic because only two archers have beenselected, one point lacking for a country to qualify for theteam competition.

Whereas Indian women’s team, consisting of DolaBanerjee, L. Bombayla Devi and Reena Kumari will rep-resent India at the Beijing Olympics both in the team andindividual events. —IANS

Rajasthan Royalswin inaugural IPL

Golden days of hockey willreturn soon: Pargat Singh

Kolkata gives Kahn agrand farewell

A round 20,000 fans at Salt LakeStadium gave Oliver Kahn a

standing ovation as the Bayern Munichgoalkeeper entered the turf one last

time against city giants Mohun Bagan. Kahn wasoverwhelmed by the atmosphere. “It is a very specialmoment for me. Thank you for this great night,” he said,emotionally wrought, during the break.

Kahn was felicitated by the Indian Football Association(IFA) with a gold-plated ball studded with 8640 dia-monds on it. Mohun Bagan club also presented theGerman with a silver boat, the club’s mascot, and a cardfor life-time membership.

‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’ to be screenedat Leon Chess tourney

L egendary Indian filmmakerSatyajit Ray’s ‘Shatranj ke

Khiladi’ is one of the six film to bescreened at Leon Chess Tournamentin Spain. The film is hailed amasterpiece in Indian cinema and isbased on a novel by Munshi Prem Chand. The drama,set in 1856, tells the story of a chess game between twomen even as Indians were engaged in a battle against theBritish Empire. So consumed were they by chess, theynoticed little else.

The film featured Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey,Shabana Azmi, Amjad Khan and Richard Attenborough.

uthor SpeakA


B usiness is booming inIndia. And Australia withits expertise must capi-talise on it, says a veteran

Australian journalist and the author ofa book on the subject. Geoff Hiscockhas authored India’s Global WealthClub: The stunning Rise of its Billionairesand the Secrets of Their Success, publishedthis year by John Wiley & Sons.Hiscock believes the opportunities forAustralian companies are immensealthough its big relationship with Indiawill start only in the next five to tenyears. “The Indian supply chain isdeficient and requires expertise in thetransport and logistics sector.Australian company Linfox has seenthe opportunity and entered the mar-ket in time, but there is opportunityfor many more, for example, in thenext five to 10 years India will need 50million truck drivers, who will needto be trained,” Hiscock told IANS.

Food processing is another sectorwhere Australian companies with theirexpertise in food packaging and ship-ping can find a huge market, he said.

The Tata Group has a sourcingarrangement for its consumer durablesbusiness with Australia’s Woolworthsthat operates retail formats as varied assupermarkets, convenience stores,liquor, petrol, general merchandise andconsumer electronics among others.

The Indian automotive industry ison the move. Hiscock says: “As Indiancompanies look for more marketsabroad, Australia could be a place formarket testing their products for inter-national acceptability. At the sametime, Indian companies could be look-

ing at Australian technology in auto-motive design and components.”

In the book, he also profiles the suc-cess stories of 100 of India’s richest.

“The message across the board is:keep it simple, business doesn’t haveto be complicated. Give it all your pas-sion, focus, dedication and infuse thesame passion in people working for thecompany. The right timing in businessis a big factor and so is some amountof luck,” Hiscock said. According tothe author, there are seven secrets ofIndia’s remarkable resurgence —India’s size, science, diaspora, culturalhistory, English literacy, strategicweight and switch to a globalisationmindset. The book provides richinsights into the intriguing subject ofwhat makes India tick. It is a good ref-erence source for those venturing intothis highly lucrative but profoundlycomplex Indian marketplace.

Hiscock is also the author of thehugely successful books Asia’s WealthClub (1997) and Asia’s New WealthClub (2000). “As a consequence ofrapid growth in the Indian share mar-ket in 2007, even though the gloss hasbeen taken off in 2008, IPOs havethrown up at least 10 to 12 new bil-lionaires in the last 6 months,” he said.

“Most of the billionaire newcomersare in financial services, property, con-struction and infrastructure, reflect-ing the hottest sectors of the Indianeconomy,” he added. He lists 12 newnames reshaping the order of India’sGlobal Wealth Club in 2008 — AnandJain of Jai Corp; Gautam Adani ofAdani Enterprises; Rakesh K.Wadhawan of HDIL; Reji Abraham

of Aban Offshore, L. MadhusudhanRao of Lanco Infratech; RaviPuravankara of Puravankara Projects;Atul Punj of Punj Lloyd; NimeshKampani of JM Financial; Murali K.Divi of Divi’s Labs; P.N.C. Menon ofSobha Developers; Rohtas Goel ofOmaxe; and Sameer Gehlaut ofIndiabulls Financial Services.

Hiscock has just completed his sec-ond book focusing on the “mostprospective” retail sector in India. Tobe launched later this year, it exploresthe changes in the Indian consumer,how younger Indians have more con-fident and are willing to borrow tofinance their consumption.

According to Hiscock, the first bigIPO success of 2008 is Future Capital,the consumer finance arm of theFuture Group empire created byIndia’s innovative retailer KishoreBiyani. Biyani faces tough competi-tion in the retail sector from RelianceIndustries, whose chairman and man-aging director Mukesh Ambani ranksamong India’s richest men.

Also in the retail fray are: SunilBharti Mittal of Bharti Airtel, who isdue to open his first Bharti supermar-ket soon and Kumar M. Birla ofAditya Birla Group, who is launchinghis own chain of supermarkets.

Hiscock says: “The things that havedriven growth in India include itstechnology, its expanding share mar-ket, its financial reforms, its youngpopulation and a relatively benignenvironment. It is India’s century forthe taking. The Golden Bird is readyto fly again.”

— Neena Bhandari/Sydney Ministry of OverseasIndian Affairs

Confederation ofIndian Industry

Making investment in India easier for overseas Indians.

For details contact:Ms. Subha Rajan

Chief Executive Officer - OIFC &Director, CII

249-F, Sector 18, Udyog Vihar, Phase IVGurgaon - 122 015, Haryana, INDIATel: +91-124-4014060-67 / 4014071

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SANCHI: THE LAND OF STUPAS

S anchi is a small village in Raisen district, located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar andVidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is home to several Buddhist monuments dating fromthe 3rd century BC to the 12th century CE.

Sanchi is the site of three Stupas. Stupa No. 1, also called the ‘Great Stupa’ is one of the most magnificent monu-ments of its time. Emperor Ashoka probably started its construction in the middle of the 3rd century BC and was lat-er enlarged. It is enclosed by a massive stone railing pierced by four gateways. These gateways have elaborate carvings,depicting the life of the Buddha. Each gateway is made up of two square posts, topped by statues of animals and dwarfs.It consists of a base, bearing a hemispherical dome (anda) representing the dome of heaven enclosing the earth. It is sur-mounted by a square-rail unit (harmika) from which rises a mast (Yatsi). It symbolises the cosmic axis. The mast bearsumbrellas (chatras) that represent the various heavens (devaloka).

Stupa No. 2, with railing decorations, has carvings relating to late Sunga period (1st century BC) while Stupa No.3, with its single gateway (torana) was constructed in late 1st century AD. These stupas attract thousands of visitorsevery year. Other prominent features of Sanchi include a commemorative pillar erected by Ashoka (265-238 BC).There is also a famous temple Gupta temple built in early 5th century AD and contains some of the best specimens ofIndian sculpture.

However, with the decline of Buddhism in India, Sanchi became a forgotten place. In 1881, a British officer, GeneralTaylor, took the initiative to preserve this land. Amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters had by then ravaged thesite. Between 1912 and 1919 the structures were restored to their present condition under the supervision of Sir JohnMarshall, then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India . Today, around 50 monuments remain on thehill of Sanchi, including three stupas and several temples. The monuments have been listed among the UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites.

M I N I S T R Y O F O V E R S E A S I N D I A N A F FA I R S

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SANCHI: THE LAND OF STUPAS - cse.iitk.ac.in fileSanchi is the site of three Stupas. Stupa No. 1, ... with the decline of Buddhism in India, Sanchi became a ... around 50 monuments