PUBLICATION OF THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA IN DUBAI

VOL. 1 ISSUE 3 JUNE 2009

✹✹ India makes big splashin Arabian Travel Market

✹✹ Ruler of UAQ gifts landto Indian Association

✹✹ NRI remittances up 20-fold to $4 bn

✹✹ India to maintainexports at $160 bn

KamalNath visitsDubai foropening ofnew IMTcampus

OmarAbdullah

invitesEmiratis,expats tovisit J&K

New UPA Govt takes charge

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INDIA MATTERSJUNE 2009

2| INDIA MATTERS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FROM THE CONSUL GENERAL’S DESKWelcome to the third edition of India Matters. This issue covers the results of the 16th General Elections in India which were announced on May 16 and the subse-

quent formation of Government by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Contrary to the predictions ofmany pundits, the people of India voted decisively to bring the UPA back to power with a clear majority. This result iswidely seen as a vote for stability, continuity, an inclusive political and social agenda as well as a progressive economic pro-gramme. A number of young faces have newly entered the Parliament signifying the emergence of a new generation inIndian politics. 58.3 percent of the voters i.e., around 417 million people exercised their ballot peacefully using modern elec-tronic voting machines displaying the quality and strength of the world’s largest democratic exercise. Dr. Manmohan Singhand several senior Ministers (many of whom are good friends of the UAE) have assumed new and important positions with-in the new Government. We can be certain that India-UAE relations will receive fresh impetus.

During the past month, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah (the youngest Chief Minister in thecountry) and Minister for Surface Transport (former Minister of Commerce and Industry) Kamal Nath visited Dubai. TheConsulate outlined its views on India-UAE labour relations at an important conference organised by the Construction Weekmagazine.

With summer approaching, the Consulate intends to re-launch its educational campaign aimed at making workers awareof the risk of sunstroke. This will complement the efforts of the UAE Labour Ministry to implement the mid-day breakfrom July 1. Pamphlets and posters with Do’s and Don’ts will be distributed in different Indian languages to labour campsand to work sites. Any of our readers interested in obtaining the same is welcome to contact the Labour Section of theConsulate for copies.

We are grateful for all the positive feedback we have received and continue to receive regarding this magazine and ourradio programme. Please keep on sending us your views and comments.

Happy reading.

(Venu Rajamony)

UPA Govt back in power

After assuming charge as India’s newFinance Minister, Pranab Mukherjeeannounces that India will make infrastructure projects more robust.

India records an impressive 6.7 percentgrowth in the fiscal year 2008-09 despitethe deepest crisis facing the global economy in six decades.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Enhanced fundingfor core projects

INDIA-UAE

J&K CM Omar Abdullahpasses through Dubai

8INDIA-UAE

Huge Indian presence inArabian Travel Market

12

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India records 6.7%growth in fiscal ’09

18

16

20TRAVEL: COORG IN KARNATAKA

After being swept back to power in the Lok Sabha elections, the new UPAGovernment headed by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh gets downto work.

contents

4

The initiative taken by HE Venu Rajamony to launch an India-centric publication for the benefit of this region is truly commendable. Thequality of the magazine and the contents are praiseworthy. The coverage of Dr. Kalam’s visit, the sections on Community, Business &Economy and Travel were interesting and informative. This publication has definitely made a connect with the community and will go a longway in strengthening ties with the UAE.

Captain Ravi Dey, Emarat Maritime

India Matters is an excellent initiative to connect the large Indian diaspora in the UAE with each other in addition to providing them withrelevant and topical news from India. This “best in class” Indian community-focused publication is probably the first of its kind and willengender a sense of nationalistic pride in the hearts of every reader. The title India Matters is very topical and is truly reflective of the grow-ing importance of India on the world stage. I look forward to the growing engagement between the Consulate and the Indian communityand a continuous stream of news and articles from India. Congratulations to the team for an excellent production.

Anoop Bhargava, Dunia Finance L.L.C.

I welcome the publication of India Matters which is an excellent initiative by the mission of India in the UAE. All important issues relatingto India and the UAE are covered, bridging the gap for the expatriate community. I would like to suggest some space for children from theexpatriate community to showcase their talents in art forms focusing on various Indian cultures.

K.P. Sreekumar Menon, DA-Desk FZE, Sharjah

India Mattersis a monthly publication of theConsulate General of India

(CGI) in Dubai. All rightsreserved. No part of this journal

may be produced, stored or transmitted in any form or by anymeans – electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the

permission of the CGI Dubai.

Editorial correspondence and manuscripts can be addressed to

indiamatters2009@gmail.com

Content and design by IANS(www.ianspublishing.com)

on behalf of Consulate General of India in Dubai.

AFP

It was a full house and a standing ova-tion on May 22, as Dr. ManmohanSingh took the oath of office for asecond consecutive term as Prime

Minister of India. Dr. Singh, the firstPrime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru toget a second opportunity after a full term,was sworn in by President PratibhaDevisingh Patil exactly five years to thedate after the United Progressive Alliance(UPA) Government assumed office in2004. Prime Minister Singh was sworn inalong with 19 Cabinet ministers.

The oath-taking ceremony at theRashtrapati Bhavan was attended by VicePresident Mohd. Hamid Ansari, UPAChairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Leader ofthe Opposition L.K. Advani, among a hostof other dignitaries from public life.

On May 28, in the second phase of min-istry formation, President Patil adminis-tered the oath of office to 59 ministers. Thefull Council of Ministers now has 78 min-isters, including the Prime Minister, afterMeira Kumar resigned as Minister forWater Resources to take over as Speaker ofthe Lok Sabha.

S.M. Krishna is India’s new Minister forExternal Affairs while former ExternalAffairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is thenew Finance Minister.

Former UN Under Secretary-GeneralDr. Shashi Tharoor and Preneet Kaur arethe new Ministers of State for ExternalAffairs.

This time, as many as 29 MPs – veteransas well as youngsters – are making theirdebut as central ministers as part of PrimeMinister Dr. Singh’s 78-member-strongCouncil of Ministers.

These include former Chief MinistersVilasrao Deshmukh and Farooq Abdullah,former UN Undersecretary General ShashiTharoor as well as three women MPs –Agatha Sangma, Krishna Tirath andPreneet Kaur.

The government formation came aboutat the end of what has been described as theworld’s biggest democratic exercise, span-ning a period of one month (April 16-May

16), when more than 400 million Indianscast their votes sweeping the ruling UPAalliance back to power.

Addressing the media after the swearing-in ceremony, the Prime Minister outlinedhis priorities.

“Our first priority is to restore the econ-omy, especially keeping the global recessionin mind,” the Prime Minister said.

“Industrial production is down. Certainsectors need revival, though the Indianeconomy is not so badly affected.Corrective measures have to be taken.Growth will be our main focus. And whenI mean growth, I mean inclusive growththat will carry everyone along, includingthe underprivileged in the country,” Dr.Singh said.

He added that infrastructure would be akey focal point of his Government.

On May 29, a day after all members ofthe Council of Ministers got their portfo-lios, many attended office to familiarisethemselves with their ministries whilethose who retained their old jobs reviewedtheir unfinished agenda.

The 77-member three-tier ministry,which Manmohan Singh described as amix of energy and experience, has beenasked to set benchmarks. UPAChairperson Sonia Gandhi stressed thateveryone would be judged by their per-formance.

Vayalar Ravi, who retains charge of theMinistry of Overseas Indian Affairs, said hewas happy to have retained the portfolio.

“I’m very happy to come back to thesame ministry,” he said after the announce-ment of portfolios late on May 28.

Ravi, who held this important portfolioin the previous cabinet too, said he wouldcontinue to protect the interests of Indiansabroad.

Murli Deora, who retains the Ministryof Petroleum and Natural Gas, announceda new scheme for distribution of liquefiedpetroleum gas (LPG) in villages.

Kamal Nath, who now heads theMinistry of Road Transport and Highways,said regulations covering India’s road net-

work will be overhauled. He promised tochange the physical landscape of the coun-try’s transport infrastructure.

“We need to look at the old regulatoryframework in an entirely new way and thatwill call for a complete change of mindset.We are looking at new models,” KamalNath said.

“Policies cannot be measured – there canbe a number of policies,” said Kamal Nath,the former Commerce and IndustryMinister. “But roads and highways can bephysically measured. This is a major infra-structure area. Results will be seen... I havebeen given a challenging task.”

Commerce and Industry Minister

CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY

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Dr. Singh’s teamassumes charge

President Pratibha Patil administering theoath of office to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at RashtrapatiBhavan, New Delhi, on May 22.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh presiding over the Cabinet meeting in New Delhi on May 30 with Finance Minister PranabMukherjee (second from left) and Defence Minister A.K. Antony in attendance.

! Total voters: 713.77 million

! Polling percentage: 58.43%

! Polling stations: 834,000

! Poll observers: 2,046

! Polling staff: 4.69 million

! Parliamentary constituencies:

543

! Total candidates: 8,070

! Male candidates: 7,514

! Women candidates: 556

! Highest number of candidates:

Chennai South (43)

! Lowest number of candidates:

Nagaland (3)

! Highest polling station: Auley

Phu in Leh, Ladakh (at an

altitude of 15,300 feet)

! Electronic Voting Machine and

control units: Control units

(908,643) and ballot units

(11,83,543)

! Villages identified as

vulnerable: 86,782

2009 GENERALELECTIONS:A FACTFILE

History was made on June 3 whendiplomat-turned-politician Meira

Kumar became the first woman Speaker ofthe Indian Parliament, with members ofthe Lok Sabha electing the Dalit leaderunanimously. Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and Leader of the Opposition L.K.

Advani together led her to the podiumand later paid tributes to the new Speaker.

A double graduate of Delhi University,Meira Kumar joined the IFS in 1973. Shetook to politics in 1985 and was elected tothe Lok Sabha twice from Karol Bagh inthe national capital. She later shifted to

Sasaram in Bihar – aconstituency thather father JagjivanRam had represent-ed for years in theLok Sabha. She waselected from thisseat in the 2009elections again.

CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY

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Anand Sharma, promoted to the Cabinet,said India will maintain its exports at $160billion for the current fiscal and unveil stepsin the coming budget to help the sector.

“This is a challenging responsibility andI will benefit from my earlier experience.Economic diplomacy is part of globalengagement,” said Sharma, formerly aMinister of State for External Affairs.

Kapil Sibal, the new Minister forHuman Resource Development, toldreporters: “I want to put in place a systemwhere every child and person can haveaccess to resources and education.”

Former UN diplomat and writer ShashiTharoor, appointed the Minister of State inthe Ministry of External Affairs, said hewould work to strengthen India’s globalstature.

“India’s place in the world is of greatimportance. India has had an honouredplace in the world. I wish to make my owncontribution to strengthening that veryhonoured place.”

Preneet Kaur, also a Minister of State inthe same ministry, said India wanted peacewith neighbours but it would never toler-ate terrorism.

“We always want good relations withneighbours but the one thing we will nottolerate is terrorism and sheltering of ter-rorists,” she asserted.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azadsaid India would focus on developing newvaccines to fight new diseases.

National Conference patron FarooqAbdullah, who heads the Ministry of Newand Renewable Energy, said his biggestchallenge was to tap “new energy”.

The new Cabinet has eight women min-isters, two less than the previous Congress-led UPA government. !

Indian foreign policy will be pro-active in pursuit of its trade and eco-nomic ties with all countries in aninterdependent world, according to

new Minister for External Affairs MinisterS.M. Krishna.

“Diplomacy, trade and economy gotogether in an interdependent world. As acritical component of governance, the for-eign policy is tailored to serve our nation-al interests,” Krishna, 77, said in an inter-view in his house at Bangalore’s upscaleSadashivnagar.

On his first visit to the tech hub afterassuming office, Krishna said India had tokeep pace with developments across theworld, as nothing was static in diplomacyand one had to prepare for any eventuali-ty. “As one of the fastest developing coun-tries, India has an important role in thegeo-politics of the world. We need torespond appropriately, keeping in viewour larger interests,” he said.

Krishna said India would continue tomaintain its independent foreign policyregardless of the situation prevailing eitherin the neighbourhood or elsewhere.

“It is only a week since I have been inthis job. Various developments during thelast four-five days have kept me occupiedto respond accordingly. My views are notdifferent from the stated policy,” Krishnanoted.

Reiterating that resumption of compos-ite dialogue with Pakistan depended on itsresponse to India’s persistent demands todismantle the terror networks and their

infrastructure, Krishna said the culprits ofthe 26/11 Mumbai carnage would alsohave to be brought to justice for creating aconducive atmosphere for talks.

Asked the significance of his new post-ing to his home state, Karnataka, and itsknowledge economy driven by the bur-geoning IT and biotech sectors, the state’sformer IT-savvy chief minister said thathe, as the foreign minister, would strive towork for all states and sectors of the econ-omy.

Krishna said he was planning to visitBhutan and Nepal soon on his first over-seas trip as External Affairs Minister.

On India-US bilateral ties, Krishna said

it was too early to comment but he waslooking forward to the visit of Secretary ofState Hillary Clinton to India.

A Fulbright scholar in GeorgeWashington and Southern MethodistUniversities in the US during the 1960s,Krishna was Minister of State for Financein the Indira Gandhi government in1980-84. He was also MaharashtraGovernor from 2005 to 2008.

Krishna is also credited for puttingBangalore on the world IT map by attract-ing global investors and multinationals toset shop in the state during his tenure asChief Minister from mid-1999 to early2004. !

‘Proactive in pursuit of trade, economic ties’

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna after assuming office in New Delhi on May 25.

Meira Kumar becomes first woman Speaker

KEY PORTFOLIO-HOLDERSPranab Mukherjee Minister for FinanceAge: 74 years

Academic quali-fications: M.A(History), M.A(Political Science),LL.B, D. Ltt.(Honoris Causa)

Experience: Atroubleshooter for theCongress, he has held several key ministries,including external affairs, defence, finance,and commerce. When he was the FinanceMinister of India from 1982 to 1984,Euromoney magazine rated him as the bestFinance Minister of the world. Headed sever-al Groups of Ministers in the previous UPAgovernment. He took charge of theGovernment when Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh was hospitalised inFebruary this year.Sound byte: “The pipeline of infrastructureprojects will be re-appraised, made morerobust. Where necessary, policy and proce-dures will be calibrated to give a boost toinfrastructure spending.”

Vayalar RaviMinister for Overseas Indian Affairs Age: 71 years

Academic qualifica-tions: M.A, LL.B Experience: Was thefounder general sec-retary of the stu-dent’s wing of theCongress party,Kerala StudentsUnion. A two-time Lok Sabha memberand three-time Rajya Sabha member, hewas elected twice to the Kerala StateAssembly and was Home Minister of thestate. Became a federal minister for thefirst time in 2006, holding the OverseasIndian Affairs portfolio and later handledParliamentary Affairs as well.Sound byte: “Pending MoUs on employ-ment and social security with various coun-tries including Bahrain, the Netherlandsand Luxembourg would be signed immedi-ately... As a politician, I always deal withthe people in India and as the OverseasIndian Affairs Minister I deal with theIndians abroad.”

Anand Sharma Minister for Commerce and IndustryAge: 56 years

Academic qualifica-tions: LL.BExperience: A RajyaSabha member fromHimachal Pradesh,Sharma was one ofthe founder membersof the NationalStudents Union of India (NSUI) and hadserved as state president and national gen-eral secretary. He became the IndianYouth Congress president in 1985. Hewas first elected to Parliament in 1984 atthe age of 31. Was Minister of State forExternal Affairs and held independentcharge of the Information andBroadcasting Ministry in the outgoinggovernment for several months.Sound byte: “We shall see to it that in theglobal context our economic engagement isintensified as it is expected of a country ofIndia's profile... I will benefit from my earli-er experience, particularly from the ExternalAffairs Ministry.”

Shashi TharoorMinister of State for External AffairsAge: 53

Academic qualifications: Ph.DExperience: Started career by joining the staff of UN High Commissioner for Refugees and went on to becomeUN Undersecretary General. He left the UN in 2007 and became Chairman of the Dubai-based AfrasVentures, a company that promotes investments in India. A known writer, he has authored 11 books. Was sur-prise Congress candidate in the elections this year for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency whichhe won in a five-cornered contest.Sound byte: “I am very happy to be here. This is a ministry that I have had very, very good, constructive and posi-tive dealings with for many, many years and to be part of this is a real privilege.”

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Chief Minister of Jammu andKashmir Omar Abdullah isplanning to promote his stateaggressively in the Gulf market.

In an exclusive interview with India Matterswhile transiting through Dubai on April21, he spoke about this and more. Excerpts:

Q: How important is the Arab market foryou? What are your plans of promotingtourism? A: We certainly want to attract touristsfrom the UAE and the Arab market atlarge. We were not able to do it earlierbecause we didn’t have a direct flight. Butnow with the Air India Express, one canjust hop on to a flight from Dubai toSrinagar. We hope to make a small start interms of promoting Kashmir as a destina-tion for tourists from this part of the world.We have not been very aggressive, but wenow plan to promote it heavily.Q: What are your plans of facilitatinginvestments in Jammu and Kashmir fromthe Gulf? A: One of the most important suggestionsI got today was to come back here withspecific projects, ranging in price, fromsmaller ones to large deals and speak topeople who may be interested in investing.So I plan to come back in a more formalcapacity, and make formal proposals forpotential investments.Q: What are your plans and strategies forJammu and Kashmir? In the last fewmonths as Chief Minister, what have youachieved? A: Most important is to build a confidencein the system. The government will delivertheir promise not through words, butthrough action. We want to focus (on)things like infrastructure and healthcare.Even now, for simple delivery cases andappendicitis operations, patients have tocome to Srinagar. These cases should bedealt at the district or sub district levels.Another focus is to improve education andempower degree colleges, making it at parwith the rest of India.

We have taken steps by improving trans-parency by passing the Right ToInformation (RTI) Bill in the StateAssembly thus making ourselves moreaccountable. The main area of concentra-

tion will also be on human resource devel-opment because we believe that it is point-less to ask for investments if skilled labouralso has to be brought in from outside thestate. It will also improve the employabili-ty of the youngster(s), so that they find jobswithin the state and outside it.

The middle class has opportunities, myfocus is on developing the rural areas. Q: Statistics say there were one million newvoters in these elections. How do you inter-pret this surge and people’s revival in thedemocratic process? A: People came to vote, because they pay aprice for not voting. Somebody or the othergets elected, even if there is a 5 percent, 10percent, 15 percent voting. Traditionally,

where low turnout takes place, the electedrepresentatives don’t feel the need to widentheir development activities and peoplehave recognised that and thus acted on it.Every single constituency has shown ahealthy turnout and clearly the onus is nowon elected representatives to ensure that theaspirations of people are addressed in thebest possible way. Q: What are your views on cross bordertrade and opening borders with Pakistan?A: Trade is open. We already have tradeacross the Line of Control (LoC) via twopoints, one from Jammu and one fromKashmir. Unfortunately it has not pickedup the way we would have liked it tobecause of restrictions on communicationand flow of funds, both of which are cru-cial for business. It is important that youcan pay or receive payment and pick up the

phone and talk to the people you are deal-ing with. We hope to work with theGovernment of India for this and we hopethat it will be its part of the normalisationprocess we would like to see, which is thatmore people going and coming and moregood inflow and outflow through the LoC. Q: We see lots of young faces in politicstoday. Do you think young politicians arethe call of the hour?A: India is a young country; majority of(the) Indian population is under 30.Growth of young politician(s) is evident.In most times, the focus is on young politi-cians from high profile families but theyare not the only ones. You see a lot of them,from non-political families. I hope it getssolidified.Q: We understand that you are very techsavvy and you plan to set up an email ID,which can be used by anyone who wants toget in touch with you? A: I circulate my email ID wherever I go.Today I have given it to the ConsulGeneral and asked him to circulate it towhosoever was part of the gathering. I tryand respond to every email and I am a bigBlackberry user. It’s great for short replies.In my office, I am trying to set up a callcentre for people, whereby they can call inwith their complaint and suggestions.Q: Your speech during the (Indo-USnuclear deal) trust vote stirred manyhearts. Was it scripted or impromptu? A: My prepared speech was very differentfrom what happened that day. Because ofthe circumstance, at one point of time, Ithought I wasn’t going to be given a chanceto speak.

I had things I wanted to say and thewhole environment contributed to thespeech I made. Had the house been quietand I had limitless time, things would havebeen different but it wasn’t so and the restis history. Q: You said, “ I am a Muslim and I am anIndian and I see no distinction between thetwo.”A: Yes, there was a concerted effort to proj-ect that the Indo-US nuke deal as anti-Muslim. I couldn’t understand that, it did-n’t make sense to me. Why would it be badfor Indian Muslims? If it was bad it shouldbe bad for everybody. If it was good, itwould be good for all of us. I don’t believein this whole compartmentalisation ofIndian Muslims, that’s why I said that. !

Omar Abdullah invites Emiratis, NRIs to J&K

‘It’s a destination which you canaccess from Dubai directly’

Chief Minister of Jammu and KashmirOmar Abdullah spent an informal

evening interacting with prominentEmiratis and Indians at the ConsulGeneral’s residence while transitingthrough Dubai on April 21.

HH Sheikh Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qasimi,Chairman of the RAK Free Trade Zone,HE Abdulrahman Saif Al Ghurair,Chairman of the Dubai Chamber ofCommerce and Industry and HE AhmedMohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of theSharjah Chamber of Commerce andIndustry, graced the occasion. India’sAmbassador to the UAE Talmiz Ahmad,his wife Sunita Mainee Ahmed and many

important Indian businessmen were alsopresent at the event.

At the gathering, he urge the Emiratisand Indian expatriates to re-establish linkswith the state and said that he will come inhis official capacity in the near future withhis team and meet with possible investorsin the UAE.

“Jammu and Kashmir is open, it’s adestination which you can access fromDubai directly. All we are asking you todo is look towards Jammu and Kashmiragain. It is not all violence, not all badnews,” he said.

Blaming the media for portraying awrong image of the state, he said: “The

young population is yearning for anopportunity. If you look at the statisticsyou will find that year-on-year there hasbeen a sharp decline in the incidents ofviolence and 2009 is the most peacefulyear in the state since 1989.”

Stressing that Jammu lends itself tomore of the small and medium industrybecause of its connectivity and infrastruc-ture, and Kashmir to the electronic indus-try, business process outsourcing, IT andagro food processing industry, he request-ed people to come to Jammu andKashmir and see for themselves theprogress the state is making.

Talking about the enormous pollturnout (nearly 60 percent) during theJammu and Kashmir elections, the ChiefMinister said, “People of the state wantedto see a difference and take advantage ofthe liberalisation process, of the changesthat India has gone through in IT andagriculture. They wanted to be part of theimprovements and that is why theydecided to vote”.

Abdullah said that his party has madebasic promises to the people of Jammuand Kashmir like improvement of infra-structure, roads, clean drinking water.

“There are still places in Kashmirwhere you have to walk six hours to accessdrinking water,” he said.

During his visit, he interacted with themembers and took suggestions for hisgovernment and office.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seen here with guests at a gatheringorganised by Consul General of India Venu Rajamony.

Omar Abdullah interacting withEmiratis and members of the Indiancommunity in Dubai.

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India, UAE strengthen intellectual ties

Anew campus of the Institute ofManagement Technology(IMT) was inaugurated at theDubai International Academic

City (DIAC) on May 10 by Deputy Rulerof Dubai HH Sheikh Maktoum BinMohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum inthe presence of Minister for HigherEducation and Scientific Research HESheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyanand India’s Minister for Road Transportand Highways and President of IMT’sboard of governors Kamal Nath.

IMT had set up its Dubai branch in2006 to provide management coursesaccredited by the UAE Ministry of HigherEducation and Scientific. The two-yearMBA programme it offers incorporates astrong interface with the industry, allowingstudents to develop hands-on experience.

In his keynote address at the function tomark the launch of the new campus,Kamal Nath said, “India will require manynew managers as the economy is projectedto grow at 6.9 percent in 2009 and the newcampus will strengthen intellectual engage-ment between India and the UAE.”

“It is an honour for IMT to have set up

its institution in Dubai. This partnershipbetween IMT and the people of Dubai willpropel the region to an even higher level ofeconomic and social prosperity,” he added.

The Minister emphasised that in thesetimes of worldwide downturn, ethical prac-tices and social responsibility of managersshould be highlighted.

“The current global financial crisis hassomewhat dampened world enthusiasm.There have been extensive writings, puttinga large portion of the blame for the finan-cial meltdown on management graduatesaround the world. This is not the time to be

fixing the blame – rather it is the time towork towards fixing the problem,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after the event,Nath encouraged Indians who have beenmade redundant abroad to return to India.

“Industries like information technologycontinue to grow and business in India islooking positive. Economic stimulus pack-ages announced by the Government in thelast three months have also been a majorboost to business and the economy.”

IMT-Dubai’s director Dr. Farhad Rad-Serecht said that the inauguration of thecampus was a milestone for IMT.

“IMT aims at creating managers whostrike the right balance between academicdepth and practical finesse and our coursesare conceived to suit that purpose. The stu-dents who graduate from IMT will be well-equipped to move on seamlessly to theindustry after their education, because ourinternship system is designed to create anintimate familiarity with the dynamics ofthe industry,” he explained.

The new campus, comprising five build-ings, is spread over almost 250,000 squarefeet. Student housing is also available.

IMT has two campuses in India. !

The new campus of the Institute ofManagement Technology at Dubai.

Consul General of India in DubaiVenu Rajamony has said thatIndia has full faith in the sinceri-ty of the UAE Government’s

desire to safeguard labour rights.Speaking on ‘India-UAE Labour

Relations’ at the GCC Leadership Summiton Labour Management in Dubai on April29, he complimented the UAE leadershipand Government and said that complaintsreceived by the Indian Embassy andConsulate in UAE were very small in com-parison to the overall size of the labourforce.

He said that, last year, the UAE has beenthe single most important destination forIndian workers to the Gulf with 42.5 percentof the labour force from India coming towork in the UAE, an increase of 11.87 per-cent from 2007.

Commenting on the impact of the finan-cial crisis, the Consul General said, “Indiaand Indians have confidence in the ability ofthe leadership of UAE to overcome the cur-rent crisis. Migration to the UAE will con-tinue and India will remain a significantpresence in the UAE and the Gulf.”

He said that although approvals by theConsulate for new recruitment fell drastical-ly in January-February 2009, it started pick-ing up in March-April showing signs ofrecovery.

He said that local companies would, how-ever, have to compete with Indian and othercompanies to recruit and retain Indian pro-fessionals and skilled workers, who are fastmoving up the value chain.

“India’s GDP is anticipated to grow by 6-7 percent despite the financial crisis.Infrastructure, real estate, retail and hospital-ity are the most promising sectors, and theseare the sectors where the UAE has made amark. Many Indian companies have beenrecruiting in the Gulf in recent years andUAE companies will have to increasinglycompete with India and other parts of theworld to retain workforce,” Rajamonyadded.

Highlighting the steps taken by theGovernment of India to promote welfare ofoverseas workers, he said: “In India, a nation-wide public awareness campaign has beenstarted via radio, TV and the print media inregional channels and vernacular press. Thishas been designed to make people aware ofrisks of illegal migration and encourage themto use legal channels. NGOs have beeninvolved to reach people at the grassrootsand field survey of returnees and potentialmigrants are done regularly to assess infor-mation gaps.”

He also spoke about the variety of proac-tive steps taken by the Indian Consulate andEmbassy to protect the workers in the UAE.

“The Indian Mission here regularly inter-acts with major employers of Indian workers,keeps a close scrutiny of applications toimport workers, monitors the welfare ofhousemaids, visits hospitals, provides finan-cial assistance to individuals for food, shelter,medical expenses and repatriation to Indiaand also takes care of transmission of legaldues and compensation, including bloodmoney to families in India,” the ConsulGeneral added.

During his presentation, the ConsulGeneral called for more discussions in thefuture on issues such as payment of salariesthrough banks, establishing new regulationson minimum living conditions of workers,mandatory health insurance schemes, effec-tive grievance redressal mechanisms, legisla-tion of a minimum wage and adopting a uni-fied contract acceptable to both Indian andUAE authorities.

The second annual Construction WeekGCC Leadership Summit addressed variousissues surrounding labour managementacross the region. The conference broughttogether senior representatives of the UAEMinistry of Labour and stakeholders alongwith speakers and participants includingambassadors, consuls general and labourattachés from sending countries includingIndia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and thePhilippines. !

Kamal Nath (left) with Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Nahyan along with other dignitaries at the inauguration of the new IMT campus.

UAE single most importantdestination for Indian workers to Gulf region ! MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN

AFFAIRS (MOIA) CREATED IN

2004

! EMIGRATION ACT OF 1983BEING AMENDED TO PREVENT

EXPLOITATION BY RECRUITING

AGENCIES (RA), STRINGENT

PENALTIES FOR HUMAN SMUG-GLING, PROSECUTION AND CAN-CELLATION OF REGISTRATION OF

DELINQUENT RAS

! EFFORTS TO MAKE RAS PROFES-SIONAL AND ACCOUNTABLE

" Training Programme" Service audit, rating system,

charter" Establishing a National

Professional Apex Agency

! ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDIAN

OVERSEAS WORKERS RESOURCE

CENTRE & MIGRANT

RESOURCE CENTRE

" Toll free 12/7 helpline (10 a.m.-10 p.m.); soon to be upgraded to24/7 and made accessible fromall over the world

" Information dissemination onmatters related to emigration

" Registering and responding tocomplaints from emigrants andprospective emigrants

" Walk-in counselling centre inKochi, Kerala

! SKILL UPGRADE AND PRE-DEPAR-TURE TRAINING FOR LABOURERS

" Basic knowledge about laws, lan-guage and culture of destinationcountries

" Public-private partnership cover-ing construction, engineering,manufacturing, nursing, IT andhousehold services

" Focus on sending states: AndhraPradesh, Karnataka, Kerala,Tamil Nadu, Punjab andRajasthan

Steps taken by theIndian Governmentfor Labour Welfare

IINNDDIIAA--UUAAEE CCOOMMMMUUNNIITTYY

|13JUNE 2009

INDIA MATTERSJUNE 2009

12|INDIA MATTERS

With a keen focus on pro-moting India as a pre-ferred travel destinationamong Arab and interna-

tional tourists, India had a large presence atArabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai,which took place from May 5 to 8.

India Tourism set up an exclusive IndiaPavilion showcasing more than 31 compa-nies including tour and travel trade com-panies, Air India and the Tea Board.

For the very first time, the Federationof Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO),a body set up by the Ministry ofCommerce, Government of India, alsoparticipated in the ATM, bringing underits banner around 20 travel, tourism andhospitality service sector companies. Thestates of Kerala, Goa, Andhra Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh and Karnatakaand the union territory ofAndaman and Nicobar Islandsalso participated.

Wellness and medical tourismwere the main focal points thisyear. While India is already con-sidered a popular medical destina-tion by people in the region forcardiac surgeries, joint replace-ment, dentistry and cosmetic sur-gery, the tourism board aims topromote the sector better by out-

lining the “low-cost but world-class treat-ment” factors.

Additional Director-General in theMinistry of Tourism Devesh Chaturvedisaid, “Most estimates claim treatmentcosts in India start at around a tenth ofthe price of comparable treatment inother countries, which makes it quite afeasible option for patients who wish tobe treated in India. With improved con-nectivity, globally renowned medicalprofessionals and state-of-the-art facili-ties, we encourage visitors to see thecountry as an impressive medical optionas well.”

Inaugurating the India Pavilion,Consul-General of India in Dubai VenuRajamony spoke about India’s advantage asa short haul destination.

“India is just three hours away from theUAE, thus making it a great tourist desti-nation for Arabs and the internationalcommunity here. The financial crisis hasincreased our resolve to enhance tourismpromotion efforts here as the region is in

close proximity to India.”Tourist visas issued by the

Consulate General of India inDubai went up by 32.5 percentin the year 2008 as compared to2007. In 2008, the ConsulateGeneral issued 51,227 touristvisas as compared to 38,658 in2007. As many as 70.5 percentof tourists were UAE nationalsfollowed by those from the UK,Philippines, the US andCanada. !

India makes big splash at Arabian Travel Market

The 'Visit India2009' scheme! Complimentary international air pas-sage for travelling companion! One night complimentary stay in thehotel booked by the tourist ! One complimentary local sightseeingtour in any one city of visit ! One complimentary rural eco holidayin the country

For more information, log on towww.incredibleindia.org.

The India Pavilion at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

The Crisis Prevention Programme, aninitiative for the welfare of the mem-

bers of the Indian community residing inDubai and the Northern Emirates by theConsulate General of India, has servedmore than 400 clients since the inception ofthe programme in 2006 for providing pro-fessional counseling to Indians in distress.

As part of the programme, expertcounselors help the community membersdeal with problems like anger, depression,suicidal thoughts, stress, loss of sleep,marital troubles and other such problems.

CPP statistics reveal that the problemsare predominantly marital issues (45 per-cent) followed closely by mental disorders(38 percent) and financial stress (17 per-cent). Two-thirds of the the people servedwere males. Counseling was providedmainly in Malayalam (180 clients) andEnglish (156 clients).

The primary services of CPP address abroad range of issues like mood disorders,marital issues, intergenerational conflicts,work related stressors and personality dis-orders. Sessions are confidential and indi-vidual sessions of one to one-and-a-halfhours are offered for a couple of sessions.

“We help individuals cope with theproblem and arm them with skills andstrategies to deal with stressors, teach themto rectify maladaptive behaviour and atti-tudes and decrease conflict and improvecommunication,” psychologist Dr.Shailaja Menon, who heads the team, said.

A dedicated hotline number 050-9433111 has been assigned for the pur-pose. An initial screening is conducted onthe phone to get some basic backgroundand history, understand the problem, andenquire if there is a language preferencefor the services and sometimes even apreference in the gender of the counselor,depending on the sensitivity of the issue.

Following the screening, the caller getsan appointment for Saturday with ascheduled time of one hour to see a coun-selor at the Consulate. Members of theIndian community can call 050-9433111 to seek appointment. Thisnumber can be contacted from Saturdaysthrough Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Free counseling forIndians in distress

IBPC honours expatIndian achievers

The newly elected Board of theIndian Business andProfessional Council (IBPC)felicitated the UAE-based

recipients of the prestigious Padma Shriand Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards at afunction in Dubai on May 16.

While Founder and Chairman of theGEMS group Sunny Varkey, ManagingDirector and Chief Executive Officer ofNMC Dr. B.R. Shetty and renownedreconstructive plastic surgeon Dr. AshokGupta were honoured for being awardedthe Padma Shri, Chairman and ManagingDirector of Al Fara'a GeneralConstructions Dr. J.R. Gangaramani wasfelicitated for being honoured with thePravasi Bharatiya Samman.

These awards were conferred on themby the President of India for their distin-guished achievements in the fields of busi-ness and community services.

All the awardees are pioneers in theirchosen fields of activity ranging from con-struction and real estate to education,health services and achieved high levels ofquality standards.

The function was graced by HE SheikhNahyan Bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, UAE’sMinister for Higher Education andScientific Research, who praised theachievements of the awardees and theirvaluable contributions to the ceconomiesof India and UAE.

India’s Ambassador to the UAE TalmizAhmad and Consul General VenuRajamony were also present at the event. !

The newly electedIBPC Board Members! President: Paras Shahdadpuri,Chairman, Nikai Group ofCompanies / Crescent Gen Trading.

! Vice President: Dr. G.M. Bajpai-Legal Consultant, Vikas House Ins.Consultants

! Secretary General: Prashant K.Gulati ! Managing Director,Optimistix Ventures

! Treasurer: Kiran Sangani – Partner,Sangani and Company

! Member, Administrative Board &Past President: Abbas Ali Mirza,Partner, Deloitte & Touche

! Member, Administrative Board &Past President: Suresh Kumar, ChiefMentor & Group Director, EmiratesNBD Capital

! Member, Administrative Board:Kulwant Singh, Managing Director,Lama Group of Companies

! Member, Administrative Board:Navin Kapoor, Managing Director,Xpertize United FZLLC

! Member, Administrative Board:Nilesh Kumar Ved, Chairman andFounder, Apparel LLC.

IBPC members and those felicitated with Minister for Higher Education and ScientificResearch Sheikh Nahyan, Ambassador Ahmad and Consul General Rajamony.

13.5%14.3% 5.6%

13.3%

3.924.45

5.08 5.37

3.46

2004Source: Bureau of Immigration, *Estimated figure

2005 2006 2007 2008

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

FFoorreeiiggnn TToouurriisstt AArrrriivvaallss((NNuummbbeerrss iinn MMiilllliioonnss))

CCOOMMMMUUNNIITTYY

|15JUNE 2009

INDIA MATTERSJUNE 2009

14|INDIA MATTERS

Ruler of UAQ gifts land to Indian Association

Adream came true for the expa-triate Indian community inUmm al-Quwain with the lay-ing of a foundation stone for a

permanent office-cum-auditorium of theIndian Association of Umm al-Quwain(IAQ) in that northern emirate.

At a function organised on the occasionon May 22, members of the IAQ expressedtheir gratitude to HH Sheikh Saud Bin

Rashid Al Moallah, Member of theSupreme Council and Ruler of Umm al-Quwain for gifting them the land. ConsulGeneral of India in Dubai Venu Rajamonylaid the foundation stone in the function,which was presided by President of IAQScaria Thomas and attended by membersand their families.

After operating from hired and sub-sidised premises for the last 28 years, the

400-member strong association had tovacate their existing rented complexovernight as the old building had to bedemolished because of the redevelopmentin the area by the local government. Thiswas when they approached the ConsulGeneral for help and assistance.

Hailing the Consul General’s efforts,Construction Committee Convenor S.Shailendra said: “The timely support andguidance of His Excellency helped usimmensely. It is because of his interven-tion with the Ruler of Umm al-Quwainthat the plot of land was gifted to thecommittee.”

The new plot, situated on the Al RamlaRoad, connecting Al Ittihad Road in Ummal-Quwain, will be used to build recre-ational and sports facilities for children andfamilies. The 87,500-sq-ft area will house ahuge auditorium, which will be used forcultural activities, charity work and educa-tional and training purposes. IAQ mem-bers are in touch with well-wishers who theyhope will support their cause. !

Consul General Venu Rajamony laying the foundation stone for the new premises.

With the mission of spreadingawareness about combatingblindness in children, Seva

Foundation, a non-profit organisation,organised Netra Jyoti Jalsa, a musicalevening in Dubai on April 24.

The event featured 11-year old visuallychallenged Vasundhara Raturi, star of ZeeTV’s ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Lil Champs’. She andMaster Shivam of Seva Foundation sangbeautifully and mesmerised the audiencewith their performance.

At the age of one year, due to atrophy inher optic nerves, Vasundhara lost hervision. But despite all challenges, she hasshown immense talent in music and wonvarious awards all over the world. She wasalso one of the five finalists in the televisionreality show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa LittleChamps 2007’ telecast on Zee TV.Vasundhara is part of the cultural troupe ofSeva Foundation and helps raise funds forcombating blindness and create awareness,especially amongst children.

Seva foundation has joined hands withDr. Shroff Charity Eye Hospital, one of theleading centres for super speciality eye carein north India for the cause.

The organisation is also working closelywith Eye Bank Association of India forcombating avoidable blindness.

Seva Foundation is a charitable organisa-

tion which educates people in India’s ruraland tribal areas about combating blindness,assists the needy in eye surgeries and createsawareness about eye donation.

The chief guest for the event was HESheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Al

Maktoum, member of the Dubai royalfamily. Consul General of India in DubaiVenu Rajamony, his wife Dr. Saroj Thapaalong with other dignitaries from the localIndian community also attended the func-tion. !

Vasundhara in Dubai for Netra Jyoti Jalsa

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi (centre) visited Dubai on May 7. During his visit, he interacted withleading Indian businessmen in the UAE at a reception hosted by India’s Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad.

Renovated DIIC premises inaugurated

The renovated premises of theDubai Indian Islamic Centre(DIIC) was formally inaugurat-ed by Consul General of India

Venu Rajamony on April 15. DIIC President S.M. Syed Khalil, P.T.

Abdul Rahman, Dr. Abdul Rahman Jarrar,Najeeb Noor, Prof. Ishtiyak Ahmed fromAligarh Muslim University and members ofthe centre were present at the function.

Appreciating the important role of DIICin promoting interaction and dialoguebetween Emiratis and Indian expatriates,the Consul General said, “DIIC shouldbecome a bridge that will contribute togreater understanding of each other.”

“Islam is the integral part of India.Today over 150 millions Muslims are livingin India. The contribution of Islam andMuslims to India’s culture, civilization andheritage is immeasurable,” he added.

DIIC has dedicated itself to continuousservice for Islam and the Indian commu-

nity for the last 16 years. The Centreorganises regular medical camps, inter-school Quran recitation competitions,

quizzes and debates. It also arrangesIslamic studies classes in various mosquesin Dubai. !

Consul General Venu Rajamony speaking at the DIIC function.

Vasundhara Raturi with Consul General Rajamony and HH Sheikh Maktoum.

Vayalar Ravi visits Dubai

BBUUSSIINNEESSSS && EECCOONNOOMMYY

|17JUNE 2009

INDIA MATTERSJUNE 2009

16|INDIA MATTERS

Enhanced funding for core projects

The UK’s leading investment bankBarclays has said that with a newstable government in place in

New Delhi, the Indian economy would doeven better improving the short-term andmedium-term outlook for GDP growth.

“We see risks to our FY09-10 andFY10-11 GDP growth forecasts as tilted tothe upside by around 150 bps. The abilityof a strong coalition government increasesthe possibility of significant structuralreforms in financial, infrastructure, retail,and property sectors,” the latest Indiareport by Barclays Research said.

“Recent high-frequency indicators onconsumers and investment spending are

already showing signs of improvement.We believe GDP growth bottomed in Q42008. There is also some anecdotal evi-dence which suggests that credit growthand labour market conditions are improv-ing, while sentiment on the economy’soutlook seems to be turning from neutralto negative,” it added.

Stating that the election outcome is setto have a crucial bearing on capital flows,it said the capital account in the balance ofpayments is likely to turn surplus fromdeficit in the second half of calendar year2009 as growth and global liquidityimprove. The rupee is expected tostrengthen to Rs 45 against the dollar by

December 2009 from the earlier forecastof 47. It is expected to strengthen furtherto Rs 44 level.

Even the current account in the balanceof payments is likely to improve, theresearch report sated.

It is expected to turn into a surplus of$1.8 billion (0.3 percent of GDP) in thesecond half of calendar year 2009 from adeficit of $1.9 billion (-1.9 percent ofGDP) in the first half. This is becausegoods and services exports are seen torebound as demand conditions improve inthe industrialised economies. In addition,remittances are also expected to accelerate.Even the trade balance will improve. !

Stable govt will ensure faster growth: Barclays

Promising enhanced spendingon infrastructure projects, newMinister for Finance PranabMukherjee has said all such

ongoing projects will be revisited, andrecalibrated when required, to achievethe desired results.

“My government will have to focus onimplementing and strengthening theinfrastructure investments,” the Ministersaid in his maiden press conference onMay 27 after taking oath as senior-mostminister in Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh’s cabinet.

“The pipeline of infrastructure proj-ects will be re-appraised, made morerobust. Where necessary, policy and pro-cedures will be calibrated to give a boostto infrastructure spending.”

He said the focus of the exercise wouldbe to address the concerns of stakeholdersso that further momentum can be given tohelp India come back to the high growthpath of recent years quickly.

Mukherjee, who returned to NorthBlock as Finance Minister after 25 years,also sought to assuage fears that India hasbeen trying to spend its way out of thepresent crisis, which will affect its fiscalposition in coming years.

“Prophets of doom have been undulyfocusing on increased public spending and

the consequent increase in the revenue andfiscal deficits in the recent past. We arehopeful an early return to our recentgrowth performance will help us comeback to our preferred path of fiscal pru-dence.”

The Finance Minister said the groundreality today demanded that the process ofpump priming the economy continuesboth during this year and in the next, andthat fiscal consolidation would be achievedover the next two-three years.

“Let me also say unambiguously that weare committed to restoring growth and

employment and that would not havebeen possible without increased spend-ing funded by incremental borrow-ing.”

Stating that reviving India’s eco-nomic growth would be his top priori-ty in the coming months, Mukherjeeassured every step would be taken tocomplete the budget process for thisfiscal by July 31.

“All my senior colleagues in theministry are fully cooperating with meto fulfill my commitment. We will beable to present the budget in the firstweek of July,” he said.

“I will try to complete the entireprocess by July 31. Of course, I willneed the cooperation of other political

parties,” he said. “If they agree to dispensewith the scrutiny by standing committee,that would facilitate me.”

The budget process involves amend-ments to several legislations, including thefinance bill, and these cannot take effectunless they are passed by both houses ofParliament and get the final nod from thePresident.

Mukherjee, the senior-most minister inPrime Minister Manmohan Singh's cabi-net, also said that achieving 6-7 percentgrowth was “no mean achievement” in thisdifficult period. !

Auto industry gets off togood start in fiscal ’10

The automobile industry inIndia got off to a good startin the 2009-10 fiscal withleading car makers reporting

positive sales figures Passenger car market leader Maruti

Suzuki India reported a 15.7 percentsurge in its sales in May. The companysold 79,872 units, including 9,087exported units, in May as compared to69,001 in the same period last year, thecompany said in a regulatory statement.

Maruti’s volume in the A2 segmentgrew by 20.7 percent, the A3 segmentby 14.1 percent and the C segment by25 percent, the statement said.

The company launched its new pre-mium compact car Ritz during themonth.

The exports for the company grew87.1 percent reporting sales of 9,087units in May as compared to 4,858units in the same period last year.

“Our export target for the currentyear is 130,000 units that will includeA-Star, Maruti 800, Estilo, and Swiftmodels,” Maruti Suzuki’s Marketingand Sales Executive Officer Mayank

Pareek said.In Kolkata, Shuji Oishi, the compa-

ny’s Director (Marketing and Sales),told reporters the company was alsoplanning to expand its rural marketshare to 15 percent from around 5 per-cent now.

Korean car maker Hyundai also saidits cumulative growth in May stood at8.4 percent. “Our cumulative salesgrowth is driven by the demand for ourcars in the overseas market,” HyundaiIndia’s Senior Vice-President(Marketing) Arvind Saxena said.

Though it registered a 4.1 percentdecline in domestic sales in May, itsexports jumped 27.8 percent during themonth. Hyundai exported 20,125 unitsin May, up from 15,751 vehicles in thecorresponding month last year.

Meanwhile, General Motors (GM)said its Indian operations were insulat-ed from the company’s bankruptcy pro-ceedings in the US.

GM India President Karl Slym saidthe company was self-sufficient in Indiaand hence was insulated from the USbankruptcy. !

IINN SSHHOORRTT

Indian companies including telecommajor Bharti Airtel and IT firms

Infosys, TCS and Wipro are amongstthe list of 100 best performing technol-ogy companies in the world generatedby American magazine, BusinessWeek.The magazine’s ‘Infotech 100’ list for2009 – based on shareholder return,return on equity, total revenues, andrevenue growth – ranks telecom giantBharti Airtel at the sixth position.While Infosys is placed at 25, TCS is30th and Wipro 43rd.

Indian firms among top100 tech companies

Seafood exports in 2008-09 tillFebruary-end have grown close to 8percent in volume and about 10 per-cent in rupee terms as compared tothe corresponding period the previ-ous fiscal. According to SeafoodExporters Association, exports grewto 530,000 tonnes in the periodunder review from a little over491,000 tonnes in the correspon-ding 11 months the previous fiscal.In rupee terms, export revenue grewfrom Rs. 69.45 million to over Rs.76 million. It was earlier feared thatexports would fall by 20 percent.

Seafood exports up in2008-09 till Feb-end

India’s Bharti group and Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer,opened their first cash-and-carryjoint venture store in Amritsar onMay 30 with an investment of $7million, and they plan to open atleast 15 outlets across the country inthe next three years. The stores willbe run under the brand name ofBest Price Modern Wholesale. TheAmritsar store, spread over about50,000 square feet, will provide 200direct and 500 indirect jobs.

Bharti, Wal-Mart openfirst JV store in India The Indian economy has started

showing signs of recovery from theslowdown and business confidence

level is on the rise, according to a survey bya leading industry group.

The latest Business Confidence Surveyby the Federation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (Ficci) said theeconomy could soon move to a highergrowth trajectory. Around 300 companieswith a turnover of above Rs. 10 millionparticipated in the survey, Ficci said.

Nearly 57 percent of the participantssaid the overall economic condition was“moderately to substantially” better vis-a-

vis that of last six months. In the last sur-vey, only 9 percent of the companiesexpressed such confidence.

“The survey indicates a major jump inthe overall business confidence index to64.1 from 44 in the last survey. And this isclearly reminiscent of the high confidencelevel prevalent during the first half of 2007-08,” the report said.

About 69 percent of respondentsexpressed hope that the overall economiccondition would further improve in thenear future.

About 47 percent said their performancelevel improved during the period. !

Economy recovering, businessconfidence up: Ficci survey

Mukherjee at the press conference in New Delhi.

BBUUSSIINNEESSSS && EECCOONNOOMMYY

|19JUNE 2009

INDIA MATTERSJUNE 2009

18| INDIA MATTERS

India will maintain exportvolumes at $160 bn As part of its commitment to address

the lower part of the pyramid, theRs. 1,500-billion Tata group is innovat-ing affordable products for the masses, itsChairman Ratan Tata said.

“We have taken a conscious decisionto innovate products that are affordablefor the masses, which account for about70 percent of our population,” Tata toldstudents of the premier Indian Instituteof Science (IISc) in Bangalore on May27.

“Nano car, Nano housing and Gingerbudget hotels from our group are someof the innovative products meant for themass market.”

Interacting with the institute’s facultyand students at the valedictory functionof its centenary celebrations, Tata said, asvery few corporations addressed this sec-tion of society, the Tata group had takenthe challenge of creating products thatmeet the aspirations of the masses.

“All along, the focus of entrepreneursand corporations has been to developproducts for the top of the pyramid thathas about 250-300 million people.Though these people constitute about25-30 percent of the population, theneed of the hour is to create products andservices for the rest of the 1.2 billionIndians,” he said.

Expressing hope that similar innova-tions would come out of the century-oldIISc, Tata said its faculty and studentsshould strive to create new technologiesand products that address the needs ofthe masses and improve quality of living.

“Though we do not mandate what thefaculty and research students should do,I am confident innovations will comeout of the institute that will benefit themajority.”

Lamenting that very few organisationshave taken the risk of developing newtechnologies for the masses, Tata said hisgroup had created new opportunities andchallenges through diversification andacquisitions.

“We acquired Jaguar to have a globalactivity as we cannot have it here (India)on the basis of our volume or scale.”

Nano Housing andGinger Hotels

NRI remittances up 20-fold at $4 bn

Remittances from overseasIndians shot up by 20 times inthe fiscal year 2008-09 to touch$4 billion, according to latest

figures released by the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI)

Net inflows jumped as non-residentIndians (NRIs) reposed their faith in theIndian economy in the midst of the globalfinancial turbulence by sharply increasingtheir exposure to various NRI depositschemes.

According to the RBI figures, netinflows through various NRI depositsincreased from $179 million in fiscal 2008to $3,999 million in fiscal 2009.

Inflows in March this year itself crossed$1 billion, the highest since October 2003.

Foreign currency non-resident-banks(FCNR-B), nonresident (external) rupee

accounts (NRE-RA) and non-residentordinary (NRO) deposit schemes account-ed mainly for this.

FCNR(B) and NRE(RA) are repatriableand hence comprise a part of India’s exter-nal debt. Funds in an NRO account aremeant for local use by NRIs and are hencenot repatriable. Most of the inflows thistime have been through NRE (RA) andNRO schemes.

But, overall, inflows through all theseavenues result in forex flows into the coun-try.

NRIs usually keep shuffling their port-folios between FCNR(B) and NRE (RA)schemes, based on rupee-dollar move-ments. When the rupee rises against thedollar, they prefer the NRE (RA) route,and when it falls, FCNR (B) becomes thepreferred choice. !

India will maintain itsexports at $160 billionfor this current fiscal,as steps will be

unveiled in the upcomingbudget and the trade policyreview to help the sector,new Commerce andIndustry Minister AnandSharma said in New Delhi.

He also said that Indiawas ready to ink a host of pacts, includinga free trade agreement with the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) andeconomic cooperation agreements withSouth Korea and Nepal.

“We will shortly approach the Cabineton these free trade agreements,” Sharmatold reporters, soon after taking charge ofhis newly assigned ministries at UdyogBhavan on May 29.

The Minister, who was earlier Ministerof State for External Affairs and then alsofor information and broadcasting, said thecountry’s export performance was, indeed,laudable given that the global economy hadshrunk since last year.

“I am confident we willbe able to manage at least$160 billion.”

He said the effects of theglobal meltdown on theIndian economy were com-paratively lower.

“In fact, there are signs –positive signs – of a revival ofindustry, including expan-sion that would be desirable

for manufacturing sector.” Sharma also spoke of how special eco-

nomic zones in the country had become asuccess, employing 750,000 people direct-ly and indirectly, and exports growing at 50percent last fiscal. He said as many as 568such zones had been approved, of which315 had also been notified, attractinginvestments worth Rs. 1,000 billion ($20billion).

The Minister said another positive out-come for India, in spite of the slowdownglobally, was the continuing inflow ofmoney from overseas both in the form ofdirect investment and from foreign institu-tional investors. !

The franchise business industry inIndia is hopeful of high growth in

the coming years despite the global eco-nomic downturn, according to an indus-try representative.

“The franchise business in India hashuge potential and we think it will growto a large extent in next five years,”Indian Franchise Association (IFA) exec-utive director Upendra Sachdev said,speaking on the sidelines of a seminar inKolkata.

“We can see the franchise industrygrowing in India, even during these timesof recession and lay-offs. With the prop-erty rates lowering due to the slowdown,the entrepreneurs can now start franchisebusiness with cheaper investment,” headded.

According to him, in the next fiveyears, there would be at least 50,000franchises in the Indian market, whichwould create employment for at least500,000 people.

“The franchise business has been verygood mainly in food and beverage andeducation sectors. The food and beverageindustry was up by nearly 38 percentwhile the education sector registered agrowth of 32 percent last year,” saidSachdev.

Food processing sector'sgrowth to touch 20%

The growth rate of India’s foodprocessing sector will bebrought up to a minimum of20 percent from the current 14

percent within 100 days of the new UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA) Governmenttaking charge, according to Minister forFood Processing Industries Subodh KantSahai.

“When (India’s) overall growth was at 5-6 percent, this Ministry’s growth was at 14percent. And within 100 days, we will giveyou a growth rate of a minimum 20 per-cent,” Sahai, who retained the portfolioafter being elevated to cabinet rank, toldreporters after assuming office in NewDelhi on May 29.

“With my elevation, the Ministry alsogot elevated, which is a good develop-ment,” he stated.

Sahai was Minister of State(Independent Charge) for Food ProcessingIndustries in the last UPA Government.

By retaining the portfolio, there wouldbe continuity in implementing the workcharted out by the Ministry during the pre-vious government, Sahai maintained.

“We will continue our work to meet thetarget we had set to attract investment ofRs. 1 lakh crore (Rs.1,000 billion/$21 bil-

lion) in the food processing sector by2015,” the Minister said, adding that thiswas the only sector where people did notlose jobs in the midst of the global financialcrisis.

Pointing out that agriculture remainedincomplete without post-harvest manage-ment, Sahai said that this was why RajivGandhi created the Food ProcessingMinistry when he was the Prime Ministerfrom 1984 to 1989.

“Agriculture has grown in many parts ofthe world. In the US, only 4 percent of thepopulation is involved in agriculture andthey claim to be feeding the world. InEurope it is 7 percent. Here, 70 percent ofthe population (is involved in agricul-ture),” Sahai said.

“But agriculture in India remains frag-mented. It is not clustered. It will be clus-tered only when there is market-drivenfarming. And market-driven farming willhappen only when there is industrialisationof agricultural produce.”

He said his Ministry was progressingwith infrastructure plans for streamliningthe sector.

“Some (infrastructure projects) have tobe launched, and for some, a roadmap hasto be created,” the Minister said. !

India logged 6.7% growth in fiscal 2009

India registered an impressive 6.7 per-cent growth in fiscal 2008-09,despite the deepest economic crisisfacing the global economy in six

decades, according to official data releasedon May 29.

Albeit lower than the 9 percent growthin gross domestic product (GDP) regis-tered in 2007-08, the expansion in the cur-rent fiscal has been on the upper side ofbetween 6-7 percent that was predicted bythe Government in the wake of the globalslowdown.

“This shows the resilience of the Indianeconomy against the background of globalrecession during the later part of last year,”

said the Federation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (Ficci).

“With the reversal of the contractionarymonetary policy and fiscal stimulus meas-ures, the growth rate should now showimprovement in the current fiscal,” saidFicci President Harsh Pati Singhania.

According to statistics released by theCentral Statistical Organisation (CSO),the higher-than-expected growth cameabout despite the farm sector logging amere 1.6 percent growth and manufactur-ing output expanding by just 2.4 percent.

The main reason why the overall growthgot a boost was the 13 percent jump in theexpansion of community services, 9 per-

cent in transport and communications sec-tors and 7.8 percent in financial and otherservices sector.

Expansion in construction activities wasalso higher than the overall growth at 7percent. This apart, mining output was up3.6 percent and electricity and fuel pro-duction grew by 3 percent, the fresh datashowed. The major reason for the slippage,therefore, was due to the sharp slide inboth industrial and agricultural growth.

“While the policy stimulus should takecare and give a boost to manufacturing sec-tor, the monsoon pattern this year will verycritically determine the farm economy,”said Singhania. !

'Franchise businessin India set to grow'

Major AttractionsMadikeri Fort: This 19th-century fort,

at the heart of Coorg, houses a temple, achapel, prison and a small museum.

Raja’s Seat: According to legend, thekings of Kodagu spent their evenings here.But what’s unforgettable about Raja’s Seatis the spectacular sunset that one canenjoy from here.

Iruppu Falls: A sacred spot in southKodagu on the Brahmagiri range. RiverLakshmanatirtha flows nearby. Legendsays that Lord Rama and Lord Lakshmanapassed this way while looking for Sita.Rama asked Lakshmana to fetch somedrinking water for him. Lakshmana shotan arrow into Brahmagiri hills andbrought into being the riverLakshmanatirtha. The place is said to pos-sess cleansing powers.

Dubare: This is mainly an elephant-capturing and training camp of the

Forest Department, at the edge of theDubare Forest. The wild elephants hereare tamed and trained with the help ofother tamed elephants and local tribes(the Kurubas).

Thalai Cauvery: Forty-six kilometreswest of Coorg is Thalai Cauvery, thebirthplace of Cauvery River. The source ofthe river is a tiny perennial spring at thebase of a temple. !

Misty hills, lush forests, acresof tea and coffee planta-tion, orange groves, undu-lating streets and breath-

taking views make Coorg, the districtheadquarters of Kodagu and dubbed the‘Scotland of India’, an unforgettable holi-day destination. Set amidst verdant val-leys, imposing mountains and teak woodforests, this is one of the most beautifulhill stations of Karnataka.

But what strikes a first-time visitor is itsstunning beauty — both of nature and ofits people. Not only is Coorg a beautifulplace but the people are also equally goodlooking. However, texts do not speak

much of their origins. One theory holdsthat the 2,500-year-old civilization of theKodavas has evolved from a synthesis ofpeople that originally lived in the regionof Oman and Yemen. Another beliefclaims that Scythian Greek soldiers ofAlexander stayed on after his return andmarried the local women of Kodagu.

Coorg is also called the land of generals— Field Marshall Cariappa, the firstCommander-in-Chief of India, andGeneral Thimmayya were among India’sfinest soldiers. Almost every householdhas at least one person serving in thedefence force. Perhaps as a tribute to theKodavas’ ‘martial origins’, the birth of a

male child is celebrated with a gun salute!Coorg is known for the great outdoors

and has many verdant trekking routes inthe midst of forests and hills. It’s best togo between October and February. For alazy vacation, try fishing in Valanoor. It isthe backwater of the river Cauvery whichitself is said to originate in a hill-topsource called Thalai Cauvery. For somefast-paced white water rafting, visit theUpper Barapole River, to the south ofCoorg in Brahmagiri. Coorg is a shopper’sparadise. Don’t leave without the coffee,honey, spices, cardamom, pepper andpineapple papads. Coorgi silk saris arefamous and are draped in a unique way.

From verdant trekking routes to fishing spots, Coorg offers all these and more

COORG: Scotland of India

TTRRAAVVEELL

|21JUNE 2009

INDIA MATTERSJUNE 2009

20|INDIA MATTERS

By air: Mangalore (135 km) is the near-est airport. A number of airlines con-nect the city with metros likeBangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. AirIndia Express flies between Dubai andMangalore.

By rail: Mysore is the most convenientrailhead from Coorg. The city is lessthan two-and-a-half hours’ drive fromCoorg and is also connected to the restof India with extensive rail network.The rail stations in Mangalore andHassan give access to Coorg.

By Road: There is a well-laid-out net-work of roads connecting the place withimportant cities in Karnataka such asMysore (120 km), Hassan (115 km),Mangalore (136 km) and Bangalore(256 km).

HOW TO REACH

1. The west Indian state of Rajasthan is known for its majesticforts. Which famous fort has been immortalised in the 1974Satyajit Ray classic Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress)?

2. Which popular Indian snack is described in the OxfordEnglish Dictionary as “a type of hot spicy Indian food consistingof a triangle of thin crisp pastry filled with meat or vegetables andfried”?

3. Established in 1875, 318 persons became its first memberseach paying Re. 1. It is the oldest of its kind in Asia. What are wetalking about?

4. Which modern-day sport traces its origin to Sagol Kangjei,an indigenous sport played in the northeast Indian state ofManipur?

5. Which popular Indian television entertainment channel is a50-50 joint venture between Viacom of the US and India’sNetwork18 Group?

6. According to Election Commission of India stipulations,only one eventuality could have called for use of conventionalballot paper and ballot box in polling booths instead of electronicvoting machines (EVMs) in the general elections that went by.What eventuality?

7. Which novel by an Indian writer in English is set in theIndian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, and follows theadventures of three mechanical engineering students named HariKumar, Ryan Oberoi and Alok Gupta?

8. Coming to the Indian Premier League (IPL), what is com-

mon to the status of Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, RahulDravid, Saurav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag apart from theircaptaining their respective teams?

9. Which character in the epic Mahabharata has as his fosterparents charioteer Adiratha and his wife Radha and hence is alsoknown as Radheya (son of Radha)?

10. Which former airline in India came to be known as Jetliteafter its acquisition by Jet Airways?

11. The name of which supersonic cruise missile, the productof a joint venture between India and Russia, is a combination ofthe names of two major rivers in these countries?

12. This painting fetched the highest price for a contemporaryIndian art work in an auction by Christie’s. Can you name thepainting?

This magazine will accept contributions from readers in the form of Q&As, factoids, quiz news and announcements of upcoming quiz events and also photographs.You can write in toindiqtive@gmail.com.

THE 13TH QUESTION

Who is the famous tenant of House No. 3989,Nandan Nagar, Ward No. 51, Sarumataria, Dispur,Guwahati, District Kamrup, Assam, PIN – 781006?

1.The Jaisalmer Fort. Its massive sandstone walls reflect a golden hue especially during sunset. 2.Samosa. 3.The Bombay Stock Exchange. 4.Polo (Sagol: pony, kangjei:stick). 5.Colors. 6.If the number of contesting candidates crossed 64. An EVM can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. 7.‘Five Point Someone’, the debut novel ofChetan Bhagat who went on to write the bestseller, ‘One Night @ the Call Center’. 8.They have been accorded ‘icon’ status, which means they cannot be bid for in play-er auctions and will be permanent members of their respective city teams. 9.Karna. 10. Air Sahara. 11.BrahMos (named after the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva).12.‘Celebration’ by Tyeb Mehta. The 13th Question: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. This is his permanent address, which is why he and his wife cast their votes inGuwahati.

ANSWERS

QQUUIIZZ

JUNE 200922|INDIA MATTERS

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