INDIA NEWSLETTER Indian Embassy, Vienna
Published by the Embassy of India, Vienna Year 6 • Issue 64 • April 2016
MAKE IN INDIA ■■ROADS AND HIGHWAYS
India Newsletter • 1
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The Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy Digital Infrastructure as a Core Utility to Every Citizen
Governance and Services on Demand
Digital Empowerment of Citizens
www.digitalindia.gov.in 2 • India Newsletter
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The new Government has prepared a five pillar strategy to drive India’s growth, which offer multiple avenues of collaboration and investments
■■ Infrastructure Development
■■ Manufacturing Growth
■■ Skill Development
■■ Energy Sufficiency
■■ Improved Business Environment
www.makeinindia.com India Newsletter • 3
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the ‘Startup India, Standup India’ initiative in his Independence Day address last year. Last January 16th, PM Modi unveiled the action plan for startups in the country. He announced a self-certification scheme in respect of nine labour and environment laws and said there will be no inspection during the first three years of launch of the venture. Addressing the first conference of start-up entrepreneurs, Modi announced an action plan to boost such ventures which are seen as key to employment generation and wealth creation. Around 40 top CEOs and startup founders and investors from Silicon Valley attended the event. Here are the top takeaways from the prime minister’s speech.
■■ 1. Compliance regime based on self certification The objective of compliance regime based on self certification is to reduce the regulatory burden on startups. This self-certification will apply to laws like payment of gratuity, contract labour, employees provident fund, water and air pollution acts. ■■ 2. Startup India hub A startup India hub will be created as a single point of contact for the entire startup ecosystem to enable knowledge exchange and access to funding. ■■ 3. Simplifying the startup process A startup will be to able to set up by just filling up a short form through a mobile app and online portal. A mobile app will be launched on April 1 through which startups can be registered in a day. There will also be 4 • India Newsletter
a portal for clearances, approvals and registrations
■■ 4. Patent protection The government is also working on a legal support for fast-tracking patent examination at lower costs. It will promote awareness and adoption of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by startups and help them protect and commercialise IPRs. ■■ 5. Funds of funds with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore In order to provide funding support to startups, the government will set up a fund with an initial corpus of Rs 2,500 crore and a total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore over four years. The fund would be managed by private professionals drawn from the industry while LIC will be a co-investor in the fund. The credit guarantee fund for start-ups would help flow of venture debt from the banking system to start-ups by standing guarantee against risks. ■■ 6. Credit Guarantee Fund A National Credit Guarantee Trust Company is being envisaged with a budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore per year for the next four years. ■■ 7. Exemption from Capital Gains Tax Currently, investments by venture capital funds in startups are exempt from this law. Now, the same is being extended to investments made by incubators in startups. ■■ 8. Tax exemption for startups Income tax exemption to startups announced for three years ■■ 9. Tax exemption on investments above Fair Market Value
■■ 10. Startup fests Innovation core programs for students in 5 lakh schools. There will also be an annual incubator grand challenge to create world class incubators ■■ 11. Launch of Atal Innovation Mission Atal Innovation Mission started to give an impetus to innovation and encourage the talent among the people ■■ 12. Setting up of 35 new incubators in institutions PPP model being considered for 35 new incubators, 31 innovation centres at national institutes ■■ 13. Setting up of 7 new research parks Government shall set up seven new research parks - six in IITs, one in IISc with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore each. ■■ 14. Promote entrepreneurship in biotechnology Five new bio clusters, 50 new bio incubators, 150 technology transfer offices and 20 bio connect offices will be established. ■■ 15. Innovation focused programmes for students There will be innovation core programs for students in 5 lakh schools. ■■ 16. Panel of facilitators to provide legal support and assist in filing of patent application ■■ 17. 80 per cent rebate on filing patent applications by startups ■■ 18. Relaxed norms of public procurement for startups ■■ 19. Faster exits for startups
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NEWS FLASHES
01
The renewable
Indian energy
sector has received sanctions of over Rs 71,200 crore (US$ 10.70 billion) in loans from 40 banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in the last 13 months.
02
Platinum jewellery retail sales in India
grew by 24 per cent in 2015 led by growing consumer acceptance,
increasing
distribution and successful branded
programmes
:
Platinum Guild International (PGI).
03
India has been ranked among the
world’s top 10 countries in the world in terms of its digital diplomacy performance in 2015: Diplomacy Live.
04
Literacy rate in India increased to
69 per cent during JanuaryJune 2014 as against 64.5 per cent during July 2007June 2008: National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).
05
Electric Vehicles (EV) sales in India
increased by 37.5 per cent to 22,000 units in FY 2015-16: Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV).
06
One-third of total smartphone sales in India came from e-commerce channels in 2015: Counterpoint Research.
07
11
The online video market in India is
expected to reach Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 750 million) in the next five years.
Private Equity firms have invested US$ 3.62 billion across 144 deals during the Q1 2016, indicating a growth of 24 per cent year-on-year and 9 per cent over immediate previous quarter: Venture Intelligence.
12
08
the market for Internet of
Indian companies raised Rs 14,772 crore (US$ 2.22 billion) in FY2015-16 by initial public offering (IPO) route, which is five times the amount raised in the previous year: Prime Database.
09
The Indian hotel industry has increased hiring led by increased demand, and is expected to generate over 100,000 new jobs in the next five years: HVS Global Hospitality Services.
10
Social impact investments in India are expected to reach US$ 1 billion by 2020, nearly double when compared to US$ 500 million investments in 2015: Impact Investors Council (IIC).
Equity fundraising by listed Indian
companies stood at Rs 1.04 trillion (US$ 15.63 billion) in FY 2016, which is the highest since 2011.
13
India aims to capture 20 per cent share in
Things (IoT), an emerging sector which is expected to reach US$ 300 billion by 2020: National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM).
14
Foreign Tourist arrivals (FTA) have
increased by 11.3 per cent year-on-year to 8.47 lakh in February 2016 as compared with 7.61 lakh during the same
period
last
year:
Ministry of Tourism.
15
India-dedicated funds raised US$
317 million from domestic investors in 2015, which was nearly two and a half times the amount raised in 2014: Venture Intelligence. India Newsletter • 5
Indian Embassy, Vienna
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR AUSTRIAN CITIZENS e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) for Austrian citizens The Government of India has extended e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) scheme to the citizens of Austria w.e.f. 26th February 2016. Under e-Tourist Visa scheme, citizens of Austria may now apply online (https:// indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa. html) four days in advance to obtain the Electronic Travel Authorisation for travelling to India.This facility is in addition to the existing Visa services. This facility is also available to the citizens of Montenegro as well.Queries related to e-TV; for any assistance call 24x7 Visa support centre at +91-11-24300666 or send email to indiatvoa@gov.in.
INDIA-AUSTRIA NEWS ARTICLES KTM with New Record for 5th Time in a Row Cooperation with the Indian motorcycle producer Bajaj has allowed the Upper Austrian motorcycle producer KTM to achieve record-breaking performance in the past 5 years. Sales doubled from 2011 to 2015 from EUR 527 million to EUR 1.02 billion. Over the same period after-tax profit increased from EUR 21 million (USD 23.8 million) to EUR 64 million and the number of employees increased from 1,755 to 2,515. Bajaj entered KTM in 2007 obtaining a 14.5-percent stake. In December 2011 the company raised its stake to 40.9 percent and at the end of 2015 it had a stake of about 48 percent. Since 2007 KTM has been developing basic motorcycles together with Bajaj. In 2015 KTM raised the number of sold motorcycles by 8 percent to more than 152,000. 6 • India Newsletter
Including the models distributed by Bajaj, in the whole world 183,000 vehicles under the brands KTM and Husqvarna were sold. Last year KTM invested EUR 111 million (30 percent more) in Mattighofen and Munderfing branches.
India Stall at two major Austrian Trade Fairs: Austropharm (April/16) and Smart Automation (May/16) Embassy of India is going to participate in the AUSTROPHARM Exhibition ((http://www. austropharm.at/en/) to be held in Vienna from April 21-23, and on the SmartAutomation Austria Exhibition (http://www.smart-wien.at/en/) to be held in Vienna from May 10-12, by installing an “India Stall” with a view to further promote bilateral business between India and Austria, as well as to spread the awareness on the Government of India “Make in India” initiative.
The TAUSTROPHARM is the largest trade fair for pharmaceutical products in Austria. In its last edition in 2014, the fair was a great success and numbers increased by 31.8% to 4,384 business visitors to its 143 exhibitors. The exhibition shall provide a comprehensive overview of goods and services in the industry, and is a highly efficient means of distributing and gathering information, and a hub of communication for exhibitors and trade visitors. The SMART Automation Austria is Austria’s only trade fair for industrial automation, their focus is on the factory automation and process automation. The range extends from the component level through to complete systems and integrated automation solutions and covers all product areas of industrial automation technology. The SMARTAutomation Austria is the platform for the Austrian automation industry and place on an annual basis alternately in Vienna and Linz. It attracts more than 200 exhibitors
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from 14 countries, including many market and technology leaders. In the context of these events, a wide variety of publications issued by the
Embassy as well as industry-related reports and company catalagues will be distributed.The Embassy looks forward to welcoming
Austrian entrepreneurs in its India stall and discuss further possibilities to tighten the business ties between India and Austria.
INDIA PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE ONLINE
www.magzter.com/publishers/meaindia
India Newsletter • 7
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2015 India-Austria Bilateral Trade Results: Best results in Years! 2015 was a very good year for IndiaAustria foreign trade. Experiencing a much faster growth rate than Austria’s overall trade, the country imported items amounting to EUR 702 million from India and exported a volume amounting EUR 700 million to India. Having experienced virtually continuous growth in the 10year period between 2002-2011, Austria’s trade with India suffered a steep decline in 2012, mainly due to a considerable deacceleration of Indian imports from Austria by -23.4%, while exports decreased by -0.9% only in that year. After these double negative rates of growth in 2012, bilateral trade recovered in 2013, registering 3.5% growth in exports to Austria and 3.6% increase in imports from Austria. Trade then started to set itself off inversely throughout the whole of 2014, where Indian imports decreased by -8.3% and exports to Austria grew by 9,0% in that year. Despite the high dynamics in trade volume fluctuations in the last years, India-Austria remained at considerably stable pace with an overall positive trend when compared to trade figures resgistered by Austria in general as well as with other of its trade partners, which have been more severly hit by the two major financial crises in the last decade. After historial data analysis, it is impressive to note that India-Austria
8 • India Newsletter
bilateral trade grew from mere EUR 338 million in 2001 (EUR 201 million Indian imports / EUR 137 million Indian Exports) to a striking EUR 1.40 billion bilateral trade mark in 2015, which represents growth by 413.7% in the last 15 years. In comparison, Austria’s overall foreign trade for the same period registered 84.54% growth. 2015 bilateral trade results reflect the intense commitment India and Austria have been showing in intensifying not only its trade, but also its bilateral investment and technology exchange. It is also a clear trend-setter in what refers to Austria’s response to India’s new business environment set off by the Make in India campaign. On the Indian Exports/Austrian Imports side, Articles of Apparel and Clothing, Textiles, Articles of Leather, as well as Footwear remain the most active industrial sectors accounting for about 33% of Austria’s total imports from India. The biggest highlight to be observed on the Indian exports side is the item group Electrical Machinery, though. The sector experienced 57.1% growth in 2015, jumping from 5th most important item group to the very top of the list, with an export volume of EUR 71.49 million, accounting for 10.2% of total Indian exports. This result may suggest the beginning of a significant change in the structure of Indian exports to Austria, as India moves up the value-chain and becomes an ever more important source of finished items and technology, and not only raw and unfinished products. On the negative side, the only considerable
slowdown observed is attributed to the Pharmaceuticals industry, which left the top-10 list after experiencing -8.7% decrease in trade in 2015, representing now only 1.6% of total Indian exports, in comparison to its 3.1% relative mark in 2014. On the Indian Imports/Austrian Exports side, the major jump is registered by Iron and Steel, which has increased by massive 135.2%, now standing as 3rd most important item group representing 11.6% of India’s imports from Austria, in comparison to its 5.8% significance level and 5th spot in the list in the previous year. All other major item groups also experienced considerable growth, with exception of the Railway sector, which registered -43.4% decrease in trade, which can be explained due to an extraordinary 167.6% jump in the previous year, probably accounting for some single punctual transaction. The analysis of the items imported from Austria to India leads to the reflection that a rapid acceleration of particularly technology-intense items is being registered. This aligns with India’s current industrialization agenda, with its high demands of technology and with Austria’s readiness to offer such items. Ultimately, it is also important to note that as much as all these results positive trends and perspectives for India-Austria bilateral trade, only the analysis of time series dataset can confirm the hypothesis. Further observation throughout the year 2016 might allow the endorsement of all these conclusions very soon.
Indian Embassy, Vienna
NEWS ARTICLES Panasonic: “We will make India a global manufacturing hub” India contributes less than two per cent to Panasonic’s Rs 4.74 lakh crore ($71 billion) global revenue. However, Manish Sharma, the new president and chief executive of Panasonic India and South Asia, aims to improve that ratio by increasing enterprise businesses such as security & surveillance and energy storage. Sharma, who is now a part of the Japanese major’s global executive council, tells Arnab Dutta about his plans and new responsibilities. Edited excerpts: ■■ What are the new responsibilities under your new role? India & South Asia, I will be solely responsible for Panasonic’s India operations. This implies all the group and sister companies will also report to me. The group companies are Panasonic Appliances, Panasonic AVC India, Panasonic Energy India, Panasonic Carbon India, Anchor Electricals, and Firepro Systems. I shall be responsible for driving profitable growth along with strategy planning and sustainable business development across businesses. It is a big step-up for me professionally and personally. Until now, I was mainly focused on the sales and marketing of the company but now I will also be in-charge of the manufacturing arm of the India operations including for sister companies like Anchor Electricals. Also, I will be looking more closely into product planning and supply chain management. ■■ What are your current priorities? I’m entrusted with strategic role. My focus will be on building new business for the company in the country. My priority is to scale up our B2B (business-to-business) focus, especially in areas like
energy storage and security and surveillance. We have been largely focusing on the B2C (business-to-consumer) market in the country and generate Rs 5,200 crore revenue from it. Going forward, our business strategy will witness a change as we also start to focus aggressively on the B2B market. We are aiming a revenue target of Rs 20,000 crore ($3 billion) in India by 2018. In addition, I will keep the momentum going when it comes to growing our consumer businesses because that’s what connects directly with our consumers. It continues to be the driving force for us in India and we want to consolidate our position as a leading brand in the various B2C segments. ■■ How will your elevation to a global role help the Indian unit? Efforts would be made to make India an even bigger contributor to Panasonic’s growth and revenue. My elevation goes hand-in-hand with the philosophy ‘Think globally but execute locally’. The elevation will allow me to access more information and contribute more closely with global strategies. It will allow me to extract more resources for the India division. ■■ Where does India stand in the pecking order of importance for Panasonic globally? India is definitely high up in the pecking order. We already play a crucial role in the South-Asia region and have huge opportunity to be a growth leader, even when we talk about the wider APAC (Asia-Pacific) region. Even at a global level, India is crucial in Panasonic’s growth and revenue. We are working towards making India a global manufacturing hub to assist in exporting to West Asian and African markets. The setting up of our TechnoPark at Jhajjar model economic township in Haryana is one of the biggest milestones for us. With an
invested of about Rs 900 crore to annually produce one million sets of air conditioners, 400,000 sets of washing machine and 25,000 sets of welding and cutting machine, it is our largest manufacturing unit in the country. ■■ What are Panasonic’s plans for India? We are currently looking at how to make Panasonic a truly global brand and all our announcements will be around achieving this aim. With relation to India, we believe the market holds tremendous untapped potential. India can be the next growth leader for us. From a strategic view, India’s contribution to global management strategies will increase. India business has catapulted in a big-way, whether it is Anchor or, small appliances factory which so far was not under my mandate. Even from the perspective of management strategies, India’s contribution to Panasonic globally will increase.
Electronics companies aim to use Indian base to tap local & overseas customers With the electronics sector expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, electronics and hardware manufacturers are reportedly planning to invest in manufacturing set up in India to cater to the domestic and overseas demand. Companies are looking at increasing their manufacturing base in India to serve domestic markets and also the Middle East, Africa and SAARC countries, according to an Assocham-EY study titled ‘Turning the Make in Indiadream into a reality for electronics and hardware industry’. However, to ensure that this momentum keeps pace, the industry and the Government need to work together, to make the Indian electronics industry highly competitive, noted the report. India Newsletter • 9
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As per the report, the Indian electronics and hardware industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13-16 percent during 2013-18 to reach $ 112-130 billion by 2018 from current level of $ 75 billion. The growth is expected on the back of rising consumer demand, growing disposable incomes, declining prices of electronics, and numerous government initiatives such as wider broadband connectivity, e-governance programs and others. Highlighting the key demand and supply side challenges faced by companies in this sector, the Assocham-EY study has presented some of the policy recommendations to strengthen electronics manufacturing in the country. Growing reliance on imports for electronic components and rapidly increasing demand for electronic products makes it crucial to enhance India’s electronics manufacturing capabilities. Around 50-60 percent of the demand for electronic products and the demand for nearly 70-80 percent of the electronic components market is fulfilled through imports. Milan Sheth, partner and leader technology, EY, commented, “The Make in India initiative, combined with global manufacturers looking to relocate their manufacturing base from China to alternate locations such as India, Vietnam and Indonesia due to mounting labour costs provides a strong impetus to the Indian electronics and hardware industry. It presents an opportunity to become a manufacturingled sector in India from being predominantly consumptiondriven.” That said, there exist certain challenges around ease of doing business, taxation-related issues, and lack of end-to-end manufacturing value chain including component ecosystem, skilled labour unavailability and infrastructure bottlenecks in the country. Although the Government has undertaken steps to promote 10 • India Newsletter
India as a manufacturing hub in the last two budgets, certain areas are yet to be addressed.
FDI shifting in the direction of manufacturing: Naushad Forbes Industry lobby group Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is optimistic about India’s growth, pegging it at 8% for 2016-17. Yet, it is concerned about the weak domestic demand, which has hurt companies in the last 4-5 years. As a result, there has been a subdued interest from the Indian industry in driving investments, said Naushad Forbes, president, CII. Forbes hopes that with new reforms kicking in amid hopes of a good monsoon, domestic demand will pick up. Edited excerpts from an interview: ■■ Are your expectations being met? I think there were lots of expectations when the government started. I think these expectations have been broadly met in terms of many productive things being initiated by the government, even more useful measures that have been announced, and we look forward to many of these turning into reality and implementation on ground in this year. If you take some of the major programmes that have been initiated, there was a major programme initiated on the ease of doing business, which is very welcome and has reversed the negative direction that we were going in as a country. There is Make in India to take manufacturing much further in the country and to attract significant investments from overseas. There have been major steps in terms of opening up the defence sector for manufacturing by Indian companies and joint ventures (JVs) with foreign firms. All of these have been very productive initiatives. NAUSHAD FORBES, 55Forbes is co-chairman of Forbes Marshall, India’s leading steam engineering and control instrumentation firm.
An alumnus of Stanford University, he is also a visiting faculty at The Industrial Management School, Stanford University. He has served on the boards of Godrej Industries Ltd, Gammon India Ltd and KPIT Technologies Ltd, among others. There was a new Apprenticeship Act, which was passed year-andhalf back. This is very valuable when it comes to how they should be hired... Bankruptcy reform pending in Parliament will replace provisions, which are ancient. The finance minister in his budget said that every new government scheme will have a sunset clause and a clearly specified outcome. That’s potentially very powerful. It can really change the direction in the way government schemes get implemented. ■■ Make in India, many consider, is the most important campaign to put India on world’s manufacturing map. But has this been ably supported with policies? Auto companies cry foul over certain policy and regulatory interventions. Also, we are yet to see a formal capital goods policy in place. I don’t think so. If you take the Make in India programme, we are seeing 30% growth in foreign investments last year compared to the year before. Not only is the foreign investment one-third higher, but I am told there has been a substantial shift in where that investment is coming from. Earlier, it was largely services sector, now I am told there has been a substantial shift in the direction of manufacturing. On the capital goods policy, I am not sure if that is going to change things. The main benefit that the capital goods industry will be looking at is growth in demand. If demand recovers, then that will trigger the investment cycle, which will address the needs of capital goods industry like no policy can. The key thing is the revival of demand. I think state is focused on infra spending, reviving rural demand. All of this is meant to trigger a recovery in rural demand which, together with the
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infra spending, is the best way to grow demand overall through direct intervention by the government and ultimately than the best way to trigger demand growth more broadly, which will in turn feed through into investments. ■■ Have you noticed that the domestic industry’s investments have been subdued? There is no question about that. It has been subdued because of demand. That is the single factor. The foreign investment that has been coming in is from the new investors investing in the country or people who are already present are expanding their presence in the country, taking a long-term view of things. We might think that many of these business decisions are made entirely on rational grounds, but I don’t think we should under-estimate the power of a prime minister saying: come and invest in my country. If you look over the last 4-5 years, demand has been growing but very modestly. When demand growth is very low, companies focus on internal efficiencies and in the process, they grow their capacities by 5-8%. So, 4-5 years, the companies have added probably 30% to their capacity. Demand growth has been less than that so, their capacity utilization is not very high and it is only when demand growth takes place enough such that it starts sucking up most of that capacity that is already in place that there will be a need to invest in additional capacity. So, I think we are still some distance from that cycle turning up. ■■ There is also a lot of debt on the books of Indian companies. Is that going to be an impediment in their growth when it seems India is poised for good economic growth? That’s one of the measures from the Reserve Bank in the last six months to put a lot of pressure on banks to recognize non-performing assets. It helps a lot actually because if such assets are recognized in the books of the banks, then the bank can
move on and start fresh lending to new borrowers or expand lending to the existing borrowers. I think more than anything else, it is dealing with the supply of credit in the financial sector that will address that sector. And as the investment cycle turns up, there will be a demand for borrowing more. ■■ Business community must be banking on a good monsoon. They say that the lightning does not strike in the same place twice. It has struck in the same place twice. It will be really rare if it strikes in the same place thrice. So, we are counting on it being a normal monsoon. In fact, our projection of GDP growth is significantly built around the recovery in the agriculture demand and growth because in the last two years, we have had 0-1% agricultural growth.
India retains top spot in Credit Suisse emerging markets consumer survey India has retained its top spot in a Credit Suisse consumer confidence survey in emerging markets with Indian participants expressing higher confidence about their current and future finances and relatively lower inflation expectations. India, which topped the scorecard in 2015 as well, is followed by China and Saudi Arabia, a Credit Suisse report said. “Weak currencies, political risk and commodity exposures all contributed to the wide range of consumer sentiment expressed in this year’s report,” said Giles Keating, deputy global chief investment officer at Credit Suisse. “The negativity of consumers in Russia, South Africa and Brazil contrasted sharply with the relative optimism apparent in India, China and Saudi Arabia,” Keating said. While Indian consumers expressed a degree of disappointment over follow-through action of some
policy initiatives of the NDA government, the relative strength of the country’s economy reflected in their increasing incomes. The average Indian respondent’s income increased by double-digits compared with a decline for the overall emerging markets average, although income expectations going forward have moderated. The survey also highlighted fast growth in demand for product categories with low penetration in the country. Female hygiene products, for example, showed 14% improvement in one year, while smartphones grew 12%. Categories such as beer and perfumes are also showing fast-improving longerterm trends, it said. While penetration levels in India will continue to improve, another overarching trend will be premiumisation as affluent Indians look to acquire better products. The explosive growth in smartphones in India is seen in 32% of respondents having bought one in the last 12 months, versus only 20% the previous year. Willingness to make discretionary spends on fashion, jewellery, apparel, leather goods and watches showed muted trends over last year, but the base was high after significant improvement in 2014. The survey said other low penetrated categories like perfumes and sportswear are also improving. Another point the survey highlighted is the sharp divergence between rural and urban India that has been a feature of recent surveys. The latest results confirm a reversal from earlier surveys where the rural areas were more positive. This year’s survey shows slower growth rates or higher declines in spending categories in rural areas. However, the report said a normal monsoon season, after two consecutive years of poor rainfall, will help revive rural fortunes. The Credit Suisse survey was conducted in nine emerging economies, namely, India, China, India Newsletter • 11
Indian Embassy, Vienna
Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Mexico, South Africa and Russia.
FDI inflow credit positive, ‘Make in India’ bearing fruit: Moody’s Increasing foreign direct investment provides stable financing of India’s current account deficit and is a credit positive, Moody’s Investors Service has said in a report, as per which the efforts to liberalise foreign investment limits in several sectors and the ‘Make in India’ campaign are bearing fruit. Net FDI inflows hit an all-time high in early 2016, the ratings agency said, more than financing the current account deficit for the first time since 2004. “The strength of inflows reflects India’s relatively strong growth prospects and government efforts to liberalise foreign investment regulation,” the New York City-based agency said in a report released on Thursday, endorsing the measures taken by the government. Net FDI inflows into India hit an alltime high of $3 billion in January, on a 12-month moving average basis, and cover current account deficit, the ‘Rising Foreign Direct Investment Provides Stable Financing of Current Account Deficit, a Credit Positive’ report said. FDI inflow credit positive, ‘Make in India’ bearing fruit: Moody’s The agency expects FDI inflow to continue to rise and provide stable source of financing of current account deficit. The development of industrial corridors, investment and manufacturing zones and ‘smart cities’ will further bolster investment inflows, it said. The report said that low commodity prices will keep India’s imports in check and that the decline in imports has been a bigger contributor to the lower trade deficit than higher exports. “We expect domestic demand to gradually pick up in the fiscal year ending March 2017 (FY2017), which 12 • India Newsletter
could push up import volumes to some degree. However, with commodity prices - particularly oil - likely to remain depressed, we do not expect a marked renewed widening of India’s trade deficit,” the report said. The announcement in the budget for 2016-17 of an excise tax on gold is likely to dampen overall gold imports, it said. The agency said weakening remittances and services exports, two of the biggest source of forex inflow, could weigh on the current account deficit. Worker remittances dropped 30% in October-December 2015 from a year ago, albeit from unusually high levels, the report said. “Against a backdrop of subdued global economic activity — in particular in the Gulf, the origin of more than half of remittances to India — remittance inflows could weaken further in the coming months.
India on top 10 ranking of global digital diplomacy: Diplomacy Live India has been ranked in the top 10 nations in terms of its digital diplomacy performance over the last year by Diplomacy Live, a global research, advocacy, consulting and training platform. India and Mexico are the only two countries from the developing world in this list. India’s high ranking is despite a relatively modest budget for public diplomacy. The MEA’s Official Facebook page, with more than 1.2 million followers is second only to that of the US State Department amongst Foreign Ministries (excluding its companion page ‘Indian Diplomacy’ which alone has some 850,000 followers). On Twitter, the Indian Foreign Ministry’s combined presence - the Official Spokesperson’s account plus the Public Diplomacy account - has crossed 1.2 million. On Youtube, with 40,000 subscribers and 30 million minutes viewed, the Ministry’s video content has truly gone viral. MEA is also available on G+,
Flickr, Instagram, and Soundcloud platforms. These combined platforms have a followership in excess of 4 million and an average monthly reach in excess of 20 million. The MEA also has a unique Mobile App, which has garnered more than a 150,000 downloads on Android and iOS platforms, and which is now being revamped to accommodate new technologies. In addition to digital diplomacy at headquarters, India’s Missions and Posts have increasingly embraced the use of social media. With support from MEA, more than 95% of Indian Missions and Posts are now available on Facebook and 60% on Twitter. Their online presence plays a critical role in many crisis situations and was instrumental during recent evacuation efforts from Yemen, Libya and during the earthquake in Nepal
European Investment Bank to open regional office in Delhi by year-end The European Investment Bank or EIB that supports long term investments for development projects in India will open a regional office for South Asia here by the end of the year to augment its operations in the sub-continent. Last week Werner Hoyer, the president of the European Investment Bank, announced that the world’s largest multilateral public bank would strengthen engagement to support long-term investment in India. Speaking alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Brussels last week, the bank’s president confirmed EIB’s commitment to supporting long-term investment crucial for environmentally sustainable social and economic development in India and announced the opening of a Regional Representation for South Asia in New Delhi by the end of the year. “The European Investment Bank has supported long-term investment across India for more than 20 years
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that has helped to harness renewable energy, strengthened industry and reduced carbon emissions. The opening of a regional office of the EU Bank in the subcontinent will ensure closer ties with public and private partners across the country, where our financial strength and technical expertise can benefit crucial long-term investment in India” pointed out Hoyer outlining European Investment Bank plans.
India close to achieving 8% GDP growth: Panagariya Banking reforms and job creation are the two biggest current challenges, said Arvind Panagariya, vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog. The country is close to achieving eight per cent annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP), on the back of good infrastructure development, he added. “The advance estimate for 2015-16 pegs GDP growth at 7.6 per cent and the fourth quarter is expected to clock 7.8 per cent, quite close to the target of eight per cent,” he said, at the annual session of CII. Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer at the government’s think tank, said there was a need for more reliance on the domestic market. “We’re creating jobs but there is gross under-employment. To counter this, we need big manufacturing firms,” said Panagariya. Wages were rising in China and India needs to capitalise on this. “The Centre is working on this through its skill development initiatives and in two years, the numbers of seats in industrial training institutes has risen by 20 per cent,” he added. On the government’s retreat regarding a tax on the employees provident fund, he said taking half a step backward after taking twothree steps forward was okay as long as one was walking. “Reforms will happen under the present government but we need to be patient,” he said. Kant felt India needed to look at manufacturing for export. “The
challenge is to look at the right size and scale, and think of global markets to drive growth, as was done by China.” Jamshyd N Godrej, chairman, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing, said the two biggest deficits the country needed to bridge were in physical and social infrastructure
India ranked sixth in top 10 largest manufacturers list, as per a UN report India has been ranked sixth among the world’s 10 largest manufacturing countries by an United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) report for 2015. The country’s ranking has moved up by three places compared to last year. According to the report, the Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) increased by 7.6 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year and the quarterly Index of Industrial Production (IIP) showed 1 per cent growth year-on-year in Q4 2015. China was on top of the list followed by the US, Japan, Germany and Korea while Indonesia was placed last.
India to outperform emerging markets in 2016: Morgan Stanley survey India is expected to outperform emerging markets in 2016 although there is a considerable weakening of conviction among investors regarding the country compared with that in the second half of last year, according to a survey conducted by Morgan Stanley. While 52% of the respondents in the survey said they expected India to outperform emerging markets this year, 85% respondents had done so in the previous survey conducted in the second half of 2015. The concerns over the health of the global economy have triggered a risk averse sentiment among global investors, who had withdrawn money from riskier assets including India, and moved to gold and
developed world bonds. But the survey conducted by the American financial services firm showed that a majority of foreign investors continue to have confidence in India’s growth story. The Sensex has gone up 10% since the Budget for 2016-17 was presented on February 29. Foreign investors have pumped in nearly Rs 13,000 crore into Indian equities after withdrawing nearly Rs 26,200 crore in the first two months of the year. For the third time in a row, market participants view earnings growth as a key driver of market performance while all other factors have lost importance.
Digital India a US$ 1 trillion business opportunity, says Ravi Shankar Prasad The communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said ‘Digital India’ initiative of the government is a $1 trillion business opportunity across IT and IT enabled services, telecom and electronics manufacturing. At the FICCI Frames 2016 Media & Entertainment Industry Conclave in Mumbai Prasad said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to empower the citizens of India digitally will provide a business opportunity of $400 billion for electronics manufacturing including mobile phones, solar panels and so on. He added that another $350 billion opportunity will be presented by the IT and ITES sector and the communication services will provide business opportunity of another $250 billion. “The aspirational urge of Indians is driving the digital world in a phenomenal way. And the government’s job is to create an enabling eco-system for its growth.” Prasad said. Speaking about various other Modi government’s initiatives including Skill India, Stand-Up India, Aadhaar roll out, Make in India and Smart Cities, Prasad asid all thse initiative India Newsletter • 13
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involved enormous use of digital technology.
RBI provides details for new foreign investment limits in debt The Reserve Bank of India has raised the limits on foreign ownership of Indian government and state bonds by an aggregate of Rs. 27,500 crores which could come into force in April and July, a move that could ease pressure on bond yields. The limit on the central government goes up by Rs 20,500 crore, and for state government it is at Rs. 7,000 crore in two tranches, it said in a notification. “The move will elicit fresh investments from overseas investors as Indian gsecs are one of the best performing assets globally,” Ajay Manglunia, executive vice-president at Edelweiss Securities. The regulator further opened up opportunities for more fund flows as it eased the purchase of unutilised quota of for long term investors to be utilised by other investors. “Keeping in view the extent of utilization of the limits for Central Government securities by long term and other investors it has been decided that any limit remaining unutilised by the long term investors at the end of a half-year would be made available as additional limit to the investors in the open category for the following half-year,’’ RBI said.
The limits for the long term investors remaining unutilized at the end of half year ending Sept 30, 2016 will be released for investment under the open category in October this year, RBI said. So far overseas investors have almost exhausted the investment limit in the open category while long term investors like sovereign funds have used up 80.5% of the total Rs. 35,503 crore limit. With the new amendment, the utilised space can now be availed by other overseas investors. RBI has been increasing overseas investment limits in government bonds since last one year as Indian debt securities look attractive especially when developed market economies offer zero to 2%
India commissions first semi high-speed train Rishu Anand is a business consultant working in Delhi and, like many excited over the launch of Gatimaan Express, took the train’s maiden trip to Agra on Tuesday. A frequent traveller to the Taj city, Anand was disappointed with his experience of Gatimaan. “There is hardly any attraction except good food on Gatimaan, compared to Shatabdi. At the 50 per cent higher tariff, the trip is not worth it. I will prefer taking Shatabdi the next time,” Anand, who visits Agra every two months, told Business Standard.
India on Tuesday commissioned its first semi high-speed train. The train, Gatimaan Express, with around 230 passengers on board, covered the 188-km distance between Delhi and Agra in 100 minutes travelling at a maximum speed of 160 km per hour. Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the train from Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station here, amid loud cheer and applause by a 500-strong crowd that gathered at the station to witness the historic event. “It is the happiest day for Indian Railways as we are launching the first semi high-speed train. We are planning to gradually increase the speed on all trains as part of Mission Raftaar,” Prabhu said. Trains under the new service will operate on all week days, except Friday when the Taj Mahal is closed for tourists. Gatimaan Express will start from Nizamuddin railway station at 8.10 am and reach Agra Cantt at 9.50 am. On the return journey, it will start from Agra Cantt at 5.50 pm and end the journey at 7.30 pm at Nizamuddin. The Gatimaan Express is powered by a 5,500 horsepower electric engine, the best so far produced by the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, a unit of Indian Railways. The train carries 10 coaches, similar to the ones used by the Shatabdi Express, including two executive class and eight AC chair car coaches.
INDIAN EMBASSY LIBRARY ■■ The Embassy’s library is opened daily from 10am to 1pm without appointment. ■■ Our collection contains more than 2000 titles in dozens of categories. ■■ For appointments outside the opening hours or other inquiries, please contact us under info.vienna@mea.gov.in or 015058666 33 ■■ Download our latest catalog of books under indianembassy.at/pdf/ EmbassyLibrary.pdf 14 • India Newsletter
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MAKE IN INDIA Summary ■■ USD 3.8 Billion outlay planned for highways. ■■ 5.23 Million kms of roads and highways. ■■ USD 19 Billion infrastructure development between 2012-17. ■■ 1,00,087 kms of National Highways. ■■ 112 completed Public Private Partnership Projects and 149 Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects under progress.
ROADS & HIGHWAYS
Reasons to Invest ■■ The transport sector constitutes 6% of the country’s GDP and 70% of the share of the roads sector. ■■ India has an extensive road network of 5.23 Million kms which is the second largest in the world. ■■ More than 60vo of freight and 90% of the passenger traffic in the country is handled by road. ■■ The Government of India has launched major initiatives to upgrade and strengthen highways and expressways in the country. ■■ The private sector has emerged as a key player in the development of road infrastructure. ■■ The value of roadways and bridge infrastructure in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.4% between 2012-17, to reach USD 10 Billion.
Statistics ■■ The length of National Highways’s has grown from 92,850 kms in 201314 to 1,00,087 kms till date. ■■ India has completed 112 PPP projects and 149 are ongoing as of August 2015. ■■ The type of PPP modules used in the highways sector are Build Operate Transfer (BOT) toll and BOT annuity. ■■ During the next five years, investment through PPPs are expected to be in the region of USD 31 Billion for National highways. ■■ The National Highway Authority
of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways had sanctioned projects for 3161 kms in 2014-15. & 2337 in 2015-16.
Growth Drivers ■■ For 2015-16, an outlay of USD 3.8 Billion for the highways sector has been provided. ■■ During 2015-16, around 6,300 kms of National Highways are to be completed along with eight bypasses. ■■ The NHAI aims to award 5,000 kms of projects in 2015-16 and another 5,000 kms will be awarded by MoRT&H directly. ■■ The government of India aims to develop a total of 57,653 kms of National Highways under various programmes such as The National Highway Development Project (NHDP), Special Accelerated Road Development Program for the North-east region and Left Wing Extremist (SARDP-NE), National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project (NHIIP). ■■ The Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-eastern region (SARDP-NE) has been envisaged to be taken up under three parts as under: ■■ 1. Phase ‘A’ of SARDP-NE
approved by the Government envisages improvement of about 4,099 km length of roads (2,041 km of NH and 2,058 km of State roads). Till August 2015, 2,989 km of length has been sanctioned and 1,565 km of road has been completed. The SARDP-NE Phase ‘A’ is expected to be completed by March,2017. ■■ 2. Phase ‘B’ of SARDP-NE, covers 3,723 km (1,285 km NHs and 2,43g km of State roads) of road. Phase ‘B’ SARDP-NE shall be taken up after completion of Phase ‘A’, which is targeted for completion by March 2017 . ■■ 3. The Arunachal Pradesh Package for Road & Highways involving development of about 2,319 km length of road (1,472 km of NHs & 847 km of State/General Staff/Strategic Roads) has also been approved by the Government. Projects on 776 kms are to be taken up on BOT (Annuity) mode and the remaining are to be developed on item rate contract basis. Till August 2015, 1552 km of length has been sanctioned and 230 kms of road has been completed. The entire Arunachal Pradesh Package is targeted for completion by March, 2018. ■■ The NHDP, an INR 2,47,635 Crore, seven phase programme-one of India Newsletter • 15
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the largest in the world-focuses on the widening, upgradation and rehabilitation of 54,478 kms of National Highways. ■■ The rise in two wheeler and four wheeler vehicles, increasing freight traffic, strong trade and tourist flows between states are all set to augment growth. ■■ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved six highway projects totalling 712 kms with an investment of INR 12,646 crore (USD 2 Billion) in March 2015. These projects, to be awarded under the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model, are divided into 10 packages under the NHDP in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Himachal pradesh, and West Bengal. ■■ The Delhi Panipat stretch of NH-1 would be expanded to an eightlaned dedicated highways in the next three years from April 2015. To meet the increasing demand of traffic growth, NHAI is set to award this project on toll mode by the end of March/NHAI has awarded this project on EPC mode in June. ■■ Chhattisgarh is planning to invest INR 9,500 crore (USD 1.5 Billion) to upgrade 44 roads in the state. ■■ The Governement is set to offer the final batch of road projects for FY15. A total of nine, with a cumulative length of 895 kms and project cost of INR 17,815 crore (USD 2.82 Billion), are to be offered soon. Three are expected under a BOT model. The other six are understood to be put out under Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC).
FDI Policy ■■ 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed under the automatic route in the road and highways sector, subject to applicable laws and regulation.
over the years.
Financial Support
■■ Standardised processes for PPP projects - a clear policy framework relating to bidding and tolling.
■■ Total budgetary allocation for the sector increased by INR 140.31 Billion (27%) to INR 662.7 Billion in FY16 from INR 552.39 Billion in FY15. ■■ Conversion of INR 4 per litre of excise duty on petrol and diesel into Road Cess to provide additional INR 400 Billion to fund investment in roads and other infrastructure ■■ Revisiting PPP model with list rebalancing wherein Government will beer a major part of the link. ■■ Rationalisation of the capital gains for the sponsors exiting at the time of listing of the units of InvITs. ■■ Setting up National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) with intital funding of INR 200 Billion from the Government. ■■ Announcement of tax free bonds infra bonds for road sector projects. ■■ Proposal to introduce Public Contracts (Resolution of Disputes) Bill for speedy dispute resolution. ■■ To Complete 1,00,000 kms of under construction roads and providing sanction for another 1,00,000 kms.
■■ A regulatory authority is being constituted for the road sector. ■■ Environmental clearance is delinked from forest clearance. ■■ Harmonious substitute of concessionaires is permitted in ongoing and completed projects for improving the availability of equity in the market for re-investment in highway projects. ■■ An entity NHIDCL exclusively for the development of roads in the North-eastern region and border areas is being created under MoRT&H. ■■ The Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Construction of Rural Road Project (CRRP) focuses on the development of rural roads. ■■ The Central Road Fund assists the state government and union territories in the development of state roads. ■■ Policy initiatives for attracting private investment: ■■ Government will carry out all preparatory work including land acquisition and utility removal’ Right of Way (RoW) to be made available to concessionaires free from all encumbrances. ■■ NHAI/GOI to provide capital grant up to 40% of project cost to enhance viability on a case to case basis. ■■ 100% tax exemption for five years and 30% relief for next five years which may be availed of in 20 years. ■■ Concession period allowed upto 30 years ■■ Arbitration and conciliation act 1996 based on UNICITRAL provisions.
Sector Policy
■■ In BOT projects entrepreneur are allowed to collect and retain tolls
■■ Road infrastructure is a key government priority – the sector has received strong budgetary support
■■ Duty free import of specified modern high capacity equipment’s for highways construction.
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Investment Opportunities ■■ The PPP model will continue to be the favoured way of executing the remaining NHDP phases. ■■ Priority expressway project for implementation on the PPP Mode. ■■ The Eastern Peripheral Expressway – a 135 km-long, six lane expressway with a total project cost of USD 750 Million that will decongest Delhi. An agreement signed and EPC - INR 5763 Crore. ■■ The Delhi–Meerut Expressway (a 150 kms long project with a total project cost of USD 1 Billion). Vadodra-Mumbai ■■ The Expressway, a 473 kms expressway with a total project cost of USD 4.3 Billion will provide faster access to the economic hubs of Mumbai, Vadodara and Ahmedabad. ■■ The Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North-eastern region (SARDPNE) is aimed at developing road
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connectivity
between
remote
areas in the North-eastern region with state capitals and district headquarters – a three phase project;
facilitating
connectivity
of 88 district headquarters in the North – eastern state to the nearest national highways.
Foreign Investors ■■ Jiangsu (China) ■■ PLUS Expressway Bcrhad Consortium (Malaysia) ■■ Hyundai Engineering Construction Company Ltd. (Korea) ■■ Isolux (Spain) ■■ Yongma Engineering Company Ltd. (Korea)
■■ Apollo, JLI & LOR (UK) ■■ OJSC Consortium, (Russia)
SIBMOST
Agencies ■■ The National Highway Authority of India ■■ The Indian Roads Congress ■■ The Central Road Research Institute
PERSPECTIVES ON INDIA India: An emerging Internet of Things hub Mr Ravi Capoor , IAS, CEO, IBEF India is expected to capture close to 20 per cent share in global Internet of Things (IoT) market in the next five years as the global market is expected to touch US$ 300 billion by 2020. Popularly known as the fourth industrial revolution or ‘industry 4.0’, the IoT industry is a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects are expected to have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data. According to another forecast, the IoT market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR more than 28 per cent during 2015-2020. With an established base in the area of technology, both in domestic and international markets, India is well poised to take rapid strides in this emerging sector that offers a lot of growth potential in coming years. For instance, Andhra Pradesh has taken a lead in leveraging the IoT potential in the country. The state government has approved the firstof-its-kind IoT policy with an aim to turn the state into an IoT hub by 2020 and tap close to 10 per cent market share in the country. In fact, apart from the global market share, IoT can also create a huge difference in the daily lives of Indians. IoT has the potential to bring a revolution in India by empowering millions in rural areas. IoT can be expected to enable delivery of education, health, governance and
financial services in the remote areas. There is no denying that a well-connected nation is the first step towards a well-served nation and, hence, connecting rural India to the IoT can be expected to provide the bridge between urban and rural India. As various Indian companies are increasing their focus and partnering with other companies for developing new IoT and M2M solutions, the Digital India initiative from the Government of India is expected to enhance the focus on IoT in tackling the domestic challenges.
Stand up India: From job seekers to job creators Mr Ravi Capoor , IAS, CEO, IBEF The ‘Stand up India’ scheme was launched by the Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi last week. According to the announcement made at the launch, 1.25 lakh bank branches will provide loans up to Rs 1 crore under the scheme. In fact, each branch will be required to provide two such loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore without collateral for setting up a new enterprise. The Scheme is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship among Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and women with facilities like RuPay Debit Card for withdrawal and comprehensive support like pre-loan training, facilitating loan, factoring and marketing. “The ‘Stand up India’ programme aims to empower every Indian and enable
them to stand on their own feet,” the PM said at the launch further adding that the initiative will help job seekers become job creators. It is important to note that there would be a Rs 10,000 crore refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC) will create a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore. The process is expected to be led by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with participation from the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) and several other sector-specific institutions across the country. The SIDBI and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) offices shall be designated Stand Up Connect Centres (SUCC) under this Scheme. The government also plans to create a web portal for online registration and support services and also prepare a credit history of borrowers under this Scheme. The overall intent of the proposal is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these undeserved sectors of the population by facilitating bank loans in the nonfarm sector set up by such SC, ST and women borrowers. It is expected that the ‘Stand up India’ Scheme will emerge as a big boost to entrepreneurship among SC, ST and women. In fact, experts have lauded the initial announcements made under the Scheme and believe that the initiative has the potential to be a big job creator in the long run. India Newsletter • 17
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INDIAN STATE ECONOMIC PROFILE MADHYA PRADESH ■■ Madhya Pradesh is located in Central India. The state is bound on the north by Uttar Pradesh, the east by Chhattisgarh, the south by Maharashtra and the west by Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is among the fastest growing states in the country. At current prices, the gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Madhya Pradesh for 2014-15 was US$ 84.27 billion. Between 2004-05 and 201415, the CAGR for GSDP was 12.83 per cent. ■■ Madhya Pradesh is rich in natural resources - fuels, minerals, agriculture and biodiversity. The state represents 8.3 per cent of the country’s coal reserves and has 218.04 billion cubic metres (BCM) of estimated coal-bed methane reserves. The state also has the largest reserves of diamond and copper in India, apart from significant reserves of limestone, manganese and dolomite. ■■ Due to its centralised location, Madhya Pradesh has excellent connectivity to several parts of India. Many FMCG companies have moved their warehouses here to save on
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logistics expenses. ■■ There are 11 agro-climatic conditions and a variety of soils available in the state to support cultivation of a wide range of crops. With around 33 per cent of the region under forests, Madhya Pradesh has an enormous potential for drug, wood and agro based commercial enterprises. Ideal soil and climatic conditions have made it a primary producer of coarse cereals, oilseeds and soybean in India. ■■ Madhya Pradesh offers distinctive monetary and strategy/policy incentives for organisations under the Industrial Promotion Policy-2010 & Action Plan, other than strategies/ policies for IT, biotechnology, tourism and SEZs. To pull in investors and promote entrepreneurs, the state government has selected TRIFAC, an agency that encourages a single window system, for speedy approvals of different clearances and consents. Madhya Pradesh stands 5th among Indian states in rankings based on ease of doing business and reforms implementation, according to a study by the World Bank and KPMG. ■■ The state government has made
some well-planned infrastructure investments for roads and railroad systems. Government offers various subsidies under ‘Industrial Investment Promotion Assistance (IIPA) under 2014 Schemes’ for investment in development of road, electrification, water, industrial parks, etc. ■■ Recent Developments: ■■ Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages plans to set up a bottling plant with an investment of Rs 750 crore (US$ 110.9 million) in phases at the first industrial area being developed by Government of Madhya Pradesh under the public private partnership. ■■ The Government of Madhya Pradesh has proposed Rs 1,656 crore (US$ 251.6 million) in State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) to improve water supply and sewerage network services in 32 cities and towns under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). ■■ The Madhya Pradesh government have obtained consent for getting Rs 120 million (US$ 1.76 billion) foreign loan from Japan for its ambitious Bhopal and Indore Metro rail projects.
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INDIAN TRADE FAIRS INTERESTED IN VISITING A TRADE SHOW IN INDIA? In case your company is interested in visiting a tradeshow/B2B event in India, be it one listed here or another one that came to your attention, get in contact with us via maoffice.vienna@mea.gov.in to get more information about possible assistance/subsidies.
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INVEST INDIA Federation House, Tansen Marg New Delhi—110 001 0091-11-23765085, 23487278 investindia@ficci.com www.investindia.gov.in
I
policy and Promotion, Ministry INVESTMENT of Commerce & Industry) and State Governments of India (0.5% The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund(NIIF)
■■ Objective: ■■ To maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects, both Greenfield and Brownfield, including stalled projects. ■■ Other nationally important projects in manufacturing, if viable commercially ■■ Structure: ■■ The NIIF will be established as one or more Alternate Investment Funds (AIF). It refers to any fund established or incorporated in Indian in the form of a Trust or a Company or a LLP or a body corporate. AIF shall raise funds only through private placement 22 • India Newsletter
nvest India is the country’s official agency dedicated to investment promotion and facilitation. Set up as a joint venture between FICCI (51% and cannot accept from any equity), DIPP (35%funds equity held investor (Indian or Foreign) whose by the Department of Industrial value is less than 1 crore Indian Rupees and is prohibited from making application to public for subscription to its securities. AIF can be of three categories; ■■ Category I: Investment in Start-ups, SMEs, infrastructure or social ventures ■■ Category II: Investment in private equity and debt funds
■■ Category III: Primarily for hedge funds, which use complex strategies or leverage to invest in unlisted derivaties and trade with a view to make short-term returns
each), its mandate is to become the first reference point for the global investment community. It provides granulated, sectorspecific and state-specific information to a foreign investor, assists in expediting regulatory approvals, and offers hand-holding services. Its mandate also includes assisting Indian investors make informed choices about investment opportunities overseas.
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TOURISM PachmarhI: an Escape for all Reasons by Hugh & Colleen Gantzer. The Gonds were having a ball. For a night and a day they had trekked and drummed; and carried the all-important katha slab of wood carved with mystical memorial icons in honour of a dear departed relative-friend-colleague-fellowvillager whose spirit would not rest in peace till it was laid… with great festivity .. on the platform at the base of the holy tree in the garden of the place where the tourists lived, and snapped their pictures and asked stupid questions like “What are you cooking in that big cauldron, bubbling and steaming on its bed of blazing wood?” The men smiled; the girls giggled: silly outsiders. ‘Sathu of course. And rock-salt and wild herbs. And rice. Ho bhaiya, sound the dholak. We will dance again!’ The lead drummer slipped on his shades … all drummers wear shades in the tee-bee… And the dancing began again: arms linked, a circle, one step forward, one step back, two steps sideways, repeat as before as the choir-meister sings his age-old bawdy refrains about what the crow saw, and the dancers chant after him not a bit embarrassed by the graphic imagery of the verse. It’s life, no? We celebrate life in the presence of death. That’s the eternal circle: one step forward, on step back, two steps sideways till the sathu and herbs and rice is ready for the festive wake of the autochthon ..original inhabitants.. Gonds. We move on, with the sound of the chant and the throb of the drums snaking fainter and fainter behind us like a questing tendril of mist. We’re in Pachmarhi: a yearround backwater of a hill-station established by the British in the 19th century; hallowed by pilgrims trudging through the legends of Lord Siva; enshrined in the belief that the Five Pandavas had built
the caves which, in fact, Buddhist monks had hollowed out of a cliff; disciplined by the Army Educational Corps who also oversee the training of all Army Bands. We checked into the very Raj-era Rock End manner and began to explore the quiet charms of this retreat for all seasons. In never gets too hot or too cold in this sal-forested plateau spreading at a benign 1,100 meters across the Satpura range of Madhya Pradesh. So we packed ourselves into a jungle-green jeep and jounced away. Stopped. Trekked. To Priyadarshini Point, first, aka Forsyth Point after the legendary founder of Pachmarhi. Across a broad, wooded, valley Chauragarh Peak loomed hazy in the distance. That’s where Lord Siva had planted his trishul after he had hazarded his life. We bumped and ground to the top of the stone-strewn path winding down into the verdant ravine of Jatta Shankar. Water flowed through a dark and narrow crevasse, sculpting stones into mythical shapes. Lord Siva had lost his top-knot here to a pursuing demon and then fled to Mahadeo cave. We did too, driving across Pachmarhi, huffing up a flight of steps to a cave through which a stream flowed. Siva had hidden here and then Lord Vishnu had taken the form of the seductive Mohini and tricked the demon into destroying himself. A forest of tridents reared their triple prongs. Sadhus sat around a smoking fire, puffing on chillums, heavy-lidded at the grassy doors of ecstasy. We moved on to less esoteric delights. Water tumbles off the escarpment of Pachmarhi in the stimulating Bee Falls, the Rajat Prabat Big Falls, the cascading Fairy Falls foaming into an emerald pool, the rill with a soft and magical sparkle gushing into the incredibly beautiful Irene Pool. The streamthreaded woods offer a myriad, serene, picnic spots. The Forest
Department guards these treasures very jealously and restricts entry to many of them to ticket-holders: we bought our tickets at Bison Lodge that also has an interesting little forest museum. Our neighbours in Rock End manor opted for pedal boats in the Lake and then soared on the wings of the wind in a multi-hued chrysanthemum parachute above the jeep runway of the para-sailing grounds. We met them that evening after they had landed, been awed by the open-ended soaring cavern of Reech Ghar, and then sat in the natural amphitheatre in Dhoop Ghar and watched the drama of a saffronpink-scarlet-crimson sunset over the distant plains. Church bells rang on Sunday morning and stained glass windows, as brilliant as gems, welcomed us. We lingered after the Service, examined the plaques and crests of old regiments; and a sad one to the memory of a surgeon who was stung to death by insects. And then we rattled and juddered, and trekked and teetered, our precarious way to the Manda Deo rock paintings. Ghostly women fled from a tiger at a stream; spectral humans in white danced in images captured many millennia ago. They, too, were freaking out in forested Pachmarhi. ■■ QUICK FACTS Getting There: Air to Bhopal and then 195 kms. by road. Rail to Pipariya and then 47 kms. by road. Taxis, buses and jeeps available Accommodation: MP Tourism Development Corp. has a number of heritage hotels to suit all budgets. There are also private hotels. Local Transport: Jeep-taxis India Newsletter • 23
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AIR INDIA launched new Delhi-Vienna flight on April 2016 Air India has started direct flight from Delhi to Vienna. The inaugural flight from Delhi landed at the Vienna
International Airport on 06.04.2016. Air India has introduced dreamliner plane on the route. Ambassador Shri Rajiva Misra , Commercial Director of Air India, Shri Pankaj Srivastava, senior officials of the Vienna Airport Authority and other senior officers
TOURIST HELPLINE
24 • India Newsletter
were present at the Airport on the occasion. The Flight, which will be operated thrice a week, is expected to provide better connectivity between India and other central / eastern European destinations as well.
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OVERSEAS INDIANS
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INDIAN MOVIE EVENING AT THE EMBASSY 29th April, 17:30 ENGLISH OV
27th May, 17:30
24th June, 17:30 HINDI OV WITH GERMAN SUBT.
HINDI OV WITH GERMAN SUBT.
Seat reservation and further Infos: www.indianembassy.at Indian Embassy Business Centre/Library Kärntner Ring 2, 1. Stock, 1010 Wien India Newsletter • 27
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INDIA-RELATED EVENTS IN AUSTRIA
a..arti summer festival
a..ar ti cercle uniting the worlds
© Ajay Lal
© Pandit Kushal Das
© Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
10.–12. Juni 2016 im Odeon Theater, Wien 3 Tage klassische Musik und Tanz aus Indien
Freitag, 10. Juni, 19:30 Klassischer indischer Tanz Arushi Mudgal und Truppe = Odissi
Samstag, 11. Juni, 19:30 Klassische indische Musik Pandit Kushal Das = Sitar Sri Sandip Ghosh = Tabla
Sonntag, 12. Juni, 7:30 Klassische indische Musik Morgenkonzert Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia = Bansuri-Flöte Sri Niti Ranjan Biswas = Tabla
10.–12. Juni 2016 Odeon Theater, Taborstrasse 10, 1020 Wien
Karten ab sofort erhältlich unter: office@aarti-cercle.org
Karten: EUR 44/EUR 25 (Polsterplatz) StudentInnen bis zum 27. Lebensjahr –10% Festivalpass: EUR 120/EUR 65 (Polsterplatz)
Tel: 01 / 216 51 27 (Odeon) karten@odeon.at www.odeon-theater.at
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Stand: 1. April 2016, Änderungen vorbehalten Impressum: a..arti cercle – Verein zur Förderung von Kunst und Kultur e.V. / www.aarti-cercle.org / Gestaltung: Katharina Gattermann
28 • India Newsletter
Indian Embassy, Vienna
India Newsletter • 29
Indian Embassy, Vienna
Invitation to two public lectures
Dr. Tiziana Leucci
(Centre d'Etudes de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud , CNRS)
The Impact of the Neo-Tantric Movement on the Choreographic Traditions in Europe and India (1960s to 2000s) Dance and Dancers in Indian Cinema
Dr. Tiziana Leucci is a senior research fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, and attached to its Centre d'Etudes de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud. Her Ph.D. thesis in Social Anthropology (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris) dealt with the culture of South Indian courtesans. Dr. Leucci also studied ballet and contemporary dance at the National Academy of Dance in Rome and Indian dance (Bharat Natyam and Odissi) in India. She has authored a book and numerous chapters and articles on the anthropology and history of dance in South India and on the European perception and representation of Indian courtesans. Her further research interests are the history of the interaction between Indian and Western artists, and the anthropology of aesthetic theories and Indian choreographic practices, especially in terms of their transformations in the colonial period and on the modern stage. Since 2010, Dr. Leucci teaches Bharat Natyam at the Conservatoire “Gabriel Fauré”, Les Lilas – Est Ensemble (France). 30 • India Newsletter
Thursday, April 21, 2016 18h c.t.
Friday, April 22, 2016 15h c.t.
Venue:
Lecture Room 1, Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, AAKH, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.7 1090 Vienna
Indian Embassy, Vienna
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