India Empire September 2019

India-Diplomatic, Business, Political and Diaspora Connectivity

INDIA

EMPIRE

Editor’s Desk

O

n our cover we’ve an interview with the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic H.E. Mr Ivan Lančarič. The interview comes about a year after we had similarly put the Czech Republic Ambassador on our cover. The two friendly neighbouring nations, one would recall, had a peaceful, ‘velvet separation’ in the early 1990s from what was then Czechoslovakia.

They are jointly celebrating their national day on September 24.

Slovakia happens to be the world’s largest per-capita car producer with 1.09 million cars manufactured in 2018 alone. That also positions the country very high in the list of car producers within the European Union. It’d be pertinent to point out that the investment of Jaguar Land Rover in Slovakia remains the biggest investment of JLR in continental Europe. Ambassador Lančarič believes that it will be a catalyst for further investments by Indian companies with added value in Slovakia.

Going forward India and Slovakia seek to focus bilateral cooperation on renewable energy, environment, water management, automotive industry, agriculture, forestry and food industry sectors. They’d also like to encourage deeper cooperation in defence, machinery, science and research, high technology and eletro-technical sectors, where both Slovakia and India have considerable know-how and qualified resources. In addition to the interview, we also have an entire colorful section on Slovakia—as the country is popularly known as—and how it provides immense opportunities to investors and tourists. It is famous for the Tatra mountains, nine scenic national parks, 120 historical castles, 1,600 fresh water resources including several beautiful rivers, and over 7,000 caves.

We have an interview with Mr Tahir Qadiry, Chargé d'Affaires, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in India. He spoke on a range of issues—from international relations to education, trade to medical tourism, and more. The Embassy is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Afghanistan’s Independence Day. This year also happens to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of diplomatic ties between India and Afghanistan.

The Indian-Afghanistan relationship has also traditionally been a cherished one. The Hindi movie industry has no doubt played a great role in bringing the two nations closer—an entire generation of Afghans have grown up crooning Bollywood songs.

Besides, several Indian actors have over the years endeared themselves to the Afghan audience and have gently carved an enduring place in their hearts.

Also, after elevating Indo-Afghan relationships to the level of a strategic partnership, things have looked brighter. Since 2003, India has contributed about USD 3 billion by way of aid and has designed and executed nearly 500 projects in Afghanistan. To cement ties further, India has thus far given 60,000 scholarships to Afghan students to study in academic institutions across the country. At present, some 16,000 Afghani students are pursuing different courses in India.

There are several other stories including those in business, diplomacy and governance that should be of interest. Hope you have a nice time navigating our pages.

Sayantan Chakravarty sayantanc@gmail.com www.indiaempire.com

Volume 15 No. 4 September 2019 www.indiaempire.com RNI No.: DELENG/2005/16693 GLOBAL ADVISORY BOARD

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Sayantan Chakravarty is in a select group of 12 writers alongside Nobel Laureate William Butler Yeats, RK Narayan (Padma Vibhushan and Sahitya Award winner), journalist and poet Walt Whitman, writer Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), poet Nissim Ezekiel (Sahitya Akademi Awardee), writer Jerome K Jerome (author of Three Men in a Boat), poet Edward Lear, Roald Dahl (16th on Time Magazine’s list of greatest British writers) and others chosen by Scholastic Education to promote advanced English literature for schools worldwide.

Sayantan Chakravarty’s stories featured in Best of Indian Express of 25 years and Best of India Today’s 25 years.

CONteNts 08

september 2019

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SLOVAKIA ............................................................. 08 Focus on this Central European nation

RUSSIA ................................................................. 22 Focus on Indo-Russian ties

AFGHANISTAN ..................................................... 14 Interview with Charge d’affaires

DIASPORA ........................................................... 35 Focus on overseas Indians

LUXEMBOURG ...................................................... 18 Interview with largest wine producer

BUSINESS AND GOVERNANCE ........................... 17 A buoyant business climate

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Bangladesh-IndIa connectIvIty

tala-Akaura Rs 972 crore railway ripura Chief Minister project and construction of a big Biplab Kumar Deb in bridge in southern Tripura over river September discussed Feni. cross border trade, imHe said that after Prime Minister provement of connecNarendra Modi took office, Indiativity and curbing of drug smuggling Bangladesh relations had further deand illegal trade between the northveloped. "For each other's prosperity, eastern state and Bangladesh with India and Bangladesh are coming Bangladeshi Information Minister closer day by day and in the coming Hasan Mahmud. "During our meetdays it would reach a climax." In the ing, the Chief Minister raised various meeting, Mr Deb told Mr Mahmud: issues relating to cross border trade, "Before taking oath of office of improvement of connectivity and curbing of drugs smuggling and il- Bangladesh Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud Chief Minister on March 9 last year, I with Tripura Chief Minister Mr Biplab Kumar Deb first took the blessings from my legal trades between Tripura and Bangladesh," Minister Mahmud said following the meeting. He mother then talked to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh said that the Chief Minister was keen to set up more "Border Hasina over phone. She told me to take steps to curb the smugHaats" (markets) to boost livelihood of the people living in bor- gling of drugs to Bangladesh. I deeply admire her for her mothder villages, export tea to Bangladesh and to use Chittagong and erly love and affection. Our Government has taken a series of Mongla sea ports to carry goods and machinery from other steps to curb drugs smuggling and illegal business." Mr Mahmud, parts of the country to Tripura via Bangladesh. Mr Deb also who was accompanied by parliamentarians, senior officials, and stressed the need for early completion of the 12.23 km Agar- artists was on a three-day visit to India.

DIpLOMATS TO INDIA EMpIRE Make in India “Czech companies have been actively engaged in Make in India campaign. With the aim to support this governmental initiative, the India Investment Meet within the MSV 2019 International Engineering Fair in Brno will be organized at the beginning of October. The seminar is supposed to present the investment opportunities in India to the Czech companies participating at the Trade Fair and therefor representing mainly the engineering industry. The investment seminar will be launched by Secretary of Department of Heavy Industry, Asha Ram Sihag, who will also lead the Indian delegation of exhibitors and visitors at the MSV 2019 International Engineering Fair. The Indian business delegation is organized by EEPC India and CII. I hope that the strong business presence of India during the MSV 2019 International Engineering Fair, that is truly the most important engineering fair in the region of Central Europe, will contribute to develop further bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and India” —H.E. Mr Milan Hovorka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to India

Bilateral Ties “A new Government has recently started in Panama, guided under Mr. Laurentino Cortizo’s Leadership, President of Panama, a new range of opportunities open up to strength Indian investments in the Latin-American country and their trade sector know it. With the exchange of high level visit and meetings the task is already done in the political field, Ms. Maria Luisa Navarro, former Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation, visited India, in 2016; Shri Suresh Prabhu, former Commerce and Industry Minister, visited Panama, in 2017; Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, visited Panama, in 2018. Also, Mr. Luis Miguel Hincapié, former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited India, in 2018. Now it is time to improve thetraderelation; for this reason, Panama, through its Diplomatic Representation in India,invites investments in IT, agriculture, cold storage, textile, pharmaceutical sectors with prominent Indian participation in biotechnology, innovation and space cooperation” —Mr Ricardo A. Berna M., Charge d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of the Republic of Panama september 2019 | india empire

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Country Coverage: Mongolia

MONGOLIAN pRESI

President of Mongolian H.E. Kh. Battulga releasing a book titled Compilation of Articles by Mongolian Ambassador H.E. Gonchig Ganbold on September 19, 2019. The book was prepared by India Empire magazine and its Editor and Publisher Sayantan Chakravarty is present. The book release was part of a programme to decorate the distinguished Sutar family with The Order of Polar Star (Altan Gadas Odon in Mongolian). It is the highest state award of Mongolia. The Mongolian President was on a five-day visit to India

President Battulga presents The Order of Polar Star to Mr Ram Vanji Sutar and his son Mr Anil Sutar for creating the beautiful statues of Lord Buddha and two disciples. The statues reached the Gandan Monastery in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar earlier this year and turned out to be a grand culmination of a commitment made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his May 2015 visit to Mongolia.

Mr Ram Sutar, Padma Bhushan, also sculpted the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue on the banks of the river Narmada in Gujarat 6

india empire | september 2019

DENT’S INDIA VISIT

Mr Sandeep Marwah, Chairman, Indo Mongolian Film and Cultural Forum, presents a plaque of honor to President Battulga at the Mongolian Embassy in the presence of Ambassador Ganbold (extreme left)

LEFT: President Battulga releases a copy of his authorized biography—President Battulga, Whom I Know—published by Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd. The company’s chairman Mr Narendra Kumar is seen in the picture. The book has been authored by award-winning Mongolian filmmaker and scriptwriter D. Turmunkh. Penguin Random House SEA has already announced the acquisition of the biography.

RIGHT: Editor Chakravarty spends a few precious moments with H.H. Khamba Lama, the Spiritual Head of Mongolia who features on the India Empire book cover along with PM Modi. Chakravarty had interviewed Khamba Lama during a visit to Mongolia in July 2016 september 2019 | india empire

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Cover: diploMatiC interview

Interview with H.E. Mr Ivan Lancaric Ambassador of Slovak Republic to India

“Slovakia offers favourable conditions for foreign investors” How do you look at India-Slovakia relations?

I believe there is a great potential to upgrade our bilateral relationship from friendship to partnership. Traditionally, our relations are friendly and constructive. I very much hope that Honourable President of India Ram Nath Kovind will pay an official visit to Slovakia next year. We want to build a true partnership based on highest level political dialogue and deeper and broader cooperation in economic field where our countries have so much more to offer to each other.

I also want to believe that we will jointly achieve a progress in EU-India negotiations on BTIA. We believe that free trade agreement is of mutual interest, thanks to which we will significantly increase our bilateral trade, namely in automotive sector, which is the key interest of Slovakia as we are the biggest car producer in the world per capita. We can boast that next year our production capacity will grow even further to as many as 1,3 million vehicles. In this regard I am proud to mention the Jaguar Land Rover investment in Slovakia, which became the biggest JLR investment in continental Europe. We believe that it will be a catalyst of further investments by Indian companies with added value in Slovakia. Beside this investment there are also other companies with indian capital operating in Slovakia.

Slovakia and India are traditional trade partners, however we can not be satisfied with the current trade balance. In this respect, we want to focus our future cooperation on renewable energy, environment, water management, agriculture, forestry and food industry sectors. We will also seek to encourage further cooperation in traditional sectors like defence, machinery as well as in the field of R&D where both Slovakia and India have a considerable know-how and qualified ressources.

You mentioned JLR investment in Slovakia. Why do you think they decided to establish their factory in Slovakia?

There are several advantages that Slovakia has to offer.

First of all we have very open, stable and export oriented economy. Every investor that established its plant on our territory has immediate access to entire Schengen area and thanks to our strategic position in the middle of Europe they very convenient access to more than 300 million clients in radius of 1 000km. Secondly Slovakia business friendly oriented country. According to annual ratings of World Bank Slovakia is ranked 42nd among 190 economies in the ease of doing business (for comparison India is ranked 8

india empire | september 2019

H.E. Mr Ivan Lančarič Ambassador of Slovak Republic to India 77th). We have also very skilled and well educated labour force. More then 85% of Slovak population speaks at least one foreign language (mostly English and German). And in terms of labour productivity Slovakia is ranked 1st in Central and Eastern European region.

Our country offers favourable conditions for foreign investors thus creating excellent conditions for enhanced cooperation especially in the sectors with added value and there are many other reasons why enterpreneurs are seeking Slovakia as their investment destination.

Now we understand what Slovakia offers to business but what about individuals that want to visit Slovakia?

In terms of tourism there is so much that can be offered to potential visitors even by such a picturesque country. For instance, on our territory you can find 120 historical castles, of which many are fully renovated. Not speaking about other historical buildings, cathedrals and historical city centers. Furthermore, you can find there nine wonderful national parks and beneath Slovakia is hidden more than 7 000 natural caves. However, unfortunately, mostly due to safety reasons are for public available only eighteen of them. And

finally, we can boast that we have in total 30 records in list of world heritage of UNESCO. These were just the places you can visit, but Slovakia is famous for its spa and mineral-healing springs as well. Slovakia is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of freshwater resources, that is proven by 1 600. We can´t forget that our country is also famous due to our wines that already won at many competitions around the world. Currently there are registered 146 wineries, mostly from the Small Carpathian region. And last but not least, you will be astonished by Slovak culture, art and folk that we are still maintaining.

Slovakia seems to be an interesting destination.

How many Indian visitors do you record?

Even though Indian tourists “discovered“ Slovakia just recently, there are thousands of Indian visitors every year that we register, but we know that there are many more. We can boast that since the beginning of this year we have recorded 65% growth of visits from India and even 96% growth of overnight stays of Indian tourists. We believe that it is thanks to our activities that we launched this year in order to attract more Indian tourists and in this regard we are also preparing an event “1 lakh reasons to visit Slovakia”, that will be launched this December.

We are already in negotiations with few companies in order to enhance the promotion of Slovakia as attractive

tourist destination. We know that it all starts with visa applications, therefore we have taken concrete steps to facilitate and speed up the process, such as launching 3 new Visa Centres in India and doubling the capacity of our Consular department. Cooperation with VFS Global also means that the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi can process more national D visas for Indian students or future employees of Slovak companies.

And what are your other plans and activities in India?

In coming months we expect several business missions to Slovakia as well as from Slovakia. We will also take part on RE-INVEST, IE29BF and Smart Cities Expo... And we hope that we will be able to take part on Vibrant Gujarat as well. In february of this year we also had 10th session of Slovakia-India Joint Economic Committee that took place here in New Delhi and next year we are planning to continue in the tradition and organize 11th session of JEC in our capital—Bratislava.

As I already mentioned, India and Slovakia used to be traditional partners and our goal is to revive this tradition.

We believe that this can be done by mutual understanding, active searching for new opportunities of collaboration and deepening of friendly relations between our countries. As I also mentioned there are already success stories that we can boast with and soon there will be many more. ❐ september 2019 | india empire

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speCial feature: slovak republiC

LAND Of OppORTuNITIES

W

hile Slovakia will never excel for its size (49,036 km2) or its population (5,435,000, on114th place in the world), this picturesque country in heart of Europe stands out in much more important ways. What is in the secret of Slovakia’s incomparable charm? Enchanting nature, fascinating history, refined culture, modern convenience and good- hearted people.

Slovakia is country that boast with natural diversity and up to 9 national parks located on a relatively small area. The High Tatras region is located in the protected Tatra National Park.

Tatra National Parkhas been named by the biosphere reserve, which protects, develops and promotes ecosystem and landscape diversity…

Stays in the Tatras are particularly sought-after for their healing effects. People can enjoy here also skiing and most demanding skiers may try the highest and steepest slope starting at Lomnickésedlo (2,190 meters above sea level). Highest peak in the High Tatras is Gerlachovskýštít 2,655 meters above sea

10 india empire | september 2019

level. To one of the youngest national parks belongs The Slovak Paradise National Park, situated in eastern part of Slovakia. The most eastern part of the Poloniny National Parkhouses the expectationalCarpathian beech forests listed in the UNESCO world Heritage List.

On our territory you can find 1,110 caves, chasms and other karst formations, as well as many thermal and mineral springs. There are more than 1650 of them, including the unique Herľany Geyser, which has been shooting jets of water to heights of up to 20 meters every 32- 36 hours for over 140 years. You would have to travel to Iceland to see a similar geyser. One of the largest ice caves in Europe is Dobšinská Ice Cave. Of the total length of 1 483 m, only 475 m of cave are now available for the public. Domica Cave is the most known and longest cave of the Slovak Karst National Park.

Except for important geomorphological features, it is interesting by precious archaeological findings, occurrence of flowstone shields and drums, as well as numerous bat species presence. The cave belongs in the world heritage site “The

Caves of Slovak and Aggtelek Karst”.

Another noteworthy fact is that Slovakia has 220 castles and castle ruins and 425 manor houses. The whole world knows the story of the bloodthirsty Lady of Čachtice Elizabeth Bathory, but more humble buildings also have their secret. The largest Slovakian castle (41,000 m²) Spiš Castle, dominant of the Spiš region, is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Works on the castle began at the beginning of the 12th century. In the 13th century the castle featured acropolis protecting the stone fortification designed to defend the castle against the Tatar invasion of 1241. One of the oldest castles in Slovakia was built in the 9th century is located in capital city of Slovakia.Specific samples of sacred architecture in Slovakia are the wooden churches. They serve as examples of folk architecture and the mixing of two distinct cultures – Byzantine and Latin.Their folk builders expressed the perfect harmony of the human soul with nature and the effort to disengage from earthly worries. Among the oldest are the Gothic wooden churches (for example Hervartov, Tvrdošín).

Fujara is the most typical Slovak musical instrument. It was included by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Fujara is an overtone fipple flute that can be up to 1.8 m long. It is usually made from elder tree and has a characteristic meditation tone.The longest instrument is the Fujara Trombita, up to 6 m long that was used for signalling and for communication among shepherds on their pastures because of its magnificent and strong tone. It is made from pine wood.

Second on the UNESCO intangible heritage list is the Music of Terchová – the “heavenly” archaic folk music char-

september 2019 | india empire

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speCial feature: slovak republiC

SLOVAkIA AT GLANCE State formation date: 1 January 1993 Area: 49,035 km2 Capital city: Bratislava (population 465,327 as of 1/6/2012) Population: 5,412,008 (as at 30/6/2013) Population density: 110/km2 Official language: Slovak Currency: Euro (from 1/1/2009) State System: Republic, Parliamentary Democracy President: Zuzana Čaputová (since 15. 06. 2019) Prime Minister: Peter Pellegrini (since 2018) State Symbols: national coat of arms/emblem, national flag, state seal and national anthem “NadTatrousablýska” Membership in International Organisations: EU, NATO, UN, UNESCO, OECD, OBSE, CERN, WHO, INTERPOL, etc.

International Codes: SK, SVK, bar code 858

acteristic of Terchová and neighbouring villages, typified by multi-voice singing. The Music of Terchova is closely connected with dancing, hence its temperamental music style. We don’t know the exact origins of this folklore, because naturally it has passed from one generation to the next only in spoken form. It was included in the UNESCO list in 2013.

Slovakia is noted for its many different kinds and varieties of folk craft, lace and embroidery. Surprisinglyfor a small country each region, and sometimes even each village, has created its own decorations, lace, embroidery and traditional folk costumes. The houses decoration in the village Čičmany, inspired by rich traditions of local embroidery that were freehand painted by the inhabitants. In Olympic games were inspiration for the official kits worn by the Slovak teams.

The traditional basic components of the Slovak cuisine have always been and still are milk, potatoes and cabbage. Tasty meals typical for Slovak cuisine such as cabbage dumplings can be prepared by combining these ingredients. The Slovak national meal is bryndzovéhalušky, which means for the Slovaks the same as sushi for the Japanese or pizza for the Italians.In low lying areas, you can taste more spicy food, cabbage specialities, goose, lokše (local fried flatbread which looks like a chapati) or trdelník (sweet pastry cylinders).

Although Slovakia has only around 5,5 million inhabitants, it gave birth to many great athletes still celebrated in the world of sport today. We get gold medal from the World championship of ice hockey. Slovak are still fond of the names like Stan Mikita, Peter Štastný, Peter Bondra, Miroslav Šatan, 12 india empire | september 2019

Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa. Slovakia has also great footballers like Martin Škrtel, Marek Hamšik, Milan Škriniar. As individual sports, history will remember athletes like Ondrej Nepela- figureice skating, Olympic winner from Sapporo 1972, 3x world champion), Anton Takáč- tracking cycling1976 Olympic winner, 3xworld champion), Jozef Pribilinec – 20km race walking, Miloslav Mečíř - former professional tennis player and olympic Winner- 1988), Michal Martikán- water slalom, olympion winner1996, 2008. Nowadays Slovakian can boast with the cycling phenomenon called Peter Sagan, the triple world champion in road cycling. Petra Vlhová and Anastasia Kuzminova – biathlon Olympic winner from Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Pyeong Chang 2018, are dominating alpine disciplines.

Slovakia is experiencing an ongoing economic expansion, driven by continually increasing domestic demand, as well as booming investment- both local and foreign. Real GDP growth has more than doubled since 2013 and reached 4,1% in 2018. It’s the most open economy in the European Union – 88,6%. 1st place in export of goods to GDP ratio, 4th in Europe in the export of goods and services to GDP: 96,3% and 12th out of 75 countries in the open market index by the International Chamber of Commerce.Consumer price inflation reached in 2019 - 2.4 %.We can also boast with 5,4% unemployment rate. Which are 10 best reasons to Invest in our country? Strategic location in Europe with great export potential, political and economic stability, euro currency as one of a few in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), CEE leader in labour

productivity, cost- effective, skilled and educated labour force (Slovak universities offer large variety of study fields enabling multidisciplinary skill-set for future graduates- 35 Universities, 151 316 students, 53 495 Graduates. Over 1 000 companies already cooperate with 19 universities across Slovakia), excellent multilingual skills (85% of Slovak population speaks at least one foreign language), one of the most open economies in the world, great potential for innovation, developments and steadily growing infrastructure network and attractive investment incentives.

National R&D Specialisation Strategy is focused on innovation support through cooperation between enterprises and research institutions in key sectors of the Slovak economy- material research and nanotechnology, biomedicine and biotechnology, ICT (incl. Electronics) with success stories like SPINEA-twin spin gearboxes, VRM- virtual reality simulators, CEIT-skull implants, AeroMobil- flying car, SAV- aluminium foam, CEIT-automatic logistic system. 30% of all outputs in international scientific journals on materials search originates from Slovakia. Slovakia is a global superpower in car manufacturing and leader in the number of cars produced per inhabitant. Manufacturing 180 cars per 1 000 inhabitants, it has occupied the top spot since 2013. Slovakia became the seat of the worlds famous automobile manufactures like Volkswagen, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Kia Motors, and most recently Jaguar Land Rover. Bratislava’s Volkswagen plant is the only car manufacturing plant in the world that manufactures five vehicle brands under one roof (VW, Audi, Porshe, Škoda, SEAT). The

models from Bratislava’s production are not produced anywhere else in the world, and more than 99% of the production is intended for export.

In this regard we would like to highlight the investment of Jaguar Land Rover, that is biggest investment of JLR in continental Europe. This factory is currently producing models like Land Rover Discovery and since 2020 it will be only JLR plant in the world that will produce new Land Rover Defender. We believe that this important relationship will be a catalyst for further investments by Indian companies with added value in Slovakia. And we already record few Indian companies that follow JLR example.

We can praise ourselves with skilful and resourceful people who have managed to succeed abroad, as well as with successful and innovative companies and projects, whichare respected by demanding international community. We are represented in science, culture and sports. World-changing inventions are associated with the names of Joseph Maximiliam Petzval (inventor of photographic objective lens), Jozef Murgaš (inventor of wireless telegraph), Jan Bahýľ (inventor of helicopter), Štefan Banič (inventor of a parachute), Aurel Stodola (founder of the theory of steam and gas turbines), Ivan Alexander Getting (inventor of GPS), and many others. On the other hand, in a field of culture, we are famous for the founder of pop art, Andy Warhol, well-known are names and performances of tens of opera singers, painters, photographers and sportsmen. You can find successful Slovaks everywhere. ❐ september 2019 | india empire 13

diploMatiC interview

Interview with Mr Tahir Qadiry, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in India

“Our ties are so close because India believes in Afghanistan” India Empire magazine’s Editor and Publisher Sayantan Chakravarty caught up with Mr Tahir Qadiry, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in India, who spoke on a range of issues—from international relations to education, trade to medical tourism, and more India Empire magazine would like to congratulate you on taking charge of the mission. Let me start by asking whether it would be fair to say that relations between India and Afghanistan are at their best ever, given the deep commitments that have been made, and the vigorous engagements that are taking place?

First of all, thank you so much for your words. The Indian-Afghanistan relationship has traditionally been a cherished and enduring one. We’ve much in common.

Bollywood has played a great role in bringing us closer—an entire generation grew up on Bollywood songs. There are several actors who have over the years endeared themselves to our audience. Also, after elevating our relationship to that of a strategic partnership, things have become even better.

Since 2003, India has contributed about USD 3 billion by way of aid and has designed and executed nearly 500 projects in Afghanistan. These have been executed in a way that has won over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

One of the flagship projects has been that of building our Parliament—our house of democracy. This demonstrates the kind of importance India attaches to democracy in Afghanistan. India has built two sports stadiums. It has built a water dam. This shows India’s abiding commitment towards strengthening infrastructure in Afghanistan. H.E. our President and H.E. Prime Minister Narendra Modi have developed close ties. Let me also give you another very good example. It is not often that H.E. Prime Minister Modi tweets in a different language. Of late, he has been tweeting

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in two official languages of Afghanistan from his official twitter handle. That is symbolic of the depth in relationships between our two nations.

Please talk us through the significance of this Independence Day… This will be the 100th anniversary of Afghanistan’s Independence Day and, therefore, highly significant. That’s why we are trying to make it as big as possible. At least seven cultural programmes have been organized in India.

The biggest one will be a grand party that should be attended by at least a thousand diplomats and our Indian friends here. In Delhi and in Chandigarh we’ll have a food festival to introduce Afghan cuisine to our Indian friends.

For that we’ve collaborated with an Indian foundation. We’ll have fashion shows and interactions with filmmakers. There will be a night of ghazal—the fare will be pure Afghan classical music. With the funding of USAID, we are doing the Passage to Prosperity—a business event where hundreds of Afghan traders will showcase their products. We’ll have a cricket match between the University of Delhi and Afghan students right here at the embassy. We’ll also have experts that will be talking about diplomatic relationships between India and Afghanistan. This year also happens to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of diplomatic ties between our two nations.

This question relates to the neighborhood.

Afghanistan has recently strongly protested Pakistan’s statement that developments in Kashmir could affect the Afghan peace process. The statement was officially termed “reckless, unwarranted and irresponsible.” Kindly share your own views on this subject…

Well let me be very specific and very brief on this matter. Our position in the Afghan Government is that what happens in Kashmir is an internal issue of India. And it has got nothing to do with us.

As a celebrated and award-winning journalist during your earlier days, you’d have closely followed the rise of the Taliban and its consequences. A peace process between the US and the Taliban has now been called off, and yet peace is the most important thing the region wants. What is the way forward?

Peace is very important. As of now President Donald Trump has called off the peace talks. Our position in the Afghanistan Government is that we want peace—a dignified, sustainable, prestigious and enduring one.

We’ve suffered for four decades. We’ve lost some of our bravest soldiers. The international community, especially the U.S., also invested in Afghanistan in blood and treasure.

Their forces have sacrificed a lot. The bottom line remains common—everyone wants peace in Afghanistan. Even though negotiations between the US and the Taliban have stopped, the intra-Afghan peace talks have not yet started. So we are hopeful.

Mr Tahir Qadiry Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in India

What can enduring peace bring with it?

Afghans have drawn up the red lines.

Quite recently H.E. our President held a consultative peace assembly attended by over 3,000 people from across all walks in Afghanistan. He reminded the people that the country could make a significant turnaround in the entire region and become a place where people, mind and goods flow effortlessly.

Let me also take this opportunity to mention the red lines: the Constitution of Afghanistan, for one, is the people’s redline.

The name Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is another red line for the nation. Then we have women’s rights, human rights, freedom of expression. There’ve been huge gains in these areas in the last 18 years. These are red lines that our people want preserved. We want enduring peace. Afghanistan is building up consensus both at the international and regional level on this. That is why H.E. our

september 2019 | india empire 15

diploMatiC interview President travelled to a couple of countries in the region, essentially to talk to their leadership bring them on the same page when it comes to peace in Afghanistan. We’ve always emphasized that peace in Afghanistan is peace in the region.

Afghanistan is located in the heart of Asia. So if Afghanistan is safe, the region flourishes by way of trade and connectivity. We could even return to the days of the Silk Route. Today, we are no longer a landlocked country, instead we are a land-bridged nation. We’ve an air corridor with India and few other countries. We’ve got the Chabahar port which connects us to India.

What is the extent of bilateral trade between our two nations, and where do you see things moving in the next five years?

The bilateral trade has already improved and strengthened more than ever. India is one of our trusted partners.

In terms of trade Afghanistan has a huge relationship with India. We’ve two cargo flights every week. They help bring in about 11 tons of fresh fruits, saffron, carpets and other items to Delhi. Quite soon our traders will be bringing fresh grapes and fruits from Afghanistan to India through Chabahar. With the way things are, I do see a really bright and vibrant future insofar as bilateral trade is concerned. Our traders are always willing to develop a lasting relationship with India. Going forward the air corridors will increase, and business will grow. As I see quite often nowadays, people have breakfast in Kabul and lunch in Delhi. The trend is happily growing.

What has been the cooperation in the areas of education and medical value travel between the two countries?

India has made a huge contribution in terms of granting scholarships. Since the year 2003, about 60,000 Afghani students have come and studied in India. Currently we have 16,000 Afghan students in India. Last week I was at the Amity University where they launched a capacity building course for 15-16 Afghan professors. There are regular courses like these for the teaching community of Afghanistan.

Medical tourism is also very big. If I am not wrong, India is perhaps the only destination for a lot of Afghans, both for cultural tourism and medical tourism. They trust the Indian medical system which is very good. We’re trying to build on it by signing MoUs with a few hospitals.

In earlier issues of the magazine we’ve highlighted the importance Afghanistan is giving to women empowerment. Kindly comment on the progress on this front…

Women have risen from a dark era when during the Taliban regime they were confined to a life behind four walls.

Now, a new generation has come up that is committed, and has a vision. Afghans also observe and respect gender equality. Our current Government, fortunately, has been accommodating a lot of women, even at senior levels like never before. We now have deputy ministers at the level of security, for instance. We’ve a presence of more than 27 percent women in Parliament which exceeds the percentage in India

16 india empire | september 2019

and in the U.S. Women walk shoulder to shoulder with men in all spheres. Even in the scholarships that are availed by Afghan students, a significant number go to women. There is a very strong and vibrant presence of women in the media and entertainment space. All this augurs very well for our nation.

Kindly elaborate on the role of the India Afghanistan Foundation…

The Foundation is a landmark in the relationship between the two countries. The board meets twice a year in the two national capitals with members drawn from either side. The most recent board meeting was in Kabul. It is co-chaired by heads of mission on either side. The foundation receives a number of proposals for funding. We narrow down to the ones that seek to implement projects that improve bilateral ties and incorporate cultural diversities between our two nations, whether that is by printing of books and journals, by translation work, or any other means. We recently approved a dozen proposals and will fund them fully.

What are the major sectors where Indian businesses can look to invest in your country?

There is so much scope for pretty much anything you want to do. But let me tell you that I’d want to see India and Indian companies investing more in IT, simply because India has such an upper hand in this sector. I always say that India could build a hi-tech city in Afghanistan on the patterns of Bengaluru. Both in terms of investment income and human resource investment it would turn out ❐ to be very good.

BuSINESS AND

GOVERNANcE

B&G

business: wines in luXeMbourg

Interview with Mr Antoine Clasen Director General of the Bernard-Massard group in Luxembourg

“We are expecting to do well in the Indian market” Understandably, the history of your family’s business in wine has been quite fascinating. Please let us know about it…

Yes, this has been a family business for us since 1921, so we’ve been in this for around a hundred years. It was created

by Jean Bernard, an oenologist from Luxembourg who went to work in Champagne (France), one of the most prestigious wine areas in the world. During the First World War he decided to return to Luxembourg. Many Luxembourgers have done this type of a thing, i.e. gone to Champagne to work. We go out for a few years, we learn, and then we bring our knowhow back to Luxembourg. Exactly what Jean Bernard did—he learnt how to make champagne, and then he came back to Luxembourg to apply his knowledge. He was convinced that the land along the Moselle river had great wine-making potential: 42 km of perfectly exposed coastal terrain between Schengen and Wasserbillig.

Let me give you a bit of a background about wine growing in Luxembourg. It was started by the Romans around 2,000 years ago. When they moved north, they planted grapes wherever they went. At the time it was easier to grow grapes locally rather than bring wine from Italy up to the north of France. So the vineyards in Luxembourg are from those times. In the early 20th century, Jean Bernard, an entrepreneur who was not related to our family, took the idea of starting a wine business to some of his associates.

Jean Bernard got his wife, Mrs Massard, involved in the business—that is from where the name Bernard-Massard comes. Even Mrs Massard, like her husband, was not related to our family. Jean Bernard had the idea, but he didn’t really have the money. He went to all of his friends, including two who were from my family. They happened to be my greatgreat grandfather, Bernard Clasen and his brother Joseph.

The two brothers also owned a vineyard. They decided to join Jean Bernard-Massard’s adventure. The year was 1921.

We still own that vineyard where we produce very high-end wines in small quantities. But our main business is that of sparkling wine that is produced by what we call the cham-

18 india empire | september 2019

Mr Antoine Clasen

pagne method. We are, however, not allowed to call it champagne, since we are in Luxembourg, and not in Champagne, France. But the method remains exactly the same.

Mr Jean Bernard unfortunately passed away in 1923, two years after founding the company. And that is when my family took over the business. Since then the Clasen family has run it and has chosen to keep the original name Bernard-Massard. Deeply rooted in the Moselle region, Bernard-Massard is one of the main producers of still wines in collaboration with two domains—Clos des Rochers in Grevenmacher and Château de Schengen in Schengen.

Joseph Clasen had two sons—André and Carlo. My father Hubert was Carlo’s son. Bernard Clasen, Joseph’s

photos: sipra das @ india empire

Mr Clasen with H.E. Mr Jean Claude Kugener, Ambassador of Luxembourg to India

brother, was the first president of Bernard-Massard. He was followed by Joseph as president of the company. Carlo, my grandfather, took over the day after the Second World War at the age of 24. He had no choice, to be honest, because he’d been placed there by his father. Carlo Clasen died in 1946. You can imagine what Luxembourg would have looked like right after the Second World War, being located between France, Belgium and Germany. We are on the Moselle river that forms a natural boundary between France, Germany and Luxembourg. Incidentally it was in Schengen that the treaty was signed that led to the creation of Europe’s Schengen Area.

Carlo Clasen had to take tough decisions. Much of our vineyards were occupied by American forces that were fighting the Germans on the other side. Much of the winery was destroyed. So he decided to sell all of our vineyards in order to fund the reconstruction of the winery. Since we didn’t have vineyards we needed to source grapes from other places. We continued producing the wines between the late 1940s and through to the 1970s this way. By the early 1980s my father turned the company around a bit. He was able to buy back some of the vineyards that my grandfather had sold. Today, fortunately, we have more vineyards than what we had before the Second World War. It took us nearly 40 years to do so. Getting back the vineyards has been one of the high points in our family’s history.

Since you grow wine in the Schengen area, please tell us a bit more about it…

Schengen has very rich soils. It is a very nice area to grow wine. As I mentioned, we’re able to use the Schengen label till this day. When you see it, you can see the drawing of the castle—it was made by Victor Hugo, the famous French writer, who stayed there with the owners of the day.

He was fleeing France and going via Schengen. In order to thank his hosts he drew them the castle. That is why we are able to use that label today. The original painting is in the museum in Luxembourg.

There are plenty of wine producing countries around you in Europe. How does Luxembourg manage to compete in this market?

Let me say that we’ve been able to expand because our focus has constantly been on quality. The Champagne region alone produces 300 million bottles a year, as a country we produce only six million annually. We are such a small country that producing bad wine is not an option. Then operational costs become too high. The wages in Luxembourg are pretty high and the per capita income is second highest in the world.

Life is very expensive. In Luxembourg most wines are sold locally. You have privately held wineries run by families. There are 60 of those—with land holdings varying from three hectares to 50 hectares. Bernard-Massard is the largest private

september 2019 | india empire 19

business: wines in luXeMbourg

LEFT: Bernard-Massard headquarters in Luxembourg. RIGHT: Mr Clasen with his wine brands—the Schengen brand in the middle carries the castle drawn by Victor Hugo

producer in Luxembourg. We produce three million bottles a year. You also have a cooperative that pulls in produce from 300 growers that own almost half of the vineyards. Overall, as I mentioned, we in Luxembourg produce six million bottles a year, and Bernard-Massard produces half of them.

How about the export market?

As far as exports are concerned, our company developed a different philosophy. Since day one we’ve been exporting our wines. We had a trade pact with Germany before the First World War. After that we found a new partner in Belgium. Our largest exports are to that country. Today we export to over 20 countries.

We’ve spread our wings little by little. For me, it is as much a passion to produce wine as it is to promote it. I find the whole thing exotic. It also helps promote my country, because not many people know about Luxembourg. To make people around the world discover wines from Luxembourg makes it doubly interesting. And now we’ve forayed into India.

In countries like Belgium and Finland, Bernard-Massard is a household name. In Quebec, Canada, we are one of the most sold wine products. But it has been a long haul. Our presence in Belgium spans one hundred years. It took us 20 years to get into the market in Finland completely and another

20 india empire | september 2019

10 in Canada’s Quebec. Our focus is now mainly on still wines.

We’ve journalists coming to our winery. I’m travelling a lot, and overall promoting the wine. So our presence is across more than 20 countries now. Besides, it is tougher for us as I travel on my own budget, and not the state’s. I’d be very happy to travel with other producers, but the country is so small that many wouldn’t join.

Please tell us how you decided to enter India?

It was at the initiative of our Ambassador H.E. Mr Jean Claude Kugener in New Delhi that I made the foray.

We were in touch since his days as Luxembourg’s envoy in Moscow. So when he said that Bernard-Massard could look at the Indian market, I decided to give it a try. As I mentioned earlier, we’re promoting a Luxembourg brand based on the champagne method. So it’s an advantage, and at the same time there is a bit of exclusivity. Right now we’ve our first order through our importer, Hema Connoisseur Collections in India.

They’ve strategies in place. Initially we’d focus on nice restaurants, hotels including those that have five-star ratings, a good distribution, and strategic networking. India is a big market, and capturing even a small fraction will make us expand. ❐ We’re hoping to do so with our partners down here.

beverages—non-alCoHoliC Markets

Beverage-makers rush to capture India’s non-alcoholic malt drinks market

By Rohit Vaid

S

ensing a big opportunity in the country’s non-alcoholic malt-drink market—a niche but potentially a high-volume category—global biggies such as Coca-Cola and Heineken have entered the beverage segment. A non-alcoholic malt drink is a high energy beverage, brewed in the same fashion as beer or ale. The beverage generally contains under 100 calories, compared to 300 of an average carbonated soft drink.

Besides Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev has also entered this segment to target the vast untapped market of people, who refrain from consuming alcohol. Coca-Cola has forayed into the niche category in a big way with its global brand Barbican. In case of Coca-Cola, the entry aims at introduction of more healthy options in the F&B segment.

The company launched a pilot project six months back to introduce the product which is tragetted towards the youth. “We introduced Barbican, a non-alcoholic malt-based beverages, in select Indian markets,” a senior company official told IANS. Similarly, it was consumer demand for no-alcohol brews that led United Breweries to launch—Heineken 0.0—which caters to a segment of health-conscious, young adults. “The product tastes like a beer with no alcohol. It is targeted at people, who want to drink a beer tasting product on non-alcoholic occasions, driving, in the office, after a game, in a restaurant with family. There are lots of occasions like these,” Mr Ramesh Viswanathan, Chief New Business Officer, United Breweries, told IANS. “The product has only 21 cal per 100 ml unlike soft drinks which is 45-50 cal per 100ml. So less than half.” This is the second non-alcoholic beverage in United Breweries’ portfolio. Last year, the company launched Kingfisher Radler, a blend of lemon juice and imported barley malt.

In July, Anheuser-Busch InBev launched—Budweiser 0.0—in India, stating that it aims to make-up at least 20 per cent of global beer volume by 2025. “Beer is a drink of moderation and as a leading brewer, we would like to offer our consumers choice,” Mr Ben Verhaert, President - South Asia, AB InBev, told IANS. “Budweiser is the fastest growing premium brand in the country and the launch of Budweiser 0.0 will further enable the brand to be inclusive, as many people today either cannot or choose not to consume alcohol.”

Notably, a majority of India’s adult population is esti❐ mated to refrain from consuming alcohol.

september 2019 | india empire 21

bilateral business and diploMaCy—india and russia

moving beyond defence

BuSInESS To BE foCuS of InDo-RuSSIA TIES

By Ajay Kaul

B

usiness is going to be the thrust area now in India-Russia relationship, which has so far been seen mostly from the prism of military and civil nuclear cooperation. Even the military and civil nuclear elements of cooperation have been one-way street, with India being the buyer and Russia the supplier. But this has to change. This is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Vladivostok, the largest Russian port on the Pacific coast, in early September during his two-day visit, emphasising on converting the buyer-seller relationship to a collaborative one. He also stressed that the relationship has to be taken beyond military and civil nuclear elements and diversified, with more focus on trade and investment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also agreed that the bilateral trade between the two old allies is very low at $11 billion. Accordingly, the two leaders set an ambitious target of $30 billion to be achieved in next six years, almost three times the current level. Mr Modi, while addressing the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in presence of his host, said both of them agreed that the current level of trade is very low considering the warm relations the two countries have shared over the past seven decades. “There are a lot of possibilities (in the India-Russia relations). Till now, the full potential has not been realised. The speed has been low,” Prime Minister Modi said.

He identified energy and minerals as sectors with a lot of scope. Russia is rich in these resources and India could invest in these. Mr Modi said during his visit, about 50 agreements have been signed in various areas, which are expected to translate into investments worth several billion dollars. “I am not here to deliver a lecture and leave,” he told the gathering, implying that he meant business. He said

22 india empire | september 2019

Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi meeting the President of Russian Federation Mr Vladimir Putin in New Delhi in October 2018 both Mr Putin and he shared a trait—that both are “never satisfied”. The two leaders laid the road map for enhanced cooperation during their talks. Among the other sectors identified for intensified cooperation are agriculture, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure. They also discussed easing of visa norms for Indian business persons and smoothening of currency matters.

Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi with the President of Russian Federation Mr Vladimir Putin at Vladivostok, Russia in September 2019

Significantly, Mr Modi proposed export of Indian manpower to Russia, highlighting how it has helped increase incomes of its host countries, like the Gulf nations. The Indian diaspora has also been contributing to India’s income through remittances. A decision was taken to start shipping services between Chennai and Vladivostok, to improve connectivity between India and Russia’s Far East, where India will be stepping up investments, especially in energy and mining. The Russian President spoke about energy sector and said his country is a reliable supplier. He referred to a major scope for cooperation in the field of energy, particularly Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the Far East and Arctic regions. The two leaders agreed on enhancing twoway investments in the energy sector through a five-year road map. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told media persons that the decision to give thrust to boosting economic ties would lend a new dimension to the ties between the two countries. Mr Modi and Mr Putin also discussed the prospects of Russia getting involved in inland shipping in India for tourism purposes.

The pacts signed during the visit included an MoU on

bilateral cooperation in the road transport and road industry, plan for cooperation for combating customs violations in 2019-2022, MoU to cooperate in coking coal mining projects implementation in the Russian Far East, Cooperation Agreement between Invest India and the Russian Direct Investment Fund for Investment Collaboration, Cooperation agreement between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry the Roscongress Foundation, MoU between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Autonomous Non-profit Organization Agency for Strategic Initiatives to promote New Projects. An agreement was also signed on Cooperation between Joint-Stock Company Rosgeologia and Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited. To convey India’s seriousness to avenues in Russia, Mr Modi referred to Commerce and Industry Ministry Piyush Goyal, who last month led a 150-member delegation, including four Chief Ministers, to the country and said it was a “unique” step. The delegation had met Governors of 11 provinces to discuss commercial opportunities and India is now expecting a return visit by these Governors. ❐

september 2019 | india empire 23

rankings—liveability

Vienna most liveable city, New Delhi drops to 118th spot

V

ienna, known for its ability Ranking” brings both joy and grandiose architecture, honour. “It is an achievement which abundance of green we will continue to strive towards maintaining in the years to come. To spaces and one-of-aattain the world’s highest quality of kind coffeehouse cullife is a result of hard work and effiture, has been voted as the most cient collaborations of all players livable city in the world for the secwithin the city,” he said. Vienna atond year running, The Economist retracted 40,509 Indian visitors between ported. By contrast, worsening air January-July 2019, representing an inpollution caused New Delhi to drop crease of nearly 9 per cent over the six places to 118 th and Cairo to fall same period last year. two places to 125 th . Mumbai fell two Global Liveability Index ranking places to 119 because of a low score of the Economist Intelligence Unit in the culture category. According to (EIU), published annually since 2004, the annual index compiled by the enjoys global recognition and comEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Mr Norbert Kettner pares 140 cities around the world. In the Austrian capital is the most livable all, 27 cities have become more liveable by the EIU’s reckcity in the world.

On the EIU’s index, Vienna scored a near-perfect 99.1 oning, whereas 15 saw their scores fall.

The biggest improvement came in San Juan, the capiout of 100, putting it just ahead of Melbourne. Sydney and Osaka were third and fourth in the list dominated by tal of Puerto Rico, which rose 20 places to 69 th - but that Australian, Canadian and Japanese cities. According to owed much to investments in health care and infrastrucNorbert Kettner, CEO, Vienna Tourist Board, to see Vi- ture after the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Irma ❐ enna again listed as number one in EIU’s “Global Liv- and Maria in 2017.

24 india empire | september 2019

eleCtroniC transaCtion—google pay

Google Pay to tap into 12 million kirana stores in India

By Nishant Arora

G

oogle Pay which reported fierce competition and with WhatsApp 55 million monthly active Pay arriving soon, the game will only beusers in India in May has come intense. set eyes on tapping over Google Pay currently has over 3,000 12 million ubiquitous kionline merchants including Zomato, rana stores to write its next India growth BookMyShow, Swiggy, RedBus and othstory, a top company executive said in ers in its kitty while it is accepted at over August. According to Ambarish Kenghe, 200,000 offline stores across 3,500 towns Director, Product Management, Google and cities. Some of the leading names inPay, India, more and more people are emclude Reliance Stores and Vishal Mega bracing Google Pay and the aim is to tap Mart, and others. Google Pay (as of into the small and medium businesses May) had $95 billion in money value (SMBs) and the neighbourhood kirana passing through the channel, at an annuMr Ambarish Kenghe stores, thus empowering both the meralized run rate (ARR) level. According to chants and the consumers go digital in a Mr Kenghe, the digital payments landseamless and secure way. scape in India has changed in the last two-three years, es“The idea is to empower more Indians as digital be- pecially with the growing smart-phone use base. comes new cash for millions in the country. The Unified “In the last two years, instant bank-to-bank transfers via Payments Interface (UPI) helps you pay at the neighbour- UPI have become the preferred form of payment for milhood kirana store and after leading the peer-to-peer (P2P) lions of Indians, with many users adopting digital payments digital payments market, peer-to-merchant (P2M) market is for the first time,” he said. Google Pay has already made inwe are currently looking into,” Mr Kenghe told IANS. roads into smaller towns and two-third of its business in Nearly 90 per cent of the retail market in the country is India is coming from such markets. To keep the transaccurrently unorganised—a market that, if goes digital in tions extra-secure, Google Pay now sends app notifications coming years, will open new avenues for the digital pay- as well as SMSes to inform users each time they receive a ments firms. India recorded an accelerated growth rate of collect request to highlight that approving the request will over 50 per cent in the volume of retail electronic payment deduct money from their bank accounts. transactions in the last four years, according to a latest re“We are mindful that at Google Pay, users are entrusting port by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The growth in us with their most sensitive asset - their money. We are con2018-19 was largely due to the steep growth in Unified Pay- scious of the responsibility that comes with this trust,” Mr ments Interface (UPI)-based digital payments.

Kenghe noted. Google Pay uses Machine Learning (ML)According to an Assocham-PWC study, digital payments based scam prevention models, and also displays explicit in India will more than double to $135.2 billion in 2023 “scam” or “stranger” warnings if a user receives a request from $64.8 billion this year with a compounded annual from someone suspicious or not in their contacts. “The growth of 20.2 per cent. With the spurt in smart-phone whole idea is to empower our users in India not just with users (the country has over 450 million smart-phone users), making payments but to do that in a seamless and secure ❐ digital payments and e-wallet companies are in for some way,” the Google Pay senior executive added. september 2019 | india empire 25

tourisM—foCus on Heritage

Heritage hoteliers to focus on domestic events

H

eritage hoteliers will now Convention Chairman Rajendra focus more on the doSingh Pachar said that the need of the mestic tourism market hour is to make heritage hotels iconic to along with events and Rajasthan. Heritage hotels should be a weddings. This is because symbol of Rajasthan’s culture, customs, foreign tourists are no longer indulging in festivals, music, among others. This time long-haul vacations due to poor global Pushkar has been chosen as the venue to economy,” said Indian Heritage Hotels showcase it as a large Vedic research cenAssociation (IHHA) General Secretary tre of India. Highlighting the special atRandhir Vikram Singh. tractions of the convention this year, the Mr Singh was addressing a press conConvention Chairman said that the conference in August for the IHHA Convention will witness participation by sevvention 2019 at Hotel Hari Mahal Palace. eral experts who will speak on topics Mr Randhir Vikram Singh Speaking on the occasion, he said: “Hersuch as the New MSME Act, Rajasthan itage hotels have also become a hotspot Investment Promotion Scheme (RIPS), for destination weddings and film shootings. Rajasthan can relevance of social media for heritage hotels, the art of franbe put on the world map if heritage hoteliers come together chising and being a Maharaja for your region and creating to promote not only their heritage hotels but also other el- heritage. ements like natural and built heritage, rural heritage tourism, Other than this, the Convention will also bring to the wedding in heritage hotels, film tourism, etc.” forefront—looking at natural and rural tourism as an opThe eighth edition of the Indian Heritage Hotels Asso- portunity and development, managing and monetising ciation (IHHA) Convention 2019 held between September palaces as well as the role of millennials in the future of 7 and 8 at Hotel Aaram Bagh Palace in Pushkar was themed heritage hotels. Similarly, topics like the importance of natat ‘Recast Indian Heritage Learning from Within’. Mr Singh ural and built heritage, the responsibility of the IHHA to further said that a major focus of the convention this year support the government and create new destination, creatwill be ‘Water Conservation’. The convention featured dis- ing new business models around heritage spaces and many cussions with experts on this issue to encourage hoteliers more new and unique topics will also be discussed. to come together and promote water conservation, recyIt is to be noted that country’s leading film distributor, cling and harvesting. Other than this, marketing was another Mr Raj Bansal and Representative of Federation of Rasignificant aspect of the IHHA 2019. Event managers and jasthan Event Managers, Mr Arshad Hussain will also be atdomestic travel agents from across the country were invited tending the event. They have been specially invited to give to the event. their inputs. ❐ 26 india empire | september 2019

sustainibility—doMestiC tap water

PM’s ambitious water project to cost Rs 7.88 lakh crore By nirbhay Kumar

P

rime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise to provide tap water to each household in the country may cost a whopping Rs 7.88 lakh crore. The estimate is based on project reports submitted by the states to the Jal Shakti Ministry and considering the present coverage of piped water at 18 per cent in the country. Given the huge fund requirement for the ambitious project, the Centre is looking at innovative financing options such as public private partnership (PPP) and hybrid annuity model, which has been successfully implemented in the road sector.

“The states may opt for available innovative financing models,” official said. Even as the task looks challenging, the government is confident of implementing the piped water project, pointing out the enormity of funds and execution involved in the Swachh Bharat Mission. “India is on track to become open defecation free (ODF)

by October 2, 2019. In the last five years, 9.76 crore toilets were built covering 5.72 lakh villages.

There is no reason to doubt that piped water cannot be provided to each household by 2024,” the official said. The Centre has proposed to provide funds for water-related schemes to states against the outcomes. The idea behind it is that good performing states draw more funds, while those not performing miss out on the share.

As per the latest data available with the government, only few states such as Sikkim, Goa, Gujarat, Puducherry and Punjab have more than 50 per cent of households covered with piped water. Sikkim has the highest coverage of 99 per cent followed by Gujarat at 79 per cent. The less covered states are Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Tripura. The Modi 2.0 government has accorded top priority to water and has launched several schemes to ensure water availability across the country as well as its conservation. It has created the new Ministry of Jal Shakti for dealing with all matters related to water in an integrated manner. Various water related schemes, including flood management, Namami Gange and national water conservation plan, are estimated to cost Rs 3.64 lakh crore ❐ over the next five years. september 2019 | india empire 27

psu banks—HigHer governMent stake

Govt to Hold 51% stake in PsU banks

F

photo: sipra das @ india empire

inance Secretary Rajeev Kumar said in August that the Government will keep its stake in the nationalised banks at 51 per cent. “PSU banks do a lot for the general public. The government will keep its stake at 51 per cent in the nationalised banks,” he said at a Finance Ministry briefing to announce the mergers of PSU banks.

The Government announced the mega-merger of 10 PSU banks into four entiThe Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman addressing a press ties, where the Punjab Na- conference in New Delhi in August 2019. The Secretary, Department of Financial Services Mr Rajiv Kumar, tional Bank, the Oriental Bank the Principal Director General (M&C), Press Information Bureau, Mr Sitanshu R. Kar are also seen of Commerce and the United Bank will merge to become the second-largest public sector boards for approval. Kumar also allayed any fears of job loss bank (PSB) while the Canara Bank and the Syndicate Bank will due to the mergers. Earlier while announcing the mergers, amalgamate to set up the fourth-largest PSU banking entity. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the gross NPA India will now have 12 state-run banks instead of 27. level had come down to Rs 7.9 lakh crore in March 2019 Mr Kumar said the time was right for PSU banks’ con- from Rs 8.65 lakh crore in December 2018. After recapitalsolidation, which would not cause any disruption in the isation of PSBs at different times, the government currently banking system. He also maintained that 12 state-run banks holds 91 per cent to 97 per cent stake in them. Though the were the right number. On the likely date from when these Government has been in favour of reducing the stake in the mergers would be effective, he said the dates would be fixed state-run lenders to 51 per cent, it has never been in favour ❐ later, as first the banks have to take the proposals to their of shedding control on the nationalised banks.

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar (right) and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale during a media briefing in September on Kashmir and other international developments 28 india empire | september 2019

fdi reforMs

fDI REfoRMS: CoAL MInInG To DIGITAL MEDIA

I

Further in a bid to provide clarity n a major reform push, the on contractual manufacturing, the cabUnion Cabinet in August eased inet also permitted 100 per cent FDI foreign direct investment in the sector through the automatic (FDI) norms in several sectors, route. The existing FDI policy proincluding approval of 100 per vides for 100 per cent FDI under aucent FDI in coal mining and contractomatic route in the manufacturing tual manufacturing. In another major sector but there was no specific providevelopment, the cabinet, in its meetsion for contractual manufacturing. ing also decided to allow 26 per cent The Union Cabinet allowed 100 per FDI in the digital media segment cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through the approval route. “It has in contractual manufacturing through been decided to permit 100 per cent the automatic route. An official stateFDI under automatic route for sale of ment said that the decision has been coal, for coal mining activities includtaken to in order to provide clarity on ing associated processing infrastruccontract manufacturing in the country. ture subject to provisions of Coal “Subject to the provisions of the FDI Mines Act, 2015 and the Mines and Mr Piyush Goyal policy, foreign investment in ‘manuMinerals Act, 1957,” an official statement said. “Associated processing infrastructure” would in- facturing’ sector is under automatic route.

“With a view to provide greater flexibility and ease of clude coal washeries, crushing, coal handling, and separation operations to SBRT entities, it has been decided that all pro(magnetic and non-magnetic).

As per the present FDI policy, 100 per cent FDI under curements made from India by the SBRT entity for that sinautomatic route is allowed for coal and lignite mining for cap- gle brand shall be counted towards local sourcing, tive consumption by power projects, iron and steel and ce- irrespective of whether the goods procured are sold in India ment units and other eligible activities permitted under and or exported,” Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after the cabinet meeting. subject to applicable laws and regulations. ❐

august 2019 | india empire 29

digital CoMMerCe—wHatsapp

WhATSApp hELpING INDIAN ENTREpRENEuRS WRITE SuccESS STORIES

By NishaNt arora

I

ce cream lover Aarti Laxman Rastogi decided that not all indulgences need to be sinful and, in March 2018, she started Artinci to provide ice creams with premium, all-natural ingredients. Running a business has its own challenges and she also had to go through hardship till she joined the WhatsApp Business app. “I have a hearing disability. WhatsApp has become a great communication enabler for me. I text my way through the planning and execution of any business day. It helps give and receive instructions in writing too, and leaves no room for misinterpretation,” said Ms Rastogi who now has a 14member team with five outlets in Bengaluru, and two more coming soon. In addition to connecting Ms Rastogi with customers, WhatsApp Business app helped the company launch a limited edition ice creams made with jaggery. “We sold out half of this batch through WhatsApp exclusively,” she added.

Several such success stories are being written via WhatsApp in India. Many Indian entrepreneurs have built something from scratch and are seeing it thrive and expand with support from the Facebook-owned app which has 400 million users in the country. In a recent survey of Indian small businesses on WhatsApp, 77 per cent said that it helps them connect with customers - including in other cities - while 62 per cent said WhatsApp helps them increase sales and is

30 india empire | september 2019

essential for running their businesses.

According to Mr Abhijit Bose, India Head, WhatsApp, small and micro-enterprises are providing the majority of jobs in the country and driving economic growth. “We’re excited to play a role in helping to match the enormous talent and ambition of Indian entrepreneurs with the opportunity of a very strong domestic consumer base - and to make it easier to tap a vibrant global market,” Mr Bose told IANS.

Ms Poonam Bir Kasturi has made home composting a habit for thousands of people globally with Daily Dump, India’s first home composter for urban spaces, which she designed in 2006. Daily Dump offers pioneering solutions for decentralized waste management. Its range of composters, segregation products, books, services and awareness material enable people’s change in behaviour to harm the environment less. The company has a dedicated WhatsApp Business number for customers to connect for any queries, support, information and other details, and also use WhatsApp Business groups to connect as a team internally and with partners in different parts of the country. “We have many customers who reach out on our helpline with photos and we give them live demos on what to correct,” Ms Kasturi said.

According to Mr Will Cathcart, Global Head of WhatsApp, India is producing a new generation of small businesses and micro enterprises that are shaking up markets, growing economies and boosting jobs. “We’re excited to see what more people are doing with WhatsApp, particularly in India, to grow their business and support their local communities,” he said during his India visit in July 2019.

Amid the comic book craze, TBS Planet is working to bring Indian superheroes into the spotlight. “When I started

TBS Planet in July 2016 with comic book ‘Ved,’ it was a hobby,” said founder Rajeev Tamhankar. “Soon, we got contracts from Balaji Motion Pictures and Ajay Devgn Films to create comics for their movies ‘A Flying Jatt’ and ‘Shivaay,’ respectively. That’s when I quit my job and started this venture full-time”. Jabalpur-based TBS Planet which develops comics in six languages - Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Marathi, and English - is on WhatsApp Business app. “Since almost Mr Abhijit Bose everyone uses WhatsApp, it helped us scale distribution quickly. No one needed to download a new app to read our comics,” said Mr Tamhankar.

Since they started using the WhatsApp Business app, the company has seen high growth rates, up to 40 per cent month over month. TBS Planet has approximately 14,000 subscribers - some from as far away as Dubai and the US. Many Indian entrepreneurs, said Cathcart who launched “Gateway to a Billion Opportunities”—a collection of impactful user stories from across India”, have built something from scratch and are seeing it thrive and expand with support from WhatsApp. When WhatsApp Pay becomes a reality soon in India, these small and micro-businesses will thrive more as peer-to-peer (P2P) payments will be done within WhatsApp, keeping transactions simple and secure. ❐

september 2019 | india empire 31

retail—flipkart

tiGer FUnd

increases

eqUity

stake in FliPkart

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he US-based hedge fund, Tiger Fund, increased its equity holding in India’s leading retailer Flipkart by buying 54,596 shares of its co-founder Binny Bansal for an estimated $14.5 million (Rs 104 crore), business intelligence platform Paper.vc said in September. “Regulatory filings by Flipkart indicate that Binny sold a tranche of shares for the third time since the global retail giant Walmart’s takeover of the e-commerce company in Mr Binny Bansal May 2018,” Chennai-based Paper.vc told IANS in a statement.

The $514-billion Walmart acquired majority stake (77 per cent) in the city-based Flipkart on May 9, 2018 for a whopping $16 billion (Rs 107,662 crore) at $67.3 per share. “Bansal sold 47,759 equity shares to existing shareholder Internet Fund III Pte Ltd and 54,596 shares to incoming shareholder Tiger Global Eight Holdings,” said the statement.

Paper.vc has evaluated the sale based on Walmart’s ac-

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quisition price for majority stake in May 2018. “If we incorporate a modest increase in Flipkart’s valuation because of the growth of its subsidiary PhonePe, the number could go up to $25 million (Rs 180 crore),” said Paper.vc.

On June 24, Mr Binny Bansal monetised 54 lakh equity shares for $76.4 million (Rs 531 crore) via a sale to FIT Holdings SARL, Walmart’s Luxembourg entity. Though the other cofounder, Sachin Bansal, exited Flipkart when Walmart acquired it, Binny Bansal stayed on to lead its management team.

Mr Binny Bansal, however, resigned on November 13, 2018 after an investigation by Walmart into allegations of personal misconduct (sexual harassment) on his part. Prior to June, Mr Bansal sold 11,22,433 of his shares to unspecified investors for $159 million (Rs 114 crore). Our estimates may vary from the authoritative numbers maintained by Walmart/Flipkart,” added the statement. ❐

business snippets

India should be software hub

30 more daily flights from Kerala

India should focus on becoming a major software producer, said Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary for the Ministry of Electronics and IT, said in New Delhi in August. “It’s time for us to move towards software products. We have been consumers of software, but not producers of software.

It’s time for India to move towards being a software product Mr Ajay Prakash Sawhney nation,” the Secretary said speaking at the Digital Governance Tech Summit 2019, organised by Microsoft. Mr Sawhney said as India had become a major mobile phone manufacturer and meets most local demand and the government was now focused on the mobile and electronic component manufacturing. “Increasingly we are trying to bring the supply chain into the country. It’s important for us and we are moving in that direction with policy and other initiatives,” he said. He said the Indian mobile manufacturing industry had come a long way from assembling 6 crore mobile phones in 2014-15 to 29 crore in 2018-19.

Union Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola in August said 30 more daily flights would operate from four airports in Kerala starting this winter. He said this while addressing a meeting of airline representatives called by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Thiruvananthapuram.

Mr Vijayan reminded the Mr Pradeep Singh Kharola officials during the meeting that in last year’s meet, the aviation industry demanded that the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) tax be reduced. Though it was done, no favourable decision was taken to increase the number of flights. “We are ready to further reduce the tax on ATF if the airlines are ready to increase their flights to the various Kerala airports,” the Chief Minister said. Mr Vijayan also raised the issue of various airlines jacking up the fares on the Middle East routes, and even as the issue was raised numerous times, no action has been taken. Top officials of the aviation industry and representatives of 19 airlines were present at the meeting.

Wipro’s windfall

Oberoi Group’s new property

Wipro secured a $300million (Rs 2,156 crore) seven-year deal from the country’s leading private sector bank ICICI Bank through Vara Infotech for providing a suite of services, said the IT major in September. “As Vara provides the services, we will absorb its 3,800 employees along with its contracts, facilities and assets through a business transfer agreement for Rs 321 crore in an all-cash deal,” said the Bengaluru-based software behemoth in a statement. The bank contract generated Rs 221.5 crore business for Vara in the fiscal 2018-19.

“The transaction is expected to be completed during the (second) quarter ending September 30 and is subject to customary closing conditions,” said the outsourcing firm.

The company has a major presence in the global banking and financial services sector as it provides solutions to banks by leveraging its artificial intelligence platform Holmes. “The deal will strengthen our endeavour to provide differentiated technology and digital capabilities to the financial services industry,” added the statement.

The Oberoi Group has announced the launch of its new property in Marrakech in Morocco which will start operating from December 1.

The new property is located 25 minutes from the Djema el-Fna square and the ancient walled city and has 84 rooms, suites and villas. Making the announceMr P.R.S. Oberoi ment, Mr P.R.S. Oberoi, Executive Chair man, The Oberoi Group, said: “We are delighted to announce the opening of The Oberoi, Marrakech. We look forward to extending The Oberoi Group’s presence in one of the world’s most exotic destinations. Several Oberoi Hotels & Resorts have been recognised as amongst the best in the world. I am confident that The Oberoi, Marrakech, with its exceptional location, aesthetic design and committed team will offer the distinctive Oberoi ser vice to travellers from around the world.” september 2019 | india empire 33

reloCation and investMent

Us firms keen to relocate to India from China By arul Louis About 200 US companies have expanies may be able to avoid the high pressed interest in coming from China tariffs imposed by Trump, some of to India, according to Mukesh Aghi, which went into effect in September. the president of US-India Strategic Mr Aghi asked USISPF board Partnership Forum (USISPF). The ormember and former US Ambassador ganisation, which promotes bilateral to India, Frank Wisner, what India and business and trade relations between Tamil Nadu should do to get those the two countries, has received encompanies to come there. Mr Wisner quiries from those companies about said that the Centre has to reform how to invest in India and they have a labor laws to make the condition of potential for bringing $21 billion in inemployment of workers easy, enable vestments to India, Mr Aghi said durthe acquisition of land easier, create ing an interactive session at Tamil Nadu reliable tax systems and establish a Chief Minister K. Palaniswami’s meetsolid financial sector that is able to fuel ing with investors in early September. investment. The responsibility of the India’s Consul General Sandeep state is to provide “a framework of Mr Mukesh Aghi Chakravorty also said that there was a welcome” for companies wanting to lot of interest from US companies to relocate from China relocate or invest by helping them find land facilitating to India and he hoped that Tamil Nadu is rolling out the clearances, and running interference with Delhi, said Wisred carpet for them. US President Donald Trump’s trade ner, who is now International Affairs Adviser to the global war with China, the problems with protecting intellectual law firm, Squire Patton Boggs. He added that the state also property and restrictions on doing business have prompted has to provide “the kinds of educational and health inframany US companies to look for other places to move or ex- structure that is required not only for work force, but for pand operations. By investing in other countries these com- managerial talent”.

tN inks rs 52,800 crore investment deals Tamil Nadu has signed investment deals worth Rs 52,800 crore during an Investors Meet in New York with Chief Minister K. Palaniswami. Memorandums of Understanding for 11 projects and for four investment promotion cooperation were signed in early September with an assurance from Mr Palaniswami that “the state will always stand by you and provide you with the best possible investment experience.”

The areas of investment ranged from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to software development and automation. Mr Palaniswami said that the state had 8,000 acres ready for building facilities and it had a record of being investor-friendly. He pitched Tamil Nadu as a destination for defence and aerospace industries, with the central government planning a corridor in the state for this sector. The state’s Industries Principal Secretary N. Muruganandam said that Tamil Nadu has announced an aerospace and defence industrial policy which gives special incentives to enterprises in the sector with subsidies for capital, land and skills development.

Electronic vehicle manufacturing is another sunrise sector the state is targeting, he said. As business relations grow 34 india empire | september 2019

between the US and India, particularly Tamil Nadu, this marks a historic anniversary, Mr Wisner said. This year is the 225th anniversary of the setting up of US diplomatic representation in Madras, as Chennai was known in 1794, by William Abbott, who became the consular agent, he said.

—Arul Louis

DIASpORA NEWS

diaspora in usa

ro Khanna calls Imran’s war rhetoric ‘ridiculous’ Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has said Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan needs to cool down his war rhetoric with India, calling it “absolutely ridiculous”.

“Kashmir is an internal matter for India’s democracy and ... Imran Khan needs to cool his heated rhetoric and not escalate to a war or conflict,” Khanna, who recently joined the Pakistani Congressional Caucus, told members of the Indian-American community during an interaction in Freemont, California. “Imran Khan’s rhetoric of war with India is absolutely ridiculous,” said Khanna, who represents California’s 17th District.

The Pakistan Prime Minister and the country’s politicians have repeatedly attacked India in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Khan has often threatened India of war and also claimed that New Delhi is likely to attempt a “false flag” or covert operation to divert attention from Kashmir.

In August, Pakistan’s Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said that he feels that a “full-fledged war” will be fought between India and Pakistan in October or November this year. “The time of the last battle for the liberation

Mr Ro Khanna

of Kashmir has arrived and this time the war with India will be full and final,” Ahmad said. After failing to get any support from the UN Security Council or the US, Pakistan is now seeking to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Council.

Federal judgeship for Indian American

Ms Shireen Mathews

US President Donald Trump has nominated Shireen Mathews, an Indian-American lawyer, to be a federal judge.

She is a partner with the elite law firm Jones Day, where she specialises in white-collar crimes.

Before that, she was an assistant federal prosecutor in California serving as the coordinator for criminal healthcare fraud cases. Her nomination to Southern California Southern District federal court in San Diego was announced on Wednesday by the White House and her appointment 36 india empire | september 2019

has to be approved by the Senate. Mathews is the sixth Indian-American nominated to the federal judiciary at various levels by Trump. South Asia Bar Association (SABA) President Aneesh called it “a historic nomination” and urged “the Senate to quickly confirm her, adding another deserving South Asian voice to the judiciary.” Ms Mathews has served on SABA North America board of directors.

According to Jones Day, while she was a prosecutor, Ms Mathews uncovered a multi-million dollar fraud in stolen medical equipment and also won one of the highest restitution awards for the Social Security (general public pension) trust fund.

Neomi Rao is the most prominent judicial nominee of Trump, who named her to the federal appeals court in Washington to succeed Brett Kavanaugh, who was elevated to the Supreme Court.

Based in the nation’s capital, that appeals court is considered the most important one after the Supreme Court and a nominee of former President Barack Obama Sri Srinivasan also serves on it. Amul Thapar was nominated by Trump to an appeals court in Ohio that has jurisdiction over four states. Rao and Thapar, along with federal court nominee J. Nicholas Ranjan received Senate confirmation. Two other nominees for federal judgeships, Diane Gujarati and Anuraag Singhal are awaiting Senate action.

researCH

Even Americans would rather drive cars themselves: Study

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esearchers, including one of Indian-origin, from Washington University have revealed that people in the US would rather drive themselves than have an autonomous vehicle drive them. Many Americans use a ride-hailing service -- like Uber or Lyft -- to get to and from work. It provides the privacy of riding in a personal car and the convenience of catching up on emails or social media during traffic jams. In the future, self-driving vehicles could provide the same service, except without a human driver.

"The average person in our sample would find riding in a driverless car to be more burdensome than driving themselves. This highlights the risks of making forecasts based on how people say they would respond to driverless cars today," said study senior author Don MacKenzie.

For the findings published in the journal Transportation, the research team studied how Americans' perceived cost of commute time changes depending on who's driving.

Through a survey, the team found that people considered a ride-hailing service at least 13 per cent "less expensive," in terms of time, compared to driving themselves. If the researchers told people the ride-hailing service was driverless, however, then the cost of travel time increased to 15 per cent more than driving a personal car, suggesting that at least for now, people would rather drive themselves than have an autonomous vehicle drive them. During the survey, the research team asked people across the continental US

to select between a personal car or a ride-hailing service for a 15-mile commute trip. Half the 502 respondents were told that the ride-hailing service was driverless.

The researchers converted the responses to a score of how much respondents deemed that trip would cost per hour. "If someone values their trip time at $15 per hour, that means they dislike an hour spent travelling as much as they dislike giving up $15, so a lower number means that the time spent travelling for that trip is less burdensome," said study co-author and Indian-origin researcher Andisheh Ranjbari. According to the researchers, driverless cars aren't commercially available yet, so people are not familiar with them or may be leery of the technology. â?? september 2019 | india empire 37

ColuMn: yogi asHwini

Mind and body

SIGNIfIcANcE Of SHRADH by yogi ashwini Yogi ashwini

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he soul incarnates into a physical body which is made up of the five elements in various permutations and combinations, reincarnating birth after birth depending on the kind of karmas which one does in a lifetime. There are certain souls who do not reincarnate, either because they are finished with their karmic cycle of bhu lok [the prithvi lok] or because they are stuck in a different dimension of existence and are unable to manifest in the human body, as their karmic balance is not sufficient to entitle them for a human birth. These souls remain suspended as energies and are called ghosts and spirits or they go to a different dimension of existence called the pitr lok or the lok of the ancestors.

Whatever dimension or level of existence that they are in, unless they have been freed from the cycle of birth and death, they need energy from their off-springs to offset their karmic balance to enable them to reincarnate again.

Shradhs are an important part of the Hindu/Vedic culture and cater to these ancestors’ needs. On these days the constellations are such that the gateways to the other dimensions open and they are allowed to visit the earth to meet their near and dear ones. These ancestors depend on their children and grandchildren to do good deeds in their name and to chant specific mantras, both these acts free the souls from bondages of these not desired yonis or levels of existences. It is the basic duty of the family members to perform certain rites and do charity in the names of their close ones, as its only once you are in the human body can you do all this, once out - all is lost and you are dependent on others for your salvation and rebirth [if your karmas do not permit].

At the present time and age, the youth of the country has no idea about the power and efficacy of the Vedic sciences and the phenomenal knowledge in the vedic mantras and rituals, the present education system is to be blamed for this as it is completely based on what the colonial masters chose for us, they were fearful of the power of the vedas and hence destroyed the gurukul system and ensured that we were taught redundant sciences and tweaked history to their advantage. The purpose was such that the coming generations lose faith in their culture and follow the colonial masters blindly. The result which they wanted is visible today.

For the younger generations who might be thinking by now

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that this article reeks of Hindutva and is a fairy tale based on fiction, I would like to point certain facts of history.

In the ancient world the main cultures flourishing around 4,000 years back were the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, the Romans, Mayans, and others and, of course, our very own culture. None of the present day religions or schools of thought were present, except the Hindu religion and the vedic thought.

All the cultures prevalent believed in the other world and traveling of the soul to other dimensions. The pyramids which are a common feature in all the continents are a living proof of the advancement and the high scientific knowledge of these ancient masters.

Scientists today accept that the ancients had a strong knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, chemistry and physics.

The pyramids are aligned in the north south direction and the shafts in them are pointing towards the three main stars of the orion belt which the scientists of today say could be the birth place of stars and the human origin. The technology to move such heavy stones to build pyramids is still not available to mankind. As a matter of fact scientists are till date baffled by them, they are further baffled when they have found high doses of radioactivity in the bones indicating an atomic explosion of the human remains at Mohenjo-Daro.

4,000 years back when these civilisations were flourishing, at that time the third yug or the dwapar yug was in process. If we just try to go back further to the treta yug and read about the the various weapons used in the Ramayana war, we would realise that our ancestors knew the way the creation functions and the secrets of the lokas and the world of energy.

It is important to note that the Hindu culture is the only culture which predates all the other cultures and is still the largest practiced religion, its mantras and practices are not mumbo jumbo but they are a gift of a highly advanced civilisation to the present day humans That’s why it has survived till date. So if you feel the presence of ghosts around you or are going through troubled times because of pitr dosha, then I invite you to take the help of the techniques prescribed in the ❐ vedic culture....rituals of shradh being one of them.

—Yogi Ashwini is the guiding light of dhyan foundation and can be reached at www.dhyanfoundation.com