India Newsletter 06 2016

INDIA NEWSLETTER Indian Embassy, Vienna

Published by the Embassy of India, Vienna Year 6 • Issue 66 • June 2016

MAKE IN INDIA ■■TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

India Newsletter • 1

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The Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy Digital Infrastructure as a Core Utility to Every Citizen

Governance and Services on Demand

Digital Empowerment of Citizens

www.digitalindia.gov.in 2 • India Newsletter

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The new Government has prepared a five pillar strategy to drive India’s growth, which offer multiple avenues of collaboration and investments

■■ Infrastructure Development

■■ Manufacturing Growth

■■ Skill Development

■■ Energy Sufficiency

■■ Improved Business Environment

www.makeinindia.com India Newsletter • 3

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the ‘Startup India, Standup India’ initiative in his Independence Day address last year. Last January 16th, PM Modi unveiled the action plan for startups in the country. He announced a self-certification scheme in respect of nine labour and environment laws and said there will be no inspection during the first three years of launch of the venture. Addressing the first conference of start-up entrepreneurs, Modi announced an action plan to boost such ventures which are seen as key to employment generation and wealth creation. Around 40 top CEOs and startup founders and investors from Silicon Valley attended the event.

Here are the top takeaways from the prime minister’s speech.

■■ 1. Compliance regime based on self certification The objective of compliance regime based on self certification is to reduce the regulatory burden on startups. This self-certification will apply to laws like payment of gratuity, contract labour, employees provident fund, water and air pollution acts.

■■ 2. Startup India hub A startup India hub will be created as a single point of contact for the entire startup ecosystem to enable knowledge exchange and access to funding.

■■ 3. Simplifying the startup process A startup will be to able to set up by just filling up a short form through a mobile app and online portal. A mobile app will be launched on April 1 through which startups can be registered in a day. There will also be 4 • India Newsletter

a portal for clearances, approvals and registrations

■■ 4. Patent protection The government is also working on a legal support for fast-tracking patent examination at lower costs. It will promote awareness and adoption of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by startups and help them protect and commercialise IPRs. ■■ 5. Funds of funds with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore In order to provide funding support to startups, the government will set up a fund with an initial corpus of Rs 2,500 crore and a total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore over four years. The fund would be managed by private professionals drawn from the industry while LIC will be a co-investor in the fund. The credit guarantee fund for start-ups would help flow of venture debt from the banking system to start-ups by standing guarantee against risks.

■■ 6. Credit Guarantee Fund A National Credit Guarantee Trust Company is being envisaged with a budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore per year for the next four years.

■■ 7. Exemption from Capital Gains Tax Currently, investments by venture capital funds in startups are exempt from this law. Now, the same is being extended to investments made by incubators in startups.

■■ 8. Tax exemption for startups Income tax exemption to startups announced for three years ■■ 9.

Tax exemption on investments above Fair Market Value

■■ 10. Startup fests Innovation core programs for students in 5 lakh schools. There will also be an annual incubator grand challenge to create world class incubators ■■ 11. Launch of Atal Innovation Mission Atal Innovation Mission started to give an impetus to innovation and encourage the talent among the people ■■ 12. Setting up of 35 new incubators in institutions PPP model being considered for 35 new incubators, 31 innovation centres at national institutes ■■ 13. Setting up of 7 new research parks Government shall set up seven new research parks - six in IITs, one in IISc with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore each.

■■ 14. Promote entrepreneurship in biotechnology Five new bio clusters, 50 new bio incubators, 150 technology transfer offices and 20 bio connect offices will be established.

■■ 15.

Innovation focused programmes for students There will be innovation core programs for students in 5 lakh schools.

■■ 16. Panel of facilitators to provide legal support and assist in filing of patent application ■■ 17. 80 per cent rebate on filing patent applications by startups ■■ 18. Relaxed norms of public procurement for startups ■■ 19. Faster exits for startups

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NEWS FLASHES

01

The Government of India will likely sign a US$ 1 billion partnership with the US government, aimed at funding off-grid solar projects, mini-grids for rural areas and other subsidy-based projects for economically backward regions in India.

02

Indian Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has won a contract worth US$ 135 million to build a stadium for FIFA World Cup 2022 to be held in Qatar.

03

total of 104 villages have been electrified across the country during May 30, 2016 and June 05, 2016, bringing the tally to 8,095 villages which have been electrified under the Government of India’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY).

04

Total inflows into equity mutual fund (MF) schemes hit a six-month high by reaching Rs 4,721 crore (US$ 706.15 million) in May 2016: Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

05

India is among the top three focus markets for US-based Macy’s, the biggest midrange departmental store in America, primarily due to strong online sales from Indian shoppers.

06

The Government of India plans to invest around Rs 330,000 crore (US$ 49.3 billion) for setting up three new arms of the dedicated railway freight corridors (DFC), crisscrossing the length and breadth of the country, in the next eight years.

07

India has managed to retain its position as the world’s fastest growing major economy as its real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.6 per cent in FY 2015-16.

08

India is the second largest producer and largest consumer of #tea in the world.

09

India ranks third among the most attractive investment destinations for technology transactions in the world, as per Ernst & Young’s (EYs) Global Capital Confidence Barometer (CCB) Technology report.

10

India is becoming a new innovation destination of choice, with Bengaluru been ranked fifth among the top ten destinations in the world to open innovation centres, according to a Capgemini report titled Digital Dynasties: The Rise of Innovation Empires Worldwide.

11

India climbs three spots to 41st slot in competitiveness ranking on the World Competitiveness Scoreboard, 2016, according to the International Institute for Management and Development (IMD).

12

The Government of India has achieved the fiscal deficit target of 3.9 per cent of GDP or Rs 532,000 crore (US$ 80 billion) for FY2015-16, and has set a fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP for FY 2016-17.

13

The Government of India plans to start as many as 10,000 solar, wind and biomass power projects in next five years, with an average capacity of 50 kilowatt per project, thereby adding 500 megawatt to the total installed capacity.

14

Indian e-commerce sector is expected to touch US$ 60 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2020, as per ‘Digital Retail 2020’ report by Google and AT Kearney.

15

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted that India will receive an above-normal monsoon in 2016 with a long period average (LPA) of 106 per cent, which will help revive farm incomes and boost rural spending.

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR AUSTRIAN CITIZENS e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) for Austrian citizens The Government of India has extended e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) scheme to the citizens of Austria w.e.f.

26th February 2016. Under e-Tourist Visa scheme, citizens of Austria may now apply online (https:// indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa. html) four days in advance to obtain the Electronic Travel Authorisation for travelling to India.This facility is in addition to the existing Visa services. This facility is also available to the citizens of Montenegro as well.Queries related to e-TV; for any assistance call 24x7 Visa support centre at +91-11-24300666 or send email to indiatvoa@gov.in.

INDIA-AUSTRIA NEWS ARTICLES India Stall at SMART AUTOMATION AUSTRIA Exhibition, Vienna Embassy of India participated in the “SMART Automation-Austria” Exhibition from 10-12 May’16 in Vienna with an “India Stall”. The SMART Automation fair is Austria’s only trade fair for industrial automation, that focuses on the factory automation and process automation.

The India Stall at the event had as its main goal the promotion of the current and imminent opportunities

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in the Indian market for automation technology as well as promoting the “Make in India” campaign and distributed profiles of the 25 focus industries of the Make in India campaign along with catalogues from several Indian companies in the field of machine technology among Austrian corporates and business people who visited and shown interest on Indian economic situation.

As the only country stall presented in the exhibition, the Indian Stall has called attention for India’s

step ahead in reaching out to Austrian corporates and offered the opportunity for guests to interact with the commercial wing of the mission and discuss the major topics addressed by the event and unveil the potential India has for the Austrian and European Automation Industry sectors. Deputy Chief of Mission, Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan and the Second Secretary for Economy & Commerce, Mr. T.K. Mishra participated in the Exhibition actively.

Some impressions of the event:

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NEWS ARTICLES Govt to relax visa rules further in bid to boost services exports The government is working to significantly liberalize its visa regime, including allowing multiple-entry tourist and business visas, as part of an effort to increase its services exports. The prime minister’s office held a meeting with secretaries from the commerce, home and external affairs ministries to discuss the issue.

If implemented, this will amount to further liberalizing the e-tourist visa regime rolled out for 150 countries in November 2014 by the Narendra Modi government.

Other visas such as short-term business visas, medical travel visas and visas for least developed countries are also expected to be eased.

Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that visa restrictions are impacting business and trade.

“These are the irritants we want to remove. However, there are also security constraints and there are countries with whom we want to be cautious,” she said.

The relaxation of visa rules is part of India’s efforts to boost its services exports. While services contribute 57% to India’s $2 trillion economy, the country’s net services exports amounted to a meagre $73 billion in 2013-14, in which software alone accounted for $69 billion.

India has a share of 3.4% of the global services trade, while China has a share of 4.6%.

Sitharaman said that at the informal meeting of trade ministers of 30 members of the World Trade Organisation on 2 June on the sidelines of an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development meeting in Paris, WTO director general Roberto Azevedo agreed with India’s proposal for having a trade facilitation agreement in services like the one inked at the

Bali WTO ministerial for goods.

“We have been asked to submit a proposal which will then be taken up by all member-countries. We don’t know how negotiations will pan out on this, but we certainly don’t want to make it a subject of give and take,” Sitharaman said.

India believes that setting global standards on trade in services under the WTO will help make visa regimes in developed countries more transparent and less restrictive for its skilled professionals. India has threatened to drag the US to the WTO over its higher and discriminatory visa fee regimes for Indian software professionals.

India is also pushing for greater market access in services through the ongoing negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement. It is also trying to build an institutional framework for collecting statistics on trade in services.

In a report released on Tuesday, New Delhi-based think tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, which is working with the commerce ministry on devising the mechanism, said India requires a robust framework for data collection and reporting to understand global and bilateral services trade patterns and accordingly design its negotiating strategies.“A robust database can also help design export-linked subsidies under the foreign trade policy of the department of commerce,” it added.

Another commerce ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that while the earlier view was that India should liberalize its visa regime only on a reciprocal basis, now the ministry is in favour of an unilateral liberalization of India’s visa regime.

“We are missing out on around $80 billion of exports value due to our restrictive visa regime. We should push for our own national interest. It

needs a mindset change,” he added.

What India is also using as an argument is what Indonesia has done recently. The country recently extended its free 30-day visa on arrival to citizens of 169 countries.

The move is part of an effort to boost its economy through tourism with a target of 20 million visitors by 2019.

India’s growth to rise to 8 percent in FY2019: Fitch India’s economic growth rate will slowly accelerate to 8% by fiscal year ending March 2019, driven by the gradual implementation of structural reforms, higher disposable income and improvement in economic activity, global rating agency Fitch said in a report.

Fitch expects India’s GDP to grow 7.5% in fiscal year ending March 2016 and improve to 7.7% in the current fiscal year and further to 7.9% in the fiscal year ending March 2018.

The global agency said that the passage of the Bankruptcy Code earlier this month showed that implementation of big ticket reforms is possible in India, even though reforms related to land acquisition and a Goods and Services Tax have not passed thus far.

It also expects higher disposable income to contribute to faster GDP growth. “In rural areas, purchasing power will be supported by above-average rainfall from the monsoon, as expected by the India Meteorological Department, after two years of below-average rainfall,” Fitch said.

India remains the fastest growing country across the world with GDP in 2016 estimated to grow at 7.55% year on year compared to global GDP which is likely to grow at 2.5% according to Fitch estimates.

On Thursday, the agency sharply cut its forecast for US private investment growth and forecasted that the US economy will grow at 1.8% in 2016, the first sub-2% growth since 2013.

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However, growth expectations for China have been revised up to 6.3% in 2016 and 2017, from 6.2% and 6% previously, as earlier policy stimulus gains traction and the authorities’ commitment to stabilising near-term growth has strengthened.

“The near-term threat to emerging market growth has eased, due to a more assertive stimulus policy in China and the stabilisation of commodity prices,” said Brian Coulton , chief economist at Fitch was quoted as saying the report.

India secures second spot on Global Retail Development (GRD) Index in ease of doing business India climbs 13 positions from 2015 to rank second on the Global Retail Development (GRD) Index 2016, which ranks top 30 developing countries based on ease of doing business. Clarity regarding foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations and a pick-up in gross domestic product (GDP) growth have helped India achieve the second spot. Mr Debashish Mukherjee, a partner with A T Kearney and co-head of the Consumer Industries & Retail Products Practice for India and Southeast Asia, has stated that India’s strong ranking reflects foreign retailers increased optimism in its retail market and vast growth potential as several key FDI regulations in single-brand retail have paved the way for multinational firms to enter the Indian market.

Retail sector in India has expanded at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8 per cent between 2013 and 2015, with annual sales crossing the US$ 1 trillion mark, as per A T Kearney, a London-based business consultancy. India also has the second largest internet market in the world, and with increased smartphone penetration in the country, there has been rapid growth in e-commerce sector, which is expected to propel India’s growth and make it a more attractive proposition in years to come.

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India poised to become clean energy capital of the world Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy released NTPC Book on bio diversity “The Good Earth “ and planted a sapling along with students to commemorate Environment Day at a function held in Noida. Speaking on the occasion he said Indian economy shall grow by leaps and bound and so will NTPC fulfilling the aspirations of all Indians. The mission of the present government is to increase use of clean technologies and renewable for power generation making Clean India Energy Capital of the world.

He also emphasized on the need to restore the forest cover depleted over a period of time through massive tree plantation. He urged NTPC to increase its tree plantation target and keep a proper record reflecting ownership of the activity.

He suggested NTPC nurturing a green patch in all the states it has operations in.

Shri Goyal said with successful schemes like Make in India and progress in Rural Electrification the demand of power shall increase many folds. He added that NTPC has successfully demonstrated its ability to deliver large projects and producing power in an efficient reliable and affordable manner.

He said that the power sector in India is focusing on environment sustainability and NTPC has taken a lead by preserving flora and fauna in and around its power stations.

The book released today captures the long term efforts of NTPC in the direction and shall be an inspiration for all corporate to care for environment.

He congratulated NTPC family on its 4670 MW largest power station Vindhyachal achieving 100.05% PLF generating 114 MUs in a day yesterday.

In his address, Shri Gurdeep Singh, CMD said that NTPC is deeply committed to environmental sustainability and has taken many

initiatives for its betterment.

Company is focused on mitigating the impact of its operations and pursues progressive environment systems and practices.

Coffee Table Book “The Good Earth” The biodiversity forms the cornerstone of ecosystem functions and services that support millions of livelihoods in the country. NTPC recognizes that the companies that are promoting biodiversity conservation are largely trusted by their stakeholders and typically enjoy strategic business opportunities in the markets.

Twelve national biodiversity targets having relevance for NTPC include integration of biodiversity concerns in economic and social development, minimization of pollution impacts, conservation and augmentation of natural resource base. The Coffee Table Book “The Good Earth” on Biodiversity Conservation provides a glimpse of consolidated efforts on part of NTPC which are in tune with national targets. Massive plantation around the projects, eco-rehabilitation of ash dykes, development of greenbelts, eco parks, fruit gardens, medicinal plant gardens, Nakshatra Vatika, conservation of certain endangered species reflects the deep rooted commitment of NTPC to the cause of Conservation.

India announces plan to double the investment in next 5 years in clean energy research Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan led the Indian delegation at the 7th Clean Energy Ministerial(CEM7) and the Inaugural Mission Innovation Meet at San Francisco, held on 1st and 2nd of June, 2016. India has been a member of CEM since its inception and has joined 8 out of 13 CEM initiatives.

India is a Founding Member of the Steering Committee of the Mission Innovation and also a Member of the two sub-groups: Joint Research and Capacity Building and Private

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Sector Engagement. Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology is coordinating the national efforts towards the Mission.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, while making the Mission Innovation Announcement at the Ministerial Panel, stated that the Mission Innovation (MI) is the noblest mission which will help humanity in the future. It is an effort to accelerate public and private global clean energy innovation, pursuing the goals set during the COP21 in Paris. In order to achieve this goal, all the MI partner countries have a shared desire to enhance the pace of innovation and scale of transformation through this clean energy revolution. They released their respective governments’ plans to double clean energy research and development funding over the next five years.

Emphasizing upon India’s commitment to pursue a green path to growth through research-led innovations, the Minister said that India’s current investment in Clean Energy Research is about $72 million which is planned to be doubled to $145 million in the near future. He also made a Formal announcement on new joint collaborations with Mission Innovation Countries.

The Minister announced about expanding India’s collaboration with UK by setting up a Joint Virtual Clean Energy Centre to address the challenges in solar energy and launching a new Research Track on Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage under the Indo-US Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R).

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also launched the Global Cooling Challenge at CEM7.

He noted that by accelerating the introduction of super-efficient air conditioners we can reduce the energy demand from 60 GW of energy to 40 GW, a saving of over 30%. This translates to cost savings in consumer energy bills of $2.8 billion and GHG reductions of 20 million tons of CO2 equivalent.

Showcasing India’s achievements in

the field of Clean Energy, the Minister informed the CEM members that India has successfully implemented the world’s largest LED lighting programme. This programme has seen India lead the way by driving 12% of global LED demand at present, up from 0.1% a couple of years ago.

Government to establish 250 agro-processing clusters all over India The Government of India is looking to set up 250 small agro-processing clusters across the country, at an estimated cost of over Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 743.5 million), as told by Ms Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing. The Food Processing Ministry plans to invite both public and private players in the project after getting the required approvals. The blue print shows that small agro-processing clusters will be established near producing area of any specific fruit or vegetable. The government will also provide subsidy of up to Rs 5 crore (US$ 743,533) per cluster to those who establish small processing cluster near any specific fruit or vegetable anywhere across the country. This will enable to take the food processing at doorstep of the farmers, which will help to raise their income and at the same time reduce wastages and control rise in prices. The Minister further stated that over 3.2 million tonnes of food processing capacity has been established in last two years, which is helping farmers to realise better income for their produce and helps in keeping the prices of perishable goods under check. Government has also sanctioned 37 Mega Food Parks, out of which eight have been operationalised, and 134 cold chain projects, out of which 81 have been completed till date.

India among top 5 destinations for innovation centres With technology disrupting businesses, it’s no more just about the pace of innovation. Sources of innovation are expanding rapidly

too. Acvording to a study, India is becoming a new innovation destination of choice, doubling the number of innovation centres since July 2015 and seeing brands such as Apple, Airbus and Visa locate there.

The top 10 locations for innovation centres - with Silicon Valley, London and Paris holding on to the top three slots, Bengaluru entering for the first time straight in at number five, said a Capgemini report titled Digital Dynasties: The Rise of Innovation Empires Worldwide.

India has been rising in the ranks of favorite destinations to open innovation centres said the report.

Capgemini’s previous research identified eight innovation centres in India in July 2015. India has since seen eight more innovation centres open their doors. Bengaluru has been the most favored city with four new innovation centres.

Digital has accelerated the pace and potency of innovation. No period in history has seen so many industries reinvented in such a short timeframe.

The list of disruptors is long: Uber in transport, Airbnb in travel, Tesla in autos, Amazon and Alibaba in retail, Netflix in entertainment. The list of victims is even longer. 52% of the companies on the Fortune 500 list in 2000 have since been bankrupted; bought or closed, said the report.

Modi’s two-year regime sees record US$ 40-bn PE investment Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s myriad foreign visits have often come under criticism. But, it has apparently helped attract a record $40-billion investment by private equity (PE) in India, according to VCCEdge.

The rising significance of PE investments is evident by their contribution to foreign direct investment (FDI) flow into the country. According to Bain & Company, the PE sector contributed $24 billion out of the $37-billion net FDI in 2015. In the previous year, PEs contributed about $15 billion of the $22 billion net FDI. The number of funds participating in India also India Newsletter • 9

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increased to 240 in 2015 from 193 a year ago, says Bain.

“The focus of the PM and his government on clear communication to the global community, that India means business and wants to attract foreign dollars, has given a strong message to investors - ‘invest in India’,” says Dhanpal Jhaveri, managing partner, Everstone Capital.

The India-focused fund raised its third fund with the largest $730-million corpus last year, indicating the growing comfort of global investors in India’s growth story.

The focus on keeping the fiscal deficit in check and kick-starting planned expenditure have been helpful. Rail, road, shipping and defence ministries now have large spending budgets; so, there is enough economic activity. But, stretched corporate balance sheets have slowed annual credit growth to less than 10 per cent now from 16 per cent at its peak about five years ago.

Everstone believes kick-starting the economy is going to happen only if the government starts aggressive planned expenditure, as banks are under pressure, with rising bad debt.

“When you are undertaking structural reforms and moving away from a subsidy regime to a direct benefit regime, and trying to basically convert a cash and partially opaque economy into a more financially transparent one, as this government is aiming to do, there will be short-term challenges to consumption. But, it is more a transition period,” says Jhaveri.

He sees green shoots in power sector reform and says the aggressive stance of the government to roll out Goods and Services Tax, besides the Make in India campaign and enabling state governments would bring labour reforms.

This year, Carlyle the world’s second largest PE fund, ranked India the most attractive investment destination in the world, by offering the highest expected returns on incremental capital over the next four years.

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India retains fastest-growing economy tag, grows 7.6% in 2015-16 India’s economy grew at 7.9% in January-March, the fastest in six quarters, cementing its position as the world’s fastest growing major economy, although a good monsoon and pick up in private investment will be critical to sustain the momentum.

The latest data comes a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, where he is expected to hard sell India’s impressive growth record in the last two years in meetings with top CEOs. India also outpaced China’s 6.7% growth in the same period as the rival Asian titan struggles to claw out of a crippling deceleration.

Turnaround signs were visible in another set of data released separately that showed growth in the infrastructure sectors surged to a four-year high of 8.5% in April.

Comprising eight industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — collectively called the ‘core sector’ as it makes up for nearly 38% of India’s total industrial production, this had shrunk by (-) 0.2% in April last year.

The country’s “real” or inflationadjusted gross domestic product — a measure of the value of all goods and services produced — grew at 7.2% in October-December against 7.6% in the previous three months.

For the full year 2015-16, real GDP grew at 7.6%, the fastest in five years, aided by low commodity and oil prices.

Economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das said 8% growth was achievable in 2016-17. “The various measures the government has been taking in the last couple of years are beginning to show results and overall, there are green shoots… this year, hopefully with a good monsoon, we should look at growth closer to 8%,” Das said.

Analysts, however, said the overall economy’s expansion pace could be masking a persistent slowdown in

exports and a still-fragile recovery in private investment.

“While headline GDP growth recorded an uptick, a key disappointment was the step down in investment growth,” said Aditi Nayar, senior economist, ICRA Limited, a credit rate and research firm.

According to the latest GDP data, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) — a marker for new capacity additions by firms — grew at 3.9% in 2015-16 compared to 4.9% in 201415, mirroring subdued private and government investment activity.

“The contraction of GFCF by 1.9% in January-March is disappointing, highlighting the muted trend in private sector investments as well as some slowdown in the pace of growth of the government’s capital expenditure in the final quarter of the last fiscal,” Nayar said.

On the positive side, the farm sector appears to have rebounded after two successive droughts, growing 2.3% in January to March from a 1% contraction the previous quarter.

Mining and electricity also showed a strong pick, rekindling hopes of a broader revival.

Creating jobs, however, remains a challenge with employment generation in eight sectors slowing to a seven-year low in 2015. Textiles, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, information technology and the handloom sectors together created 135,000 jobs in 2015, 67% lower than the 421,000 jobs added in 2014, the last year of UPA rule.

India grabs third spot in global tech investment destinations list India retained the third spot in consultancy EY .s list of most attractive investment destinations for technology transactions.

EY’s 14th biannual Global Capital Confidence Barometer (CCB) Technology report, based on a survey that covered 182 technology executives around the world including senior level executives,

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named the US, the UK , India, China and Germany as the top five destinations for technology investment in that order.

The report said in the current global economic scenario, companies have been revising their strategies to enhance revenues and protect earnings.

“While 84% of tech executives see a stable or modestly improving economy, there has been a 38-point drop (to 1%) in those projecting strong improvement only six months ago.

Economic and political instability, including the impact of the strong US dollar and weak oil prices , have tempered optimism,” it said.

Technology deals volume rose 2% from a year ago in the first quarter of 2016 to 1,002 deals, according to EY. Globally, there is a shift towards shared infrastructure, and that is the main area of investments in India, said Ashish Basil, partner - transaction advisory services, EY India.

“India’s reputation as an IT and ITenabled services powerhouse has received a great impetus with the heightened velocity of the global digital transformation,” he said.

“India’s domestic technology market is picking up and there’s a marked improvement in our investment climate.”

More recently, the emergence of cloud computing has become an attractive bet, with investments in cloud computing infrastructure in India touching $1 billion and major players becoming increasingly active in this space, he said. However, India scores high on being a technology hub.

“India’s strength is definitely in its ability to adopt new technology.

Shared infrastructure is domestic market focussed, but people also make investment for exports ,” he said.

India climbs to 41st slot on competitiveness ranking India has moved up three spots from last year to 41 on the IMD

World Competitiveness Scoreboard, 2016. The country’s ranking had fallen to 44 in 2015, from 35 in 2012.

Hong Kong replaced the US as the world’s most competitive economy.

Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada have got slots in the top 10.

India’s improvement is in sharp contrast to the sagging fortunes of other Asian countries. According to the report, Asia’s competitiveness declined since last year’s ranking with Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea Republic, Indonesia and China falling from their 2015 positions. “The decline has been caused by a fall in commodity prices, a strong dollar and the deterioration of balance sheets in both the private and public sectors,” says professor Arturo Bris, director, IMD World Competitiveness Center.

The rankings are based on about 340 criteria grouped under four broad heads - economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. The report also gave weight to responses of 5,400 business executives who were asked to assess the situation in their own countries.

The increase in India’s ranking comes on the back of an improvement in business efficiency, in which India’s ranking improved from 33 to 31 over the past year. The indicator measures the extent to which enterprises are performing in an innovative, profitable and responsible manner.

The sub-indices show India has improved in its ranking on labour market from 22 in 2015 to 12 in 2016.

Management practices improved from 47 in 2015 to 36 in 2016 and attitudes and values improved from 23 in 2015 to 18 in 2016. But, a part of these gains have been offset by a deterioration in finance from 27 in 2015 to 33 in 2016.

On economic performance, India ranks 16, well above many western European nations. The country has improved its ranking on international investment, up from 31 in 2015 to nine in 2016, and on employment from nine in 2015 to five in 2016. But,

these gains have been offset by poor performance on prices, where its ranking has gone down to 55 in 2016 from 37 in 2015.

On government efficiency, which measures the extent to which government policies are conducive to competitiveness, India ranks 47.

Within this segment, it has seen an improvement in public finance, institutional framework and business legislation. Though it has seen its position slip on fiscal policy. The country has seen a steady decline in its score on infrastructure from 53 in 2012 to 58 in 2016.

Six Indian entities in top global steel companies ranking Six Indian companies figure in a list of the world’s top 94 steel producers compiled by the World Steel Association , a Brussels based non-profit industry group. Tata Steel group, the largest of all Indian entities, has been placed 10th in the 2015 World Steel report , which ranks Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal as the largest global producer of crude steel with a total output of 97 million tonnes. Of the total 94 companies listed in the report, 50 are headquartered in China , the world’s largest producer. India, No. 3 in global crude steel production last year, is the 10th largest importer, according to the report.

India global 5th in green energy jobs, China on top India ranks fifth in the world in renewable energy (RE) job creation, with 416,000 employed in the sector during 2015. In the world, 8.1 million persons are employed in the clean energy space. China tops the list with 3.5 million, followed by Brazil with 918,000.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (Irena) Annual Review 2016, there was a five per cent increase over a year before in the sector, with new jobs being created even as employment in the broader energy sector falls. “This increase is being driven by declining RE technology costs and enabling India Newsletter • 11

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policy frameworks. We expect this trend to continue as the business case for renewables strengthens and as countries move to achieve their climate targets agreed in (the) Paris (agreement),” said Adnan Z Amin, director-general of Irena. (CREATING MORE JOBS THAN FOSSIL FUELS) In this country, solar and wind energy markets have seen substantial activity, as the government’s ambitious RE targets are translated into concrete policy frameworks, Irena said. “Central and state auctions for solar photovoltaics (PV), for instance, have resulted in installation of 1.9 gigawatt (Gw) in 2015 and an impressive pipeline of 23 Gw. Solar PV employs an estimated 103,000 people in gridconnected (31,000 jobs) and offgrid applications (72,000 jobs)…

With increasing domestic demand, local companies are utilising their production capabilities and several foreign companies are interested in investments,” it said.

Irrespective of further developments in manufacturing, reaching the government’s goal of 100 Gw in PV by 2022 could generate 1.1 million jobs in construction, project commissioning & design, business development and operations & maintenance. The report quoted the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and National Research Development Corporation to say that 30 per cent of these jobs would be highly skilled ones and this requires stepping up of training and education. Indian wind energy industry had installation of about 2.5 Gw and employment at a steady 48,000. In Japan, despite a 28 per cent increase to 377,000 jobs linked to renewables, there is a likelihood of job losses next year. This is the result of a recent policy reversal on support for solar PV technology, the agency said. Earlier this month, Amin warned that countries eyeing new coal-fired plants, including Japan, must reassess their energy strategy to avoid stranded assets.

Japan’s loss in jobs after a period of significant growth could be China’s gain in terms of increasing market 12 • India Newsletter

share as Japan loses its competitive advantage on solar PV. The report, titled Renewable Energy & Jobs, also provides a global estimate of the number of jobs supported by large hydropower, with a conservative estimate of an additional 1.3 million direct jobs worldwide. RE jobs in America increased six per cent, while employment in oil and gas decreased 18 per cent. RE in China employed 3.5 million people, while oil and gas employed 2.6 million.

“As in the previous years, enabling policy frameworks remained a key driver of employment. National and state auctions in India and Brazil, tax credits in the United States and favourable policies in Asia have all contributed to employment increases.”

Countries with the most RE jobs in 2015 were China, Brazil, America, India, Japan and Germany. The solar PV sector remains the largest RE employer worldwide, with 2.8 million jobs, with jobs in manufacturing, installation and operations & maintenance. Liquid biofuels was the second largest global employer with 1.7 million jobs, followed by wind power, which grew five per cent to reach 1.1 million global jobs.

“As the ongoing energy transition accelerates, growth in RE employment will remain strong,” said Amin. “Irena’s research estimates that doubling the share of RE in the global energy mix by 2030 — enough to meet global climate and development targets — would result in more than 24 million jobs worldwide.”

Noting that gender-disaggregated data in the sector is scarce, Irena said it conducted an online survey among private companies in the sector to close the gap.

Nearly 90 companies from about 40 countries participated, representing the entire value chain of the sector. Among the companies that responded, women represent an average of 35 per cent of the workforce. This is a significant finding, considering women only account for

20-25 per cent of the workforce in the overall energy industry.

This might reflect greater interest among women in sustainability related fields. Yet, the percentage remains lower than women’s economy-wide share in employment, which is 40-50% for most OECD countries, according to the World Bank.

56 Indian companies among world’s largest public firms: Forbes As many as 56 Indian companies have featured in the Forbes ‘Global 2000’ list for 2016, which is a snapshot of the world’s largest and most powerful public companies.

The Forbes list features 2,000 public companies from around 63 countries which account for US$ 35 trillion in revenue, US$ 2.4 trillion in profit, US$ 162 trillion of assets, and have a combined market value of US$ 44 trillion. Among the Indian companies, Reliance Industries leads the pack as the largest public company in India and has been ranked 121st, followed

by State bank of India (149), Oil and Natural Gas ranked (220), ICICI Bank (266), HDFC Bank (275), Indian Oil (371), Tata Consultancy Services (385), NTPC (400), Bharti Airtel (453), Axis Bank (484), Infosys (590), Bharat Petroleum (650), Wipro (755), Tata Steel (1178), Adani Enterprises (1993). The list also features Coal India (465), Larsen and Toubro (505), ITC (781), Kotak Mahindra Bank (899), Mahindra and Mahindra (901) and HCL Technologies (943) among others.

Chinese investments in India increased six-fold in 2015 to US$ 870 million Investment from Chinese companies in India increased six-fold to US$ 870 million in 2015 as compared to previous year, which is also twice the amount during the period from April 2000 to the end of 2014. The surge in investments has occured on the back of low investment restrictions and favourable tax and land rent policies in the country, according to a report in the Global Times, published by the

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People’s Daily. According to Indian official figures, over 300 investment officials and investors from China are expected to take part in the IndiaChina Business Forum, which will be addressed by President Pranab Mukherjee in Guangzhou city.

The Dalian Wanda Group had also announced in January that it would spend over US$ 10 billion in building an industrial park in north India, whereas in February, Sany Heavy Industry Company, the construction machinery manufacturer, had revealed a plan to invest US$ 1 billion in India over the next decade.

European systems to be deployed on Indian rail tracks soon The Indian Railways may soon start deploying an European system of preventing head-on collisions of trains.

The move follows a successful trial of a technology developed by the French multinational Thales on a 68-kilometre stretch in Southern India.

“India is an important market and we have a clear intention to have a presence there,” Alfred Veider, country director, Thales Austria, said in an interaction.

Trains have been colliding on Indian tracks with alarming regularity in the last few years, and has accounted for the second-largest cause of passenger deaths. Over the past decade and a half, the Railways have experimented with various technologies, including the indigenously developed Anti Collusion Device, and the Train Collusion and Avoidance System.

“We plan t o de ploy t he European system on certain routes,” a senior ministry official said.

Called the European Train Control System (ETCS), the technology involves the monitoring of train movements and calculates the maximum speed limit accordingly. In the event of an impending collision, the system ensures that the brakes are automatically applied. The system, which costs around 25 lakh per kilometre, also provides the “cab signalling” device to alert train

drivers about the signals passing by.

“The ECTS has a 30% global market share,” said Denis Laroche, vicepresident, Thales.

The Railways have identified 28 projects for implementation of the European system between 2016 and 2021, officials said, adding, 2,600 cab signalling systems would also be installed.

World’s largest rooftop solar power plant inaugurated in Punjab World’s largest single rooftop solar power plant of 11.5 Mw capacity was inaugurated in Beas near Amritsar in Punjab on Tuesday. Spread at a single rooftop stretch of 42 acre at Dera Baba Jaimal, the project was synchronised earlier this year.

According to Wikipedia,the Mandalay Bay Resort Convention Centre, Las Vegas in the United States is next biggest solar photovoltic power station in the world having 6.4 megawatts (Mw) capacity. The EPC contractors for the project were Tata Power and Larsen and Toubro.

In addition to single largest rooftop solar power plant, seven rooftop solar power plants of 8Mw capacity were also inaugurated in Beas Dera campus making this place the highest single campus generating solar power of 19.5 Mw at multiple rooftops in the country, informed a senior official from Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA ).

Punjab is generating 470 Mw of solar power and with projects of 500 Mw in the pipeline, the state would be able to generate solar power of close to 1,000 Mw by the end of FY 2016-17.

New & Renewable Energy Resources Minister of Punjab Bikram Singh Majithia said this project would generate clean and green energy sufficient to power approximately 8,000 homes. He pointed out that GoI has set a target of power generation of 40,000 Mw from different resources of renewable energy to be achieved by 2022 and this project would be a role model to encourage other states to replicate such large rooftops on the building/sheds.

The investment in this sector has steeply gone up from Rs 82 crore in 2012 to nearly Rs 10,000 crore now with an employment potential of 12,500 jobs, he said. Punjab would achieve a target of 2552 MW of renewable energy generation by 2022, he added.

He said Punjab would achieve a target of 2552 MW of renewable energy generation by 2022.Solar projects have been executed on BOO (built-operate-own) basis and PEDA has entered into 25 year power purchase agreements with the private players.

India secures second spot on Global Retail Development (GRD) Index in ease of doing business India climbs 13 positions from 2015 to rank second on the Global Retail Development (GRD) Index 2016, which ranks top 30 developing countries based on ease of doing business. Clarity regarding foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations and a pick-up in gross domestic product (GDP) growth have helped India achieve the second spot. Mr Debashish Mukherjee, a partner with A T Kearney and co-head of the Consumer Industries & Retail Products Practice for India and Southeast Asia, has stated that India’s strong ranking reflects foreign retailers increased optimism in its retail market and vast growth potential as several key FDI regulations in single-brand retail have paved the way for multinational firms to enter the Indian market.

Retail sector in India has expanded at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8 per cent between 2013 and 2015, with annual sales crossing the US$ 1 trillion mark, as per A T Kearney, a London-based business consultancy. India also has the second largest internet market in the world, and with increased smartphone penetration in the country, there has been rapid growth in e-commerce sector, which is expected to propel India’s growth and make it a more attractive proposition in years to come.

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Indian Embassy, Vienna

MAKE IN INDIA Summary ■■ 6.88% of India’s GDP during 2012-13.

■■ USD 20.236 Billion in Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through tourism during 2014.

■■ 1281.95 million Domestic Tourist Visits during 2014.

■■ 32 world heritage sites.

■■ 7.7 Million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2014 ■■ 21 Central institutes of hotel management.

■■ 78 jobs with every USD 1 Million invested.

■■ 25 bio-geographical zones.

■■ GDP World Rank 12 ■■ 20.236 Billion USD FEEs through tourism (2014); 9.7% Growth Rate over 2013.

Reasons to Invest ■■ Tourism in India accounted for 6.88% of the GDP during 2012-13, and tourism the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country.

■■ India registered 7.7 Million FTAs in 2014, registering an annual growth of 10.2% over the previous year.

■■ The FEEs from tourism during 2014 were USD 20.236 Billion.

■■ India is 15th in the world in terms of International Tourism Receipts with a share of 1.58% of the world’s tourism receipts.

■■ India offers geographical diversity, attractive beaches, 32 World Heritage Sites and 25 biogeographic zones.

■■ India has a diverse portfolio of niche tourism products – cruises, adventure, medical, wellness, sports, MICE, eco-tourism, film, rural and religious tourism.

■■ Tourism projects entailing investment of INR 200 crore and above have been included in the harmonised list for grant of infrastructure status.

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TOURISM & HOSPITALITY

■■ The centrally funded scheme of Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD provide for introducing suitable Public Private Partnership (PPP) for improved sustainability of the projects. The Viability Gap Funding may be provided under the schemes in accordance with the relevant guidelines/instructions of the Government.

Statistics ■■ Tourism is a big employment generator – every USD 1 Million invested in tourism creates 78 jobs.

■■ Tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earner after gems, jewellery and readymade garments.

■■ In 2014, FEEs from tourism were USD 20.236 Billion as compared to USD 18.445 Billion in 2013, registering a growth of 9.7% in Indian Rupee terms, FEEs from tourism registered a growth of 14.5% rising from INR 1,07,671 crore to INR 1,23,320 crore.

■■ India registered 7.7 Million FTAs in 2014, registering an annual growth of 10.2% over the previous year.

■■ The number of domestic tourist visits in India during 2014 was 1281.95 million as compared to 1145.28 Million in 2013, recording a growth rate of 11.93%.

■■ FTAs (Provisional) from January to July 2015 were 4.48 million, an increase of 4.8% over the same period of previous year.

■■ FEEs (Provisional) from January to July 2015 was INR 71,754 crore, an increase of 6.9% over the same period of previous year.

Growth Drivers ■■ A growing recognition of tourism’s contribution to employment and economic growth, the availability of better infrastructure, focused marketing and promotion efforts, liberalisation of air transport, the growth of online travel portals, growing intra-regional cooperation and more effective PPPs are seen as key drivers for tourism in the next decade.

■■ More than half of the Ministry of Tourism’s Plan budget is channelised for funding the development of destinations, circuits, mega projects as well as rural tourism infrastructure projects.

■■ There is a renewed focus on skill development in the travel and tourism sector – 21 governmentrun hotel management and catering technology institutes and 14 food craft institutes have been established to impart specialised training in hoteliering and catering.

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■■ The availability of the Visa On Arrival facility significantly influences tourists’ travel plans to any country. During 2014, a total number of 39,046 Visas on Arrival were issued as compared to 20,294 Visas on Arrival during 2013, which amounts to a growth of 92.4%.

■■ The Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) was renamed as Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) on 15th April, 2015. Currently the ETA facility is available for 113 countries. This is expected to have a significant positive impact on foreign tourist arrivals in India.

■■ The launch of several branding and marketing initiatives by the Government of India such as Incredible India! and Athiti Devo Bhava provides a focused impetus to growth.

■■ Recently, the Indian government has also released a fresh category of visa - the medical visa or M visa, to encourage medical tourism in India.

■■ The Outlay for the Ministry of Tourism is INR 1483.20 crore.

FDI Policy ■■ 100% FDI is allowed under the automatic route in tourism and hospitality, subject to applicable regulations and laws.

■■ 100% FDI allowed in tourism construction projects, including the development of hotels, resorts and recreational facilities.

Sector Policy ■■ NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY, 2OO2: ■■ Its vision is to enhance employment potential within the tourism sector as well as to foster economic integration through developing linkages with other sectors; policy objectives include positioning the tourism sector as a major engine of economic growth, positioning India as a global brand, acknowledging the critical role of private sector and creating integrated tourism circuits.

■■ OTHER IMPORTANT POLICIES: ■■ Guidelines for assistance to central agencies in tourism

infrastructure development, scheme for assistance for large revenue generating projects, scheme for PPP in infrastructure development, guidelines for approval of convention centres, motel projects, timeshare resorts, guesthouses etc.

Financial Support ■■ KEY PROVISIONS OF BUDGET: ■■ To develop and enhance tourist infrastructure a provision of INR 600 crore is made for developing Swadesh Darshan (12 Theme based Tourist circuits) and INR 100 crore for PRASAD for Beautification of Pilgrimage Centres. States have been given greater flexibility in development of Tourist infrastructure as per local requirement from their enhanced resources.

■■ Services provided by Indian tour operators to foreign tourists in relation to tours wholly conducted outside India are being exempted from levy of service tax.

■■ Resources to be provided to start work along landscape restoration, signage and interpretation centres, parking, access for the differently abled, visitors’ amenities, including securities and toilets, illumination and plans for benefiting communities around them at various heritage sites which include Churches & Convents of Old Goa, Hampi, Karnataka, Elephanta Caves, Mumbai, Kumbalgarh and other hill forts of Rajasthan, Rani ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat, Leh Palace, Ladakh, J&K, Varanasi Temple town, UP, Jalianwala bagh, Amritsar, Punjab and Qutub Shahi Tombs, Hyderabad, Telengana ■■ The visa-on-arrival facility to be increased for travellers of 150 countries in stages, from current 43 countries.

■■ TAX INCENTIVES: ■■ An investment-linked deduction under Section 35 AD of the Income Tax Act is in place for establishing new hotels in the 2-star category and above across India, thus permitting a 100% deduction in respect of the whole or any expenditure of a capital nature excluding land,

goodwill and financial instruments incurred during the year.

■■ STATE INCENTIVES: ■■ Incentives offered by state governments include subsidised land cost, relaxation in stamp duty, exemption on sale/lease of land, power tariff incentives, concessional rate of interest on loans, investment subsidies/tax incentives, backward areas subsidies and special incentive packages for mega projects.

■■ Incentives are provided for setting up projects in special areas – the North-east, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

■■ INCENTIVES FROM THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM: ■■ Assistance in large revenuegenerating projects.

■■ Support to PPPs in infrastructure development such as viability gap funding.

■■ Schemes for capacity-building of service providers.

Investment Opportunities ■■ The presence of world-class hospitals and skilled medical professionals make India a preferred destination for medical tourism.

■■ A vast, beautiful coastline, virgin forests and undisturbed idyllic islands make this a choice destination for cruise tourists.

■■ Rural tourism schemes have been implemented by the Ministry of Tourism in 2002-03 with the objective of highlighting rural life, art, culture and heritage in villages that have a core competence in art, craft, handloom, textiles and the natural environment.

■■ Eco-tourism is at a nascent stage, but there are conscious efforts to save the fragile Himalayan ecosystem and the culture and heritage of indigenous people.

■■ The segment offers opportunities across various sub-segments such as timeshare resorts, convention centres, motels, heritage hotels and the like.

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Indian Embassy, Vienna

■■ Investment opportunities in the setting up of tour operations and travel agencies cater to burgeoning tourist inflow.

■■ Accor (France)

■■ Marriott Hotels (USA) ■■ Expedia (USA) ■■ Premier Travel Inn (UK) ■■ Cox & Kings (UK) ■■ Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong) ■■ Jumeirah (UAE)

■■ The Four Seasons Group (Canada)

Agencies

■■ Starwood Hotels (USA)

■■ TMinistry of Government of India

Foreign Investors

■■ Thomas Cook (UK)

Tourism,

■■ Hotel Association of India ■■ Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India ■■ Federation of Hotel & Restaurants Associations of India ■■ Indian Association of Tour Operators ■■ Travel Agents Association of India ■■ India Tourist Transporters Association

PERSPECTIVES ON INDIA Travel market in India: US$ 40 billion by 2020.

By Ravi Capoor, IAS, CEO, IBEF The Indian travel market has managed to continue its growth run over the past many years. Attracting travellers across segments like business, leisure, medical etc, India has established its presence in the global travel market.

For instance, it is predicted that the total addressable travel market in India will be US$ 40 billion by 2020.

There is no exaggeration in stating that the Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sector in India. Tourism in India has significant potential considering the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrains and places of natural beauty spread across the country. Tourism is also a potentially large employment generator besides being a significant source of foreign exchange for the country.

16 • India Newsletter

Foreign tourist arrivals in India during the period January-December 2015 stood at 80.16 lakh with a growth of 4.4 per cent. With government initiatives like E-Tourist Visa facility, the number of international tourists visiting India is expected to grow by leaps and bounds. The E-Tourist Visa facility is currently available to citizens of 150 countries and a total of 4,45,300 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa during January-December 2015 as compared to 39,046 during January-December 2014 registering a growth of 1040.4 per cent. Similarly, on the domestic front, India is amongst the fastest growing domestic air travel market in the world.

Apart from the proactive government initiatives, the private sector, established global travel giants and first generation Indian start-ups have played an important role in developing the Indian travel market.

For instance, the online travel market alone is expected to account for

around 40-50 per cent of the total transactions by 2020. While the current number stands at around 12 per cent, with Tier-II and Tier-III cities driving growth in the online travel market, experts are confident that the online travel market will continue to grow in the long run.

On another front, India is also gradually becoming a destination of choice for medical value travel (MVT), mainly because of high quality healthcare offered to patients by world-class hospitals and facilities that have come up across the country. With MVT estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.9 per cent to US$ 32.5 billion by 2019 globally, India is expected to register a CAGR of 30 per cent to US$ 10.6 billion in this period, thus capturing close to one-third of the global MVT market.

Overall, the Indian travel market has matured and is all set to cash-in on the increasing penetration and acceptability across domestic and international markets.

Indian Embassy, Vienna

INDIAN STATE ECONOMIC PROFILE KARNATAKA - The Silicon Valley of India ■■ Karnataka is located in the southern region of India. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Goa on the northwest, Maharashtra on the north, Andhra Pradesh on the east, Tamil Nadu on the southeast, and Kerala on the southwest.

■■ At current prices, the gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Karnataka was about US$ 115.9 billion in 2014-15. The average GSDP growth rate between 2004-05 and 2014-15 was about 12.04 per cent. The per capita GSDP increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.94 per cent between 2004-05 and 2014-15 to US$ 1,900.

■■ Karnataka has vibrant

automobile, agro, aerospace, textile & garment, biotech and heavy engineering industries. The state has sector-specific SEZs for key industries such as IT, biotechnology, engineering, food processing and aerospace.

■■ Karnataka is the IT hub of India and home to the fourth largest technology cluster in the world. As of 2014-15, total exports from the state aggregated US$ 52.02 billion, which is approximately 13.01 per cent of India’s total exports. Karnataka has 47 IT/ITeS SEZs, three software technology parks and dedicated IT investment regions. As of January 2016, Karnataka had a total installed power generation capacity of 15,537.4 megawatt (MW).

■■ Karnataka boasts of a diverse flora and fauna and a 320 km natural

coast line, which makes it a nature tourist’s paradise. Tourist arrivals in the state increased from 25.2 million in 2005-06 to 111.8 million in 201415.

■■ Karnataka offers a wide range of fiscal and policy incentives for businesses under the Karnataka Industrial Policy, 2014-19.

Through the ESDM Policy 2013, the government of Karnataka has planned to facilitate, promote and develop the ESDM sector in Karnataka and make the state a preferred destination for investment in this sector. Karnataka has released its Startup Policy 2016 with the objective of stimulating growth of 20,000 technology startups, creating 6,000 product startups and mobilizing Rs 2,000 crore (US$ 293 million) worth of funds.

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18 • India Newsletter

Indian Embassy, Vienna

INDIAN TRADE FAIRS INTERESTED IN VISITING A TRADE SHOW IN INDIA? In case your company is interested in visiting a tradeshow/B2B event in India, be it one listed here or another one that came to your attention, get in contact with us via maoffice.vienna@mea.gov.in to get more information about possible assistance/subsidies.

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20 • India Newsletter

Indian Embassy, Vienna

Asia’s largest Gifts & Handicrafts Fair

Organized by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH)

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Indian Embassy, Vienna

22 • India Newsletter

Indian Embassy, Vienna

presents 2015

INDIA MSME

EXPO & SUMMIT

Making Entrepreneurial India

28th - 30th August 2015 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

Supported by

Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Government of India

Ministry of Railways Ministry of Defence Ministry of Tourism Ministry of Women & Child Development

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24 • India Newsletter

Indian Embassy, Vienna

India Newsletter • 25

Indian Embassy, Vienna

INVEST INDIA Federation House, Tansen Marg New Delhi—110 001 0091-11-23765085, 23487278 investindia@ficci.com www.investindia.gov.in

I

policy and Promotion, Ministry INVESTMENT of Commerce & Industry) and State Governments of India (0.5% The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund(NIIF)

■■ Objective: ■■ To maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects, both Greenfield and Brownfield, including stalled projects.

■■ Other nationally important projects in manufacturing, if viable commercially ■■ Structure: ■■ The NIIF will be established as one or more Alternate Investment Funds (AIF). It refers to any fund established or incorporated in Indian in the form of a Trust or a Company or a LLP or a body corporate. AIF shall raise funds only through private placement 26 • India Newsletter

nvest India is the country’s official agency dedicated to investment promotion and facilitation. Set up as a joint venture between FICCI (51% and cannot accept from any equity), DIPP (35%funds equity held investor (Indian or Foreign) whose by the Department of Industrial value is less than 1 crore Indian Rupees and is prohibited from making application to public for subscription to its securities. AIF can be of three categories; ■■ Category I: Investment in Start-ups, SMEs, infrastructure or social ventures ■■ Category II: Investment in private equity and debt funds

■■ Category III: Primarily for hedge funds, which use complex strategies or leverage to invest in unlisted derivaties and trade with a view to make short-term returns

each), its mandate is to become the first reference point for the global investment community.

It provides granulated, sectorspecific and state-specific information to a foreign investor, assists in expediting regulatory approvals, and offers hand-holding services. Its mandate also includes assisting Indian investors make informed choices about investment opportunities overseas.

Indian Embassy, Vienna

TOURISM The Rising Road to Kalpa

by Hugh & Colleen Gantzer.

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, the journey and the destination are made for each other.

This was one such time. We did the 244 km drive from Himachal’s Shimla to Kalpa and enjoyed every moment of it. The rising road was lonely enough to let us stretch our mental wings, and yet we had enough human encounters to make it comfortably reassuring.

There were charming little towns, intriguing villages, beautiful people and great mountainscapes.. All this and the high Himalayas, too: what more could we have asked for?

NH 22 is a dramatic highway because, after the first 90 kms, the road follows the course of the Sutlej: a fairly young and rambunctious river here, snarling, foaming and bustling its way through the mountains. Occasionally, like a spoilt brat, it gets destructive and washes away a bridge or two, or bites into

the hillside causing a landslide. But the Border Roads Organisation and the Army are never far away and they get to work in a jiffy, and though the road may be a trifle muddy there’s nothing that a little effective driving, and a car wash, can’t cure!

While the first part of the trip, was scenic …. as, indeed, most of Himachal is …the most interesting sections began after Kingal where our mountain highway met the river.

We slowed down to allow ourselves time to stop and stare: the river and its gorge were quite breathtaking.

For most of its course, the Sutlej had been the rich brown of café au lait, now, however, it began to acquire a distinctly espresso look.

And it became a very audible river.

It roared, grumbled, gurgled and chortled as if it was conversing with us. But even if the river had not been so articulate we would never have felt lonely. We were held up by woolly flocks of sheep led by arrogant, silky-haired goats, and herded by dogs with amber eyes, responding to the whistles of

their masters. In the morning we encountered bands of colourfully dressed women, carrying sickles. We met other groups, in the evening, looking like large, green, bears bent almost double under their loads of fresh fodder for their stall-fed cattle. And then, when we parked our car, and looked down into the river valley, we saw them walking, sure-footed, along the narrowest of tracks to their tiny, slate-roofed, villages far below.

Rampur probably started life as such a village. Then it grew, acquired a princely family, and became the capital of a little Himalayan state. Its tourist bungalow shows the benefits of having the right, regal, patronage.

Built in the local Kinnauri style it’s called the Bushahr Regency. Frankly it seems a far better expression of local architectural idioms than the Palace is. We walked in the grounds of the home of the old Rajas and felt that the Palace looked rather like a Victorian hotel in a Raj-era hillstation. The carved woodwork on its first floor was, however, impressive.

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Leaving Rampur the next morning, we were given a rare, roadside, audience with a goddess. Her name, we were told, was Bahri Devi. She had multiple metal faces and was sitting in a palanquin being borne by her ecstatic, dancing, devotees. She had left her mountain shrine in Arsu village and was going to meet her beloved, the great and omnipotent Lord Laxminarayan devtar . When they spotted each other, they stopped. And then they came together, dancing and bobbing in joy while their accompanying bands went into a frenzy of drumming, piping and crashing cymbals. It was an infectious, spirited, display of emotion that filled us with happiness.

The Mother Goddess, in many forms, is very popular in the Himalayas.

Most are village deities installed in little temples hidden in dense groves of old Himalayan cedars: the dark and stately deodars. Some, gods and goddesses, however, preside over much greater domains. 23 kms from Rampur, at Jeoli, we turned right and began a fairly steep climb to the shrine of one of these ancient and revered beings.

The impressive might of the Bhimakali Temple, of Sarahan, dominates the landscape like the fortress of an invincible monarch.

In a striking example of parallel development, the traditional architecture of Himachal bears a strong resemblance to that of Switzerland. The Bhimakali Temple has been built in this cantilevered style. Rising on a ground floor of stone and wood, its first floor was larger than its ground floor, and its second larger than its first. The two upper floors were made of fretted wood and were surmounted by steeply pitched slate roofs and pinnacles of gleaming brass. Red pennants, symbol of the devi, fluttered against the densely wooded hills. The beautifully embossed brass doors and the carved, wooden, façade of the dharamsala held our attention for a long moment, but we had to move on because a queue of worshippers was building up 28 • India Newsletter

behind us. A devotee assured us that Bhimkali devi is an extremely powerful goddess and people from all over the land come to worship her.

Seventeen kilometres took us back to our familiar National Highway 22.

We had now come to the most dramatic part of our journey to Kalpa. Some parts of the mountain seem to have been made of friable gravel and mud. Rain had washed down some of it, making it tacky and a challenge to drive on. Then the road cleared and we breathed easier, taking in horizon-spanning mountainscapes of the river snaking through its valley, leading the eyes to blue ranges streaked with snow. Beyond them, cotton-wool clouds stretched across a wide sky.

But we couldn’t spend much time appreciating this view. Ahead of us, now, the road had been carved into a precipitous cliff as if a titanic chef had scoped a line through the middle of a chocolate cake daubed with white icing. We drove with great caution, wary of meeting a laden truck on this dizzying road.

Then the mountains became more gentle, less rocky, covered in green forests. Chilgoza pines stood bolt upright, like silver sentries. From their ripe cones would be harvested the little nuts valued for their morsels of delicate, white, flesh. In Tapri

village we snapped two Kinauri girls in their traditional dress. This was another stroke of luck: most women today, we were told, preferred to wear salwar-kameez. This sartorial fashion seems to have spread to even the remotest settlements.

When we stopped for petrol a little beyond a turn-off which was called Powari, and looked across the gorge at a village also identified as Powari, we saw women working in their terraced fields. They were all dressed in salwar kameez.

We now left NH22 and drove through forests of deodar to the district headquarters of Reckong Peo, and then headed up to Kalpa.

The quality of our journey began to change. A certain serenity crept in. High, snow-covered, mountains appeared framed in the deodars.

One peak was crowned by a curious, naked, pillar of rock but, apparently, such wonders are so common here that no one had even bothered to name it.

We drove into Kalpa. Gently terraced fields and orchards spread down from our deodar-fragrant guest house. Men and women tilled their plots, cattle grazed, and the quaintly named Chini Gaon, literally ‘The Chinese Village’, with tip-tilted roofs, dotted a rise at the sunlit edge of a gorge. Beyond rose the greater ranges: massed dark green

Indian Embassy, Vienna

with conifers, threaded with the white veins of snow-melt streams, crowned by the great, hulking , giants of the Himalayas, the Abodes of Snow. They seemed to be so near that we felt we could reach out and touch them.

These snowy mountains weave the greatest magic of Kalpa. Virtually every hour, every change of light and shade, every movement of the clouds and the mist and the sun affects this gently compelling range.

Walking out into the bright garden of our Tourist Bungalow, we spoke to Nitika Bawa of Delhi. She had come here with her son Anshuman and her husband. Said Nitika, “I bring a book to read while I am sitting outside, but every five minutes I can’t help looking up to enjoy the view. We don’t intend going anywhere for the next ten days.”

But we like exploring and our stroll through Chini Gaon was an interesting experience. Narrow, stepped, paths wound between stone houses whose slate roofs

AIR INDIA launched new Delhi-Vienna flight on April 2016 Air India has started direct flight from Delhi to Vienna. The inaugural flight from Delhi landed at the Vienna

glittered like scales in the sun. Old people gossiped on warm parapets; children played tip-cat often called gulli-danda; large, shaggy, dogs with leopard-deterring spiked collars, curled up in doorways. At the end of the road were three, fascinating, temples. once, not so long ago, the worshippers of Shiva, Vishnu and the Mother Goddess belonged to three distinct, often warring, faiths. Here, in Chini village, the temples of Lord Buddha, Lord Vishnu and Mother Durga were clustered together.

The Buddhist shrine was austere compared to the other two. Those two were decorated with a profusion of carved and painted doors, images of deities, demi-gods and mythical beasts, and lions and crocodiles on the tips of the up-curving roofs to guard the shrines against any evil spirits who may chance to come this way. But why is this village called the Chinese village? Was it, once, colonised by Chinese traders bringing their caravans through the

International Airport on 06.04.2016.

Air India has introduced dreamliner plane on the route. Ambassador Shri Rajiva Misra , Commercial Director of Air India, Shri Pankaj Srivastava, senior officials of the Vienna Airport Authority and other senior officers

high passes? And if they had come to this remote and beautiful place, what other nations had left their imprint here?

We had a glimpse of a possible answer when we asked Saroj Negi, a pretty young woman in Kalpa, to dress up in her wedding finery. It was an astonishingly exotic costume. But the most striking feature of her attire was her silver filigree mask which descended in festoons from her ears, along with pendants of finely wrought silver and others of silver and blue enamel. A Greek friend said that her jewellery looked distinctly Macedonian. Possibly. There is a belief that some of the families who had accompanied Alexander the Great, on his invasion of India, had settled in the Himalayas.

Given the ferment that Alexander caused, in his new empire, we don’t blame anyone for deciding to settle here. The soul-easing peace that they discovered, in the 4th century BC, still exists at the end of the high road to Kalpa.

were present at the Airport on the occasion. The Flight, which will be operated thrice a week, is expected to provide better connectivity between India and other central / eastern European destinations as well.

India Newsletter • 29

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TOURIST HELPLINE

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OVERSEAS INDIANS

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INDIAN MOVIE EVENING AT THE EMBASSY 24th June, 17:30 HINDI OV WITH GERMAN SUBT.

29th July, 17:30

26th August, 17:30 HINDI OV WITH GERMAN SUBT.

HINDI OV WITH GERMAN SUBT.

Seat reservation and further Infos: www.indianembassy.at Indian Embassy Business Centre/Library Kärntner Ring 2, 1. Stock, 1010 Wien 32 • India Newsletter

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INDIA-RELATED EVENTS IN AUSTRIA YOGA_A3.pdf

1

29/04/16

15:06

INTERNATIONALER TAG DES C

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YOGA WO: STADTPARK, WIEN

(VOR DE M JOHANN STRAU SS DENKMAL)

WANN: SONNTAG, 19.JUNI 2016 BEGINN: 10 UHR Alle sind willkom m en. Eintritt ist gratis.

Für weitere Informationen (sowie Programm-Updates bei Schlechtwetter) besuchen Sie: goo.gl/bp24l0 oder scannen Sie den QR-Code:

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INDIA-RELATED EVENTS IN AUSTRIA

34 • India Newsletter

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INDIA-RELATED EVENTS IN AUSTRIA

Vienna Essence of Yoga Flyer final 1_Layout 1 27/04/2016 15:42 Page 1

Spirituelles Highlight Lesungen und Kommentare aus der klassischen Yogaschrift Bhagavatam.

Die Bhagavata Saptaha ist eine siebentägige Reise zum Sinn des Lebens.

Das Hören der spirituellen Geschichten, Poesie, Musik und Philosophie der Bhagavatam expandieren den Intellekt und das Herz.

EHRENGAST: Sri Venugopal Goswami, Bhakti Yoga Acharya,

stammt aus einer über 500 Jahre alten Familientradition. Er wurde im Radha Raman Tempel in Vrindavan, Nordindien in die Lehren der Bhakti Schriften eingeweiht. Sri Venugopal lernte viele Jahre bei dem weltberühmten Vokalisten Pandit Jasraj, einem international ausgezeichneten Meister-Interpreten der klassischen Hindustani Musik. Englisch mit deutscher Simultanübersetzung. Mit LiveMusik-Begleitung: Harmonium, Gesang, Bambusflöte, Shanai-Oboe und Tabla.

Swami Sivananda (1887–1963)

Die Essenz des Yoga

Swami Vishnudevananda (1927–1993)

Yoga und Musik-Festival

Yoga-Inspirationen im täglichen Leben

Freitag, 3. Juni – Donnerstag, 9. Juni 2016

Vorträge mit Swami Durgananda, Yoga-Acharya Samstag, 14.30 Uhr: „Die Meditationserfahrung“ Sonntag, 14.30 Uhr: „Yoga Weisheit im täglichen Leben“ Swami Durgananda, Yoga Acharya ist Seniorschülerin von Swami Vishnudevananda und Leiterin der Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Zentren in Europa. Ihre praktische und intuitive Unterrichtsweise entspringt der Inspiration und intensiver Praxis.

Der nächste Schritt in der Yogapraxis

Asana Specials und Vorträge mit Swami Sivadasanada, Yoga Acharya

Ehrengast: Sri Venugopal Goswami, Nordindien Weisheitsverse aus der Yogaschrift Bhagavatam mit Live-Musik

Swami Sivadasananda ist bekannt für seinen inspirierenden Unterricht von Asanas und Pranayama.

Er ist Autor der Bücher „Einführung in Yoga“ und „Besser Leben mit Yoga“.

Vorträge und Asana-Workshops mit

Swami Ramapriyananda ist Senior-Schülerin von Swami Vishnudevananda und unterrichtet in den Internationalen Sivananda Yoga Lehrerausbildungen. Ihre Asana Workshops und Vorträge vermitteln Präzision und eine natürliche Spiritualität.

Swami Vasudevananda ist langjähriger Mitarbeiter in den deutschsprachigen Sivananda Zentren. Er ist ein stetiger und gewissenhafter Lehrer.

Swami Gitananda Ist Mitarbeiterin der deutschsprachigen Sivananda Zentren und eine engagierte und freundliche Yoga-Lehrerin.

Padmavati ist Senior-Schülerin von Swami Vishnudevananda und Gründerin des affilierten Sivananda Yoga Zentrum in Klosterneuburg.

Padmavati hat mehrere Werke von Swami Sivananda ins Deutsche übersetzt.

Ishwara Ist ein erfahrener Yogalehrer und Physiotherapeut und unterstützt das Sivananda Yoga Zenrum in Wien seit vielen Jahren.

Swami Durgananda und Swami Sivadasananda sowie Swamis und Lehrern des Sivananda Yoga Zentrums

Asana-Workshops / Vorträge: 17,- € oder 1x Streifenkarte.

Zuzahlung Dauerkartenbesitzer: 6,- € pro Veranstaltung.

Weisheitsverse mit Musik: auf Spendenbasis.

Nada-Yoga-Konzert am Sa, 4. Juni: 17,- €.

Am Sa, 4. Juni und So, 5. Juni: Tageskarte 25,- € und 20 % Ermäßigung auf Streifenkarten und Kurse.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Zentrum Wien Gründer: Swami Vishnudevananda, seit 1957

Prinz Eugen-Str.18 • Beim Belvedere 1040 Wien • Tel. 01 586 34 53 • vienna@sivananda.net www.sivananda.org/vienna • www.sivananda.eu

Gründer: Swami Vishnudevananda, seit 1957

Tel. 01/586 34 53 0 • vienna@sivananda.net • www.sivananda.org/vienna

ASTAD DEBOO dance expression 28.06.2016 OFF THEATER Kirchengasse 41 1070 Wien

20 Uhr Tickets: € 18,- | € 14,Abendkasse und Reservierung: natyamandir@hotmail.com Info: Tel.0676 312 57 36

Foto: Amit Kumar, Layout: rasz

India Newsletter • 35

Indian Embassy, Vienna

INDIA-RELATED EVENTS IN AUSTRIA Ein nladung zum Vo ortrag

Dr. Sunil K Koth hari

(Former Professor and D Dean, Schooll of Arts and A Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru Unive ersity, New D Delhi, India)

The Pioneers off Ind dian Dan nce who Placed d it o he W on th Worlld M Map

36 • India Newsletter

Vortrag 016 Donnerstagg, 16. Juni 20 18:30

Ort:

Seminarraum m 1, Institut für Sü üdasien‐, Tibet‐ und Buddhismuskkunde, Universitätscaampus, Spitalgasse 2,, Hof 2.7 1090 Wien

Indian Embassy, Vienna

INDIA-RELATED EVENTS IN AUSTRIA

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NOTICE BOARD EMBASSY’S LIBRARY ■■ The EMBASSY’S library is opened DAILY from 10am to 1pm without appointment.

■■ For a complete list of books available in our library, visit our website www.indianembassy.at ■■ For scheduling an appointment outside the opening hours, please contact the information assistant under info.vienna@mea.gov.in or 01 505 8666 33

BUSINESS CENTRE ■■ The EMBASSY’S Business Centre is opened DAILY from 10am to 1pm.

■■ For scheduling an appointment outside the opening hours, please contact the commercial wing under the contacts given below.

■■ Marketing Officer: maoffice.vienna@mea.gov.in or 01 505 8666 30 ■■ Marketing Assistant: comm.vienna@mea.gov.in or 01 505 8666 31

STUDENTS WELFARE OFFICER ■■ Mr. Brijesh Kumar, Second Secretary (Press, Info. & Protocol) in this Embassy has been designated as Officer to look after welfare of Indian Students in Austria and Montenegro.

■■ His contact details are: 0043 1 505 866 17 and culture.vienna@mea.gov.in

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS GOES MOBILE ■■ Avail services : passport, visa, consular assistance ■■ Ask your Minister : on the go, anytime, anywhere ■■ Follow your PM : on his visits abroad ■■ Find the nearest Indian Mission/Post : for emergency consular assistance ■■ Be informed : about India’s Foreign Relations on the move and form your own opinions ■■ Know more : about how to undertake Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and Haj Pilgrimage ■■ Download and watch : pictures & documentaries on India ■■ Play and Personalize : what you need, when you need ■■ Share and contribute : your views, pics & suggestions

Ministry of External Affairs proudly presents “MEAIndia” – an integrated smart app for mobile and other hand held devices ‘MEAIndia’ is now available for download on App Store and Google Play Store..

FACEBOOK & TWITTER ■■ Our Facebook and Twitter pages target the India-Austria community and covers subjects such as Business, Culture, Embassy News, India-related events and programmes in Austria, and much more.

■■ We have reached the 9000 followers mark on Facebook!

■■ ‘Like’ our facebook page and be the first to know!

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