Consulate Weekly Vol 03 Issue 49

Consulate General of India, Vancouver www.cgivancouver.gov.in

Vol. 03, Issue No. 49 December 13, 2019.

Atithi@Indian Customs The Ministry of Finance & Corporate Affairs launched a new IT initiative of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs – Atithi@Indian Customs - for arriving international passengers.

This state-of-the-art mobile application enables incoming passengers to make advance customs and currency declarations even before reaching Indian airports.

India Perspectives India Perspectives is the flagship publication of the Ministry of External Affairs. Richly illustrated, this magazine provides our readers with an insight into India’s culture and tradition along with elements of contemporary India.

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Vol. 03, Issue 49, December 13, 2019.

Consulate News NASSCOM IT Delegation visit to Vancouver, British Columbia (December 09, 2019) In our endeavor to promote trade and investment between India and Canada, Consul General Abhilasha Joshi hosted on Monday, 9th December 2019 a Business Networking Reception for a 24 member delegation of heads and senior representatives of Indian IT Companies who were on a brief visit to Vancouver under the banner of NASSCOM (The National Association of Software and Services Companies) which is the premier trade body and Chamber of Commerce of the Tech Industry in India.

The delegation was led by Mr. Shivendra Singh, VP of NASSCOM. Gracing the occasion was Minister of Jobs, Trade & Technology Hon. Bruce Ralston. The Reception was also attended by heads of many IT Companies based in British Columbia and other stakeholders from government and private bodies providing an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of views and prospective collaborations, trade, and investments.

Earlier during the day, the NASSCOM delegation attended a day-long session at KPMG, Vancouver which was jointly organized

by Invest BC, MJTT, and KPMG. Speaking on that occasion, Consul General Abhilasha Joshi outlined the Synergies and Opportunities for Trade and Investment between India and Canada. She also gave an overview of the improving climate of investment in India.

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Vol. 03, Issue 49, December 13, 2019.

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Indian IT & ITeS Industry Report (October 2019) THE global sourcing market in India continues to grow at a higher pace compared to the IT-BPM industry. India is the leading sourcing destination across the world, accounting for approximately 55 per cent market share of the US$ 185-190 billion global services sourcing business in 2017-18. Indian IT & ITeS companies have set up over 1,000 global delivery centres in about 80 countries across the world.

India has become the digital capabilities hub of the world with around 75 per cent of global digital talent present in the country.

Market Size •

India’s IT & ITeS industry grew to US$ 181 billion in 2018-19. Exports from the industry increased to US$ 137 billion in FY19 while domestic revenues (including hardware) advanced to US$ 44 billion.

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Spending on Information Technology in India is expected to grow over 9 per cent to reach US$ 87.1 billion in 2018.

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Revenue from digital segment is expected to comprise 38 per cent of the forecasted US$ 350 billion industry revenue by 2025.

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Vol. 03, Issue 49, December 13, 2019.

Major developments in the Indian IT and ITeS sector are as follows: • • • • •

Nasscom has launched an online platform which is aimed at up-skilling over 2 million technology professionals and skilling another 2 million potential employees and students.

Revenue growth in the BFSI vertical stood at 6.80 per cent y-o-y between July-September 2018.

As of March 2018, there were over 1,140 GICs operating out of India.

PE investments in the sector stood at US$ 2,400 million in Q4 2018.

Venture Capital (VC) investments in the IT & ITeS sector stood at US$ 53.0 million during Q4 2018.

Major initiatives taken by the government to promote IT and ITeS sector in India are as follows: •

• • •

The government has identified Information Technology as one of 12 champion service sectors for which an action plan is being developed. Also, the government has set up a Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 745.82 million) fund for realising the potential of these champion service sectors.

As a part of Union Budget 2018-19, NITI Aayog is going to set up a national level programme that will enable efforts in AI and will help in leveraging AI technology for development works in the country.

In the Interim Budget 2019-20, the Government of India announced plans to launch a national programme on AI and setting up of a National AI portal.

National Policy on Software Products-2019 was passed by the Union Cabinet to develop India as a software product nation.

For more information: https://www.ibef.org/industry/information-technology-india.aspx 3|P a g e

Vol. 03, Issue 49, December 13, 2019.

Cultural Heritage - Festivals of India Attukal Pongala (December 20, 2019) The Pongala festival is celebrated on the famend Attukal Bhagavathi temple in Kerala's capital metropolis of Thiruvananthapuram. The pageant entered the Guinness information for being the largest single gathering of girls for a nonsecular activity.

Pongala is a ritualistic presenting of a candy dish along with rice porridge, candy brown molasses, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins. Devotees offer pongala to assuage the presiding deity of the temple - the Goddess - popularly known as Attukalamma.

Where: Kerala, India.

Visit https://www.hellotravel.com/events/a ttukal-pongala for more information...

(Picture Source: https://images.indianexpress.com/2019/02/attukal2.jpeg)

Poush Mela Shantiniketan (December 24, 2019) The Poush in Poush Mela is referred to the Bengali month which arrives in the middle of the month of December. Poush Mela is actually the annual fair and festival organized in the land of Rabindranath Tagore, in Shantiniketan, in the Birbhum District, in the Indian State of West Bengal. This mela or fair is celebrated to mark the harvest season. The fair commences on the 7th day of the Bengali month Poush , the fair lasts for three days officially , but according to the university rules and regulations the fair vendors may stay up to the end of the month Poush. The beautiful and peaceful environment captivates the mind and heart of the people. The natural view of Shantiniketan and the baul singers gives you a typical countryside pure feeling.

Where: Kolkata, West Bengal.

Visit https://www.india-tours.com/fairs-andfestivals/amp/poush-mela-shantiniketan.html for more information...

(Picture Source: https://www.india-tours.com/fairs-and-festivals/amp/poush-mela-shantiniketan.html)

Important Trade Fairs in India – To know more, click on

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Vol. 03, Issue 49, December 13, 2019.

India News Section 1. PSLV successfully launches RISAT-2BR1 and nine commercial satellites in its fiftieth flight India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its fiftieth flight (PSLV-C48), successfully launched RISAT-2BR1 along with nine commercial satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. Read more…

(IBEF: December 12, 2019)

2. 70 Rail and Road Projects Worth Rs 48,782 Crore Undertaken for Enhancement of Port Connectivity: Shri Mansukh Mandaviya In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today the Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya informed that the Government of India has undertaken 55 rail projects worth Rs 45883.2 crore (US$ 6.57 billion) and 15 projects worth Rs 2899 crore (US$ 0.41 billion) for enhancing port connectivity at various Major and Minor ports. Read more…

(IBEF: December 13, 2019)

3. From an entrepreneur promoting clean energy to a woman who quit her corporate job to work for the welfare of society – the top social stories this week There is no act too small, no step too bold. The history of social change is the history of millions of actions, small and large, coming together at critical points to create an impact. Read more…

(Your Story, Saturday, 7th December 2019, 10:28 am)

4. Scientists develop machine that transforms dirty water into drinkable supply The mini mobile treatment plant developed by scientists at the university can purify hundreds of thousands of litres of water, potentially providing a solution for one billion people around the globe. Read more…

(WWT Online, Thursday, 5th December 2019, 10:30 am)

5. Meet the social entrepreneur who is revolutionising the Indian inland fisheries industry For Neelkanth Mishra, inland fisheries always seemed like a viable means of creating livelihood for the 273 million small and landless farmers in India. Read more…

(Shantanu Paul & Raghav Khemka, Your Story, Wednesday, 11th December 2019, 12:02 pm)

6. India’s G.S. Lakshmi to break the glass ceiling in cricket history in Sharjah Come Sunday (December 8), men’s cricket will no longer be a male-only supervised event. G.S. Lakshmi of India will become the first female official in history to oversee a men’s One Day International as match referee when the UAE take on USA in the third series of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Read more…

(K.R. Nayar, Gulf News, Sunday, 8th December 2019, 9:58 am)

7. [Startup Bharat] This Thiruvananthapuram-based healthtech startup is helping doctors organise medical records After working for almost 12 years in Mumbai, Nishant Nambiar decided to return to Thiruvananthapuram for better job opportunities. There, he started working in the sales department of NeST (Network Systems and Technology), an enterpriselevel IT company. Read more…

(Your Story, Thursday, 5th December 2019, 10:09 am)

8. Indian Teacher Develops Braille Model to Enable Blind Students to Learn Chemistry Imagine a biology class without diagrams or learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects without graphs and drawings. Visually impaired students often have to skip these subjects due to the challenges involved in learning such concepts without visual aids. Read more…

(Sputnik News, Sputnik News, Friday, 6th December 2019, 5:13 am)

9. Punjab students invent AI-enabled tech that predicts the rains, down to the minute!

Forecasting rain in India and around the world is a complex process that isn’t necessarily 100 per cent accurate. However, three engineering students and a professor from Chitkara University in Punjab are challenging this notion. Using their artificial intelligence-enabled technology, for example, they can tell you that it will rain exactly at 12.15 p.m locally. Read more…

(Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk, The Better India, Monday, 9th December 2019, 10:28 am)

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Vol. 03, Issue 49, December 13, 2019.

BHEL tender for Design, Supply and Installation and Commissioning of floating platform for electrical equipment for 100 MW Floating Solar Power Plant at NTPC Ramagundam (Telangana), India. (RFQ No. TGPBOS0050) Ref.- RFQ No. TGPBOS0050 Dt. 10.12.2019 Due Dt. 23.12.2019 (E-tender) Item- Design, Supply and Installation and Commissioning of floating platform for electrical equipment for 100 MW Floating Solar Power Plant at NTPC Ramagundam (Telangana), India Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Electronics Division, Bengaluru, India has the requirement above mentioned item. In this regard, BHEL has floated an open tender on 10.12.2019.

The complete tender document (comprising of technical specification, forms to be filled up, terms / conditions, instructions for tender submission etc.) has been uploaded to following websites: 1.

2.

3.

BHEL EPS website - https://bhel.abcprocure.com/ , click on search, type the RFQ no. in keyword, click search, list will appear and click on the RFQ no. for tender details. Event ID is 37861 http://www.bhel.com/tender/view_tender.php?tenderid=50502 In https://eprocure.gov.in/epublish/app the tender ID is 2019_BHEL_500410_1

Kindly note that the tender is due on 23/12/2019 (DD/MM/YYYY), 13:00:00 Hrs. (IST) Please submit your offer on e-tender portal https://bhel.abcprocure.com/

For more tenders, visit https://cgivancouver.gov.in/pages.php?id=63

India – A tourism destination

Gangotri - one of the most popular Char Dham pilgrimage spots, is meant to reconcile you with your moral and spiritual self. Visit Gangotri to satisfy your spiritual urges and rejuvenate your mind and soul. #UttarakhandTourism #Uttarakhand #Gangotri #CharDham #SimplyHeaven

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