Sports, stars and start-ups

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s India visit builds on existing narratives and attempts new pathways as well

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Premier Gladys Berejiklian met with key players from various industries to cement vital partnerships. Her trip has set in motion a slew of new possibilities to strengthen the relationship between India and Australia. Here are some highlights.

Health: Australian tech to tackle diabetes in rural India

In an important move that will hopefully help people in rural India combat diabetes, Berejiklian on Day 3 of her visit ffi un s program for The George Institute for Global Health in New Delhi.

Part of The George Institute’s m

Diabetes will train female community health workers in the use of a smartphone app that provides wireless point-of-care diagnostics for the management of patients with, or at highrisk of, diabetes and associated health problems.

“In rural India alone, more than 25 million people have diabetes and the number is rising rapidly,” Berejiklian s . n ss evidence-based and quality-controlled healthcare is a real game changer for these communities and I am so pleased to see our technology helping save lives across the world.” s s n n s is going global and benefitting people who would otherwise miss out on the kind of lifesaving healthcare that we n n n added.

Start-Ups: $1.6mn partnership to boost NSW start-ups

India has in the past few years witnessed an exponential rise in start-ups across n us s. m s announcement of a collaboration between the State and India’s talent and knowledge seemed like a natural step ahead. n s um n un s us s n young entrepreneurs and start-ups to India to learn from the country’s best and brightest, to support commercial nn ns n s u s n n

Tuesday, announced a two-year $1.58 million partnership to enhance the State’s start-up, technology and advanced manufacturing sectors. She made the announcement at accelerator Zone u s n s entrepreneurs and technology businesses access to new markets, talent and knowledge.

India and on fostering collaboration on advanced technology projects. s us s s u n technology capital and this partnership will ensure our industries grow alongside one of the world’s most dynamic technology markets,” Berejiklian said.

“Our state is home to 44 per cent of the nation’s start-up founders and 40 per cent of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) industry. This important partnership will allow us to learn from India’s best and brightest so that we can create the smart jobs of the u u . s us n ss s with incredible access to some of the best entrepreneurs and technology experts in the world.”

Sport: Kickstarting AFL in India

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Giants footballer Jess Dal Pos also visited um s n um where female school students are now learning to play Aussie Rules. The Premier said Australia’s homegrown game has increased its footprint into yet another nation, paving the way for a potential AFL match to be played in India. “It’s fantastic s n m su n impact at a girls’ school here in India,” Berejiklian said.

“This is an incredible milestone and one that may lead to a professional game of AFL being played here in the future with n s.

Jess Dal Pos said it was amazing to see the female high school students embrace m n m n s s n n us . s s paced team sport that requires dedication, training and a lot of team work so I’m thrilled these young girls in India have the chance to play,” said Dal Pos.

“I hope it inspires them to see that women can compete at the highest levels n n n m m n n m one day.”

One of the first female schools to uss u s um s High School is the oldest girls’ school in um n s u m n achieving women, including India’s first female pilot.

The keen interest shown by students in recent introductory sessions has prompted plans to build up an inter-school women’s footy tournament in the future and to explore opportunities to field an Indian women’s team in the 2020 AFL International Cup.

Cinema: Engaging Indian talent in Australian film academy n m s n n nm n isn’t far behind. To that end, Berejiklian announced the launch of Asia International Engagement Program. s n s s the annual AACTA Awards (Australia’s equivalent of the Oscars) for another two years to 2020. Berejiklian also encouraged the prestigious acting prize.

The launch event was attended by some of India and Australia’s most influential screen professionals such as Indian actress and 2017 Best Asian Film Grand Jury member Shabana Azmi; National Film Award-winning actress Tannishtha Chatterjee; Filmfare Award-winning actresses Supriya Pathak and Salma Agha; National Film Award-winning director Onir; and Australian Consul General in for this year’s AACTA Award for Best Asian Film are: Padmaavat, Golmaal Again and Tiger Zinda Hai, three of the top five highest grossing Indian films in Australia from the past 12 months; Indian Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film Newton; ground-breaking biopic Padman; Raj Kumar Hirani’s film on Sanjay Dutt; and critically-acclaimed drama Hickhi

The 2018 AACTA Award for Best Asian Film will be presented at the 8th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel, to be held on n s m n n and telecast on Channel 7 for the fourth consecutive year, with encore screenings on Foxtel.

Upcoming collaborations between Australia and India include: Australianm n um which was filmed in Australia and India; Australian and Indian-supported documentary The Run, based on Pat Farmer’s ‘Spirit of India’ run; and Sydneybased thriller Honour, which is the first Australian film to be completely funded by Indian private investment. the Indian film and TV industries to film their productions in Australia.

Besides Indian film stars like Shabana Azmi and Tannishtha Chatterjee, the Premier met cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar who she described as “legendary, but incredibly humble”.

In Delhi, Berejiklian visited the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, one of the most prominent Sikh houses of worship in New Delhi, and enjoyed a meal at the Indian Accent restaurant, the only Indian s u n n u n s Best Restaurants list in 2017.

“The AACTA Awards play a leading n n n s s n s creative industries capital of Australia, attracting major names like Nicole m n n n s n to help shine a global spotlight on our local screen industry,” Berejiklian said.

“Initiatives such as AACTA’s Asia International Engagement Program attract n n s m n n n celebrate excellence in Asian cinema.”

Berejiklian presented the 2017 AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor to budding Indian film star Sunny Pawar, whose debut performance in the Oscar-nominated Lion earned widespread critical acclaim and made him the youngest ever recipient of um n u . s u s n n n m u ns s n more than 10 Indian productions have m n n n s m direct production expenditure of more than $14 million,” Berejiklian said.

“Upcoming projects like One Less God and The Run will no doubt be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the enormously successful Australia-India production Lion.”

In its inaugural year, the Program introduced the AACTA Award for Best Asian Film which was presented to recordn n n ffi Dangal at the 7th AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel.

Among the Indian films in competition