Jan 2016

MOV I N G O N

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AN ALLEGORY

A person rented his house e tenant used to feed street dogs daily. But the tenant's intentions were not ver y honest. He started selling things that belonged to the house, like its doors, windows, etc Finally when he started selling the bricks of the house, the landlord could not tolerate and went to court, won the case and got the tenant thrown out of the house Now the landlord rented his premises again in its dilapidated condition to a new tenant. is new tenant began repairing the house, by installing windows,

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doors, etc e street dogs started coming again to the house, in the hope that the new tenant, just like old one, would also feed them. But when this did not happen, the dogs started barking at the new tenant all the time.

e House: India e Landlord: IP ? e

First Tenant: C ? e Second Tenant: ?

e Dogs: M ?

Readers are invited to guess & fill in the blanks.

CHIEF PATRON

EDITOR

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

CHIEF ADVISOR ADVISORS

AJAY SINGH

(Former High Commissioner, Fiji)

RAJEEV GUPTA

B.K. AGGARWAL

DR KAMAL KUMAR

CH SUNIL OHLYAN

SUSHIL TAYAL

MEENA GUPTA

VARSHA GOEL

CONSULTING EDITOR BUREAU HEADS

CHAKRAVARTHI SUCHINDRAN

JYOTHI VENKATESH (MUMBAI)

SANJAY KUMAR (EUROPE)

VINOD GOEL (NEW YORK, USA)

AJAY AGGARWAL (U K)

PREMCHAND RAMLOCHUN (MAURITIUS)

RAJIV KUMAR (FRANCE)

RAVI KUMAR (FRANCE)

BALESH DHANKHAR (AUSTRALASIA)

SUMAN KAPOOR (NEW ZEALAND)

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ROBIN MALHOTRA

CHANDER MOHAN

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MANJIT NIJJAR (UK)

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DR. RAJA VOHRA

N EW YEAR—N EW AGEN DA

An old year endeth, and a new one beginneth And it is only natural for all of us to want something new and refreshingly different in the coming 2016. So dis we at NRI Achievers feel aer our editorialising in these pages all these past months about what transpired the earlier month and prognosticating what might befall us in the coming month Looking back at it in retrospect, we felt that enough was enough We will tread a new path this month So there, here's wishing all our readers a crisp, brilliant, lucky and eventful 2016 ahead!

But before we shun the dominant negativity of the past and proceed on to what this issue of NRI Achievers has to offer you in newly dawning Januar y 2016, we would nevertheless like to take a little step back into 2015, if only to share with you all a sentiment we have been harbouring for some time now Looking retrospectively at all the brouhaha and drama that took place aer we got a new government by popular mandate in mid 2014, the stature of India has no gainsaying gone up several notches, the economy seems to be out of the doldrums and on an upward growth path, our capital markets are stable enough despite global shocks, and overall sentiment is indeed positive To lesser or greater measure this is indeed thanks to a government that works more than an earlier regime, and a workaholic PM who is successful in turning around world opinion about India... a PM who is his own diplomat too to boot just think of the audacious Lahore stopover to pay neighbour Nawaz Sharif a visit it all astounds us. One last word though we now have a government elected by an overwhelming popular mandate Let us cooperate and allow them to do their work for a full term & we, the people of India participate collectively to make the society better days are surely up ahead

In the current issue, we are ref lecting a trend that is manifesting its elf, of individual states in the Indian Union assertively vying for attention from global investors and t he diasp ora, to push for inclusive co op eration le ading to b etter growt h and way of life This trend is slowly turning into a torrent, as is exemplif ied by states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West B engal, R ajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, et al , organising and ho st i ng g l ob a l i nve st me nt su m m it s a l ong t he l i ne s of an e n l arge d Pr av as i Bharatiya Diwas. The PBD aprop os is of f the calenders this 2016, and fo cus is on tes. We bring you a cover feature on Uttar Pradesh, bundled up accordingly t of our usual thematic groupings Enjoy our ne w content mix, and write to r vie ws on the magazine!

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RBI ISSUES NORMS FOR

e Reser ve Bank of India issued guidelines that will allow individuals and foreign portfolio investors to trade in currency futures in India e guidelines, which were initially outlined in the RBI’s monetar y policy in September, also seek to extend exchange traded contracts from the existing dollar-rupee pair only,

to cross currenc y pairs of Eurodollar, pound sterling-dollar and dollar-Japanese yen also. is would help companies hedge their exposures in foreign currencies and will also boost cross currenc y strategies However the existing position limits of $15 million (100 crore) for dollar-rupee contracts and $5 million

A U S A r my c ap t a i n o f S i k h f a i t h h a s b e e n a l l ow e d t o k e e p h i s b e a r d a n d t u r b a n i n a temp orar y relaxat ion of s er vice r u les -t he f irst t i m e i n d e c a d e s t h e m i l i t a r y h a s g r a nt e d a relig ious accommo dat ion for a b e ard to an act ive - du t y c omb at s ol d i e r, re p or t s C h i d an an d R aj g hatt a . “It is wond e r f u l. I w as l iv i ng a d oubl e l i fe, we ar i ng a tu r b an on ly at h om e, “C apt Si m r atp a l Si ng h a d e c or ate d of f i c e r w h o l e d a pl ato on of e ng i n e e rs to cl e ar ro a d s i d e b omb s i n A f g h a n i s t a n , t o l d t h e Ne w Yo r k Ti m e s . “My t wo wor l d s h ave f i n a l ly c om e to ge t h e r. “ T h e a r my i s s l at e d t o d e c i d e w h e t h e r t o d o aw ay w i t h t h e “ n o - b e a r d” p o l i c y e v e n a s p o l i t i c a l t e mp e r at u re s ov e r m i n o r i t y l oy a l t y t o A m e r i c a i s h e at i n g u p, w i t h i n c e n d i a r y r h e tor i c f rom t h e l i ke s of D on a l d Tr u mp.

(‘33 75 crore) for non dollar-rupee contracts per exchange for residents and FPIs remain unchanged.

UA E A L LO C ATE S L A N D F O R A B U D H A B I ’ S F I R ST H I N D U TE M P L E

e Indian government has lauded a decision by the United Arab Emirates to allocate land for the building of the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, recently paid visit to the UAE, said in a tweet, that he was thankful to the UAE government, describing the move, “ a great step” ere are currently two Hindu temples and one Sikh gurudwara in Dubai, but none in Abu Dhabi Modi became the first Indian premier to visit the countr y in 34 years, meeting with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

e Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) awarded the JICA President's Award for 2015 to the Confederation of Indian Industr y (CII) for contributing to the National Project 'Champions for Societal Manufacturing' (earlier VLFM) over nine years e JICA President's Award recognizes projects, individuals and groups who contribute to the development of human resources, society and economies of developing nations. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman – CII VLFM Initiative and Chairman of Sundaram Clayton, received the award on behalf of CII from Hidetoshi Irigaki, Vice President, JICA at the President's Award Ceremony held on the 22nd December at New Delhi.

I I G E TS TH E 1 1 TH J I C A P R E S I D E NT AWA R D

FRENCH PRESI DENT TO BE CH I EF GU EST ON JAN. 26, 2016

French president Francois Hollande will be the Chief Guest for this year ’ s Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi His presence will be seen as a gesture of solidarity. Only last month Shri Modi and President Hollande jointly launched the solar alliance- a group of countries to promote solar energy

UP GOVT & TATA TRUST SIGN MOU

e UP government would be entering into a long-term partnership and the Tata Trusts for community development related works in the state To give a concrete shape to this partnership, a MOU was signed recently in Lucknow in the presence of CM Akhilesh Yadav and Chairman of Tata Trusts, Ratan Tata

In a scathing attack on competitors, founder and CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos said that more customers visit his online platform than India’s popular e-commerce marketplaces such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Jabong. Citing data sourced from digital analytics ser vice provider C omscore, B ezos sent an email to Amazon customers in India stating Amazon has over 30 million unique visitors a month against 27 million of Flipkart, and 21 and 17 million of Jabong and Snapdeal respectively. “Just two-and-half years from our launch, Amazon.in has become the most-visited e-commerce site in India. is customer response continues to amaze and energies us, ” B ezos wrote in his email He also offered ‘ 200 gi card to its customers.

An official spokesman said that the Tata Trusts would be providing support to the state government’s endeavors in poverty alleviation, employment generation, increasing income and infrastructure development To ensure proper execution of work and effective monitoring, a joint state-level steering committee would be constituted. He further informed that the sectors in which the UP government and the Tata Trusts would be working include mother-infant health, preparing and implementation of a nutrition program for better health for mother-child, special efforts in ensuring anemia (lack of blood) is eliminated in women “A mechanism would be developed to detect cancer at an early stage and a cancer registry would be prepared. Both sides would work together to ensure quality education and job-oriented training in various sectors,” said the spokesman

Under the MOU, developing off-grid solar energy as well as solar energ y based irrigation system, establishing solar water liing pumps, hi-tech plant nurseries, introduction of improved varieties and techniques of horticulture, assimilation of various varieties, agro-forestry, bio-farming and combined efforts to increase agriculture harvest, mechanization, post-harvest management will be covered

e MOU would also encompass safe storage, agri-marketing, encouraging micro-irrigation, developing high quality seeds, development of value chain for milk, menthol, garlic, onion, maize, pulses, banana and potatoes

A M A ZO N I S B I G G E R TH A N F L I P K A RT: B E ZO S

C ontinuing with his funding in startups, top industrialist R atan Tata has invested in ser vices market place, Urb anC lap e va lue of t he invest ment was not disclos e d. O p erat iona l in six cit ies D el hi-NCR , B enga lur u, Mumb ai, C hennai, Pune and Hyderabad UrbanClap allows users to book over 80 ser vices, including plumbing, electrical work, beauty , wellness, tutorials and wedding photography e company has a network of more than 25,000 ser vice professiona ls. e Tat a S ons ’ chair man emer itus has b e en aggressively investing in startups, ranging from e-commerce firms to cab aggregators R atan Tata has invested in firms like Snap deal, Kaar yah, Urban L adder, Bluestone, CarDekho, Sabse Technologies, Xiaomi and Ola

MAHINDRAS BUYS ITALIAN AUTO DESIGN FIRM PININFARINA

Tech Mahindra and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) have jointly acquired controlling stake in Italian automobile design house Pininfarina, wrapping up nearly eight months of talks that focused on valuation According to sources, the all-cash deal is expected to work out to nearly $165 million (over Rs 1,000 crore). e Mahindra Group companies announced that the deal was done through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), held 60% by Tech Mahindra and 40% by M&M

E x a c t l y a y e a r a f t e r s av i n g it f rom n e a r- c e r t a i n c l o s u re , Spi c e Je t ch i e f Aj ay Si ng h is a l l s e t to re v amp t he ai rl i ne by p o ss ibly goi ng i n for a c ompl e te change of f l e e t . Si ng h s ay s he w i l l pl a c e a ` l arge ’ ai rc r af t ord e r, i nd i c at i ng any w he re f rom 100 to 150 planes, t his f is ca l B ot h Airbus and B o eing have s e nt t he i r prop o s a ls for t he A- 3 2 0 ne w e ng i ne opt i on or n e o an d t h e B - 7 3 7 Ma x , re s p e c t i v e l y S i n c e S i n g h c ofou nd e d Spi c e Je t i n 2 0 0 5 , t he l ow - c o st c ar r i e r ( LC C ) has b e en op erat ing wit h B o eing 737s as t he mainst ay and ye ars l at e r i n du c t e d B o m b a r d i e r Q - 4 0 0 a s it s re g i ona l j e t .

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Debt-hit Air India (AI) is planning a massive expansion of its international network with flights to South America, Toronto, Spain, Africa and increasing frequencies to dest inat ions such as D ub ai AI, w hich started operating a direct flight to San Francisco from this month, is also planning a non-stop to Washington D C. AI already operates non-stop flights to three US cities New York, Chicago and Newark.

“(e exp ansion plan) is st i l l in t he planning stage,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be named. “Next year, we will launch many new flights… 2016 will be a year of consolidation and growth for AI,” Ashwani Lohani, CMD, AI, had said at an event during the launch of the San Francisco flight

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BAN K TO LEN D $1 BN TO POWER GRI D

PSU AWARD 2015

Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank will provide $1 billion (6,670 crore) loan to public sector power transmission utility Power Grid Corp for renewable energ y transmission and grid expansion in India. “ADB is to provide a $500 million government-backed loan and a fur ther $500 million in non-sovereign lending to India’s national transmission company, Power Grid,” ADB said in a statement. e funds will be used to build and upgrade high voltage transmission lines and substations in Rajasthan and Punjab, as part of the Indian government’s Green Energ y Corridor initiative

OW E RG R I D c on fe r re d u n d e r t h e Nav r at n a C ate gor y for ‘B e s t R ate d i n St rateg ic Invest ment C omp any ’

HUD C O Dr. M. R avi Kant h, C hair man and Managing Director, received the ‘3rd G overnance Now PSU Award’ on behalf of HUD CO for value growth (in the Miniratna 1 categor y) under t he ‘Financia l C ategor y Awards’

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

P N B W I N S

P u n j a b N a t i o n a l B a n k h a s w o n ‘ I n s p i r i n g Wo r k P l a c e s Aw a r d 2 0 1 5 ’ u n d e r t h e c a t e g o r y ‘ B e s t H R a n d Ta l e n t P r a c t i c e s ’ a t a c e r e m o n y h e l d r e c e n t l y i n Mu m b a i . T h e a w a r d f u n c t i o n w a s o r g a n i s e d b y a m a g az i n e s e r v i n g t h e B a n k i n g , F i n a n c i a l I n s t i t ut i on a n d In s u r a n c e ( B F SI ) s e c t or s i n c e 2 0 0 2

B C Tr i p a t h i C h a i rm a n & Ma n a g i n g D ir e c t o r, G A I L ( I n d i a ) l i m i t e d u nv e i l e d t h e p l a q u e o f ‘ I G B C L E E D P l a t i n u m R a ti n g C e r t i f i c a t i o n ’ aw a rd e d t o G A I L Jubi l e e Tow e r by In d i a n G re e n B u i l d i n g C ou n c i l i n t h e pre s e n c e of D i re c t or ( H R ) , D i re c t or ( F i n a n c e ) , E D ( O & M ) , E D ( H R & H R D ) an d ot h e r s e n i or of f i c i a l s of G A I L G M ( C i v i l ) , A N C h owd hu r y, appr i s e d C M D of v a r i ou s f e at u re s of G A I L Ju bi l e e Tow e r w h i c h l e d t o b a g g i n g of t h i s pre s t i g i ou s aw a rd

L E E D P L AT I N UM SH I E L D OF J U B I L E E TOW E R U N V E I L E D

Smt. Preeti Saran, India’s ambassador to Vietnam, has been appointed Secretar y (East) in the ministr y of External A ffairs.

Shri Sushil Kumar Singhal, presently Ambassador of India to Republic of Angola has been concurrently accredited as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea with residence of Luanda.

Smt. Sujata Mehta, in the MEA has been appointed Secretar y (West) in the ministr y of External A ffairs.

Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla currently Ambassador of India to Thailand, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Shri Vijay Keshav Gokhale, currently Ambassador of India to Federal Republic of Germany has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the People’s Republic of China.

Shri Syed Akbaruddin, currently additional Secretar y in the ministr y, has been appointed as the next Ambassador/ Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations at New York.

Shri Anil Wadhwa, currently Secretar y in the ministr y has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Italy.

Shri Pank aj Saran, currently High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation.

MOV I N G O N TH E E XP R E S SWAY OF DEVELOPMENT UT TAR PRADESH

Uttar Pradesh (Northern Provinces), aka UP, is a northern Indian state created in 1937 as the United Provinces, and later renamed as Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Lucknow is the capital city, while cities like Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Allahabad, Moradabad, Bareilly, Aligarh, Sonbhadra and Varanasi are known for their industrial impor tance. On 9 November 2000, a ne w state, Uttarakhand, was car ved out f rom the Himalayan hill reg ion of Uttar Pradesh. e state is bordered by Rajasthan to the west, Har yana and Delhi to the nor thwest, Uttarakhand and the countr y of Nepal to the nor th, Bihar to the east and Madhya Pradesh to the south. UP also abuts some small tracts of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states to the south eastern corner. It covers 294,411 square kilometres, and is the four th largest Indian state by area covering 9.0 percent of the countr y ’ s geographical landmass. With more than 200 million inhabitants in 2011, it is India's most populous state accounting for 16.4 percent of the countr y ’ s population, as well as the most populous countr y subdiv ision in the world. Hindi and Urdu are the official and most w idely spoken lang uages in the state. UP state has 83 districts, 901 development blocks and 112,804 inhabited v illages.

In its hoar y past, the region has been home to powerful empires of ancient and medieval India e two major rivers of the state, the Ganga and the Yamuna, join at Allahabad and then flow as the Ganges further east e state has several historical, natural, and religious tourist destinations, such as the Agra, Varanasi, Piprahwa, Kaushambi, Kanpur, Ballia, Shravasti, Kushinagar, Lucknow, Jhansi, Allahabad, Budaun, Meerut, Mathura and Jaunpur.

Uttar Pradesh is the third largest Indian state by economy aer Maharashtra and Tamilnadu, with a GDP of 9,763 billion (US$ 150 billion). Agriculture and ser vice industries are the largest sectors of the state's economy S er vices include travel and tourism, hotels and hospitality, real estate, insurance and financial consultancies. Uttar Pradesh apropos has always been at the forefront of industrial development. During the 5th, 6th and 7th 5Year Plans, industrial growth averaged 9 4, 11 8 & 10 9% respectively, while in the post liberalization period, growth somewhat dropped. However, the state has since been able to make up a bit, with Industrial growth during the 10th 5-Year Plan reviving to touch 6 6% It is significant to note that during that period, the world at large was hit by a recession. e Public-Private-Partnership model has also been adopted by the State in various sectors like Roads, Power, Urban Rejuvenation, etc Uttar Pradesh proposes to bring investment through PPP mode wor th 2,64,204 crores in the 12th 5-Year Plan. As per a FICCI repor t on the status of PPP projects in the countr y, Uttar Pradesh is amongst the top five States of the countr y in the implementation of PPP Projects

Further, in order to promote investments and to boost industrialization in the State,

Uttar Pradesh has developed many SEZs, Industrial Clusters, Information technology Parks, Agro Parks etc e State Government has taken some good initiatives with new policies on industrial & infrastructure development, Information Technology, Food Processing et al In fact, the New Infrastructure & Industrial Investment Policy of Uttar Pradesh sets an ambitious target of 11.2% industrial growth per annum during the 12th 5-Year Plan. e State is also poised to take advantages of the Eastern and Western Freight Corridors Projects for rapid industrialization Similarly there are plans to connect all district headquarters by 4 lane roads. Implementation, however, remains a key challenge.

C onsidered the heartland of northern India, Uttar Pradesh state offers loads of investment oppor tunities to prospective entrepreneurs f rom across the globe. While that be so, it is indeed worthwhile

to look at what is available on the ground to facilitate business-f riendliness, and what infrastructure exists, and what is in deficit To start with, let us look at how the state is endowed with, in this context.

So why select UP for your investments?

e state has the longest network of rivers and canals 31,200 km, fostering the agricultural sector Mineral resources in the state are mainly limestone, dolomite, glass-sand, marble, bauxite, non-plastic fireclay and uranium. Key industries include C ement, Vegetable oils, Textiles, Cotton yarn, Sugar, Jute, Carpet, Brassware, Glassware & Bangles, and Leather goods.

Endowed with fertile land, salubriousclimate and a perennial river system UP is the leading agricultural state in the countr y and is poised to emerge as a most sought aer destination for the food processing industr y.

Wit h l arge sp ans of ag r ar i an fe r t i l e plains, a vast network of rivers and brimming wit h natura l res ources, UP is e conomically one of the more active states in India to day. Its charac ter ist ics li ke wel ldeveloped agro-based commerce, being a f ront l i ne pro du c e r of su g ar and t he advent of food processing industr y have unmasked enormous potential World-famous t r a d it i ona l i ndust r i e s su ch as handicrafts, carpet manufacturing, metal ar tefac ts, s cents and le at her go o ds f rom UP make up a reasonably large chunk of overall handicraft expor ts out of India a l l t h is p oi nt to r is i ng pre st i ge for t he st ate as an e me rg i ng e c onom i c p owe r within the Union.

UP is cont inuing wit h t he pro cess of improving t he indust r ia l inf rast r uc ture and has de velop e d integ rate d indust r ia l townships li ke in Noida and Gre ater Noida wit h st ate-of-t he-ar t faci lit ies. Noida special economic (export) zone enj oys a go o d inflow of invest ment f rom many domestic and international players like C oca-C ola, Pepsi, Glaxo, Moser Baer and BPO centres etc., and manufacturing

units of repute d brands in E le c t ronics, Textiles, Engineering and Computer Soware Lucknow is growing to be another hub of IT, ITeS and BPO indust r y. Gorakhpur, Bhadohi, Satharia ( Jaunpur) & Lucknow along with UP State Industrial Development C orporation (UPSID C) are s ome of t he ot her promising Indust r ia l Development Authorities

e Moradabad SEZ is a product-specific manufacturing zone for metal-ware and artefacts B esides, there are four functional private SEZs, namely, Moser Baer India Ltd (Non-conventional Energ y), Wipro Technologies Ltd. (IT/ITeS) at Greater Noida along with HCL Technologies Ltd. (IT/ITeS) & Seaview Developers Ltd (IT/ITeS) at Noida

Of late, the state has taken a whole slew of measures in improving overall inf rastructure & logistical facilities, so essential for driving industrial, economic and social growth Mega road projects, like the 1047 Kms long, 8-lane Ganga Expressway along the course of the great river Ganga joining the far east with the national capital; the Yamuna Expressway providing fast access

to the City of Taj Mahal & other major industrial cities like Ghaziabad, Meer ut, Hathras and another whole network of expressways are in the offing. Modelled on Public Private Partnership, numerous developmental projects in power, metrorails, transpor t, education, health and urban rejuvenation are at different stages of implementation and there are many more in the pipeline, reconfirming the State’s commitment to commercial opportunities for stability and growth

A congenial industrial ambience, with a series of measures to improve the ease of ‘doing business,’ coupled with readily available labour assets and more importantly, a large pool of highly skilled human resource in diverse fields produced inside the State is unmatched elsewhere in India e time lines for obtaining various approvals f rom different depar tments have already been defined, keeping in view the best business practice e State is the proud home to many renowned national level research and training institutions, such as the Indian Institute of Technolog y Kanpur, the Industrial Toxicolog y Re-

search Centre Lucknow, the Central Drug Research Institute Lucknow, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, the Indian Institute of Handloom Technolog y Varanasi, the Northern India Textile Research Association centers in different cities, the National B otanical Research Institute Lucknow, as well as the Gautam Buddh Technical University (earlier known as UPTU) with various affiliated higher professional study colleges.

To encourage investors and to promote business opportunities, a robust investor and industr y f riendly polic y f ramework with active involvement of industrial and business bodies and thoughtfully devised facilitation mechanisms are being spruced up. Procedures and processes are being simplified and rationalized further, so that, entrepreneurs are guaranteed the best ser vices, support and facilities right from the inception to the implementation of their projects becoming functional. Notwithstanding economic recession, government suppor t and incentives, self-resilient markets and ever increasing huge domestic demand continuously create

ample space for hectic economic activity in all spheres opening avenues of immense oppor tunities for progress and growth Uttar Pradesh offers enormous possibilities for enter prise and success it is the biggest emerging market within India and the government is determined to continuously improve industr y-conducive climate

It is worthwhile recalling that the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, while speaking to the media in September 2015 during UP state's first ever such event and maiden road show at Mumbai to attract FDI and diaspora investments to the state, had promised the best of facilities to Industr y at recent event saw India Inc rising up to the occasion and committing to pour in some 33,000 crore into the most populous state e CM had that time also appealed to investors not be misguided by pre-conceived notions and instead to look at the situation on the ground in his state. “I want to call you to invest in UP and I will give you all the facilities,” Yadav had told an audience comprising key decision makers from Indian mega-businesses like Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, Anil

Dhirubhai Ambani Group, RP Goenka group, the Tatas and the Adani Group, among others He had also shared that over 40 agreements had been signed as part of the summit, which entailed an investment of 33,000 crore and have the potential to create employment for at least 150,000 people in the state C ommitments apropos were led by Japanese electronics firm Toshiba Power which is building a 660MW thermal plant at Harduaganj at an investment of 3,500 crore, while others who signed agreements included Korean electronics firm LG, Reliance Jio, Idea Cellular, Godrej Agrovet and ITC

On a sectoral basis, the inf rastr ucture sector led in the agreements signed with 13,405 crore, followed by Food and Agro processing at 6,630 crore and manufacturing at 6,150 crore From the public sector, milk cooperative Amul had announced an invest ment of 600 crore. Tele com fir m Idea C ellular was to invest 500 crore and power solutions provider Jackson Power another 500 crore

With many questions being raised repeatedly over actual investments on the ground following such mega announcements at similar summits, Yadav said he was confident of money flowing in, as all the companies which had signed agreements already have a presence in the state in some form or the other. It is however necessar y to note that a whole slew of Indian states have since last year started organising such mega events to attract investments, following the successes achieved by Gujarat over the past decade

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who while he was the state's CM led the Gujarat model, has also been reinforcing the need for states to vie with each other for investments, all for the benefit of their people

SILICON VALLEY STARTUPS

G E N - N E XT

I N DIAN-A MERICANS

Over the years, India born exe c ut ives have succe e de d in bagging some of the topmost te ch j obs in t he US, wit h Sundar Pichai of Google being the latest, following in the footsteps of several others w ho have made it big in nor t h American and european corporate annals Chennai-born Pichai and Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella are among at l a score or more of such talented Indian t heir home shores as aspir ing students g 80s and the 90s, helming some of tech's most powerful companies today While media attention is o on these trial-blazers, there is this newly emerging influential group of youngsters in the Silicon Valley today, all of them apropos with strong India connections t he ne w breed of young s econd generation Indian-American entrepreneurs.

e f t p icon Valley in the good old US of A, it is the gen-next children of the Indian diaspora who are today foraying into the startup ecosystem of the valley. is bunch of young, tech-savvy secondgeneration Indian immigrants is building some of the hottest tech companies over there. While the first generation immigrants out of India had tended to focus on enterprise tech, this new set of founders, given their longer and closer connect with the market, is creating myriad consumer-facing ventures. A report.

early age with parents, typically academicians, doctors or engineers

Anand R ajaraman, w ho co-founde d Junglee, says the key difference is that the new set of founders is more confident and connected with mainstream culture. ey are also much younger “ is is why you see more consumer-facing startups than before ere has been a steady migration of Indian ent repreneurs up t he st ack st ar t ing f rom chips to inf rast r uc ture to enter pr is e s oware to inter net to consumer facing companies As you move up t he st ack, t here is hig her r isk, but a ls o higher reward,” avers R ajaraman, who is these days on his own, running an early-

stage fund called Cambrian Ventures.

Gagan Biyani, 28, and Neeraj B err y, 27, co-founders of Sprig an on-demand f resh-food deliver y ser vice based out of San Francisco, are both second-generation Indian Americans. Backed by venture funds like Greylock Par tners and Social+Capital Partnership among others, Sprig has raised almost US$ 60 million since it star ted up early in 2013 Biyani, who had earlier co-founded Udemy, says his risk-taking appetite comes f rom his parents: “My parents came to America with almost no money in their pockets and no social network here at was a bigger risk than I've ever been faced with ”

While most first-generation Indians were professionals, Ankit Jain, 29, founder of mobile analytics venture Quettra, saw his father build three startups, which instilled in him an entrepreneurial streak “e reason we moved to Silicon Valley was because my dad wanted to live the startup dream. So I grew up in a house where my mom was the stable breadwinner while my dad helped found three startups e first and third exited successfully while the second one flamed out. Growing up in such a household played a huge role in my own entrepreneurial journey,” he says Jain who had a plum job at Google where he was part of the Android team, decided to quit the search giant and expectedly found support from his enterprising parents.

Having gone to some of the finest US universities, these youngsters have great academic track records and are well-networked among peers and investors Gokul Rajaram, product engineering lead at payments startup Square, says this new breed combines the discipline and focus instilled in them from a young age by their families “ ey come with a rigorous analytical and technical education; numerous role models they can look up to; and a social

circle of peers that's equally steeped in technolog y and entrepreneurship from a young age, ” he says R ajaram, who's dubbed the father of Google Adsense, sold his venture Chai Labs to Facebook in 2010 and joined the social networking site where he stayed for three years. e new generation of tech founders has benefited immensely under the tutelage of the likes of Rajaram, one of the most sought-aer mentors and angel investors in Silicon Valley and now in Indian startups as well.

Amitt Mahajan, 30, who has already successfully nurtured and exited two startups selling one to Zynga and another to Google says he is now focusing only on angel investing across US and Indian ventures. While the earlier generation started investing much later in their careers, the new bunch is turning investor, mentor and advisor all at the same time, even as they run their own startups. “I always knew I wanted to start a company. I received my first computer when I was five and started to program at nine From when I was young, my mother was an entrepreneur, and I helped her with the accounting work, learning f rom her how to be selfsufficient,” Mahajan says.

Kanishk Parashar, 35, CEO & founder of C oin, says this generation is great at taking calculated risks “e Valley startup scene doesn't treat failure as taboo, it's used as a tool to help you eventually get to a successful outcome,” he says. “ e background with which I was raised actually veered me away from committing fully to something as risky as a startup It was only when I was able to fully commit to Coin that there was significant progress, ” says Parashar, who moved to New York with his mother when she was pursuing a postdoctoral degree back in 1989

INDIAN STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

OLDER GEN ER ATION ENTREPREN EU RS

For quite a fe w years now, especially in this decade, it is the twenty something next-gen entrepreneurs who have been getting all the media attention both in the US as well as in India. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. B e n Milne, creator of t wo successf ul companies in hi s 20s, including the mobile pay ment darling Dwolla. Ben Silber mann, who 10 years aer g raduating f rom High School helped launch Pinterest, one of the fastest g rowing websites e ve r. In India, you have Ola, Snapdeal, Flipcar t, Pay tm, redBu s all star ted by entrepreneurs under thir ty. So it would indeed seem that the 20-40 age g roup is the ke y eng ine that is f uelling the g reat Indian star t-up stor y. But if we look deeper, we ' re more likely to find oldies launching ne w bu siness. NRI Achie ve rs takes a look ...

Over the past decade, the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity is ascribable to the 55 to 64 age group, according to a study by a US-based entrepreneurship institute e 20 to 34 age bracket has in fact the lowest rate. e study shows that about 23% of new entrepreneurs in 2010 were in the 55 to 64 age group, compared with 15% in 1996 So what characterises the 55-64 age groups that are in fact starting more businesses than our gen-next crowd? is other kind of 60-something entrepreneur is equally energetic and passionate, just over the age of 60 and draws on a lifetime of experience to take a second shot at the working life

ASHOK SOOTA, 73

Founder & Vice Chairman, Happiest Minds (US$ 45 million funding from Canaan partners, Intel Capital)

Ashok S oota began his career with the Shriram Group and moved to Wipro as its president in 1984 Leaving Wipro in 1999, he co-founded Mindtree, a bengaluru based multinational IT ser vices company that has now grown to over 14,000 employees, with a presence across the US, Europe and Asia.

S oota's star tup stor y is as unique as it has shaped out to be B eing something of a serial entrepreneur, Soota started Mindtree in 1999 at the age of 58 and is now at it again, this time with a new star t up called Happiest Minds, a next-generation IT company. Aer

some three decades already in the IT sector, Soota believes that a late-stage entrepreneur like himself has several advantages. “If you have a good track record, it becomes easier to get funding at good valuations I had a good plan to scale the company and I have a b etter network Mindt re e works in a crowde d sp ace ere are people out there who are doing similar things. So my biggest apprehension was always why a customer would come to

us. But aer the first four or five customers, I overcame that as well,” says Soota.

Ashok S oota has no plans to retire “Hard work makes you smar ter and it is impor tant to keep working hard,” he asser ts “You have to keep your mind and intellect sharp Up to my 50s I used to put in some 50 hours a week. Now in my 70s I am putting in 60 hours. Hard work makes you smarter,” he adds

LR SRI DHAR, 60

Founder, Connect India (Last mile delivery service for e-commerce, funded INR 32 crore by Aavishkaar)

R ADHA DAGA, 74

Radha Daga's only exposure to commercial ventures was the setting up of a garment business two decades ago as a social venture, to employ, empower and generate income for underprivileged women Aer set-up though, she was fortunate enough to end up bagging large export orders.

ough she was already running a successful garments business, she kept going back to her passion food. So she went and spent a year in Italy, studying food processing Coming back, she decided to create a product that will focus on quality and meet her own high standards of perfection, hygiene and nutritional value. “With other products, you have the option to apologise and do a call-back. Not so with food,” says Daga. She zeroed in on the ready-to-eat market in 2009, travelled to different countries to learn more about preparation techniques, packaging and marketing of quick-fix meals 2011 saw her first range of products launch in Chennai. Today she is producing some 160,000 tubs a month, with sales at INR 1 crore.

Sridhar had entered the logistics business with Skypak Couriers in the year 1977, working for 9 years before he moved on, to build institutions like Overnight Express and Corporate Couriers, a JV of TNT Express Worldwide and AFL. And starting with 2006 until last year, he was also the Group Managing Director of South Asian cargo conglomerate Sical Sridhar's startup stor y began when Cafe Coffee Day's V G Sidhartha acquired Sical, presenting Sridhar with two options to continue with Sical or start something new on his own. “I chose the latter. I saw opportunity in e-commerce, where there was a dearth of quality last-mile distribution,” he averred Connect India, incorporated August 2015 in B engaluru to ser ve as a common distribution platform for e-tail and ecommerce t l i C t India ties up with rana stores and into courier outl ies done by Within just a few har has succeed 2,000+ outlets in his network Sridhar says important to ha you are in start-u tire team, for inst sists of people have worked with before ”

NRI Achievers Desk

Founder, Triguni Foods (Product Ready-to-eat meals, Clients IndiGo Airlines, retail customers)

Tw o I n d i a n s h a v e w o n t h e Q u e e n ’ s Yo u n g L e a d e r s a w a r d i n t h e U K f o r t h e i r e x c e pt i o n a l w o r k i n t r a n sf o r m i n g t h e l i v e s o f o t h e r s a n d m a k i n g a l a s t i n g d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s I nd i a n s K a r t i k S a w h n e y ( 2 1 ) a n d N e h a S w a i n ( 2 8 ) a r e a m o n g 6 0 o t h -

Por tu g a l Pre s i d e nt A n i b a l C av a c o Si lv a h a s app oi nte d G o a - or i g i n Anton i o C o st a as t he c ou nt r y ’ s ne w Pr i me Mi n iste r af te r gove r n me nt for mat i on fol l ow i ng t he O ctob er 4 ele c t ion. C ost a ’ s S o ci a list Par t y (PS) did not w in t he el e c t i on but he manage d to c obbl e to ge t he r a c o a l it i on of l e f t p ar t i e s t hat has a t a d more t han t he maj or it y mark i n t he 2 3 0 - me mb e r Ass e mbly L is b on , 5 4 - ye ar- ol d C o st a is t he l ate st i n t he l arge Ind i an D i asp or a a c ro ss t he g l ob e to re a ch top p ol it i c a l p o s it i on s f rom F ij i t o Ne w Z e a l a n d a n d Gu y a n a a n d f rom Mau r it iu s t o Ma l ay s i a to Si ng ap ore to S out h Af r i c a to Br it ai n and b e yond.

A n In d i a n - or i g i n prof e ss o r h a s c r e at e d a ‘ s u p e rc o n d o m ’ t h at c a n h e l p c o m b at t h e d e a d l y v i r u s t h at c au s e s A I D S w h i l e s i mu l t a n e o u s l y e n h a n c i n g s e x u a l p l e a s u r e . Ma d e o f a n e l a s t i c p o l y m e r c a l l e d hy d r o g e l , t h e c o n d o m i s e n m e s h e d w i t h a p l a nt - b a s e d a nt i ox i d a nt i n g r e d i e nt t h at h a s a nt i - H I V p ro p e r t i e s , a c c o rd i n g t o D i g i t a l Tre n d s “ We are n ot on ly m a k i ng a n ove l m ate r i a l for c ondoms to pre vent HIV infe c t ion, but we are a ls o ai m i ng to e r a d i c ate t h i s i n fe c t i on i f p o s s i bl e, ” s ay s l e a d re s e arch e r Ma hu a C h ou d hu r y, a s s i st a nt prof e s s or at t h e Te x a s A & M He a lt h S c ie n c e C e nt e r ’ s Ir m a L e r m a R a n g e l C o l l e g e o f P h a r m a c y i n t h e U S . “S u p e r c o n d o m c o u l d h e lp f i g ht H I V i n fe c t i on an d m ay a s we l l prev e nt u nw a nt e d p r e g n a n c y o r s e x u a l l y t r a n sm i t t e d d i s e a s e s a n d i f w e s u c c e e d , i t w i l l r e v o l u t i o n i z e t h e H I V p r e v e nt i o n i n i t i at i v e , ” n ot e s C h ou d hu r y, w h o s tu d i e d m ol e c u l ar biol o g y, bi ophy s i c s an d ge n e t i c s i n In d i a b e fore ge tt i ng h e r P h D i n t h e U S .

N DIAN-ORIGI N FOOTBALLER DHAN DA GETS LIVERPOOL CONTR ACT

e r s w h o w o n t h e Q u e e n ’ s Yo u n g L e a d e r s a w a r d 2 0 1 6 w h i c h w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d b y t h e B r i t i s h m o n a r c h a t a g a l a c e r e m o n y i n B u c k i n g h a m P a l a c e i n Ju n e n e x t y e a r

Yan Dhanda has b e come t he f irst player of Indian or ig in to sig n a professiona l contrac t with Eng lish fo otball

Bi r m i ng ham . He j oi ne d L ive r p o ol’s a c a d e my i n Ju ly 2 0 1 3 f rom We st Bromw i ch A lbi on club. T he att a ck i ng m i d f i el d e r has pl aye d for E ng l and at t he Und e r- 1 6 and Und e r- 1 7 l e vels and won t he up - and - c om i ng pl aye r c ate gor y at t he As i an Fo ot b a l l Aw ards i n 2 0 1 3

DIASPORA OUTREACH

GARN ERI NG I NVESTMENTS & FACI LITATI NG COLL ABOR ATIONS

India has had an ongoing programme of targeted diaspora outreach for more than a decade now, in the shape and form of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which takes place ever y year in Januar y, coinciding with the date of arrival on India's shores of one of the most famous members of India's diaspora, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, aka Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation. Reg ional PBDs also are organised and held, in different par ts of the world that have a large population of people of Indian orig in, w ith the last one taking place toward the fag end of 2015 at Los Angeles, USA. But of late, since the formation of the NDA government lewd by PM Narendra Modi of the BJP last year, states are being encouraged to organi s e and host world investor summits where not merely our diaspora, but governments and companies from across the globe par ticipate. is new trend that began last year has now caught on and is a reg ular feature all the year round. NRI Achievers brings you v ig nettes on what the next three months have in store ...

JANUARY 2016

WEST BENGAL: is month, the state of West Bengal is hosting its “Global Business Summit 2016” on the 7th, 8th & 9th at the Trade Fair Grounds at Tangra in Kolkata city et Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool government aims to cast a spotlight upon the state's capability and readiness to take on bigger and greater business challenges. With the aim to fulfil aspirations, the vision for the upcoming business summit is to promote an image of Bengal as a newly business-ready state, ostensibly with the purpose of broadening available avenues of business possibilities by implementing technology, policies, practice and putting in place strategic investments e three-day long summit will seek to open up new business propositions, seek partners from the global business community, investors and intellectual capital from outside the state and the country

e West B engal Global Business Summit 2016 is being organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industr y (FICCI).

ANDHRA PRADESH: e southern state of Andhra Pradesh too has a global partnership summit on its agenda during the month of January, with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with the DPIP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Union Ministr y of Commerce and Industr y) and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh organising its 22nd edition of the “Andhra Pradesh Global Partnership Summit” from 10-12

Photo: Roshan

January 2016 at the APIIC Ground in Harbour Park, Visakhapatnam. Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Minister for Commerce and Industr y, is the Chair of the Summit and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh is the ‘Partner State’ for this edition of the prestigious initiative. e Partnership Summit, which first took place in 1995 to mark the centenar y of CII, has since become one of the most important international business events in the country.

FEBRUARY 2016

KARNATAKA: e Karnataka state government, which had initially planned for a global investors meet for the end of November 2015, had to ultimately postpone this event to Febr uar y 2016 due to unprecedented drought conditions that prevailed in the state State Industries Minister RV Deshpande said, “ we were to originally have it on 23rd, 24th, 25th of November. We had made all arrangements and preparations and we even had a road show in Delhi... but what happened unfortunately, we were hit by a drought of proportions not seen for the last 44 years

e Invest Karnataka 2016 event is now taking place between 03-05 Februar y 2016 at the Palace Grounds of B engaluru. Giving details about the investors’ meet, CM Siddaramaiah said that consultative meetings would be held with industr y associations, cor porate head honchos, global CEOs, embassies and consulates of vari-

ous countries in India during the meet Focus countries for attracting investment include Japan, Taiwan, Middle E ast, US, Germany, France, Sweden, and Singapore.

“C ompared to the 2010 and 2012 meets, we expect more investment during this meet,” the Chief Minister said MARCH 2016

HARYANA: With every state focusing on attracting & connecting NRIs with their respective states for investments, participation and collaborativ ventures, Haryana is not to be le behind either In an Investment Road show held recently in New Delhi, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar said that they were expecting more than 1,000 participants and investments worth INR 100,000 crore due to the state's investor/diaspora outreach efforts It is also anticipated that this summit will result in the creation of about 400,000 jobs in the state. e “Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit” is to be held in Gurgaon, from March 7 to 8, 2016; and on the 9th of March, a “Haryana Prawasi Diwas” is to be celebrated

e Chief Minister said that the government was undertaking several measures to

promote industry and investments in the state, which would create employment opportunities Present on the occasion, Haryana Industries Minister Capt. Abhimanyu said that steps were being taken to organise bootcamps and road shows for start-up awareness with the joint efforts of the state government and Startup Accelerator Chamber of Commerce ese bootcamps would be organised in colleges and universities across the state from January. Giving out details, Principal Secretary Devender Singh said 300 to 400 MOUs are expected to be signed during this event e Pravasi Haryana Divas has been planned to apprise NRIs and PIOs of the huge investment potential Haryana has, and the vast scope the state offers for investment in varied fields like food processing, pharma, Information Technology, auto, defense production, aerospace, bio-technology, healthcare, medical education, skill development, Digital India, automotive sector etc e Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is the National partner for the event

NRI Achievers Bureau

For the over 2.8 million strong Indian diaspora, India is increasingly becoming a choice destination for their investments. Besides the strong familial and emotional connections, better returns on their investments i s an additional attraction for NRIs to increase their stake in India.

I NVESTMENT OPPORTU N ITI ES FOR N RIs

As per e World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016, Indian migrants sent home an estimated US$72 2 Billion (approx Rs Four lakhs seventy six thousand crores) in 2015 ese migrants, popularly referred to as Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), invest some par t of their remittances in India since they get better investment options that may not be available in their countr y of work/ residence

For NRI customers looking to invest in India, the first step is to have an NRI account with any of the authorised banks in India NRIs can open 2 types of savings bank accounts NRE (Non Resident External) account and NRO (Non Resident Ordinar y) account.

 NRE Accounts: is is a Indian rupee denominated account and would facilitate an NRI to remit his/her overseas earning to India and hold them in INR is account is exempt from Income Tax in India and the funds in this account is fully repatriable without any restrictions

 NRO Accounts: If an NRI gets income from India, eg rent from property, dividends f rom shares etc., then such funds can be deposited only to an non-res-

ident ordinar y (NRO) account. e interest earned on the NRO account is taxed at the rate of 30% plus surcharge and cess and there are restrictions on the repatriability of the funds from NRO accounts

An NRI can open the above mentioned NRI accounts wit h any of t he banks authoris ed by the RBI. The NRI can do s o by visiting the nearest branch of the bank i n Ind i a or i n t he ove rs e as l o c at i on (s ome b an ks do have overs e as branches in some countries). Most banks also offer a seamless online process through which an NRI can complete the account op eni ng pro c e ss f rom t he l o c at i on of t he i r work/ residence without having to physically come to India.

Once the NRI opens his or her NRI accounts, then the door is open to invest in various options such as fixed deposits, equity, mutual funds and real estate

What are the main investment options available to NRIs and how can they do their investments?

FIXED DEPOSIT S

 NRE deposits is one of the most attractive investment options available to NRIs. Most banks currently offer interest rates in

the range of 7.5% to 8.5% p.a on NRE deposits. Since these deposits are exempt from Income tax in India, for NRIs wanting a safe, easy & un-complicated investment option that gives them a tax exempt yield, NRE deposits is a very good option. However, NRIs should be aware that the minimum tenure of an NRE deposit has to be for 1 year and if the depositor pre-closes the deposit prior to completion of one year even for any emergency purposes, then NO interest is payable

 NRO Deposits: NRIs who have an income source in India such as rental income or s a le pro ce e ds f rom prop er ty s a le etc , can p ark t heir mone y in NRO deposits, which is similar to the resident deposits. Such deposits are subject to income tax in India at the rate of 30% plus surcharge & cess. ese deposits are not freely repatriable



FCNR (B): Foreign Currenc y Non Resident deposit (B) option is an attractive investment option for conservative investors who wish to keep their investment in simple deposits which are exempt from income tax in India and fully repatriable (like NRE deposits), but without taking the exchange rate risk. FCNR(B) deposits are available for a tenure of 1 year

to 5 years on a “permitted” currency i.e a f reely conver tible currenc y such as US dollar, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, Great Britain Pound, Euro, Japanese Yen etc e interest rates offered on the FCNR deposit var y with the currency. Like NRE deposits, the minimum tenure of deposit is 1 year and no interest is payable if the deposit is pre-closed within a 1 year tenure Banks have also been permitted to levy a penalty to recover the swap cost in case of pre-closure of FCNR deposits.

EQUITIES

NRIs can also invest in shares/ equities to p ar t icip ate in t he g rowt h of Indian companies. To be able to invest directly, an NRI wi l l ne e d to op en a de dicate d NRE or NRO Por t folio Invest ment Scheme (PIS) account An NRI can have on ly one PIS account a la t he PPF account. Also, due to the regulator y requirement t hat ag g regate NRI holding in an Indian company does not exceed 10% of its paid-up capital, each transaction in the PIS account is reported to the RBI To be able to transact in Indian equities, NRIs wi l l have to op en a demat account and t rading account, lin ke d to t he PIS account, with a local stock broker registered with Sebi Also, NRIs are only allowed to trade shares in India on a deliver y basis and cannot participate in day trading or shor t-s el ling ac t ivit ies. NRIs can buy through Initial Public Offers (IPOs) of Indian comp anies, for w hich t he y do not have to go through the PIS account

MU TUAL FUNDS

Financially sav v y NRIs also invest in mutual funds by letting experts to handle the investment decisions for them Since mutual funds offer the advantages of diversity of investing in debt, equity or hybrid options, possibility of better returns

than fixed deposits, easy liquidity etc., this is a good option available to NRIs. However, NRIs should be aware of the exchange risk they would take (similar to NRE deposits) and that the returns are market driven and hence, a guaranteed/assured return would not be possible. While debt mutual funds might offer more stable returns, even this was impacted severely in 2013 when investments in debt funds yielded negative returns. For NRIs based in US, there are restrictions on solicitation of funds f rom USA residents for investment in the securities market and the US securities market regulator authorises only those fund houses registered with it to accept a US based person ' s money. But, NRIs f rom other par ts of the world can use mutual funds with much ease, for diversification of their investments

PROPERT Y INVESTMENT S

Many NRIs prefer to purchas e a prope r t y e it he r for t he i r ow n us e or as an i nv e s t m e nt opt i on As m o s t bu i l d e r s w ou l d c on f i r m , a g o o d c hu n k of h i g h v a lu e lu x u r y re s i d e nt i a l prop e r t i e s a re b ou g ht by N R Is . For s om e N R Is , t h e bu l k of t he i r i nve st me nt is d i re c te d tow a rd s re a l e s t at e i nv e s t m e nt s du e t o h i g h y i e l d s t h at prop e r t y i nv e s t m e nt s g av e i n t h e p a s t d e c a d e e s p b e t w e e n 2003-2008. Howe ver, g iven t he del ays in h a n d ov e r of t h e prop e r t y by m o s t bu i l d e r s , t h e l a c k of l i q u i d it y ( s i n c e a prop e r t y c a n n ot b e s o l d of f e a s i l y a n d q u i c k l y ) a n d t h e p o or re nt a l re t u r n s etc , prop er ty purchas e is not necessarily t h e b e s t opt i on av a i l a b l e t o N R Is i n to d ay ’ s marke t . Ne e d l e ss to s ay, re a l e st ate i nve st me nt s i n Ind i a a ls o i nvolve a l ot of h a s s l e s a n d t h e l a c k of t r a n sp are nc y ma ke s it a tou g h prop o s it i on to f i n d a d e s i r a b l e prop e r t y. A l s o, N R Is c an not buy f ar m l and and t he re are re g -

u l at or y re s t r i c t i on s on re p at r i at i on of t he s a l e pro c e e ds of prop e r t y.

TAX LIABILIT Y FOR NRIs

NRIs should be aware of the tax implications on investments in India. Although there is no difference in the tax rates for NRIs and resident Indians, the tax is compulsorily deducted at source in case of NRIs So your share broker, mutual fund and bank will deduct tax before giving you the redemption proceeds. e Tax deduction at source (TDS) is charged at the highest applicable tax rate for that investment categor y irrespective of the actual liability For instance, you may not have any tax liability due to losses incurred on another investment but your broker will still deduct the tax You may end up paying a higher rate at the time of sale of your investment and can get the excess tax refunded only aer you file your income tax return.

N R Is shou l d a ls o b e w ar y of t he t a x implications in the countr y of their resid e nc e & e mpl oy me nt S ome c ou nt r i e s like the USA require tax residents of their countr y to declare the global income and pay taxes on the same. S o, any exemption of income tax in India like that on NRE deposits, does not mean that the income is e nt i rely t a x f re e T he i mpl i c at i ons of FATCA (foreign accounts tax compliance tax) and the inter-government agreement between the USA & India also will ensure t hat N R Is i n t he U S A have to d is cl o s e t he i r i nve st me nt s i n Ind i a are d e cl are d and applicable taxes are paid

Anand Subramaniam

e writer is a senior consumer banking professional with over 23 years of experience with leading MNC and Indian organizations He is currently the head of the NRI banking business of a leading private sector bank in India.

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According to D r. Ashwani Maichand of For t i s Ho spital s , w he n y our kne e d o e s not re sp ond to me di c at i on and t re at me nt , it i s w or thw hi l e c on si d e r ing kne e repl ac e me nt sur g e r y a s an opt i on . NRI Achie vers br ing s you thi s article in the for m of Q&As, as par t of the s e r i e s w e hav e init i ate d to br ing our re ad e r s up - to - d ate on te chni qu e s and te chnol o g i e s that have taken root in Indian medical s cience and healthcare.

Advancements in medical technology have led to precise and highly functional ar tificial knee implants that can duplicate the way in which the natural human knee moves and these implants are custom-fit for your body. It is now among the safest and most effective of all standard orthopedic surgeries ere are two types of replacement surgeries total knee replacement, and partial knee replacement Total knee replacement is what comprises more than 90 percent of today’s procedures.

BE N E F I T S OF C OM P U T E R- ASSISTED

SURGERY

Employing computers in surgeries have

COMPUTER-ASSISTED

EE REPL ACEMENT SU RGERY

the laudable benefit of taking the “ guesswork” out of surger y. It allows and facilitates the surger y to be done with much greater precision and accuracy

Why i s it impor tant in knee replacement?

Numerous studies have shown that knee replacements performed well in the first place (for example, well-aligned and balanced) are likely to last longer and feel better. In addition, it can shorten the hospital stay of the patient and decrease recover y time C omputer-assisted surger y helps the surgeon align the patient and implants with a degree of ac hither to not possible with just judgement of the naked eye. It ca also help in balancing the ligaments to ensure a better range of motion and a knee replacement that is more natural in it's functioning.

What are other benefits and potential complications of computer-assisted surger y?

C omputer-assisted surger y in creases the precision and accuracy the entire procedure, giving the su real-time feedback during the sur self is procedure also decrease by alerting the surgeon to potential pitfalls before they arise. It also gives the surgeon the confidence to perform the surger y with more precision and control.

Potential Complications: Right here at the outset, let us affirm that computer-assisted total knee replacement is extremely safe. is is because surgeons who use computer-assisted surger y utilize instruments that do not disturb the marrow It is believed to be safer than traditional surger y Moreover, it leads to less blood loss and may lead to decrease in blood transfusion requirement aer the surger y.

Are all surgeons trained in computer-assisted surger y?

Like all other complex technolog y, not all individuals are trained in computer-assisted surger y Proper training and handson experience to needed before a surgeon may attempt using this technolog y.

Does it take additional time to per form?

Like any technolog y, there is a learning cur ve for both the surgeon and the OR staff. In hospitals where surgeons and OR

pute r- ass iste d su rge r y is helpf u l for a l l patients, not just the dif f icult ones. That said, precision and accurac y is of course beneficial for all patients, though it might be a bit more time-consuming than stand ard su rge r i e s and may re qu i re better-trained OR personnel. Moreover, many ho spit a ls are a ls o relu c t ant to sp end mone y on purchas e of exp ensive c ompute r te ch nol o g y, not to me nt i on t he a d d e d OR t i me, p e rs on nel t r ai n i ng and technolog y costs. Therefore it might b e d i f f i c u lt for many ho spit a ls to of fe r this procedure

mputer-assisted surger y be permed through smaller incisions?

Computer-assisted surger y allows he surgeon to “ see ” more with the aid of the computer Since the surger y is performed with greater accuracy, the patient can reap the benefit of less invasive procedures without sacrificing the precision of the procedure

oes it mean additional cost for patient?

staff embrace computer-assisted surger y, it adds an average of some 10-15 minutes to the procedure. But some surgeons do succeed in performing computer-assisted surger y in less time than via conventional procedures

Is it necessar y for all total knee replacement?

Many su rge ons f a l l - b a ck up on c ompute r- ai d e d su rge r y w h i l e op e r at i ng upon patients with severe deformities or mal-alignments. Others believe that com-

ugh hospitals deploying computersurger y incur higher costs, the adl cost is typically not passed on to the patients, but is instead absorbed by the hospital. Moreover, since potential complications can be prevented and recover y is accelerated, cost-containment can be streamlined overall

Is computer- assisted total knee replacement available at the Minomax knee and shoulder clinic?

Yes, our surgeons, teams and OR staff are all well-trained in computer-assisted knee replacement surger y

A

Dr Ashwani Maichand

RECORD PE INVESTMENT FLOWS

e year 2015 could well be described as sunshine time for PE as the real estate sector offered immense oppor tunities which were successfully leveraged by the PE players. PE investment in the first nine months of the year stood at US$ 2.86 Billion, which was a seven year high figure since the peak of 2008 It was a record 84 percent higher than the period a year ago e number of deals concluded till S eptember, 2015 shot up to 61, compared to 52 a year ago

REALTY TREN DS 2015

In the wake of a long period of slowdown and the realty sector facing a debilitating liquidity cr unch, PE funds really proved to be a boon and a lifeline for proper ty developers, par ticularly when bank funding was hard to come by and they were banking on PE funds to complete their ongoing projects It was a win win situation for all While developers got the much needed funding at lower rates to refinance their debt compared to open market funding, for PE funds it was a golden opportunity to earn good returns

Vinod Behl, veteran journalist and real estate maven, writes for the readers of NRI Achievers w ith an insightful recap of the top trends that prevailed in the Indian real estate sector over 2015. Read on!

Leading PE funds like GIC, Blackstone, APG, Piramal Realty et al., took advantage of the weak market, joined hands with some developers to build land banks, besides investing heavily in office real estate that gave the highest global rental return of about 10.5 percent. ey also seized the opportunity to collaborate with NBFCs for high value real estate deals and for hedging risks in a slow moving market

However, developers in smaller towns could not really seize the PE opportunity as PE funds only focused on the top half a dozen cities, especially highly stressed NCR for safe investments with better returns

I N V E STM E N T I N OV E R SE AS PROPERTIES

e long drawn-out domestic slump in real estate with high rate of home deliver y defaults putting home buyers investment at risk prompted many high net-worth individuals and other high-risk appetite investors to look for better oppor tunities abroad Especially as overseas property investments ensured safety of investment and offered good returns over medium to long period.

Dubai, aer facing a slow-down is back in the re made m foreign estate, clocking US$ 13

2015. In the US also, Indians made record investment. London too emerged as one of the hottest overseas real estate destinations with Indians emerging as the largest investors buying high-end properties Singapore, Malaysia and Australia were other sought-aer overseas destinations for real estate investments by Indians who comprised businessmen, persons with their children studying abroad besides HNIs Prevailing uncertainty in the domestic real estate market prompted investors to look for greener pastures. What fur ther triggered foreign property investment was RBI's decision to double the outward remittance limit for an individual from US$ 125,000 to US$ 250,000 per annum, especially as with pooled remittance by family members, it was much more easier to afford premium properties abroad

SLUMP IN NEW L AUNCHES

Year 2015 was characterised by a big slump in new launches. e festive season, which is other wise known for providing immense opportunities to property buyers offering a range of newly launched properties at attractive prices saw a mere handful of launches by few developers.

e biggest reason for this big decline in new launches to the tune of over 50 percent was the abysmally slow sales in the recession-hit market and large inventor y of unsold homes NCR and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) were two top proper ty markets in the countr y which had the highest unsold inventor y At the end of S eptember, 2015, there was 1,98,000 unsold units in NCR, whereas the unsold inventor y figure in the MMR touched 1,85,000 units.

is year, builders focused on completing ongoing projects and clearing their inventories In the wake of high unsold inventor y and low sales, they were var y of launching new projects, fearing that it might lead to a situation of oversupply.

DISTRESSED PROJECT S

In the wake of severe liquidity crunch and other allied reasons, the year 2015 witnessed large scale project delays. ese long project delays resulted in high numbers of distressed projects According to an Assocham sur vey, on an average real estate projects faced delays of about 33 months. e statistics showed that over 75 percent of 3,540 live projects with outments of more crore remained as of 2014-15 projects regisificant delays. funding dr ying

up and debt-ridden developers finding it hard to ser vice their debts leave aside funding stalled projects, this provided a big oppor tunity to some PE players and bigger and financially sound developers to acquire distressed projects for profits.

While some smaller developers who were under distress to complete their projects str uck deals with financially sound developers to tide over the crisis, there were others who were sitting over land banks but did not have either the resources or the expertise to execute the project, they too joined hands with such developers

READY-TO-MOVE-IN- HOMES

ere was a high demand for ready-tomove-in or living-ready homes in 2015 is was due to the reason that in view of the large number of stuck projects with long delays, home buyers/investors did not want to risk their investment in under-construction properties. B esides uncertainty about the safety of their investment, they also feared that due to construction delays, they would end up paying both EMIs and rent. Another big advantage that the home buyers saw in living-ready homes was that unlike under-construction homes, one is sure of the quality and amenities of a finished product and before signing the buying agreement, one can ensure that he is buying for what he is paying.

A good inventor y of such proper ties was available in different projects in different cities, offering ready-to-move-in apar tments and villas Many developers organised special proper ty fairs/home carnivals of such properties, offering them at attractive prices Even HDFC Realty organised an online festival of such homes, providing a platform for bidding properties with good response from home buyers. e reser ve price of each property

was 10-20 percent lower than prevailing market rates. S ome developers fur ther sweetened the deals with EMI waivers, low upfront payment of 5-10 percent and discount on properties

SE C ON DA RY M A R K ET T U R N S AT TRACTIVE

High property rates coupled with high interest rates deterred home buyers from making investments in 2015, resulting in weak sales. Not many developers offered upf ront discounts on proper ties sold through them So while the primar y residential real estate market remained muted, the secondar y market that offered attractive discounts turned out to be a big draw this year. Good proper ties were available for resale from brokers/resellers and investors at attractive prices So much so that in some cases, properties in resale were cheaper by as much as 20-30 percent. Even investors were desperate to sell properties, offering to exit at about 20 percent discount on the primar y market price e investors resor ted to distress sale due to stagnant prices and delayed project deliveries. It was a win-win situation as while investors could exit their now dud investment aer booking marginal profit, for home buyers, it was a golden opportunity to make most of the situation to save substantially on home cost.

INNOVATIVE MARKETING

In a year that saw real estate developers struggling to sell properties in a recessionhit market, they took many innovative marketing sales initiatives to push sales. e developers came up with attractive payment plans, the most popular of which was a subvention plan with moderate upf ront payment and EMI waiver for 2-3 years, though some developers offered waiver till possession. e cash- strapped

developers were so desperate to push sales that some of them offered properties at an all-time low upfront payment of 5 percent Some developers added additional sweeteners by way of interest waiver on EMI, bearing as much as 5 percent of home loan interest, with home buyers paying only about 5 percent interest rate

e year also saw the rise of proper ty por tals, as developers resor ted to online property sales in a big way. Leading developer body CREDAI tied up with Housing.com for a virtual home expo offering 300 properties ere was also an online auction platform for homes by HDFC to offer attractive pricing to buyers In one of its kind of initiative, Tata Housing tied up with Facebook sell leisure homes in Goa.

Developers also deployed other tactics to lure home buyers There was t his b ait of a s s u re d re tu r ns on buy i ng prop e r t y S ome d e vel op e rs we re of fe r i ng d el aye d deliver y compensation. Bharat City came up wit h a novel ide a of fer ing f re e ap ar tment on rent in its proj e c t in Ghaziab ad on invest ing in phas e 2 of s ame proj e c t In ord e r, to m a ke h om e s af ford abl e, Noida b as e d bui lder Amrap a li, in ass oc i at i on w it h Inve s tor C l i n i c , c am e up with a sp ecial s cheme for s er ving/retired gover nment employe es, of fer ing homes in Gre ater Noida at as low as INR 2,250 p s f. T h e re we re ot h e rs w h o i n ord e r to b e at pr ice, came up wit h comp ac t size d h om e s i n d i f fe re nt s i z e opt i ons . Tat a Hou s i ng c am e up w it h u n i qu e i d e a s of ' O n e Nat i on , O n e pr i c e ' for it s Va lu e h om e s an d of fe r i ng a f re e ro om for it s luxur y proj e c ts.

A

Vinod Behl

e author is a senior media professional, with long-standing experience in the real estate sector. he may be reached at: vbehl2008@g mail.com

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Naresh Singal

Apar t from vastu, he is also a well known exponent of Feng Shui & Pyramidolog y You can contact him at: mail@vaastunaresh.com

BIG B SINGS ALONG WITH FARHAN AKHTAR FOR ‘WAZIR’

ere is a lot of buzz over Farhan Akhtar singing in his upcoming release, WAZIR While recent reports suggest that the actor has indeed lent his voice for a special song, we have found out that his co-star Amitabh Bachchan has also sung along with him. e promotional track, which will feature in the end credits, is titled Atrangi Yaari. Says a source close to the film, “It was producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s idea to get them to sing together at particular track is the crux of the film; it is on unusual friendships, which is, basically, the theme of WAZIR ”

AKSHAY KUMAR WITH RAJINIKANTH IN ROBOT 2

Priyanka Chopra once again beat off tough global competition to retain her title as the sexiest Asian woman in the world this year, as featured in 2015’s “50 SEXIEST ASIAN WOMEN” list e singer and actress came out on top following millions of votes pouring in from across the globe for the 2015 edition of the popular annual poll, conducted by the UKbased Eastern Eye newspaper is is the third time in the past four years that Priyanka has topped the long-running list of 50 sexiest Asian women on the planet e former Miss World was clearly delighted to hold onto her crown. “Now that’s a title I’m happy to hold on to I’m bringing sexy back ! ank you also to Eastern Eye for making me feel ‘ sexy ’ .

While expectations were already high from Rajinikanth’s ‘2 0’, this big news that has come out has already made it India’s most awaited film ever ! Already ! Aer getting maestro A R Rahman on board for the music, the makers of this magnum opus have roped in Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar for a pivotal role in the film Khiladi Kumar has already joined Rajinikanth and leading lady Amy Jackson in Chennai for the filming process. With a starcast this massive, the production value needs to be sky high

‘KI AND KA’ TO RELEASE ON APRIL 1, 2016

Filmmaker R Balki’s romantic comedy film ‘KI AND KA’, starring Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, will hit the screens on April 1 next year e ‘GUNDAY’ actor will be seen essaying the role of a house husband, while the ‘JAB WE MET’ actress, who is starring opposite the 30-year-old, will essay an ambitious career-oriented woman in the movie e film will also see a cameo by megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his politician-actress wife Jaya Bachchan. Meanwhile, Arjun is geared up for his small screen stint. He will be hosting the seventh season of reality stunt-based show ‘KHATRON KE KHILADI’, which he has finished shooting for in Argentina

PRIYAN K A IS TH E SEXI EST WOM AN !

Mumbai

S R K A N D I A R E

TH E LONGEST RU N N I NG JODI”

— K AJOL

In this inter v iew at the Red Chillies office, spitfire actress Kajol talks about her role in Dilwale and the reason why her chemistry on screen w ith SRK is smoother than her chemistr y w ith husband Ajay Devg n. An NRI Achievers feature.

In what way is DILWALE similar to DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE?

I feel quite ajeeb because both films have absolutely no connection at all whatsoever DILWALE is not DDLJ Part 2. For the first time Rohit has directed a film with a strong romantic subject. It is an action comedy in which saris as well as cars fly

How would you describe your chemistr y with SRK?

I think that SRK and I are the longest running jodi in the industr y, as we had started working at an early age, nearly 20 years ago with BAAZIGAR I do not have a repertoire compared to other leading ladies, as I am inclined to select only the right script. With the exception of KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI, I have not done a film for the sake of friendship or out of any pressure I should like the role and have something to do in the film We have never let our personal relationship come in the way of our work. I do not do a film just because Red Chillies is producing it

Do you recollect the first time that you had met SRK?

We were shooting a scene with Dalip Tahil

on the first day I met SRK for BAAZIGAR

Do you find any change in SRK in the last 20 years?

I do find it amazing that there is absolutely no change in SRK, though I have becom more lazy over the years He st has the ability to do every film w the same josh and passion and w to be the best in whatever he doe tells Rohit Shetty that he can scene in four different ways but him to go slow since it is alread midnight. Whether it was BA GAR, DILWALE DUNIYA JAYENGE, HUM or KUCH KU HOTA HAI, MY NAME IS KH or K3G, he does every film with same enthusiasm I also prep but it is very internal. I am ve conscious. My USP as an actress that I do not forget my lines and ways remember my graph

What is your role in DILWALE

I play Meera, a really coo

chic who thinks from her heart and does not apply her brain. She is a heart-driven girl who will be in a different sari clad form It is about my relationship with SRK and how we overcome the problems I could easily relate to the role a lot as she is a lot like me.

What is the reason for your popularity?

I wou ld li ke to b elie ve t hat it has to do a lot with my honesty. If you lie, the camera wi l l catch it. My honesty has af fe c te d p eople. To day one ’ s of f screen output has b e come s o large t hat it af fe c ts one ’ s p ers ona On s creen I have problems w hen it comes to overac t ing but in re a l life I do a l ot of ove r a c t i ng . I am a vor a c i ou s re ader. I can image mys elf as a charac ter or doing s omething w hich I have read If I am wit h you, I am t here 100% If I am

working on the s ets, I am 100% working.

I am 100% t here at home wit h my kids. My mum has t aug ht me t hat one ’ s work is work and l i fe is l i fe My s e ns e of humour is f rom my dad

Why are you ver y choosy as an actress?

I am fortunately in that stage financially where I do not have to work if I do not want to It is therefore easier for me to

I A M N OT A M B ITI O U S MON EY-WISE BUT...

VARUN DHAWAN

e talented actor div ulges how he has learnt a lot insofar as acting is concer ned, working w ith Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in DILWALE. Jyothi Venkatesh, our bollywood maven, brings you this inter v iew w ith Varun for your reading pleasure ...

How excited and happy were you when you bagged this offer to work with not just with SRK and Kajol but also Rohit Shetty so early in your career?

I was excited and happy, but my happiness lasted only till I signed the film, because Rohit Shetty minced no words and ver y f rankly told me to curb my excitement level once I was on the sets in front of the camera and behave as if Shah Rukh Khan

was my elder brother in real life. I used to become hyper and couldn’t devote my time to each and ever y aspect of my films as an actor but aer working with SRK, I learnt a lot.

How would you describe Shah Rukh Khan as a co-actor?

e best thing I like about Shah Rukh is that he is so down to earth and takes time

make my choice. I wait for the right film. If I choose a film, I have to believe that it is the right film for me to justify my being away from my kids at by itself is a huge pressure for me and I do not need the added pressure of anyone else’s opinion I have fun doing all kinds of films. I like doing different roles. Each film brings its own challenges I am bipolar and have a lot of mood swings

out for each and ever y person with whom he is working. Aer working with him in DILWALE and obser ving him at close quarters, now I know why so many people all over the world love him crazily His passion for cinema is amazing and immense. I had absolutely no pressure at all when I faced the camera with him for DILWALE I took it as a learning experience and cannot express the experience in words.

What did you learn from Kajol?

I le ar nt a lot f rom Kaj ol to o She is a ver y honest ac tor, w ho do es not tell a lie Kaj ol d o e s h e r h om e wor k b e fore she comes to t he s ets and is a switch-on switch-off actor who is well prepared like a k i d w h o d o e s h e r h om e wor k thoroughly when she comes to his or her class in s cho ol

To what extent would you g ive credit to Rohit Shetty for your per formance in DILWALE?

Why just Rohit Shetty, I would give 100% credit to each and ever y director of mine, whether it was Karan Johar in THE STUDENT OF THE YEAR , Shriram Raghavan in BADLAPUR, Remo Fernandez in AB CD 2, my own dad in MAIN TERA HERO, I should say I am lucky to have worked with the best of the directors, whether in the mainstream genre or the art film genre.

How was it working with Rohit Shetty for the first time?

Rohit is co ol and do es not imp os e hims elf on his ac tors and lets t hem inter pret t he way he or she fe els wit hin t he p arameters of w hat exac t ly his vision is What I li ke t he b est

ab out Rohit is t hat he knows w hat t he pulse of the audience is and loves kids and wants them to see his films and does not want the parents to be embarrassed when they bring their kids to watch his films

You are good at comedy. How easy or tough is it to excel in comedy?

C omedy is ver y difficult especially if you are pitted in the same f rame as say Johny Lever and Sanjay Mishra are, like in DILWALE. Today it is even tougher to elicit laughter as the social media has a lot of jokes In DILWALE, we have cracked jokes on how expensive it is for youth today to take a girl out on date, unlike in the past.

How ambitious are you as an actor?

I a m n o t a m b i t i o u s m o n e y - w i s e b u t a s f a r a s my p a s s i on f or c i n e m a i s c onc e r n e d , I f e e l b a d w h e n p e op l e a bro a d m a k e f u n o f o u r f i l m s . B e c au s e I f e e l In d i a i s l e a d i n g a s f a r a s f i l m s a re c onc e r n e d I w a nt t o re a c h t h e t op a n d b e a s up e r s t a r by d oi n g g o o d f i l m s For u s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e y o u n g e r g e n e r a t i o n , t h e K h a n s a re l i k e M r B a c h c h a n w a s t o t h e e a r l i e r g e n e r a t i o n . T h e K h a n s a r e c o n s i s t e n t l y o n t h e t o p b e c a u s e t h e y c om e up w it h s up e r dup e r h it s l i k e BAJ R A N G I B HA I JA A N a n d HA P P

What next?

Aer DILWALE, I am keeping my fingers crossed for my films like DISHYO OM with John Abraham and my next with my mentor Karan Johar. It is not SHUDDHI but yet another dynamically different film f rom the stable of Dharma Productions

e writer is a well-known & established film critic.

Y N EW Y E A R .

LOH RI

CELEBR ATI NG WI NTER SOLSTICE

As the Sun travel s toward s s outh on the celestial sphere, the D akshinayana Period is obser ved as per ancient Indian philosophy. is period star ts from Karka Sankranti (Cancer) on July 16 and goes till Januar y, which is celebrated as Makar Sankranti (Capricorn). In western world, this transition from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana is known as the Winter Solstice. In simpler words, Winter Solstice is the shor test day and longest night of the year. is event is celebrated across the globe and all ancient cultures mark it as one of the most impor tant days of the year. In this edition of NRI Achievers, Vikramjit Singh Rooprai takes a look at the underly ing philosopies across cultures:

It has been proven that the Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Ireland have t heir pr imar y axes caref u l ly aligned on a line of sight, pointing to winter s olst ice Suns et and Sunr is e resp e ct ively es e monuments were dr uidica l sites of worship and celebration. In Northern Europe, a 12-day winter solstice is celebrated in form of a festival called ‘Yule’ Many mo der n day C hr ist mas t radit ions and practices are inherited from this festival. Traditionally, the Winter Solstice in the European regions is celebrated on the 25th of December. In Asia, it is celebrated a fe w we eks later, on t he 13t h / 14t h of Januar y is p er io d is a ls o t he b eg in of the har vest season, of utmost importance for all agrarian cultures.

e Ju lian ca lendar st ar ts f rom t he 14th of Januar y and the Russian Orthodox church still celebrates it as t he Old Ne w Year is Julian new year, aka Orthodox new year, is also celebrated in many count r ies including S erbia, Kos ovo, B osnia,

B elarus, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kaza k hst an, Monteneg ro, Moldova, Ukraine, Wa les, Switzerland, S cot land, Herzegovina, Moro cco, L ibya and Monteneg ro In many reg ions, it is a ls o known as Little Christmas Traditions in s ome of t hes e count r ies are simi lar to how we celebrate it in S outh Asia, esp ecially the B onfire

Now let’s talk about South Asia B eing primarily into agriculture, this festival of Har vest is one of the most important festivals in the region. Hindu Tradition celebrates this date as Makar Sankranti. e Punjab region calls it Maghi Instead of celebrating it on the exact date of Winter Solstice, the festival is obser ved on the last day of month in which Winter Solstice occurs. Technically, this celebration is the passing of winter solstice and har vest Maghi or Makar Sankranti is also seen as the start of a new financial year e new year ’ s eve is celebrated as Lohri in North India. If we look at the geographic position

of Nor th India, 13th Januar y is the day ever y year, aer which sunrise star ts to happen earlier ever y morning until June, when this cycle reverses

E arl i e r, we us e d to have a b ar te r s y stem My mother used to tell me that her g r and f at he r us e d to re p ai r to ols and e qu ipme nt for ag r i c u ltu re. For mo st of

the repairs, he was not paid. But during har ve st , e ve r y f ar me r i n v i l l age wou l d come to gift a share of their crop There were special store rooms and silos, where this har vest was kept The extra stuf f was sold to get money for rest of the year and s i l o s we re a lw ay s f u l l for fo o d t i l l ne x t har vest season. In such happy time, it was obvious that many traditions were born. For e x ampl e, b e fore L oh r i, ch i l d re n wou l d go f rom d o or to d o or ask i ng for tre ats Kite f lying, par ticipating in fairs, song and dance were the most common of all. Since the Lohri night would be the

l onge st n i g ht of ye ar, e ve r yone wou l d gather around a bonf ire and spend time singing, dancing, celebrating and hoping for better time ahead

As we know, men used to work in farms. A boy born in any house that year becomes more important for families, as he would grow up to support agriculture. Lohri slowly became a festival, where families would celebrate the birth of a boy e tradition still continues

A ver y interesting character associated with this festival of Lohri is R ai Abdulla Bhatt i. He is p opu l arly k now n as D u l l a

Bhatt i i n Pa k ist an and Nor t he r n Ind i a . He was a Muslim R ajput, b or n to Far id and L adhi in Pindi Bhattian same day as Pr i nc e S a l i m ( l ate r E mp e ror Ja hang i r ) was born to Akbar Someone prophesized t hat S a l i m wou l d su r v ive on ly i f he is nursed by a R ajput woman. Hence, Emperor Akbar invited L adhi to be the wet nu rs e of h is b el ove d ‘Shek hu’ ( as he called him) Despite the fact that L adhi’s hus b and and f at he r- i n - l aw reb el l e d ag ai nst A kb ar ’ s l and re ve nu e l aw and died f ighting against the throne, this dec is i on w as t a ke n ke e pi ng i n m i nd t hat L a d h i c ome s f rom t he br ave st R ajput Muslim families of region Another reas on of t h is d ipl omat i c d e c is i on w as to keep a check on her and her son Dulla, so he does not become a rebel like his father and g r and f at he r But D u l l a Bhatt i ke pt h is f am i ly l e g a c y and b e c ame t he l o c a l hero, the Robin Hood of Punjab.

He rebelled against Mughal cour t, looted f rom the rich noblemen and distributed ever ything amongst the poor He was known to suppor t poor girls and arrange for their marriages with heav y dowr y. Ultimately, he was arrested and executed publically by the Mughals. His legac y though, remained in the form of folklore, and ever y Lohri, tales of his braver y are sung, blessing sons to be as brave as him. is festival of har vest is known by different names in different par ts of the countr y. From Pongal to Bihu and f rom Bhogi to Lal Loi, the celebration of winter solstice has its own charm and different localised folklore to share with us all In coming days, I will try to narrate more stories associated with such other festivals of our times and climes

e writer is a self-made IT entrepreneur, who is also a passionate heritage & histor y buff.

EXPERI ENCE TH E LEAVI NG BEH I N D

I went to this place when I was in my 12th standard. When I was leav ing thi s place then, I had promi s ed that I would be back. Even nine years could not deter my promi s e …. And I did go back. I went to the place which had got me a taste of snow-clad mountains for the ver y first time nine years ago. ere is indeed something about it that call s me to thi s place e ver y now and then … MANALI … .

And before you star t thinking about the Royal Enfields going to Rohtang and then further, allow me to inter vene and say that it can be enjoyed, and that too, a lot without those stellar bikes. Yes, for a change, just don’t chase anything. Just let go of ever ything. Stop going aer things Simply leave them all behind All of them No package No planning Challenge your comfor t and leave ever ything on life.

I don’t know to what extent my logic is

valid but I have a special inclination towards roadways buses, specifically in Northern India Needless to say, it involves a higher risk But so does ever ything I took a bus and set off to my destination Whenever I go, I make it a point not to miss the sunrise and the sunset. And when I opened my eyes, a tranquil frame was waiting for me to catch it A mountain standing tall with its chest open, boasting of all the wounds and winds it has endured. e green quilt covering the entire

place gave warmth to my iris and the homes craed out of wood reminded me of my parent’s dream home, only to make the corners of my eye moist

I was lucky to get a hotel that offers nothing decent apart from the view from its big windows. Just for that view, I will again go there. To sit and stare. To look and get lost. When you closely look at those giant stones strewn by the almighty, you can realize they have got different shapes Just the way life leaves its memories and stories on one ’ s face in the form of wrinkles, ever y mountain has its str ucture telling about the slips and the slides

I did go to Rohtang, but to meet those people who climb up to the top in search of work and money. And they are doing a

good job. e old pahari lady who sells roasted maize looks as beautiful as my mom, who feels proud aer making a delicious meal every day e slim but strong man who allots horses to tourists as per their weight like my dad, decides how much he should serve the food to me and my brother (PS, he used to serve all of us equal and himself the least). ese people are happy. ey are simple. ey are so cool. What makes this place gorgeous is its people.

Watch the ar tists doing strokes on wood pieces and giving away those splendid key chains, name plates or décor items, though the smell of the paint colours will take your breath away for few moments.

Trek up to the Jogni Waterfalls and go deep into the life Slant slopes. Narrow paths saving you (well, not always) from falling into the trench. Long trees. Big leaps. Fresh water. Small homes with bigger orchids Tiny yellow flowers, big roses and what not Women looking at you and ready to talk to talk to you anytime Praise their land and their lives and they praise you more

Feel tired but alive like never before. Touch the fluffy rabbits and relive the childhood chuckles.

Take a stroll on the Mall Road. Grab a bottle of green apple jam or any one that you like

Taste Sidu at Jana water falls Have a look at their natural refrigerator

Click less. Feel more of it. Stop oen. Sense more of it. Collect less. Leave more of it. Only to go back just like me.

Manali Experience the leaving behind

A

e writer is a passionate travel enthusiast who loves to express it in words

Monalisa Biswal

Postal regd No dn/297/2013-2015

Date of Publication: 5th of ever y Month

Date of Posting: 8th & 9th of ever y Month