august 2014 50 volume 2 issue 11 - nri...

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August 2014 ` 50

volume 2 issue 11

IndIaPrometheus

Unbound

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nothing on EDUCAtion ?I am a student of International Relations and a regular reader of your maga-zine. Your July issue was quite awesome. And it was different from past issues. I have few suggestions which may enhance the readership of your magazine as well as coverage of more things. You should cover education on regular basis as today 65% of the population is youth and they want to know more opportu-nities in India as well as abroad. Same way you can carry information on best universities in the world especially the countries where number of Indians is quite high, suggest various course options and what’s new that are being intro-duced. I would like to leave a request. Being a hot season of the new govt., I would like to know more on the the various budgets that were released.

Deepak Knandekar, Pune, Maharashtra

L et t e r s M at t e r

MoRE PAgES !I have received your e-copy by mail. As usual, from the time I started read-ing, I couldn't stop reading unless I reached the last page, and found many things informative. I really appreciate the efforts of the team and the editor of the magazine, but it will be really nicer if you increase the number of pages. Apart from that, the travelogue in particular makes us to feel India almost firsthand even though we are far away from our homeland, and the content and pictures are really good and breath-taking. One pain-point is that some columns are quite irregu-lar in their appearance. Do ensure that you carry these columns more regularly.

Saloni Koli, Singapore

WhY WASn't PoLitiCS thE CoVER StoRY ?I read your magazine rather regularly. The whole magazine is quite a bunch of readable material. The cover story this time on Vishal Sikka was good though from my point of view the doings of the new NDA Govt. Ought to have been the cover story. In this issue information on various reci-pes of mangoes was interesting. Please do publish health-care tips in your magazine, it could be of good help for a wide range of your readers in personal health care.

G. Sarthi, Ganngtok, Sikkim

LESS on CoVER StoRY, MoRE on othER SEgMEntSIts seems you have a fund crunch, because by the way you present content, pics and topics, they are at par with international magazines but your publication is very thin. It compels me to think that you are perpetually short of funds. Mark my words, one day you will definitely get success. Another point, please do avoid making your cover stories so lengthy, they eat up a lot of pages that otherwise could carry other interesting segments. Add some fashion masala, stories on education, healthy eating and differ-

ent recipes, fiction, sports, state issues, social responsibility, youth, etc. Your last issue looked a bit compromised, as the quality of photo-graphs was not up to the mark. Please take care of these important things. There are so many international organizations that are catering to the needs of NRIs. You must coordinate with them to enhance material relating to NRIs. One such organization is NRI SABHA in Jalandhar, which is controlled by Govt. of Punjab.

Inderjit Singh Sandhu, Patiala, Punjab


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Volume 2 Issue 11 August 2014

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Editorial


august 2014 7

The month of July saw the new NDA government revealing the broad outlines of its economic agenda for the year dur-ing the Budget Session of the Parliament, beginning with the Rail Budget and culminating in the union budget. Talk

of bitter pills aside, one could perceive faint threads of fiscal pru-dence overshadowing populism, as major announcements were sans the usual populist takeouts bandied about in budget presentations of yore, marking a departure in approach from blatant populism to pragmatic realism. How much will come of it still remains to be seen, as implementation now comes centre stage, even as we understand that this budget is a mere levelling of the playing ground before the February 2015 budget.

While the government took a cautiously soft approach on Railways by raising passenger fares and freight tariff a fortnight before the bud-get date instead of including it in the budget itself, populist concerns over some of the states going to the polls did force the government to pull-back hikes in suburban season tickets. Next came the Economic Survey, which set the tone and delineated a course for sustainable re-covery for the economy, followed by the maiden NDA union budget.

Our Cover Feature in this edition charts the unravelling trajectory of India's new foreign policy that was initiated by PM Narendra Modi even as he took oath at Rashtrapathi Bhavan on the 26th of May 2014, now 60+ days distant in the past. We explore the regional confla-grations and powerplays and the emerging scenarios that will flavour and influence India's options in ensuring regional peace, stability, economic prosperity and growth in a relative tension free world.

Other thematic segments continue, Dossier returns to its earlier avatar of diaspora connect and features a select few achievers, Heri-tage looks at the origins of 'Sunday' as a holy-day, Travelogue features Mahabalipuram and its rock-cut temples, while Real Estate makes an assessment of the budget's impact on the sector. Silver Screen brings you intel from the world of cinema, and news from across the board is patterned into Business Buzz, News Scan & Cineppets, while politics and satire find their due place as well.

And we do hope you will like the blend of features, profiles and stories in your magazine, and pardon our limitations and constraints for skipping some of the popular segments. Please do remain in touch with us even as we strive to improve our outreach, and share your thoughts and experiences, talk to us, email us, like us on social me-dia, and participate in making your magazine even better ! The NRI Achievers desk is at your service. Have a great August ahead...!

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Overseas doctors willing to contribute to India's healthcare system can now apply online, and the ap-plication will be processed within 15 days, including permission to practise from the Medical Council of India (MCI), according to health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. 'The idea is to tap existing talent,' says Dr. Vardhan, who also briefed PM Narendra Modi about the plan. 'PM Modi is keen to encourage skills trans-

fer so that all parts of India get medi-cal care at par with international lev-els,' said the min-ister. The news was also welcomed by the American Association of Physicians of In-dian Origin (AAPI). AAPI represents around 100,000 physi-cians, including medical students,

working in the US. 'There's a lot of interest in work-ing in India,' says AAPI ex-president Dr. Jayesh Shah. 'AAPI has been requesting India to simplify proce-dures for four years now,' said Shah. 'We're preparing files of every physician member on when, where, how many days, and what they would like to work for in India,' Shah said. The work permits could be for a time period of a few weeks to a few years.

QUICK WORK PERMITS FOR NRI DOCS

A SEARCH FOR RESEARCHERS

Every citizen has a fundamental right to go abroad and have a passport issued in his name, the Delhi high court has observed, while directing the Centre to reissue passport to a man who had lost it thrice. A bench of Jus-tice Manmohan directed the Ministry of External Affairs and the regional of-fice concerned to reissue the passport in favour of petitioner A Vikash. The bench, however, asked Vikash to pay Rs 50,000 to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital here, apparently as charity, observing he has been neg-ligent in taking care of his passport.

CITIZENS HAVE RIGHT TO GO ABROAD - HC

To advance research in public health, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in partnership with a statutory body, launched 32 fellowships. In association with the Science and Engineering Research Board, a body

under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, the institute announced the Public Health Research Initiative (PHRI) fellowship, valued at INR 30,00,000 each, to build research capacity in public health in the country. Open to Indian nationals with post graduate degrees, the initia-tive is meant to enable candidates to

pursue research projects at a place of their choice for up to 36 months. Says Dileep Mavalankar, director, Indian Institute of Public Health -Gandhinagar (IIPH-G), a part of the PHFI institute network, 'Evidence from research papers has highlighted the shortage of good public health research in India.

The world's top economies recently pushed India on the sched-uled rollout of trade facilitation agreement (TFA), while mere-ly assuring that its concerns over food subsidy would be ad-dressed. The TFA, announced in the Bali declaration, was to be finalized by July 31, while the issue of subsidy caps and food security that India is pushing for has a 2017 deadline. India is keen that its food security concerns be addressed along with TFA, fearing that it may have to give more concessions later to get WTO to agree to its demands. But there appeared to be little support for India despite its threat to hold up talks. After a meeting of the G-20 trade ministers, Australian minister for trade and investment Andrew Robb said all the countries, in-cluding India, re-committed themselves to the Bali package and there was 'no dissent on the significance of TFA and the timelines.' The categorical statement from the host country came in the backdrop of India's strong push that the trade agreement and the issue of food security be decided side by side, betraying New Delhi's concerns that its 'aye' on TFA now may leave it without a 'bargaining chip' when food subsidies

are decided during the coming three years. The ministerial gathering saw the US, EU and others announce major contri-butions to help developing economies absorb the cost of putting in place the processes to improve efficiency for trade as part of the TFA.

INDIA STANDS ALONE AT WTO TALKS

News & Views


http://www.nriachievers.in 9august 2014

The dangers of falling asleep while driving may soon be-come a thing of the past, thanks to new smart car seats which can detect when a driver is beginning to nod off and alert them. These car seats are being developed by researchers at the Notting-ham Trent University, UK. Professor Tilak Dias and William Hurley of the university's Advanced Textile Research Group will be working with com-pany Plessey on a feasibility study to investigate how to embed a fabric-based sensor system within the seat which can detect the heart signals that indicate a driver is losing alertness. The data would be used to send a warning to the driver to pull over. Should the warning be ignored, the vehicle could engage sys-tems such as active cruise control or lane departure technology to prevent accidents. The information could also be sent over a wireless network to a control centre to take further action. 'Ples-sey has already demonstrated that cardiac signals can be meas-ured unobtrusively using capacitive sensors mounted within the driver's seat; the requirement now is to improve the consist-ency and reliability of the data so that it can be used for the intended purpose,' Dias said.

SOON, CAR SEATS TO ALERT SLEEPY DRIVERS CAMEL MILK: CAN'T GET OVER THE HUMP

This is one distinction that appropriately came on World Population Day. A United Nations report mentioned that Delhi has become the world's second most populous city in 2014, after more than doubling its population since 1990 to 25 million. And this is one tag that isn't going to go off any-time soon. The Capital is expected to retain

the spot of the world's second most populous city through at least 2030 and its popu-lation is expected to rise swiftly to 36 million. The 2014 revision of the

World Urbanisation Prospects also said that India was projected to add the highest number of people to its urban population by 2050, ahead of China. Tokyo topped the UN's ranking of the most populous cities in 2014 with 38 million inhabitants. While the Japanese capital's population is projected to decline, it will remain the world's largest city in 2030 with 37 million people.

Globally, camel milk is getting super food status. But back home, its sale is still illegal. Lifting the ban may be the only way to save the ship of the desert. During a malaria outbreak, members of Rajasthan's Rebari community have a unique remedy: camel milk. 'Ten to twelve days of camel milk cures the person,' says Anand Singh Bhati, a member of Ra-jasthan's camel rearing community of Rebaris who owns about 200 of the ungainly animals. Even as the world gets pumped up about its health ben-efits (Time magazine recently reported that packaged camel milk is now avail-able at Whole Foods supermarket in the US, while Dubai has been market-ing everything from camel lattes to camel chocolates), the Ra-jasthan government has only now woken up to its potential. After giving the camel the status of state animal, it is now trying to get the sale of its milk in India legalized. The Bikaner-based National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC) has approached the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to authorize its sale. Abhay Kumar, principal secretary, state animal husbandry department, says, 'We have decided to extend our support to NRCC so that camel milk is recognized by the law. It is surprising that Rebaris have been consuming it for decades but it still hasn't been legitimized,' he adds

DELHI WORLD'S SECOND MOST POPULOUS CITY

THE METRO-LINK EXPRESS FOR GANDHINAGAR AND AHMEDABAD

The Metro-Link Express for Gandhina-gar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) project moved forward after the Japan Interna-tional Co-operation Agency (JICA) fixed the end of July for the second and final assessment on various technical and financial parameters. The MEGA has sought a loan of INR 5,900 Crore, with tenure of 30 years at an interest rate of 1.4% from JICA. The JICA team conducted the first round of project ap-praisals on June 4. 'The JICA team was assessing the detailed project report (DPR) and checking the financial viabil-ity of the project,' said a senior MEGA official. 'The team has experts from various fields who are analyzing the project with due diligence prior to signing a contract with MEGA. This is standard procedure.' The recent Union Budget had allocated INR 100 crore for metro rail projects for Ahmedabad and Lucknow, which appeared piecemeal. Sources in the urban development department say that Ahmedabad's share would be no more than INR 50 Crore. The metro rail project cost is slated to be INR 10,675 Crore. Sourc-es in the MEGA say that a major portion of the funding will come from JICA, while the central government will extend exemptions worth INR 3,000 Crore. 'The Gujarat budg-et this year had allocated INR 250 Crore for the metro project which has made our corpus INR 550 crore,' says the MEGA official.

NRI Achievers Desk

News & Views



Business Buzz

Walmart Stores infused more funds into its Indian cash-and-carry operations in June to expand the network, taking the world number one retailer's total invest-ment in the country to nearly INR 2,000 Crore and underscoring its renewed opti-mism about business prospects in the country. Funds amounting to INR 623 Crore were allotted as share application money by the parent company in June, ac-cording to a company resolution submit-ted to the Registrar of Companies on July 16. Walmart India, the local entity regis-tered in January, had earlier raised a cu-mulative INR 1,328 Crore from its US based parent. This is the second large

capital infusion by Walmart after its Oc-tober 2013 separation from Bharti Wal-mart when the company acquired the 50% stake held by the Indian partner to go solo with the cash-and-carry venture. Walmart said, 'The equity infusion is to fund our working capital and CAPEX requirements

of our cash-and-carry business in India.' Now, Walmart says it's ready to roll out more stores in the coming months. Wal-mart India also plans to expand the e-commerce initiative that is currently being piloted in Lucknow and Hyderabad, which involves existing wholesale members or-dering online and products being deliv-ered at their doorstep. 'We have received a very encouraging response for our pilot project on B2B e-commerce initiative in Lucknow and Hyderabad and we hope to extend this virtual shopping opportunity to our members in all our stores in next few months,' said Rajneesh Kumar, a spokesperson for Walmart India.

WALMART BRINGS IN INR 623 CR MORE FOR EXPANSION

Tata Motors is accelerating its marketing and promotional activities as it gets closer to launching its compact sedan Zest, which is scheduled to hit the roads this month. Tata Mo-tors hasn't had a new car launch for almost 4 years now and has lost market share and custom-ers. In 2013-14, its total passen-ger vehicle sales slumped 38% to 1.38 lakh units. It is banking on the Zest and Bolt (to be launched soon after) to turnaround its fortunes. While the cars got rave reviews

when they were first showcased, analysts say its biggest battle is to change people's

perception of Tata branded cars, which many feel are good enough for taxis and are only diesel pow-ered. 'To change that, the com-pany has started sending out test drive offers to people and that has got responses in thousands,' said

Ranjeet Yadav, president, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors. Apart from journalists, it has showcased Zest among the financial community.

TATA MOTORS BATTLES PERCEPTION, GEARS UP TO LAUNCH ‘ZEST’

‘HONDA'S INDIA UNIT TO ACCOUNT FOR 25% OF ASIA

PACIFIC SALES BY MARCH 2017’

The India unit of Honda Motor Co Ltd. will account for 25% of the Japanese carmaker's Asia Pacific sales target of 1.2 million units by March 2017, Managing Officer Yoshiyuki Matsumoto said. Honda plans to raise the number of dealers in India to 230 by March 2015 from 179 now, said Hironori Kanayama, president and chief executive officer, Honda Cars India Ltd. Honda recently launched a seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle, Mobilio, that will compete with similar vehicles from Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co, among others. The ex-showroom price for the base grade petrol version of the new car in Delhi will be INR 649,000 (US$ 10,800), said Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice president, marketing and sales at Honda Cars India Ltd. Honda's entry-level compact se-dan Amaze and its top-selling sedan City have increased the company's sales in India by 40% to 40,516 units in the April-Jun quar-ter from the year-ago period, according to industry data.

Infiniti, the luxury brand of Japanese car major Nissan, will assemble cars in India, look-ing to tap into the growing appetite of Indians for luxury sedans. The brand, which competes globally with German makers such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz, is look-

ing to start assembly operations at Nissan's Chennai factory, Nissan's chief planning officer Andy Palmer said. 'It is inevitable that Infiniti will come to India,' Palmer told media when asked whether the brand will enter this market. 'But it needs to be seen when we have got the right products and the bandwidth to be able to do it. So it is not immediately round the corner but I am pretty sure that it will happen.' Nissan has been looking at expansion of its product portfolio in India and this includes getting in its various brands in the

market. Apart from the parent brand, the company launched its low-cost brand Datsun this year with the entry of the Go hatchback variant. Palmer said that Infiniti's Q30 hatchback and the QX30 crossover - models whose concepts have been revealed - would be the suitable products for the Indian market. These models are expected to debut in 2015. Asked whether the models will be imported to India or built here, he said local assembly operation is the best option in view of the high import duty.

NISSAN TO DRIVE IN INFINITI, PLANS TO ASSEMBLE IN INDIA

NRI Achievers Desk



Dossier

THERE IS A STORY BEHIND EVERY NRI WHO SUCCEEDS

VANI KOLA

MD of Kalaari Capital, a company based out of Bengaluru, India, Vani Kola's leadership at Ka-

laari centres around her commitment to the development of entrepreneurs and her conviction that Indian compa-nies are poised to become global play-ers. She brings 22 years of Silicon Val-ley experience as a serial entrepreneur and founder of successful companies to her role as mentor and enabler for start ups in India. Vani may be called a pioneer in India’s venture capital

landscape. Her passion for supporting entrepreneurs drew her from Silicon Valley to Bangalore in 2006, at a time when most observers were still skepti-cal and unsure about the potential of Indian entrepreneurs to create global firms. Since then, she has plunged deep into the Indian startup scenario and has been involved in enabling funding for more than 35 companies.

Vani has the uncanny ability to identify visionary ideas at an early stage, and is deeply committed to the success of entrepreneurs in her com-pany's portfolio as well as the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem that is meeting the needs of a newly vibrant Indian opportunity. She serves on the boards of HushBabies, Mettl, Urban-Ladder, Zivame, Myntra, OnwardMo-bility, LabelCorp, Snapdeal, and VIA. “It’s really exciting to be involved in the awakening of business creativity in India,” says Vani. “Kalaari Capital enables me to engage actively and de-liver on my commitment to empower entrepreneurs. I believe that the sin-gular opportunity for a country’s progress and growth is entrepreneur-ship, because it impacts the broader society through wealth creation and distribution.”

As an active talent scout for new investments, Vani is often incisive to the point of being intrusive when it comes to understanding an entrepre-neur’s core idea and passion. “In our first meeting, she asked us so many tough questions that I thought the meeting didn’t go well,” recalls Snap-deal CEO and co-founder Kunal Bahl, “I expected never to hear from her again — but she called back within a couple of hours with more questions, saying, ‘I want to understand more.’” That moment exemplifies Vani’s atti-tude when evaluating a company for its portfolio potential. “There’s a con-

VANI WAS BORN AND EDUCATED IN HYDERABAD. AfTER COMplETINg HER ENgINEERINg DEgREE, SHE WENT TO

THE UNITED STATES fOR A MASTER’S DEgREE AND WORkED IN THE TECHNOlOgY SECTOR, fOUNDINg TWO

SUCCESSfUl COMpANIES IN SIlICON VAllEY



Dossier

nection that I feel to each startup I work with, and to me the process be-gins with a continuous reminder to myself to be open-minded when I meet an entrepreneur to hear their story,” says Vani.“I like to have the rush where their stream of conscious-ness, their dreams and aspirations are put on the table.

It doesn’t have to be the perfect powerpoint or even great English; it’s the clarity of thoughts at a kernel-of-truth level about the problem they’re addressing. If I get in synch with their convictions and core understanding of the market, then I’m willing to spend time learning more.”

Vani is known for her straight for-ward style and commitment to trans-parency and clarity. As a board mem-ber, she also commits to a high level of engagement, making sure she's avail-able to her entrepreneurs at any time. To maintain this level of access, she supports just two or three new busi-nesses per year. “Today the Indian consumer is demanding innovative products and excellent service, which leads to unprecedented opportunity for the entrepreneur. Everything I do is entrepreneur-centric — helping them to fulfill their dreams and visions so the company can summit.”

Vani was born and educated in Hy-derabad. After completing her engi-neering degree, she went to the United States for a master’s degree and worked in the technology sector, founding two successful companies in Silicon Valley. After spending 22 years in the US, it took her a mere two months to decide on coming back to India in 2006. She explains, “When the window of pos-sibility opened up to support entrepre-neurs in India, it was absolutely clear that this is the next phase in the fulfill-ment of my life’s purpose.” To clear and focus her mind, Vani meditates daily, runs — without music — and spends time with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs. She is an avid hiker and runner who has tackled marathons and climbed Mount Kili-manjaro. She practices yoga devotedly and aspires to teach it one day. Vani believes in sustainable living and grows enough produce in her garden to meet her family’s daily kitchen needs.

NISHA PAHUJANisha Pahuja is a Delhi-born indie

filmmaker and documentarist raised in Canada. She shuttles between Mumbai and Toronto on her filmmak-ing endeavours, which has got her con-siderable acclaim. Her best known film, The World Before Her (2012), jux-taposes India's conservative right and the liberal capitalist clique through two camps for women. The first, Durga Vahini, is a never-before-filmed mili-tant Hindu fundamentalist camp for girls; and the second a month-long beauty camp for Miss India contenders. The film hit a number of the top ten lists for 2012 and went on to win sev-eral awards. Nisha's earlier films in-clude Bollywood Bound (2003) about Indo-Canadians travelling to India to make it big in Indian cinema; and Dia-mond Road (2007), a series on the glo-bal diamond trade.

Asked about whether she related to the two contrasting groups of women in The World Before Her, she says: “I related to both kinds ... In many ways their struggles are my struggles as an NRI in a conservative family in the West, not really belonging to either world and carving out a space for my-self that allowed me to be what I am ...” On her experiences with Du-rga Vahini, she shares: “It took nearly two years to establish rapport, and I got to know many in the movement.

I guess the reason I got access was the fact that I am non-judgemental, and people knew that I was not about to sensationalise the issues. So we built a relationship of mutual respect and humanity despite the gulf between our political beliefs ... “

Nisha got into documentary film-making after studying English Litera-ture, working in social services and then as a documentary researcher.

“For some reason,” after starting to make films thirteen years ago, “I still make them -- finding people with in-credible stories that reveal to us some-thing about the world we live in.”

NRI Achievers Bureau



MAURITIUS: 180 yeARS of IndIAn ARRIvAlThe 2nd of November 2014 marks the 180th an-niversary of the arrival of the first indentured Indian immigrants on Mauritian soil. The day is celebrated as a public holiday of national com-memoration as a day of deep reflection upon the great toils and struggles of the indentured labour-ers and their contribution to the fashioning of modern day Mauritius. Through their hard la-bour and unstinting sacrifices of that period, these indentured labourers of Mauritius and their prog-eny have been able to play a major role in the lengthy process of transforming a rugged, little known island into a prosperous country that serves as a shining beacon to the rest of the world today. It is therefore that each year, on the 2nd of Novem-ber, their achievements and legacy is honoured by the the Mauritian people and the Government of Mauritius. NRI Achievers spoke to Mahyendrah Utchanah, an opinion leader from Mauritius who is playing a key role in organising the Arrival Day celebrations this year.

Mahyendrah Utchanah is a senior Mauri-tian parliamentarian who has held nu-merous ministerial portfolios under various dispensations in the island na-

tion. He is also the Chairperson of GOPIO Int'l, and the Chairman of the “Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund,” which is a central organiser of Arrival Day Celebrations every year. Mr. Utchanah was in India re-cently to attend the First Baleshwar Agrawal Memorial Lecture on “India’s Diaspora Policy,” which was delivered by India's minister for external affairs & overseas Indian affairs Smt Sushma Swaraj. Mr. Utchanah was a special invitee for the event, especially so do to the fact that he cherishes many fond memories of his association with late Shri. Baleshwar Agrawal, who is quite well known for his work with the Indian Diaspora.

Mr. Utchanah's organisation, the Aapravasi Ghat Trust, has an in-teresting background. It was set up by an Act of Parliament in 2001, with the express mandate of establishing and promoting the Aap-ravasi Ghat as a national, regional and international memorial site; set up a museum and create public awareness about the history of the site; and depict the arrival, settlement and evolution of the immigrants in Mauritius. It also has the mandate of identifying and acquiring historical sites, buildings and structures connected with the the ar-rival of immigrants, and promote the social and cultural aspects of the Aapravasi Ghat. The name 'Aapravasi Ghat,' in use since 1987, is a direct Hindi translation of "Immigration Depot." Aapravasi is the Hindi word for "immigrant", while Ghat literally means "interface" — factually reflecting the structure's position between the land and sea, and symbolically marking a transition between the old life and the new one for the arriving indentured immigrants. Alluding to its function as a pit-stop to prospective plantation workers, alternatively called 'coolies', the Immigration Depot has also been known by an older name, the 'Coolie Ghat'. Prominent use of the Hindi language in Mauritian naming conventions, apropos, is based on social and ethnic demographics; over half the national population is of Indian ancestry, a direct result of the Indian labour diaspora that passed

through this Immigration Depot.Mr. Mahyendrah Utchanah, speaking to the NRI Achievers edito-

rial team, elaborated on the three-day long celebrations that would be organised by the Mauritian Govt., in close association with the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund to commemorate the 180th anniversary of the arrival of indentured labourers in Mauritius. The landmark event will begin on Friday the 31st of October and culminate on Sunday the 2nd of November 2014 at the capital city, Port Louis. Ceremonies will be graced by the President of the Republic of Mau-ritius Mr. Rajkeswur Purryag, and the Prime Minister Dr. Navin-chandra Ramgoolam, among others. India's honorable minister for external affairs & overseas Indian affairs Smt. Sushma Swaraj will be the Chief Guest. A special delegation of 180 people will also be flying down to Mauritius to participate in this event, who will also take part in a conference on the Indentured labour project, under the banner of the Apravasi Ghat Trust Fund and the chairmanship of Mr. Utch-anah. Other main activities will include several ritual ceremonies, exhibitions, seminars and symposia, and a whole bouquet of cul-tural programmes performed by troupes from India, Mauritius and other Indian Diaspora countries.

It is also quite likely that the Beekrumsing Ramlallah Interpretation Centre, in the making for some time now, will be officially thrown open during the celebrations. It may be recalled that the Aapravasi Ghat, formerly 'Coolie Ghat,' was an immigration depot constructed in 1849 on the shore of Trou Fanfaron Bay in Port Louis harbour, to receive indentured immigrants who came mainly from India. Between 1849 and 1910, about half a million indentured labourers from various parts of the Indian subcontinent transited through the Ghat. In 1987 the depot's name was changed from 'Coolie Ghat' to 'Aapravasi Ghat' when it was decreed a national monument.

NRI AchIeveRs BuReAu



Realpolitik

POLITICAL BEATIt seems the Narendra Modi-led NDA government's maiden Budget has been finalised with an eye on upcom-ing polls in states like Haryana, Ma-harashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu Kashmir as these states have been identified for the setting up of top technical institutes such as AIIMS and IIMs. The Budget unveiled last fortnight by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley includes a proposal for setting up a premier medical institute like AIIMS in Maharashtra's Vidar-bha region as well, even as the state is set to go to the polls later this year. The other crucial state is Haryana, where the BJP has not been in power for 15 years, and is leaving no stone unturned to win the As-sembly elections. Haryana, 'a state of farmers', has been iden-tified for the setting up of a horticulture university and three other institutes in other locations, with an initial sum of INR 100 Crore allocated for it. Jharkhand gets a top agricultural institute. Two institutions of excellence on the pattern of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa will be estab-lished in the Jharkhand and Assam, again with an initial out-lay of INR 100 Crores for it. Meanwhile, the party leadership

in Jammu & Kashmir is aspiring to-ward winning more than 44 of the state's 87 seats to form the next govern-ment. Jaitley's Budget includes a pro-posal for setting up a new IIT in Jam-mu. Noting that the sporting talent in J&K has been languishing due to inad-equate facilities, Jaitley has earmarked INR 200 Crore for upgrading sports stadia here to international standards. A further allocation of INR 50 Crore for launching a Pashmina promotion programme and a scheme for develop-ing other crafts is also part of the budg-et. Meanwhile, BJP leaders claim the party leadership in states like Mahar-ashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand will see

changes with Amit Shah assuming the mantle of party presi-dent. Though the Modi wave helped the party storm to power with a thumping victory at the centre, party insiders believe that local factors do play a key role in Assembly polls. 'We can't ignore local equations. Leadership in Maharashtra and Haryana is crucial as the party has been out of power for 15 years in these states. A special strategy is required as the par-ty has to struggle even though we have strong allies in these states,' averred a senior leader.

JAITLEY'S BUDGET IN TUNE WITH POLL PLAN ?

PM Narendra Modi made his multilateral debut at the BRICS summit a fortnight ago, a visit that is triply significant -- his first meetings with the Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Russian President Vladimir Putin, and how well he works the politics of keeping BRICS from becoming a China-dominated outfit. In fact, his visit would have been perfect if it wasn't for some spectacular protocol bungling by his own officers about an aborted meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Even as Modi landed in Berlin on his stopover to Brazil, it highlighted his govern-

ment's ridiculous acceptance of a hare-brained German plan for a meet with Merkel. There was no way Mer-kel could have been kept away from Brazil if the Germans made the World Cup final. In the process, In-dia seems to have also succeeded in rubbing Japan up the wrong way. Modi had earlier written a letter to Shinzo Abe promising to make Japan his first bilateral summit. That will surely happen, but with some bad taste all around.

BERLIN GAFFE MESSES UP MODI VISIT KIDS' DAY IN ASSEMBLY Children of government schools were invited to watch proceedings of the Bihar Assembly during its sessions. The purpose was to educate them about the legislative business. During the Monsoon Session of the House, students of Shaheed Ramanand Ram Govind Singh High School, Punpun and Kasturba Residential School, Danapur and Patna Sadar were given the oppor-tunity to watch the Assembly proceedings. But the young visitors got to see 'unruly scenes' in the House with the Opposition and Treasury Bench members locking horns over one issue or the other. The Assembly speaker ad-monished the warring legislators and reminded them about the presence of students but his appeals seemed to fall on deaf ears. Many students admitted that they had never expected the lawmakers to be so noisy.

NRI Achievers Desk



Âýßæâè ÖæÚUÌèØô´ ·Ô¤ çãÌô´ ·¤è ÚUÿææ âßôü‘¿ ÂýæÍç×·¤ÌæÑ¤ âéá×æ SßÚUæÁ

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Realpolitik



ÚUæcÅþçãUÌæð´ ÌÍæ Âýßæâè ÖæÚUÌèØô´ ·Ô¤ çãÌ â´ßŠæüÙ ·Ô¤ çÜØð çÙÚU´ÌÚU ·¤æØü ·¤ÚUÌè ÚUãð»è Ìæç·¤ ßð ÖæÚUÌ ·Ô¤ çß·¤æâ ×ð´ â·¤æÚUæˆ×·¤ Öêç×·¤æ ¥Îæ ·¤ÚU â·Ô¤´ ÌÍæ ÖæÚUÌ ©Ù·¤è çß·¤æâ ·¤è ·¤ãæÙè ×ð´ âæÛæðÎæÚUè çÙÖæ â·Ô¤. ©‹ãô´Ùð ·¤ãæ ç·¤ ÖæÚUÌ ¥æÁ °·¤ çß·¤æâ ·¤è ¿æã ßæÜð ÕãéÌ ÕÇ¸ð ·Ô¤·¤ ·Ô¤ M¤Â ×ð´ ÎéçÙØæ ·Ô¤ â×ÿæ ÂýSÌéÌ ãñ. ¥ÂÙð-¥ÂÙð È¤Ù ·¤ð ×æçãÚU Üô»ô´ ·¤ô ã×æÚUæ ¥æ×´¸˜æ‡æ ãñ ç·¤ ßô ¥æ»ð ¥æ°´ ¥õÚU §â×ð´ ¥ÂÙè Öæ»èÎæÚUè çÙÖæ°´, ¿æãð ßô v®® Ù§ü S×æÅUü çâÅUè ·¤è ÕæÌ ãô, ¿æãð §´Èý¤æSÅþB¤ÚU ·¤è Øæ çÈ¤ÚU ç·¤âè ·¤è Öè.

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âéá×æ SßÚUæÁ Ùð ·¤ãæ ç·¤ "ÕæÜðEÚU Áè Ùð ¥ÂÙæ ÂêÚUæ ÁèßÙ Âýßæâè ÖæÚUÌèØô´ ·Ô¤ çãÌô´ ·¤è ÚUÿææ ¥õÚU ·¤ËØæ‡æ ·Ô¤ çÜØð â×çÂüÌ ·¤ÚU çÎØæ ÌÍæ çßÎðàæô´ ·Ô¤ ÖæÚUÌß´çàæØô´ ·Ô¤ Õè¿ Ÿæè ÕæÜðEÚU ¥»ýßæÜ ¥ˆØ´Ì âéÂçÚUç¿Ì ÃØçQ¤ ÕÙ »Øð Íð"

Realpolitik



IndIaPrometheus Unbound



It's been sIxty days now sInce the new nda government wIth narendra modI at Its reIns took over from the outgoIng uPa, after a massIve electoral vIctory that gave It an absolute majorIty In the lower house of ParlIament. whIle sIxty days Is two short a PerIod Indeed to sIt In judgement over the Performance, under-Performance or non Performance of a government, altogether too much has transPIred In thIs two month PerIod, both on the domestIc as well as on the Interna-tIonal front for PolItIcal and economIc commentators not to sIt back and take notIce. from sPrIng cleanIng the musty government bastIons of theIr lethargy to a raIl and unIon budget that eschewed PoPulIsm to get on the track of fIscal Prudence, from a 100-day Plan wIth a 10-PoInt agenda for do-mestIc resurgence to reshaPIng IndIa's foreIgn PolIcy, the man and hIs team has done all thIs and more. whIle “achhe dIn” are yet to dawn on the vast IndIan horIzons, the country Is Indeed makIng Its heft felt at InternatIonal fora. nrI achIevers brIngs you a broad cross-sectIon of oPInIon and analysIs In the followIng Pages...

IndIaPrometheus Unbound

Special Feature



Ever since Modi was elected to power in May this year, many erudite analysts have attempted to speculate on the likely con-tours of India’s foreign policy

under the new dispensation. Some have pointed to his limited exposure to global issues; others have wondered whether he would turn out to be an adventurist hawk or an insular dove; while still others have noted the sparse and ambiguous mention

Nationalism is the backbone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ideological approach to international relations. At

the core of the new PM’s world-view is a deep belief that India must vigorously safeguard the country’s territorial

integrity and security interests, and at the same time, seek a more assertive role in the global arena befitting India’s civilizational heritage. Let us see how he has gone about setting the tone for this approach of his government over the past 60 days that his team has now been in place ...

IndIa’S FOREIGn POLICY

MOdI : advEntuRISt hawk OR an

InSuLaR dOvE?

of foreign policy in either the BJP’s elec-tion manifesto or his numerous election campaign speeches. Admittedly, even after two months of taking over the reins of power, there is as yet no real clarity on the content and direction of the new gov-ernment’s global roadmap. The dramatic invitations to leaders of neighbouring na-tions to attend his inauguration and the public display of solidarity with four oth-er powerful global leaders at the BRICS forum are perhaps the only clues so far of

Modi’s thinking and intentions. Based on such random straws in the

wind, there is also a growing consensus that Modi will most likely follow a prag-matic, flexible policy of “enlightened na-tional interest,” leveraging domestic strengths to carry forward foreign policy. The general impression that has gained ground is that India’s foreign policy will be driven by economic growth, with focus on the East and deep Southwards rather than fixating on the West and overtly re-maining Pakistan centric. Going by what-ever verbal evidence that has been forth-coming, another assumption is that for-eign policy will be dictated by increasing emphasis on international trade and com-merce based on regional stability and stra-tegic global alliances.

Some diplomats and geo-strategic ex-

Cover Story



perts believe that Japan is emerging as a thrust area, though not at the cost of Chi-na, which would also be accorded due importance. A fine balance, it is being said, will be maintained while expanding relations with Japan and China; and the same will be done with Israel and the Gulf countries for the sake of energy security.

Had the new government been given enough time and scope for experimenta-tion and exploration, the size and shape of India’s new foreign policy may well have gradually evolved and matured over the months and years ahead. Pre-occupied as it is with major domestic challenges facing the country, ranging from reviving the stagnant economy to restoring faith in democratic institu-tions, resolving political disputes and delivering on its electoral promise of good governance, the government could

have well felt justified in following a policy of continuity on external issues, at least for the time being. However, India suddenly finds itself caught in the powerful cross-currents of heightened global instability. The dramatic and po-tentially dangerous developments in West Asia and Eastern Europe over the past few weeks have drastically altered the dynamics of international relations. The situation in other global hotspots like Syria, Iraq and Libya is also rapidly deteriorating.

As a consequence, India’s foreign policy finds itself at the crossroads much sooner than the new government of Narendra Modi could have anticipated or liked. Most, if not all, of such zones of strife and conflict are in fact proxy wars being waged between the big nuclear powers of the Cold War era. Pressure is mounting on

New Delhi to urgently make known its stand on which side of the deepening di-vide its ideological inclinations and per-ceived long-term national interests lie. For the Modi government, the balmy sum-mer of 2014 during which it could feel justified in basking in the sweet glory of electoral victory for at least a while, is rap-idly turning out to be a rude awakening to the harsh realities of global power play.

The supposed shooting down of a Ma-laysian passenger aircraft over the skies of strife-torn Ukraine has triggered a chain reaction of consequences. Casting aside all pretence of diplomatic doublespeak, President Barack Obama of the United States has all but accused Russian Presi-dent Vladimir Putin of direct involvement and criminal culpability. He has perforce also persuaded his allies in the European Union to impose severe economic sanc-

Special Feature



tions against Russia. Even though India has nothing whatsoever to do with either the deaths of the 298 innocent airline pas-sengers, or the raging war on the ground in Ukraine, it can least afford to remain insulated or non-partisan. If the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between Wash-ington and Moscow escalates, Narendra Modi will have to decide whether India’s interests lie with his BRICS partner Putin or with Obama.

Simultaneously, India also finds itself caught on the horns of a painful dilem-ma with regard to the bloody, asym-metrical war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Hamas. It is no secret that the BJP, the RSS and Modi himself lean entirely towards Tel-Aviv. But the sheer ferocity of the Israeli attack that has killed more than a thousand innocent citizens has virtually armtwisted the Modi government into joining the inter-national community in condemning the inhuman and merciless massacre.

The lack of time to formulate a clear and nuanced foreign policy is proving a handicap, even outside global hotspots where military conflicts, wanton viola-tions of human rights and international terrorism are causing barbaric and mind-less death and destruction. The task of deciding on bilateral trade ties and strik-ing long-term strategic alliances is also replete with complexities that India is finding burdensome, due to a lack of clarity on whether to adhere to continu-ity or to strike a bold new path.

A pragmatic vision would inevitably challenge some of the key foundations of India’s traditional nationalist and left-of-center foreign policy. It would also dilute the prevailing consensus within the coun-try. But it could open up new possibili-ties and opportunities, especially for In-dia’s relations with the United States and global nuclear arms control. Ideally, new foreign policy perspectives need to be discussed and debated threadbare at var-ious levels involving political parties, think tanks and ministries. The views of important public intellectuals, policy analysts, academics, journalists, diplo-mats, and government officials also ought to be factored in.

For a new government to deviate from traditional policy without such prior con-

sultations can only be at the cost of con-sensus. A counter argument is that any sincere search for consensus could well lead to increasingly acrimonious debates which might slow down critical foreign policy decisions, or indeed even lead to policy paralysis. Given the diversity of views and ideologies between political parties and intellectuals within India it is probably true to say that genuine consen-sus on foreign policy may not be achiev-able in today's surcharged atmosphere. It is very likely that Indian foreign policy might remain contested and contentious for a considerable period in the foresee-able future.

In a way, this might indeed be a good thing, because the old consensus was possible as India international position-ing was relatively stable for decades, just

as the world was also relatively sta-ble. Today the world is witness-ing a tectonic shift in global relations, particularly with the rise of power-ful non-State players. Globali-sation has also brought about a paradigm shift in trade and com-merce. India’s global positioning is today much more dynamic than ever before

since the time of Independence. No-body ever calls India a 'Third World' country any more. Economists describe India as an “Emerging Economy”. For-eign policy pundits view India as an “As-piring Power”. These concepts are not just a play of words from different pro-fessional standpoints. They reflect the historic changes taking place within the world’s largest democracy at every level, economic and political. Hence foreign policy must be both flexible and pragmatic. Above all, it must be based on the solid bedrock of a coherent core philosophy.

RAMAN SWAMY

The author is an astute veteran journalist who writes on politics, foreign affairs & satire

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the Cold War is perhaps not even remembered by this generation of youth, beyond dim and dis-torted traces. Yes, the power alignments in the world have

shifted, say for example, by the rise of the BRICS and their opposition to Western finance capital. And yes, the rise of China does offset the demise of the old Soviet Union to a reasonable extent. The Vatican today is no longer battling “godless com-munism,” as communism itself is a mere spent force today. But no new global par-adigm has come to dominance, and in that vacuum it seems like the old Cold War once again is rearing it's head out of the troubled waters of political instability to fuel the imagination of our media and provide grist for the windmill of our cul-tural mentality.

Ukraine is the anvil on which the new Cold War thinking is being het-up. It’s impossible to understand the roots of the current Ukraine crisis over the downed MH-17 Malaysian airliner without under-standing the past, but the past is remem-bered as a cliché on all sides. We can agree, however, that the “new” Cold War began when Western strategists sought to expand their sphere of influence all the way east-ward across the Ukraine to Russia’s border. That push, which seemed like the spoils of Cold War victory to the Western trium-phalists, ignored two salient realities. First, eastern Ukraine was inhabited by millions of people who identified with Russia’s lan-guage, culture and political orientation. Second, since it was believed that the So-viet Union was “defeated”, the assumption was that Russia lacked the will and capac-ity to fight back. Though both assumptions

BaCk tO thE FutuRE COLd waR II On thE hORIZOn ?

Being forged on the Anvil of Eastern Europe is a new version and flavour of the Cold War of yore, which rears its head once again out of the turbulent waters of political currents and cross currents there, stoked further by the myopic self-interests of a Western Europe

and USA seeking to establish their control over the spaces vacated by the erstwhile Soviet Union. At a time when numerous conflicts are scorching the earth in West Asia, and the outlook is dim to the extent of fears of an impending armageddon, it is necessary for na-tions like India to take stock of their policies on the foreign affairs front, in order to cope

with these developments. NRI Achievers reports...were proven wrong on the battlefield in Georgia in 2008, the machinery of the West never stopped churning and expand-ing in it's blinkered world-vision.

That the situation is indeed explosive does not need re-iteration. And the run up to Cold War II has begun. In five years from now it will be in full-bloom and we all shall be in the thick of it. All the por-tents are already there: Warnings and threats are gaining in momentum. Crimea de facto declaring its independence from Kiev, and Russia intervening effectively to secure the new entity, Ukrainian police, security, and military forces on the penin-sula neutralized, many of them pledging allegiance to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. In Kiev, the new government raising the bogey of Russian aggression

and ordering mobilization — even as it loses control over some of the key cities in the country's east and south. The West responding with suspension of prepara-tions for the G-8 summit in Sochi. Obama warning Russia will pay a high price for its actions, and the subsequent slapping of sanctions and other measures.

Eventually, Russia did take back Crimea by force, in an offensive that was entirely predictable but seemed to shock the West-ern mind. Ukraine was broken along his-toric ethnic lines. For a brief moment, it appeared that a power-sharing arrange-ment might be negotiated. There was no reason for Putin to send Russian troops to war over Eastern Ukraine if peaceful co-existence was achievable. And Putin did accept the ascension of a new pro-Western

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elected president in Kiev, and called for a cease-fire and political settlement. But as it often transpires in proxy wars, the prox-ies drove the dynamics, and Ukraine’s army marched east, claiming a sovereign-ty that the Russian-speakers refused to accept. Putin’s allies — the so-called “pro-Russian separatists”— refused to surren-der and were vocal about Russia not giving them adequate support.

Pithily, the emerging image is danger-ous. The West-sponsored and West-sup-ported upheaval may have pruned Russia's influence in Ukraine; it was nevertheless an act of myopia which has resurrected Cold War, crushed all possibilities of reset-ting relations between Russia and the West and ended Russia's "post-Soviet passivity." And, most importantly, Putin's actions in Crimea and his empowerment by the duma (parliament) to use military force in Ukraine on discretion does make Mos-cow's intentions crystal clear — Russia It is ready to re-emerge as a proactive player in Europe once again after the downslide of 1989. For more than two and a half decades now since the disintegration of the USSR, and the end of the Cold War, Russia lost and lost again, with its power and influence in Europe and Eurasia dwin-

dling to near-vanishing-point. The United States, Britain, Germany

and France, marched with glee into this vacuum created by the Kremlin's dimin-ishing influence, and to add insult to in-jury, almost all new nation states that came into being during this period were liter-ally "carved out of the historical Russian Empire." Russia found itself utterly ne-glected and completely left out of the new geopolitical equation, and the new order that was reshaping Europe, mostly the eastern fringe and Eurasia.

Seen in retrospect, there is surely no gainsaying that the West's meddling in Ukraine has indeed put us at the brink of a new Cold War. Russian pride and inter-ests was more than hurt, and certainly more so than in 2008, when Georgian shelling on South Ossetia (provoked by the West), killed several Russian peace-keepers. Russia fought that war and so it did again in Chechnya to protect ethnic Russians living there who had become foreigners virtually overnight in 1991, like 25 million other ethnic Russians when "Russia agreed to the dismantlement of its historical empire and accepted the ex-Soviet administrative lines as internation-al borders."

Ukraine was probably the proverbial “last straw” on the russian camel's back, and perhaps Russia is right in calling it 'enough is enough.' Vladimir Vladimi-rovich Putin apropos has certainly ensured that the map of Ukraine is re-drawn sans Crimea. And do believe us when we say that sooner than later, the entire former Soviet Black Sea region from Moldova-Transnistria to Abkhazia-Georgia will look markedly different from how it is to-day. Georgia, once deemed too much of a pressure point on Kremlin's butt, will be back on the fast track for NATO's mem-bership agenda, while Moldova might suc-cumb to instability as the governing pro-EU coalition faces a challenge from an active pro-Russian opposition. As for Transnistria, it probably will gravitate to-ward Russian-speaking south-eastern Ukraine. Further north, one can safely forecast pressure building for permanent, if symbolic, US troop deployments in Po-land and the Baltic states, as well as for Finland's and Sweden's membership in the NATO.

Coming back to the Ukraine crisis and the present imbroglio over the shooting down of the MH-17 airliner. In Western-speak, the Russian-speakers in Ukraine

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aren’t really Ukrainian at all, or they were Russians in disguise, or pawns of Moscow. That designation humiliated and angered them. In the Western PR offensive, the Russians trained them, advised them and perhaps even directed them to shoot down the airliner. And, of course, those alleged Russian agents were carrying out the or-ders of the Kremlin. Putin is hardly wrong when he says the catastrophe would not have happened if his calls for a cease-fire were heeded. Instead, a ten-day cease-fire was terminated by Kiev on June 10, surely with back-channel US support. What sur-prises us is, no one has so far questioned the US government whether it lobbied with Kiev to extend the cease-fire instead of pressing their offensive eastward. The NYT had reported that “Ukraine’s Presi-dent, Petro O. Poroshenko, let the latest cease-fire lapse and ordered his military to resume efforts to crush the insurrection by force.” Sad. If he had instead extended the cease-fire, the plane would not have been shot down.

It is insane for anyone to be-lieve that Putin would want to shoot down a plane carrying over 200 hundred Europeans at a time when the European Un-ion was debating whether to join the United States in impos-ing harsh sanctions on Moscow. What makes more sense is that no one in an official capacity anywhere wants to take the blame for an unplanned moral, political and diplomatic catas-trophe. If Putin bears respon-sibility for the chain of escala-tion, so does Kiev and the West. In the meantime, the West will continue freezing its Cold War position and Ukraine’s armed forces will take their war towards the Russian border unless higher authorities restrain them. In this too, no one has asked if Western forces are advising or embedded within the Ukrain-ian military. Either which way, the Kiev fighters can advance all they desire, but they cannot pacify the east or predict Rus-sia’s next move. If they march into a trap, will the US feel obligated to dig them out ?

Even as events cascade reshaping Eu-rope, acrimony between Russia and the

West is more likely to grow, Moscow's re-lationship with Washington is likely to slip back into yet another phase of deep-freeze, and uncertainty will loom over coopera-tion on the Syrian front. If the United States moves on with slapping sanctions on Russia, bilateral trade and investment will suffer, leading to a complete collapse of the fledgling Russian equity market which is dominantly controlled by for-eigners. Cold War II will affect Russia more than the West, and if it is excluded from G-8 "Moscow will lose its unique position of being present in all major mul-tilateral organizations, both Western and non-Western."

The inevitable tightening of Western sanctions will push Russia to exploit the economic contradictions between the

United States and European nations like Germany, and push Moscow toward en-hancing its links with the BRICS, espe-cially the Chinese powerhouse. The por-tents for this trajectory was there for all to see this July just before the airliner shoot down, when Putin visited Latin America, where he promptly forgave 90% of Cuba’s US$ 32 Billion debt to the Russians, end-ing a two-decade dispute decisively. He then went on to tour six countries in the region and sat down to dinner with four Latin American presidents. The irony went barely noticed. The very purpose of the

1960 US policy towards Cuba was to sev-er the island from the Soviet sphere of influence. Now, it is the United States which is increasingly being isolated diplo-matically in its own “backyard,” while Cuba is now more secure in a new Latin America with Russian support. So if Cold War thinking prevails, the Obama admin-istration will continue funding illegal “de-mocracy programs” aimed at subverting the Cuban state. That could persuade some in the Cuban leadership to resist normalisation with the US, continuing a Cold War standoff of many decades.

Hopefully, the new Cold War may not be as bad as the old one, but there will still be geopolitical competition which can nevertheless be ruthless and not augur well for the world at large. The growing

trend of Anti-Americanism will soon turn into a veritable torrent, and against this back-drop the new Cold War could only worsen the situation fur-ther. Seen in retrospect, Washington's meddlesome finger-poking into Ukraine seems pretty needless, as Rus-sia, contrary to whatever Washington might believe, cannot be isolated all that easily. At least not without a price, and the price will in-deed be very dear to the West, whose myopic policies have succeeded in re-spawning version two of the Cold War.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, America’s heralded new “pivot” to Chi-na is steeped and stuck in deep contradictions. Lacking any alternative to the Cold War model, the US is danger-

ously close to fighting two. The question for progressive leaders of the world, espe-cially emerging economies like India is, how do we collectively act to construct a compelling alternative to the Cold War model, as much of the world slides to-wards a new Dark Age of class struggle, climate crisis and religious fundamental-ism appearing on many continents. Groupings like the BRICS, and their cohesive efficacy, become all the more relevant in this context ...


Special Feature



In Fortaleza, it happens not quite so often that one major global event segues into another. In recent weeks the city in northern Brazil was a venue for the FIFA World Cup. Bare-

ly had most of the football lovers left for their homes, that the city saw the arrival of some top-level politicos from across the continents. Of the new world, that is. The heads of state of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) con-verged on Brazil to hold a summit meeting at this Brazilian port-city.

What is a BRICS? BRICS is the acronym that stands for five of the major emerging national economies on the planet, viz., Brazil, Russia, India, China, & South Af-rica. The grouping initially went by the handle of "BRIC," before inclusion of South Africa in 2010. Though BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, all are characterised by large, fast-growing economies, and significant influence on regional and global affairs. All five, apropos, are G-20 members. The BRICS, representing three continents, ac-counts for more than a quarter of the world’s land area and 40% cent of its pop-ulation. They have a combined GDP of US$ 24 Trillion, about 20% of global GDP. The BRICS had held series of annual sum-mits since 2009, and the theme of the just ended sixth summit was: “Inclusive Growth; Sustainable Development.”

Even if not nearly as many people were excited by the meeting as were by the World Cup, the BRICS summit of For-taleza will go down in history. The emerg-ing economic powers have made it clearer than ever that they want to cooperate, and that they are no longer prepared to accept the rules laid down by western institutions. The most important action emanating from the meeting was that the participants

All across the world in July 2014, billions of football lovers had their attention glued to Brazil, and the FIFA World Cup. And as the victorious Germans took their hard-earned

cup of joy home, the fever subsided and viewer attention receded from Brazil. But in the week after sans fans and fanfare, Brazil saw history being made – at the podia of the

BRICS summit. Read on.

BRICS BY BRICS?It takES FIvE tO tanGO

have succeeded in resolving all their stick-ing points, and have launched the long-planned US$ 100 Billion BRICS Develop-ment Bank as counterpart to the World Bank, and also instituted an emergency reserve fund known as Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). The new bank will be based in Shanghai, and its first president

is to be Indian, after which the chairman-ship will rotate every five years.

Each of the five founding states has agreed to contribute ten billion dollars as the initial seed capital. This investment will subsequently increase in value to 100 Billion dollars. The money is to be used for financing projects in the BRICS coun-

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tries, as well as in other developing coun-tries and regions. An additional 100 bil-lion dollars will be pooled in to form a new BRICS monetary fund (the CRA), to which China will contribute 41 Billion dollars. Brazil, Russia and India will each put in 18 billion dollars, while South Af-rica will add another 5 Billion dollars to the kitty. This new BRICS fund ever so uncannily resembles another institution from the "Old World", the IMF.

Seen from an accidental or non-Western frame of mind, the source of the BRICS partners' institution-building enthusiasm seems quite obvious. For the attitude of the World Bank and the IMF have characteris-tically been one of 'heads I win tails you lose', having long failed their 'partners' from emerging markets, placing them on unequal terms. They've often been stingy on credit, and even if this be granted, so many strings

chAkRAvARthI SuchINdRAN

The writer is a technocrat who dabbles in journalism print & broadcast,

photography & creative visual arts.

were attached to it that bespoke conditions that corresponded to the values of the US and the West, having nothing at all in com-mon with the aspirations of emerging econ-omies. Yes, this yearning for newer trade organisations has its origins in the ire over Western unreasonableness.

For them, there was indeed no scope of reforming the old world institutions, or usher in any modicum of fairer play in their dealings with emerging nations. So, taking the line of least resistance, they have simply created their own networks that will leave the West out in the cold. And mark my words, the BRICS Bank and the BRICS Monetary Fund are just the beginning of a trend that will soon trans-late into a torrent ... we are already seeing how a plethora of new free-trade agree-ments are popping up across continents, and how an economic summit comparable to the World Economic Forum in Davos was established last year. And given the way the emerging markets are being pushed around by the WTO time and again, it is merely a question of time before an alternative to the World Trade Organi-sation appears on the scene.

Underlying tensions, however, persist and the BRICS initiatives are surely not portents for a new world economic order. Not yet. Especially when their exist un-dercurrents beneath the seemingly placid waters of the BRICS partner economies. Three of the partner economies are still under stress, though Brazil might well be an exception, what with the steroidal stim-

ulation its economy has been dosed with in connection with the recently concluded FIFA World Cup and the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympics. But past experience tends to suggest that Brazil too is likely to expe-rience recessionary trends and a pinch of economic depression post the games.

While Russia, whose heavy economic dependence on natural resources is an Achilles' heel indeed, and may therefore be said to be in a weaker position, not to mention It's troubles arising out of the messy conflict in Ukraine; Africa's big-boy RSA is also still in the clutches of a long drawn out period of slow growth, and is grappling with a bout of economic weak-ness over the past few years. India's prob-lems are akin to those of Brazil -- poor infrastructure, stagflation, slow industrial growth, and the country is just now grap-pling with the task of putting It's economy back on the rails, after a decade plus of a policy paralysis putting paid to reforms both political and economic that have been on the back-burner for too long. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is cur-rently on probation, as he will first have to prove to the world that he can get a grasp on these issues and raise India's banderol once again. Seen from this context, China does come out top-of-the-class.

Special Feature



nEw aMERICan OvERtuRE tOwaRd an IndO-uS StRatEGIC COMPaCt

At a time when the United States and Russia are engaged in a poten-tially dangerous eyeball-to-eyeball

confrontation over the Ukraine crisis, Washington seems to have launched a virtual “charm offen-

sive” to tempt the new government in India to enter into a long-term strategic partnership. Top policy-makers of the Obama administra-tion have been visiting New Delhi

in recent weeks, and the US admin-istration seems to be leaving no

stone unturned to ensure India en-ters its fold. NRI Achievers reports

on this late-breaking story ...

none other than John Kerry, the globe-trotting US Secre-tary of State arrived on a three-day mission in late July to establish personal rapport

with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, exchange pleasantries with PM Modi and also participate in a high-profile conference where he made a persuasive pitch for closer Indo-US ties. When the former presidential candidate decides to turn on the charm, he can be quite devas-tating. Here is an example of his way with words, excerpted from a speech in Wash-ington on the eve of his India visit: “Imag-ine that you are in a room together with the top hundred foreign policy thinkers in America and you asked them to name the most important relationships for the Unit-ed States, which will most affect the direc-tion of the 21st century. I can guarantee you this: Every single one of them would rank the US-India relationship right up there in the top tier.”

Also landing in New Delhi was US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. Her official agenda was to address the Indo-US Strategic Dialogue to boost commer-cial ties. She appears to made a deep im-pact on those who met her, including top

bureaucrats and captains of industry. Im-portantly, the Indian side came to know her better at a personal level, and to sense that there is something special about Penny Sue Pritzker. She has a personal wealth of 2.4 Billion dollars. She is the Hyatt Hotel chain heiress, and one of the original Silicon Valley elites. She’s known as the “start-up queen” for the numerous successful business ventures that she has built from scratch.

At a personal level, there’s another side to Ms Pritzker. She has had to fight every step of the way up the ladder of success. Her entire family was against her when she demanded a stake in the Hyatt business – they felt a woman’s place was at home. Af-ter a bitter battle she won but forever lost the love of her two younger brothers whom she had brought up after their alcoholic mother died young. Her life has been full of other hurdles and controversies as well. But she has invariably came out on top with a laser-sharp intellect, her Shakunta-la Devi like mental math ability and her tough-as-nails endurance. She has run eight marathon road races, always making it to the finishing line even the time her foot was bleeding after stepping on a bro-ken glass bottle.

In early August, the US Defense Sec-retary Chuck Hagel will be the next to come calling. He too is no run-of-the-mill politician. The fact that he was given the Defense portfolio by President Obama last year despite being a member of the Republican Party tells its own story, especially since the Republicans fought tooth and nail to prevent him joining the White House team. A war hero (two Purple Hearts from Vietnam), Hagel had a very successful career in business before joining politics. Signifi-cantly, he was the cofounder of a digital technology company which went on to become the world’s foremost manufac-turer of Electronic Voting Machines, of the kind that was used in India’s recent Lok Sabha elections that the BJP won by an incredible victory margin.

Charles Timothy “Chuck” Hagel, to give his full name, has another claim to fame – he never hesitates to speak his mind. Despite being a Republican, he op-posed the Bush Administration’s War on Iraq policy in 2005 by declaring: “To question your government is not unpat-riotic – to not question your government is unpatriotic”.

Again, in 2006, he criticized Bush’s han-

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dling of the Lebanon War by saying: “The sickening slaughter on both sides must end now. The President must call for an im-mediate cease-fire. Our relationship with Israel is special and historic, But it need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships. That would be an irresponsible and dangerous false choice”. In the context of the Modi government’s own policy dilemma over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, where over a thousand innocent civilians have so far been killed, there may be lessons to draw from Hagel’s stand.

These visits, and the ones earlier in July by Kerry’s deputy William Burns and Re-publican Senator John McCain, are evi-dently intended to build up the tempo for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States and a possible game-changing meeting with President Barack Obama in September. Indeed, of late there has been a flurry of activity among US officials dealing with Asian and South Asian affairs. America is evidently keen to revitalize relations with India on all fronts – political, trade and defense. Washington views India as a “crucial counterbalance” in Asia to an increas-ingly assertive China.

Apart from that, with Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin at log-gerheads over Moscow’s role in the Ukrainian crisis, the US is looking to win over India’s new Prime Minister. An

indication of the pro-India sentiment within Washington is echoed in a televi-sion interview given by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is tipped to be a front-runner in the next presi-dential elections. It provided a glimpse of the importance American leaders give to India in the geo-political context vis-à-vis China. “Look at the difference between India and China”, she told the interviewer, “China has this top- down, very clear, orderly approach toward eco-nomic development, and India has this massive subcontinent with all these dif-ferent people speaking all these different languages. Each in its own way is a tri-umph. India is a triumph of a unified political nation and China has been tri-umphant in moving people out of pov-erty. But in the long run, who has the better system ? And if India can now get its act together on the economy, it would be an extraordinary accomplishment because it would then be both politi-cally and economically successful”.

This is as clear an articulation of Amer-ica’s admiration for Indian democracy as one can hope for, especially since Clinton mentioned this in answer to a question that had nothing to do with either India or China. In the event of Hillary Clinton get-ting elected as the next US President in 2016, a possibility that nobody is ruling out, her positive views of India as a rising Asian power could prove mutually benefi-

cial. This basic theme echoes what Nisha Biswal, US asst. secretary of state for South Asia, stated while testifying before the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She quoted President Obama as having said that the US-India relationship would be “one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.” She also quoted Narendra Modi having told William Burns last week that the “whole world would benefit from closer US-India ties”.

Nisha Biswal spoke at length on Indo-US relations. She said: “Across the board we have an opportunity to engage more robustly with India”. She referred to planned joint military exercises involving India, the United States and Japan, a country with a growing strategic rivalry with China in East Asia. “We see oppor-tunities for increasing the collaboration across Southeast Asia,” she said. “We are engaging more frequently in consulta-tions and dialogue with India on ASEAN and look forward to increased and more frequent consultations across the East Asian sphere”.

Foreign policy mandarins in New Delhi have noted the subtle new dimension to Washington’s perspective. No longer are the Americans only looking at India in the South Asian context; they are talking of a convergent strategic interest is “across the Asian landscape”. Interestingly, geo-strate-gic analysts in the United States are giving high marks to Modi for inviting regional SAARC leaders to his inauguration. This, they feel, demonstrates his commitment to strengthening India’s ties within its imme-diate region and beyond. As the State De-partment has stated, “we see a partnership with India that spans east, west, north, and south to advance our shared interests across the Indo-Pacific region. Our collaboration on counter-terrorism and homeland secu-rity has grown tremendously in the past several years”.

It is the considered view of US policy makers that the new Indian Prime Minister has visions of emerging as a major Asian leader. The United States is getting set to give him all the support and encourage-ment he needs to fulfill that personal ambi-tion. The key question now is how warmly Narendra Modi responds to such overtures and whether he grasps the hand of friend-ship that is been offered to him.

RAMAN SWAMY

Special Feature



at the WTO negitiating tables, India has taken a tough stand that may put paid to the ef-forts of the world body to knit together consensus on the

Trade Facilitation Agreement before clar-ity is achieved on the subject of subsidies to the satisfaction of emerging economies like India. And according to usually reli-able sources within the government, the PM today is the prime motivating force and the mover this tough stand of Nir-mala Sitaraman, India's Minister for Com-merce at the WTO. And this is perfectly in resonance with India's thoughts on the BRICS bank as well, methinks. PM Modi did not kick up any fuss at Fortaleza during the BRICS summit over where the bank ought to be based, probably because he desired more that the initiative make a much larger point to the powers that be.

To put it in the words of a top gov-ernment official who was part of the delegation but does not want to be named, "In the midst of the negotia-tions over the headquarters, when other countries were demurring over whether or not it should be Shanghai, it was the Indian prime minister who intervened and said that the demand of the Chinese should be conceded, and the bank should be given a liftoff at this meeting itself. He said that this was the only way the rest of the world would get the message that it here a serious enterprise."

The new BRICS bank and the CRA as an alternative to the World

EMERGInG COntOuRSIndIa'S dOMEStIC COnCERnS &

FOREIGn POLICY GOaLSThe very recent uncharacteristically tough stand taken by India on the trade facilitation agreement at the WTO has surprised Europe, Australia, the US and the West, especially more so when it comes immediately after the announcement of a BRICS bank headquar-tered in Shangai and the 100 Billion US$ Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) as al-

ternatives to the World bank and the IMF. Other readings apart, we at NRI Achievers also see this reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's considered foreign policy goals to be in

tune with his rather domestic concerns. Read on ...Bank-IMF hegemony not only goes well with Modi's constituencies back home, but it also succeeds in sending out a strong signal and an explicit message to the West and the US that whatever doubts they have had over Modi prior to the elections, and his ability to bite the bullet and take hard decisions in a statesman-like manner stand expelled.

While in Brazil, where the BRICS sum-mit was held, the South African delega-tion was surprised indeed to learn that India's Commerce Minister Sitharaman had been tasked to attend the G-20 meet-ing in Sydney ahead of the WTO general council in Geneva. At Sydney, Sithara-man made it clear that India's concerns just simply couldn't be wished away. She made a forceful intervention at the sum-mation of the G-20 meet, asking that In-dia's problems with the trade facilitation

pact and the valuation issues of agricul-tural products and public stockholding be put on record, following that up with a call to the Prime Minister apprising him of all that happened.

"The very next day the PM called all concerned secretaries and firmed up In-dia's position for the WTO talks to be held on in Geneva a few days hence. He also called a Cabinet meeting just as the min-ister herself flew in to Delhi, and ratified the stance," says the same source who refuses to be named.

While some have likened this to PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's masterstroke of an-nouncing India's arrival on the world stage as a global power by testing nuclear weap-ons in 1998, some others feel that all this may have been influenced more by mun-dane and prosaic domestic compulsions. Like for instance, the Prime Minister's

promise to Indian farmers in the BJP election mainfesto, assured them that his government would take all needed steps to ensure a 50% profit margin in agriculture. Could this be one reason why India is hardening its position at the WTO ? Whatever be the motives of the PM behind what is seen as ag-gressive foreign and trade policy stances and moves, these signals being sent out worldwide do have the salu-tory effect of his upcoming visits to world capitals including Washington will be watched very, very carefully indeed.




Heritage

SOL DIE, THE DAY OF THE SUN

In many parts of the world, every week has a day of rest from the most mundane task of living, namely, ekeing out a livelihood. That day of rest is also a day to congregate, to reflect upon one's life, to socialise, and to indulge in play, activities that entertain and amuse, and generally relax and recharge from a working week of labour. For some it is Friday, for others it is Saturday, and for many, it is Sunday. In this piece, we digress from our usual focus on art, architecture and heritage, and ponder upon this 'holy day' that finds a place in almost all cultures and civilisations. We look at the origins of 'Sunday' as a holiday, and hope you find it interesting ...

All biblical religions believe that God created the universe over six days and then took rest on the 7th day. While the oldest, the Judaic faith (the Hebraic,

or Jewish religion) honours Saturday as day of the Sabbath, Islamic belief avers that Fri-day be more auspicious as it is believed that this be the day when (Prophet) Adam and rest of the world was created, and also con-siders the day to be the day of doom, which is yet to come. The Christians, however, have come to believe that the Sabbath falls on Sunday, and thus Sunday has come to be predominantly regarded in popular parlance as the Lord’s Day in Christianity influenced parts of the world. For many of us in India and abroad who have grown up with the no-tion that Sunday is the weekly off, a holiday to be spent at one's leisure, it would indeed be a surprise to know that it is not so for large swathes of people who belong to other faiths, beliefs and religions. So let’s explore this 'Sunday' story a bit for a change...

Research into dominant societal behav-iour seems to suggest that Sunday was not a 'holy day' or festival in the early days of the Christian era. In the earliest days, there seems to have been no fixed day of rest, and separate communities divided by geogra-phy had their own rules, and Sol Die, the Day of the Sun, or 'Sunday' is not even of

Christian origin. Very early in the Christian era, a new form of worship surfaced and spread rapidly throughout the then Gentile world. Known as "Mithraism," it had to do with the worship of the Sun like many forms of paganism/heathenism; but its philosophy had much more depth and was more fasci-nating than the cruder underpinnings of paganism, and it also held up high stand-ards of morality. This new flavour of wor-ship soon captured the imagination of the Caesars, and seeped into the Roman legions and the centres of learning, and was adopt-ed and embraced widely by the upper class-es of society. With Alexandria and Rome soon becoming important centres, Mithra-ism spread, thrived and flourished. In fact,

history records that “in the middle of the third century, Mithraism seemed on the verge of becoming the universal catholic religion,” and that it “became the greatest antagonist of Christianity.” ... Some of the peculiar doctrines enunci-ated and advocated by Mithraic priests were “the immortality of the soul, the use of the bell and candle, holy water and commun-ion, sanctification of 'Sunday,' and the 25th of December.” -- Encyclopaedia Britannica [11th ed.], article “Mithras.”...... The devotees of Mithra held Sunday sa-cred as Mithra was identified with the “in-vincible sun.” -- The Smithsonian Institu-tion, Washington D.C. ...... "They held Sunday sacred, and celebrated the birth of the Sun on the 25th of Decem-ber." -- The Mysteries of Mithra [1910], pp. 190,191. ...

Competing for a large share of the laity, there soon set in a vicious struggle be-tween Mithraism and Christianity, and with apostasy already rife in the Christian church, it was but a short step further for church leaders to agree upon a compro-mise. With many church leaders having themselves come into the church from Mithraism, they still held certain venera-tion for the Sun and institutions sacred to it. Thus it was agreed that in order to fa-cilitate the conversion of the heathen and



Did You Know?

not even among Christians. In India, the interesting part is that Sun-

day was never an official holiday. Just a couple of years ago, Raman Sharma, an activist from Jammu, filed an RTI (Right to Information) petition at the Prime Min-ister's Office asking: "Is there any official order/notification issued by any ministry/department of the government declaring Sunday as holiday?"

The department of Personnel and Train-ing, Government of India, in its reply dated 18th July, 2012, signed by B Bandopadhyay, Under-secretary, stated, "As per records available in JCA section of the Department of Personnel & Training, there is no infor-mation regarding declaration of Sunday as a holiday." However the reply gave refer-ence to order no. 13/4/85-JCA dated 21st May, 1985, of the Department of Personnel and Training, which says that in order to improve the efficiency, "The Government of India is pleased to introduce a 5-day week in the civil administration offices of the Government of India with effect from 03rd June, 1985. Such Government of-fices would now work for five days a week from Monday to Friday, with all Saturdays as closed." Even this order has no explicit mention of “Sunday” (Ref: Hindustan Times dated July 26, 2012)

Yet, Sunday was being observed as a holiday much before 1985. In the 1840s, the British government after a decade long deliberation decided that their Bombay office and all subdivisions under it, will have a weekly off, just as was the practice in Britain. However, in Bombay, the move was seen as an act of imposing Christian tradition. Also, there was a lot of talk over the impact of one day off on daily wages of labour. Officers were concerned that contractors would not like to pay labour full month salary for just 26 days of work. It was later decided that Sunday be an off and all the labour will be paid half day sal-ary for these holidays. However, this was not forced upon and even till date, not everyone, except the government offices observe Sunday as a holiday. Only the emergency services operate, where the personnel get an alternate day off based on a rotating roster.

vikramjit singh rooprai

The writer is a self-made IT entrepreneur, who is also a passionate heritage & history buff

advance the cause of Christ over Mithra, the church would absorb, adapt and incor-porate many of the teachings and institu-tions of Mithraism into Christianity, and one among these was the Sunday festival.

Early Christians, who were mostly Ro-mans, had differences of opinion as to whether the Sabbath should be observed on a Saturday or a Sunday. Then one day, this debate of the Christian Sabbath was settled via fiat, when Rome’s first Christian emperor, Constantine the First, decreed on the 7th of March, 321, that Sunday would be observed as the Roman day of rest:

On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities

rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agri-culture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.

In 363, Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea prohibited observance of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), and encour-aged Christians to work on Saturdays and rest on the Lord's Day (Sunday). The very fact that the canon had to be issued at all is an indication that adoption of Constan-tine's decree of 321 was still not universal,



Metaphysical Musings

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ÚU¹Ìð ãñ. ¥æÂ Ì·¤ Âãé´¿Ùð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ×ðÜ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñÑ

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Real Estate & Property

RAISING THE BAR IN BROKERAGE BUSINESS

Real estate is not just about sales, it's more a business of trust that involves high value transactions with property con-sumers investing their life-long earnings to buy their dream home. And in this context, the role of brokers assumes considerable significance, as they are the interface between the developers and property buyers. All the more so when we observe that the profile of customers has undergone a sea-change. Today, a large number of property buyers comprise of youth who are well-educated, discerning, internet-friendly and tech-savvy. They want hassle-free, fair and transpar-ent transactions. They look for tailor-made offerings that promise good property appreciation. Vinod Behl writes this time on the brokerage business in the Realty sector for NRI Achievers. Read on.

The real estate broking business has made rapid strides in recent years by way of embracing pro-fessionalism. Significantly, bro-

kerage business has been continuously evolving for the last few years, under-going considerable transformation with self- styled brokers giving way to edu-cated and well- trained professionals. As industry bodies like NAR are taking initiatives to train brokers and equip them with suitable skills, it is paving way for the entry of high quality talent. The growing corporatisation of the sec-tor with the entry of IPCs, MNCs and global brokerage chains has not only

raised the standard of brokerage but also brought in the much needed pro-fessionalism and transparency. The growing number of corporate occupi-

ers has further contributed to the real estate marketing services becoming more professional. A professional real-tor or professionally well-managed bro-kerage firm can help its clients reap really rich dividends in property invest-ment.

Property brokers are today no more just the go-between for property buyers and sellers. In fact the new-age brokers are providing complete leasing, buying and selling services with customised so-lutions. Their comprehensive services include investment advice with portfolio management, home-loan and due dili-gence including the legal and taxation aspects of property sale and purchase. The increasing use of ICT tools and in-ternet-based solutions has also made the property purchase/selling process much more easier, faster and transparent. At the click of a mouse, one can select property to suit one's budget and re-quirement.

The expertise and knowledge gained by realtors has raised the level of broker-age and changed its image. And with the upcoming Real Estate Regulator set to govern realtors, brokerage business will gain further credibility and respect in the days to come. And it will improve the investment climate, and help enor-mously in realizing the high growth po-tential of real estate sector.

The author is a senior media professional, with long-standing experience in the real estate

sector. He is Editor, Realty Plus - a leading real estate monthly. He may be reached at

[email protected]

PROPERTy BROKERS ARE TOdAy NO mORE jUST THE

GO-BETwEEN fOR PROPERTy BUyERS ANd SEllERS. IN

fAcT THE NEw-AGE BROKERS ARE PROvIdING

cOmPlETE lEASING, BUyING ANd SEllING SERvIcES wITH

cUSTOmISEd SOlUTIONS




BUDGET 2014 – POSITIVE FOR INDIAN REAL ESTATE ?The Union Budget 2014-15 was presented in parliament under economic circumstances requiring tax revenues to keep pace with targets. Considering the state of government finances and the current situation – weak mon-soons, Middle-East tensions leading to oil price volatility, depreciating currency, fiscal deficit, amidst other concerns does not leave much room for populism. However, considering the high inflation and curtailed savings, taxpayers still expected some good news from the new government, such as enhanced deductions, reduction in tax rates, interest subvention on home loans and tax incentives to affordable housing. The Finance Minister has taken a cautious yet courageous path with his budget announcements. Here is a snapshot:HOUSING: In terms of relief to the housing sector, the budget has allocated INR 4,000 Crores for low-cost housing schemes. Apart from this, the FM has also indicated that there will soon be a relaxation of FDI norms for the affordable housing sector. It is very positive that the government has taken note of the demand-supply mismatch in the LIG and EWS housing segments. However it still remains to be seen as to how fast these initiatives hit the ground in real time. Sig-nificantly, the budget has increased the in-come tax deduction limits under 80C for repayment of principal on housing loans from INR 1 Lakh to INR 1.5 Lakhs. Addi-tionally, the budget has also enhanced the deduction limit on interest payment for housing loans from INR 1.5 lakhs to INR 2 lakhs. These two factors alone will lead to a vastly improved sentiment for the housing markets. The budget gave further indirect benefits for the residential sector by increas-

ing the individual income tax exemption limit from INR 2 Lakhs to INR 2.5 Lakhs. This will increase disposable income of in-

dividuals and would have further implica-tions on their ability to service home loans. The FM has also announced further relaxa-

Reduction in personal income tax ceiling and the raising of home loan interest deduction will definitely boost demand for homes in metro-politan and mini metropolitan cit-ies. And true to his promises, the FM has made singificant allocations towards infrastructure projects in the country. The allocation of Rs.

37,850 crore for the NHAI will result in vastly improved road networks, which in turn will result in new vibrancy for the real estate sector. The National Housing Bank has received an allocation of Rs. 8000 crore for this program, which will have a salutary effect as well. I am especially enthusiastic about the Rs. 7060 crore allocation towards the government's program for creating 100 smart cities.

Kishor Pate, CMD - Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd.

As per expert reports, there is a short-age of around 18.78 million houses in the country, the allocation of Rs 4,000 Cr. for low-cost housing alone apart from Rs 50,000 Cr. for urban housing by the finance minister is a positive move. The special emphasis of the present government on infrastructure is laudable as we all know that infra-

structure is one of the growth engines for uplifting the econ-omy and once infrastructure development is put in place, the economy is sure to grow. There has been no clear cut decision on FDI in multi brand retail sector which could have attract-ed investment in this sector. The real estate retail industry could have been benefited immensely due to increase in de-mand and increased investor confidence.

Navneet Bhadla, Director, Brys Group




tion of norms for residential projects in the affordable segment. This gives us hope that the time is ripe for 'affordable housing' projects to take-off in India.CONSTRUCTION SECTOR: Construc-tion costs have been rising at the rate of 17% over the last three to four years, and this budget has not provided enough measures to bring down these costs. Contrary to ex-pectations, material costs involved in real estate construction will remain high over the near-to-medium term, which is bound to put pressure on developers’ margins. INFRASTRUCTURE: The infrastructure and manufacturing sectors have been given paramount importance, since these are job-creating verticals. Banks will now be en-couraged to extend long-term loans for infrastructure projects without any regula-tory pre-emptions such as CRR, SLR and priority sector lending norms. This will result in faster infrastructure creation and bring consequent benefits to real estate. The budget has allocated a total of INR 37,880 Crores towards the NHAI for the construction of highways, and an addi-tional INR 3000 Crores to boost road con-nectivity in the North-East. For the current year, it has targeted the completion of 8,500 kilometres of national highways, which are a known real estate catalyst. Ahmedabad and Lucknow have been singled out as spe-cial beneficiaries of this budget with the allocation of INR 100 Crores towards the deployment of Metro Rail systems in these cities. The increased connectivity will raise the scope of their real estate development and also have an impact of property valu-

ations. The development of 16 new ports has been proposed at an outlay of INR 11,000 Crores. Additionally, an allocation of INR 11,600 Crores has been made for the development of outer harbour port projects. The combined effect of all these will result in an increase in demand for commercial space at port cities. SMART CITIES: As promised in the new government’s manifesto, the creation of 100 smart cities across India has been pro-posed. The budget has allocated INR 7,060 Crores towards this end, thereby giving a financial sign-off for this concept. In order to further encourage commitment towards this segment, FDI investment norms in terms of minimum required area for de-velopment have been lowered from 50,000 square metres to 20,000 sq.m. This is a big positive since a number of smaller cities will also qualify for FDI investments, thereby enabling cheaper mobilisation of funds. Smart cities, by definition, imply considerable demand for technology-en-abled services, which spells good news for IT/ITeS companies. Significantly, as much as one-third of the country’s demand for office space emanates from this sector. This will have positive implications for real estate, across multiple asset classes.RETAIL: The country’s warehousing sec-tor has received a boost with an allocation of INR 5,000 Crores. This exhibits positive implications for Retail real estate and spe-cifically for E-Commerce, on account of a strengthened supply chain, which has been a crucial requirement of this sector. Apart from this, the budget has not pro-

vided any further benefits to the retail sec-tor, which is certainly a disappointment. HOSPITALITY: The budget also brought cheer to the hospitality sector in two ma-jor ways. One, it has stipulated that elec-tronic visa services will be introduced in nine international airports in India over the next six months. Secondly, it has indi-cated major provisions for the creation of world-class convention centres to be de-veloped through the PPP model. Once these centres are created, they will bring about an increase in corporate tourism into the country. We expect the absorption of hotel-related real estate to rise.REITs: The much-awaited clarity on taxation of REITs was finally delivered in the budget. REITs will be allowed tax pass-through sta-tus, which means it will not be subject to tax, provided all criteria for investments and dividend distribution are followed. This has laid the final roadmap for REITs to start op-erating in India and has opened-up an at-tractive avenue of raising funds. IN CONCLUSION: The real estate sector’s comprehensive expectations have defi-nitely not been met completely in this budget. However, given the economic situation prevailing in the country, this is not really surprising. As such, we are glad that the consumer has been moderately benefitted which will hopefully result in the real estate sector moving in the right direction.

ANUj PURIThe writer is the Chairman & Country

Head of Jones Lang LaSalle India, the Indian

It is indeed a satisfactory budget with a lot of good implications for the languishing real estate sector. Significantly, the budget has in-cluded slum rehabilitation under the ambit of corporate social re-sponsibility. We will now see great-er involvement by India Inc. in this very important sector, and give a

boost to supply in the inner parts of our major cities. The FM has also given much-needed relief to individ-ual tax payers by raising the income tax exemption limit by Rs. 50,000 and has also raised the limit of the interest part of home loans from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh. The combined effect will definitely be renewed interest in home purchase by Indians.

Arvind jain, Managing Director - Pride Group



Does NRI require any type of permission of RBI to acquire any type of property in India?

A. No, there is no permission required except agricultural and farm land.

Does foreign citizen of Indian origin re-quire permission of RBI to purchase im-movable property in India?

A. RBI has granted general permission to foreign citizens of Indian origin, wheth-er resident in India or abroad, to purchase immovable property in India for their bona fide residential purpose. Therefore they are not required to obtain prior per-mission of RBI.

Can NRI/PIO sell their purchased prop-erty without the permission of Reserve Bank?

A. Yes. Reserve Bank of India has grant-ed general permission for sale of such

property to the following categories:-a. To a NRIb. To a PIO (If the seller is a PIO, then a

prior approval is required from RBI)c. To a person Resident of India

Can NRI rent out the immovable proper-ties if not required for immediate use?

A. NRI can without restraint rent out their immovable property, without seek-ing any consent from the RBI. The rental income being a current account transac-tion is repatriable outside India, only if proper tax is paid or provided for.

Is there any limit on the number of hous-ing properties that may be purchased by an NRI?

A. There are no limits on the number of

residential properties that may be bought by an NRI. However, repatriation (the process of converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country) is allowed only in respect of two such prop-erties.

Can NRI/ PIO's acquire or dispose resi-dential property by way of gift?

A. Yes, NRIs and PIOs can freely ac-quire immovable property in India by way of gift either from a. person resident in India b. NRIc. PIOHowever the property can only be com-mercial or residential. Again NRIs and PIOs may gift residential/ commercial property toa. person resident in India b. NRIc. PIO

(iv) Foreign national of non Indian origin - with approval of RBI

Does RBI have any guideline for loans to NRI?a. The loan amount shall not exceed 85%

of the cost of the housing unit.b. Own contribution, which is the cost of

housing unit financed less the loan amount, can be met from direct remit-tances from abroad only through normal banking channels, your Non-Resident (External) [NR (E)] Account and /or Non-Resident (Ordinary) [NR (O)] ac-count and /or Non-Resident Special Ru-pee account [NRSR] in India.

c. Reimbursement of the loan, comprising of the principal and interest including all the charges are to be remitted from

abroad only through normal banking channels, your Non-Resident (External) [NR (E)] Account and /or Non-Resident (Ordinary) [NR (O)] account and /or Non-Resident Special Rupee account [NRSR] in India.

Can an NRI take loan against the secu-rity of immovable property in India? Is there any restriction on use of loan amount?

A. An NRI can borrow against the se-curity of immovable property from Au-thorized Dealer subject to following con-ditions.a. The loan should be used for meeting the

personal requirements or for borrower's own business purposes; and

b. loan should not be used for forbidden activities, namely; (a) business of chit

fund, or (b) agriculture or plantation activities or in real estate business, or construction of farm houses, or (c) trad-ing in Transferable Development Rights (TDRs).

c. the loan amount cannot be remitted outside India, repayment of loan shall be made from out of remittances from overseas or by debit to NRE/FCNR/NRO account or out of the sale profits of shares or securities or immovable property against which such loan was granted.

Vikas Gupta

The writer is a joint Managing Director of Earth infrastructure, who is a marketing

expert in real estate. He may be reached at [email protected]


REAL ESTATE - Q&A



Vastu

l I am settled in Virginia, USA, for the past 15 years. I now want to open my own insurance company. Please suggest lucky directions and placement of office furniture in order to make this effort a success.

According to your date of birth and KUA number, an 'East' facing office is good for you. But for advice on the place-ment of the furniture etc., you will need to send us the layout plan of your proposed office.l What modifications to the building of my factory do I need to effect in order to expand my business outside of India as well ?

The basement of your factory is in the 'West' zone which is totally against vastu principles, and hence can cause harm to your business even in India. So, take steps to shift or rebuild this basement in the 'North East' zone to expand your business internationally. As I am able to glean from customized vastu, you can earn well from for-eign shores as well by implementing some remedies.l The raw material for my business comes from China. But last shipment got stuck because of changing policies there. How can Vastu help me? Let me know how I can solve this problem.

There exists a toilet in the 'South West' direction of your office which is not good, also the placement of some equipment in 'NNW' zone in not appropriate. Hang a painting of sailing ship on the north wall of your office, and paint a yellow stripe on the door. This will benefit you in a short period of time.l I want to sell my products in different countries of world but the documenta-tion is not getting through. Please tell me if any renovation at my factory can help in this matter.

Renovation is not required, but the Color scheme of your office is not as per

VASTU: Q&AVastu. Paint the 'NW' and 'West' direction in white color instead of the existing Blue, it will go in accordance with your date of birth. If you want to expand your business to other countries, wait till your birthday in 2015.l I am Manvinder Singh, settled in Canada. My parents are in Moga, Pun-jab. They have been trying to sell our property there for the past two years but with no success. We would like a better home in a city area, but things are not

and then it will be possible to sell the property.l I am Rakesh Khanna, I have a small business in the US and it is doing well, and now my wife would like to join me here. But for two years now, whenever she plans to come to the US, one or oth-er obstacle crops up, and she is unable to make it. Are there any kind of vaastu and/or astrological solution for this?

Yes, it could happen due to doshas both of Vastu or astrology. We could check this trough customised vastu whether there any possibilities for her to go abroad. That is the very first thing. Insofar as general vastu is concerned, it will work only for

those things which are in your destiny. Even if a person is not destined to go

abroad according to astrology, vas-tu can help to some extent. For coming to a conclusion, we will need the date of birth of your wife, and after doing our calcula-tions we could suggest some remedies.l I have recently shifted to Lon-don and want to set up my own

showroom of cars. Tell me how to select the best location for the

showroom and color themes for the interiors and exteriors – Rohit ShahYou should go for a rectangular or

square plot. No L or irregular shapes. Color scheme can be decided only after selecting the plot. We will need the ori-entation of the plot in order to work out auspicious color combinations per feng shui. In your business it is very impor-tant to maintain 'NW' direction as per vastu and feng shui as this zone governs sales. You could choose 3-4 properties, then consult. Whichever plan is better may be finalized.

NAReSH SINgAL

Apart from vastu, he is also a well-known exponent of Feng Shui and Pyramidology. You

can contact him at: [email protected]

Author will provide free consultation for readers of NRI Achievers. But do send map of your premises and your date of birth.

working. Please suggest remedies which can help us sell it.

Yours is no general question. In your case we will first need to have a look upon the layout plan of the property in question. A site visit is also warranted. Generally, such kind of problems occur due to the 'SW' zone most of the time, but some other factors like law of vastu for slopes, ratio of plot size, and what is inside the ground - like there could be a cremation ground etc., could all play a significant role. So in that case it will be really diffi-cult to sell or rent out that property. You could hire a vaastu consultant who will suggest the remedies for that Vastu Dosha



Cineppets

WHY ANERI HAD TO LET GO OFF HER LONG HAIR FOR HER

CHARACTER IN ‘NISHA AUR USKE COUSINS’

SHASTRI SISTERS TO GO ON-AIR EVERY MONDAY TO SATURDAY AT 7.00 PM ON COLORS

TAARAK MEHTA KA OOLTAH CHASHMAH GOES TO HONGKONG DISNEY LAND !

STAR Plus’ new show ‘Nisha aur uske Cous-ins’ has a lot happening behind the scenes before the show goes on air. The actors have been undergoing rigorous training to get into the skin of their character. They have been working on their body language, voice modulation and dialogue delivery, all to make sure that they do their best onscreen. But the one person who has undergone complete transformation is Aneri Vajani who was last seen in ‘Crazy Stupid Ishq’. An-eri who essays the role of the main protago-nist Nisha, plays a very challenging role as she essays the character of a tomboy. Aneri

in fact feels that her character of a tomboy is inspired somewhat from Anjali’s character in ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ as except for being a tomboy like Anjali, Nisha also sports a short hair do on the show. Aneri comments on her role saying, "When I got a call con-firming that I will be playing Nisha it was like a dream. I have done a few shows till now but this role is very different and a little challenging. I have been undergoing various workshops to get into the tomboy character. From talking to even my walking style has changed. But what was most difficult was letting go of my long locks and sporting a short hair do as once your hair is gone it takes time to grow back and I didn’t want to regret my decision. But the short hair was necessary for the tomboy character por-trayed by Nisha so to do justice to it, I went ahead with the decision to chop off my hair”. Catch ‘Nisha aur uske Cousins’ soon on STAR Plus

Ever since the first promo of COLORS’ upcoming fiction offering hit airwaves, audience anticipation has been at an all-time high to get a glimpse into the lives the Shastri Sisters. COLORS today announced the launch date and time slot for the show. The serial will be going on-air starting 21st July, and will air every Monday to Saturday at 7.00 PM on the channel. Shastri Sisters traces the journey of four sisters as they move from Kanpur to Delhi along with their father. The story speaks of the challenges faced by them on being uprooted from their childhood homes and their support for each other through life’s hard-ship and struggles. On the show, Neha Pednekar will be essaying the role of the oldest sister Alka, Ishita Ganguly will be seen portraying the character of second sister Anushka, Sonal Vengurlekar will portray the role of the third sister Devyani and Pragati Chourasiya will be essaying the character of the youngest sister Peeya. Shastri Sisters is produced by Shakunta-lam Telefilms of Na Aana Is Des Laado fame.

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is a popular TV series that focuses on the day to day lives of the members of Gokuldham so-ciety. After entertaining the audience with GPL 3 and a nail-biting thriller sequence with adept C.I.D officers, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has now integrated with Disney India to take the entertainment to the next level. In the upcoming episodes, the cast of Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashma will be seen enjoying at the Hong Kong Dis-neyland, an all-expenses paid trip that Ta-pusena wins by buying Disney branded products. Dilip Joshi aka Jethalal Gada said, “We had an amazing time in Disneyland while enjoying the different rides and attrac-tions of the park. We even got to witness the stunningly beautiful fireworks display and be a part of the famous parade! Altogether we had a great experience and took some fond memories back with us.”Disha Vakani who plays Daya Gada said, “There was a lot of excitement amongst the cast when we got to know that we were going to Disneyland.

We have previously shot in foreign locations but this time, it was double the fun and masti as Tapu Sena was also visiting Hong Kong Disneyland with us. I too, had a won-derful time as I got a chance to meet my favourite Disney cartoon characters Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse.” The show is produced by Neela Telefilms; conceived and designed by Asitkumarr Modi. Watch the members of Gokuldham society have a gala time at Hong Kong Disney land. Tune into Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah to catch all the fun and excitement from Monday to Friday at 8.30pm only on SAB TV!



Cineppets

ADITYA ROY KAPOOR TURNS CHEF FOR ZEE TV’S EID SPECIAL!

KUSHAL PUNJABI THE NEW ENTRY IN JHALAK DIKHHLA JAA 7

MuMbai bureau

He’s had women swoon over his chocolate boy good looks in Aashiqui 2 … Aditya Roy Kapoor now returns to the big screen opposite Parineeti Chopra in his next movie – Dawaat-E-Ishq. The handsome actor was seen promoting his movie at Zee TV’s Eid special – Dawaat-E-Eid. Playing the character of a ba-warchi who cooks up a storm at the drop of a hat in the film, looks like Aditya Roy Kapoor has mastered the art of cooking in real life too. Getting into the skin of his character, Aditya was seen having a lot of fun cooking on the sets. As a part of the script, the female actors of Zee TV were asked to cook certain authentic dishes for the evening. While the girls seemed to know it all, Aditya happened to overlook all that was being cooked. On understanding that the girls were however finding it a little difficult to follow the recipes to the tee, Aditya ended up using his newly acquired culinary skills. Helping the girls cook up a delight, Aditya enjoyed cooking with them to bits. While there were experts around, Aditya ended up giving some final touches to each of the dishes. Talk-ing about Aditya Roy Kapoor’s culinary skills, Sanam (played by Surbhi Jyoti) of Qubool Hai said, “When I was first asked to cook at the event, I was taken aback. While they promised us expert help, there were times when we would get stuck in between shots. At this time, Aditya was a blessing in disguise for us. We were shocked to see him give us suggestions with such perfection. At times, he would stop our shots to ensure that were adding the right ingredient to cook a dish. All in all, all of us had a fab time with him helping us.” While the stars seemed to have fun cooking up these delicious dishes, the audience is in for a visual as well as a gastronomical treat this Eid! Don’t miss, Dawaat-E-Eid on 2nd August, from 6 – 9 PM, Only on ZEE TV!

Touted as one of the most good looking and talented actors, Kushal Punjabihas has not only carved a niche for himself in the telly world but has also spun his mag-ic in multiple movies essaying substantial roles. After all this, Kushal Punjabi further explores his limits and be-comes the newest entry in 7th edition of celebrity dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa - Dancing with the stars. Test-ing new waters Kushal Punjabi displayed his spectacular dancing movies as he opted for freestyle dance form and triumphed upon the hearts of the judges. Winning over the hearts of the audiences with his debut performance and winning applauds Kushal Punjabi is definitely here to stay and showcase his talent and flaunt his dancing movies. In keeping with the competition and standards of the show Kushal definitely has plenty of surprises up his sleeves. Reveling about his performance, he says “I feel absolutely accolade to be a part of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and feel extremely elated to receive praises for my debut performance. The praises I received makes me want to work harder” further adding “Having Mohena as my choreographer I promise that the judges and the audience are in for a surprise. Leaving no stone Un-turned Kushal Punjabi gears up to give a tough compe-tition to the rest of the contestants.

For the first time ever in the history of Sony TV’s popular crime series CID, ACP Pradyuman was seen dancing to the tunes of a bollywood number. And teaching him the tricks of the trade will be none other than superstar Salman Khan. Salman Khan was seen in CID promoting his movie KICK. During the shoot the playful Salman Khan made the ever serious ACP Pradyuman shake a leg with him. Salman along with ACP Pradyuman, Daya and Abhijeet danced to the latest chartbuster ‘Jumme Ki Raat’. Salman also taught the trio the signature step of his song. Talking about the experience of dancing with Salman Khan, an excited ACP Pradyuman a.k.a Shivaji Satam said, “I am extremely delighted that Salman Khan was here to promote his film. It’s always fun when he is around. It was really amazing to dance with Salman and I am sure the episode is going to be full of entertainment. The audience will surely enjoy it.”Sharing his experience on coming back on the sets of CID, Salman Khan said, “It’s really amazing to be back! Earlier, I had come for the promo-tions of Wanted and now I am here for KICK. I feel CID is the best platform to promote my movie as it is one of the most loved show on television. It was great fun to dance with Shivaji sir. The entire team is really sweet.” This special episode was directed by the producer of the show B.P. Singh himself.

ACP PRADYUMAN SHAKES A LEG WITH SALMAN KHAN



Silver Screen

ON BRINGING THE BEST FROM ACROSS THE BORDERWhile in the past, our forte under this column has always been personalities from mainstream commercial cine-ma, this time round, we are focusing on the small screen of the so-called 'idiot box,' as it is mainly through tel-evision in their homes that our di-aspora keeps abreast of Indian cine-ma. NRI Achievers spoke to Shailja Kejriwal, Chief Creative – Special Projects, ZEEL, who shares with you her plans to premiere Pakistani films and revive telefilms and teleplays through the latest new fiction-centric channel to vie for the pie in the sky: 'ZINDAGI,' in her own words …

The Zee group is known to go off the beaten track and do things daringly different from what the other channels have

been doing all these years. So after launching Zee Pictures and Zee An-mol last year, we have now launched the new channel ZINDAGI. To quote Subhashji, 'we should do eight times better in the next twenty years instead of just sitting back on our past laurels and being smug,' which has resulted in our raising the bar significantly. I have always been a part and parcel of the TV industry in various capacities with various channels for the last fif-teen years, and had always wanted to embark on some project which would be challenging not only for me as an individual but also for the channel. Though the channel had approached

me with another idea, when I sug-gested this idea to Bharat Rangaji (to start a channel which will bring on board select shows from across the border), he was game and I was asked to join Zee.

“To tell you the truth, the idea for this kind of programming came to me as a brainwave, when I had reached a stage where I was bored with the con-tent that I was creating over and over, again and again. I feel that Zee is the only group which is suitable to start a channel like this, to beam shows from neighboring countries like Pa-kistan, Sri Lanka etc., because it is the only India-based mega company which has its presence in various countries across the globe. The new channel reinforces Zee's vision and corporate philosophy ‘Vasudhaiva



Silver Screen

Kutumbakam’ and aims to unite people in India and abroad with shows pro-duced overseas. Zee has 700 million plus viewers in over 171 countries across the globe. ZINDAGI aims to showcase real, friendly, vibrant and premium stories from across the world that share similar cultural backgrounds, morals and values that are also intrinsic to India. The chan-nel proposition ‘Jodey Dilon Ko’ is based on the understanding that even if people are culturally different, the life stories are universal ...

“Thanks to the era of digitization, to-day a channel does not have to cater to all kinds of viewers. ZINDAGI will not cannibalise Zee and subsidiary channels because Zee has a dedicated audience, and we are merely giving them an alter-

native. I have always subscribed to the belief that mass entertainment should not be boring but entertaining with a basic purpose. I went to Pakistan and brought some shows from there to beam on ZINDAGI channel. You see stories do not need visas but human beings do. I realized happily that all our Indian stars are very popular all over the world including Pakistan. We at ZINDAGI also plan to revive the concept of tele-films, which was what made Zee differ-ent from the rest of the channels when it started way back. All the shows that we will be airing on our channel will be contemporary. Since I believe that I am also a viewer, my main idea was to look beyond the talent from India.

“The USP of all shows in ZINDAGI

is that they will not be the regressing ‘saas bahu’ shows which go on ad nau-seum, but rather shows that will have a lot of diversity. You will get to see relat-able stories. What will set our channel apart from the other channels is the fact that focus will be on the storyline, and there is no need to alter it depending upon the kind of TRPs the shows will garner. In ZINDAGI, no show will be on air for more than twenty six epi-sodes, and there will be a beginning, middle and an end to all the stories. The accent will be on family values which our elders used to teach the youngsters. You will get to see them in the shows from Pakistan. MERA NASEEB, ZIND-AGI GULZAR HAI, AUNN ZARA, KAASH MAIN TERI BETI NA HOTI and KITNI GIRHAIN BAAKI HAIN etc., are some of our popular shows from Pakistan that will be aired on ZINDAGI from monday to sunday.

“Though initially we will bring shows from Pakistan, eventually we will also start shows from other countries like Bangadesh, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, with which we share the same culture and traditions. The revenue our chan-nel will generate will come only from India, because the channel will air ex-clusively in India. Our idea is to lead fragmentation rather than becoming its victims, since we are of the opinion that with digitization, the number of chan-nels will also increase three-fold over the next ten years.

“Ours is the only new GEC channel that conducted a successful first of its kind simulcast Bloggers Meet across Delhi, Mumbai and Lahore as part of its marketing initiatives with IndiBlogger. It connected the bloggers across the two metro cities, Mumbai and Delhi and gave them an opportunity to converse with prominent Television Producer and Director Sultana Siddiqui from La-hore and actor Imran Abbas, the actor who is not only part of the show MERA NASEEB but also plays the lead oppo-site Bipasha Basu in Vikram Bhatt’s CREATURE, a film in 3D. Instead of depending only on the politicians, we should change ourselves if we want the change.”

Jyothi VenkateshThe writer is a well-known & established film critic.

“TO TEll yOu THE TRuTH, THE IDEA FOR THIS kIND OF pROGRAM-MING CAME TO ME AS A BRAINwAvE, wHEN I HAD REACHED A STAGE wHERE I wAS BORED wITH THE CONTENT THAT I wAS CREATING OvER

AND OvER, AGAIN AND AGAIN. I FEEl THAT ZEE IS THE ONly GROup wHICH IS SuITABlE TO START A CHANNEl lIkE THIS, TO BEAM SHOwS

FROM NEIGHBORING COuNTRIES lIkE pAkISTAN, SRI lANkA ETC., BECAuSE IT IS THE ONly INDIA-BASED MEGA COMpANy wHICH HAS

ITS pRESENCE IN vARIOuS COuNTRIES ACROSS THE GlOBE

ÁèÌð ãñ´ àææÙ âðaugust 2014 http://www.nriachievers.in44

Travelogue

FLASHBACKS OF A GLORIOUS PASTWe had left Chennai behind and were heading south on East

Coast Road towards Mahabalipuram (District Kan-chipuram). The concrete clusters of Chennai were thinning down, and we were now driving past the cosy little coconut

groves dotting the landscape, conspiratorially huddling with small clusters of low-rise housing and hutments. The hawkers along the road were sell-ing fresh produce like mangoes, tender coconut, bananas of various va-rieties and tadgodas (fruits of a native palm that once peeled, resemble litchis in their texture and translucence and are refreshing when freshly peeled, but are intoxicating once allowed to ferment).

Somehow, the drive was confusing. Even though we were on East Coast Road, we couldn't see any sea to our left – a trifle uncharacteristic for a coastal road, I would say ! What became even more perplexing after a while was that sometimes we would see the sea to our left while at other

MAHABALIPURAM



Travelogue

times we would find the water on our right. I fished out the GPS app on my iPhone and figured out that the sea was on the left, but the water body on our right was the back-waters.

Our hotel - Fisherman's Cove – was an hour and a half away from Chennai. This property is about 20-kilometers short of Mahabalipuram (Chennai-Mahabalipuram total distance being 74 kilometers). We then headed off for a much-recommended seafood lunch at Moonrakers in Mahaba-lipuram. The place was modest in ambi-ence, but offered a wide range of seafood - prawn, lobster, squid, molluscs and a va-riety of fish. To say the least, the food was delicious and did justice to the restaurant's

Photos & Text: Ajay Soodexcellent reputation.

We then made our way towards the famed World Heritage structures sprin-kled haphazardly across the small town-ship of Mahabalipuram. Our first stop was the famous Shore Temple. A Pallava king built the temple in 7th century CE. The construct of the temple is slabs of granite placed one on top of the other cemented by a mixture of egg white, lime-stone and palm sugar. The entire struc-ture had been beautifully carved post its construction, though these wondrous carvings are now eroded, thanks to the elements. Still, I couldn't help thinking about what would be the condition of my apartment block if someone were to look at it 14 centuries later !

It is said that this temple is one of the 7 that were built by the Pallava king. Though the others have now vanished, locals

shared that after the disastrous Tsunami that hit the Indian shores 10 years back, the seawater that had receded about a kil-ometer or so beyond the shore had re-vealed 2 more temples (which are now submerged again) - one, about 500 metres into the sea, and the other approximately a kilometer into the sea.

Near the Mahabalipuram bus stand, there is another imposing work of art from the same era - Arjuna's Penance. This bas-relief work has scenes from Mahabharata and from other ancient tales. Besides many other scenes depicted here, you will be able to spot Arjuna standing on one leg - osten-sibly doing penance for killing his near and dear ones during the epic war.

Just about 200 metres away, on the slope of a granite hillock, lay a huge oval rock. Despite being on a slope, it hasn't slipped down and apparently has stayed in the



Travelogue

same position for centuries. This natural phenomenon has been christened as Krishna's Butter Ball. To give you an idea about the gradient of the slope, let me share that kids from Mahabalipuram use that incline as a slide provided by nature.

Nearby, there's another remarkable her-itage site - the 5 Rathas (5 Chariots). These seem like 5 distinctly different buildings with walls, chambers, verandahs, etc., but the fact is that all five have been carved out of the same rock. While Shore Temple is much more talked about and famous, in my view this carved marvel is the most ma-jestic of the various heritage sites in Ma-habalipuram.

While you make your way up a hillock to approach the old and the new lighthouse, you will pass through the cave carvings referred to as Cave Temple. While a lot of these carvings are complete, there are many unfinished ones as well. Apparently, this was the school where senior craftsmen gave

practical lessons to their mentees - hence the unfinished carvings.

While the modern lighthouse - a stone

minaret with a bright red dome - looks picturesque, the 7th century lighthouse is a real work of art. A 2-storey structure carved out of granite, the figurines on its façade are simply breathtaking. Every night, to warn the ships of the rocky shore-line, huge lamps were lit here using coco-nut oil.

Even though this town today has dete-riorated to being an insignificant little place swarming with tourists and discard-ed polythene bags, the heritage it houses makes it still worth visiting. Also, while there, do remember not to venture out into the sea, as the beaches here are as dangerous as they are in Chennai, with sudden sheer drops.

The writer is an accomplished and avid travel photographer, relishing equally the

challenges in capturing cityscapes and landscapes, heritage and architecture, wildlife and citylife, street and people.

Postal regd No. dN/297/2013-2015date of Publication: 5th of every Monthdate of Posting: 8th & 9th of every MonthrNI No. delBIl/2012/45826

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