#3 2014

October - December

INDIA Newsletter

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Friends of India in Sweden and Latvia,

I never stop being amazed by the extent and strength of links between India and Sweden that I learnt about in my travels around the country while meeting with different people. The last three months were no exception as I visited, among other places, Gothenburg, Karlstad and Örnsköldsvik and met with different business leaders such as the CEO of SKF Mr Tom Johnstone who told me about SKF's long presence in India (since 1923) and the steady expansion of its manufacturing activities in the country or the President and CEO of the Swedish multinational security solutions provider company Gunnebo who told me that his company was involved in included security for: the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in 2010; the Indian Embassy in Kabul, as well as Afghanistan's new Parliament building that India is constructing as a gift to the Afghan people.

The best thing is that these are not just historical links that I discover, but enduring common interests which are creating a bright future for our bilateral relations and benefit both sides. For example, Mr Borgvall told me that Gunnebo India has been logging in over 30 per cent growth for the past four years and is the third largest business centre for the company in terms of sales and the largest profit centre in terms of margins.

The Make in India programme launched by the Prime Minister of India on September 25, 2014 provides a platform for foreign companies to exploit not just India’s booming market but to take advantage of the many opportunities to produce more competitively. As I told the large audiences at the three events during the last three months that the Embassy organized with the help of partners, making in India would not only mean lower production costs, it would also guarantee a vast market as the jobs generated by expansion of manufacturing raise the purchasing power of millions of young consumers. The priorities of the campaign that the Prime Minister flagged in his speech at the launch of the programme are as: (i) determination to ensure quality with minimal environmental impact reflected in the slogan 'Zero Defect Zero Effect', (ii) focus on the Waste to Wealth model, (iii) making India fully Digital and (iv) need for Skill development suited to different sectors of manufacturing offer tailor-made opportunities for Swedish companies, which have just the right technologies and services that India needed at this juncture. I am confident that the Make in India programme can unlock the true potential of India-Sweden economic collaboration. I would welcome the thoughts of the readers of this newsletter on this subject.

As you all know, since I feel so much at home in an academic milieu, I grab every opportunity to visit Universities. During the last quarter I was at the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University and the Karlstad University. At the latter, I discovered the long-standing exchange and collaboration between Karlstad University and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), one of India's oldest and most reputed institutions of higher learning in India. Another strong academic link was forged with the arrival of the eminent scholar of Buddhist Studies Professor Siddharth Singh to occupy the ICCR Chair at the University of Uppsala. Another positive development was the signing of the Agreement between the Indian Ministry of Shipping, Government of India and the Malmö-based World Maritime University (WMU) establishing an Indian Professorial Chair in Port Management which would be financed by India for five years. Incidentally, WMU's Indian connection dates back to its foundation in 1983 since the former Chairman & MD of the Shipping Corporation of India Dr C.P. Srivastava played a key role in its establishment while he was the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization.

I had three very important meetings with the new Swedish political leadership including Mr Gabriel Wikström, the Swedish Healthcare, Public Health and Sports Minister; Mr Kenneth G Forslund, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Swedish Parliament and Mr Oscar Sandström (SP), State Secretary to the Minister for Enterprise. Meeting the Indian Nobel Laureate for Peace Mr Kailash Satyarthi was an unforgettable experience. His visit also gave me the honour of meeting Prime Minister Stefan Löfven who was gracious enough to host a lunch for the visiting Nobel Laureate.

Many interesting events took place in India as well that strengthened bilateral ties with Sweden. An exhibition ‘The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World’ was held at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library and was inaugurated by former president of India Dr Abdul Kalam. According to the CEO of Nobel Media AB Mr Mattias Fyrenius this was one of the most ambitious and successful event organized by them abroad. Then there was the official visit by the Swedish Chief of the Naval Staff. The first Ministerial visit from Sweden to India after the elections held this year in both countries took place in November when the Swedish Healthcare, Public Health and Sports Minister Gabriel Wikström visited India to attend the celebrations of five years of successful cooperation in the field of healthcare and public health.

Though I could not visit Latvia after August this year, a very positive development which occurred was the presentation of the letters of credence to the President by the first resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the Republic of India, Aivars Groza. The Latvian Embassy in New Delhi is its first embassy in Southeast Asia.

Encouraged by the success of the first India+Sweden Week organized

under the India Unlimited∞. We have already made plans for the

second India+Sweden Week in May 2015. A highlight of the week will be Samband(h)* – 2015 which will bring India to Kungstädgården on May 23, 2015 to connect the two countries even more closely by presenting India’s many charms which the Swedish like such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Food, Music, Dance, Handicrafts and Tourism. Please visit www.indiaunlimited.se for more details of the programme and send us your suggestions at ambassador@indianembassy.se.

Wish you all a wonderful 2015!

* Did you know that Samband which means connection in Swedish means ‘relationship’ in Sanskrit, Hindi and many other Indian languages?

Message from H.E. Mrs Banashri Bose Harrison,

Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia

Sincerely

(Mrs) Banashri Bose Harrison / (श्रीमति) बनश्री बोस हैरीसन

Ambassador of India / भारि की राजदिू

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AMBASSADOR’S FRUITFUL VISIT TO GOTHENBURG

Ambassador Banashri Bose Harrison visited Gothenburg on October 10 for a packed and productive day. She first called on the Lord Mayor Lena Malm. Alexandra Eriksson, Deputy Head of the International Relations Office was also present at the meeting. The Ambassador discussed with them how the exchanges between India and the Gothenburg city and region could be expanded. She briefed them about the Embassy's plans for organizing a major one-day event in Gothenburg in May 2015 and sought the support of the city authorities in making it a success. The Lord Mayor told her that Gothenburg was proud of its history as a trade centre and welcomes such initiatives.

Ambassador visited the headquarters of SKF next and was given a tour of the impressive facility which gave an overview of the company's exciting technologies. Over lunch, the CEO of SKF Mr Tom Johnstone told her about SKF's historical presence in India (since 1923) and the steady expansion of its manufacturing activities in the country. He spoke about SKF's evolution from just being a Ball bearings’ manufacturer into a knowledge engineering company which helped its customers across a wide range of sectors to find solutions. He also spoke about SKF's commitment to sustainability. Ambassador appreciated the contribution of SKF to India's industrial landscape and told him about the Make in India campaign that had been launched by Prime Minister Modi on 25th September. She said that SKF could make a huge contribution to the realization of the vision behind the campaign and to achieving the Prime Minister's goal of making products in India with 'Zero Defect & Zero (environmental) effect'.

The next engagement was at the University of Gothenburg which was celebrating an India day. Ambassador spoke to the invited audience about the potential for educational and research collaboration between India and Sweden.

The last port of call of the Ambassador was the Chalmers University of Technology where she met the Vice Rector Maria Knutson Wedel, the International Coordinator Alexandra Priatna and the International Communicator Abhilash Ram. The University officials briefed the Ambassador about the healthy and active connections with many Indian institutions including some Indian Institutes of Technology. Ambassador sought the Chalmers University's knowledge assistance for the conference that would be organized next year in Gothenburg.

KARLSTAD UNIVERSITY’S INDIA CONNECTION

Karlstad University has had a long-standing exchange and collaboration with Banaras Hindu University (BHU), one of India's oldest and most reputed institutions of higher learning in India. Every year 10-15 Swedish students travel to Varanasi for three-four months to do projects on different subjects. Also academics from BHU come to Karlstad as visiting professors.

INDIA IN SWEDEN

Ambassador in Gothenburg with Lord Mayor Lena Malm and Deputy Head of International Relations Alexandra Eriksson

Ambassador Harrison in Karlstad

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The University has leased Ganga Mahal, a small "palace" on the bank of the Ganges River (Ganga) which provides the base for the Swedish students. To learn more about this wonderful programme which has connected hundreds of like-minded young people of the two countries, Ambassador Harrison visited Karlstad University on September 26. She met the Vice Chancellor Prof Åsa Bergenheim, Mr Per-Olof “PO” Fjällsby, Head of the Department of Political, Historical, Religious and Cultural Studies, Mrs Inga-Lill Fjällsby, Coordinator in the dept. of Education, Prof em Kjell Härenstam, Professor in the Didactics of Religion and Mr Kristian Niemi, lecturer in History of Religion, some of whom were involved with the origin of the programme.

Vice Chancellor Bergenheim said that the University would be happy to organize India-related events in partnership with the Indian Embassy.

The Ambassador also met the Indian scholars and students who were currently in Karlstad who said that they were finding their visit very fruitful.

INDIA LINK OF WORLD MARITIME UNIVERSITY,

MALMÖ STRENGTHENED WITH AN INDIA CHAIR

On November 2, 2014, an Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India and the Malmö-based World Maritime University (WMU) establishing an Indian Professorial Chair. Under this agreement which was signed by Dr Vishwapati Trivedi, Secretary for Indian Ministry of Shipping and WMU's Acting President & Professor, Neil Bellefontaine the Government of India will finance a full professorship in Port Management at WMU for a five-year period. Prof Bellefontaine thanked the Indian government for this contribution and said that the new Chair will benefit maritime capacity building worldwide.

WMU's Indian connection dates back to its foundation as the former Chairman & MD of the Shipping Corporation of India Dr C.P. Srivastava was the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization when the IMO approached the Swedish Ministry of Transport for setting up a centre of excellence for post-graduate maritime studies and research, recommending Malmö as the home of the institution. With the financial support of the Swedish government, the City of Malmö, and private donations, WMU was inaugurated on July 4, 1983. Dr C.P. Srivastava is recognized as the founding Chancellor Emeritus of WMU and was its Chancellor from 1983-90. Even now the university has an Award for International Fellowship named after him.

Today, WMU is well-known as an international university of excellence which has been granted the status of a UN institution by its host country, the Government of Sweden. Students from about 50 countries study at WMU. India has been regularly sending students from Indian Coast Guard and Directorate General of Shipping for the MSc program.

Dr CP Srivastava with Mr Nils Yngvesson at the establishment of WMU on 14 Oct 1983

Dr Trivedi with IMO Secy Gen & VC Kozi Sekimizu and Prof Neil Bellafontaine, Acting President

Dr Trivedi with IMO Secy Gen & VC Kozi Sekimizu and Prof Neil Bellafontaine, Acting President

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To date, graduates from India comprise the fourth largest alumni group, numbering 129 ex-students.

In February 2013, WMU signed an MoU with India's first deemed university for maritime studies, the Academy of Maritime Training and Education (AMET) in Chennai, India, regarding exchange of faculty, education, training and research.

PROMOTION OF MAKE IN INDIA PROGRAMME

Sweden India Business Council (SIBC), Business Sweden and the Embassy of India, organized a well-attended event on 6th November in Stockholm to promote the 'Make in India' campaign which was launched on 25th September in New Delhi by the Prime Minister of India.

The original venue of the event had to be changed due to high demand. The alternative venue selected was the headquarters of INDISKA, which was very apt since more than 70% of the products of this successful Swedish retail store chain are made in India to Scandinavian design.

After showing a video of the highlights of the Prime Minister's speech at the launch ceremony of the campaign, the Indian Ambassador Harrison told the nearly hundred-strong audience that making in India would not only mean lower production costs, it would also guarantee a vast market as the jobs generated by expansion of manufacturing raise the purchasing power of millions of young consumers. She spoke about the many steps taken already and measures planned for the future to make it easier to 'Make in India'. She then drew the attention of the audience to the priorities of the campaign that the Prime Minister had mentioned in his speech such as: (i) determination to ensure quality with minimal environmental impact reflected in the slogan 'Zero Defect Zero Effect', (ii) focus on the Waste to Wealth model, (iii) target of a fully Digital India and (iv) need for Skill development suited to different sectors of manufacturing and pointed out that these areas offered tailor-made opportunities for Swedish companies, which had just the right technologies and services that India needed at this juncture. In context of the last priority, Ambassador suggested that Swedish companies consider establishing a Technical Training Institute in India.

In the next part of the event, three present and former CEOs of major Swedish companies that are manufacturing in India shared their experiences and perspectives. Mr Ulf Ruderbark, Head, Market Support India, SAAB group spoke about SAAB's India journey over the last 39 years and said that they really welcomed the 'Make in India' campaign because from the outset, their plan was to co-develop and manufacture in India. He expressed confidence that changes like raising the FDI limit in Defence sector and greater transparency and speed of decision-making would

Mr Anders Grundströmer speaking at the Make in India Seminar in Stockholm

Mr Håkan Kingstedt speaking at the Make in India Seminar in Stockholm

Audience at the Make in India Seminar in Stockholm

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attract more investments. Mr Anders Grundströmer, Senior Vice President, Scania Group and MD Scania Commercial Vehicles India told the audience that since its entry into India in 2013, the number of Scania staff in the country had gone up from 30 to 600 and the production of buses made in India had doubled and was expected to double annually for the coming years. He stressed that Scania's goal was not just to sell more buses in India but to do so while adhering to Scania's core value of sustainable development, which encompassed economic, social, environmental and growth aspects. He briefly touched on the company's involvement in solid waste management in Bengaluru and in producing fuel from the waste. Drawing on his long years as former CEO of Sandvik, India, Mr Håkan Kingstedt, Chairman, SIBC spoke about India's capacity to produce at world class levels and praised the quality of human resources in the country, adding that it would be necessary to spend more on education and skill formation.

A panel discussion moderated by Abhijit Kelkar of Cognizant Technologies and a lively and informative interaction with the audience followed thereafter.

The event concluded with a presentation on the plans for the second India+Sweden Week which will be organized from May 23-30 May, 2015 under the India Unlimited platform, created and coordinated by the Indian Embassy to promote closer connections between Sweden and India. The Executive Director of the platform Mr Sanjoo Malhotra announced that overarching theme of the business events arranged during this week would be 'Make in India: Grow with India'.

On November 11, 2014, the SIBC and the Business Gothenburg Region co-organized another event to promote the 'Make in India' campaign in Gothenburg. In her introduction, Ms Petra Sedelius, head of Investment at Business Region Gothenburg spoke about the region’s many strengths like bio technology, sustainable solutions, transport etc which had a huge potential in India. After a brief welcome by Mr Robin Sukhia, Secretary General of SIBC, Ambassador Banashri Bose Harrison gave the keynote address in which she made a presentation on ‘Make in India’ and showed some of the highlights of the ceremony held on September 25th, 2014 in which the Prime Minister of India launched this mission. She underlined that it was the first time that the Prime Minister had personally launched such a programme, reflecting the seriousness of the Government’s intent. Ambassador explained why the time was right to ‘Make in India’, as well as the steps the government has already taken and its future plans to facilitate carrying out investments and business in India. She drew the attention of the audience to Prime Minister’s reference to the three D's: Democracy, Demographic Dividend and Demand, a unique combination which can only be found in India and explained how these three elements together guarantee competitive production costs as well as a vast market with unlimited demand. She also emphasized that the recent success of India’s maiden and

Panel Debate at the Make in India Seminar in Stockholm

Ambassador Harrison speaking at the Make in India Seminar in Gothenburg

Mr Rakesh Makhija speaking at the Make in India Seminar in Gothenburg

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100% indigenous Mars mission showed the immense capability of India’s human resources. She briefly touched on some of the focus sectors of the Make in India programme which were tailor-made for Swedish companies such as renewable energy and sustainability, defence, automobiles and automotive components and even textiles and leather, where Swedish design and India’s tradition strength could jointly conquer new markets. ‘Skill Formation was another key sector which offered opportunities’ she said and suggested that as a number of major Swedish technology companies were present in India, they could consider collaboration for managing a Technical Training Institute.

The informative video prepared by the Department of Industrial Policy and promotion ‘Welcome to the Change’ was shown as part of the Ambassador’s presentation. The audience was also introduced to the website and Facebook of Make in India. A brochure in Swedish and English prepared by the Embassy was distributed which listed the targets of the Make in India programme, steps taken already and those on the anvil.

The next speaker was Mr Rakesh Makhija, President SKF industrial Markets, Strategic Industries and former head of SKF India. Mr Makhija described SKF’s success story in India which it entered as far back as 1923. Today, it had six manufacturing facilities in India. He said, ‘to succeed in India, you have to make in India: to exploit the cost advantage as well as to reap the benefits of market proximity.’ He told the audience that SKF had also put up a R &D centre in India in Bengeluru to develop products for India (and the world) as ‘one size does not fit all’. He pointed out that India’s intellectual depth and knowledge of English had led to establishment of global R & D centres in India by a number of Technology giants such as GE, Phillips, Honeywell and Siemens. He said that there was no question that India was a huge market which was not always easy but always rewarding. He expressed optimism the Make in India programme would make it easier for foreign companies to invest and operate in India.

The last speaker was Mr Håkan Kingstedt, President of SIBC and former CEO of Sandvik India. He spoke about India’s high technological capacity, which according to a recent Deloitte study was comparable to Germany, adding that the recent success of India’s Mars Mission demonstrated this. He mentioned the limited knowledge about India in Sweden, which was an obstacle for convincing Headquarters to expand in India. He emphasized the need for closer connections between Swedish companies, especially the SMEs, to allow them to join forces to meet the needs of the vast Indian market.

The seminar concluded with a panel discussion, followed by a Q&A.

In both the events, the Ambassador informed the audience that a 'Make in India' cell had been set up in the Embassy to assist Swedish companies that were interested in joining

Mr Håkan Kingstedt speaking at the Make in India Seminar in Gothenburg

Panel Debate at the Make in India Seminar in Gothenburg

Q & A Session at the Make in India Seminar in Gothenburg

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hands with India in its ambition to become the next Global manufacturing hub and promised that any queries would be answered within 48 hours.

AMBASSADOR MEETS THE SWEDISH MINISTER FOR

HEALTHCARE, PUBLIC HEALTH & SPORTS

Ambassador Mrs Banashri Bose Harrison called on Swedish Minister for Healthcare, Public health and Sports, Mr Gabriel Wikström on 5th November, 2014. The Minister was scheduled to lead a 16 member delegation to India from 23-25th November, 2014 to commemorate the 5th Anniversary of the signing of the bilateral MoU for cooperation in the field of Healthcare and Public Health. Ambassador informed the Minister about India’s priorities in the Healthcare sector including mass access to affordable healthcare and care of the elderly. Ambassador said that India-Sweden cooperation in healthcare had gone from strength to strength over the last five years. She welcomed the fact that the first Ministerial visit after elections in both countries was going to deeper cooperation in an area which is vitally important for the public.

She touched on the excellent potential for collaboration among institutions/universities of both the countries in the sector of traditional medicines including yoga and Ayurveda since a holistic approach could lead to better health care. In India and in many European countries, Modern and traditional Indian medicines systems were being used complementary to each other for the benefit of the patients, Ambassador informed him.

The Minister responded that he was looking forward to his first ever visit to India. He agreed with the Ambassador that bilateral cooperation in health was flourishing. He also agreed that holistic care using elements of traditional medicine systems could benefit patients. (See the report on Minister’s visit in the section on ‘Sweden in India’)

PRESIDENT & CEO OF GUNNEBO WELCOMES THE

INDIAN AMBASSADOR AT THE GROUP'S

HEADQUARTERS

Mr Per Borgvall, President and CEO of the Swedish multinational security solutions provider company Gunnebo and Mr Magnus Lundbäck, its Senior Vice President for Human Resources & Sustainability welcomed Ambassador Banashri Bose Harrison to the company’s headquarters in Gothenburg on November 10, 2014. She learnt that Gunnebo Group had acquired Steelage Industries Limited in India when they acquired the ChubbSafes business in March 2000. However, the company had moved much beyond just providing safes to supplying comprehensive security solutions.

Mr Borgvall shared with the Ambassador the story of Gunnebo’s amazing growth in India in recent years. He said that Gunnebo India has been logging in over 30 per cent

Ambassador Harrison with Mr Gabriel Wikström

Ambassador Harrison at Gunnebo with Mr Per Borgvall and Mr Magnus Lundbäck

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growth since the past four years and is the third largest business centre for the company in terms of sales and the largest profit centre in terms of margins. He informed the Ambassador that the projects in which Gunnebo was involved in included: security for the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in 2010; the Indian Embassy in Kabul, as well as Afghanistan's new Parliament building that India is constructing as a gift to the Afghan people.

Ambassador briefed Mr Borgvall about the ‘Make in India’ programme launched by Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi on September 25, 2014. ‘We are very well-positioned to take advantage of this new programme. We already have plants in Halol in Gujarat. We plan to put up a global R&D center at this facility in Gujarat and will also invest Rs 30 crore for capacity addition to meet export demand. We are all set to continue on the path we have been following in India which focuses on investing in people’, Mr Borgvall told her confidently. Ambassador urged him to consider expanding the skill formation component of Gunnebo’s operations in India. She suggested that as a number of major Swedish technology companies were present in India, they could even consider collaboration for managing a Technical Training Institute.

AMBASSADOR CALLS ON CHAIRMAN OF THE

FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Ambassador Mrs Banashri Bose Harrison called on Mr Kenneth G Forslund, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs (FA) Committee of the Swedish Parliament on 12th November, 2014. Ambassador told him that regular dialogue between parliamentarians is a vital dimension of the relationship between two democracies. She recalled that members of many committees of the Swedish Parliament had visited India and Indian parliamentarians had visited Sweden. Such exchanges had given an impetus to mutual understanding and friendship and India would welcome visits from the newly appointed committee members. She also told him that India had already confirmed its support to Sweden for its non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the year 2017. Mr Forslund expressed appreciation for this support, adding that Sweden was seeking the non-permanent seat to get an opportunity to contribute to the work of the UN, which it supported wholeheartedly.

RBS & INDIAN EMBASSY ORGANIZE INVESTMENT

SEMINAR AT INDIA HOUSE

The Embassy supported the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in an India Investment Seminar at India House in Stockholm on 20th November, 2014. Ambassador Mrs Banashri Bose Harrison and Mr Reinhold Geijer, Nordic CEO of RBS welcomed the fifty plus invitees consisting of several CEOs including the Chairman of Swedish Match Mr Conny Karlsson, Mr Matts Ekman, CEO of Ekman International - a paper and pulp company and Mr Bicky Chakraborty,

Ambassador Harrison at Gunnebo with Mr Per Borgvall

Ambassador Harrison with Mr Kenneth G Forslund

Lantern outside India House to welcome Mr Satyarthi

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Owner and President of Elite Hotels. Also present were senior executives from major companies like ABB, Ericsson, Sandvik, Assa Abloy, SAAB, SCA, Scania and several financial institutions.

Ambassador's keynote address "From Red tape to Red carpet" focussed on the "Make in India" programme launched by Prime Minister Modi on September 25, 2014. She informed the audience about the targets of this major national programme, the steps already taken since it was launched and forthcoming plans which will make it easier for Swedish companies to make in India and grow with India. After her presentation, an informative video "Welcome to the Change" prepared by the Indian Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion was shown.

Other speakers included Shri Sanjay Mathur, Head of Economic Research Asia Pacific at RBS who spoke about the global macro-economic outlook with a focus on India. The next speaker, Shri Brijesh Mehra, Country Executive for India at RBS who flew from India for this seminar, spoke about the opportunities across a wide range of industrial sectors in India and the regulatory changes underway under the new Indian leadership. He touched on the amendments proposed on the Land Acquisition Bill 2013 to make it Industry friendly. He also pointed to the advantage of access to unlimited skilled labour in India.

In the second part of the seminar, the experiences and lessons learnt in India were presented to the audience by Mr Per Miram, Head of HVDC Services of the Global Swedish power and automation Technology Company ABB and Mr Parag Satpute, MD and Country Manager for India for Sandvik, the global engineering group for mining and construction. Both the speakers were very positive about India's demographic dividend and the impetus which the aspirations of the emerging middle class were giving to the Indian economy. Mr Miran recalled that ABB came to India many decades ago and has steadily increased its presence as it has met the country's power technology requirements. Mr Satpute share with the audience the interesting story of Sandvik's journey which started after India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's visited Sandvik's factory in Stockholm in 1957 and invited Sandvik to come to India. He shared his perceptions about India's longer term growth prospects and was optimistic that high-skilled manufacturing could be expected to double every decade due to the abundant availability of engineering talent and the new Government's focus on job creation. He was confident that by 2018, India would reach the second position after China in manufacturing competitiveness. Both the speakers also spoke of some of the challenges that needed to be tackled speedily including the lack of easy mobility between Indian States due to multiplicity of tax regimes and inadequate infrastructure. In the panel discussions that followed, the speakers responded to several questions posed by the audience.

Panel debate at the RBS event

Ambassador Harrison with the RBS Speakers

Shri Sanjay Mathur, Head of Economic Research Asia Pacific speaking at the RBS event

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In her concluding remarks, the Ambassador spoke about the huge potential for deeper collaboration between India and Sweden which could be realized by enhancing mutual awareness of the many opportunities and complementarities that linked the two peoples and by stimulating greater awareness of the possibilities for combining the strengths of the two economies.

AMBASSADOR HARRISON ATTENDS MEETING OF

INTERNATIOAL IDEA IN GABORONE

Ambassador Harrison represented India at the 23rd meeting of the Council of International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) in Gaborone. International IDEA is the only global intergovernmental organisation with a mandate solely focused on supporting democracy worldwide. India is a founding member.

THE SWEDISH WWF AMBASSADOR MEETS THE

INDIAN AMBASSADOR

Mattias Klum, the world renowned young Swedish photographer, cinematographer and director who describes and portrays animals, plants, and natural and cultural settings in the form of articles, books, films, lectures and exhibitions. Mr Klum, met Ambassador Banashri Bose Harrison on December 2nd, and told her about his long-standing fascination for India. They discussed possible ways in which Mattias Klum's unique talents could be used to connect India and Sweden closer, in particular in promoting sustainability.

Mattias Klum’s work has been featured in many international publications, such as National Geographic, Wildlife Conservation, Audubon, Geo, BBC Wildlife, Terre Sauvage, Stern, Der Spiegel and The New York Times. In 1997 National Geographic Magazine published Klum’s photographs for the first time, which made him the first Swede to have his work on the cover and one of National Geographic’s youngest contributors at the time. Since 1997, he has produced multiple articles and twelve cover stories for the reputable magazine. Klum’s expeditions and photo- and film projects have taken him and his team to all continents including India where he studied and photographed the last of the Asiatic lions.

In 2013 Mattias was named ambassador for WWF, the World Wildlife Fund.

STOCKHOLM SANGEET CONFERENCE

Stockholm Sangeet Conference, the only festival in Sweden dedicated to Indian classical music was organized for the 8th time on 28th September 2014 at Södra Teatern’s beautiful Main Stage. The event presented an enchanting selection of performances by eminent artists from

Ambassador Harrison representing India at the 23rd IDEA meeting in Gaborone

Ambassador with Mr Mattias Klum

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India including Ghatam virtuoso Somnath Roy and his group which was sponsored by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Sarangi maestro Sabri Khan, Dr Janaki Rangarajan, the innovative Bharatanatyam danseuse and Suranjana Ghosh, one of the few leading women Tabla players in the world. Swedish groups also enthralled the audience including Yaa Devi Swedenborg’s ‘Rushing through my veins’, a tribute to the icon and choreographer Chandralekha which combined Odissi and Bharatanatyam with yoga and the Sitar group ‘Palace on Wheels’.

Stockholm Sangeet Conference, the initiative of a committed group of young Swedish fans of Indian classical music led by Moa Danielsson, was made possible due to the support of Farhang Förening, Stallet Folk & Världsmusik and Musikaliska and Stockholm City, besides the Embassy of India to Sweden and Latvia.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURIAL

(IWEC) AWARDS CEREMONY FOR 2014 HELD IN

STOCKHOLM HONOURS INDIAN ENTREPRENEURS

The International Women Entrepreneurial (IWEC) Conference and Awards which have been promoted by FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO), the women's wing of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in conjunction with the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Manhattan Chamber of Commerce were held at Stockholm, Sweden this year from November 16-19, 2014. IWEC recognizes the challenges and the opportunities in the shifting paradigm for women in the 21st century as also providing a global forum to women from different countries to network, explore, promote business ventures among its members as also work for the growth and development of women in the region through cooperation and interaction.

Women entrepreneurs from over 15 countries including India were honoured at the function. The 3 Indian awardees who are all FLO members, were:

(i) Poonam Mahajan, Director, Signage Systems India, New Delhi, whose company has provided signage solutions for Indian headquartered multinational and is expanding its footprint in fast emerging economies of Asia, South America and Africa.

(ii) Ratna D. Reddy, Managing Director Shri Shakti Schools, Hyderabad who brought up the school in stages from a summer camp to an educational institution with 3200 students, 360 academic and administrative staff and 400 supporting staff, over a period of 26 years with constant innovation in educational practices, and

(iii) Nafisa Nimakwala, Managing Director of Phorum Gold Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai, Maharashtra which is one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of gold and diamond studded jewellery.

Poonam Mahajan

Ratna D. Reddy

Nafisa Nimakwala

FLO’s treasurer Ms Anuja Narain Agarwal and Dr Manju Kalra Prakash, Executive Director participated in the programme with

two of the Indian IWEC award winners.

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FLO’s treasurer Ms Anuja Narain Agarwal and Dr Manju Kalra Prakash, Executive Director participated in the programme. They also called on Ambassador Harrison to brief her about the excellent work being done by FLO.

MEETING OF PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SCA WITH

AMBASSADOR HARRISON

Ambassador had a meeting on the 8th of December with Mr Jan Johansson, President and CEO of the leading Swedish Hygiene Products company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) at the company headquarters in Stockholm. Mr Robert Sjöström, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development also joined the meeting.

Mr Johansson told the Ambassador that SCA had entered India many years ago as a Joint Venture but had decided to establish its own factory in India only a couple of years ago. He said that SCA saw a huge opportunity for expansion in India, including for elderly care. He informed her that today SCA’s products are sold in over 30,000 stores in India and include most of their top items like consumer tissues which sanitize hands better than washing them, baby diapers and incontinence products. He told her about SCA’s plans to use Ayurveda in some of its products.

Ambassador welcomed the forthcoming opening of a manufacturing plant by SCA in India and apprised the SCA leadership of the “Make in India” programme launched by the Prime Minister on September 25, 2014 and assured him that investing in India would become progressively easier. She invited SCA to plan further expansion in India to take advantage of the booming market for sanitation-related products in the country and assured them of the full support and assistance from the Make in India cell of the Indian Embassy.

Ambassador next briefed Mr Johansson about “Swachh India” (Clean India) campaign launched on October 2, which had been followed very recently by the “Swachh Vidyalaya” (Clean Schools) campaign launched by the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development, responsible for schools and asked for SCA’s support to these missions.

At the conclusion of the meeting, in response to Ambassador’s request to sum up his perception of India, Mr Johansson said “Beautiful country with great people and huge potential”.

SCA is pioneer in making hygiene products. As a company, it is a strong promoter of women’s empowerment and of sustainability. SCA plans to invest about SEK 150 million (Rs.1.2 billion) in a plant for manufacturing hygiene products in southwest India which is expected to commence operations in 2015. SCA’s plan is to introduce products which are tailor-made to Indian culture. Among other admirable initiatives, SCA introduced the awareness of importance of hand hygiene to dabbawallas, India’s unique providers of lunch boxes to millions, by adding

Ambassador Harrison with Mr Jan Johansson and Mr Robert Sjöström at the SCA Headquarters

13

sanitization products in their lunch bags. See SCA’s magazine No.1 for 2014 at http://www.sca.com/Media/Publications/Shape/2014/SHAPE-Magazine-12014 for more details of their experience in India.

INDIAN NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE FOR 2014 MR

KAILASH SATYARTHI VISITS SWEDEN

Indian Nobel Laureate for Peace for 2014 Mr Kailash Satyarthi visited Sweden on December 12, 2014 at the invitation of the Government. Prime Minister Löfven hosted a lunch in his honour and discussed possible ways in which Sweden could advance the laudable objective of protection of children’s rights. Earlier, Mr Satyarthi had called on the Swedish Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality Ms Åsa Regnér. In the afternoon, Mr Satyarthi addressed a Seminar on “Marching against Child Labour” at the Swedish Parliament. Mr Urban Ahlin, Speaker of the Swedish Parliament gave the opening remarks at the event.

Mr Satyarthi shared his experiences and thoughts with the audience and urged them to be enthusiastic and energetic in joining the global march against child labour. He then attended a reception hosted by the Nobel Foundation for 2014 Nobel Laureates where he spoke to his fellow laureates about the need to work together towards enlightened values.

The last engagement Mr Satyarthi attended was the reception hosted by the Indian Ambassador to felicitate him. About 125 guests including prominent members of the Indian community, political and business personalities, government officials and members of the media attended the reception.

Welcoming the Nobel Laureate, Ambassador said that the Nobel Peace Prize was a tribute to Mr Kailash Satyarthi’s determination to tackle this burning global issue. The success that he had achieved in this mammoth task showed how the civil society and the Government could work together in addressing social problems. She praised him for setting an example which could be followed all over the world in the form of the global march against child labour. She concluded by pointing out that it was very fitting that Mr Kailash Satyarthi came to Stockholm immediately after getting the Nobel Prize since many Swedish companies, institutions and individuals have lend solid support to his work.

Mr Satyarthi told the gathering that he came from a land which has a hundred problems but it also has one billion solutions. He said that Indian rishis (saints from ancient times) must have had great foresight because they seemed to know that globalization would take place and recited an ancient Sanskrit verse from the Vedas which spoke of how if one did not close one’s heart, the whole world could be a family. He spoke of the amazing success of Mahatma Gandhi in using well-known, universal values like truth, non-

Mr Kailash Satyarthi speaking at the Swedish Parliament

Mr Kailash Satyarthi at the reception by the Ambassador to felicitate him on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Ambassador Harrison and Mr Kailash Satyarthi speaking at the reception in India House

14

violence and peace as a catalyst for a successful mass political revolution. He told the audience, ‘Today, in a world torn by strife and violence, the need of the day is. We should all strive to use the compassion in our heart for the child to build a social movement which would unite the world. This is the very simple message I also gave at the Nobel Prize ceremony’. He concluded by urging the audience to remain optimistic and join the global march for protection of children’s rights.

INAUGURAL PUBLIC LECTURE BY FIRST ICCR

CHAIR AT UPPSALA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

SIDDHARTH SINGH

The inaugural public lecture by the visiting Professor of Indian Studies, Dr Siddharth Singh who is the first occupant of the ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) Chair at the Uppsala University was held on 12th December, 2014. The theme of the lecture was “Indian Studies in India and abroad: Challenges and Prospects”. Professor Siddharth Singh was the Head of Department for Pali and Buddhist Studies at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University. He has been a Fullbright Senior Research Fellow at Colorado University and a Japan Foundation Fellow at Osaka University. His lecture, inter-alia, covered broadly on the deep roots of Indian culture which has evolved and developed over centuries and various dynasties. It brought out that while the common perception about “Dharma” is to regard it as religion, in fact the term means a way of life, as understood and inherited by the society. He highlighted the richness of Indian studies in the terms of its wider approach, philosophy of co-existence through the means of the virtues like dialogue, humility etc. and direct and indirect cross-cultural interactions with the entire world; citing the examples of ancient Indian Universities like Nalanda, Vikramshila and others. He emphasized the need of exploring some important areas of Indian studies neglected abroad for further research and spoke about the benefits of setting up joint translation committees, full-fledged Indian Studies centres, and short term Study India Programme on a Credit Transfer basis. He informed the audience about the role of ICCR, Indian University Grant Commission, Indian Council of Historical Research and others Indian governmental cultural and academic agencies which could be tapped for support and funding by future foreign researchers of Indian studies.

Mr Kailash Satyarthi speaking at the reception in India House

Professor Siddharth Singh holding his inaugural lecture at Uppsala University

15

THE NOBEL PRIZE: IDEAS CHANGING THE WORLD,

NEW DELHI

An exhibition ‘The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World’ was held at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library. Former president of India Dr Abdul Kalam inaugurated the exhibition on October 30 in the presence of Nobel laureate Dr George Smoot who won the prize in 2006 for Physics, Mr Kailash Satyarthi, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Mr Lars Heikensten, CEO of the Nobel Foundation and Olov Amelin, Director of the Nobel Museum.

SWEDISH CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF PAYS

OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDIA

On the invitation of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral RK Dhowan, Rear Admiral Jan Thörnqvist, Chief of Staff, Royal Swedish Navy accompanied by his spouse and a two member delegation paid an official visit to India from the 10th to 14th November 2014.

Admiral Thörnqvist and his delegation visited Delhi, Kochi and Mumbai and met the top leadership of Indian Navy. He also called on the Minister of State for Defence, as well as the three Service Chiefs.

The visit by Admiral Thörnqvist follows the visit by Admiral DK Joshi, Chief of the Naval Staff, to Sweden in June last year. It is expected to promote further cooperation between the two Navies. It will also provide an opportunity to expand and deepen broader linkages between the two countries.

HEALTH MINISTER GABRIEL WIKSTRÖM PAYS

SUCCESSFUL MAIDEN VISIT TO INDIA FROM 23-25

NOVEMBER 2015

The Swedish Minister for Health Care, Public Health and Sport, Mr Gabriel Wikström visited New Delhi, India 23-25 November 2014 with a 16-member strong delegation, comprising of different stake holders in the health sector. It had representatives from governmental agencies, university hospitals and the business sector and was arranged in coordination with Swecare Foundation. The visit was aimed at commemorating the five years completion of the India-Swedish Memorandum of Understanding in the field of health. On November 24th Minister Wikström met with H.E. Union Health Minister Mr Jagat Prasad Nadda. At the meeting both sides emphasized the success of the cooperation and the importance of the strong political commitment. One important area in the collaboration is antimicrobial resistance and the Minister informed on the global conference on AMR-surveillance that the Public health Agency would host in Stockholm the following week. E-health/telemedicine and elderly care were also brought up as possible future areas of cooperation. Minister Nadda informed on the major reforms of the Indian Government in the field of health including the National Health Assurance

SWEDEN IN INDIA

Rear Admiral Jan Thörnqvist with Admiral DK Joshi in Stockholm, June 2013

Nobel Prize: Ideas changing the world exhibition

Rear Admiral Jan Thörnqvist, Chief of Staff, Royal Swedish Navy being received by the Admiral RK Dhowan Chief of the Naval Staff

at South Block, Delhi

16

Mission as well as the development of a new Health Policy. Minister Wikström also extended an invitation to Minister JP Nadda to visit Sweden.

After the bilateral meeting, both Ministers attended the conference: India-Sweden Healthcare and Public Health Memorandum of Understanding - Celebrating five years of successful collaboration and way forward that was co-organized between the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Minister attended in the opening of an India-Sweden workshop on regulatory procedures that was held at the Central Drug Standards Central Organization and then visited the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where he met with young athletes as well as Mr Neeraj Kansal, Secretary at the Sports Authority of India. Thereafter, the Minister and his delegation visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a premier healthcare institution of India and held discussions on a number of topics such as infection prevention and control and diagnostics.

Minister Wikström also discussed important issues like antimicrobial resistance and the situation of Ebola as well as the work of the WHO in the region with senior Indian WHO officials.

AMBASSADOR AIVARS GROZA PRESENTS HIS

LETTERS OF CREDENCE TO THE PRESIDENT OF

INDIA, PRANAB MUKERJEE

On 21 October, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the Republic of India, Aivars Groza, presented his letters of credence to the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.

The President of India congratulated Aivars Groza as the first resident Ambassador of Latvia to India. In their conversation, the President addressed questions of cooperation in trade and business, in the areas of information technology IT and pharmaceuticals in particular, while highlighting the successful bilateral cooperation in international organisations. President Mukerjee said the Latvia-India relations are very good and congratulated the Ambassador on the smooth running of the parliamentary elections in Latvia, asking him also to forward his greetings to the President of Latvia, Andris Bērziņš.

Ambassador Groza stressed that the Embassy in India is Latvia’s first embassy in the Southeast Asia and said that it will work towards stimulating, strengthening and deepening the bilateral relations. The Ambassador pointed to certain important areas for cooperation including biotechnology, IT, transit and logistics, as well as education.

Mr Aivars Groza began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994. During his diplomatic career he has been Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Latvia. In 2000, Mr Groza was posted as the Ambassador of Latvia to Belgium and non-resident Ambassador to Luxembourg. From 2005 to 2009, he was Ambassador to Austria and non-resident Ambassador to Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. From 2009 to 2010, Aivars Groza was Head of the State Protocol, and from 2010 to 2014, he served as Latvia’s Consul General in St Petersburg, Russia. The Ambassador has studied history at the University of Latvia.

Latvia and India established diplomatic relations in 1991. The Embassy of Latvia in India was opened on 16 January 2014. The Indian Embassy in Stockholm is concurrently accredited to Latvia.

LATVIA IN INDIA

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Mr Gabriel Wikström, Minister for Health Care, Public Care and Sport,

Government of Sweden, J P Nadda, Minister (Health & Family Welfare), Government of India, Mr Lov Verma, Secretary (Health & Family Welfare), Government of India and Mr Harald Sandberg,

Ambassador of Sweden to India.

17

STATE VISIT BY PRESIDENT TO NORWAY &

FINLAND

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee paid a State visit to Norway from October 13-14, 2014 at the invitation of His Majesty King Harald V of the Kingdom of Norway.

This was the first ever Head of State visit from India to the region with the aim of further strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and Norway. The President was accompanied by a high level delegation including Shri P. Radhakrishnan, MOS Industries and Public Enterprises, Members of Parliament, senior officials, senior representatives of our educational and academic institutions, as well as a delegation of scientists and businessmen.

During the visit, the President had meetings and interactions with His Majesty King Harald and other members of the royal family, Her Majesty Queen Sonja, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The President also met Prime Minister Ms Erna Solberg and the President of the Storting (Norwegian Parliament), Mr Olemic Thommessen.

As many as 13 agreements were signed between Indian and Norwegian entities during this visit. The agreements, which ranged from a Statement of Intent between the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and setting up a state-of-the-art fish farming unit outside Delhi, also had IIT, Kanpur, Hyderabad University and several other educational institutions reaching accord with their Norwegian counterparts. The President, in his address to a joint business gathering, announced that Norwegian tourists would soon be given the visa-on-arrival facility even as Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said that Oslo would open a new consulate in Mumbai to enhance its business outreach in India.

The President also visited the Fram Museum, from where he interacted on a video link with our scientists up on the Arctic Station, Himadri, which was set up in 2008. He also spoke to some Ph.D. students who are working at the University of Svalbard, the northernmost inhabitation in the Arctic region.

The President continued his visit to the Nordic region with a visit to Finland from October 14-16, 2014. During the visit, President Mukherjee met the Finnish President Mr Sauli Niinisto, Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Speaker of Parliament Eero Heinäluoma. The President also addressed a Business Seminar in Helsinki.

India and Finland signed 19 pacts ranging from cooperation in energy, fishing and education to exploring tie-ups in science and technology during President Pranab Mukherjee's State visit.

INDIA IN THE WORLD

President and Ms Sharmistha Mukherjee with the Royal family

President Shri Pranab Mukherjee with the Prime Minister of Norway Ms Erna Solberg

President Shri Pranab Mukherjee addressing members of the Indian community

18

This included a MoU between the Indian Institutes of Technology and Consortium of Finnish Higher Education Institutions, Finland. The two countries also signed an agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy as well as management of radioactive waste from atomic power plants. The agreement was between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) of India and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland. The agreement between India and Finland will ensure cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety regulation; exchange of information and personnel related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and radiation related to nuclear facilities; nuclear safety, including radioactive waste management; safety related issues; and research. It will also cover emergency preparedness and radioactive waste management associated with the operation of civil nuclear plants.

The President visited Rovaniemi thus crossing the Arctic Circle and becoming the first Indian President to visit Santa Claus's official workplace and meet him in person. In Rovaniemi, he visited the ‘Arktikum’ (Arctic museum) and Arctic Science Centre. India became an Observer to the Arctic Council in May 2013.

PRIME MINISTER VISITS MYANMAR FOR THE INDO-

ASEAN AND THE EAST ASIA SUMMIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar to attend the 12th ASEAN-India Summit on 12th of November along with the leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries and the 9th East Asia Summit on 13th of November with leaders of the other 18 member countries. Along with the summits, the Prime Minister also had the customary, bilateral meetings with the Heads of States and Government of Thailand, Russia, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia. He also met Daw Aung Suu Kyi.

India which started out at the sector dialogue level in 1992 became a full dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1996. This was elevated to the summit-level partnership in 2002 and from 2012, it is now a Strategic Partnership with ASEAN. During the summit, ASEAN leaders welcomed India’s support to the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, noting that connectivity in the region was crucial to enhance trade and people to people contact. They also welcomed the recent signing of ASEAN-India agreements on Services and Investment and called for its early implementation. Once implemented, it will complete the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area in Goods. The Prime Minister, during his discussions, brought out that with the new change in approach, the Look East Policy has now become the ‘Act East Policy’. On the subject of South China Sea, the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of following international laws and norms, including UNCLOS 1982.

President Mukherjee with Finland’s Prime Minister Mr Alexander Stubb

The two countries also signed an agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy as well as management of radioactive waste

12th ASEAN – India Summit

19

India’s initiative of establishing Nalanda University was appreciated by many EAS countries. So far, ten EAS countries have signed the MOU for establishing Nalanda University in India.

PRIME MINISTER PRESENTS VISION OF A

RE-ENERGIZED SAARC DURING SUMMIT

Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi visited Kathmandu, Nepal for the 18th Summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on 26th & 27th of November, 2014. He also had bilateral interactions with leaders of six SAARC member nations during the visit, in line with his vision to develop closer neighbourly ties in the region.

In his Summit statement, Prime Minister Modi identified the five pillars on which his vision for the region rests – Trade, Investment, Assistance, Cooperation in every area and People to People contacts-all facilitated by seamless connectivity. He urged the SAARC nations to fulfil the pledge taken by them to combat terror and trans-national crimes.

The 36-point Kathmandu Declaration, released after the SAARC Summit on November 27, states that members will continue their efforts to intensify regional cooperation on connectivity, renew their commitment to a South Asian Economic Union, strengthen the Social Window of the SAARC Development Fund, and reiterate their determination to free South Asia from poverty. The Statement includes India’s proposal to launch a satellite for the region by SAARC Day (8th December) in 2016 and the setting up a Special Purpose facility to finance infrastructure projects in the region.

15TH ANNUAL INDIA-RUSSIA SUMMIT

The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir V Putin, paid an official visit to India from 10-11 Dec, 2014, for the 15th Annual India-Russia Summit. During the Summit, the leaders agreed on a vision for strengthening the India-Russia partnership over the next decade.

Prime Minister Modi had earlier met President Putin twice on the sidelines of the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - summit in Fortaleza, Brazil and later during the informal BRICS meeting in Brisbane, Australia, on the sidelines of the G20 last month. Welcoming President Putin, PM Modi reminded that the process of these annual Summits between India and Russia was started by President Putin and Prime Minister Vajpayee in 2000. When Prime Minister Vajpayee held the first of summits in Moscow in November 2001, PM Modi was also present to sign the sister-state agreement between Gujarat and Astrakhan.

18th SAARC Summit

Prime Minister presents vision of a re-energised SAARC during Kathmandu summit

20

A total of 20 documents were signed at the bilateral summit, including two concerning the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Russia and India also agreed on the construction of at least 12 new nuclear power units within the next 20 years, including two new units at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The countries also agreed to find a new site to construct a new nuclear plant. At a joint press conference, President Putin said Russia would look at participating in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor project. He added that negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Union would be sped up.

In a joint statement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they agreed on a vision for strengthening the India-Russia partnership over the next decade. “Recognizing that the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia has been built on the strong foundation of mutual trust, bilateral understanding and unique people-to-people affinities, the leaders emphasized that the time has come for a significant broad-basing of bilateral cooperation to carry the friendship between the countries to a qualitatively new level.”

The statement also recognised the importance of the Arctic and the contributions in promoting cooperative activities to address Arctic issues by the Arctic Council. The two countries agreed to facilitate scientific cooperation to study the challenges (like melting ice, climate change, marine life and biodiversity), facing the rapidly-changing Arctic region. The Russian side also welcomed the simplified visa regime introduced by India in November, 2014 under which nationals of Russia will be granted electronic visa on arrival at designated airports in India. Both sides agreed to further ease visa requirements for mutual travels of certain categories of citizens of the two countries, including business visas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin jointly inaugurated the 'World Diamond Conference' at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi during the visit.

20 Agreements were signed during the Summit

President Putin and Prime Minister inaugurating the World Diamond Conference

15th Indo-Russian Bilateral Summit

21

ISRO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES INDIA'S

HEAVIEST ROCKET GSLV-3

On 18 December 2014, the Indian space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India's heaviest rocket - the GSLV-3 from Sriharikota, as its next step towards putting a man in space. GSLV-3 is ISRO's latest rocket and capable of taking satellites weighing 4-tonnes and more. The launch was also significant as the rocket also carried with it a Crew module Atmospheric Re-Entry Experiment (CARE) mission. This is basically a capsule that will be taken above the earth's atmosphere by the rocket, and then brought back to earth, despite the heat conditions of over 1,600 degree Celsius that it will encounter. Such a capsule would be required for the materialisation of ISRO’s plans for a manned mission to space in about five years from now.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

On 11 December, the United Nations adopted the draft resolution declaring 21 June every year as the International day of Yoga. This was the outcome of the proposal put forward by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his UN General Assembly address in September 2014.

An unprecedented 177 of the total 193 member states of the UN co-sponsored a resolution on the International Yoga Day. In the history of the United Nations, this is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any resolution of this nature. Prior to this, the UN, in 2007, had adopted India's resolution to observe Oct. 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, as the International Day of Non-Violence.

HSBC: INDIAN RUPEE BEST ASIAN CURRENCY

Forbes.com, has quoted HSBC’s head of Asian forex research Paul Mackel’s report to clients wherein he has stated that, the Indian rupee will be the strongest of the Asian currencies next year. “Lower oil prices should mean a persistent improvement in the current account and inflation. The Reserve Bank of India is committed to lowering inflation expectations and now has the ability to curb excessive rupee weakness,” the article quotes Mackel. Mackel says he expects the rupee to hover between 62.5 and 63 to the dollar next year. That keeps it pretty much where it is now, at 62.6. Although, that forecast doesn’t bode well for much upside on the currency front for Indian investors, it does point to more stability.

Meanwhile, in other Asian markets where fixed income investors have a solid footing — mainly Indonesia and Philippines — a stronger dollar and a weaker Europe are problematic. India’s rupee is the best bet of the tradable currencies in the region.

SNIPPETS

Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations delivers an opening statement on

adoption of draft Resolution for "June 21st" to be the "International Day of Yoga"

Indian Rupee best Asian currency

ISRO GSLV-3 rocket launch

22

FIRST MEETING OF THE INDIA-U.S. CONTACT

GROUP ON CIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATION

The first meeting of the India-U.S. Contact Group on Civil Nuclear cooperation took place in New Delhi on December 16-17. The Contact Group was established pursuant to the decision of the Indian Prime Minister and the U.S. President as articulated in the Joint Statement of September 30, 2014 during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the U.S., with a view to advance the implementation of the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation.

As mandated by the two leaders, the Contact Group, which comprised relevant experts from both sides, held detailed discussions on a range of implementation issues, including administrative issues, liability, technical issues and licensing to facilitate the establishment of U.S.-designed nuclear power plants in India. The discussions included representatives of nuclear industries from both sides – the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) from the Indian side and Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi from the U.S. side. The next meeting will be held in early January 2015.

ALL INDIA RADIO BROADCASTED PROGRAMME

ON SWEDEN

On Friday January 2, 2015, All India Radio broadcasted a programme on Sweden as part of its India Global series on AIR FM Gold.

It is available on the AIR website www.newsonair.com besides the Ministry's channel on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1fPppfAja8 and at https://soundcloud.com/meaindia

INDIA’S TECH OPPORTUNITY: TRANSFORMING

WORK, EMPOWERING PEOPLE

A new McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report identifies a dozen technologies, ranging from the mobile Internet to cloud computing to advanced genomics, which could have a combined economic impact of $550 billion to $1 trillion a year in 2025. These technologies can be grouped into three areas: digitizing life and work, smart physical systems, and energy technologies: The selection of the 12 technologies for India was based on a similar process established by MGI’s earlier work on disruptive technologies.1 For India, additional criteria were used to identify the technologies that would have a direct impact on the country’s economic and social challenges in the coming decade. For example, it includes technologies such as electronic payments, which are well established in other parts of the world but not well developed in India. By 2025, however, electronic payments could help 300 million Indians join the country’s financial system. The full report can be read at http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/indias_tech_opportunity_transforming_work_empowering_people.

All India Radio

India-US Contact group on civil nuclear cooperation met on the 16-17th December

Shantala Subramanyam held a concert at India House, playing the Venu - bamboo flute, accompanied by Akkarai Sornalatha on Violin and Akshay Anantapadmanabhan on Mridangam

Panel Debate at the Make in India Seminar in Stockholm Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mr Kailash Satyarthi speaking at the reception in India House

Prime Minister presents vision of a re-energised SAARC during Kathmandu summit

Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations delivers an

opening statement on adoption of draft Resolution for "June 21st" to be the "International Day of Yoga"

OPEN DAY IN THE EMBASSY EVERY MONTH FOR NON RESIDENT INDIANS/PERSONS OF INDIAN ORIGIN

Members of NRI/PIO Community can meet the Ambassador and other officers of the Embassy on the first Wednesday of every month between 10a.m. – 4 p.m. without any previous appointment.

EMBASSY OF INDIA

Adolf Fredriks Kyrkogata 12

Box No 1340, SE-111 83 Stockholm

Phone: +46 (8) 10 70 08

Fax: +46 (8) 24 85 05 / 20 29 45

Mail: ambassador@indianembassy.se

www.indianembassy.se

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