Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative,JICA India Of�ce

N e w s l e t t e r f r o m

JICA INDIA OFFICE

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JICA President, Mr. Shinichi Kitaoka extended his heartfelt condolences at unprecedented loss of lives in the tragic incident that happened in Dhaka. He strongly condemned the unlawful attack that claimed lives of 20 foreigners including Japanese and Indian people. While sharing his thoughts on the tragedy, he said that it is extremely regrettable that in addition to one Indian, seven Japanese people were killed and one injured in a terrorist attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 1. Furthermore he stated,”The eight were consultants enganged in survey work for JICA. They were participating in a preparatory survey related to an infrastructure project to improve the urban transit situation in Dhaka, where traf�c is rapidly increasing. Sadly, these people, who worked hard for the development of Bangladesh, became caught up in this incident. It is impossi-ble to suppress our anger at the criminals who carried out this act of terrorism. I sincerely pray that those whose lives were lost will rest in peace and offer my condolences to their loved

ones. I also pray for the earliest possible recovery of the person who was injured. On behalf of JICA, I would like to offer as much support as possible to all the family members.”

He further added,“The people who were killed and injured not only partici-pated in survey work in Bangladesh, together with JICA they also contribut-ed to the growth of emerging countries and were expected to continue doing so. It is a matter of great sorrow to us that these precious comrades were killed or injured. It is quite regrettable that this result came about despite our efforts to have been sending signals for attention on risks especially in Ramadan period.”

Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Represent-ative, JICA India, said,“We are deeply shocked to learn about the attack in Dhaka. We share our thoughts and prayers with the families and loved ones of those killed in the devastating attack and wish full recovery to the wounded one.”

He further added,“JICA has been implementing assistance programs in emerging countries including Bangla-desh and India very actively, which will accelerate economic growth. This is a matter of great regret as all the victims were eager to make contributions on emerging countries prosperity. While we at JICA will continue giving top priority to the safety of JICA-related personnel and thoroughly assessing the situation on the ground in the places where we do our work, we de�nitely will continue our support vigorously following wills of those victims.”

Country News

Events/Workshops2

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• JICA and Delhi Public School, Greater Noida Organized Japanese Language Camp in Collaboration with JICA Volunteers.

Features3• Much Awaited East-West Corridor (Purple Line) of Bangalore Metro Inaugurated with Comprehensive Assistance from JICA.• Japanese Actress Visits JICA Assisted Projects in India.

JICA Assisted Veri�cation Survey for Disseminating JapaneseTechnologies for Harvesting to Increase Yield in Punjab.

JICA’s PresidentExpressesHis DeepestCondolences forBangladesh Attack

APRIL - JUNE 2016 • ISSUE 33 • INDIA

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Topmost Row (Fourth from Left): Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India handed over certi�cates to the students

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JICA and Delhi Public School, Greater Noida Organized Japanese Language Camp in Collaboration with JICA Volunteers JICA along with Delhi Public School (DPS), Greater Noida organized a two-day language camp on May 6-7, 2016. It included participation of students in various activities which showcased the Japanese culture. The camp observed participation of nine schools across Delhi NCR, including DPS Greater Noida, Bluebells International School, St. Mary’s School, DPS Noida, DPS Dwarka, DPS Sonepat, DPS International, Arwachin International and Muni International School.

The activities undertaken in the camp were calligraphy, Japanese toy making, noodle making, Japanese folktale enactment, Kimono trying out, quizzing and movie shows. Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India said,“JICA undertakes various development assistance schemes to meet diverse needs of emerging countries and such educational and

cultural camps are one of such initiatives. Through these camps, we aim to contribute to the holistic development of young children of India and mutual understanding among them which is essential for sustainable socio-economic development in this interdependent world.”

E v e n t s / W o r k s h o p s

JICA Volunteers in India (as of June 2016)

Andhra Pradesh Volunteer for Community Development at CSB, Hindpur

Karnataka Volunteer for Community Development at CSB, Ramanagaram

Mizoram Volunteer for Nursing at Mission Foundation Movement (NGO), Aizawl

West Bengal Volunteer for Japanese Language Education at Vishva Bharti University,Shanti Niketan

Tamil Nadu Volunteer for Japanese Language Education at SRM University, Chennai

Volunteer for Youth Activities at DGSEA(NGO), Chennai

Volunteer for Youth Activities at Garden of Peace(NGO), Vellore

Volunteer for Community Development at Community Development, CSB, Hosur

Uttarakhand Volunteer for Japanese Language Education at Doon University, Dehradun

Volunteer for Community Development at CSB, Dehradun

Volunteer for Japanese Acupuncture at NIVH, Dehradun

Volunteer for Community Development at CSB, Dehradun

Gujarat Volunteer for Japanese Language Education at Ahmedabad Management Association,Ahmedabad

Delhi/NCR Volunteer for Japanese Language Education at Muni International School, Delhi

Volunteer for Japanese Language Education at Bluebells School, Delhi

Volunteer for Japanese Language Education at Delhi Public School (DPS), Greater Noida

Volunteer for Nursing at Asha Deep Foundation (NGO), Ghaziabad

The objective of the program was to deepen students’ knowledge of Japanese culture and stimulate their broader perspective in the current interdependent world. The camp witnessed participation from more than

100 students and teachers across the Delhi NCR.

Japanese Actress Visits JICA Assisted Projects in India

Newly Commissioned East-West Corridor(Purple Line) of Bangalore Metro

Ms. Alice Hirose feeding mulberry leaves to silkworms in Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh

F e a t u r e s

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Much Awaited East-West Corridor (Purple Line) of Bangalore MetroInaugurated with Financial Assistance from JICA

Ms. Alice Hirose, a famous celebrity in Japan, visited JICA’s projects in India on June 16 and 17 as part of “The Nanto-kashinakya Project”(Nan-Pro), whose aim is to increase public awareness, understanding, and participation in international cooperation.

Ms. Alice visited three JICA projects, namely Delhi Metro, JOCV’s sericulture activities, and Karnataka Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project. After riding a women-only coach in Delhi Metro, she was fascinated to �nd out how women can ride the metro safely and comforta-bly, and that will provide them more mobility and would lead to their social advancement in the society. Through Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s explana-tion, Ms. Alice learned that an increase in the number of women passengers will also contribute to an increase in the number of overall passengers, which enhances stable �nancial foundation for DMRC and therefore make DMRC possible to bring down the fares.

Ms. Alice’s next stop was Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh, which was one of the towns assisted by JICA’s Technical Cooperation (TC) to improve sericulture, especially the quality of cocoon in southern India. Ms. Alice interviewed two JOCVs, Mr. Nozomu Aoki and Mr.

Yuki Yamanaka, who have inherited the passion and technology from the TC experts.“What do you want to convey to the people in Japan?” asked Ms. Alice. Mr. Aoki said,“the technology introduced to the farmers has been highly appreciated here, and just because I am from Japan, the farmers listen to me very closely. I feel there is always mutual trust and respect between us.”

JICA supported East-West Corridor (Purple Line) of Bangalore Metro was fully inaugurated on April 29,2016 by Mr. Siddaramaiah, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. M Venkaiah Naidu, Hon'ble Minister of Urban Development, Mr. Yutaka Kikuta, Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister, Embassy of Japan and Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative JICA India Of�ce. The East-West corridor and its enhance-ment has been �nancially supported by JICA, which has provided Of�cial Development Assistance (ODA) loans to the Government of India for the development of the Bangalore Metro project.

The newly commissioned underground stretch covers a distance of 4.8 kms between M.G. Road Station and Magadi

Road Station comprising of �ve impor-tant stations- 1) City Railway Station, 2) Kempegowda Station, Majestic, 3) Sir M. Visveshwaraya Stn., Central College, 4) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stn., Vidhana Soudha and 5) Cubbon Park. With the comple-tion and start of the commercial opera-tions between M.G. Road Station and Magadi Road Station, Purple Line (East-West corridor) has become fully operational for people, including many commuters in Bengaluru.

The completion of this underground stretch connects the center of the city with other

The last stop Ms. Alice made was idyllic village in the state of Karnataka. Here, Karnataka Forest Department and the Joint Forest Manage-ment Committee (JFMC) are trying to make the villagers understand the importance and the effectiveness of protecting forestry. “I used to earn money by cutting trees in the forest and selling timber, but now I am receiving assistance from the project through JFMC and am raising sheep to sell the meat at the market,” said a village

woman. Karnataka Forest Department’s Ms. Deep Contractor proudly explained to Ms. Alice,“After we started receiving assistance from JICA, the mindset of the villagers has changed tremendousl.”Ms. Alice excitedly said,"I really felt the mothers’ ambition to wanting to work more and improve their life! I will do my best and think about what I can do from Japan."

elevated sections and mitigates the impacts caused by mounting traf�c in Bengaluru such as increased traf�c congestion, air pollution, road accidents and journey time.

Contact us JICA India Office2nd Floor, Dr. Gopal Das Bhawan, 28 Barakhamba Road,New Delhi 110-001, IndiaTel: (91-11) 47685500Fax: (91-11) 47685555www.jica.go.jp/english/index.htmlwww.jica.go.jp/india/english/index.html

C o u n t r y N e w s

Visit our website www.jica.go.jp/india/english to download the pdf file of Newsletter

JICA Assists Veri�cation Survey for Disseminating JapaneseTechnologies for Harvesting to Increase Yield in Punjab

The state of Punjab, a leading agriculture state in India, depends heavily on rice and wheat as major crops, and crop diversi�cation such as potato and maize is very much required. Due to climatic constraints, potatoes need to be harvested intensively between late January and April. But there are various constraints which farmers are facing like securing a large number of workers for work in �elds and high labour costs. This has impacted the �nal yield rate of potatoes, which has remained �at since 2008 and farmers are not able to increase the cropping area due to labour shortage. Punjab produces great part of India’s seed potatoes and hence mechanization from the labour intensive cultivation system is highly required.

To tackle the issue, JICA is assisting a “Veri�cation Survey Disseminating Japanese Technologies for Potato Harvesting” to increase potato yield in Punjab. JICA coordinated with one Japanese company, Toyo Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd. and brought their advanced product Potato Harvester in Punjab for demonstration and performance testing. This product received high evaluation from local farmers, the state Government and local tractor manufacturers.

A survey has been conducted for veri�cation of Potato harvesters and training on harvest system suitable for mechanization to of�cers in the Department of Horticulture of State of Punjab. This has been done to develop the capacity of potato yield, formulate the dissemination plan of potato harvesters and contribute to the productivity and value addition to farmers in the future.

Some of the major activities include:

• Veri�cation for local compatibility of Japanese Potato Harvesters and the harvest system suitable for modernization

• Research on the current status and challenges of cultivation and harvest technology based on the farming system of potato farmers

• Market research and competitive survey

• Demonstration and veri�cation performed during the harvest season by evaluating harvest ef�ciency, yield and quality of potatoes

• Demonstration of Potato Harvester among various stakeholders at farms

• Preparation for the formulation of dissemination plan of Potato Harvester

The three products below will be provided to the Department of Horticulture after the survey is

completed:

1. Indian-model Potato Harvester (self-propelled): Suitable for small and under developed �elds and had high mobility compared with current tractor mounted digger.

2. Indian-model Potato Harvester (tractor-modeled): Suitable for medium to large scale �elds.

3. Rotary Cultivator: Combined with multiple narrow rotaries for tillage, weeding and forming ridges.

The project site chosen was Potato Center for Excellence (COE) under the Department of Horticulture, Punjab, at village Dhogri, Jalandhar, Punjab and potato farms. Bene�ciaries include potato farmers in Jalandhar district of Punjab.

The survey is scheduled to be completed by June 2018.

Indian-model Potato Harvester (self-propelled) is operated by famers in Punjab and staff ofToyo Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd.