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INDIA NEWSLETTER October 2014
Embassy of IndiaDjordja Radojlovica 7a Belgrade, 11040 (Serbia)Tel: 011/2666-520Fax:011/3674-209E-mail: [email protected]
INDEX:India Economic News pg 1Government of India Tenders pg 5Bilateral Relations pg 6Trade Fairs in India pg 14Useful Links pg 15
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India Economic News:
India to be PartnerCountry in HannoverMesse Fair During April2015India has conveyed its consent tobe the 'Partner Country' at theprestigious Hannover Fair inGermany to be held from April 12- 17, 2015. By accepting theinvitation of German ChancellorMs. Angela Merkel for India to bethe Partner Country at HannoverMesse 2015, the Government hassent strong signals to the industryabout strengthening global tradeand inviting investment intoIndia. Prime Minister MrNarendra Modi is expected to bepresent at the world renownedengineering and technology fairbeginning April 12.
The Department of Commercehas mandated EngineeringExport Promotion Council Indiaas the lead agency supported byIndia Brand Equity Foundation(IBEF) along with Confederationof Indian Industry (CII) as theother agencies for Indianparticipation in the fair.
The Hannover Fair attracts nearly200.000 global leaders inbusiness, technology, industrialscientists and policy makers.About 300 Indian companiesincluding public sector giantswould be participating in the fiveday fair, seeking technologycollaborations, business tie-ups
and showcasing India'scapabilities in global trade. Indiahad been the Partner Country atthe Hannover Messe in 2006.With USD 21 billion bilateraltrade, Germany is India's sixthlargest trading partner withengagement in the areas ofmechanical engineering,automobiles, chemicals, services,nuclear reactors, constructionetc.
Garments and textile products,chemical products, leather &leather goods, iron, steel andmetal goods, electroniccomponents, electricalcomponents, pharmaceuticalproducts, and auto componentsare major items of exports fromIndia to Germany. The keyGerman exports to India includeelectrical generation equipment,auto equipment, completefabrication plants, bearings, gearequipment, measurement andcontrol equipment, primarychemical products, syntheticmaterial, machine tools, aircraftsand iron and steel sheets, etc.
The Government is seeing theparticipation in the fair as anopportunity to increase its globalpresence in commodities &services, apart from utilizing theevent for attracting investmentsinto India as part of the ‘Make inIndia' campaign of the PrimeMinister.
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The Department of Commerce isin the process of getting in touchwith all key Departments in theCentral Government as alsoleaders of Indian businessestablishments, seeking theirparticipation and co-operation inmaking the event a grandsuccess.
India remains topoffshoring destination forIT firmsIndia remains the top offshoringdestination for informationtechnology (IT) companies,followed by China and Malaysia,said a study by A.T. Kearney. Thestudy, Global Services LocationIndex, assessed 51 countriesbased on metrics under threecategories including financialattractiveness, people skills andavailability, and businessenvironment.
"Despite expectations regarding#2 ranked China, India maintainsand even increases its lead overChina," the study said. "Thecountry (India) is unrivaled inboth scale and people skills."
"Leading IT services firms areexpanding their traditionalofferings (in India) to includeR&D (research and development),product development, and otherniche services," it said. "The linebetween IT and BPO (businessprocess outsourcing) is blurringas players offer bundles andspecialized services to theirclients and develop skills in nichedomains."
Although China offers analternative to Eastern Europe forhigh-end IT and analytics, rising
wages are limiting its costcompetitiveness in lower-endfunctions compared with Indiaand other Asian destinations.
Asia continued to dominate theglobal market, with six of itscountries among the index's top10 offshore destinations.However, there are somechallenges for the region.
Global IT firms aggressivelystarted outsourced back officeoperations in the mid-2000s, buttoday multinationals arereassessing their outsourcingstrategies. There is a coursecorrection where some functionsare being repatriated fromvendors back to the companies'own service centers andemployees, the study found.
"What was once a decision basedprimarily on cost-effectiveness,has now started to incorporateother considerations, forexample, whether the function iscore to the business, andtherefore needs to be broughtback in-house, as well as externalregulatory factors impactingbusiness relationships,accountability and the ability toprotect intellectual property andcustomer privacy," said ErikPeterson, study co-author andpartner, and managing director ofA.T. Kearney's Global BusinessPolicy Council think-tank.
These regions also facechallenges from increasingdigitization and automation,which could negate costcompetitiveness. Greaterautomation and freelance-basedoutsourcers are eventuallymaking physical location lessrelevant."Automation, whereinrobots are programmed to
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perform for even less than low-cost labour, is becomingincreasingly accessible and coulddent the region's low-costadvantage," the study said.
Microsoft to set up 3 datacenters in India by 2015Microsoft plans to offer itscommercial and cloud services -Azure and Office 365 - from threelocal data centers by the end of2015, making it the firsttechnology company to set upcloud data centers in India, amove that experts say will helpthe US-based software giantcompete better in the domesticmarket.
"When we think about the cloudopportunity in India itself, it isgoing to be a $2 trillionopportunity," chief executiveSatya Nadella said in Delhi,adding that the move will helpIndian companies, governmentand entrepreneurs. Withoutdisclosing the investmentinvolved in setting up the datacenters, Nadella said they willhave "sizeable" capacity.
The announcement is significantgiven that the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party has been vocal aboutbringing local data centers toIndia to maintain datasovereignty. Besides, a largenumber of Indian enterpriseshave increasingly voiced concernsabout hosting their data on thepublic cloud because none of themajor players such as AmazonWeb Services, Microsoft orGoogle have cloud data centers inIndia.
"I think in two or three years,when the servers come to India,
the public cloud market willbecome more interesting becausenow there are some territorialissues in holding the data in thecountry," Jagdish Belwal, CIO atTata Motors, which currently usesAmazon Web Services, told in arecent interview.
Competition in the cloud marketis increasing, with players suchas IBM spending millions inadvertising its Softlayer cloudand Oracle making a push in theIndian market with theannouncement of several newcloud offerings for differentindustries. Microsoft's move toset up a local data centre willgive the company "more muscle"to compete in the cloud servicesmarket and Office 365 could seehigher adoption.
Cipla collaborates withTeva Pharma to sell drugsin South AfricaIndian generic drug maker CiplaLtd announced that it has enteredinto a collaboration with theworld's largest generic player,Teva Pharmaceutical IndustriesLtd, for the South African market.
"This collaboration is highlycomplementary and alignsstrongly with our philosophy ofproviding South Africans withaccess to a broader range ofaffordable medicines," said PaulMiller, CEO of Cipla Medpro.
The collaboration is signedbetween Medpro Pharmaceutical(Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of CiplaMedpro, the Indian drug makers'South Africa-based subsidiary,and Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd, anaffiliate of Teva PharmaceuticalIndustries.
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According to an announcement,the collaboration between the twocompanies is a sales anddistribution agreement whereCipla Medpro will exclusivelymarket Teva's pharmaceuticalproducts portfolio in South Africa.Cipla Medpro will exclusivelymarket Teva's broadpharmaceutical product portfolioin South Africa, with focus ontherapeutic areas, such asoncology, central nervous system,women's health, cardiovascular,ophthalmology and otherspecialty products. This tie-upwill strengthen the company'sposition in South Africa.
The company has been investingto consolidate its position inforeign markets. Earlier thismonth, it inked an agreementwith its existing Iraniandistributor to set up amanufacturing facility in Iran. Forthis, Cipla will invest around USD40 million for 75% stake inholding of proposed unit. In 2013,Cipla completed acquisition of itsSouth Africa-based distributionpartner Cipla Medpro for around$512 million.
Kalyan Jewellers raises USD 200 from PE major Warburg PincusIn one of the largest privateequity (PE) deals in the jewellerymanufacturing segment, the Indiaarm of US PE major WarburgPincus has picked up a minoritystake in Kerala-based jewellerymaker and retailer KalyanJewellers for USD 200 million.While, Kalyan Jewellers refusedto divulge how much stake it soldbut industry sources pegged it at10-12%.
The jeweller will use the proceedsfrom the deal to fund its retailand manufacturing expansionplans. T S Kalyanaraman,chairman and managing directorsaid the firm would open 28stores - including 12 in overseas.Sixteen stores will come upbefore December 2014 and theremaining by another six months,he added.
Kalyan Jewellers plans to scale upits global presence in West Asiaby foraying into Kuwait and Qatarmarkets and in south-east Asia bylaunching its footprints inSingapore and Malaysia.Currently, the company has sixexclusive outlets in the UnitedArab Emirates.
The retail expansion is expectedto cost USD 200 million. Thejeweller is also planning to investUSD 60 million in enhancing itsmanufacturing capacity. Theinvestment manufacturing will befunded through internalresources.
'We look forward to working withWarburg Pincus as we continue tobuild on our foundation and moveonto our next phase of growth,"he noted.
The company has set a target toclose the current financial yearwith a turnover of USD 1.63billion, up from last year's USD1.31 billion
He claimed this is the largest PEinvestment into Kerala so far. To aquestion on whether the companyis planning an initial publicoffering, he said: "Currently, wehave enough funds; if we feel weneed more money, then we willlook into it."
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Vishal Mahadevia, managingdirector and co-head (India) atWarburg Pincus, said the PEfirm's investment in KalyanJewellers is the largest PEinvestment into the jewellerysegment in India, and is anacknowledgment of thecompany's highly-talented teamand its pioneering role within thesector.
Founded in 1993 andheadquartered at Thrissur inKerala, Kalyan Jewellers is thepart of 100-year-old KalyanGroup, which started out withtextile manufacturing andretailing.
Honda to set up world’slargest scooter plant inGujaratHonda Motors, which is swearingby scooters in India, is setting upthe world's largest scooter plantin Gujarat to roll out 1.2 millionunits annually and achieveleadership position in the Indiantwo-wheeler market, especiallywith a growing number ofcustomers shifting to this unisexmulti-utility mode that has caughtthe fancy of many and outpacedalmost every other segment.
Scooter sales have jumped by29% in the ongoing fiscal, andnow form 27% of the total two-wheeler market from just 8% adecade back. The ever-risingdemand for scooters that has faroutstripped supply has promptedHonda to set up its first dedicatedscooter plant in Ahmedabad."Even as we have more thandoubled our scooter capacity inIndia, we have not been able tomatch up with the demand.
After 13 years of its launch,Activa continues to be on'waiting' even as competition hasmultiplied ten times," said YSGuleria, Honda VP for marketingand sales in India. Honda hadfired the imagination of scooterlovers with its Activa — launchedway back in 2001.
"Even though we raised ourproduction with three newscooters, demand still outstripsour estimates. While scooterproduction has trebled in the pastdecade, we still have a backlog of60,000 scooters that shouldmultiply in the festive monthsahead," Guleria added. Hondawould spend USD 180 million onthe new plant in Ahmedabad, andexpand its range with a few moreofferings.
The company, which leads thescooter market with a 53% sharein the domestic market, wouldhave two assembly lines forscooters, which would create3,000 more jobs. The fourth plantwould enhance its cumulativeproduction capacity in India to5.8 million units by 2015-16,including 1.6 million from its firstplant in Haryana, 12 million fromthe one in Rajasthan, and 1.8million from the Karnataka plant.
The sales from its Indiansubsidiary have already climbedto the second spot for Honda'stwo-wheeler business worldwide,and it believes that the fourthplant would help India become itstop global market. Honda'sdecision for a dedicated scooterplant is backed by anoverwhelming response to its fivescooter brands which have beenrunaway successes in India.
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In fact, all big auto companies —Hero MotoCorp, Suzuki, Yamaha,TVS Motors and M&M — areplanning to expand in an effort tocash in on the exploding demand.They have gained from a surge insales in the first quarter that hashelped the segment post recordhigh sales of 1.01 million units inthe April-June ended period.Scooters grew 23% to sell 3.60million units in the fiscal endedMarch.
Analysts said that the newgeneration automatic scooters,that are unisex in nature and arefuel efficient, have helped themgrow manifold over the moretraditional roughand-tough bikes.Going by the shift, they (scooters)are expected to corner a third ofthe market.Mahindra looking to buy Peugeot MotocyclesMahindra Two Wheelers hasmade a binding offer to buy 51%stake in Peugeot Motocycles(PMTC), the world's oldest makerof motorised two-wheelers fromFrench auto major PSA Group, foraround Euro 28 million.
Of the total investment, aboutEuro 15 million will be infused inthe company (PMTC) to supportfuture products, said PawanGoenka, executive director,Mahindra & Mahindra. Thecompany hopes to close the dealin three months.
Post the deal, M&M will havethree members on board, whilePeugeot will have two. M&M willretain the current management atPMTC including its CEO and willnot undertake any restructuringfor the next two years. PMTCcurrently has 500 employees in
France and 300 in China througha joint venture company.
While the current priority is todrive Peugeot to newer marketssuch as South East Asia, Africaand Latin America, Mahindra willalso look at launching Peugeotscooters in India as a premiumoffering in the future.
"We will have a two brandstrategy. We will position Peugeotas a premium brand in the marketand Mahindra as a mass-marketbrand. There are clearopportunities for synergiesbetween Mahindra Two Wheelersand Peugeot Scooters. We want tofocus on building the brand,global expansion and investing innew products and synergies,"Goenka said.
PMTC has 13 models of scootersand mopeds in the 50cc-400ccrange including the three-wheelerscooter Metropolis, introducedlast year. However, it has seen itssales slip over the last few years,primarily due to the slowdown inthe European market, whichaccounts for over 70% of thecompany's sales.
In 2013, it volumes stood at79,000 units, down from 115,000units four years ago. It reportedrevenue of Euro 99 million lastyear, compared with Euro 142million four years ago. Thecompany has been looking tooffload the scooter business aspart of a restructuring exercise.
"Faced with a European marketdown sharply for several years,this partnership with M&M wouldallow Peugeot Scooters todiversify and accelerate itsinternational development bycombining its strengths with
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those of M&M," the French firmsaid in a statement.
Mahindra entered the two-wheeler market six years agowith the acquisition of Pune-based Kinetic Motor. It has beenlooking to scale up with thelaunch of the Centuro motorcyclelast year and the Gusto scooterlast week. Besides, it also sellsthe Rodeo and Duro scooters.
PMTC has a strong technologycentre in France and a family ofseven engines ranging from 50 ccto 400 cc and Mahindra is likelyto gain significantly on thetechnology front. It will also beable to ride on Peugeot'sdistribution to sell its vehicles
Mahindra Two Wheelers andPeugeot Motocycles will operateas two separate entities, butGoenka has said there could besome platform sharing andresearch and developmentcollaborations in the future. Thedeal is subject to Works Councilconsultation, as part of theemployee dialogue process inFrance and anti-trust laws.
Government of India Tenders :
The Government of India Tender Information System http://tenders.gov.in/
Ministry of Home Affairs http://mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?Id_Pk=298
Bilateral Relations :
International BuddhistConclave: The prominentSerbian Journalist Ms. MiraAdanja Polak visited India from24 Sep - 07 Oct 2014 toparticipate in the InternationalBuddhist Conclave in Bodh Gayaand Varanasi. She also visitedDelhi, Jaipur & Chennai andcovered many attractive touristsites. Her TV talk shows onBuddhism, Varanasi (Ganga) andAyurveda attracted a lot ofaudience in Serbia.
Celebration of Gandhi's145th Birth Anniversary:To commemorate MahatmaGandhi’s 145th Birth Anniversary,Embassy organized screening ofthe feature film 'Gandhi' withSerbian sub-titles at the NationalLibrary of Serbia on 01 Oct. Incollaboration with the IndianCultural Centre Belgrade,Embassy organised floral tributesat the Gandhi Bust located atSava River Quay, Gandhi Street,New Belgrade on 02 Oct.
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Ambassador was joined by about100 local dignitaries includingMs. Lana Drmaniae, Advisor tothe Mayor of Belgrade, a numberof prominent personalitiesincluding Ms. Biljana Savovic, MP,Ms. Nadica Nikolic Tanasijevic,MP, Dr. Gordana Zoric, MP, Mr.Nemanja Stevanovic, Adviser tothe Prime Minister, Mr. SlobodanProsic, Minister-Counsellor,Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prof.Predrag Nikic, President, YogaFederation of Serbia, Mr. GoranPaskaljevic, prominent FilmDirector, Prof. Dusan Pajin, Mr.V.P. Ahuja, Director, TAFE andrepresentatives of ROMAcommunity. At Embassy'sinitiative, the Radio Television ofSerbia Channel 2 (RTS 2) telecastthe film, 'The Making of theMahatma' with Serbian sub-titleson 02 Oct. As part of thecommemoration, Prof. DusanPajin held a lecture on thecontribution of the Mahatma atBelgrade City Library.
Indian speaker inBelgrade Design Week2014: In coordination withEmbassy of India, Belgrade, theorganisers of Belgrade DesignWeek 2014 invited an Indianspeaker for the event from 06-11October 2014. Mr. Satya Sheel, aprominent Indian Designer,participated in the Belgrade
Design Week (BDW) and spoke on“An Indian approach toSustainable Development of OpenSpaces: What the World can learnfrom India”.
Meeting of India-SerbiaJoint EconomicCommittee: India-SerbianJoint Economic Committeemeeting was organised on 09 Octthrough video conferencing.Indian delegation was headed byMr. Dammu Ravi, Joint Secretary,Department of Commerce,Ministry of Commerce andIndustry and the Serbiandelegation was headed by Mr.Nemanja Stevanovic, SpecialAdvisor to the Prime Minister ofSerbia. A number of bilateralissues were discussed and anaction plan to implement theagreed protocol was proposedduring the meeting.
Inauguration of IndianRestaurant: On 10 Oct,Ambassador inaugurated IndianRestaurant 'Swad - Taste of India'at Djusina street in Belgrade.
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On 21 Oct, Ambassadorinaugurated the IndianRestaurant Ginger in Belgrade.
Invitation to the SerbianMinister of Culture: On 14Oct, Ambassador called on H.E.Mr. Ivan Tasovac, SerbianMinister of Culture andInformation to hand over theinvitation from his Indiancounterpart to visit India and alsoto use this opportunity to sign therenewed Agreement betweenIndia and Serbia on Cooperationin the fields of Culture, Arts,Youth, Sports and Mass Media.H.E. the Minister graciouslyaccepted the invitation to visitIndia in the near future andemphasized the importance ofdeveloping relations at theinstitutional levels through adynamic action plan. TheEmbassy has been organizingvarious cultural manifestations,including yoga festivals,performances by Indian culturaltroupes, fashion shows,
exhibitions, etc. A number ofIndian TV serials are telecastedthrough local TV channels withSerbia sub-titles. The Agreement,is thus, expected to give furtherimpetus to the culturalcooperation between the twofriendly countries. After meetingwith the Minister, Ambassadormet with Mr. Dejan Ristic, StateSecretary, Ministry of Culturealso and discussed culturalcooperation between the twocountries.
India-Serbia cooperationin Film Industry: Theprominent Serbian film directorMr. Goran Paskaljevic was thehonorary guest and President ofthe Jury at the 16th Mumbai FilmFestival held from 14-21 Oct2014. Goran is planning to launchthe first ever Indo-Serbian filmco-production 'Dev Bhoomi'(Land of the God), based on thetheme of girl child education inthe backdrop of Uttarakhand. Mr.Darko Lungulov, Film Directorwas invited to participate in the45th International Film Festivalof India in Goa in November2014.
Visit of EEPC'srepresentative to Serbia:Mr. C. H. Nadiger, RegionalDirector, EEPC India, Chennaivisited Serbia from 21-22 Oct to
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invite Serbian businesses toparticipate in India EngineeringSourcing Show (IESS) beingorganised from 16-18 Dec 2014 inMumbai, India. Mr. Nadiger metwith Serbian Chambers, SerbiaInvestment and Export promotionAgency (SIEPA), Serbian Ministryof Economy, National Alliance forLocal Economic Development(NALED) and Serbian businessesto promote the event. A numberof Serbian companies areexpected to participate in theevent.
Embassy's participation inBelgrade InternationalBook Fair: In collaborationwith “Incredible India”, Embassyof India participated for thesecond time in the 59thInternational Belgrade Book Fairfrom 26 Oct - 02 Nov 2014 atBelgrade Sajam. Indian Stall inHall 2A along with the ICCR(Indian Council for CulturalRelations, New Delhi) sponsoredExhibition - 'Digital Prints ofSelected Artwork by Tagore' wasinaugurated by H.E. Mrs.Narinder Chauhan, Ambassadorof India, H.E. Mr. Sinisa Mali,Mayor of Belgrade, Mr. RadoslavPavlovic, Cultural Advisor to thePresident of the Republic ofSerbia and Prof. Dusan Pajin, bylighting of traditional IndianLamp on 26 Oct 2014.
The occasion was also used topromote the book “Tagore’s
Selected Works” in Serbianlanguage. During the occasion,Prof. Dr. Dusan Pajin gave alecture on Rabindranath Tagore.The event was attended by anumber of journalists andprominent visitors.
The Indian booth was used topromote Incredible India and toexhibit Digital Prints of SelectedArtwork by Tagore, books relatingto India as well as for audio /visual presentation on IncredibleIndia. The Embassy would like toacknowledge the contribution ofbooks from the Public DiplomacyDivision of the Government ofIndia and the National Book Trust(NBT) of India.
On 27 Oct, Ambassador attendedthe event at Indian stall in BookFair for promotion of the book'The Inventor' written by Mr.Rave Mehta regarding NikolaTesla and his meeting with SwamiVivekanand. Mr. AleksandarProtic, Tesla Global ForumScientific Director, Tesla MemoryProject Director addressed theaudience about Tesla, the book &the writer.
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On 28 Oct, Ambassador attendedthe event at Indian stall inBelgrade Book Fair for promotionof the book “Yoga - Spirit andBody" in Serbian languagewritten by Prof. Dr. Dusan Pajin.During the Occasion, Prof. Pajingave a lecture on Yoga.
On 29 Oct, Indian Cultural Centreinvited children from variousSerbian schools to visit India Stallat Book Fair. Ambassadorpresented Indian books tostudents from various schools andlibraries in Serbia includingPrimary School 'BoskoPalkovljevic Pinki' Belgrade,Primary School 'Rade Drainac'Belgrade, Primary School 'VukKaradzic' Belgrade, PrimarySchool 'Zivojin Peric' Obrenovac,Preschool 'Ljubica Vrebalov'Pozarevac, Belgrade MathematicsGrammar High School, Library'Matica Srpska' Novi Sad, Libraryof Student’s Cultural Centre NewBelgrade and Belgrade UniversityLibrary.
On 29 Oct, Ambassador attendedthe event at Indian stall inBelgrade Book Fair for promotionof the book in Serbian language“Indian Theatre-Tradition andActivism” by Dr. Milena Sesic.
Participation of IndianChess GrandmasterPentala Harikrishnan inChess Simulation: On 29Oct, Ambassador attended theChess Simulation organised bythe Sport University Associationof Belgrade at the BelgradeUniversity. Indian ChessGrandmaster PentalaHarikrishnan participated in theChess Week and playedsimultaneously on 30 boardsagainst celebrities, universityprofessors, media representativesand children. The symbolic firstmove was made by Ambassador.Audio/visual presentation onIndia and promotion of IncredibleIndia were also arranges duringthe event.
Visit of the Fusion Band‘East India Company’ led
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by Angaraag PaponMahanta (Papon): TheFusion Band ‘East IndiaCompany’ led by Angaraag PaponMahanta (Papon) had a successfulvisit to Serbia from 2-6 Nov,2014. The group gave followingperformances in Belgrade:
Public Performance at DomOmladine, Belgrade On 03 Nov,Papon Group gave a publicperformance to a packedaudience of more than 500 peopleat Dom Omladine, Belgrade. Theevent started with the lighting ofthe traditional lamp byAmbassador alongwith Mr. DejanRistic, Culture Secretary of theRepublic of Serbia and Ms. MiraAdanja Polak, the prominentjournalist in the Balkans. Mr.Slobodan Tirkulja, a renownedmusician in Serbia, graced theoccasion by performing as theMaster of Ceremony. He alsoplayed vocal and instrumentalduet with Papon, much to thedelight of the audience.
Papon sang Bollywood, Assamese,Punjabi as well as Hindustanisongs and was greatly connectedwith the audience. The event washighly enjoyed and appreciatedby the audience, and was a greatsuccess. The group receivedrousing ovation. The performancemay be seen at the following link:
Live recording at the PINKTV Studio - On 04 Nov, livetelecast of Papon along with hisassociates was arranged by PINKTV on its prime channel as well ason Pink Music and Pink Plus.Papon sang and played fewinstruments at the Studio andconnected well with a largeviewership.
Interview with Politika: Theleading Serbian newspaper‘Politika’ arranged a specialinterview of Papon on 05 Nov,2014. The visit of the Group wasgiven wide publicity throughprint, electronic, social media andother means.
Workshop at Indian CulturalCentre: On 06 Nov, theworkshop ‘Cycle-India thatconnects us’ at Indian CulturalCentre was attended by membersof the Centre and the famousmusicians & artists from Serbia,who have some connections withIndia. The group interacted withthe participants and discussedthe differences in traditional andcontemporary trends in music.
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They met with Kirtan GroupSamadhi from Belgrade duringone hour session, where theydiscussed music approaches indifferent parts of India. They alsosang songs as gifts to each other.Since both groups share the samepassion for Indian music, they allfelt the vibration of friendshipand love through music. Donation of MahindraTractor and PickupVehicle to Municipality ofObrenovac: Indian companyMahindra & Mahindra and itsSerbian partner M/sAgropanonka, donated MahindraTractor with Trolley andMahindra Pickup Vehicle to theMayor of Obrenovac on 12 Nov2014, in their efforts to supportthe Municipality of Obrenovac inrecovering from the disastrouseffects of the recent catastrophicfloods in Obrenovac andsurrounding regions. Thedonation was organised in thepresence of H.E. Mrs. NarinderChauhan, Ambassador of India toSerbia, H.E. Mr. MiroslavCuckovic, Mayor of Obrenovac,Mr. Andreja Mladenovic, DeputyMayor of Belgrade, Mr DragoljubSvonja, owner of Agropanonka,Mr. Angelo A. Molfetta & Mr JoseEbenezer, Representatives ofMahindra & Mahindra in Europeand many other prominentpersons.
In her remarks, IndianAmbassador conveyed hersympathies and condolences tothe bereaved and displacedfamilies and added that she hadwitnessed the floods in the regionduring the visit of Heads ofMissions, organised by H.E. theFirst Deputy Prime Minister andForeign Minister of the Republicof Serbia. She mentioned thatimmediately after the floods, theGovernment of India (GOI) hadextended financial assistance ofUS Dollars One hundredthousand (US$ 100,000/-) asimmediate relief to the people ofSerbia and GOI representativeparticipated in the donorconference also. A similar amountwas provided to Bosnia &Herzegovina.
The donation of Mahindra Tractorwith Trolley & Mahindra PickupVehicle would effectively help thelocal authorities in their ongoingrelief operations andrehabilitation efforts in theseverely affected areas. Thenature of Mahindra products issuch that it can reach mostdifficult regions in demandingsituations.
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On the occasion, the Ambassadorof India also gifted books to theSports Cultural Centre ofObrenovac and to the Library'Vlada Aksentijevic' in Obrenovac.The Indian Ambassador alsoinvited Serbian companies to takeadvantage of sponsorshippackage offered by EEPC Indiafor participating in the 'IndiaEngineering Sourcing Show beingorganised in Mumbai from 16-18Dec 2014.
Display of Exhibition‘Digital Prints of Artworksby Rabindranath Tagore’:Ambassador along with Ms.Svetlana Jancic, Acting Director,National Library of Serbia,inaugurated the Exhibition‘Digital Prints of Artworks byRabindranath Tagore’ on 13 Nov2014 at the National Library ofSerbia [Atrium Hall], Skerliceva1, Belgrade. The Exhibitioncontains 45 prints of a selectionof the paintings of NobleLaureate Gurudev RabindranathTagore, the most prominentcultural figure from the un-fragmented Indian subcontinent.His pictorial language imparted anew dimension to modern Indian
paintings. The Tagore exhibitionhas been provided by the IndianCouncil for Cultural Relations(ICCR), New Delhi.
This Exhibition is a tribute to theGurudev Rabindranath Tagore, agreat artist and a master of manyforms, a multifarious personality,a true intellectual and one of thegreatest and best-knownambassadors of Indian culture,whose name is synonymous withhumanity and harmony acrosscultures and nations. His conceptof creativity, philosophy,literature, art and societycontinue to inspire the worldeven today!
Gurudev Tagore has a specialconnection with Serbia. GurudevTagore visited Serbia (formerYugoslavia) in 1926 and gave twolectures in the BelgradeUniversity, had lunch in ”SerbianKing”, gave an interview toStanislav Vinaver and talked tothe Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic.Further, Gurudev was moved by acertain gift: an old Serbian robe
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hemmed with gold, made inKosovo in the 18th century. TheSerbia National Review edition(No. 4 of 2007) which wroteabout his visit to Belgrade,described Gurudev as "theprofound interpreter of East” andstated that the Serbian capitalwas amazed by the Indian poetand philosopher, as well as hewas amazed by Belgrade.
Celebration of Nehru'sBirth Anniversary: On theoccasion of the Birth Anniversaryof Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, thefirst Prime Minister of India, theIndian Cultural Centre organiseda floral tributes on 14 Nov at thebust of Pandit Nehru, located atthe Nehru Street (in front of theNew Belgrade MunicipalityInformation Service Building),New Belgrade. The ceremony waspresided over by Ambassador andattended by members of bothIndian and Serbian Community.On the occasion, Ambassador andProf. Dusan Pajin spoke about theNehru's contribution in the India-Serbia relations including thefoundation of Non-AlignedMovement along with PresidentTito.
"Sari: The Magic of IndianWeaves". In collaboration withthe Indian Council for CulturalRelations (ICCR), Embassy ofIndia will be organizing a curatedexhibition of "Sari: The Magic ofIndian Weaves", an Exhibition onIndian Saris by RTA KapurChishti, at Ethnographic Museumin Belgrade from 25 Nov - 07 Dec2014.
Indian cultural events inSerbia: Embassy of India,Belgrade, in collaboration withIndian Council for CulturalRelations (ICCR) and IncredibleIndia, is planning to organise thefollowing Cultural events inSerbia in coming months tofurther enhance and deepen thecultural contacts between Indiaand Serbia:
Promotion of India inAuteur Film Festival,Belgrade and participationof the film 'Court' by Indiandirector ChaitanyaTamhane in the Festival, 29Nov 2014;
Participation in the 15thIWC Annual DiplomaticCharity Bazaar (ChristmasCharity Bazaar) on 07 Dec2014 at Sajam - BelgradeFair;
Exhibition 'Temples, Forts& Palaces: 2000 years ofIndian Architecture' by Dr.Saryu Doshi, December2014 - January 2015;
Participation in BelgradeInternational Tourism Fair,February 2015;
Indian dance group inMarch / April 2015.
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India Serbia PhotographyContest 2014: Ambassadorannounced the opening of IndiaSerbia Photography Contest 2014at the EXIT festival in Novi Sadon 10 July 2014. The contest isopen to the citizens of Serbia andIndia. The results will beannounced in December 2014.
Etihad Airways will sponsor theGrand Prize Winner from Serbiawith two tickets to India andIndia Tourism Office, Frankfurt(Incredible India) will host thetwo guests from Serbia in Indiafor 7 days. The Grand prizeWinners from India will be hostedin Serbia by Brand Serbia for 7days. The Top 10 entries fromSerbia and Top 10 entries fromIndia will get VIP passes for thenext edition of the EXIT Festival.
“Incredible India” BusBranding Campaign inBelgrade, Serbia. The Embassy of India incooperation with the Governmentof India Tourism Office, Frankfurt“Incredible India” initiated aBrand India marketing campaignby exterior branding of twoBelgrade city transport busses(line 16 & 83). The campaign wasstarted in February 2014 allowingcitizens of Belgrade andcommuters to enjoy the beautifulsights of Indian nature, people &
culture and will continue untilFebruary 2015.
Indian Technical &Economic CooperationProgramme (ITEC): ITECwas introduced in Serbia in 2008and in this short span, over 100candidates from Serbia haveavailed of the ITEC training inIndia. Under the ITECProgramme all expenditure,including the international airpassages, boarding and lodging,internal transport, etc in India, ofthe candidates selected are borneby the Ministry of ExternalAffairs, Government of India.Persons between 25 to 45 years,working in Government, Publicand Private Sectors, Universities,Chambers of Commerce andIndustry, etc. can apply forvarious training courses in Indiaunder ITEC Programme 2014-15,which have been circulatedthrough the Ministry of ForeignAffairs Government of Serbia.More details about ITECprogramme are available onEmbassy's website.
more information on forthcomingevents is available at the Embassywebsite http://eoibelgrade.gov.in
Trade Fairs in India
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o India International Trade Fair www.iitf.in 14-27th of November 2014New Delhi, India
o CPhI India http://www.cphi.com/india/home 02-04th of December 2014Mumbai, India
o Fine Food India www.finefoodindiaexpo.com03-05th December 2014of New Delhi, India
o Plastivision India www.plastivision.org 12-16th of December 2014Mumbai, India
o India Engineering SourcingShow (IESS) http://www.iesshow.in/ 16-18th December 2014Mumbai , India
o The Economic Times AceTechwww.etacetech.com 18-21th of December 2014Delhi, India
o Vibrant Gujarat Summit http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/ 11-13th of January 2015Ahmadabad , India
o CII Partnership Summit http://partnershipsummit.com/ 15-17 January 2015Jaipur, India
o Indian Ceramicswww.indian-ceramics.com 21-23 of January 2015,Ahmedabad, India
o New Delhi World Book Fairwww.newdelhiworldbookfair.gov.in
14-22nd of February 2015New Delhi, India
o India International JewelryShowwww.iijs-signature.org 20-23rd of February 2015,Mumbai, India
o International Agriculture &Horti Expo www.hortiexpo.com 20-22,Feb 2015, Chandigarh India
o Defexpo Indiahttp://defexpoindia.inFebruary 2015,New Delhi, India
o Kosmetika 2015 The Beauty and Wellness Showhttp://kosmeticashow.com Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India
o Panacea Natural Products Expo www.naturalproductsexpoindia.com February 2015, Mumbai, India
o India International Handwoven Fair www.iihfchennai.com11-13th of March 2015Chennai, India
o Aahar International Food Fairwww.aaharinternationalfair.com March 2015New Delhi, India
o World Tea & Coffee Expowww.worldteacoffeeexpo.com September 2015Mumbai, India
o Annapoorna World of Food www.worldoffoodindia.com September 2015,Mumbai India
o Beautika World 2015 http://beautikaworld.com September 2015,Mumbai India
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o World Ayurveda Congresshttp://www.ayurworld.org November 2015,New Delhi, India
o Auto Expo Indiawww.autoexpo.in 4-9th of February 2016, New Delhi, India
More information available at:
www.indiatradefair.com www.cii.in/CII_Events.aspx www.ficci.com/ficci-exhibitions.asp www.assocham.org/events/index.php www.fieo.org/view_detail.php?lang=0&id=0,22&evetype=0
www.biztradeshows.com/india/
Useful Links
The National Portal of India http://india.gov.in
The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
http://mea.gov.in/
India Public Diplomacy www.indiandiplomacy.in
Invest India www.investindia.gov.in
India In Business http://indiainbusiness.nic.in
Incredible India
www.incredibleindia.org
India Brand Equity Foundation www.ibef.org
India Trade Promotion Organisationwww.indiatradefair.com
EXIM Bank http://eximbankindia.com
The Confederation of Indian Industry www.cii.in
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry www.ficci.com
Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of Indiawww.assocham.org
The Federation of Indian Export Organizations www.fieo.org
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry www.phdcci.in
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