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Consulate General of IndiaP.O. BOX 737, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Tel: +971 4 3971222/ +971 4 3971333, Fax: +971 4 3970453, Tlx.: 46061 CGIND EMEmail: [email protected]
CONSULATE HOTLINE NUMBERS: +971 50 9433111 (For women/housemaids in distress and counseling for stress and depression)
+971 50 7347676 (For death formalities on holidays and after office hours)Passport: 04-3070741 Visa: 04-3070743 Consular: 04-3070782 Labour: 04-3070716
Embassy of India, Abu DhabiPlot No. 10, Sector W-59/02, Diplomatic Area, Off the Airport Road
P.O. Box 4090, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesTel: +971 2 4492700, Fax: +971 2 4444685 / +971 2 4447768
Email: [email protected]
The renovated Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi that will host the opening andclosing ceremonies of the 2010 Comonwealth Games besides the athletics, lawn bowls
and weightlifting events of the quadrennial extravaganza.
PUBLICATION OF THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA IN DUBAI
� Online attestations for Indianlabour contracts
� 2010 New Delhi CommonwealthGames countdown
� $400-million India-focused fundfrom Evolvence
� India to grow at 9% nextfiscal, says PM’s panel
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
VOL. 2 ISSUE 7 JULY 2010
Consulate General of India, Dubai’s very own radio show, ‘India Matters’, is now back in a new way. Tunein every Saturday from 6 pm to 7pm on 105.4 Radio Spice FM.
CHASING THE
monsoon
Prize Quiz
insideSham-e-GhazalSham-e-Ghazalenthralls Dubaienthralls Dubai
|3JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
2| INDIA MATTERS
Chasing the monsoon
Dubai-based Evolvence Capital will tolaunch a private equity fund in India, target-ing a corpus of $400 million from institu-tional and high net worth clients.
The Indian economy is set to grow at 8.5percent this fiscal and 9 percent the nextyear, even though the recovery globallyafter the financial crisis will be anaemic,says the Prime Minister’s EconomicAdvisory Council.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
$400-mn India-focusedfund from Evolvence
INDIA-UAE
Consulate hosts Carnaticvocal concert
11
COMMUNITY
ICWC•creates fund forblood money
13
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
India to grow at 9% nextfiscal: PM’s panel
17
16
20
GOKARNA
Unlike last year, the rain gods are smiling this time and this is likely to boostIndian economy and help the country notch up a growth rate of more than 9percent this fiscal.
contents
4
India Mattersis a monthly publication of theConsulate General of India
(CGI) in Dubai. All rightsreserved. No part of this journalmay be produced, stored or
transmitted in any form or by anymeans – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
permission of the CGI Dubai.
Editorial correspondence and manuscripts can be addressed to
Content and design by IANS(www.ianspublishing.com) on behalf of Consulate General of India in Dubai.
FROM THE CONSUL GENERAL’S DESKDear Reader,
Music fills the infinite between two souls – Rabindranath Tagore
Two completely mesmerising music concerts were held at the Consulate auditorium in July. The first was by PadmaBhushan-recipient Kalaimamani Trichur Sri V. Ramachandran, who mesmerised over 300 people in the Consulateauditorium on July 1, 2010. Sham-e-Ghazal, a ghazal evening, was organised at the Consulate in association withHamari Association and Indian Council of Cultural Relations. A powerful and soul stirring performance was deliveredby Mr. Fareed Ahmed Khan and Mrs. Charanjit Soni which left over 500 ghazal fans captivated.The Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC), on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, is raising AED2.6
million by the end of the year to pay blood money for 13 Indian nationals who are still in jail even after completingtheir terms. A press conference on the subject was also held at the Consulate.I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my Ramadan greetings to all readers. I would like to urge all
Indians living in the UAE to use this holy month of Ramadan as an opportunity to reach out to their Muslim friendsand celebrate the spirit of Ramadan.We appreciate you for taking time to answer the indiQtive questions. The response has been overwhelming. Kindly
encourage your kids to do the same as it will add to their knowledge about their country.
Happy reading!
INDIA MATTERS ON AIRThe Consulate General of India in Dubai has re-launched its
weekly radio programme, India Matters, with the purpose ofinforming the public about various Consular services, events relat-ing to India and about what matters to Indians in the UAE.India Matters is aired every Saturday between 6 pm and 7 pm
on FM 105.4 Radio Spice and repeated every Friday between 5 pmand 6 pm. FM 105.4 Radio Spice caters to the South Asian community in
the UAE, broadcasting mainly in Hindi and English.
Sanjay Verma
The winner of the June 2010 monthly quiz contest isMr. Dhananjay Sinha. He wins a gift hamper.
Congratulations!
Subbarao used the phrase fromAlexander Fraters’ famous book with thesame title. The tome borders on a travelogue that
illustrates the author’s experiences duringa journey that begins atThiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on June 1,when the first monsoon showers arrive onthe mainland.He is then in Kovalam watching people
rejoice with the first showers and moves
northward via Kochi and Goa to Delhiand even the northeast, learning on theway how these annual rains drive the livesof Indian farmers and city-dwellers alike.The apex bank governor’s remarks are
also similar to what Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and Finance MinisterPranab had to say recently about themonsoon – which accounts for two-thirds of India’s precipitation and overhalf the farm sector’s water needs.
Manmohan Singh said his predictionof an 8.5 percent economic growth forthis fiscal depended on good showers thisseason, while Mukherjee has said mon-soon is the real finance minister of thecountry and not he.Last year, the monsoon was the worst
in 37 years since 1972 with precipitationbeing 23 percent less than average.“Comparing the seasonal rainfall dur-
ing 2009 with that in previous years, it isthe most deficient year after 1972,” theMinistry of Eart Sciences had said inOctober last year.“The cumulative seasonal rainfall for
the country as a whole was 23 percentbelow the long period average (LPA).During 1972, the seasonal rainfall was 24percent below the LPA for the country asa whole,” the ministry said.The ministry said that rainfall is ‘much
less’ in 59 percent of the over 600 districtsin the country. It means there was less rainthan average in around 360 districts.“Considering district-wise rainfall
during the period June 1 to September30, the rainfall was excess in 9 percent,normal in 32 percent, deficient in 51percent districts and scanty in 8 percentof the total districts in the country,” itadded.Apart from impacting the country’s
economy as a whole, India’s June-September monsoon rains are a key factorfor global commodities markets as theyinfluence output of various crops inIndia, which is among the world’s leadingproducers and consumers of wheat, rice,sugar and edible oils.Farmers in India, the world’s biggest
edible oil importer and Asia’s leadingoilmeal exporter, plant soybean in therainy months of July and August, withharvests starting from October.Heavy rains in the third week of July
boost soil moisture, help growth andimprove yields of summer crops such asrice, corn, cane and oilseeds. Rains inAugust are also important. Last year, along dry patch in August hurt the soy-bean and rice crops.Rain water is particularly important
in India as just 40 percent of the farmshave irrigation facilities, with the restdepending on rainfall for planting cropsin July.The monsoons account for 75-90 per-
Come June every year and farm-ers across the length andbreadth of the vast Indian hin-terland look heaven-wards
searching for rain clouds hovering overthe horizon.Even today, despite all the economic
development and the achievements ofIndia’s scientists and technologists, theIndian economy remains hostage to thevagaries of the monsoon.
“Right when I started my career, themonsoon had an impact on my emotion-al well-being, on my career prospects,”Reserve Bank of India Governor, Mr. D.Subbarao, told the media during a pressconference in late July after unveiling thefirst-quarter review of the monetary poli-cy, in which inflation was in focus.“If it rains, everything is well on earth
and cordial in heaven. You carry on withyour work. But if it doesn’t, all you did
was drought relief. Now at the end of mycareer, I realise I am once again hostage tothe monsoon,” he said.“If it rains, the monetary policy works.
Everything is all right. If it doesn’t rain,there is worry,” added the central bankgovernor, the topper of the 1972 batch ofthe Indian Administrative Service (IAS),who opted for Andhra Pradesh cadre.“So, I want you to realise that all of us
are ‘chasing the monsoon’.”
|5JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
4| INDIA MATTERS
COVER STORY
Since time immemorial, the monsoon has determined the fortunes of India’sfarmers. Unlike last year, when deficient rainfall spelt misery for the country’sfarm sector, the rain gods are smiling this time and India seems all set tonotch up a growth rate of more than 9 percent this fiscal, reports Arjun Sen
CHASING THE MONSOON
cent of total annual rainfall. This year, thetotal rainfall since June 1, the start of thefour-month rainy season, is just 5 percentbelow normal and distributed evenlyacross main crop regions.While good rainfall at this stage is
important for crop maturity, there is,however, also a risk of floods in someparts of India if the current uptrend inmonsoon rains continue.Weather officials say the surge in mon-
soon rains is due to developing La Ninaconditions, which bring heavy rains inSouth Asia and can also increase the riskof floods.On average, 3.725 million hectares of
crop area are damaged annually in Indiadue to floods. The vagaries of India’s monsoon also
impact global commodity markets. Forexample, India is the world's biggest con-sumer and second-largest producer ofsugar. Last year, the worst drought in 37years made India a large importer of thesweetener, helping lift New York rawsugar futures to their highest in 29 years.Good rainfall and higher planting this
year will boost global supplies and mod-erate prices.India also overtook China as the top
importer of vegetable oils after last year’scrop loss. However, the revival in themonsoon should pave the way for higherdomestic supply and lower dependenceon imports.The farm sector’s share in the Indian
economy is 14.5 percent but it is also akey source of income for villagers, whoaccount for two-thirds of India's billion-plus population.Good monsoon rains help raise farm
incomes, which help demand for fuel,cars, motorcycles and consumer goods.Poor rainfall increases rural distress,boosting government spending on subsi-dies and welfare schemes.Monsoon rains also replenish reser-
voirs and increase the levels of groundwa-ter, which provides water for drinking,irrigation and generation of hydropower.However, if lower rainfall leads to
drinking water scarcity, the governmentcan reduce water supply to power plantsor farms and provide more water tohouseholds.This year, India’s main water reservoirs
filled up slowly to 19 percent of capacity,
rising 2 percentage points in the week toJuly 22. India’s 81 main reservoirs nor-mally fill up to 29 percent from 25 per-cent in the course of the week at this timeof the year.Good rainfall also reduces demand for
diesel, which is used to pump water fromwells for irrigation when rainfall is scanty.
The above normal rains would alsohelp tame inflation. Adequate rainfall inthe remaining monsoon months will seefood production increase, leading tohigher supplies and calming prices.Inflation has run into double digits for
five consecutive months and has been ris-ing after last year’s monsoon delivered the
weakest rainfall in nearly four decades.A poor monsoon also has a political
fallout. Since more than 60 percent ofIndian voters reside in villages, the rulingparty faces a difficult time if bad rainfallreduces rural incomes.
When the monsoon fails, farmers oftendemand higher rates for their produceand put pressure on elected leaders towaive loan repayment and electricitycharges. Last year, farmers in UttarPradesh, demanding a higher price for
cane, burnt imported raw sugar andforced the local government to bar pro-cessing of imported raws by millers.Protests also disrupted parliament.A delayed and deficient monsoon in
2009-10 combined with the continuing
|7JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
6| INDIA MATTERS
COVER STORY
Good rainfall and higher planting this year will boost global supplies and moderate prices.
|9JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
8| INDIA MATTERS
COVER STORY
adverse impacts of a global recession andfinancial meltdown slowed down growthand the Indian economy could only man-age a growth rate of 7.2 percent in 2009-10 even as farm output declined margin-ally by 0.2 percent. This year, the vital monsoon rains were
38 percent above average in the week toJuly 28, 2010, accroding to the weatheroffice.Monsoon rains are likely to remain
below normal for a week starting August13, 2010, but are forecast to revive soon,particularly in the soybean-growing cen-tral region, the weather office said. Meanwhile, the improvement in rainfall
in the country as a whole, has resulted in aspectacular improvement in the water
stock in reservoirs, reports suggest. Rainfall over the country as a whole
for the second half (August toSeptember) of the 2010 southwest mon-soon season is likely to be normal,according to the India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD). Quantitatively,rainfall for the country as a whole duringthe period August-September 2010 islikely to be 107 percent of the LPA witha model error of plus/minus 7 percent,according to the weather office.The weather office expects this year’s
monsoon rains to be at 102 percent of thelong-period average. If the southwestmonsoon for the June-September mon-soon season turns out good and if it iswell distributed, it will help raise farm
output, boost rural incomes and lowerfood inflation.According to the latest precipitation
figures, the monsoon seems to be more orless normal in all regions of the countryexcept the eastern and north eastern partsof the country. The state government in Bihar has
already declared 28 districts out of 38 asdrought hit and has demanded `15,000crore as special financial assistance fromthe central government to tackle thedrought situation.According to the weather office, the
season’s rainfall over the three geographi-cal regions (northwest India, centralIndia and south peninsula) is likely to bewithin the normal limits. However, the
season's rainfall over east and northeastIndia is likely to be below normal.“There has been no depression over the
Bay of Bengal in the first two months ofthe monsoon, which is an anomalous fea-ture reported this time. This has led toscanty rainfall in northeast country.Rainfall is likely to be deficit in WestBengal, Bihar and Jharkhand,” a weatheroffice spokesperson said. “During the monsoon (since June 1),
the northeastern region on an average hassuffered a 28 percent shortfall comparedto the normal rainfall,” an IndiaMeteorological Department (IMD) offi-cial in Agartala said. “Soon after the onset of the monsoon
in June, some parts of the northeasternregion witnessed excess rainfall but subse-quently the precipitation reversed,” hesaid. According to the IMD's regional mete-
orological centre in Guwahati, the deficit
rainfall this monsoon in the northeast isminimum in Assam, where the shortfallrecorded is 6 percent. In contrast, therainfall deficit is maximum at 49 percentin Meghalaya. Manipur has recorded 46 percent
deficit rainfall followed by ArunachalPradesh 30 percent, Mizoram 28 percent,Nagaland 27 percent and Tripura 16 per-cent. “Excess rainfall, coupled with floods
have damaged crops in some parts of thenortheast including Assam, while deficitmonsoon rainfall would affect the pro-duction of various monsoon crops,including ‘Boro rice’,” an official of theIndian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) said in Agartala. The monsoon was delayed this year by a
week and reached Kerala by the end of May.Meanwhile, India’s food inflation
slowed to 9.53 percent in July, a 13-month low and down from 21 percent inNovember, as the country got more mon-soon rains in July than forecast, aidingsowing of lentils and rice. v
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
has mooted a proposal to set up a
National Mission on Monsoon to develop
an advanced system for accurate monsoon
forecasting, Minister for Earth Sciences
Prithviraj Chavan told the media recently.
“The national level implementation mech-
anism is being worked out and a steering
committee shall be constituted for oversee-
ing the Mission implementation,” Chavan
told the Rajya Sabha.
Currently, the India Meteorological
Department (IMD) uses statistical models
for the prediction of seasonal monsoon
rainfall over India. However, the National
Mission on Monsoon envisages developing
India-specific dynamical model framework
that would outperform the existing suite of
models available today.
India to set up nationalmission on monsoon,
says Chavan Good monsoon rains help raise farm incomes, which help demand for fuel, cars, motorcycles and consumer goods.
Dark clouds hovering over an urbanIndian landscape.
INDIA-UAE
|11JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
10|INDIA MATTERS
Carnatic vocal concert at the Consulate
Under the auspices of theConsulate General of India,the music lovers of Dubai weretreated to a Carnatic vocal
concert on July 1 by the trio of PadmaBhushan-recipient Kalaimamani TrichurSri V Ramachandran, Kalaimamani SmtCharumathi Ramachandran and Ms.Shubasri Ramachandran.Ramachandran learnt Carnatic music
under the maestro Sangitha KalanidhiG.N. Balasubramanian, popularly knownas GNB, while Charumathi was under thetutelage of Padma Bhushan-recipientSangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. M.L.Vasanthakumari, a disciple of GNB. This year being the birth centenary of
GNB, the evening started with a short slidepresentation by Charumathi on the masterand other great musicians who have influ-enced their music.Mr. K. Kumar, Convener of the Indian
Community Welfare Committee and thePresident of the Indian Fine Arts Dubai,welcomed the audience and the artisteswere felicitated by Ms. Madhu Sethi, Headof Chancery, Consulate General of India. The programme was presented in two
sessions. In the first session, SriRamachandran performed solo with manykritis popularised by his Guru GNB. Sri Ramachandran was accompanied
by an experienced Smt Kalyani Shankaron violin who brought many phrases ofthe vocalist in her instrument with ease
whilst the percussion support on mridan-gam was provided by the ever reliable SriK.M.S Mani and on ghatam by Kovai S.Kumar. In the second session, Sri Ramachandran
was joined by his wife Charumathi anddaughter Subashri. Subashri started with her captivating
voice, the song Evarani. The next was adetailed raga rendition by both motherand daughter duo in Kalyani followed bythe kriti Ethavunara of Saint Thyagaraja.This song was taken to its close with ascintillating thani avardhanam – a rendi-tion by all the percussionists – by SriK.M.S Mani on the mridangam, Kovai S.
Kumar on the ghatam and Najeeb on thetabla. The concert came to a close after the
mother-daughter duo rendered a few pop-ular numbers like Narayana in SudhaDhanyasi, Madhava Mamava inNeelambari, Katrilinile Varum Geethamand Radha Samedha Krishna.
Mr. K.Kumar proposed the vote ofthanks and also conveyed the best wisheson behalf of all the rasikas to SriK.M.S.Mani, who is leaving the UAE tosettle down back home.The evening will be remembered by the
rasikas of Dubai for reviving songs of yes-teryear vidwans. v
Centralised link: Online attestationsfor Indian labour contractsNew system to streamline verification of labour contract-related papers for Indians in the UAE
Anew web-based system tostreamline attestations of papersrelated to labour contracts ofIndian workers will be launched
in the UAE in August, Mr. M.K. Lokesh,Indian Ambassador to the UAE said.He added that the new online system,
which is currently in a trial phase, willenable all attestation services required bypotential employers and workers to be cen-tralised, linking the Indian missions withthe UAE Ministry of Labour and theProtector General of Emigrants in India.All Indian workers require emigration
clearance by Indian authorities before theyarrive in the UAE.Under the existing system, he said,
potential employers visit the Indian mis-sions to get labour documents attested inorder to secure an emigration clearance
from the Indian authorities, but there is noway to tell whether there are any discrep-ancies or whether employers are honouringtheir commitments.The new online system, which can be
accessed by the labour authorities in bothIndia and the UAE, seeks to check this dis-crepancy as it will provide a valuable recordof not just recruitments, but also any viola-tions that employers may commit. “The new system will streamline recruit-
ment and benefit employers and workers,”Ambassador Lokesh said.He said an Indian Workers Resource
Centre will be established by the end of theyear to make ongoing community welfaremeasures more professional.He also added that a 24-hour helpline
would be put in place for workers withother issues such as health insurance also
being looked into.While talking about the status of various
agreements between India and the UAE,he said a memorandum of understandingon manpower is set to be finalised with adelegation from India. “We hope to sign it soon and have invit-
ed the UAE Minister of Interior to visitIndia in this connection,” he said.On the trade and economic front,
Ambassador Lokesh said efforts would bemade to consolidate the strong relationshipbetween the two countries and promoteinvestments from the UAE in power,roads, communication and other key infra-structure areas in India.“We require foreign investment and
technology and that is where we want theUAE to assume a more important role,because it has the resources,” he said. v
UAE, India plan convict transfer
The UAE andIndia aredrawing up an
agreement which willallow the transfer ofprisoners between thetwo countries, Mr.M.K. Lokesh,Ambassador of India inthe UAE, said.The Ambassador
said that the agreementwill enable Indian con-victs in the UAE toserve their sentences intheir home country,and the UAE will beartheir daily expenses.“Convicted Indians
can request to servetheir jail terms in India.This is done onhumanitarian grounds.The request can be
made either by theIndian or the UAEgovernment, or by theprisoners.”A senior official at
the UAE Ministry ofInterior said the agree-ment will be signedbetween the two coun-tries soon.The official, howev-
er, added, “Convictedprisoners involved infinancial crimes orthose sentenced todeath cannot serve theirterms in India.”He said there will be
a legal department inthe UAE Embassy inIndia which will followup on the cases of pris-oners who are trans-ferred to Indian jails.v
n About 1,500 Indians are in UAE jails, accord-
ing to India's Ministry of External Affairs.
n The UAE is considered the first Arab country
to sign a prisoner transfer agreement, which
is permitted by the United Nations.
n An agreement signed between the UAE and
other Gulf Cooperation Council countries
four years ago allows prisoners to serve their
terms in their home countries.
n The International Transfer of Prisoners
Scheme allows Australians imprisoned over-
seas, and foreign nationals imprisoned in
Australia, to apply to serve the remainder of
their sentences in their home countries.
n Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand have
signed similar agreements with some coun-
tries.
n The Council of Europe Convention allows
nationals of those countries (who are signato-
ries), who are serving sentences in US prisons,
to be transferred back to their home countries.
Jail swap: Pacts with other nations Officials of the Indian
Consulate regularly visit jails
in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al-
Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al
Qwain to ascertain the welfare of
Indian inmates. Prisons in Dubai
and Sharjah are visited weekly,
while the others are visited on a
monthly basis, or earlier, when
required.
Prison visits are to ascertain the
general welfare of Indian prison-
ers. In the normal course, legal
assistance is not extended by
Indian diplomatic missions to
Indian nationals in foreign jails.
If you have a relative or friend
(Indian national) in prison, who
requires assistance, please write
to us with details on e-mail con-
[email protected] or on fax
04-3570531. For telephonic
enquiry please call 04-3070716.
Consular aid for Indiannationals in jails
(From left) Kalaimamani Trichur Sri V. Ramachandran, Smt CharumathiRamachandran and Ms. Shubhasri Ramachandran.
A scene from the Carnatic vocal concert organised by the Consulate General of India in Dubai.
The Consulate General of Indiain Dubai, with the support ofthe Indian Council of CulturalRelations and the Dubai-based
Hamari Association, organised a ghazalevening, Sham-e-Ghazal, at the Consulate’sauditorium on July 23.
Mr. Fareed Ahmed Khan, vocalistextraordinaire, started the evening andcaptivated the audience with his versatil-ity. This was followed by a powerful andsoulful performance by Mrs. CharanjitSoni, who took listeners to the era whenghazal gayaki was defined. The show wascompered by Mr. Sayyed Arshad, whowas much appreciated by all for his witand sher-aur-shayeri that he rendered.
The evening was made memorable bythe singers from India by their rendition ofghazals made popular by maestros likeMehdi Hassan, Begum Akhtar, GhulamAli, Jagjit Singh and a composition byBahadur Shah Zafar, the last MughalEmperor. The accompanying artists on thesarangi, tabla and harmonium also madethe evening special.
Over 500 ghazal fans sat riveted and
overwhelmed the singers with theirrequests.
Earlier, the Consul General of India inDubvai, Mr. Sanjay Verma, and Mrs.
Sangeeta Matta Verma welcomed and felic-itated the artistes. The vote of thanks wasproposed by Mr. Farhan of HamariAssociation.
INDIA-UAE COMMUNITY
|13JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
12|INDIA MATTERS
INDIAN CONSULATE IN DUBAIHOLDS SHAM-E-GHAZAL
Mr. Fareed Ahmed Khan (centre) performing at the Sham-e-Ghazal concert at the Indian Consulate auditorium in Dubai.
Mrs. Charanjit Soni during the course of her performance.
The Indian Community WelfareCommittee (ICWC) that worksunder the auspices of theConsulate General of India is
celebrating its 10th anniversary by tryingto raise AED2.6 million by the end of theyear to pay off the blood money owed by13 prisoners languishing in Dubai jailsafter completing their jail term.
“We have identified 13 cases, all ofwhich are non-criminal in nature like traf-fic or worksite accidents where deaths havebeen caused without pre-meditation.There are people of all nationalities andthey are in jail because of their inability topay AED200,000 as the diya money,” saidsaid Mr. K. Kumar, Chairman of theICWC, said while addressing a press con-ference at the Indian Consulate in Dubai.
Consul General Sanjay Verma, andFrancis Xavier Xaxa, Consul (Labour andWelfare), were also present at the confer-ence.
“We often talk to the victims’ familiesand try to convince them to pardon orreduce the blood money amount,” Mr.Kumar said.
“We have taken up the challenge of pay-ing the money owed by these 13 men. Wewill collect more funds and I know theIndian community has the potential to payfor this cause.”
“Most of these men are labourers ordrivers who get stuck in such a situation.There is no way they can afford to pay theblood money. My biggest concern is thatmost of them are men in their late 20s and30s who are doomed for life because of onemistake. They can never see their family orlive their life,” said Mr. Kumar.
The beneficiaries of the fund will beselected by a five-member managementcommittee.
“This fund will not be used for peoplewho have been charged with serious crimeslike murder or drug trafficking and oth-ers,” said Mr Kumar. “We are acceptingone dirham to a million. It all depends oneach person’s capabilities. We hope thatIndians donate generously.”
Apart from assistance with bloodmoney, the fund will also provide financialhelp to the distressed families of prisonerswho are back home.
Kumar said a fund-raising drive isexpected to meet the target within threemonths. ICWC has, in its 10-year exis-tence, helped in 25 such cases by raisingthe amount after negotiating with the vic-tims’ relatives.
Mr. Kumar said the ICWC was alsoworking to establish a “single window clear-ance” system for families dealing in death-related formalities. Its has mapped the entireprocess and the work-flow and is willing to
develop a web-based system. ICWC hassubmitted their offer to one of the key stake-holders and awaiting their acceptance.
This would not only help the Indiancommunity but all the other communitieswhen confronted with the unfortunate taskof having to deal with death cases. If imple-mented, the pillar-to-post running aroundcould be avoided. As an interim solution,ICWC intends to appoint a full time staffto coordinate this activity for the benefit ofthe community.
Consul General Verma said that, apartfrom the ICWC, the consulate also operat-ed an Indian Community Workers Fundspecifically to deal with labour issues.
“Through the workers fund this year, weissued 170 flight tickets to labourers whocould not pay to return home. Otherexpenses for stranded workers such as food,shelter and money is also taken care bythis,” Consul General Verma said.
ICWC’s efforts to alleviate the sufferingsof the less privileged members of the socie-ty has been recognised by both local andGovernment of India officials and theIndian diaspora.
The umbrella organisation has 76 par-ticipating organisations all of whom workvery cohesively towards one commonobjective: “Care to share to put that miss-ing smile back on the less privileged fellowcountrymen and women.”
ICWC creates fund for blood money(From left) Consul (Labour and Welfare)Francis Xavier Xaxa, Consul GeneralSanjay Verma and ICWC Chairman K.Kumar at the press conference.
began late, but the workforce was increasedthree-fold to finish it just in time. Come tothink of it, the major venues were actuallyconstructed for the 1982 Asian Games andhave undergone large-scale renovation.Then, there are 26 training facilities. Almost all the stadiums have already
been tested even as they were being givenfinishing touches. The only facilities whichare still to be used for trial events are theJawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex andthe Shyama Prasad Mukherjee swimmingcomplex. The end product has been satisfying,
albeit with a few niggles, which have beenpromised to be looked into by the time themega event kicks off. So far, eight test events have successfully
taken place and CGF CEO Mike Hoopersays the shortcomings have been taken intoaccount. “There were some teething troubles dur-
ing the pre-Games events to test the facili-ties, but by and large they were fairly suc-cessful. Whatever shortcoming were therewe have worked on them,” Hooper, whohad fallen foul with the OrganisingCommittee for initially expressing doubtsover India's preparedness, told IANS. “The Hockey World Cup (in Delhi this
year) was a big success. The preliminaryFIH report after the event pointed outsome operational problems. We will work
on them and that’s how a mega event likethe Commonwealth Games is organised,”Hooper added. The test events began with the success-
ful hosting of the hockey World Cup inMarch, where 12 nations participated andappreciated the refurbished Major DhyanChand National Stadium spread over 37acres. The 16,200-capacity stadium hastwo synthetic pitches and an additionalpractice pitch. The stadium has ultra-modern facilities
for players like change rooms, lounges anda state-of-the-art sound system withacoustic effects. The stadium also has flood-lights to provide 2,200 lux illumination. In April, the newly built badminton sta-
dium at Siri Fort hosted the BadmintonAsia Championship. The stadium has fivecourts and a warm-up arena with around5,000 seating capacity. “The stadium has facilities of interna-
tional standards for players players andguests. It is in the heart of the capital,which is an added attraction. The playersare happy with the fully-equipped stadium.It matches up to the world standard in itssize, capacity and architecture,”Badminton Association of India (BAI)president V.K. Verma told IANS. “We are now holding talks to make it a
dedicated venue for badminton,” saidVerma.Tennis, in which India expects at least
four medals at the Games, also has arevamped stadium in the R.K. Khannatennis complex with newly-laid 14 courtswith plexi-turf. The courts have got athumbs-up from players and coaches. South African Davis Cupper Rik De
Voest, who was in Delhi in May for a$15,000 International Tennis Federation(ITF) tournament, feels the stadium is atpar with the best in the world. "It definitely has an international look.
The courts are good and I am really look-ing forward to playing in theCommonwealth Games,” Voest said. Nar Singh, Director of Coaching at the
Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA),feels the stadium is easily the best in Asia. “I have seen stadiums all over the world
and this one is the best in Asia. The seatingcapacity at the centre court is around 5,000while the other show court has a 1,500 seat-ing capacity. The courts are ideal to developthe game of upcoming players,” he said. However, some sports federations are not
as lucky. In fact, they wonder what will hap-pen to the stadiums once the Games are over. Boxing Federation of India secretary
general P.K. Muralidharan Raja said theTalkatora Stadium, which is the boxingvenue, is not a dedicated facility forsports. “We don't know for what purpose it will
be used after the Commonwealth Games.We do not have a boxing arena in the cap-ital and we have to depend on the railwaystadium for practice. I have raised this issuewith the sports minister and (IndianOlympic Association chief ) SureshKalmadi that a dedicated facility for boxingshould be built,” Raja told IANS. Even the rugby sevens officials fear the
plush stadium constructed for the Gamesat the Delhi University will be turned intoa cricket stadium once the mega event isover. “Rugby sevens is fast catching up, it is
now even a part of the Olympic Games. Wewere delighted when we saw this new worldclass venue but we are now hearing that itwill be turned into a cricket stadium oncethe Games are over. It’s sad. We don't haveeven one dedicated ground in the country,”India’s rugby captain Nasser Hussain said. The hiccups apart, it is clear that the
optimism of the organising committee'sRandhir Singh is not misplaced. v
GAMES COUNTDOWN
|15JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
14| INDIA MATTERS
By Pragya Tiwari
The one lasting legacy of theCommonwealth Games inDelhi this year will be the 12state-of-the-art stadiums that
were built or renovated for what will beIndia biggest sporting event, making Delhia major global destination for sports. Thenew facilities may have tempted DelhiChief Minister Sheila Dikshit to proudlyterm India’s capital an Olympic city. So moved is veteran sports administrator
Randhir Singh that he has suggested thatthe next stop could be the Asian Games, ofwhich India has hosted two editions, andeven the Olympics. “The Commonwealth Games will act as a
springboard for hosting the Olympics. Withthe present infrastructure, we can bid for theAsian Games,” Randhir Singh, Vice-
Chairman of Commonwealth GamesOrganising Committee, told IANS newswire. Brave words these are, given the arduous
journey it has been to get the facilities inshape at a staggering cost of `150 billion($3.25 billion) for the October 3-14Commonwealth Games that will see theparticipation of over 8,000 athletes frommore than 70 countries. When the 365-day countdown to the
Games began, there was a huge questionmark on Delhi’s readiness to host theGames. Yet, after spiralling infrastructurecosts, repeated revisions of budgetary esti-mates and allocations and fears over meetingthe construction deadlines, the infrastruc-ture is finally falling in place barely a100days before the start of the Games. The biggest worry of the
Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)was the slow progress on the Games
Village, which is being constructed by theprivate-sector Emaar-MGF, with costsescalating to ̀ 10.38 billion after receiving a`7 billion bailout package from the DelhiDevelopment Authority. Now, it’s well onway to completion. The cost for renovating the Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium, which will host the open-ing and closing ceremonies, was revised to`9.61 billion from `4.55 billion. Similarly,for the Karni Singh Shooting Range, thebudget increased to `1.49 billion from theoriginal `160 million. Much of the allocation, the Games
organising committee insisted, is a loan andwill be repaid through marketing the event. More than once, the CGF communicated
with the Commonwealth Games OrganisingCommittee for delays in delivery of the proj-ects by different government agencies.Ground work at almost all the stadiums
A general interior view of the cycling velodrome constructed for the Commonwealth Games in the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
MAKING INDIA A GLOBALDESTINATION FOR SPORTSWith the 2010 Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi,India Matters brings to you a series of articles in the run-up to the event
(From left) Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, Commonwealth GamesFederation President Mike Fennell and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit with theQueen’s Baton.
STADIUM FACTFILEFollowing are the venues where competi-
tions in 17 disciplines will be held during
the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games in
Delhi:
n Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium: (Opening and
closing ceremonies) Athletics, Lawn
Bowls, Weightlifting
n Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium:
Hockey
n Indira Gandhi Sports Complex: Cycling,
Gymnastics, Wrestling
n Delhi University Sports Complex: Rugby
Sevens
n Thyagaraj Stadium: Netball
n Siri Fort Sports Complex: Badminton,
Squash
n Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range: Shooting
n Talkatora Stadium: Boxing
n SPM Swimming Pool Complex: Aquatics
n RK Khanna Tennis Complex: Tennis
n Yamuna Sports Complex: Table Tennis,
Archery
n Full Bore Shooting Range, Gurgaon: Full
Bore Shooting
AF
P
The Indian economy is set to growat 8.5 percent this fiscal and 9percent the next year, eventhough the recovery globally
after the financial crisis will be anaemic, thePrime Minister’s Economic AdvisoryCouncil said recently. The council also predicted the annual
inflation rate based on wholesale prices,which was estimated at 10.5 percent forJune, to fall to around 7-8 percent byDecember and and further to 6.5 percent byMarch next year.“We predict the agriculture sector to grow
at 4.5 percent, industrial production at 9.7percent and services by 8.9 percent this fis-cal, for an overall growth of 8.5 percent,” C.Rangarajan, Chairman of the Council, said.“The 4.5 percent growth in agriculture
after a decline of 0.2 percent last fiscal is, of
course, on the presumption of normalsouth-west monsoon,” Rangarajan, a formergovernor of India’s central bank, said at apress conference. The country’s gross domestic product
had expanded by 7.2 percent last fiscal and6.7 percent the year before, after a fast-pacedexpansion of 9.2 percent, 9.7 percent and9.5 percent in the preceding three years,respectively. v
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
|17JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
16|INDIA MATTERS
n IN SHORT n
Hotels-to-cigarettes major ITC plans
major investments of around `23,000
crore over the next 7-10 years across all
segments of its businesses including con-
sumer goods, paper, packaging and hospi-
tality, a top official said recently.
“The fast moving consumers goods
sector in India is expected to triple in size
to over `355,000 crore by 2018. I can
sight an investment opportunity for ITC of
up to `8,000 crore over the next 7-10
years to drive growth in this sector,” ITC
Chairman Y.C. Deveshwar told the 99th
annual general meeting of the company.
ITC plans Rs.23,000 crinvestment over 10 years
The broadband subscriber count in
the country is likely to rise to 275 mil-
lion by 2015 from the current nine
million, says a report.
The subscriber base will grow as sub-
marine cable capacity is expected to rise
and supply of capacities is likely to
increase with the adoption of wireless
broadband (BWA), it says.
The nine million broadband user base
in India is seen to be under-penetrated,
says the report, Dawn of the Digital
Decade, brought out by the Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(ASSOCHAM) and Frost and Sullivan.
275 mn broadband usersby 2015: report
The boards of two energy firms
belonging to the Reliance Anil
Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) – one
in the business of generating power
and the other that trades and transports
oil and gas – approved their merger in
a $11-billion all-stock deal on July 4.
“The board of directors of Reliance
Power and Reliance Natural Resources
approved a scheme of amalgamation
of the two companies in an over $11-
billion all stock deal,” said an ADAG
statement.
ADAG energy cos mergein $11 bn deal
India to grow at 9% nextfiscal, says PM’s panel
IMF sees 9.5% growth for India
India’s growth willaccelerate to about9.5 percent in 2010
as robust corporateprofits and favorablefinancing conditionsfuel investment, andthen settle to 8.5 per-cent in 2011, accordingto International Monetary Fund (IMF)projections.Large domestic demand bases in India,
China, and Indonesia, which contributesubstantially to Asia’s growth, could alsoprovide the region a cushion in the event ofexternal demand shocks, the IMF said. As Asia’s strong recovery from the
global financial crisis continues, despiterenewed tension in global financial mar-kets, the world growth is projected atabout 4.5 percent in 2010 and 4.25 per-cent in 2011, according to the Julyupdate of IMF’s World EconomicOutlook (WEO).Olivier Blanchard, Economic
Counseller and Director, Research, IMF,addressed the media after releasing the
report in Hongkong.Relative to the April
2010 WEO, the cur-rent forecast repre-sents an upward revi-sion of about 0.5 per-centage point in 2010,reflecting strongeractivity during the
first half of the year, the IMF said, keep-ing its forecast for 2011 unchanged. Atthe same time, downside risks have risensharply amid renewed financial turbu-lence, suggesting that policy efforts inadvanced economies should focus oncredible fiscal consolidation, notablymeasures that enhance medium-rungrowth prospects, such as reforms toentitlement and tax systems.Noting that economic activity in Asia
had been sustained by continued buoyan-cy in exports and a strong private domes-tic demand, the IMF has revised GrossDomestic Product (GDP) growth fore-casts for the region upward for 2010,from about 7 percent in the April WEOto about 7.5 percent. v
Dubai-based investment firmEvolvence Capital recentlyannounced its plan to launch aprivate equity fund in India,
targeting a corpus of $400 million frominstitutional and high net worth clientsfrom across the globe. The Evolvence IndiaFund II is its third India-focused fund.The fund aims to make select invest-
ments in mid-market growth capital seg-ment in the Indian private equity market,through investments, co-investments anddirect investments.The new fund follows the successful clos-
ing of Evolvence India Fund I in 2007 andEvolvence India Life Sciences Fund, ahealthcare and life sciences fund, in 2008.Evolvence India Fund II will invest with
high quality private equity fund managersand established entrepreneurs in India andmay selectively consider investments in secondary private equity opportunities.“The Indian economy has shown consid-
erable resilience registering a 7.2 percentgrowth in FY10 (financial year) even during
the global economic downturn,” said KhaledAl Muhairy, CEO of Evolvence Capital.“We believe that this growth is broad
based and will translate into long termpotential in the Indian private equityspace. Evolvence is committed to Indiaand has been actively investing in thismarket since 2004.
“The new fund from EvolvenceCapital will be focused on the mid-mar-ket growth segments, where companiesneed expansion capital to scale up theiractivities,” he added.“We believe that the rapidly emerging
Indian private equity space offers greatopportunities for our institutional and highnet worth investors,” said Ajit Kumar,Managing Director of Evolvence India Fund.“In India, we see a shift in PE (private
equity) investments from IT sector to otherbroader areas of the Indian economy. Weare of the view that PE investments willplay a critical role in India’s growth story inthe coming years as rising private consump-tion and urbanisation requires substantialinvestments in micro, small and mediumenterprises to mega infrastructure projects.“Over the next few years, there will be
numerous growth capital opportunities inFMCG, agro and food processing, autoancillaries, pharma and healthcare andinfrastructure enabling sectors etc,”Kumar added. v
$400-mn India-focused fund from Evolvence
Khaled Al Muhairy
Dubai airport registersgrowth in passenger traffic
Dubai InternationalAirport, rankedfourth worldwide
in terms of passenger traf-fic, has posted a 6.5 percentgrowth in passenger trafficin April, an official saidrecently.According to Airports Council
International’s (ACI) figures, the DubaiInternational Airport was among the top10 airports to register positive growth interms of international passengers for twoconsecutive quarters.The airport recorded a growth of 7.1
percent in the last quarter of 2008, andjust over 2 percent in the first quarter thisyear.Commenting on the airport’s contin-
uing growth, Dubai Airport CEO PaulGriffiths said: “The results for April are
ahead of our expectationsand this bodes well forthe rest of the year. Thelatest figures are veryencouraging, and consid-ering that the travel sea-son is yet to peak, we are
very positive that the second quarter willshow better results.”Griffiths added that as many as five
new international carriers have beenadded to Dubai International’s ever-expanding list of airlines in the first fivemonths this year.“There are indications that we will con-
tinue to welcome new airlines at more orless the same rate over the coming months,and this will add to our current growth,much of which is a direct result of therebound in traffic from Western Europe,the US and Russia,” he said. v
Over 250,000 pan-
chayats will soon be
connected with broad-
band connections, Sam
Pitroda, Advisor to Prime
Minister on public infor-
mation, said recently.
“We are planning to connect 250,000 pan-
chayats through broadband. We want to
bring fibre cable to majority of them,” he said.
He said mobile banking is the next big
challenge for government and it will
change the nature of banking in India.
“For the first time, we are a country of
600 million connected people. However,
we need to find out how we can use it for
our benefit.”
Financial inclusion cannot be achieved
without inclusive growth and every initia-
tive should be directed at the rural poor.
“If merchants, bank and operator can
come together, they can develop a plat-
form for mobile banking,” he said.
Mobile banking is thefuture: Sam Pitroda
BUSINESS & ECONOMY SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
|19JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
18|INDIA MATTERS
Industrial growthsharply up: CII survey
Moon has more waterthan the Great Lakes
Indigenous H1N1 vaccine launched
Scientists have found that themoon’s minerals may have at least100 times more water than previ-ously indicated by remote sensing
data from the Indian spacecraftChandrayaan-I and other lunar sampleanalysis.In March 2010, a NASA radar experi-
ment aboard Chandrayaan-I, India’s firstlunar spacecraft, found thick deposits ofwater ice near the moon’s north pole.Scientists at the Carnegie Institution’sGeophysical Laboratory in Washingtonnow estimate that the volume of water mol-ecules locked inside minerals in the moon’sinterior could exceed the amount of waterin the Great Lakes on the US-Canada bor-der that hold 20 percent of the Earth’s sur-
face fresh water. New NASA-fundedresearch determined that it was likely thatwater was present in the very early stage ofthe moon’s formation history, as hot magmastarted to cool and crystallise, the agencysaid, asserting, “This finding means water isnative to the moon.”Francis McCubbin of Carnegie and lead
author of the report published inProceedings of the National Academy ofSciences and his team utilised tests whichdetect elements in the parts per billionrange. Combining their measurementswith models that characterise how thematerial crystallised as the moon cooledduring formation, they found that theminimum water content ranged from 64parts per billion to 5 parts per million. v
India’s light combatjet Tejas test flown
Rocket scientist to headKerala ISRO project
India’s first 3 MWsolar plant unveiled
India’s indigenously-developed light com-bat aircraft Tejas inched a step closer
towards its induction in the Indian Air
Force (IAF), when the fourth production
version of the jet successfully completed
its maiden flight in Bangalore on June 2.
The test flight of the supersonic fly-by-wire
fourth-generation fighter was a major
breakthrough as for the first time, Tejas
flew in the configuration that would be
finally delivered to the IAF, said an official
of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
The aircraft has been jointly designed
by the Aeronautics Development Agency
(ADA) and HAL, which is the prime
industrial contractor.
Noted rocket scientist S. Ramakrishnan is
the new Director of the Indian Space
Research Organisation’s (ISRO)
liquid propulsion systems cen-
tre at Thiruvananthapuram.
The space agency on
June 2 said that
Ramakrishnan as the Director of Projects at
its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre earlier,
had played a key role in the development of
polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) and its
liquid propulsion stages.
Union Minister for New and Renewable
Energy Farooq Abdullah on June 17
inaugurated India’s first 3 MW solar power
plant in Karnataka’s Kolar district. “Solar
energy is an inexhaustible source of energy.
It is one of the most promising and non-
conventional energy resources. Unlike fossil
fuels and nuclear power, it is also an envi-
ronmentally clean source of energy,”
Abdullah said, unveiling the plant at
Bangarpet taluk of the district.
The manufacturing sector has reg-istered a double-digit growth inthe first quarter (Q1) of this fis-cal, a survey conducted by the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) andASCON said.According to the report, out of the 110
industries covered, 30 recorded growthrates of more than 27.3 percent as com-pared to 10 industries, which registered agrowth of 9 percent during the same periodlast fiscal.Even the number of industries register-
ing high growth went up to 28.2 percent(31 industries) from 16.4 percent (18industries) in April-June 2010.“The industry can do even better, pro-
vided an even more conducive environmentfor the industry is created,” Tata Steel Vice-Chairman B. Muthuraman said.According to the survey, out of 38 indus-
tries reporting for sales, 16 recorded excel-lent growth, 8 high growth, an identicalnumber registered moderate growth andfour reported negative growth.
The industries which registered an excel-lent growth include air conditioners (50 per-cent), vehicle industry (33.2 percent) andrefrigerators (32 percent). The industrieswhich recorded negative growth includepolyester staple fibre (-0.65 percent), tea (-4.5 percent), groundnut oil (-28.4 percent)and cigarette and tobacco (-2.0 percent).“Actions such as faster implementation
of ongoing and already announced proj-ects, improving regulatory environmentand ensuring timely availability of creditand directing banks to provide easier andcheaper credit are vital to higher manufac-turing growth,” CII Director-GeneralChandrajit Banerjee pointed out referringto the report. v
Unique ID: Funds granted for phase II
The authority set upto collect data forthe issue of tamp-
er-proof biometric identitycards to each of India’s 1.17billion citizens has beengranted `3,023 crore forthe second phase of itsimplementation.“The estimated cost
includes project components for issue of100 million unique identity numbers byMarch 2011 and recurring establishmentcosts for the entire project phase of fiveyears ending March 2014,” an officialstatement said. The additional funds were approved dur-
ing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee onUnique Identification Authority (UIA),presided over by Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, belying some reports
that the government wasproposing to curtail itsfunding.Aadhar is the brand
name for the 12 digitunique identity number.The project was estab-
lished last year to primarilyensure inclusive growth byproviding a form of tamp-
er-proof identity to people above 15 yearsof age so that the delivery of governmentprogrammes can be directed better, ensur-ing effective governance.The project, after implementing the first
phase by March 2011, intends to issuesome 600 million more numbers over thenext three years using the services of boththe government departments and agencies,as also banks, insurance companies and oilmarketing firms. v
Anew interest rate regime, aimed at
improving transparency and disallow-
ing big corporations to
get loans at rates
below established
benchmarks,
came into force
from July 1, as
part of a new rule
that requires banks to
set their minimum lending rates.
The new regime ensures transparency in
the lending system and will guard against
cheaper loans to corporate sector at the
cost of small borrowers.
Major state-run banks have announced
their respective minimum lending rates, or
the base rate – the minimum interest a
bank has to charge on its loans – between
7-8 percent.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had in
February dismantled an earlier system of
determining interest rates – benchmark
prime lending rate (BPLR) – which was
discriminatory to smaller borrowers.
As per the BPLR system of determining
lending rates, banks could charge varying
interest on different categories of borrowers.
Businesses benefitted from the sys-
tem, with loans to them being routinely
given at below BPLR rates, resulting in a
situation where small and individual
depositors ended up subsidising the
corporate loans.
State Bank of India was the first to fix its
base rate at 7.5 percent per annum, set-
ting the benchmark. Other public sector
peers announced their rates soon after.
Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank,
Union Bank, Bank of India and Central
Bank of India pegged their base rates at 8
percent per annum.
Dena Bank fixed the base rate at 8.5
percent, while Syndicate Bank and Indian
Overseas Bank kept it at 8.25 percent.
India’s largest private sector bank,
ICICI Bank, announced the base rate at
7.50 percent.
With the new norm coming into play, no
bank can give out funds at an interest rate
lower than the base rate. This is expected
to lead to greater transparency.
New interest rateregime in place
India on June 3 got itsfirst vaccine for H1N1flu, almost a year after
the deadly virus-caused fluwas declared a pandemic bythe World HealthOrganisation (WHO).Union Health MinisterGhulam Nabi Azadlaunched the vaccine, which he said, wasthe first of its kind developed in independ-ent India. The vaccine, developed byCadilla Healthcare, will provide immunityfrom the H1N1 strain of virus, which is amutation of the swine flu virus.
Cadilla’s Chairmanand ManagingDirector Pankaj Patelwas the first to take thevaccine followed bythe Minister. The vac-cine will provideimmunity to H1N1for one year. Besides
Cadilla Healthcare, the Serum Institute ofIndia, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech,were granted aid for developing an indige-nous vaccine for the virus which hadclaimed more than 1,500 lives in the lastone year in the country. v
Union Health Minister GhulamNabi Azad launching the vaccine.
Nandan Nilekani, Head,Unique Identification Authority
Apicturesque ancient templetown, Gokarna is situated inKarnataka. A breezy little place,Gokarna is a perfect holiday
destination for families yearning for tran-quility with a zing! Yes, it is the unusualsyndicate of temples and beaches thatmakes Gokarna one of the most peculiarplaces to visit. Away from the humdrumof busy city lives, the temple town lures uswith its shrines and seashores.
A centre for Sanskrit studies, Gokarnaliterally means ‘cow’s ear’. According to leg-end, Lord Shiva, one of the gods in HinduTrinity, emerged from the ear of a cow andblessed the town. Gokarna lies betweenGangavali and Agnashini Rivers and is situ-ated along the Karwar coast by the ArabianSea. Replete with palm and coconut trees,Gokarna was under Portuguese rule in the17th Century.
A temple city par excellence, its ancienttemples have been attracting tourists forlong. Incredible coastlines are addedattractions. Due to its serene atmosphere,it has become popular as a pilgrimagecerntre and is one of the sevenMuktisthalas of Karnataka. The maze ofnarrow lanes and alleys brim over withpriests chanting shlokas and going aboutperforming their religious duties. But thewhite sand beaches and the picturesquelandscape also make Gokarna one of themost popular spots for beach tourism.
RELIGIOUS ATTRACTIONS
Mahabaleshwara Temple:Mahabaleshwara temple is a popularLord Shiva temple, which houses theextremely pious Atmalinga enshrined inan enclosed square called Saligrama
Peetha. It is opened for public viewingonly once in 40 years. Only the tip ofthe linga can be seen through an openingin the Peetha. The temple comes to itsfull glory during the Hindu festival,Shivaratri, when millions of devoteesthrong to seek blessings.Murudeshwara Temple: The templeboasts of the world’s tallest Lord Shivastatue in the sitting posture, and is a hugeattraction among pilgrims. Sparkling andshining, the statue is 123 feet high and iscovered in gold and silver paint. The tem-ple is situated at Kanduka hill, which issurrounded by the Arabian Sea. The roar-ing sea waves are in absolute contrast withthe calm and serene atmosphere of thetemple. A 20-storeyed Gopura – a monu-mental 249 feet tall tower that marks theentrance of the temple – is a prominentfeature of the temple architecture.
TRAVEL
|21JULY 2010
INDIA MATTERSJULY 2010
20|INDIA MATTERS
A pious yet sleepy place, Gokarna in Karnataka promises colourful memories repletewith frolic, reverberating mornings, enchanting dusks, and moonlit skies
BEACHES GALORE
The drive up the winding path thatleads to Gokarna is scenic, with therocky mountains and Western Ghats onone side and the Arabian Sea on theother. The beaches here have their ownstories to tell.Om Beach: The Om beach enjoys themaximum number of visitors. Situated inthe south of Gokarna city, the structure ofthe beach resembles the auspicious ‘Om’symbol. This makes it popular both,among pilgrims as well as other tourists. Itis about 30 minutes away from the maincity of Gokarna, with autorickshaws beingthe most convenient transport.
Once on the beach, the gentle breezeand the sound of the rustling coconut treeleaves take you to another level of tran-quility.
Half Moon Beach: As the name suggests,the structure of the Half Moon Beachresembles the crescent moon. Separatedby a cliff from Om beach, this beachenchants the senses with its mystical sur-roundings. Most preferred by newly wedcouples, Half Moon beach is also knownas Honeymoon beach among the locals.One can rent shacks and huts at a verybasic price for a stay. Once the sun sets,bonfires are lit all around giving thebeach a mesmerising look. It is almostbereft of civilisation with only thetourists visiting it. The atmosphere isspellbinding at night with people strum-ming guitars at the backdrop of dimly lithuts and roaring sea waves.Paradise Beach: At the end of the Half
Moon beach, a small trail leads to theParadise beach. One will have to wadethrough the rocks to reach the beach sinceno transport can commute to the place.The narrow path that leads to the beach isfull of rocks and wild plantation makingfor an adventurous trip. One can also hirea boat from Om beach, which takesaround 30-45 minutes. There are somewonderful cafes and restaurants withsumptuous sea food to gorge on, makingit the most visited beach in Gokarna. Thebeach also has some local residents whowill more than welcome you to theirhumble residence. One can team up withthem to go fishing, as they will teach youthe local method of catching fishes, crabs,prawns and even turtles! v
GOKARNA:A city of temples and beaches
By Air: Panaji is the nearest airport toGokarna (approximately150 km).By Rail: Gokarna Station lies in the heart ofthe city and is a part of Konkan Railways.By Road: The temple town is well con-nected to major cities by road. Drivingdown the road will treat your eyes with thescenic beauty of the surroundings.
HOW TO REACH
QUIZ
JULY 201022|INDIA MATTERS
1. During World War II, Netaji Subhash ChandraBose renamed these islands as Shaheed andSwaraj. How are these known as today?
2. Which premier Indian sports trophy is namedafter Maharaja Sir Manmatha Nath RoyChowdhary?
3. The comic book hero Supremo, who appearedin a two-year series published in the 1980s, wassupposed to be the customed alter-ego ofwhich Bollywood actor?
4. A tributary of the river Godavari, this river isnamed as the main source of water for thepeople of the jungle in Rudyard Kipling's JungleBook. Can you name the river?
5. Asrar-ul Hasan Khan was the real name ofwhich Urdu poet, lyricist and versatile songwriterof Indian cinema?
6. India's Chandrayaan-I discovering water on thelunar service made news all over in 2009. Thepresence of water was detected by a deviceNASA had installed on Chandrayaan-I calledM3. What does M3 stand for?
7. The words Satyameva Jayate inscribed inDevanagari script on India's national emblemare borrowed from a mantra in whichUpanishad of the Hindu scriptures?
8. The name of which airline in India is the same asthat of a shade of colour and also that of a carmanufactured in India?
9. The Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga SamyuktaSangha based near Hubli is the only licensedunit in India to produce and supply what?
10.Which award-winning Hindi film of 1966 wasbased on the novel Maila Anchal written byPhaniswar Nath Renu?
THE PICTURE QUESTION
Can you identify this person in the picture who is very muchin the news these days for his unique contribution to theIndian economy?
Readers are invited to answer the questions given in the column which will make them eligible towin a prize to be given by the Indian Consulate in Dubai. Write in the answers to claim a prize. Allanswers should be e-mailed to [email protected] and the first person to email all the correctanswer will win the prize. Please mention your postal address, mobile phone number and e-mailaddress clearly in the mail.
1. Guwahati. 2. River dolphin. 3. It is the PIN code of the world's highest post office at Hikkim (15,500 feet) in Himachal Pradesh. 4. Hindustan Computer Ltd or HCL.
5. Mahasweta Devi. 6. Anju Bobby George. 7. Archie Comics. 8. Nagma. 9. Mahatma Gandhi. 10. The Supreme Court of India.
The Picture Question: The Bada Imambara, also known as Asafi Imambara, in Lucknow.
ANSWERS TO indiQtive, JUNE 2010
MIDDAY BREAK
FOR WORKERS
The midday break aims togive workers across theUAE a respite from thesoaring heat during the
hottest period of the day duringsummer. First implemented in2005, the break allows workers totake rest from 12.30 p.m. To 4 p.m.during July and August.
The rule mainly benefits construc-tion workers, who make up morethan 45 percent of the more than fourmillion workers in the private sector.
The adjustment in the rule wouldstipulate that the midday breakwould be enforced until September15, which would include Ramadan.The rule also stipulates that theremust be a shaded rest place forworkers during the break.TheLabour Ministry has imposedpenalties on companies that do notadhere to the rule.n For a first offence, the employer
is fined AED10,000 ($2,700) andis banned from obtaining new
labour permits for three months.n For a second offence, the fine is
doubled to a AED20,000 fineand a six-month ban on permits.
n For a third offence, the companyis fined AED30,000 and isbarred from obtaining new workpermits for one year.
This year, the Ministry has set up18 inspection teams, which willwork in all seven emirates to catchviolators.However, the Ministry maygrant emergency exemptions.
Consulate General of IndiaP.O. BOX 737, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Tel: +971 4 3971222/ +971 4 3971333, Fax: +971 4 3970453, Tlx.: 46061 CGIND EMEmail: [email protected]
CONSULATE HOTLINE NUMBERS: +971 50 9433111 (For women/housemaids in distress and counseling for stress and depression)
+971 50 7347676 (For death formalities on holidays and after office hours)Passport: 04-3070741 Visa: 04-3070743 Consular: 04-3070782 Labour: 04-3070716
Embassy of India, Abu DhabiPlot No. 10, Sector W-59/02, Diplomatic Area, Off the Airport Road
P.O. Box 4090, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesTel: +971 2 4492700, Fax: +971 2 4444685 / +971 2 4447768
Email: [email protected]
The renovated Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi that will host the opening andclosing ceremonies of the 2010 Comonwealth Games besides the athletics, lawn bowls
and weightlifting events of the quadrennial extravaganza.
PUBLICATION OF THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA IN DUBAI
� Online attestations for Indianlabour contracts
� 2010 New Delhi CommonwealthGames countdown
� $400-million India-focused fundfrom Evolvence
� India to grow at 9% nextfiscal, says PM’s panel
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
VOL. 2 ISSUE 7 JULY 2010
Consulate General of India, Dubai’s very own radio show, ‘India Matters’, is now back in a new way. Tunein every Saturday from 6 pm to 7pm on 105.4 Radio Spice FM.
CHASING THE
monsoon
Prize Quiz
insideSham-e-GhazalSham-e-Ghazalenthralls Dubaienthralls Dubai
