FOREIGN POLICY: New, Strong and Clear Outreach

[sorcerer]

Doklam Effect? Modi said to block China's $1.3 billion investment in India

India is poised to reject Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co’s proposed $1.3 billion takeover of an Indian drugmaker, according to people familiar with the matter, scuppering the biggest-ever Chinese acquisition in the country.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has decided to block the Chinese firm’s purchase of an 86 per cent stake in Gland Pharma, said the people.

The companies haven’t been formally notified yet of the move, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Tensions between India and China -- the South Asian nation’s biggest trading partner -- have escalated amid a renewed spat over territory in a remote area of the Himalayas, one of the most serious flareups since a border war in 1962. A collapse of the acquisition would be a setback for Fosun Pharma, which had sought Gland Pharma’s stable of generic injectable medicines and facilities approved to manufacture products for sale in the U.S.

“This is almost like a sanction,” said Abhijit Joshi, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer and managing partner at Veritas Legal in Mumbai, who isn’t involved in the deal. “Rejecting a deal like this is almost like sending a signal to say, ‘no Chinese business,’ which means there could be a retaliatory action, trade wise, by China.”


Diplomatic Engagement ::

Fosun Pharma, backed by Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang, said in an exchange filing Tuesday that Gland Pharma hasn’t received notice on the result of the acquisition review from the Indian government.

The arm of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. agreed in July last year to acquire control of Gland Pharma from an investor group including KKR & Co. The setback highlights the difficulties faced by China’s once-prolific acquirers, which are facing mounting pressure at home and abroad. HNA Group Co. recently scrapped the purchase of an in-flight entertainment provider, while Dalian Wanda Group Co. agreed to sell most of its theme-park assets amid scrutiny from regulators.

The Gland Pharma purchase had already completed Indian antitrust filings and been reviewed by the country’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board. Jagdish Thakkar, a spokesman in the Indian Prime Minister’s Office, didn’t return phone calls, while an email sent to Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha wasn’t answered. Representatives for Gland Pharma and KKR didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

“India’s engagement with China is multifaceted. In areas where we have commonality of views, engagement has expanded and upgraded in recent years,” India’s junior Foreign Minister V.K. Singh told lawmakers on Thursday, adding that both sides should be guided by previously agreed principles. “India and China, in their relationship, must not allow differences to become disputes.”


Biggest Market ::

Fosun Pharma said in a July 27 filing to the Hong Kong bourse that it had obtained relevant approvals from Chinese authorities. The acquisition is still subject to the review and approval of India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, so the termination date has been further extended to Sept. 26, the filing shows.

Chinese drugmakers have grown more ambitious in seeking deals that will give them access to the U.S., the world’s biggest pharmaceutical market. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. this year sold its Dendreon Pharmaceuticals unit to Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group Co. for $820 million. Humanwell Healthcare Group Co., a Chinese maker of anesthetics and contraceptives, is part of a consortium that agreed in June to buy U.S.-based RiteDose for about $605 million.

Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Xiaomi Corp. have been investing in India. Alibaba’s finance unit is on the board of Paytm, India’s largest digital payments startup, while Tencent owns a stake in Flipkart Online Services Pvt. Xiaomi, which has invested $500 million in the subcontinent, plans another investment of the size over the next three to five years. India’s trade with China was at $72.3 billion last year, with Chinese exports accounting for 84 percent of the volume.

“From Chinese investment into India for M&A, yes there’s going to be an impact,” Veritas’ Joshi said. “They’re going to be increasingly nervous about investing in India. That capital that was available from China is not going to be available, at least in the short term, which means doing a deal is going to be that much more difficult.”

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...llion-gland-purchase/articleshow/59859903.cms

 

[Kalki_2018]

Good. Block any chinese economic activity in India.

 

[SanjeevM]

Let's block Chinese lights, fire crackers, Ganesh and Lakshmi idols, and other decorative materials this Diwali.

If government wants, they can just sent a secret message to all Indian importers to keep it secret and not to leak in media. So without actually formally banning Chinese imports, we are not importing Chinese maal.

 

[Screambowl]

India should immediately negotiate with Bangladesh to build that 3 decade old pending Tentuliya corridor.

 

[ezsasa]

India should immediately negotiate with Bangladesh to build that 3 decade old pending Tentuliya corridor.

is this silguri to meghalaya highway via bangladesh? if so there was a news article that talks are going on for it.

 

[Screambowl]

is this silguri to meghalaya highway via bangladesh? if so there was a news article that talks are going on for it.

No , tentuliya corridor is merely a 6km proposed Highway in B'desh. It is the alternative to Siliguri Corridor or East west economic corridor, connecting Jalpaiguri.
This will connect all NE with the Indian mainland..

 

[sorcerer]

Japan Is Building India's Infrastructure

Japan should help develop India’s northeast, and in so doing send a message to China.

In recent years, India-Japan relations have considerably improved in both the economic and strategic spheres. July provided two important examples of how strategic ties have improved immensely. First, there were the week-long trilateral naval exercises between India, Japan, and the United States, which this year came amidst the standoff between India-China over the Doklam plateau. Then on July 20, the landmark India-Japan civil nuclear agreement came into force. The pact was signed in Tokyo on November 11, 2016, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan. According to the deal, six new nuclear reactors will be built for power generation. India and Japan are also working on Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC), which was unveiled on May 23, 2017 during the 52nd Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

In the area of infrastructure too, India is seeking to benefit from Japanese expertise. Japan is already associated with the assistance and know-how it provided for Phase 1 of the Delhi Metro. Now, according to some media reports, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet-train project going to be launched during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India from September 12-14. The Japanese are also involved in other mega projects, like the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, which began a decade ago.

Over the past decade and a half, Japanese investment has played significant role in India’s growth story. Japanese invested more than $25 billion in different sectors across the India during the period from 2000-2017. Currently, Japan is the third biggest investor in India, and investment from Japan increased substantially during 2016-17. Japanese investments in India during this period reached $4.7 billion, an 80 percent increase over the $2.6 billion of 2015-16. Most importantly Japan has pledged investments of around $35 billion for the period of 2014-19 to boost India’s manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. The Japanese government even specially tasked Mizuho Financial Group with finding investment opportunities in India.


Earlier Japanese investments were mainly concentrated in a few sectors such as automobiles, telecommunications, and electrical equipment. But now in recent years, FDI from Japan has grown both vertically and horizontally. According to the Economic Times, “Investments from Japan are getting diverse and sectors that have received FDI during 2016-17 period include retail, textile, consumer durables, food & beverages, and banking (credit card services).”

Interestingly, according to a survey conducted by the Japanese government, the state of Haryana in north India received the most investment. Japan has also planned to set up around 12 industrial parks across the India in different states, including Tumkur in Karnataka, Ghilot in Rajasthan, Mandal in Gujarat, Supa in Maharashtra, Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Neemrana in Rajasthan, Jhajjar in Haryana, and the Integrated Industrial Township in Greater Noida.

Neemrana, roughly three hours drive from New Delhi, is home to big Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp., Daikin Industries Ltd, and Hitachi Ltd on an industrial complex of 1,100 acres dedicated exclusively to Japanese corporations. The complex provides direct employment to approximately 10,000 people.

It is interesting to note that Japanese investment and industrial parks are spread all over India — except for eastern and northeastern India. That may be changing. Lately, increasing importance is being given to the role of the northeast in India’s outreach to Southeast Asia. Modi has pointed out that “We have to make the northeast a gateway for Southeast Asia.”

President Pranab Mukherjee has also emphasized, “There is little time to be lost. Considering the huge pool of natural resources and the quality of its human resources, northeast of India has the potential of being an important investment destination and a center for trade and business.”

Japan is also playing important role in infrastructure development in the northeast. In April 2017, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an agreement with the Union government in New Delhi to provide over 67 billion yen ($610 million) for Phase I of the North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project, which will see the enhancement of important projects in Meghalaya and Mizoram.

But there is still huge demand for infrastructure development and investment in range of sectors. As per a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), investment of Rs 3.06 trillion ($48 billion) is required to develop the road networks in the region.

Of late, northeastern states like Assam have been engaging with Japan directly. The Japanese ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu, visited Manipur in May 2017, to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the battle of Imphal. Between the battles of Imphal and Kohima, 70,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives. The ambassador said that his country will build a war museum in the state.

Japan should look at increasing its presence in the northeast by investing in its infrastructure. Greater Japanese cooperation with India to develop infrastructure and enhance connectivity with Southeast Asia through Myanmar will also send a clear message to China — that New Delhi’s approach toward its northeast can not be dictated by Beijing, which pays scant respect to New Delhi’s concerns regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Tridivesh Singh Maini is a New Delhi based policy analyst associated with the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat.

Sandeep Sachdeva is an Independent Policy Analyst
http://thediplomat.com/2017/08/japan-is-building-indias-infrastructure/

 

[sorcerer]

India sidesteps China's bid to delink Dokalam from Special Representative talks

India has sidestepped a Chinese attempt to delink the Dokalam standoff from the Special Representative mechanism to find a solution to the 4,057-km-long Line of Actual Control that divides the two nations.

Beijing had said that the current standoff was ‘out of the purview’ of the Special Representatives, according to officials. Beijing claimed that since the boundary at Sikkim Sector had already been delimited, as per Chinese version, by the 1890 convention between UK and China, the SR mechanism had no scope.

New Delhi, however, pointed out that while the status of Sikkim as an integral part of India had been settled in 2003, the boundary in the sector remained unsettled and was a matter of negotiation between SRs.

The aspects of tri-junction (Sino-Bhutan-India) points along Sikkim and India-China boundary alignment in the Sikkim sector remain unsettled and was referred in a written common understanding between the SRs in December 2012.

According to this understanding, the trijunction border has to be settled trilaterally though India and China have not held any discussion with Bhutan since 2012. And there are still steps to be covered before the boundary is finalised on the Sino-Indian boundary in the Sikkim sector as per the same understanding.

Chinese officials insist that Yang Jiechi had met NSA and SR Ajit Doval last month in Beijing in his capacity as State Councillor and not Special Representative. The Indian side, however, indicated that the current border standoff was a key agenda item at that meet held on the sidelines of the Brics NSA meet.

Besides diplomats, Doval is in touch with his Chinese counterpart Yang to find a solution to the standoff and New Delhi has hinted that a thaw is in process. Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj while speaking in the Rajya Sabha had stated that bilateral negotiations were on. “We will keep patience to resolve the issue…We will keep engaging with China to resolve the dispute,” she had said while adding that both sides were engaged in a dialogue on various other aspects of bilateral ties.

Notwithstanding repeated rhetoric by Chinese scholars and foreign ministry spokespersons, a flare-up on the ground is unlikely ahead of the Brics summit as it would be a blow to Beijing’s image if any PLA action derails the Brics summit. Russia, another key stakeholder in Brics, is against any attempts that would derail the group. A former Indian diplomat who had served in China described Beijing’s rhetoric as art of war — first hit at the enemy’s mind and defeat him psychologically.

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting,” the diplomat said. The Chinese are probably indulging in rhetoric to send message to neighbours in southeast and east Asia who are closely watching the standoff and probably comparing with their reaction on the South China Sea. Officials and experts in New Delhi hint that Beijing may be looking for a face saving formula.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...representative-talks/articleshow/59962078.cms

 

[sorcerer]

India Builds Highway to Thailand to Counter China's Silk Road


When Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government approved $256 million to upgrade a section of a remote border road last month, few took notice.

Yet India’s decision to revive plans for the trilateral highway, part of an ambitious 1,360-kilometer (845 mile) crossing to link northeastern India with markets in Thailand and beyond, marks the next phase in the jostle between New Delhi and Beijing for economic and strategic influence in the region.

In the last two years alone, India has assigned more than $4.7 billion in contracts for the development of its border roads, according to government figures, including the highway which will run from Moreh in Manipur through Tamu in Myanmar to Mae-Sot in Thailand.

The construction has taken on new urgency as China pushes ahead with its own vast ‘One Belt, One Road’ infrastructure initiative, expected to involve investments worth more than half a trillion dollars across 62 nations. The intercontinental web of road, rail and trade links has raised concerns among strategic rivals India, Russia, the U.S. and Japan. Among the biggest showcases of the plan -- an economic corridor that runs through the Pakistan-administered part of disputed Kashmir, which both India and Pakistan claim -- has unsettled equations in the South Asian neighborhood, where border tensions often simmer.

“With China’s growing interest in the region, as its wealth grows, its influence is growing beyond its borders,’’ said K. Yhome, New Delhi-based senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. So while China is pushing for a north-south economic corridor under the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, India is aiming to build links with its eastern neighbors, he said.


Neglected Infrastructure ::

Under the Modi government’s ‘Act East’ policy, India is investing in road and rail links on its north-east borders, where it rubs shoulders with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, and Myanmar.

But the plan for the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway is not a new one. It’s been on the drawing board since 2001 when it was called the India-Myanmar Friendship Road, according to Vijay Chhibber, India’s former roads secretary.

New Delhi has now proposed to further extend the Myanmar-Thailand link to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, shortening travel from Mekong River to India using water transport, in its bid to bind it closer to the Association of South East Asian Nations and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, according to Chhibber.

The road link will be funded by the Asian Development Bank under the South Asian Subregional Economic Cooperation program. Involving India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the program doubled investments on infrastructure to $6 billion since 2011 compared to $3.5 billion in previous decade, said Ronald Antonio Q. Butiong, Manila-based director at ADB’s Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division.

New projects include the Kaladan multimodal transit transport project connecting India’s Mizoram state with ports in Kolkata and Myanmar’s Sittwe. India has financed the $120 million Sittwe port construction, according to SASEC.

"Regional cooperation is a slow process and you have to have a lot of patience," said Butiong by phone from Manila. "You couldn’t imagine this happening a few years ago. But now it looks like it’s becoming a reality."


Weak Link ::

India chose not to attend President Xi Jinping’s two-day One Belt One Road summit in May. Three months later, the two nuclear-armed powers are managing a tense military standoff over junction between Bhutan, China’s Tibet and India’s Sikkim.



The Chinese government has repeatedly said its Belt and Road initiative aims to enhance regional connectivity, bringing economic benefits for China’s neighbors. It urged New Delhi to shed "misgivings and doubts" about the project.

Roads, bridges and railways have been a weak link in India’s infrastructure in the north eastern states. In part, it was left underdeveloped as strategy to make the region inaccessible to Chinese troops if Beijing ever tried to repeat the four-week 1962 border war and encroach into the territory India sees as its own.

This has also meant poor access for Indian businesses to markets of south-east Asia. Modi fast-tracked decades-old infrastructure plans such as opening the nation’s longest bridge spanning 9.2 km across the Brahmaputra river to ensure the smooth movement of troops to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, one of India’s most remote regions that is claimed in full by China.

"For India to improve its influence, it needs to take some action otherwise it will be left behind," said Rajiv Biswas, Singapore-based chief economist at IHS Markit. "If India wants
to be part of growth dynamic of Asia it needs to develop infrastructure links and that is why this project is a very important first step."


‘Sovereign Assets’

In a brand new office in the heart of India’s capital New Delhi, Sanjay Jaju is meeting contractors responsible for building roads in the country’s north eastern states for the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corp.

The three-year-old state-owned company, where Jaju is finance director, is an unusual entity in the south Asian nation’s notoriously slow bureaucratic labyrinth. The highway through Myanmar and Thailand is among the $4.7-billion in contracts the company has assigned.

In the meantime, the corporation is busy acquiring land for its projects. “We’re creating sovereign assets,” said Jaju. “Our international projects will take off this year.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...d-lends-urgency-to-india-s-regional-ambitions

 

[sorcerer]

India to Start Exporting to Afghanistan Via Chabahar Port in 2 Weeks


India will start shipping 35,000 containers of wheat to Afghanistan via the Iranian port of Chabahar in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province within two weeks.

“In the first phase, 7,500 containers will be shipped,” Sakineh Ashrafi, an official at Sistan-Baluchestan Governorate, was quoted as saying by IRNA on Tuesday.

From Chabahar, the shipments will be transported via road to Milak, a border city on the Afghan border.

Port and rail infrastructures in Chabahar are not fully developed yet. New Delhi, Tehran, and Kabul signed a trilateral deal last year to develop the port and use it as a hub for transit of goods from India to landlocked Afghanistan.

Indian Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said the strategic port will become operational by 2018.

“India and Iran have historically shared special ties...We are keen on developing Chabahar Port and are hopeful of starting operations in 12 to 18 months,” Gadkari said on the eve of his visit to Tehran last week.


https://financialtribune.com/articl...tart-exporting-to-afghanistan-via-chabahar-in

 

[Kshatriya87]

With India and China locked in their most serious military face-off in three decades, the effort to restrict Chinese business has gathered more support
NEW DELHI: India is tightening the rules for businesses entering its power transmission sector and making stringent checks on both power and telecoms equipment for malware — moves that government and industry officials say aim to check China's advance into sensitive sectors.

Chinese firms such as Harbin Electric, Dongfang Electronics, Shanghai Electric and Sifang Automation either supply equipment or manage power distribution networks in 18 cities in India.

Local firms have long lobbied against Chinese involvement in the power sector, raising security concerns and saying they get no reciprocal access to Chinese markets.


With India and China locked in their most serious military face-off in three decades, the effort to restrict Chinese business has gathered more support from within the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, worried about the possibility of a cyber attack.

The Indian government is considering a report prepared by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) that sets new conditions for firms bidding for power transmission contracts, tipping the scales in favour of local companies.

According to an official involved in drafting the report, who asked not to be named, it says companies looking to invest in India should have been operating there for at least 10 years, have Indian citizens as top executives, and employees of the foreign firm should have lived in India for a certain period, the official said.

Those companies have to detail where they procure the raw materials for transmission systems, and will be barred from further operations in India if their materials contain malware.

Though the report makes no direct reference to China, the official said the recommendations are intended to deter China from making further headway in India, because of the security risks.

CEA Chairman R.K. Verma said the possibility of a crippling cyber attack on India's power systems was a key consideration while drafting the policy. "Cyber attacks are a challenge," he told Reuters.

A representative of a Chinese enterprise engaged in exporting electric power equipment in India told China's state-run Global Times that India's industry has long tried to block foreign competition under the garb of safety issues.

"Now, as Sino-Indian relations are getting intense, the old tune is on again. But in fact, it is unrealistic to completely ban China and India power investment cooperation. India will pay a huge price for this," the paper said.

Shanghai Electric, Harbin Electric, Dongfang Electronics and state-run China Southern Power Grid Co Ltd, all involved in India or trying to enter, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the proposed Indian investment rules.

TELECOMS

The Indian government is moving simultaneously on the telecoms sector, demanding higher security standards in an area dominated by Chinese makers of equipment and smartphones.

In a letter reviewed by Reuters, the ministry of electronics and information technology has asked 21 smartphone makers, most of them Chinese, to provide details about the "safety and security practices, architecture frameworks, guidelines, standards, etc followed in your product/services in the country."

Chinese vendors such as Xiaomi, Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo and Gionee together account for over half of India's $10 billion smartphone market. The letter, dated Aug. 12, was also sent to Apple, Samsung Electronics and local maker Micromax, a ministry source said.

India has also privately raised objections to Chinese firm Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group's proposed $1.3 billion takeover of Indian drugmaker Gland Pharma, it emerged last month.

"There's a lot of resentment against China for meddling in our internal affairs, supporting Pakistan's cross-border terrorism, and, on the other hand, posing a huge loss to our trade and industry each year," said Satish Kumar, national president of the Swadesh Jagran Manch, a right-wing nationalist group with ties to Modi's ruling party.

The group has this year run a campaign asking Indians not to buy Chinese goods to protect local industry and reset a trade deficit of more than $51 billion.

CHEAP GOODS

India has used Chinese equipment for power generation and distribution as it looks to provide affordable electricity to an estimated 250 million people who are off the grid.

China Southern Power Grid, in association with CLP India Pvt Ltd, is among Chinese firms bidding for power transmission lines, Power Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament this month.

Sunil Misra, director-general of the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association, said the new rules for power transmission would help local industry and were in line with the limited access China gives to foreigners in its market.

Indian firms engaged in the power sector include Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

Security agencies have implemented a series of protocols and checks for Chinese equipment coming into the power sector, said another person involved in drafting the CEA report.

"This is recent and happening quietly," he said.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sorcerer]

Japan’s Miniso sets up shop in India, eyes Rs10,000 crore revenue in 2 years

New Delhi: Miyake Junya, co-founder and chief designer of the Japan-based low-cost retail chain Miniso, has set himself an audacious target for India, which he believes is a market of “immense potential”.

Junya, who opens the first Miniso shop in India on Friday, is looking to earn Rs10,000 crore in revenue over the next two years. Founded in 2013, Miniso positions itself as a lifestyle brand and sells products in 12 categories including health, beauty, stationery, gift items, creative homeware, boutique package decoration and digital accessories at a starting price of Rs150.

The company, which retails in 60 countries through 2,000 stores, will open its first store in Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, Delhi, spread over 2,000 sq. ft. Subsequently, Miniso plans to open 210 stores by the end of 2018 and take the count up to 800 by 2019. The company is currently looking for franchise partners in India.

Globally, Miniso opens an average of 80-100 stores every month. “India has a good market expansion opportunity. The brand is all about fashion and lifestyle; life is moving fast in metro cities, so will Miniso. Keeping in mind the fast-paced lifestyle, we will be starting with metro cities first Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur and so on,” said Junya, in response to an e-mailed query.

The plan, Junya said, is to make India one of its top five markets in terms of revenue. For the year 2016-17, Miniso recorded a revenue of $1.5 billion, up from $750 million in the previous year. “The huge potential of India lies in the fact that it offers a very large customer base to tap into. With the population of India running into the billions, the scope this offers is tremendous,” he said, adding that the company is planning to open 10,000 stores in more than 100 countries by 2019, with annual revenue reaching $15 billion.

Over the years, the company has faced criticism for positioning itself as a Japanese brand despite its Chinese origins. The company, however, claims that the confusion regarding its origins can be attributed to the fact that it has both Japanese and Chinese co-founders. While Junya is from Japan, co-founder Ye Guofo is from China.

“Headquartered in Japan, Minoso also has an operations headquarters in China. Minoso was co-founded by Ye Guofo who is Chinese,” said Junya. The company claimed that it primarily sources its products from countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

Rajat Wahi, partner, management consulting, Deloitte India, said that the company might be looking at a challenging model in India.“The company will have to build multiple distribution channels including e-commerce and teleshopping and play strong in all. The targets are ambitious, but the price point is very attractive. However, the challenge here is that this kind of category can be easily copied by others,” he said.

The Indian fashion and lifestyle market is expected to touch Rs3.94 trillion over the next five years, according to a 2016 survey by consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The market was valued at Rs2.21 trillion in 2016, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 12%.
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/Y...s-up-shop-in-India-eyes-Rs10000-crore-re.html

 

[sorcerer]

Afghanistan offers 17 percent subsidy on cargo flights to India bypassing Pakistan


After a 17-day delay, the fifth cargo flight carrying over 80 tons of fresh fruit left Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, bringing new hope that flights between Afghanistan and India will now take place on a regular basis.

A number of fresh fruit exporters said government should ensure that these flights are carried out as scheduled from now on. Thursday's freight consisted of 60 tons of melon, 15 tons of grapes and 5 tons of apricots. This is the fifth cargo flight to India since the inauguration of the route in early July.
“Four cargo flights will be conducted every month, if more flights are needed, we are fully prepared for the operations,” said Younus Mohmand, deputy of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI).

Meanwhile, officials of Kam Air Aviation company, which is responsible for the aircraft used, have said that its Boeing-737 plane has the capacity to transport 100 tons of fruit at a time.
“The plane which we chartered is able to fly anywhere in Asia and Europe, but the chamber of commerce and industries and fruit exporters should ensure that they have markets outside the country; we don’t have any problem to transfer their products,” said Hajji Raqi, an official from Kam Air.

A number of businessmen have said that in view of exporting more local produce and goods, government should ensure there are world class cargo services available at Hamid Karzai International Airport and other airports around the country.

“The fruit should be transferred as soon as possible, the airport should be equipped according to (international) standards, in that case they would have the ability to keep the fruit fresh for 24 hours,” said local businessman Atta Mohammad Mohammadi.

According to ACCI, problems faced by exporters recently have been resolved. The Afghan government has announced a 17 percent subsidy for cargo flights to India. Traders hope however that government will keep this up.

http://www.tolonews.com/index.php/business/cargo-flights-resume-between-afghanistan-and-india

 

[sorcerer]

Indians can now head to Israel to explore something called defence tourism


The Israeli Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) is exploring the niche segment of "anti-terrorism" or "defence" tourism with Indian travel agents, an Israeli official said here on Thursday.

"It's a niche concept. There are many tourists from the US and Europe who are interested to learn how people defend themselves and things about warfare... because the reputation of Israeli security is very high," Hasan Madah, Director, India in the Israeli Tourism Ministry told IANS here.

Madah said after some tourists evinced an interest in training in defensive tactics, a clutch of entrepreneurs decided to push this as a segment.

"They want to know how to shoot, how to hide, how to tackle. It's similar to paintball (an adventure sport). Some entrepreneurs in Israel, they decided to go ahead and open a business like this," he said.

"You can go there and do whatever you like. Some people like to relax and some people like these things, so why not? We are exploring all (tourism) angles with travel agents in India. We are interested in promoting anything that brings in more tourists."

The Ministry officials were in the city for a six-city roadshow.

The Israeli delegation was led by Madah, along with Judah Samuel, Director - Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India, and included representative partners from the tourism industry of Israel.

The roadshow witnessed the participation of over 100 travel agents in each city.

Madah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel early last month has sparked a renewed interest among Indians and the country wants to leverage this to increase destination awareness.

"We have seen many inquiries coming in. The indication from the market is that it (visit of Modi) has really helped. We expect the growth to be significant in the next few months."

Asked on the link between popularity of Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who plays Diana Prince in DC Comics' superhero film "Wonder Woman", and the renewed interest in Israel as a tourist destination, Madah said: "She is kind of an ambassador. She is promoting and also helping us through that."

Over 34,000 Indian tourists have travelled to Israel till July in 2017, marking a growth of 36 per cent over the previous year.

In June alone, Israel witnessed an exponential growth of 79 per cent in Indian arrivals compared to June 2016.


http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...ad-show-travel-vacation-lifetr/1/1033890.html

 

[Kshatriya87]

Indians can now head to Israel to explore something called defence tourism


The Israeli Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) is exploring the niche segment of "anti-terrorism" or "defence" tourism with Indian travel agents, an Israeli official said here on Thursday.

"It's a niche concept. There are many tourists from the US and Europe who are interested to learn how people defend themselves and things about warfare... because the reputation of Israeli security is very high," Hasan Madah, Director, India in the Israeli Tourism Ministry told IANS here.

Madah said after some tourists evinced an interest in training in defensive tactics, a clutch of entrepreneurs decided to push this as a segment.

"They want to know how to shoot, how to hide, how to tackle. It's similar to paintball (an adventure sport). Some entrepreneurs in Israel, they decided to go ahead and open a business like this," he said.

"You can go there and do whatever you like. Some people like to relax and some people like these things, so why not? We are exploring all (tourism) angles with travel agents in India. We are interested in promoting anything that brings in more tourists."

The Ministry officials were in the city for a six-city roadshow.

The Israeli delegation was led by Madah, along with Judah Samuel, Director - Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India, and included representative partners from the tourism industry of Israel.

The roadshow witnessed the participation of over 100 travel agents in each city.

Madah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel early last month has sparked a renewed interest among Indians and the country wants to leverage this to increase destination awareness.

"We have seen many inquiries coming in. The indication from the market is that it (visit of Modi) has really helped. We expect the growth to be significant in the next few months."

Asked on the link between popularity of Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who plays Diana Prince in DC Comics' superhero film "Wonder Woman", and the renewed interest in Israel as a tourist destination, Madah said: "She is kind of an ambassador. She is promoting and also helping us through that."

Over 34,000 Indian tourists have travelled to Israel till July in 2017, marking a growth of 36 per cent over the previous year.

In June alone, Israel witnessed an exponential growth of 79 per cent in Indian arrivals compared to June 2016.


http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...ad-show-travel-vacation-lifetr/1/1033890.html

But the problem is, once you go to Israel, you can't travel gulf countries.


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[shankyz]

But the problem is, once you go to Israel, you can't travel gulf countries.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And why is that ? AFAIK, Israel no longer stamps passports on entry ...

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[F-14B]

And why is that ? AFAIK, Israel no longer stamps passports on entry ...

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

its roots lay in the 1946 ????? Khartoum conference of the Newly formed Arab organization declaration that the Arab nations would not recognize the then newly formed state of Israel at any cost
but as a former NRI who was based out of the GCC I can tell you that all the Arab nations do recognize Israel in a roundabout way not full fledged and as part of this hypocrisy they will not accept any passport except that of the UK / USA and other Anglosphere countries

 

[sorcerer]

Maldives supports India in standoff with China, says ex-president Mohamed Nasheed

NEW DELHI:

Maldives
and its people support

India
in its standoff with China at Doklam as Male values Delhi as a close neighbour, which will render assistance in times of crises, said

Mohamed Nasheed
, former president and principal Opposition leader of the island nation.

“We should take sides and we are taking sides. If I am supporting India in its current crisis, it is in my own interest as neighbour like India supports in times of crises including natural disasters and requirements like supply of water. Maldives and India have lived with each for thousands of years. It is wrong for China to suddenly splash money and ask for support,” Nasheed told ET during his ongoing trip to India amid Chinese efforts to expand strategic outreach in South Asia including warships that would visit Maldives in near future.

Nasheed, whose visit to India coincided with that of Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, also did not mince words on the nature of Chinese loans for infrastructure projects that might push his country to a debt trap. Hinting that some of Chinese projects might be terminated if the Opposition is voted to power, Nasheed said Maldives owned 75% of its international debt to only one country – China.

“Many of these projects resulted in massive corruption…compared to China lines of credit offered by India are reasonable and proper tendering process is followed before contract is extended to a particular business firm for a project. This has been my experience when I was in power.,” he said.

Nasheed, who is seeking India’s support for strengthening democratic process in his country, said: “The government led by President Yameen could fall at any time. He has lost confidence of many institutions in the country. But the Opposition will not stage a coup to take over power. We have faith in the democratic process and would work to strengthen democracy in Maldives”.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[sorcerer]

This is How US Negotiates With INDIA | INDIA has Bested US in Diplomacy

 

[sorcerer]

Indian diplomacy wins at BRICS

It is a measure of India’s growing clout and acceptability among nations that the declaration adopted at the BRICS summit in Xiamen on Monday has explicitly named Pakistan-based terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and called for joint BRICS action against terrorism. Clearly, this is a major victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India and a huge setback for Pakistan which has been persistently refusing to accept that these are terrorist organizations. India has indeed exposed the world’s double standards on terrorism at every multilateral forum, from the United Nations to G20 to now BRICS.

That this declaration, signed by all five BRICS member-states—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa— accepts the Indian position at a summit hosted by China, which has consistently blocked Indian moves to punish the recalcitrant Pakistanis makes the declaration particularly path-breaking for India. It would severely damage Chinese credibility if, despite this, China were to continue to oppose India’s bid in the UN Security Council sanctions committee 1267 to list action against the Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar. China would look extremely indefensible if it were to override a joint declaration which has the approval of its President Xi Jinping and has been adopted by consensus with the stamp of five heads of government.

China had put India’s bid for action against Masood Azhar last year on technical hold. It finally expired in the end of 2016. And again, this year, another resolution calling for action against the JeM chief was brought forth by the US, UK and France. China has put this resolution too on hold. When this comes up for review in October, it will stretch China’s credibility to the limit if China were to continue to play obstructionist. India had made a major push at last year’s Goa summit to get Pakistan and its terror outfits find mention in the declaration but had failed. The matter was discussed in the plenary but China is believed to have blocked a mention of LeT and JeM. In the Goa summit last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, “The mothership of terrorism is in India’s neighbourhood,” but the declaration did not mention Pakistan-related terror outfits.


The BRICS declaration expressed concern over the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, ISIS, al-Qaeda and its affiliates including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Haqqani network. It also mentioned terror groups like the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Tehrik-i-Taliban and Hizb ut-Tahrir. Not stopping at this the declaration called for “expeditious finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) by the United Nations General Assembly.” It also called upon the international community to establish a “genuinely broad” international counter-terrorism coalition and support the UN’s central coordinating role in this regard. Barring any last-minute hiccups, India should be returning from Xiamen with satisfaction writ large on the faces of its delegates.



http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/indian-diplomacy-wins-at-brics/1131824