Annual Report 2011 - 2012

our Department of Science and Technology in New Delhi
from 22-23 November, 2011.The Technology Summit was
inaugurated by the Minister of Science and Technology. The
Spanish delegation was led by Secretary General of the
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Mr Juán Tomás
Hernani Burzaco. Main thematic areas for this year's edition
were biotech, renewable energy and water-related
technologies. A Programme of Cooperation between the
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India,
and Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology
(CDIT), Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain, was also
signed on the occasion.
The Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Dr C P
Joshi, led an official delegation to Spain from 26-28 May,
2011. During the visit, the Minister had a bilateral meeting
with his counterpart, Minister for Public Works and
Transport of Spain, Mr Jose Blanco Lopez. Discussions
focused on cooperation in the roads sector, including
construction, transfer of technology and know-how, use of
information technology and safety issues in the roads sector.
The Minister of State for Communications and Information
Technology, Shri Sachin Pilot, participated in the GSMA
Mobile World Congress from 13-16 February, 2011 in
Barcelona.
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information
Infrastructure and Innovations, Shri Sam Pitroda, visited
Madrid on 9 May, 2011 at the invitation of Casa Asia to
deliver a lecture on 'Innovation in India: Initiatives and
Opportunities' at Fundacion Ramon Areces. During the visit,
Shri Pitroda also met Minister for Science and Innovation
of Spain, Dr Cristina Garmendia.
A 42-member delegation of the Empowered Committee of
State Finance Ministers visited Madrid on 10-13 September,
2011. Besides Ministers and senior officers from 19 states,
the Committee included the Chief Minister of Assam, the
Deputy CM of Bihar and the Deputy CM of Jharkhand.
Presentations were made by the Spanish authorities on issues
such as Value Added Tax (VAT) system, deduction of taxes
and their controls and checks over tax evasions, etc.
Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, visited Spain from 25-28
April, 2011 to participate in the meeting of UNWTO
Working Group on Tourist/Consumer Protection. He also
held meetings with UNWTO Secretary-General, Mr Taleb
Rifai, and Secretary General for Tourism in Spain´s Ministry
of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Mr Joan Mesquida.
A four-member delegation led by Secretary, Ministry of
Textiles, visited Barcelona, Spain from 22-25 September,
2011 to attend an exhibition organised by the International
Textile Manufacturers Association (ITMA).
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Europe & European Union
An Indian delegation, led by Special Secretary, Ministry of
Environment and Forests, visited Madrid from 10-11
November, 2011 to participate in informal consultations
on the legal form of outcomes in AWG-LC (Ad-Hoc Working
Group on Long Term Cooperative Action) and AWG-KP
(Ad-HOC Working Group on Kyoto Protocol).
Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism, Mr Joan Mesquida,
visited India from 20-24 September, 2011 and held meetings
with Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Secretary, Ministry of
Civil Aviation and officials of Indian private sector airlines.
The sixth meeting of the Civil Society Dialogue-India-Spain
Tribune is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from 21-22
March, 2012.
India-Spain bilateral trade in the first 10 months, January-
October 2011, showed positive growth and reached
3,456.60 million, which was 13.2 per cent higher than
that for the same period in 2010. Indian exports during this
period amounted to 2,338.60 million, and imports stood
at 1,118 million. During the year, Spanish infrastructure
companies, such as Isolux and San Jose, bagged transmission
line and road contracts in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan,
respectively. Acciona, Gamesa and Windar expanded their
wind and solar energy projects in Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh and Gujarat.
The Spanish National Post 'Correos' commemorated the
150th Birth Anniversary of Tagore with the release of a
stamp and a postmark on 7 May, 2011. An ICCR sponsored
15-member contemporary Indian dance troupe led by
Tanusree Shankar also presented a dance drama 'The Child'
based on Rabindranath Tagore's poem in May 2011.
The Hay Festival of Segovia in collaboration with Casa de la
India organised a separate segment 'Universo Tagore' from
21-25 September, 2011 to commemorate the 150th Birth
Anniversary of Tagore. ICCR sponsored the participation
of writer Upamanyu Chatterjee and film-maker Rituparno
Ghosh in the Festival. Upamanyu Chatterjee talked about
Tagore's influence in contemporary literature. Rituparno
Ghosh discussed gender issues in cinema. The festival
concluded with the screening of his film 'Noukadubi' based
on Tagore's novel.
Casa de la India (CDLI), in collaboration with Indo-Latin
American Cultural Initiative (ILACI) organised an ensemble
of academic seminars and parallel cultural activities called
'Tagore in Spain' from 27 September-4 October, 2011 in
Salamanca, Barcelona and Valladolid. ICCR Director-
General visited Spain from 11-12 November, 2011 on the
occasion of the Fifth Anniversary of Casa de la India. The
ICCR sponsored the participation of three scholars from