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184 QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN SOUTH ASIA only 62 foreign architects were registered in India (Ibid). Foreigners seeking to enter the Indian market can do so either as individuals (after registering with the COA) or after setting up a partnership firm in India, in collaboration with registered Indian or foreign architect. Such permission is granted to individual architects alone and firms cannot be registered with the COA. Moreover, appointment of foreign architects as consultants to an Indian architect for supply of service in India is permitted, subject to approval by the government. Though the COA allows foreign architects, its rules are still restrictive and need to be modified by removing residency and partnership requirements. In addition to the COA, there is another body in India which works for architects. The Indian institute of architects (IIA) is the national body of architects in the country (IIA 2007). Having started in the year 1917, the institute today has more than 15,000 members. The institute has a major role to play in promoting the profession of architecture by organising and uniting in fellowship the architects of India to promote aesthetic, scientific and practical efficiency of the profession both in practice and in education. IIA is represented on various national and international committees connected with architecture, art and the building industry and is also actively associated with union of international architects (UIA), commonwealth association of architects (CAA) and South Asian association for regional co-operation of architects (SAARCH). The Pakistan council of architects and town planners (PCATP) ordinance 1983 has been promulgated with a view to give recognition and protection to the profession of architecture and town planning in Pakistan. The council has wide-ranging powers and is authorised to perform all functions and to take steps connected with or ancillary to all aspects of the two professions including laying down standards of conduct, safeguarding interests of its members, assisting the government and national institutions in solving national problems relating to the professions, promotion of reforms in the professions, promotion of education of these professions, reviewing and advising the government in the matter of architecture and town planning education, etc., interestingly, PCATP recognises architectural and town planning qualifications granted by institutions outside Pakistan including the qualification of bachelor of architecture offered by Bangladesh university of engineering and technology, Bangladesh; qualifications recognised by the council of architecture, India; qualifications recognised by the Institute of town planners, India (PCATP 2007). Requirements for architects to serve in Sri Lanka are laid out by the institute of architects of Sri Lanka which is governed by law and is based on International union of Architects (UIA) (Taneja et al. 2004). Sri Lankan and other foreign nationals are allowed to practice in Sri Lanka provided their degree is recognised in UIA and that they clear the examination conducted by the IASL. Several foreign architects work in Sri Lanka, but the requirements to practice in Sri Lanka are often violated. Foreign architects, including Indian, either go though the BOI-agreed investments or go for short-term to provide services on a visitor’s visa. In view of a flow of architects between Sri Lanka and India and the respective authorities which are in place, it has been suggested that the two countries should explore the possibility of signing MRA under the FTA. Engineering services are unorganised and unregulated in India. There are two professional bodies namely, the institution of engineers (India) (IEI) and the engineering council of India (ECI) which have been active in providing some sort of informal regulation to professional engineers (Kumar 2005). Of the two, the IEI is older and from a humble beginning in 1920 today it is a multi-disciplinary professional body. Similarly, the ECI intends to develop registers for professional engineers and consulting engineers. However, the greatest regulatory hurdle with regard to engineering services is that there does not exist any legal statute to govern these services, which apparently has prevented this sector from formally entering into any meaningful arrangement with similar bodies in foreign countries to obtain market access for Indian engineers. In order to overcome this hurdle the Engineering Council of India has drafted an engineers bill which is awaiting the Parliament approval (ECI 2007). India has been exporting engineering services to a number of countries in the world (Kumar 2005). Specialised engineering consultancy services are an important export sector for India, first to Africa and Asia, then to the Middle East and likely to other markets (Ibid). Most Indian consultancies are involved in some form of environmental and energy consultancy. India’s proven comparative advantage in the sector has encouraged the government to open its markets to competition by removing controls on foreign capital participation and extending full national treatment to foreign firms supplying their services in India. The IEI certifies an applicant as a ‘Professional Engineer’ (PE) (IEI 2007). Qualifications for certification as PE includes a bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent recognised by the government of India,
CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND CONCLUSION 185 experience of seven years, professional experience of two years, membership of recognised professional engineering associates, etc. Similarly, competency requirements for PE include application of engineering theory, standards and practices; management of engineering works; continuous development in engineering profession; etc. Assessment is done on the basis of a written examination, evaluation of professional, experience for at least seven years after acquiring engineering degree, evaluation of two years professional experience in significant engineering work and evaluation of CPD. Criteria for recognition of foreign engineers are: • Engineers registered as PE by the members of EMF shall automatically be certified in India. They will be exempted from examinations and other requirement as they would have been examined under an equivalent system and would have bachelor’s degree or equivalent in engineering from an accredited institution and at least seven years experience. • Others with engineering degree from foreign universities will be required to go through all the procedures including examinations as for engineers with Indian degree. As regards fee, it is same for the applicants from India and Nepal and different for other applicants from all other countries. It is also interesting to note that IEI provides guidelines for engineering students, polytechnic students, technicians’ chapters, chartered engineers and professional engineers. Similarly, in Sri Lanka too there is no legislation passed by the Parliament that makes it legally binding for an engineer to register with the Institute of Engineers of Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka specifies organisations and companies for which membership with IEI is mandatory. Foreign engineers can acquire membership to the IEI provided they clear the local examinations. Where such membership is not required, foreign engineers can practice without membership. The institution of engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) is the national professional organisation of the country. 2 It is registered under the Societies Registration Act of the country. IEB includes all disciplines of engineering. Currently, it has in its roll more than 25000 engineers. Since its establishments, IEB has been promoting and disseminating knowledge and practice of engineering and science. One of the major goals of IEB is to ensure the professional excellence and continuous professional development of the engineers in the country. It has also been working relentlessly to establish close and cooperation with the other professional bodies both in Bangladesh and outside the country. Established in 1968, Nepal engineers’ association (NEA) is an independent non-profit organisation of Nepalese engineers (NEA 2007). Today, it represents more than 7500 engineers. NEA was founded with a noble aim of developing engineering professionals to promote the development process by application of engineering sciences and technologies and at the same time increasing the interaction, goodwill and cooperation among engineers in Nepal and protect their professional rights. NEA also aims to develop relations, fellowship and goodwill with international engineering associations and institutions. As already discussed in Chapter 10, Pakistan engineering council (PEC) is the regulatory body established by an Act of Parliament which regulates engineering education, gives certification to professional engineers and advises government on all engineering and construction related issues. Perhaps Pakistan is the only SAFTA member country which has a statutory regulatory body for professional engineers. The Institution of Engineers, Pakistan (IEP) works as non-governmental organisation (NGO) under the Societies Registration Act. The institution provides platform for interaction between academia and other stakeholders and works for continuous improvement of engineering students, academia, and professional engineers. It came into existence in 1948, as successor to the Institution of Engineers, UK. The major objective of IEP is promoting professional development of engineers. IEP has concluded agreements of collaboration with 31 foreign professional societies including IEI; IEB; Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka; and NEA. As engineering remains an unregulated profession in many of the South Asian countries their qualifications based on graded institutions and a minimum working experience in their home country should be considered adequate to allow them to work in all these countries. While efforts could be made to have a statutory body, as in the case of India, a bill is awaiting the Parliament’s approval, the aim should be that movement of engineers is not made hostage to a lack of statutory regulatory body. From the foregoing it appears that professional associations, with or without delegated governmental authority, perform a number of functions related to capacity building, development of curricula, 2 The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, http://www.iebbd.org/aboutus.htm, last visited on 9 December 2007.
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QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM ECO
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QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM ECO
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Preface Our consultations with seni
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viii CONTENTS 7. Revenue and Welfar
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Executive Summary OBJECTIVE This st
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xiii Table 1 EAMA
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xv India A full S
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xvii indicates th
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xix ments on basi
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Part I BENEFITS FROM TRADE, INVESTM
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4 QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM E
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10 QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM
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2 Literature Review and Rationale f
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4 Effective Additional Market Acces
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6 Impact of SAFTA on Member Countri
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7 Revenue and Welfare Implications
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8 Impact of SAFTA on Inward and Out
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Part II BENEFITS FROM DEEPENING INT
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11 Construction and Related Enginee
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12 Tourism and Travel Related Servi
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Appendix 15 REFERENCE PAPER Scope T
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Bibliography Abelson, P. (1996),
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 241 Cuba (2002), Negot
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 243 (2004), Impacts of
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 245 Silva, Patricia an
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 247 (1998), Tourism Se
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