INL Dec 1 2015 Issue

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December 1, 2015 8 VIEWLINK The reverse side of educating Indians Winston Peters makes it so easy for migrant communities, especially those from India, to hate him. Every now and then, he issues statements that rile people, although very few pause to consider if they have merit. Many of his statements do. Consider for a moment what he said last week. “Thousands of Indian students are coming to New Zealand to find work. Their goal is not to study. Low-skilled jobs are being taken over by foreign students desperate to earn to pay off debt. There is an absolute rush to get to New Zealand,” he said. According to Mr Peters, there were 8300 applications to Immigration New Zealand in Mumbai in the two months before a new English language requirement was made effective. If you were to examine Mr Peters’ statement, you would find the lurking truth. The Vicious cycle A substantial number of students from India have one common goal: find a job, become a permanent resident, acquire New Zealand citizenship and hop across the Tasman. It took the John Howard government to swallow the hard pill in announcing changes to Australia’s immigration policy which now does not allow ‘automatic benefits’ for New Zealanders. And there is no exception to the rule that foreigners crossing the age of 50 years can never seek and get Australian citizenship. It is very convenient to criticise Mr Peters but those pausing to think will find some harsh realities. Indian students are led to believe by education agents before they leave India that the simplest and fastest route to citizenship is to become a student. A number of them therefore do not even consider attending classes at educational institutions. Employer exploitation Indian students are also routinely exploited (mainly by Indian employers) at work- they are overworked and underpaid and the vicious cycle of ‘youcomplain-you-lose-your-job’ seems to be eternal. Please do not get us wrong. We do need international students from India. They add value to our system and community. But it should not be at a price – especially to them. New Class The argument that ‘students from India poach jobs and bring down wage levels’ may lose weight as the new, expanding class of ‘educational entrepreneurs’ begin to make their impact across the world. As the Economist mentioned, foreign universities crave access to India’s booming higher-education market. Less well known is how some Indian institutions are venturing overseas. “Atul Chauhan, Chancellor of Amity University, rattles off a list of countries, including America, Britain, China, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, where his Indian outfit has so far opened operations. Amity, a non-profit which, unusually, is owned by a for-profit conglomerate, AKC Group, will open its latest foreign outpost, in Romania. Next on its list are Australia, Germany, Brazil and Japan, among others.“Our target is 50 countries in the next ten years,” Mr Chauhan said. Global expansion Amity’s original campus is a set of red-brick-and-glass towers, east of Delhi, whose media-studies department is better equipped than professional broadcasters’ studios nearby. It offers more than 240 courses (engineering and business dominate) and says it has 125,000 students, most at 20-plus sites in India, with roughly 10,000 now enrolled overseas. Going gang busters excites Amity’s bosses, though some competitors say throwing up campuses does not mean embedding a teaching culture, getting capable faculty or achieving high academic standards.“Go to too many places too quickly and you spread yourself too thin,” sniffs the boss of a rival Indian private university. According to the Economist, Amity has had missteps. It postponed a planned £100million($US152million) investment in a London campus, after Britain tightened its visa rules, putting off many would-be foreign students. He said that the money was used instead to pay for a 15-acre site in Dubai, where it now has 2000 students; proof, he says, that “we are here for the next 100 years.” IIT expansion India’s well-regarded institutes of technology, which are state-run and thus less nimble than private organisations, are so far staying at home. However, Shobha Mishra Ghosh of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), notes that there are a number of private university groups with deep pockets to expand abroad as a number of them are now doing. The home market is expanding rapidly, by some estimates, as many as 42million Indians may be in further or higher education by 2020. But the field is crowded: more than 35,000 colleges and 700 universities vie for students. So it makes sense also to pursue the 28million people of Indian heritage who live abroad, and the 200,000 Indians who go overseas to study each year. Indian Newslink is published by Indian Newslink Limited from its offices located at Level 1, Number 166, Harris Road, East Tamaki, Auckland 2013 and printed at Horton Media Limited, Auckland. All material appearing here are the copyright of Indian Newslink and reproduction in full or part in any medium is prohibited. Indian Newslink and its management and staff do not accept any responsibility for the claims made in advertisements. Managing Director & Publisher: Jacob Mannothra; Editor & General Manager: Venkat Raman; Production Manager: Mahes Perera; Design: Shine Kumar; Sales Manager: Suresh Krishnan Phone: (09) 5336377 Email: info@indiannewslink.co.nz Web: www.indiannewslink.co.nz A touch of royalty, the feel of affinity and an air of cordiality marked the highly successful visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United Kingdom from November 12 to 14, 2015. If diplomatic whispers were any indication, Queen Elizabeth II was delighted to invite him for lunch at the Buckingham Palace against the background of his political critics at home who taunt him as a tea boy. Mr Modi is never shy to reveal his hard upbringing, a childhood life drenched in an environment of poverty and sell tea to supplement the family income. The Queen, with a broad smile and handshake, greeted Mr Modi as he strode into the palace in his typical iconic Indian dress. Boisterous reception His British counterpart David Cameron invited him to the Chequers for talks soaked as they were in age-old relations. The two later made their way to the Wembley stadium to savour a warm, cheering yet intermittently boisterous reception. The highlight of his visit was his address to the British Parliament where he got a standing ovation. In India, a hard critic and former Chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah described his presentation in the House of Commons as ‘an excellent speech.’ “Why can’t we just take pride in that?” he tweeted in a rejoinder to Mr Modi’s detractors. On the joint Press conference of the two premiers. Mr Abdullah’s sharp remarks raised eyebrows in journalist and academic circles. “I think we can safely assume that the British Press was not advised about what to ask and what not to ask,” he said. Indo-British overlap In his address to the British Parliament, Mr Modi said that much of modern India was linked to the Parliament building. “So much history looms across our relationship,” he said, noting that many of the freedom fighters found their calling in the institutions of Britain and many makers of modern India, including his predecessors from Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr Manmohan Singh, passed through the Parliament doors. “There are many things on which it is hard to tell anymore if they are British or Indian; the Jaguar or the Scotland Yard, for example. “And our strongest debates are whether the Lord’s pitch swings unfairly or the wicket at Eden Gardens (in Kolka- Indian Newslink indiannewslink.co.nz Modi brings home a slice of Britain’s heart NVR Swami ta) cracks too early. And we love the Bhangra rap from London just as you like the English novel from India.” Superlative Indians He said the UK was the third largest investor in India behind Singapore and Mauritius. India was the third largest source of Foreign Direct Investment projects in the UK. Indians invest more in Britain than in the rest of European Union combined. It was not because they want to save on interpretation costs but because they “find an environment that is welcoming and familiar.” “It takes an Indian icon, Tata, to run a British icon and become the nation’s largest private sector employer,” Mr Modi said. Britain remains a preferred destination for Indian students and an Indian company is taking a thousand British students to India to skill them in information technology. “Strong as our partnership is, for a relationship such as ours, we must set higher ambitions. We are two democracies, two strong economies and two innovative societies,” he said. Shifting fault-lines Mr Modi said that the fault lines were shifting from the boundaries of the nations into the ‘web of our societies’ and the streets of cities. “And terrorism and extremism are a global force that are larger than their changing names, groups, territories and targets. The world must speak in one voice and act in unison to combat this challenge of our times. We must adopt a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations without delay. “There should be no distinction between terrorist groups or discrimination between nations. There should be a resolve to isolate those who harbour terrorists and willingness to stand with nations that will fight them honestly. And, we need a social movement against extremism in countries where it is most prevalent and every effort to delink religion and terrorism,” he said. Regional blocs On his way back home from London, the Indian Premier attended the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey. He flew to Malaysia soon after to attend the ASEAN Summit. Mr Modi said that the ten member-countries of ASEAN form an economic powerhouse,and have emerged as one of the largest economic zones in the world. The macro-economic stability had been the main reason for growth and stability in South- East Asia. This showed that the growth depended more on the spirit of people rather than the size of the population. Speaking about India, he said, “We must reform to transform.” “Reform to me is just a way station on the long journey to destination. The destination is the transformation of India. We are working in all ways to make India a global manufacturing hub.”
Indian Newslink December 1, 2015 indiannewslink.co.nz INDIAN NEWSLINK INDIAN BUSINESS AWARDS 2015 9 Words of appreciation inspire us to move forward Venkat Raman venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz The best Award that a journalist can get is a word of appreciation. Nothing gives us greater pleasure than a smile that indicates satisfaction. On that score, we are beholden to more than 200 guests who chose to write to us expressing their delight at the way in which the Eighth Annual BNZ-Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards turned out to be on Monday, November 23, 2015 at Sky City Convention Centre. We have chosen just a few to provide a broad representation of the dignitaries, businesses, manufacturers and professionals who attended the event. We have of course removed some accolades that made us shy! Steven Joyce, Economic Development Minister Each year the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards get bigger and bigger with increasing number of guests and participants. This event alone will require a better and bigger Convention Centre. Dr Don Brash, Deputy Chairman, India Trade Alliance It was a splendid occasion, and the attendance was a great tribute to you and your colleagues at Indian Newslink. Very many thanks and best wishes. Dr Richard Worth, Deputy Chairman, India Trade Alliance Thank you very much for a splendid event on Monday (November 23) and the opportunity to be present in such distinguished company at the India Newslink Indian Business Awards. I am very much aware that substantial skill and organisation is required to run such events. I know that the India Trade Alliance team had an informative and highly enjoyable evening. Anthony Healy, Managing Director & Chief Executive, Bank of New Zealand We are happy to be the Title Sponsor of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards for the fifth successive year and we are delighted to see it grow every year. We are proud of the Indian business community which has consistently performed well. Mai Chen, Public Law Specialist and Director, BNZ I would be happy to get a Sir Bob Harvey, Ansuya Naidoo, Ashok and Sheila Patel copy of the superb speech of Dr Jebamalai Vinanchiarachi. Anwar Ghani, Former President, Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand I congratulate you and the Indian Newslink team for organising such a successful evening. Your efforts in promoting the Indian Diaspora and its input in New Zealand economy is highly appreciated. Johnrae Tannen, Regional Manager, Business Banking Auckland West, ANZ As always the event was super and is getting better and better each year and we enjoyed every minute. Lawrence Ponniah, Managing Partner, Corban Revell Lawyers Another successful Awards night. Well done.Thank you for giving Corban Revell the opportunity to be part of the successful evening. Dr Chung-hsing Chou, Director General, Taipei Cultural & Economic Office in Auckland with the members of the Taiwanese business community Sam Alrdini, Jagmeet Singh, Amita Gejji and Bharat Jain at the NZSE Stall A section of the guests at the Awards Night 2015
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