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DECEMBER 2011
German Simulator Maker Sets Up
Indian Arm
Weiss Umwelttechink of Germany on 2 October 2011 launched
its Indian subsidiary Weiss Technik India Pvt. Ltd. with the
objective of catering to the growing needs of the Indian market.
Weiss Umwelttechnik GmbH is a subsidiary of the Shcunk Group
and a manufacturer of testing chambers and systems for
environmental simulation. The company already has over 700
installations in India.Weiss at present has a manufacturing facility
in China with technology from Germany. A facility in India would
focus on a different range of products.
The market size for environmental simulation chambers and
systems in India is about 100 crore rupees and Weiss has 45 per
cent market share in it. The company’s customers include DRDO,
ISRO, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki. The market size is likely to
reach Rs 200 crore in the next five years.
The products are used by vehicle manufacturers, pharmaceutical,
electronic, aviation, aerospace and defence industries. The
company has 450 customers in India. The company will have
branch offices at Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and
Kolkata with Hyderabad as its headquarters.
EU launches New Schengen Visa
System for Indians
European Union on 11 October 2011 launched a Visa Information
System (VIS) for Indians and other non-EU citizens applying for
a Schengen visa. It will help prevent fraud and process visa
applications faster due to the use of biometrics (fingerprints and
a digital facial image). The system will also help in quick and
effective exchange of data on short-stay visas among Schengen
countries. In addition, the new system will make the verification
process of visas a more efficient and secure.
It should be noted that Indian citizens need the Schengen visa
to visit the 25 countries in the Schengen area in European Union.
At present, approximately 13 million Schengen visas are issued
every year by the 25 countries of the Schengen area. The EU
said that it was not always easy to prevent frauds and abuses
and the application process was burdensome for those who seek
legitimately a short stay visa for travel within the EU.
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five
European countries that have implemented the Schengen
Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in
1985.
India and Japan Agreed to Cooperate in
the Field of Tourism and Infrastructure
India and Japan on 10 October 2011 agreed to cooperate in the
field of tourism and infrastructure. The agreement was finalised
between Tourism Minister of India, Subodh Kant Sahai and
Japanese Tourism minister, Matsubara in Tokyo. India and Japan
also discussed opportunities for investment in tourism
infrastructure in India. The Japanese government showed desire
to invest in Buddhist and Medical Tourism in India.
Indian cultural troupe will participate in the festival of India in
Japan. It will be organised to celebrate the 60th year of
diplomatic relations with Japan and India. A Taj Mahal made
of ice will also be replicated in this festival.
India & Myanmar to Cooperate in
Oil & Gas
President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, HEU Thein
Sein visited India from 12 to 15 October 2011. This was the first
State visit of any political head from Myanmar to India following
the swearing in of a new government in Myanmar in March 2011.
During this visit, India and Myanmar agreed to step up
cooperation in oil and natural gas with discussions touching on
new gas pipelines. India also offered an additional 5oo million
US dollars line of credit. India agreed to resolve border issues
and step up energy and trade links.
In security, India and Myanmar agreed to increase the
effectiveness of coordinated operations on either side of the
border through better intelligence sharing. Both nations will
jointly work out a schedule for repairing boundary pillars in a
time-bound manner. India also agreed to increase training slots
for Myanmar students and establish more I.T. training centres.
India and Myanmar discussed the Moreh-Mae Sot road that
would connect India and Thailand via Myanmar. This will open
a direct road link between India and Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN). This direct road link will also accelerate
the plans of ASEAN for the Mekong-Ganga corridor. India
welcomed Myanmar’s progress towards an open and democratic
framework.
Why Myanmar is Important for India
The visit of Myanmar’s President takes place in a context when
Myanmar is no longer a pure military regime. Following elections
in November 2010, a civilian government took charge, with an
elected Parliament. Myanmar is important for India, because it is
a gateway to the ASEAN, it holds the key for the successful
implementation of India’s look east policy. India stood as
Myanmar’s fourth largest trading partner after Thailand,
Singapore and China with bilateral trade valued at 1.071 billion
US dollars in the year 2010-11.
Myanmar’s total export to India valued at 876.91 million US
dollars, while its import from India was amounted to 194.92 million
US dollars. Agricultural produce and forestry products are leading
in Myanmar’s export to India whereas medicine and
pharmaceutical products are the major import items from India.
India is a major buyer of Myanmar’s beans importing 70 percent
of the latter’s agricultural produce.
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India and Afghanistan Signed Strategic
Partnership Agreements
On 4 October 2011 India signed three agreements with
Afghanistan for both the countries greater strategic partnership.
The agreements were singed between Afghanistan President,
Hamid Karzai and India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in
new Delhi when President Karzai was on a two day visit to India.
Name of the Agreements
• Agreement on Strategic Partnership between India and
Afghanistan
• MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Development of
Hydrocarbons
• MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Mineral Resources
Development
The Three Agreements signed were to create an institutional
framework for our future cooperation in the fields of political
and security cooperation, trade and economic cooperation,
capacity building and education, and social, cultural, civil
society and people- to-people relations.
Both the countries agreed for Afghanistan’s economic
integration with the Indian economy and South Asia as a whole
to be in the national interest of the people of Afghanistan.
One of the ways to achieve this was agreed to be to promote
closer trade, investment and transit links.
The two countries discussed the recent spurt in violence in
Afghanistan and Pakistan’s role in fomenting terror in
Afghanistan.
India and Afghanistan took into account a proposed exit by
international forces in 2014 while signing the agreement. India
committed to stand by the people of Afghanistan as they
prepare to assume the responsibility for their governance and
security after the withdrawal of international forces in 2014.
The strategic agreement also comprised joint initiatives on
key international issues and support for UN reforms, including
permanent seat for India in the UN Security Council.
India-UK to work towards MoU for
Urban Development
Kamal Nath Minister of Urban Development, Government of India
and Gregory Clark, Minister of State for Decentralization and
Cities agreed to work towards a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between India and UK on 14 October 2011 at London.
The MoU would aim at enhancing cooperation and deepen the
engagement between India and UK in the areas of capacity
building, land economics, heritage management, sustainable
master planning, transport planning etc. Another area of
cooperation would be the sharing of knowledge in the formulation
of Public Private Partnership Models.
Kamal Nath was in London on 14 October 2011 to participate
in the UK India Business Forum organised by the UKIBC, UK
Trade & Investment and Indian Chamber of Commerce.
India and Qatar Identify Areas for
Coopration in Oil & Gas Sector
Shri S. Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas has
sought additional quantities of crude oil and LNG from Qatar. He
also invited investments from Qatar in the upcoming
petrochemical projects of the oil sector PSUs. Shri Reddy
emphasised that such investments will be a win-win proposition
for both the countries. He pointed of that India is looking for
strategic investors for some of these project which include
petrochemical complexes at Dahej and Manglore, and LNG import
terminal at Ennore.
The Minister for Industry and Energy of Qatar, Dr. Mohammed
bin Saleh Al-Sada reiterated Qatar’s commitment to India to not
only supply LNG under existing contracts but also additional
quantities for which discussions are going on. He offered to
supply LPG and crude oil condensates which can be processed
to produce white fuels like Petrol, Kerosene, ATF and Naphtha.
The two Ministers stressed the need for expediting the process
of evaluating the present opportunities for mutual cooperation
in the hydrocarbon etc. Shri Reddy expressed the hope that some
of these deals would near fruition by the time of the World
Petroleum Congress at Doha in the month of December 2011.
India and Czech Republic Target $2
Billion Trade in 2012
India and the Czech Republic upgraded their economic
cooperation and fixed a target of bilateral trade volume of two
billion US Dollars by 2012. The current volume is 1.3 billion US
Dollars. The decision was taken on 10 October 2011 in New Delhi
between the visiting Czech Minister for Industry & Trade, Martin
Kocourek and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
During the discussions, Anand Sharma stressed the need for a
liberal visa regime for business people and suggested that a
system of issue of long-term business visas on the
recommendations of the apex business chambers should be put
in place.
The Czech Minister agreed that the VISA regime needs to be
addressed more forcefully and informed the Indian side that their
government will discuss Investment Incentive Act for the Czech
Republic and corresponding resolution of VISA related issues
will form part of the discussion.
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India & Iran Agree To Set Up
Payment Mechanism For Trade
India and Iran on 5 October 2011 agreed to set up a mechanism
for payment of crude oil and ensure bilateral trade. Both sides
agreed that the mechanism will cover the payment to Indian
exporters and some other areas. The two countries have decided
to continue their dialogue on the issue. Earlier, Iran had threatened
to stop crude oil supplies to India if a mechanism to pay for
imports is not found quickly. India has to pay Iran 9 billion dollars,
which is now seven months in arrears.
Iran is second only to Saudi Arabia as an oil supplier to India,
while India is Iran’s second-biggest crude buyer after China,
accounting for about 20 per cent of its exports. India imports
40000 barrels of oil from Iran on daily basis. Nearly 12 percent
of India’s oil demand is met by oil supply from Iran. Indian
firms are finding it difficult to pay Iran because of international
sanctions imposed over Iran’s controversial nuclear
programme. The sanctions include banking restrictions.
The problem over payment to Iran happened after the Reserve
Bank of India on 23 December 2010 scrapped the Asian
Clearing Union (ACU). As an alternative to Asian Clearing
Union, India tried to make payments through countries like
the UAE, Turkey and Russia. However, these nations had
objections to routing big amount of 13 billion dollars which
India pays for Iranian oil annually. They wanted to route small
payment upto 6-7 million dollars.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals-a susidiary of ONGC- is
the biggest consumer of Iranian crude in India.
India and Vietnam Signed Six
Agreements Including Joint Oil
Exploration in South China Sea
India and Vietnam signed six agreements on 12 October 2011
during the visit of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to
India. The agreements are as following:
• India and Vietnam signed an extradition treaty
• Oil exploration agreement in South China Sea
• Friendship pact to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
diplomatic relations in 2012
• Agreement in the field of agriculture and fisheries
• Cooperation in sports and tourism
• Agreement on Cultural Exchanges
India and Vietnam also decided to launch a biennial Security
Dialogue between their home ministries. The two nations also
decided to increase the trade target to 7 billion US dollars by
2015 from the present mark of 2.7 billion US dollars. Both
nations also agreed to work towards early finalisation of the
India-Asean Free Trade Agreement in Services and
Investment. India and Vietnam also discussed the situation in
the Vietnamese Eastern Sea (South China Sea).
Vietnam’s Importance for India
This is the first visit by the Vietnamese President outside the
Asean region and shows the importance attached by both sides
to the relationship. Developing close relations with Vietnam is
an important component of India’s Look East Policy. The Chinese
claim on the South China Sea was rejected by both India and
Vietnam, saying as per the UN, the blocks belong to Vietnam.
India & South Africa to Cooperate on
Electoral Reforms
India and South Africa on 11 October 2011 signed a pact to
facilitate exchange of Knowledge and experience in the field of
election management and administration in New Delhi. It was
signed by the Chief Election Commissioner of India, SY Quraishi
and the Chairperson of the Electoral Coommission of South
Africa, Brigalia Bam.
The MoU also paves the way for promotion and implementation
of educational research and training programmes. The Election
Commission of India has so far signed eleven MoUs with Election
Management Bodies across the world including Brazil, Russia
Indonesia, Bhutan and Nepal.
India and Czech Republic to Cooperate
in Coal Mining
Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal, Minister of Coal, Government of India
met Mr. Martin Kocourek, Minister of Industry and Trade, Czech
Republic on 11th Oct. Both the Ministers led the respective
delegations and interacted about the scope for technical
cooperation in areas concerning development of coal mining in
India particularly underground coal mining.
Indian side impressed upon Czech Republic regarding the scope
for establishing manufacturing facilities in India for underground
mining machinery. The other areas of interests for India for
technical cooperation with Czech Republic include deep coal
mining, lignite mining, clean coal technologies including coal
mine methane extraction, underground coal gasification, etc. both
the sides evinced interest for increased participation in coal sector
and machinery manufacturing. Indian side requested Czech
industry to participate in the tenders floated by them for
development of coal, lignite and power generation.
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