Newsletter, June - July - August 2009


  Editorial

Dear members and friends,
As time's winged chariot moves forward in the process of development, there is a natural opportunity for countries and people to come closer. The EuroIndia Centre seeks to gather this opportunity in its hands with a resolve to forge meaningful partnerships between the countries of Europe and India. The creative genius of its members seeks to fly a Kite both in European and Indian skies ! The Centre seeks to develop partnerships in the spheres of Knowledge management by enabling both European and Indian students to undertake a Semester in institutes of Business Management, Technology, Medicine or Social Sciences located in Europe or India. It seeks to foster twinning relationships between European and Indian institutes for developing synergy in curriculum, teaching methodology and research projects.
Harjit S. Anand
Co-President,India
Another area of cooperation which the Centre promotes between Europe and India is in relation to Investments. The focus can be on European institutional investors investing in Indian Companies or India- targeted Equity Funds and Indian Companies and financial institutions looking for opportunities in Europe.

Further, the rich tradition of cultural ties between Europe and India can become the raison d'ętre for accelerated exchange of people in the form of Tourism. Bollywood has always displayed a fondness for the hills and dales of Switzerland. One of India's great movie blockbusters was titled an 'Evening in Paris' with Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore setting Parisian streets ablaze with their romance.

Again, there is great potential for the Civic Leaders of Europe and India to develop a fine tradition of local diplomacy by working together in the sphere of Excellence in Urban Governance and Development. Cities in the two areas could find partners and work together in the fields of urban planning and design, renewable energy and energy efficiency, trading in Carbon Credits, water management systems, solid waste & effluent management, public transport systems, real estate development with special emphasis in affordable housing….There are myriad ways of cooperating : European & Indian firms can set up JVs for tendering not only in Europe or India but also in other countries of the developing world!

After two successful Conferences in Goa, the EuroIndia Centre is now set to fly a kite in Spanish skies! The city of Valladolid with its rich cultural heritage and proven capacity in legacy restoration is hosting the City Summit from 4th to 6th October, 2009. This will be followed by meetings in Valladolid, Madrid & Paris. On behalf of the EuroIndia Centre , I throw an open invitation to civic leaders, businessmen , urban planners & architects, civil servants dealing in urban development, academics and representatives of NGOs in Europe and India to join this EuroIndian odyssey in Valladolid, Madrid & Paris and make it a memorable success !
  Yours sincerely,

Harjit S. Anand
Co-President,India 		 


   Vantage Point  
 
The Ambani brothers dispute erodes confidence of foreign investors
[click here for more]
 
   Politics and Economy  
 
India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently released its new Foreign Trade Policy for 2009-14, effective august 27th
[click here for more]
 
    Policy & Regulations  
 
Does India have a rational gas utilization policy ?. No say most energy analysts. What India has is a merely series of allocations of gas to select users made by the Empowered Group of Ministers.
[click here for more]
 
   Kite Monitor
 
  • Knowledge
  • Investment and business
  • Tourism
  • Urban Excellence
    [click here for more]
    		•  
       Article Alert
     
    Links to selected articles of interest to our readers.
    [click here for more]
    		 
       Memberspeak
     
    Memberspeak An old tale of two modern brothers : Gurcharan Das
    [click here for more]
    		 
     
       The EuroIndia Sphere

     

    Centre News :

    Events:

  • 11-12 June: Michel Sabatier and Colette Mathur attended a colloquium on Raymond Barre, our founding co-President, in     Paris. For more details [click here].

  • 15 June: Assembly General and Board Meeting in Paris - Harjit Anand Singh was elected and Colette Mathur re-elected     as co-president. Activity and financial report 2008 were approved. During a lively discussion during the Assembly General it     was agreed that the Centre's strategy is clearly set on promoting local interaction between Europe and India with a     priority focus on City to City interaction on the broad canvass of the KITE.

  • 16 June: The first EuroIndia Conference with Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC and the Centre's founding member, in     collaboration with the HEC alumni association and the Paris Chambre of Commerce and Industry.
        For full text of talk delivered by Deepak Parekh [click here].
        For Ashok Kar's report on the meeting [click here].
        For Deepak Parekh's bio [click here].

  • 16 June: A brainstorming meeting was held in Paris with some of the AGM paticipants over the Indian National Heritage     Centre which is being set up in Ahmedabad, with Debashish Nayak, its founding manager.

  • 17 June: Breakfast meeting with Deepak Parekh in collaboration with Paris Europlace and Ernst & Young.
        For more details [click here].

  • 28 June: Colette Mathur attended the Global India Business meeting in Munich. She represented the Centre and made     interesting contacts. For more details [click here].

  • August 2009: Secretary General, Michel Sabatier, and Girish Bhagat, Secretary (India), have undertaken a panIndian tour     to enlist States and Cities for the Summit, with the local assistance of CII representatives: Ahmedabad, Bangalore,     Chandigarh, Chennai, Jaipur, Hyderabab, Kanpur, Lucknow, Puduchery and Vizag. For report of his visit  [click here].

  • 27 August: Visit of the Secretary General To Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation hosted Secretary     General Michel Sabatier to prepare the full-fledged participation of the City in the impending EuroIndia City Summit in     Valladolid and its extension to Madrid and Paris. For more details [click here].
        Flash report on the official Indian delegation to the Valladolid Summit and its European extension to Brussels and Paris.      [click here].


    • Developments:

  • Fundacion Consejo Espana India agreed on being a Strategic partner of the Euro India City Summit.
        For aims and objectives of the Spain -India Council Foundation  [click here].

  • EuroIndia City Summit in Valladolid: At the moment of sending the Newsletter we hope to receive the registration of
        about 10 cities coming from about 6 different States. For the list of registrations [click here].

  • At the behest of the Centre, the French National Agency for Urban Renovation (ANRU) sent an invitation to the Ministry     of Urban Development, Governement of India, to visit Paris and discuss co-operation, on the occasion of their participation     in the EuroIndia Summit. This has translated into a special ANRU programme for the official Indian delegation on 8th     October. On the 9th morning, half ad day of technical exchanges will be co-organized with its French counterpart Ministry     with all specialized public agencies and private companies and cities interested in an India engagement.
        For more details  [click here].

  • International urban security conference at Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai on 26-27 November: Promo Madrid,
        Reliance Industries and CISCO have agreed to be Principal Sponsors. The Confederation of European Security Services
        and the University of Geneva will provide their technical back-up.

  • The President of the Madrid Region and the Deputy-Mayor of London have accepted to attend the Conference in     Mumbai with a delegation of experts and specialized companies and share their proven expertise in tackling security     emergencies in their city.

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