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india_news_p000100.jpg | Visit of INS Mysore
INS Mysore, an Indian Navy guided missile destroyer, participated in the International Naval Review on July 4, 2000 in New York. A ship of the U.S. Navy and 20 other countries participated in this event and was reviewed by the U.S. President Bill Clinton.
INS Mysore earlier made a visit to the Norfolk, VA port between June 27 - 29, 2000 and also took part in the Sail Boston-2000 in Boston on July 11, 2000.
General Purpose Destroyer
- Weight: 6,700 ton
- Propulsion: 4 gas turbines; 64,000 HP
- Top Speed: over 32 Knots
- 16 Surface-to-surface missiles
- Surface-to-air missiles
- 100 mm gun, 4 - 30 mm Gatling guns
- 2 Helicopters, anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes and electronic warfare equipment
- Commanding Officer: Captain Rajiv Dhamdhere
- 500 crew members
- INS Mysore was designed and built at Mazagon Docks, India.
INS Mysore is the second Indian Naval Ship, which has been christened as MYSORE. The old INS Mysore, a Cruiser, began her life in the Royal Navy as HMS Nigeria on 3rd August 1940. During the Second World War she distinguished herself in various theatres of war from the icy waters of the Arctic to the coral reefs of South East Asia. The ship was transferred to the Indian Navy on 29th August 1957. Her advent symbolised power. Her main armament of $6^{\circ}guns could deliver a fusillade of 2.5 tons of explosives a minute on the enemy. Mysore's first adventure in her chequered career was the liberation of Goa in 1961. Her tasks included the speedy capture of Anjadip, neutralisation and capture of the Portuguese frigate Aphonso de Albuquerque, and subsequent administration of the territory. In 1965 Mysore led the Fleet for two sorties in the North East Arabian Sea and off North Saurashtra, but the enemy did not seek action. It fell once again on Mysore to lead the Western Fleet to victory in December 1971, achieving a most effective blockade of Karachi and virtual command of the Arabian Sea. In her twilight years, Mysore served as the Cadets Training Cruiser, the very cradle of professionalism through which many a future officer passed. Till her decommissioning on 29th August 1985, Mysore constantly lived up to her motto: ALWAYS FEARLESS.
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india_news_p000101.jpg | News in Brief
Government announces liberalization of Satellite up linking Policy
Government has announced the much-awaited liberalization of satellite up linking policy allowing all TV channels to uplink from India, irrespective of their equity holding. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley said the new policy would bring a large Number of TV channels within the country's broadcasting codes. He said as per the new policy an Indian company, which needs not be a broadcaster, would be permitted to set up linking hub for renting out to broadcasiers. Permissible foreign equity in such companies would be limited to 49 per cent, including NRI and Overseas corporate bodies' (OCB) investments, as in the case of telecom sector. The hubs would be permitted to uplink only those TV channels which are permitted by the government, he said, adding companies could uplink through both Indian and foreign satellites, although preference would be given to the former. He said the new policy would also allow up linking facility to Indian news agencies, which are wholly owned by Indians, for news gathering and distribution. Jaitley said this would give the Indian news agencies the much-desired competitive edge over the foreign news agencies.
Joint Ventures mooted in Nuclear Power
Joint ventures in nuclear power sector should be possible within next five years once the required changes are made in the Atomic
Energy Act of 1962 in accordance with the country's economic liberalization policies, according new chief of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Vijay Kumar Chaturvedi, the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NPCIL tomorrow, although it is difficult to bring changes in the Atomic Energy Act of 1962, a high-level committee is working on it and we anticipate that within next five years the committee's effort will be favorable for joint ventures. Chaturvedi said we do not expect any equity from state governments as the Center's equity share for NPCIL will be completely withdrawn in 2010 and the states are facing financial crunch. Therefore, it is important for NPCIL to look for joint ventures to meet its goal of 20,000 MW by 2020. However, Heavy Water, Nuclear Fuel and Regulatory will be with the Central Government even if a green signal is given for joint ventures, Chaturvedi observed. NPCIL has already appointed consultants to work out strategies for future joint ventures.
Foreign Equity limit for Internet Service providers may be raised
Government is considering a hike foreign equity limit for Internet service providers (ISP) from the current 49 per cent and the issue is likely to be taken up in the next meeting of Telecom Commission scheduled for the first week of August. "There is a proposal to increase the foreign equity limit for Internet Service Providers and this would be discussed in the next meeting of Telecom Com-
mission," Shyamal Ghosh, Secretary of Department of Telecom (DoT), said. Ghosh said that with the foreign equity limit in e-commerce sector pegged at 100 per cent there was a strong case for increasing the FDI in ISP sector. He, however, declined to comment on the quantum of FDI increase being considered by the commission. On the National Long Distance (NLD) norms, Ghosh said that various issues including intra circle traffic and the revenue sharing were being considered. FDI up to 100 per cent would be allowed in e-commerce subject to the condition that the company would divest 26 per cent to the public within five years if it were already listed abroad.
Economy will grow by over seven per cent this year: Sinha
Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has exuded confidence that the economy would grow over eleven per cent and government would achieve the Rs 100 billion disinvestment target in the current financial year. "I see no reason to deviate from by projection of seven per cent plus growth in the current fiscal," Sinha said. Similarly, there is no reason why the government should not achieve the disinvestment target for the year, he added. Asked about interest rates, he said it would not be surprising if banks raised rates as the stock markets have already factored in such a development following the decision of Reserve Bank of India to hike bank rate and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR).
See NEWS IN BRIEF, Page 7
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india_news_p000102.jpg | The Coming of Age of India
By Sidharth Bhatia
In India, a million revolutions are taking place every day. Long seen as a closed and insular economy and one that stifled enterprise in order to pursue socialistic goals, India today is posed to leapfrog into the digital era with great élan and in an almost seamless, effortless way, as if to the manner born.
Notwithstanding its rigidity and its slow-growth orientation, the old planned economy pattern had several advantages, not the least of which was to create infrastructural behemoths in the public sector and give India a strong industrial base to stand on. Moreover, during that period, several institutes of academic excellence were set up, which turned out bright engineers and managers by the thousands. Today, India is reaping the benefit of those investments and is gearing up to make a splash in the brave new IT world of tomorrow. The evidence is all around in the country and even outside. The highest number of HIB visas for working in the United States are given to Indians; Silicon Valley, Seattle and other centers of Information Technology development have thousands of Indians working in them; India's own Silicon Plateau, Bangalore, is home to some of the biggest IT companies in the world and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of bright, creative youngsters are busy setting up dot coms, dreaming of becoming like Bill Gates or Azim Premji, an Indian who is said to be one of the richest men in the world.
India is also a big base for offshore software development and applications-in Gurgaon, which is just on the outskirts of New Delhi, for example, young Indians process the backroom work for large American corporates and international airlines and credit card companies. Some other statistics: India now has nearly 4 million Internet usersa small number compared to many other countries but one which is increasing exponentially by the minute-and by the end of December 2003, the country is projected to have no less than 100 million Internet users. The numbers look even more impressive when compared to November 1998, when there were less than 200000 active net users in India. Recent surveys have shown that over 200 Indian cities are wired to the net and an overwhelming number of users are in the 18 to 24 age group though a full quarter of users are in the economically strong 25-39 age band. Interestingly, pure entertainment is among the lowest priorities for most net users, a clear indication that the Indian users wants to leverage this powerful medium for education and information purposes. E-commerce in India is still in its infancy, but is growing rapidly and today one can buy everything from books, music, cars and even Indian art on the net. India is emerging as one of the biggest sources of domain name registrations in the world. Employment in the dotcom business is upwards of 80000 people within
India and this figure is likely to increase by six times in three years or so.
This is of course in addition to the thousands of people employed in programming and software development. Not surprisingly, therefore, many countries are heading to India to source their software and personnel requirements. Germany recently declared that it would woo Indian software engineers with a special employment card, while Singapore, Canada and a host of other countries too have been in the forefront of attracting Indian programmers and entrepreneurs. Indian training institutes are setting up shop all over South Asia, South-East Asia and even Africa, teaching programming skills to youngsters all over the world. However, to maintain these impressive growth rates in the IT industry in general and in Internet usage in particular, huge investments will have to be made in infrastructure. The Indian government has shown pragmatism and a liberal attitude towards this sector, allowing private investment to come in and ensuring that India meets all its commitments in dismantling stateowned monopolies in keeping with WTO requirements.
At present, much of India's Internet backbone is in the hands of the government-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited but by 2001, 80 private Internet service
See COMING OF AGE, Page 7
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india_news_p000103.jpg | Bilateral Meeting of the External Affairs Minister with the U.S. Secretary of State and Participation in the Conference of Democracies
Warsaw, Poland<br>June 30, 2000
- The bilateral meeting was organized on the margins of the conference of 'Communities of Democracies' (CD). CD is a new initiative organized by a number of countries. India was one of the seven countries of the convening group of $C D$, which met prior to the conference in order to prepare a draft declaration, which could be released on the conclusion of the conference. CD is not an institutionalized grouping against anybody but a joint initiative taken to exchange views and share experiences on how to strengthen democracy and democratic practices.
- The meeting between External Affairs Minister and U.S. Secretary of State lasted for an hour. During the meeting discussions were held on the modalities of CD.
- The U.S. Secretary of State, Madeline Albright reiterated a very positive assessment of U.S. President's visit to India in March this year. Ms. Albright also reiterated U.S. President's invitation to our Prime Minister for a return visit.
- The return visit by our Prime Minister is expected to take place in September this year. The details are being worked out and would be announced subsequently.
- External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh raised the question of Indian UN peacekeepers in Sierra Leone and our concerns on this issue. Incidentally, the following day External Affairs Minister was to meet UN Secretary General to have discussions on this issue. Ms. Albright expressed her willingness to join him for this meeting and reiterate US concerns. The next day, both the leaders jointly met UN Secretary General.
- As a result of consistent and continuing diplomatic efforts, 21 of the Indian soldiers in relatively more difficult situations have been released. This is a good development. India also appreciates Ms. Albright's decision to join External Affairs Minister for his meeting with UNSG.
- The discussions also took place on bilateral issues including nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. Indian position regarding CTBT has been articulated by PM i.e. "We are preparing a national consensus in this matter and efforts would be continued in the coming months in this direction".
- The two sides also exchanged views on various visits undertaken by the respective sides. External Affairs Minister had recently been to Iran. Accordingly he shared our perceptions on Iran. Ms. Albright had just visited Seoul and Beijing. She shared her experiences in these two places, particularly on the summit meeting between North and South Korea.
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india_news_p000104.jpg | COMING OF AGE
(Continued from page 5)
providers and at least 12 private gateways will be fully operational. In addition, the Indian government is also inviting investments in broadband networks as well as in convergence technologies and almost all the major international players have indicated their interest in getting into these cutting edge areas. But while the government has created the necessary legal framework-a cyber law was enacted recently-and has shown a willingness to have liberal investment policies in IT, the real revolution is at the grassroots. Not only are hundreds of thousands of Indians taking to the internet, but NGOs, civil society Organizations, even provincial governments and municipalities are embracing information technology to improve governance and to enhance social development.
In Tamil Nadu, for example, farmers can find out about weather patterns and the best available prices for their produce via the net, while in Andhra pradesh, land records have been totally digitized. In Madhya pradesh, which has pioneered many social development schemes in the rural area, the government plans to put its own policies on the net to ensure greater transparencies. India has set out on the IT pathprogramming, infrastructure and of course the dotcomming revolution are all part of it-and the goal is clear: the energies that IT will unleash should be for the benefit of every citizen in the country.
NEWS IN BRIEF (Continued from page 4)
On the crash in stock markets following RBI's measures, Sinha said the market had its own logic why it reacts to a situation in particular fashion. "Stock prices go up in the morning and come down in evening, even though there is no policy decision in the intervening period. The market has its own logic," he said.
Cabinet approves Amendment of Cable Network Act
The Government has given its nod for amendment of the Cable Network Act to provide for adherence by all satellite channels of program and advertisement codes to stop obscenity on television. The amended Act would empower the government to ban rogue channels on the charge of showing obscene programs.
The code was earlier mandatory only for the national channel Doordarshan. The Cabinet also approved the proposal for another amendment to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act to provide for mandatory distribution of two terrestrial and one regional language channel of Doordarshan by cable operators in a manner so as to retain their quality.
A bill to amend the Cable Act will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley informed the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of his ministry. The proposed amendment will provide for an improved enforcement mechanism and the authorized officers to enforce the Act will be designated in it.
India Challenges Basmati Patent in United States patents office
Government has filed a petition before United States Patents and Trademarks Office challenging the grant of patent on basmati rice to Ricetec Inc, Texas, and Supreme Court was informed. "The Government of India has now filed a petition before the USPTO for reexamination of the grant of patent to Ricetec," an affidavit filed by the Center stated. However, it said "even if India succeeds at USPTO, it will not prevent Ricetec from continuing to call its rice strain a 'Basmati-like' or 'Basmati strain'." On the other hand, the Government said regardless of the grant of Patent, Indian farmers could grow Basmati rice without any hindrance on account of Ricetec's patent. Separately, a Technical Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, was also formed to examine the matter from the technical point of view, the Government Said. Explaining the setting up of the Committees, it said the procedure before USPTO is "one-shot" where by all documentary material justifying re-examination must be made available in the first instance.
IT Ministry launches "Operation knowledge" to meet HR demand
To meet the increasing global demand for Indian skilled manpower in the new economy sectors like software and internet, Ministry
See NEWS IN BRIEF, Page 8
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india_news_p000105.jpg | NEWS IN BRIEF (Continued from page II)
of Information Technology (MIT) has launched a program "Operation Knowledge" to be implemented by June 2001. The Ministry has begun preparing a blueprint on finding out ways and means to meet the demand for Indian Info Tech professionals and a draft would be ready within a month, Minister for Information Technology Pramod Mahajan has said. The draft, which would be referred to the Ministries of Human Resources Development and Finance, would be submitted to the Prime Minister by the end of this year after incorporating inputs from these ministries, he said. According to MIT projections, there would be a demand for 2.2 million skilled manpower in the software sector by 2008, while there would be direct employment opportunities for 1.6 million professionals in the hardware sector.
Additionally, there would be indi-
rect employment opportunities for 3.2 million personnel in the hardware sector by the same period, taking the total global demand for Indian IT professionals to seven million. Mahajan said the operation knowledge would be incorporated in the next Budget providing enough funds for implementation by June 2001.
Government to prepare minimum Agenda for E-Governance
In a bid to push e-governance within the government, the High Powered Committee on Improving Administrative Efficiency using IT would prepare a minimum agenda for e-governance within a month, Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar said. "The Committee would prepare a transparent, efficient agenda for e-governance including methods to automate government-citizen interface,"
Kumar said. He said the objective of the minimum agenda would be to serve the two-way process of evolving an efficient networking between government departments and bring about transparency in Government functioning. The thrust of the agenda would be to operationalize the IT services within government departments, he said adding the committee would face no hitch from any of the concerned ministries including the ministry of Finance. "If the expenditure of the agenda crosses the earmarked budget, the High Powered Committee would also consider providing additional funds," Kumar said. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Planning and Program Implementation Arun Shourie said to make e-governance a success, the committee should take initiatives to start online transactions so that public could directly deal with various government departments.
EMBASSY OF INDIA<br>Press & Information<br>2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW<br>Washington, DC 20008
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india_news_p000106.jpg |
Vajpayee visit: Reaffirming the Vision
"As we talk with candour, we open the doors to new possibilities and new areas of cooperation - in advancing democracy, in combating terrorism, in energy and environment, science and technology and in international peacekeeping. And, we are discovering that our shared values and common interests are leading us to seek a natural partnership of shared endeavours."
Prime Minister Vajpayee's address to the joint session of the U.S. Congress - September 14, 2000
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india_news_p000107.jpg | INDIA NEWS
Special Edition - October 2000
Published by the Embassy of India, Washington, DC
CONTENTS
Highlights of Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to Washington, DC ..... 1
Prime Minister Vajpayee's address to the Joint Session of the United States Congress ..... 2
Joint India-U.S. Statement on the Occasion of the Official Visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ..... 5
Dedication of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial ..... 8
Excerpts from U.S. news media on Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit ..... 10
India's Experience Has Taught That Peace Lies in Strength ..... 12
For more information on Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to the United States, please go to the Embassy's web site http://www.indianembassy.org. The Prime Minister's speeches are also available in Real Video format.
(Front cover photo by Rajan Devadas - September 15, 2000)
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india_news_p000108.jpg | Highlights of Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to Washington, DC
September 14, 2000
- Meeting with Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol.
- Prime Minister Vajpayee addressed the Joint Session of Congress of the United States. The Prime Minister was the only foreign leader to do so during 106th session of the U.S. Congress.
- Separate meetings with U.S. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri), Chairman Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina) and Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chairman Benjamin Gilman (R-New York) and Members of the House Committee on International Relations at the U.S. Capitol.
- Luncheon hosted by Chairman Gary Ackerman (D-New York), Co-Chairman Jim Greenwood (R-Pennsylvania) and the Congressional Caucus on India, Cannon House Office Building.
- Meeting with representatives of think tanks and academic institutions.
September 15, 2000
- Prime Minister Vajpayee's arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
- Welcoming Prime Minister Vajpayee, President Clinton said that India and the United States have forged a common bond arising from our common commitment to freedom and democracy. While thanking President Clinton for the warm welcome accorded to him, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of the continuing multifaceted dialogue between the two democracies.
- Meeting with Vice President Gore and a Luncheon hosted by Vice President Gore, in honor of Prime Minister Vajpayee at the Department of State.
- Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), Chairman of Senate Asia and Pacific Sub-Committee called on the Prime Minister.
- Prime Minister Vajpayee addressed the U.S.-India business summit hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers and Confederation of Indian Industry.
September 16, 2000
- Prime Minister Vajpayee dedicated the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in the distinguished presence of President Clinton on federal land in front of the Embassy of India. At the ceremony, President Clinton said that no other country has been more influenced by India than the United States and added that he learned about Gandhi at 17 or 18 through Martin Luther King's writings about nonviolent resistance. The dedication took place less than two years after the passage of the Act of Congress in October 1998, the shortest period for any such memorial in Washington, DC.
- Ambassador Naresh Chandra hosted a luncheon reception in honor of Prime Minister Vajpayee at the Omni Shoreham Hotel for more than 800 guests.
- Prime Minister Vajpayee met with a group of Indian American entrepreneurs including many from the Silicon Valley and assured them that India would assist them in every possible way in their desire to contribute to India's rapid and all-round development.
- Prime Minister Vajpayee addressed members of the Indian-American community at a function organized in his honor by them at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC
September 17, 2000
- President and Mrs. Clinton hosted a State banquet at the White House in honor of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This was the largest such event during the Clinton administration and more than 700 distinguished guests from diverse varied backgrounds were present.
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india_news_p000109.jpg | Prime Minister Vajpayee's address to the Joint Session of the United States Congress
September 14, 2000
Prime Minister Vajpayee welcomed at the U.S. Congress. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House and Senator Strom Thurmond are seen in the back. (September 14, 2000; Photo: Government of India Photo Division)
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. President Pro tem,
Honourable Members of the
United States Congress,
It is with a deep sense of honour that I speak to you today. I would like to thank you, Mr. Speaker, and the members of the Congress for giving me this opportunity.
In November 1999 a remarkable event took place in the House of Representatives. By a vote of 396 to 4,
the House adopted a resolution congratulating India and my government on the successful elections completed in October 1999. This display of broad-based bipartisan support for strengthening relations with India is heartening.
It is a source of encouragement to both President Clinton and to me, as we work together to infuse a new quality in our ties. I thank you for the nearunique approach that you have adopted towards my country.
Those of you who saw the warm response to President Clinton's speech to our Parliament in March this year will recognise that similar cross-party support exists in India as well for deeper engagement with the USA.
I am also deeply touched by the resolution adopted in the House two days ago welcoming my visit and the prospect of closer Indo-U.S. understanding.
Mr. Speaker,
American people have shown that democracy and individual liberty provide the conditions in which knowledge progresses, science discovers, innovation occurs, enterprise thrives and, ultimately, people advance.
To more than a million and half from my country, America is now home. In turn, their industry, enterprise and skills are contributing to the advancement of American society.
I see in the outstanding success of the Indian community in America, a metaphor of the vast potential that exists in Indo-U.S. relations, and what we can achieve together.
Just as American experience has been a lesson in what people can achieve in a democratic framework, India has been the laboratory of a democratic process rising to meet the strongest challenges that can be flung at it.
In the half century of our independent existence, we
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india_news_p000110.jpg | have woven an exquisite tapestry. Out of diversity we have brought unity. The several languages of India speak with one voice under the roof of our Parliament.
In your remarkable experiment as a nation state, you have proven the same truth. Out of the huddled masses that you welcomed to your shores you have created a great nation.
For me the most gratifying of the many achievements of Indian democracy has been the change it has brought to the lives of the weak and the vulnerable.
To give just one figure, in recent years it has enabled more than a million women in small towns and distant villages to enter local elected councils and to decide on issues that touch upon their lives.
Two years ago, while much of Asia was convulsed by economic crisis, India held its course.
In the last ten years, we have grown at 6.5 per cent per year: that puts India among the ten fastest growing economies of the world.
Economic activity gets more and more diversified by the year: President Clinton and many among the friends gathered here have had occasion to glimpse our advances in information technology.
We are determined to sustain the momentum of our economy: our aim is to double our per capita income in ten years - and that means we must grow at 9 per cent a year.
To achieve this order of growth we have ushered in comprehensive reforms. We are committed to releasing the creative genius of our people, the entrepreneurial skills of the men and women of the country, of its scientists and craftsmen. At the same time, we in India, remain committed to the primacy of the State in fulfilling its social obligations to the deprived, the weak and the poor.
Important sectors of the country's infrastructure power, insurance, banking, telecom - are being opened to private initiative, domestic and foreign.
Trade barriers are being lowered.
Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen,
There are forces outside our country that believe that they can use terror to unravel the territorial integrity of India. They wish to show that a multireligious society cannot exist.
They pursue a task in which they are doomed to fail.
No country has faced as ferocious an attack of terrorist violence as India has over the past two decades: 21,000 were killed by foreign sponsored terrorists in Punjab alone, 16,000 have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir.
As many of you here in the Congress have in recent hearings recognised a stark fact: no region is a greater source of terrorism than our neighbourhood.
Indeed, in our neighbourhood - in this, the 21st century - religious war has not just been fashioned into, it has been proclaimed to be, an instrument of State policy.
Distance offers no insulation. It should not cause complacence.
You know, and I know: such evil cannot succeed.
But even in foiling it could inflict untold suffering.
That is why the United States and India have begun to deepen their cooperation for combating terrorism. We must redouble these efforts.
Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen,
There was a time when we were on the other side of each other's globes. Today, on the digital map, India and the United States are neighbours and partners.
India and the United States have taken the lead in shaping the information age. Over the last decade, this new technology has sustained American prosperity in a way that has challenged conventional wisdom on economic growth.
We are two nations blessed with extraordinary resources and talent. Measured in terms of the industries of tomorrow, we are together defining the partnerships of the future.
But our two countries have the potential to do more to shape the character of the global economy in this century.
We should turn the example of our own cooperation into a partnership that uses the possibilities of the new technologies for defining new ways of fighting poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease and pollution.
See PRIME MINISTER'S ADDRESS, Page 4
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india_news_p000111.jpg | Prime Minister's Address
(Continued from page 3)
Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen,
We believe that India and America can - and should - march hand in hand towards a world in which economic conditions improve for all.
A situation that provides comfortable living standards to one-third of the world's population, but condemns the remaining two-thirds to poverty and want, is unsustainable.
The foremost responsibility that the 21 st century has cast on all of us is to change this unacceptable legacy of the past.
It should be our common endeavour to overcome this legacy. I, therefore, propose a comprehensive global dialogue on development.
We would be happy to offer New Delhi as the venue for this dialogue.
In this Congress, you have often expressed concern about the future contours of Asia. Will it be an Asia that will be at peace with itself? Or will it be a continent, where countries seek to redraw boundaries and settle claims - historical or imaginary through force?
We seek an Asia where power does not threaten stability and security. We do not want the domination of some to crowd out the space for others. We must create an Asia where cooperative rather than aggressive assertion of national self-interests defines behaviour among nations.
If we want an Asia fashioned on such ideals - a democratic, prosperous, tolerant, pluralistic, stable Asia - if we want an Asia where our vital interests are secure, then it is necessary for us to re-examine old assumptions.
It is imperative for India and the United States to work together more closely in pursuit of those goals. In the years ahead, a strong, democratic and economically prosperous India, standing at the crossroads of all the major cultural and economic zones of Asia, will be an indispensable factor of stability in the region.
Our cooperation for peace and stability requires us to also define the principles of our own engagement. We must be prepared to accommodate our respective concerns.
We must have the mutual confidence to acknowledge our respective roles and complementary responsibilities in areas of vital importance to each of us.
Security issues have cast a shadow on our relationship. I believe this is unnecessary. We have much in common and no clash of interests.
We both share a commitment to ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons. We have both declared voluntary moratoriums on testing.
India understands your concerns. We do not wish to unravel your non-proliferation efforts. We wish you to understand our security concerns.
We are at a historic moment in our ties. As we embark on our common endeavour to build a new relationship, we must give practical shape to our shared belief that democracies can be friends, partners and allies.
In recent years, through all the good and difficult times, we have spoken to each other more often than we have ever done in the past. I thank President Clinton for this leadership and vision in steering this dialogue. I sincerely thank members of this Congress for supporting and encouraging this process.
As we talk with candour, we open the doors to new possibilities and new areas of cooperation - in advancing democracy, in combating terrorism, in energy and environment, science and technology and in international peacekeeping. And, we are discovering that our shared values and common interests are leading us to seek a natural partnership of shared endeavours.
India and the United States have taken a decisive step away from the past. The dawn of the new century has marked a new beginning in our relations.
Let us work to fulfill the promise and the hope of today.
Let us remove the shadow of hesitation that lies between us and our joint vision.
Let us use the strength of all that we have in common to build together a future that we wish for ourselves and for the world that we live in.
Thank you.
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india_news_p000112.jpg | Joint India-U.S. Statement on the Occasion of the Official Visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
September 15, 2000
PRIME Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton today reaffirmed the vision they outlined in March in New Delhi of a closer and qualitatively new relationship between India and the United States in the 21 st century. They reiterated their conviction that closer cooperation and stronger partnership between the two countries will be a vital factor for shaping a future of peace, prosperity, democracy, pluralism and freedom for this world. They acknowledged that this vision draws strength from broad political support in both countries.
The two leaders agreed that the wide-ranging architecture of institutional dialogue between the two countries provides a broad-based framework to pursue the vision of a new relationship. They expressed satisfaction at the pace and purposefulness with which the two countries have initiated the consultations envisaged in the dialogue architecture.
In particular, the two leaders are gratified by their recent exchange of visits, and by the regular foreign
Prime Minister Vajpayee speaking at the White House welcoming ceremony. (September 15, 2000; Photo: Government of India Photo Division)
policy consultations at the ministerial and senior policy levels.
They expressed satisfaction at the role that the two countries played in the launch of the Community of Democracies.
In the economic arena, they reaffirmed their confidence that the three ministerial-level economic dialogues and the High-Level Coordinating Group will improve the bilateral trade environment, facilitate greater commercial cooperation, promote investment, and contribute to strengthening the global financial and trading systems.
They welcomed the progress of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, and agreed that it would also examine linkages between terrorism and narcotics trafficking and other related issues. They noted the opening of a Legal Attaché office in New Delhi designed to facilitate cooperation in counterterrorism and law enforcement.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction that the joint consultative group on clean energy and environment met in July and agreed to revitalize and expand energy cooperation, while discussing the full range of issues relating to environment and climate change.
They welcomed the establishment of the Science and Technology forum in July and agreed that the forum should reinvigorate the traditionally strong scientific cooperation between the two countries. In that connection, they noted the contribution of the two science and technology related roundtable meetings held in March and September.
They also welcomed the recent initiatives in the health sector, including the joint statements of June 2000, as examples of deepening collaboration in
See JOINT INDIA-U.S. STATEMENT, Page 6
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india_news_p000113.jpg | Joint India-U.S. Statement
(Continued from page 5)
improving health care and combating AIDS and other major diseases of our time.
The two leaders agreed that India and the United States must build upon this new momentum in their relationship to further enhance mutual understanding and deepen cooperation across the full spectrum of political, economic, commercial, scientific, technological, social, and international issues.
During this visit, the two leaders had productive discussions across a wide range of bilateral, regional, and international developments. In the economic arena, they agree that India's continuing economic reforms, as well as the two countries' complementary strengths and resources, provide strong bases for expansion of economic ties between the two countries. The two leaders recognized the need to deepen cooperation on high-tech trade issues. They noted that the present regime on e-commerce would be rolled over until the next ministerial meeting of the WTO, and that the two countries would cooperate in building a wider international consensus on information technology. The two leaders pledged their joint commitment to bridge the digital divide, both within and between countries, so that the benefits of information technology may advance the economic and social development of all citizens, rich and poor.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction with their agreement on textiles. They also affirmed the need for expansion of bilateral civil aviation ties and agreed to work toward this goal. They recognized the contribution that biotechnology can make to a safe and nutritious food supply, in offering new options to farmers to address problems of pests and diseases, while contributing to environmental protection and enhancing global food security. The governments of the United States and India will explore ways of enhancing cooperation and information exchange, joint collaborative projects and training of scientists in agriculture biotechnology research. The ongoing vaccine research would be further strengthened also, making use of genomics and bioinformatics. The governments of both the United States and India support science-based regulatory activities.
They also noted significant progress on other important economic issues including mutual taxation and investment in the power and other sectors. In regard to double taxation issues, the competent authorities of both sides intend to soon negotiate an arrange-
ment under which collection or recovery of tax will generally be suspended on a reciprocal basis, during pendency of a mutual agreement proceeding. To ensure sustainable economic growth that will lift the lives of rich and poor alike, the two leaders committed support for efforts that will make capital markets more efficient, transparent, and accountable to attract the billions in private investment that is needed.
They recognize the need for appropriate technology for power generation, and the importance of greater South Asian regional cooperation and trade in energy, as well as the development and application of clean technologies that address our respective problems of urban and water pollution. The leaders noted with satisfaction the signings of several major commercial agreements, under which U.S. firms will contribute to the development of the power industry in India.
The United States and India intend to harness their cooperation in emerging scientific and economic sectors into a partnership for defining new ways of fighting hunger, disease, pollution, and other global challenges of our time. The two leaders pledged their strong commitment to address the global challenge of the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS through the close involvement and cooperation between the governments and civil society in the two countries. They expressed support for the collaborative program for research in various areas, including HIV/AIDS vaccine development, through the joint Working Groups of scientists envisaged by the joint Statement of June 2000. They agreed to encourage the formation of a business council to combat HIV/ AIDS with the active involvement and participation of business and industry to raise awareness in the industrial workplace.
The two leaders discussed international security. They recalled the long history of Indo-U.S. cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations, most recently in Sierra Leone. The two leaders agreed to broaden their cooperation in peacekeeping and other areas of UN activity, including in shaping the future international security system. The two leaders also discussed the evolving security environment in Asia, recalling their common desire to work for stability in Asia and beyond. They agreed that the Asian Security Dialogue that the two countries have initiated will strengthen mutual understanding.
The two countries reaffirmed their belief that ten-
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india_news_p000114.jpg | sions in South Asia can only be resolved by the nations of South Asia, and by peaceful means. India reiterated its commitment to enhancing cooperation, peace, and stability in the region. Both sides stressed the unacceptability of continued violence and bloodshed as a basis for solution of the problems of the region.
The United States and India seek to advance their dialogue on security and nonproliferation issues, building upon the joint statement signed during President Clinton's visit to India in March. They reiterated their respective commitments to forgo nuclear explosive tests. India reaffirmed that, subject to its supreme national interests, it will continue its voluntary moratorium until the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) comes into effect. The United States reaffirmed its intention to work for ratification of the Treaty at the earliest possible date. The Indian government will continue efforts to develop a broad political consensus on the issue of the Treaty, with the purpose of bringing these discussions to a successful conclusion. India also reconfirmed its commitment not to block entry into force of the Treaty. India expects that all other countries, as included in Article XIV of CTBT, will adhere to this Treaty without reservations. The United States and India reiterated their support for a global treaty to halt the production of fissile material for weapons purposes, and for the earliest possible start of Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty negotiations in Geneva. The United States noted its moratorium on the production of fissile material for weapons purposes and supports a multilateral moratorium on such production pending conclusion of a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty. The United States and India commended the progress made so far on export controls, and pledged to continue to strengthen them. Both countries agreed to continue their dialogue on security and nonproliferation, including on defense posture, which is designed to further narrow differences on these important issues.
In combating international terrorism, the two leaders called on the international community to intensify its efforts, including at the current session of the United Nations. Noting that both India and the United States are targets of continuing terrorism, they expressed their determination to further reinforce bilateral cooperation in this area. They have agreed to hold another round of counter-terrorism consultations in New Delhi later this month, and to pursue work on a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
Finally, the two leaders also paid tribute to the contributions of the Indian-American community in providing a bridge of understanding between the two societies and in strengthening the ties of commerce and culture between the two countries. In this connection, they commended the progress of the initiative to set up a collaborative Global Institute for Science and Technology in India. The two leaders agreed to encourage people-to-people connections between the two nations, and to enlist the cooperation of all sections of their talented and diverse societies in support of that goal.
Prime Minister Vajpayee and U.S. President Clinton at the White House welcoming ceremony. (September 15, 2000; Photo: Rajan Devadas)
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india_news_p000115.jpg | Dedication of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial
(Prime Minister Vajpayee dedicated the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in the distinguished presence of President Clinton on September 16, 2000. The memorial, established by an Act of the U.S. Congress, is located on federal land opposite to the Embassy of India.)
Prime Minister's address after dedication:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am delighted to be with all of you this morning.
Today is, indeed, a memorable day for all of us. I have arrived here after unveiling a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of the Indian Embassy.
I am grateful to President Clinton for taking time out of his schedule to join me at the function. This extraordinary gesture, along with the glowing tributes he paid to the Mahatma in his opening remarks at the White House ceremony yesterday, have further endeared America and its President to our people.
With the unveiling of Gandhiji's statue in Washington, one of the greatest apostles of peace has, in a sense, arrived physically in the capital of the world's eldest democracy.
Prime Minister Vajpayee dedicating the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial with President Clinton and Ambassador Naresh Chandra (September 16, 2000; Photo: Raj Sharma)
through the Gandhian method of non-violence, was for me the most potent weapon available to the oppressed people in their struggle for freedom."
Gandhiji's unique method of passive resistance proved to be an enormously active force against colonial oppression. His use of non-cooperation, civil disobedience and non-violence as instruments in the struggle for freedom
touched the American people as much as it did people all over the world. America's own struggle for independence had an important influence on India's freedom movement. Gandhiji has acknowledged that the great American philosopher Thoreau was his teacher in "the science of civil disobedience."
Gandhiji's personality had a magnetic effect on many people in this country. All of us know about the incomparable homage paid to him by Albert Einstein.
But the Mahatma's spirit has been with the people of America for the greater part of the last century.
Indeed, he was with Americans, not too far from here, 37 years ago. On that occasion, a quarter million Americans marched to Lincoln Memorial to hear Martin Luther King outline his dream of a truly emancipated America.
King's guiding light was Mahatma Gandhi. As he said: "The Christian doctrine of love, operating
But not so well known is the effect he had on ordinary Americans. For example, Samuel Evans Stokes, a wealthy American from Philadelphia, gave up everything to become a soldier in the Mahatma's army of Satyagrahis in India.
He even changed his name to 'Satyanand' Stokes and had the rare honour of being the only American to become a member of the All India Congress Committee.
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india_news_p000116.jpg | Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton with the sculptor Gautam Pal and Ambassador Naresh Chandra (September 16, 2000; Photo: Raj Sharma)
His recent widely acclaimed biography, American in Khadi, shows how there has always been a natural affinity between India and America. Friends, what is it about Gandhiji that makes him a man not just of the past, but equally of the present and the future?
What is it about him that makes him not just an Indian, but a man who belonged to the whole humanity?
The answer to these questions is obvious: The universality of the man. And the immorality of his message.
What is more, Gandhiji lived his own message. As he himself famously put it, "My life is my message".
It is the message of truth and non-violence.
Of brotherhood of all human beings.
Of cooperation among nations.
Equally, it is the message of tolerance and respect for diversity, which are the basic tenets of democracy.
Gandhiji saw both these tenets as the art and science of mobilising the physical, economic and spiritual resources of all sections of the people in the service of the common good.
It is the proud privilege of both India and the United States that out two countries are models - one in the East and the other in the West - of democracy as well as unity in diversity.
We both cherish, preserve and promote universal human rights such as freedom of speech, political choice and religious belief.
These are universal values that form the foundation of more tolerant and compassionate societies, a more non-violent world free from tensions and fear.
They form the foundation of a world where the liberty of people living in open societies is not threatened by extremism and terrorism.
These are values enshrined in the American and Indian Constitutions and handed down to us by great men like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. It is not a coincidence that all three of them fell to the bullets of assassins.
Inspired by the Mahatma, we believe that non-violence requires faith in God and faith in man. Hence, we remain hopeful of a world where the conscience of humanity will never allow forces of bigotry and violence to succeed. Gandhiji's statue here in the heart of Washington will be a symbol of the triumph of the human spirit against oppression, just as the Statue of Liberty in the New York has been the beacon of freedom, for the whole world.
Distinguished guests,
Today is the penultimate day of my visit to this great country. It has been a very satisfying and fruitful visit.
I thank President Clinton for the enormous personal commitment he has brought to bear on the success of the Indo-American dialogue.
Just as his visit to India earlier this year was a memorable one for him, my own visit to America now has been equally momentous.
See VAJPAYEE'S AFTER DEDICATION SPEECH, Page 10
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india_news_p000117.jpg | Excerpts from U.S. news media on Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit
A "Tilt" towards India
Two years ago, India's nuclear tests provoked worldwide condemnation and retaliatory sanctions by the United States. Yet in recent months, culminating in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to Washington last weekend, the United States has drawn closer to India diplomatically than at any time since the early 1960's. President Clinton has shaped a new foreign policy course in South Asia by embracing India and distancing the United States from Pakistan's military government. These steps have far-reaching ramifications for all of Asia, including China, as well as for the issue of nuclear proliferation. The shift is justified by India's growing importance.
Editorial, New York Times - September 20, 2000
At This Dinner, Harmony Is Served
India and America clinked glasses in their new whirlwind friendship at an elaborate and exotic state dinner at the White House last night as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee profusely praised Bill and Hillary Clinton-and also Christopher Columbus, "who set sail for India but landed in America. I wonder where we would be if he had actually reached India."
The line got a big laugh from the nearly 700 assorted political, business and entertainment glitterati lucky enough to snag one of the coveted seats in what was by far the largest-and possibly last-such event of the Clinton administration.
Continued on next page
Vajpayce's After Dedication Speech <br> (Continued from page 9)
It has taken a very short time - from March to September - for our two countries to come a long way.
At the same time, it seems that New Delhi and Washington are not a long way off from each other.
I describe this period as "Six Months That Cemented the Natural Alliance Between India and America".
The Vision Document we signed in New Delhi has been translated into a specific forward movement in a number of areas in the Joint Statement adopted in Washington.
It reflects the synergy of our manual interests.
We have laid a solid foundation for stronger and more broad-based economic cooperation between our two countries. I am confident that this foundation will support the attractive architecture of IndoAmerican relations in the coming years.
But going beyond the mutuality of economic opportunities, our two sides have talked candidly about several important issues that form the texture of our bilateral relations.
We have talked about security matters. We have talked about the situation in South Asia.
We have also talked about threat of terrorism to civilized world order.
Of course, differences are bound to be there between the two countries. But dialogue between democracies, in an atmosphere of candour and trust, never fails to dissolve some if not all differences.
And that is what has happened on account of the continuing dialogue at various levels between our two democracies.
From divergence, we have moved to a convergence of thinking and outlook on a broad range of issues.
I heartily thank all those who have contributed to the success of this dialogue.
I especially applaud the consistent efforts of the Indian-American community. Your patience and hard work are paying off. Keep it up.
I thank all of you for the opportunity of sharing my thoughts with you.
Thank you."
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india_news_p000118.jpg | Vajpayee said in his official toast, "I'm grateful to Mrs. Clinton for taking time from her campaign" to attend the dinner, a line that brought sustained applause-and an apparently startled and pleased reaction from Mrs. Clinton.
The evening was an Indian summer indeed, climax-ing-in a sense-with these dramatic words of Clinton's toast: "Together," he said, "India and America can change the world."
Rowan Philp and Phil McCombs
Washington Post - September 18, 2000
Gandhi Likeness Unveiled by Vajpayee and Clinton
Washington's newest statue, a larger-than-life figure of Mahatma Gandhi, was officially dedicated yesterday by President Clinton and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a small park across from the Indian Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue NW.
"It's very important for the United States to make a memorial to Gandhi," Clinton said after the dedication. "Gandhi provided the inspiration to Martin Luther King, which spread to the civil rights movement and brought an end to the business of slavery and brought integrity to the democratic ideal."
The statue, just under nine feet tall, stands on a 16ton block of rough-hewn granite from India. It shows a lean, bespectacled Gandhi in full stride, pushing forward against a walking stick in a scene recalling his 1930 march to the sea to protest an increased salt tax by the British.
The robed, sandaled figure faces north, toward the British Embassy about a mile away. The inscription below it is spare: "My Life Is My Message."
The president said that last week's visit by the prime minister enhanced the relationship between their countries and that he hopes "this chain in partnership goes beyond my service into a whole new era of U.S.-India relations." No other country "has been more influenced by India than the United States," said Clinton, who learned about Gandhi at 17 or 18 through King's writings about nonviolent resistance.
Bill Broadway
Washington Post - September 17, 2000
Indian Leader Urges Close U.S. Ties
In a further sign of strengthening U.S.-India relations, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appeared before a joint session of Congress yesterday to urge closer economic and political ties that he said would help erase the "shadow of hesitation" that still persists between the two countries.
Vajpayee found his audience in a receptive mood. Despite concerns about proliferation, Democrats and Republicans alike have welcomed the Clinton administration's efforts to forge closer relations with India, the world's most populous democracy and a trading partner of vast and largely untapped potential. Their enthusiasm reflects, in part, the growing political and economic clout of Indian Americans, one of the nation's most prosperous immigrant groups and a driving force in its booming computer and software industries.
John Lancaster
Washington Post - September 15, 2000
Vajpayee visit marks changing relationship between U.S., India
"We are the oldest democracy. They are the world's biggest democracy," said White House national security spokesman P.J. Crowley. "There is an opportunity here to have a qualitatively new relationship with India."
As if to underscore that point, Vajpayee's visit will also showcase the growing and increasingly prosperous community of Indian-Americans, who include Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Kholsa. Vajpayee is scheduled to attend a private reception of IndianAmericans Saturday night, and he'll presumably be talking to the dozens of Internet entrepreneurs in the crowd about investing in his country.
"You now have 2.2 million Indian-Americans in the United States, and you can imagine the number of their relations and friends" who come here on visits from India, said Promodh Malhotra, who planned to attend Saturday's event and who is head of Wash-ington-based Global Finance Associates Inc., a small international investment bank.
Jay Hancock
Baltimore Sun - September 14, 2000
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india_news_p000119.jpg | India's Experience Has Taught That Peace Lies in Strength
By Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India
International Herald Tribune - September 21, 2000
MY RECENT visit to the United States has consolidated relations between the world's two largest democracies. The joint initiatives and understandings that we reached represent a major step forward. India and the United States can be natural allies in the 21 st century. Events and circumstances over the last two years have confirmed this.
We are both motivated by shared values that give freedom, dignity, democracy and tolerance the highest priority. Open societies oppose international terrorism which, in the cloak of religious extremism, is eating away at the foundation of democratic nations.
The integrity of nation-states as building blocks of a stable international order is threatened by newlypromoted concepts of interventionism that add to insecurity and social chaos. The principle of social equity that must underline economic prosperity and globalisation is often ignored. Barriers to mutually enriching science and technology must be removed to promote creativity and knowledge to the full.
As the two biggest open societies, India and the United States must address these pressing concerns. Agreement and common action would be ideal; but disagreement on some issues should not constitute division. We have agreed that, as our dialogue proceeds, we will listen with respect to each other and seek to accommodate our mutual concerns.
As natural allies, it is important that India and the United States remain engaged. Contacts should be so frequent that they become routine. President Bill Clinton's visit to India in March took place after a gap of 22 years. In the fast-changing world in which we live, even 22 months is an unacceptable interruption.
India is growing at an annual rate of more than 6 per cent; we aim to reach 9 per cent and beyond. Such growth results from unshackling the energy and enterprise of the Indian people. India is a vast market as well as an expanding platform for manufacture and services. Its growth has generated an insatiable thirst for green energy, efficient communications and modern infrastructure. India is open for business and partnership.
India is in the vanguard of the knowledge revolution. Information technology and knowledge-intensive industries, including biotechnology, entertainment, communications and services, have taken root. They are now moving beyond India to network at a global level. Traditional industry and science also continue to flourish. India today is equally adept in both "brick" and "click" economies.
No armies from India have stepped out to conquer and dominate others. We want a world free of weapons of mass destruction. But security in the real world must be based on the principle of equal security for all. Without a non-discriminatory world order, our experience has taught us that peace lies in strength. The security of one billion Indians is central to Asia's security and stability. Yet peace and strength are not incompatible. As a nuclear weapon state, our approach is guided by a sense of responsibility and transparency that we urge others to adopt.
A unilateral moratorium on explosive tests, a policy of "no first use," a tight export control regime and a willingness to engage with other countries on all aspects of international security are the principles of India's nuclear policy.
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india_news_p000120.jpg | Arrival ceremony at the Blair House. Prime Minister Vajpayee, Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Mary French and India's Ambassador Naresh Chandra. (September 13, 2000; Photo: Rajan Devadas)
Prime Minister Vajpayee addressing a luncheon hosted in his honor by the U.S. Vice President Al Gore at the State Department. (September 15, 2000; Government of India Photo Division)
Prime Minister Vajpayee arriving for the state dinner hosted in his honor by President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (September 17, 2000; Photo: Rajan Devadas)
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india_news_p000121.jpg | EMBASSY OF INDIA
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
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ALDERMAN LIBRARY
OCT 5200
UNIV of Virginia
Chemistoads, VA
Prime Minister Vajpayee in the United States
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India will pay an official visit to the United States and will be in Washington, DC from September 13-17, 2000. Prime Minister Vajpayee will arrive in Washington after attending the UN Millennium Summit in New York. In Washington, the Prime Minister will hold talks with President Clinton and address the joint session of the U.S. Congress. The Prime Minister will also dedicate the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Washington, DC.
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india_news_p000124.jpg | Special Edition
Economic News & India News - September 2000
Published by the Embassy of India, Washington, DC
CONTENTS
A Profile - Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ..... 1
India-U.S. Relations: A Vision for the 21st Century ..... 2
India-U.S. Relations: General Overview ..... 4
President Clinton's visit to India in March 2000 - the follow-up ..... 5
India-U.S. Relations:
Economy ..... 6
Science & Technology ..... 9
Space ..... 10
Trade ..... 11
Indian Americans - A Story of Achievement ..... 13
India & Information Technology ..... 14
India & Intellectual Property Rights ..... 16
India & the World Trade Organization ..... 18
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial ..... 19
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UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
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india_news_p000126.jpg | A Profile
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Aman of the masses, firm in his political convictions. India has an inspiring leader in Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
On October 13, 1999, he took charge as Prime Minister of India for the second consecutive term at the head of a new coalition government, the National Democratic Alliance. He was Prime Minister for a short period in 1996. He is the only Prime Minister since Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to have become Prime Minister of India through three successive mandates.
A veteran Parliamentarian whose career stretches over four decades, Shri Vajpayee has been elected to the Lok Sabha (House of the People) nine times and to the Rajya Sabha (House of the States) twice, a record by itself. As India's Foreign Minister, Chairperson of various important Standing Committees of Parliament and Leader of Opposition, he has been an active participant in the shaping of India's postIndependence domestic and foreign policy.
Shri Vajpayee's first brush with nationalist politics was in his student days when he joined the Quit
India Movement of 1942, which hastened the end of British colonial rule. A student of political science and law, it was in college that he developed a keen interest in foreign affairs - an interest he has nourished over the years and put to skillful use while representing India at various multilateral and bilateral fora.
Shri Vajpayee had embarked upon a journalist's career, which was cut short in 1951 when he joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of today's Bharatiya Janata Party, the leading component of the National Democratic Alliance. A critically acclaimed poet, he still takes time off from affairs of state to indulge in music and in a bit of gourmet cooking.
Born in the family of a humble school teacher on December 25, 1924, in the erstwhile princely State of Gwalior (now a part of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh), Shri Vajpayee's rise in public life is a tribute to both his political acumen and Indian democracy. Over the decades, he has emerged as a leader who commands respect for his liberal worldview and commitment to democratic ideals.
An ardent champion of women's empowerment and social equality, Vajpayee believes in a forward-looking, forward moving India, a strong and prosperous nation confident of its rightful place in the comity of nations. He stands for an India anchored in 5000 years of civilizational history, ever modernizing, ever renewing, and ever re-energizing itself to meet the challenges of the next 1000 years.
India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, was conferred upon him in recognition of his selfless dedication to his first and only love, India, and his more than half-a-century of service to society and the nation. In 1994, he was named India's 'Best Parliamentarian.' The citation read: "True to his name, Atalji is an eminent national leader, an erudite politician, a selfless social worker, forceful orator, poet and litterateur, journalist and indeed a multi-faceted personality...Atalji articulates the aspirations of the masses... his works ever echo total commitment to nationalism.
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india_news_p000127.jpg | India-U.S. Relations: A Vision for the 21st Century
AT the dawn of a new century, President Clinton and Prime Minister Vajpayee resolve to create a closer and qualitatively new relationship between the United States and India.
We are two of the world's largest democracies. We are nations forged from many traditions and faiths, proving year after year that diversity is our strength. From vastly different origins and experiences, we have come to the same conclusions: that freedom and democracy are the strongest bases for both peace and prosperity, and that they are universal aspirations, constrained neither by culture nor levels of economic development.
There have been times in the past when our relationship drifted without a steady course. As we now look towards the future, we are convinced that it is time to chart a new and purposeful direction in our relationship.
Globalization is erasing boundaries and building networks between nations and peoples, economies and cultures. The world is increasingly coming together around the democratic ideals India and the United States have long championed and lived by.
Together, we represent a fifth of the world's people, more than a quarter of the world's economy. We have built creative, entrepreneurial societies. We are leaders in the information age. The currents of commerce and culture that link our societies run strong and deep. In many ways, the character of the 21 st century world will depend on the success of our cooperation for peace, prosperity, democracy and freedom.
That presents us with an opportunity, but also a profound responsibility to work together. Our partnership of shared ideals leads us to seek a natural partnership of shared endeavors.
In the new century, India and the United States will be partners in peace, with a common interest in and
complementary responsibility for ensuring regional and international security. We will engage in regular consultations on, and work together for, strategic stability in Asia and beyond. We will bolster joint efforts to counter terrorism and meet other challenges to regional peace. We will strengthen the international security system, including in the United Nations, and support the United Nations in its peacekeeping efforts. We acknowledge that tensions in South Asia can only be resolved by the nations of South Asia. India is committed to enhancing cooperation, peace and stability in the region.
India and the United States share a commitment to reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons, but we have not always agreed on how to reach this common goal. The United States believes India should forgo nuclear weapons. India be-
lieves that it needs to maintain a credible minimum
nuclear deterrent in keeping with its own assessment of its security needs. Nonetheless, India and the U.S. are prepared to work together to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery. To this end, we will persist with and build upon the productive bilateral dialogue already underway.
We reaffirm our respective voluntary commitments to forgo further nuclear explosive tests. We will work together and with others for an early commencement of negotiations on a treaty to end the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons. We have both shown strong commitments to export controls, and will continue to strengthen them. We will work together to prevent the spread of dangerous technologies. We are committed to build confidence and reduce the chances of miscalculation. We will pursue our security needs in a restrained and responsible manner, and will not engage in nuclear and missile arms races. We will seek to narrow our
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india_news_p000128.jpg | differences and increase mutual understanding on non-proliferation and security issues. This will help us to realize the full potential of Indo-U.S. relations and contribute significantly to regional and global security.
The true measure of our strength lies in the ability of our people to shape their destiny and to realize their aspirations for a better life. That is why the United States and India are and will be allies in the cause of democracy. We will share our experience in nurturing and strengthening democratic institutions the world over and fighting the challenge to democratic order from forces such as terrorism. We will cooperate with others to launch an international Community of Democracies this year.
The United States applauds India's success in opening its economy, its achievements in science and technology, its commitment to a new wave of economic expansion and reform, and its determination to bring the benefits of economic growth to all its people. Our nations pledge to reduce impediments to bilateral trade and investment and to expand commerce between us, especially in the emerging knowl-edge-based industries and high-technology areas.
We will work together to preserve stability and growth in the global economy as well. And we will join in an unrelenting battle against poverty in the world, so that the promise of a new economy is felt everywhere and no nation is left behind. That is among the fundamental challenges of our time. Opening trade and resisting protectionism are the best means for meeting it. We support an open, equitable and transparent rule-based multilateral trading system, and we will work together to strengthen it. We agree that developed countries should embrace policies that offer developing countries the opportunity to grow, because growth is the key to rising incomes and rising standards. At the same time, we share the conviction that human development also requires empowerment of people and availability of basic freedoms.
As leaders in the forefront of the new high-technology economy, we recognize that countries can achieve robust economic growth while protecting the environment and taking action to combat climate change. We will do our part to meet the global environmental challenges, including climate change and the impacts of air and water pollution on human health.
We also pledge a common effort to battle the infectious diseases that kill people and retard progress in
so many countries. India is at the forefront of the global effort that has brought us to the threshold of the eradication of polio. With leadership, joint research, and application of modern science, we can and will do the same for the leading killers of our time, including AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
We are proud of the cooperation between Indians and Americans in advancing frontiers of knowledge. But even as we unravel the mysteries of time and space, we must continue to apply our knowledge to older challenges: eradicating human suffering, disease and poverty. In the past, our cooperation helped ease mass hunger in the world. In the future, it will focus as well on the development of clean energy, health, and education.
Our partnership is not an end in itself, but a means to all these ends. And it is reinforced by the ties of scholarship, commerce, and increasingly of kinship among our people. The industry, enterprise and cultural contributions of Americans of Indian heritage have enriched and enlivened both our societies.
Today, we pledge to deepen the Indian-American partnership in tangible ways, always seeking to reconcile our differences through dialogue and engagement, always seizing opportunities to advance the countless interests we have in common. As a first step, President Clinton has invited Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit Washington at a mutually convenient opportunity, and the Prime Minister has accepted that invitation. Henceforth, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of India should meet regularly to institutionalize our dialogue. We have also agreed on and separately outlined an architecture of additional high-level consultations, and of joint working groups, across the broad spectrum of areas in which we are determined to institutionalize our enhanced cooperation. And we will encourage even stronger people-to-people ties.
For India and the United States, this is a day of new beginnings. We have before us for the first time in 50 years the possibility to realize the full potential of our relationship. We will work to seize that chance, for our benefit and all those with whom we share this increasingly interdependent world.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
William Jefferson Clinton
President of the United States of America
Done on March 21, 2000 at New Delhi
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india_news_p000129.jpg | India-U.S. Relations: General Overview
THE visit to India in March 2000 by U.S. President Bill Clinton provided an opportunity for both countries to open a new and qualitatively different chapter in their bilateral relations. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be visiting the United States in mid-September, 2000. The visit is expected to build upon and consolidate the gains of President Clinton's visit to India.
Evolution of the relationship
India and U.S. are the world's two largest democracies. Natural affinities between the two countries have always existed, characterized by shared democratic values and common commitment to rule of law and basic freedoms, common language and longstanding cooperation in the economic, commercial and agricultural fields.
The end of the Cold War in 1990s, coinciding with the liberalization of the Indian economy, saw a steady improvement in India-U.S. relations with the Clinton Administration identifying India as one of the 10 major emerging markets.
President Clinton was warmly and enthusiastically received wherever he went in India. The visit was covered extensively in the Indian audiovisual and print media. The general impression he left behind was of a genuine desire on his part to set in motion a new, forward-looking and productive partnership between the two countries.
Outcome of President Clinton's visit
The Vision Statement signed by Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton provides a blueprint and sets out the direction for the new partnership in the coming years. Among the objectives to which both countries are committed are the fight against terrorism, prevention of proliferation of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, the preservation of stability and growth in the global economy, the protection of the environment, combating infectious diseases and expanding trade especially in the emerging knowledge-based industries and high technology areas.
India and the United States have agreed on a wide ranging institutional dialogue which includes regular
summit meetings between the U.S. President and the Indian Prime Minister, annual foreign policy dialogue at the level of Secretary of State and External Affairs Minister, Foreign Office consultations at senior officials level, a bilateral economic dialogue which would be coordinated by the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of External Affairs on the Indian side and White House and State Department on the U.S. side, the establishment of a U.S.-India Financial and Economic Forum, a U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue and a U.S.-India Joint Working Group on terrorism.
Implementation of the institutional dialogue has already commenced. Prime Minister Vajpayee would be visiting Washington in September 2000. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright held a structured bilateral dialogue during the Conference "Towards a Community of Democracies" in Warsaw on June 26, 2000. Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering visited Delhi on May 24-25, 2000 for consultations with the Indian Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh.
During his visit to Washington for the World Bank/ IMF meetings in April, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers signed an agreement setting up an India-U.S. Financial Forum. During President Clinton's visit, the Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran and U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley signed an Agreement establishing a new commercial dialogue. A Science and Technology Forum and Joint Consultative Group on Energy and Environment have also been established.
Economic and Trade Relations
Bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded U.S. $12 billion in 1999. There was a decline in FDI inflows from the U.S. in 1998 (U.S. $349million as against U.S. $719million in 1997). There was an upward trend in 1999, with FDI inflows in the first four months of the year itself amounting to U.S. $186million. The waiver of sanctions and the opening up of the insurance sector in India are likely to further increase FDI inflows into India in the near future. During a visit to Washington in April 2000, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Treasury Secretary Mr. Lawrence Summers agreed on the terms of reference of an India-U.S. Financial and Economic Forum.
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india_news_p000130.jpg | President Clinton's visit to India in March 2000 - the follow-up
March 2000: Minister of Commerce and Industry and U.S. Commerce Secretary constituted the India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue during the visit of President Clinton.
April 2000: The India-U.S. Financial and Economic Forum was constituted during the visit of Finance Minister to Washington.
The High Level coordinating group for Indo-U.S. Economic Dialogue has been constituted on the Indian side. The U.S. has yet to communicate membership of the High Level coordinating group on the U.S. side.
May 2000: Mr. Thomas Pickering, U.S. under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, visited India for the Foreign Office Consultations and the Asian Security Dialogue, with Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh. Extensive consultations were also held on Sri Lanka, Fiji and Sierra Leone.
May 2000: Discussions were held in May in Washington on Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
June 2000: External Affairs Minister met U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Warsaw, where both were participating in the Meeting of the Community of Democracies.
June 2000: The Science and Technology Forum was set up.
July 2000: The Joint Consultative Group on Energy and Environment held its first meeting in Washington.
September 2000: The second meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism will be held in Delhi. In April, the two sides met in Washington to discuss the Indian Draft UN Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism.
Science and Technology Cooperation
India and the U.S. had been operating as far back as the 1950's one of the largest collaborative programs in the field of science and technology. An agreement on setting up the Science and Technology Forum was concluded during President Clinton's visit in March 2000.
Energy and Environment
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright signed a joint statement on cooperation in energy and environment during President Clinton's visit to India. A joint working group, set up within the framework of the statement, held its first meeting in Washington in July 2000.
Indian-American Community
The million-strong Indian-American community in the U.S. provides a strong bond between India and the
U.S. It is notable in the San Francisco-Los Angeles, New York-New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Atlanta, Miami-Orlando-Tampa and the greater Washington D.C. area. While the first wave of Indian immigrants to the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s were professionals like doctors, scientists and engineers, recent trends show substantial diversification of skills. Indian Americans, who have organized themselves into a large number of associations and organizations, are playing an important role in deepening and strengthening cooperation between India and the United States.
Prospects
President Clinton's visit has given a new beginning to India-U.S. relations and has opened up opportunities of greater cooperation both in the bilateral sphere and in multilateral forums. The visit of the Prime Minister of India to the United States in September 2000 provides an opportunity for a further broadening and deepening of the bilateral relations.
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india_news_p000131.jpg | India-U.S. Economic Relations
ECONOMIC reforms introduced in 1991 have radically changed the course of the Indian economy and led to its gradual integration with the global economy. Benefits of the reform process are visible in the form of better growth rates, higher investment and trade flows.
The effect of these reforms on trade and investment relations with the United States has been profound. It is now not only the largest investor country in India, it is also India's largest trading partner.
Indian economy today - a brief overview
India is among the fastest growing economies of the world today, with a growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 7 % during the last 10 years. During 1999-2000 (April-March), GDP registered a 6.4 % growth. Industrial production increased by 8 %. The performance of infrastructure sector improved significantly. Inflation rate was a nominal 2-3 % for the first time in decades. Exports, in terms of U.S. dollars, increased by 11.6 %. India also continued to maintain a healthy balance of payments with foreign exchange reserves increasing by $6.1 billion during the year to over $35 billion. All indications are that the economy will continue to maintain its strong showing during the current fiscal year with exports recording a growth of over $28 % and industrial production of $5.6 % during the first quarter (April-June 2000).
U.S. Investments in India
U.S. accounts for 22% of all foreign direct investment (FDI) approved in India (This excludes Euro issues and NRI investments). Between 1991 and June 2000, out of the $63.1 billion foreign direct investments approved, the US constituted $14.2 billion.
U.S. is also the largest investor in terms of actual FDI inflow into India. U.S. FDI inflow was about $2.5 billion between 1991 and June 2000 against a total FDI inflow into the country of $21.3 billion. The overall U.S. FDI inflow-approval ratio is $18 %. But during the last three years, the ratio has improved to $27 %. This has registered a further significant improvement during the first six months of 2000 and reached $33 %.
Sectors predominantly attracting U.S. investment are:
- Fuel (Power & Oil Refinery) - 38.93 %
- Food Processing Industries - 10.60 %
- Telecommunications - 10.35 %
- Service Sector (Financial & Non Financial Service) - 9.08 %
- Electrical Equipments (Computer software & Electronics) - 8.48 %
In Portfolio Investment also, U.S. is the leading investor. Out of the 530 Foreign Institutional Investors
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india_news_p000132.jpg | (FIIs) registered with SEBI, 212 are from the U.S. An investment of about $5.6 billion out of the total $11.4 billion by the FIIs in the Indian capital markets has been made by these companies. This accounts for about $49 % of the total Investments made by FIIs since 1993.
U.S. companies in India are involved in every sector that is open to private investment. From infrastructure to consumer goods and from information technology to consultancy services American companies are represented in India. During President Clinton's recent visit to India, memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth about $3.5 billion were signed by, among others, Motorola, Hughes Network Systems, Bank of America, IBM, Enron and Ogden Energy.
Economic reforms in India:
The Government of India has renewed its commitment to expand the reform process in order to generate and sustain higher economic growth. In the past eleven months, a number of new initiatives have been taken. These include:
- The passage of the Insurance Bill opening India's insurance sector to private investors and setting up the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA);
- Replacing the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) with a more investor friendly Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA);
- The passage of the new Information Technology (IT) Bill;
- Creation of special economic zones to boost exports and removal of quantitative restrictions on 714 additional items.
Several trade-related legislations have also been passed such as the Trade Marks Bill, Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Bill, and the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, in order to meet WTO requirements. Norms for Foreign Direct
Investments have been further liberalized and procedures streamlined. India has now moved to a system where most investment proposals are approved automatically.
Prospects for further India-U.S. economic cooperation:
There are several areas where economic cooperation between India and the U.S. can progress further. These include IT, telecom, energy and other knowledge industries such as pharmaceuticals and bio-technology.
The IT sector is India's fastest growing sector with over $50 % average annual growth since 1991. The turn over of the sector has increased from $2 billion in 1994-95 to $8.7 billion in 1999-2000. Today, nearly two in five of the Fortune 500 companies outsource their software requirements to India. As a consequence, there has been remarkable growth in India's software exports too, from $485million in 1994-95 to $4 billion today. The share of North America (U.S. & Canada) in India's software exports is about $62 %. During 1999-2000, U.S. investment in the computer industry in India accounted for over $50 % of the total FDI inflow received by this sector.
Abundant investment opportunities exist for further strengthening India-U.S. economic ties in IT, especially, in areas like communication infrastructure, optic fiber cable, gateways, satellite-based communication wireless, IT-enabled services, IT enabled education, data centers and server farms, and software development.
Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and chemical industries also provide great opportunities for closer cooperation. The Finance Minister of India, Mr. Yashwant Sinha stated during his recent visit to USA that one of the most important areas where there is a tremendous synergy between Indian and American enterprises are knowledge based projects and services where both the countries have competitive advantage as exporters. This is substantiated by the fact that India is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of pharmaceuticals. It has a rich genetic pool and a large family structure ideal for studying diseases. It also holds the key for Genotype Drug Design and is widely acclaimed for its large pool of trained doctors and cost effective research & development (R&D) activities.
See INDIA-U.S. ECONOMIC RELATIONS, Page 8
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india_news_p000133.jpg | India-U.S. Economic Relations
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India's energy sector has been an attractive destination for US investments. The sector offers for exploitation a vast untapped potential in hydro electricity, oil & natural gas, and coal. Although several U.S. companies have been looking at the Indian energy market closely, progress has so far been limited, given the gradual opening up of the sector. The government of India has, however, now simplified considerably the norms for entering into the exploration activities, generation, transmission and distribution of power, and captive coal mining & processing. Considering the vast demand and supply gap in the energy sector in India, there is a tremendous potential here for economic cooperation between the two countries.
During President Clinton's visit to India, the two countries signed a joint statement on cooperation on energy and environment issues, outlining a common agenda on clean energy development and environmental protection. Subsequently, a joint Consultative Group on Clean Energy and Environment was set up, which met in Washington, DC in July. The Group looked at possible collaborative projects to develop and implement clean energy technologies with public and private sector investment. Another key area of bilateral cooperation is renewable energy. During President Clinton's visit, an MOU was signed between the Indian Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources and the United States Department of Energy.
India's Telecommunication sector, already a major recipient of U.S. investment, is expected to continue to provide substantial opportunities to U.S. investors. Though the telecommunications industry has been growing over $20 % for the past few years, India has a tele density of only $2.7 %. Over the next decade, more than 175 million lines are required to meet the demand of basic telecom service in India. This translates into an investment requirement of U.S. $70 billion in the basic services alone. Apart from the basic service segment, India has a subscriber base of nearly 1.6 million in cellular phone industry, 0.8 million in radio paging and 1.4 million in Internet services. These segments are growing at an average growth rate of over $50 % for the past few year. With the objective of achieving tele-density of 7 by 2005 and 15 by 2010 , Government of india has ushered in several new measures to promote investment through greater private sector participation in this sector.
These measures include:
- Announcement of the New Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP)
- Simplification of the revenue sharing arrangements
- Streamlining of the functioning of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
- Establishment of a separate Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)
- Introduction of new provisions for infrastructure sharing by telecom service providers/public utilities
- Opening of the national long distance services to private service providers
- Proposed opening of international long distance services by 2004
The government has also introduced a liberal policy for Internet Service Providers (ISP), which puts no restriction on number of internet service providers, imposes no license fee for the first five years and allows ISPs to set up their own gateways. Keeping in view the rapid convergence of telecom, Internet and entertainment, a new comprehensive statute, to replace the Indian Telegraph Act (1885) is under way. The draft Convergence Bill envisages setting up of an independent carriage and content bureau apart from the office of the spectrum manager to bring the regulatory framework for all these services beneath one umbrella.
Another area where closer economic ties can yield mutual benefits is the infrastructure sector. The Government of India is continuously reviewing its policies to create an investor friendly environment in sectors such as roads, ports and airports. Private sector participation in Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) projects, greenfield airports and terminals and shipping berths and capacity augmentation has been initiated.
Institutionalizing the growing economic ties
The 'Vision Statement' signed by the Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton envisions a broader dialogue between the two countries on economic policy issues. Pursuant to this objective, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, Finance Minister of India and Mr. Lawrence Summers, U.S. Treasury Secretary, signed an agreement in April 2000 to set up the IndiaUnited States Financial and Economic Forum. The objective of the Forum is to strengthen the financial and economic relationship between the two countries through regular government-to-government meetings of the economic policy makers.
See INDIA-U.S. ECONOMIC RELATIONS, Page 15
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india_news_p000134.jpg | India-U.S. Relations: Science & Technology
S&T cooperation between India and USA is characterized by over five decades of successful and productive exchange of scientists and scientific ideas, joint/collaborative research projects, training/ fellowship programs and technology transfer in virtually all areas of Science & Technology.
In the late 1950's, Indian and American scientists began to collaborate on agricultural research. This activity was expanded in the 1960's into other fields of science and education.
Visible Institutional Symbols:
The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, an internationally renowned institute for technical education and research, was set up with U.S. cooperation.
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, which played a pivotal role in India's green revolution in 1960's, successful collaboration with Ohio State University, USA.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)-an apex body for education-was set up with American collaboration.
Some Milestones:
1974: The S&T Sub-commission was established within the Indo-US Joint Commission on Economics and Commerce, Science & Technology, Education & Culture, and Agriculture. The S&T Sub-Commission had seven Working Groups in different areas: Material & Physical Sciences, Earth Sciences, Atmospheric & Marine Sciences, Energy, Environment Ecology, Information S&T, Health, Medical and Life Sciences.
1983: A new fast track cooperation program, the S&T Initiative (STI), was established to enhance cooperation in areas of agriculture, health, monsoon research, biomass research and engineering, and solid state sciences, The National Science Foundation (NSF), USA and the Department of Science & Technology (DST), India, were the nodal agencies in implementing the program, which operated on cost sharing basis. The U.S. side unilaterally discontinued the program in 1991.
1987: The U.S.-India Fund (USEF) was established to carryout joint activities such as workshops exchange of scientists and experts, joint research programs in fields of educational, cultural and sciences. USIF was
initially set up for ten years but was extended by a year. The Indian scientific community benefited from this program, with more than 50 workshops and about 140 joint scientific projects. As of December 1998, there were more than 200 ongoing projects with cumulative cost of Rs. 645 million.
1987: An MOU is signed for the Vaccine Action Program under the Health, Medical and Life Sciences Working Group of the U.S.-India S&T Sub-Commission. The program is now in its third phase, and is extended until 2002. The last meeting of the joint Working Group was held in July 2000, in Washington, DC to identify the focus areas for further research in vaccine development and allied areas. A similar program exists on cooperation on contraceptive and reproductive health research.
1991: The S&T fellowship program supported by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. Under this program 70 Indian scientists spent 312 months in the USA and 10 US scientists came to India. The program continued till 1994.
1993: Indo-U.S. S&T agreement is proposed but could not be signed due to differences over intellectual property rights provisions.
1997: The Vaccine Action Program is extended up to 2002.
1997: A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for scientific cooperation in the area of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences was signed between the Department of Space (DOS) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States on December 16, 1997.
Specific areas of cooperation include weather analysis and forecasting techniques; satellite product development for atmospheric, land and ocean parameters, applications to flood forecasting and drought monitoring.
The MOU provides for exchange of data and derived products between the two countries from Indian National Satellite (INSAT) as well as Geostationary
See SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Page 10
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india_news_p000135.jpg | Science & Technology
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Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) of the USA, in near real time over dedicated telecommunication links to be specially set up between India and the USA.
1997: A collaborative research program was initiated between Department of Science & Technology (India) and the National Science Foundation (USA). This program supports workshops and joint research projects in fundamental areas of science and technology (excluding medical sciences). At present there are 11 ongoing joint projects and all these projects have been funded during financial year 1999-2000.
1998: A Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi and The Cornell University, New York for cooperation in the area of Agricultural Research was signed on November 3. There will also be an exchange of germplasm and breeding material, as well as scientific literature, information and methodology.
ICAR had signed a similar MOU with lowa State University during early 1998. Earlier, a Memorandum of
Agreement was signed with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University, Texas, on July 5, 1997, for cooperation in the field of agricultural research. The first work-plan for the biennium 199899 in pursuance of the Memorandum of Agreement was signed on December 12, 1997, in New Delhi.
1998: Department of Electronics, Government of India signed an agreement with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh for collaboration in software Process Improvement Technologies in November. Under this Agreement, the Center for Information Systems Engineering (CISE) of CMU will work with the Indian software community to introduce software process improvement technologies in India.
2000: An agreement was signed for setting up of Indo-U.S. S&T Forum during the visit of President Clinton to India in March. The Forum will promote research and development, transfer of technology, creation of a comprehensive electronic reference source and the electronic exchange and dissemination of information on Indo-U.S. S & T cooperation. The Forum has been registered as a Society with the Office of the Registrar of Societies in New Delhi on June 23, 2000.
India-U.S. Relations: Space
- In the early 1960's, the United States had offered substantial assistance to India in setting up an Equatorial Rocket Launching Station at Thumba (TERLS). Subsequently, India dedicated this facility to the United Nations in 1968. Since then, scientists from various countries have launched more than 3000 sounding rockets for research purposes.
- During 1975-76, under a collaborative bilateral agreement, an experiment, Satellite Instrumental Television Experiment (SITE) was conducted. Under this agreement, a U.S. satellite, ATS-6, beamed educational programs to direct reception television sets to 2400 far flung villages exposing them to a new and immensely powerful medium of television.
- Anuradha, an Indian experiment for cosmic ray studies was part of NASA's third Spacelab mission.
- The Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) and Survey of India have made use of data received from NASA's MAGSAT Satellite for research and analysis.
- India has also participated in Guest Investigator Program of NASA's Einstein and HEAO-B X-ray astronomy satellites.
- The United States supplied samples of lunar material collected by its lunar probes to India for research purposes.
- Under a Memorandum of Understanding between India and U.S. signed in 1977, India received data from LANDSAT satellites.
- Under a commercial arrangement, Space Imaging of Denver, CO markets the Indian Remote Sensing satellite imageries of panchromatic resolution of 5 m - which until recently has been the best available in the public domain.
- In 1997, NASA & NOAA of United States and Indian Space Research Organization & the Department of Science and Technology of India have agreed to share meteorological data from India's INSAT satellites. Under this agreement, collaborative research in the area of earth & atmospheric sciences will also be undertaken.
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india_news_p000136.jpg | India-U.S. Relations: Trade
THE United States is India's largest trading partner and export destination. Two way trade in 1999 totaled U.S. $12.79 billion reflecting an increase of more than $100 % since 1992. India-U.S. trade over the last 8 years has been as under:
| | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: |
| India's <br> Exports | 3,781 | 4,551 | 5,302 | 5,736 | 6,169 | 7,321 | 8,225 | 9,083 |
| India's <br> Imports | 1,914 | 2,761 | 2,296 | 3,296 | 3,318 | 3,616 | 3,545 | 3,707 |
| Turnover | 5,695 | 7,312 | 7,598 | 9,032 | 9,487 | 10,937 | 11,770 | 12,790 |
| Balance | 1,866 | 1,790 | 3,005 | 2,440 | 2,851 | 3,705 | 4,680 | 5,376 |
(U.S. $(millions) (* Source: U.S. Department of Commerce)
During January-May 2000, India's exports to the U.S. totaled $4.53 billion, while its imports from U.S. amounted to $1.53 billion during the same period, resulting in a positive trade balance of $3 billion.
Growth Rate
India's exports to the U.S. increased by $10.44 % in 1999, compared to $12.34 % in 1998. Imports from the U.S. grew by $4.59 % during 1999 compared to a decline of $1.96 % in 1998. During January-May 2000, our exports to the U.S. increased by $27 % as compared to the same period last year. Our imports from U.S. on the other hand, grew by only $3 %.
India's share in U.S. trade
The volume of India-U.S. bilateral trade remains a small fraction of U.S.'s global trade. While U.S. exports to India account for nearly $12 % of India's nonoil imports and U.S. is the destination of $18.9 % of India's exports, U.S.'s trade turnover with India constitutes less than $1 % of its global trade. Our share in U.S. imports has remained more or less stable over the last 3 years; it was $0.89 % during 1999. India ranks $23^{\text {rd }}among countries that export to the U.S.
India - U.S. trade composition
The composition of India's exports has undergone a change over the years. Our exports to the U.S. have been rising mainly on account of significant increases in the exports of gems & jewelry, textiles and readymade garments, machinery, carpets, footwear and leather products, dyes, iron and steel products, chemicals, edible fruit and nuts and spices, coffee and tea.
Six items, namely, textiles and clothing, cut and polished non-industrial diamonds, carpets, shrimps and prawns, footwear, leather goods and cashew nuts, account for about $75 % of total Indian exports to the U.S.
There has also been a change in the composition of our imports from the U.S. With India having become self sufficient in food-grains, imports of wheat and edible oil from the U.S. on a regular basis have stopped. Crude oil, which was the second highest import item in 1985, has also been virtually phased out. The chief items imported from the U.S. at present are machinery including project items, fertilizers, aircraft and aeronautical equipment, and organic chemicals.
Institutional framework for co-operation
The main joint business group for private sector cooperation is the U.S.-India Business Council that actively organizes promotional events apart from holding annual meetings. The last annual meeting of the U.S.-India Business Council was held on 12-13 June 2000 in San Francisco. Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister for Communications, Secretary Department of Telecom, Finance Secretary, other government officials and a large business delegation from India, attended the meeting. Round table discussions were held on issues covering power & fuel supply, financial services, trade and investment, chemicals and petrochemicals, communications, transportation and knowledge based industries.
General Electric has taken the initiative to set up an India Interest Group with the Washington-based representatives of some major U.S. Corporations as its members. The India Interest Group, the National Association of Manufacturers and the India-U.S. Joint Business Council are participating in the commercial alliance and are also associated with the Private Sector Working Group of the Sub-Commission.
Visit of President Clinton
The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, accompanied by a high powered delegation comprising of Commerce Secretary William Daley, State Secretary Madeleine Albright and Ambassador Susan Esserman, visited
See INDIA-U.S. RELATIONS: TRADE, Page 12
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india_news_p000137.jpg | India-U.S. Relations: Trade
(Continued from page II)
India from March 20-24, 2000. On March 21, 2000, President Clinton and Prime Minister Vajpayee issued a joint statement outlining a vision for Indo-U.S. relations for the $21^{\text {st }}century.
It envisaged the setting up of a U.S.-India commercial dialogue that would be led by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the Minister of Commerce & Industry of India. The dialogue would encompass regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings. Its aim would be to (a) facilitate trade, and (b) maximize investment opportunity across a broad range of economic sectors including information technology, infrastructure, biotechnology and services. Close contact would be maintained with business associations, and activities will be planned with the benefit of such private sector input, including the establishment of sub-committees to pursue specific projects or sectoral issues of mutual interests.
In pursuance of this agreement, a document for the "Formation of and Terms of Reference for the IndiaUnited States Commercial Dialogue" was signed by the U.S. Commerce Secretary Mr. William Daley and the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India Shri Murasoli Maran on March 23, 2000.
The two sides also agreed to set up a U.S.-India Working Group on Trade under which the USTR and Ministry of Commerce and other concerned Ministries/Departments of the Government of India would engage in regular discussion to enhance cooperation on trade policy.
India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue
The U.S. and India signed an agreement for the "Formation of and Terms of Reference for the IndiaUnited States Commercial Dialogue" on March 23, 2000 during the visit of President Clinton. The Terms of Reference provided a general framework to guide the development and maintenance of a public sector - private sector dialogue on commerce between India and the U.S. that was envisaged to be an element of a broader economic/commercial dialogue between the two governments. The dialogue would encompass regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings. Its aim was to (a) facilitate trade, and (b)
maximize investment opportunity across a broad range of economic sectors including information technology, infrastructure, biotechnology and services. This would be a forum where emerging issues affecting bilateral trade could also be discussed.
To ensure regularity in the conduct of the dialogue, the Indian Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Commerce would maintain close contact with their private sector enterprises and business associations which would enable them to identify at the beginning of each year, meetings and other events where a substantial number of Indian and U.S. business representatives were expected to participate and where India-U.S. commerce was likely to be a prominent part of the program. Within 90 days of the signing of the above document, the two sides were required to consult each other and develop a plan and procedures to implement the Terms of Reference.
A session of the India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue was held on June 12-13, 2000 in San Francisco during the U.S. IBC annual meeting. It was led by Ambassador Naresh Chandra on the Indian side, and Mr. Patrick Mulloy, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, on the U.S. side. The Dialogue was further developed during the visit of Commerce Secretary to Washington in July 2000.
India - U.S. Working Group on Trade
As part of the 'Vision Document', India and U.S. agreed to set up a Working Group on Trade under which the USTR and Ministry of Commerce and other concerned Ministries/Departments of the Government of India would engage in regular discussion to enhance cooperation on trade policy. As appropriate, individual trade issues could be examined in greater depth with the participation of other agencies and through creation of sub-groups. The Group is to serve as a locus of consultation on a broad range of trade related issues, including those pertaining to WTO. The group would receive inputs from the private sector as appropriate.
Discussions with USTR in this regard took place during the visit of Commerce Secretary to Washington in July 2000.
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india_news_p000138.jpg | Indian Americans - A Story of Achievement
- There are now more than 1.5 million peoples of Indian origin in America. They reflect the multiethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual society of India.
- Indian Americans are represented in many fields including academics and entrepreneurs, doctors and lawyers, engineers and financiers.
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Indian American median family income is $60,093as against the national median family income of $38,885$. The high income clearly reflects the advanced educational levels achieved by the community.
- More than $87 % of Indians in America have completed high school while at least 62 % have some college education. As much as $58 % of Indian Americans over the age of 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
- High levels of education have also enabled Indian Americans to become a productive segment of the U. S. population, with $72.3 % participating in the work force.
- Of these work force participants, 43.6 % are employed in managerial and professional specialties.
- Technical, sales, and administrative support occupations constitute another 33.2 % of the work force.
- The remaining 23.3 % of the population works in other areas, such as operators, fabricators, laborers and precision production.
- More than 5,000 Indian Americans today serve as faculty members in institutions of higher education in the U.S.
- About 300,000 Indian Americans work in technology firms in California's Silicon Valley. They account for more than $15 % of high-tech startups in that region. The average income of Indian Americans in that region is estimated to be $200,000a year.
- Two Indian Americans - late Har Gobind Khorana of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and late Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar of University of Chicago - have been awarded the Nobel Prize, in medicine and physics respectively.
- In deed, the NASA's premier X-ray observatory was named the Chandra X-ray Observatory in honor of the late Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Known to the world as Chandra, he was widely regarded as one of the foremost astrophysicists of the twentieth century. The observatory was launched into space in July, 1999.
- Dr. Kalpana Chawla added a new chapter to the history of the Indian American community. In 1997, she became the first Indian or Indian American to fly in the U.S. space shuttle. She was part of the Space Shuttle Columbia Flight STS-87.
- The estimated annual buying power of Indian Americans in the United States is around $20 billion.
- Indian Americans are increasingly beginning to take a more direct role in political activities. They have traditionally exercised the most political influence through their campaign contributions, and are actively involved in fundraising efforts for political candidates on the federal, state and local levels.
- As a result of these activities, together with the growing commercial interest in investment in India, the India caucus in the House of Representatives now numbers 118.
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india_news_p000139.jpg | India & Information Technology
THE Indian software industry has grown from a mere U.S. $150million in 1991-92 to a staggering U.S. $5.7 billion (including over $4 billion worth of software exports) in 1999-2000. No other Indian industry has performed so well against global competition.
The annual growth rate of India's software exports has been consistently over 50 percent since 1991. As per the projections made by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2000-2001 (April 1, 2000-March 31, 2001), India's software exports would be around $6.3 billion, in addition to $2.5 billion in domestic sale.
Indian Software Industry 1995-2000 (U.S. \million)
| | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01* |
| :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: |
| Domestic software <br> Market | 490 | 670 | 920 | 1250 | 1700 | 2450 |
| Software Exports | 734 | 1085 | 1750 | 2650 | 4000 | 6300 |
| Indian <br> Software <br> Industry | 1224 | 1755 | 2670 | 3900 | 5700 | 8750 |
(* Source: NASSCOM Report)
Today, India exports software and services to nearly 95 countries around the world. The share of North America (U.S. & Canada) in India's software exports is about 61 per cent. In 1999-2000, more than a third of Fortune 500 companies outsourced their software requirements to India.
NASSCOM's 1999-2000 survey indicates a reversal in the mode of services offered by India. In 1991-92, offshore services accounted for 5 per cent and onsite services $95 % of the total exports. However, during 1999-2000 offshore services contributed over 40 percent of the total exports.
The NASSCOM - McKinsey report on India's IT sector
According to a recently released NASSCOM-McKinsey report, annual revenue projections for India's IT industry in 2008 are U.S. $87 billion and market openings are emerging across four broad sectors; IT services, software products, IT enabled services, and e-businesses thus creating a number of opportunities
for Indian companies. In addition to the export market, all of these segments have a domestic market component as well.
Other key findings of this report are:
- Software & Services will contribute over $7.5 % of the overall GDP growth of India
- IT Exports will account for $35 % of the total exports from India
- Potential for 2.2 million jobs in IT by 2008
- IT industry will attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of U.S. \$4-5 billion
- Market capitalization of IT shares will be around U.S. $225 billion
The report projects the sector's revenue earnings in 2008 in the following manner:
| (\US billion) | | | | | | |
| :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: |
| | India <br> Based | India <br> Centric | Sub total <br> (International | Domestic | Total | 1998 |
| IT Service | 23 | $7^{*}| 30 | 8.5 | 38.5 | 2.1 |
| Software <br> Products | 8 | 2 | 10 | $9.5^{* *}| 19.5 | 0.6 |
| IT-enabled <br> Service | 15 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 19 | 0.4 |
| E-business | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0.2 |
| Total | 50.0 | 12.0 | 62.0 | 25 | 87 | 3.3 |
* Legacy/client server, ERP and package work and Internet all have different proportions of work outside India where revenues are not export revenues.
** Resale of imported products included.
Promotion of IT - governmental incentives:
With the formation of a new ministry for IT, G0I has taken a major step towards promoting the domestic industry and achieving the full potential of the Indian IT entrepreneurs. Constraints have been comprehensively identified and steps taken to overcome them and also to provide incentives. Thus for example, venture capital has been the main source of finance for software industry around the world. However, in India majority of the software units is in the small and medium enterprise sector and there is a critical shortage of venture capital kind of support. In order to alleviate this situation and to promote
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india_news_p000140.jpg | Indian IT industry, the Government of India has set up a National Task Force on IT and Software Development to examine the feasibility of strengthening the industry. The Task Force has already submitted its recommendations, which are under active consideration. Norms for the operations of venture capital funds have also been liberalized to boost the industry. The Government of India is also actively providing fiscal incentives and liberalizing norms for FDI and raising capital abroad.
Recently, an IT committee was set up by the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India, comprising NRI professionals from the United States to seek expertise and advice and also to step up U.S. investments in India's IT sector. The committee is chaired by the Minister of Information Technology, Government of India, and members include Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology and a large number of important Indian-American IT entrepreneurs.
The group will:
- Monitor global IT developments and refine Indian
IT policy to meet global requirements. Specifically, this will help angel investors, venture creators and incubation;
- Promote the growth of human resource development in the IT sector with the aim of creating quality-based education;
- Promote R&D in the sector by identifying thrust areas and drawing up a blueprint for action.
India's most prized resource in today's knowledge driven economic world is its readily available technical work force. It has the second largest Englishspeaking scientific professionals in the world, second only to the U.S. It is estimated that India has over 4 million technical workers and over 1,832 educational institutions and polytechnics which train more than 67,785 computer software professionals every year. GOL is stepping up the number and quality of training facilities in the country to capitalize on this extraordinary human resource. It is the knowledge industry that will help take the Indian economy to a sustained higher rate of growth and the policy makers are fully aware of this.
India-U.S. Economic Relations
(Continued from page 8)
The Forum envisages Cabinet level meetings between the Indian Finance Minister and the U.S. Treasury Secretary, who are expected to meet on an annual basis. These meetings are to be supplemented by more detailed exchange of views and experiences through sub-Cabinet level meetings of officials of the two governments with participation of associated agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Reserve Board and the office of the Comptroller of Currency on the U.S. side and the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India on the Indian side. The first sub cabinet level meeting of the forum was held in Washington, DC in June and the cabinet level meeting is scheduled for September 2000.
In a recent report, Ernst & Young, a leading international consulting firm, projected a growth rate of 7-8 % for Indian economy in the next few years based on the anticipated performance of new
economy sectors and government policies continuing to emphasise reforms. Growth could be faster, the report stated, if the time lag between policy formulation and implementation is reduced.
The U.S. investor community is today increasingly sharing this confidence in the future of the Indian economy. As the Indian economy grows and sec-ond-generation reforms are implemented, Indo-U.S. bilateral ties are bound to strengthen further. The growing synergy between the two countries in the technology sectors and a mutually shared respect for democracy, rule of law and well established business practices make the two countries natural business partners.
The visit of President Clinton to India in March and that of Prime Minister Vajpayee to the U.S. in September this year are important milestones in this growing relationship between the two countries.
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india_news_p000141.jpg | India & Intellectual Property Rights
THERE is a well-established statutory, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard intellectual property rights in India, whether they relate to patents, trademarks, copyright or industrial designs. Well-known international trademarks have been protected in India even when they were not registered in India.
Computer software companies have successfully curtailed piracy through court orders. Computer databases have been protected. The courts, under the doctrine of breach of confidentiality, accorded an extensive protection of trade secrets. Right to privacy, which is not protected even in some developed countries, has been recognized in India.
Protection of intellectual property rights in India continues to be strengthened further. The year 1999 witnessed the consideration and passage of major legislation with regard to protection of intellectual property rights in harmony with international practices and in compliance with India's obligations under Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). These include:
1. The Patents (Amendment) Act, 1999 passed by the Indian Parliament on March 10, 1999 to amend the Patents Act of 1970 that provides for establishment of a mail box system to file patents and accords exclusive marketing rights for 5 years.
2. The Trade Marks Bill, 1999, which repeals and replaces the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 passed by the Indian Parliament in the Winter Session that concluded on December 23, 1999.
3. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1999 passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament, and signed by the President of India on December 30, 1999.
4. A sui generis legislation for the protection of geographical indications called the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Bill, 1999 approved by both houses of the Indian Parliament on December 23, 1999.
5. The Industrial Designs Bill, 1999, which replaces the Designs Act, 1911 was passed in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament in the Winter Session, which concluded on December 23, 1999 and is presently before the Lower House for its consideration.
6. The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 to
further amend the Patents Act, 1970 and make it TRIPS compliant was introduced in the Upper House of Indian Parliament on December 20, 1999.
In addition to the above legislative changes, the Government of India has taken several measures to streamline and strengthen the intellectual property administration system in the country. The Trade Marks Registry is also proposed to be further strengthened and modernized. As regards the aspect enforcement, Indian enforcement agencies are now working very effectively and there has been a notable decline in the levels of piracy in India.
Concerns expressed over IPR protection & India's response
Q: India does not provide an effective patent protection in the pharmaceutical sector.
India does provide for patents in the pharmaceutical sector. Currently the patents are restricted to the methods or process of manufacture and not extended to the substances/products themselves. In terms of the TRIPS Agreement, India has time till January 1, 2005 to extend patent protection to this area. The ten-year transition period available for providing product patents to pharmaceutical products is within WTO rules.
Q: It has been further said that India has failed to meet its current obligations required under TRIPS Agreement for implementing appropriate, conforming mailbox and exclusive marketing rights procedures.
The Government of India has taken the following steps to meet its obligations:
1. On December 31, 1994, Government of India promulgated an Ordinance to provide a means to receive product patent applications in the fields of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products and also for grant of exclusive marketing rights. Pursuant to this measure the Indian Patent Office has been receiving product patent applications in those fields.
2. India has established a mailbox system through administrative instructions. Numerous applications have already been filed in this mailbox system, and many of them have been filed by US companies;
3. India has also made changes to its Patents Act to
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india_news_p000142.jpg | put in place a machinery for establishment of a mail box system to file patents and according exclusive marketing rights for 5 years. This provision was made in the Patents (Amendment) Act of 1999.
Copyright protection in India
India has one of the most modern copyright protection laws in the world. Major development in the area of copyright during 1999 was the amendment to the Copyright Act of 1957 to make it fully compatible with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Called the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1999, this amendment was signed by the President of India on December 30, 1999 and came into force on January 15, 2000.
The earlier 1994 amendment to the Copyright Act of 1957 had provided protection to all original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematography, films and sound recordings. It also brought sectors such as satellite broadcasting, computer software and digital technology under Indian copyright protection. The Copyright Act is now in full conformity with the TRIPS obligations.
Concern has been expressed about the allegedly slow judicial system in India and the procedural issues involved in trial and conviction. The Indian judiciary is handling cases as expeditiously as possible. The year that has gone by has again witnessed the versatility of the impartial and independent Indian judiciary when it comes to the issue of protection of intellectual property rights, amplified by the encouraging trends with Indian courts plugging in gaps in the statute with the common sense of the common law.
Indian enforcement agencies are working effectively and there is a decline in the levels of piracy in India. A summary of these measures is given below:
1. During the year the government continued to stress the need for strict enforcement of the Copyright Act and Rules. State governments and other Ministries were regularly requested to lay special attention to ensuring copyright protection in their functioning.
2. The Government also brought out a Handbook of Copyright Law to create awareness about copyright amongst the stakeholders, enforcement agencies, professional users like the scientific and academic communities and members of the public. Copies of the Handbook were circulated free of cost to the state and central government officials
and police personnel and also provided to participants in various seminars and workshops on IPR matters held during the year.
3. National Police Academy and National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics conducted several training programs on copyright for the police and customs officers. Modules on copyright have been included in their regular training programs.
4. The Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has initiated several measures in the past for strengthening the enforcement of copyrights that include constitution of a Copyright Enforcement Advisory Council (CEAC), creation of separate cells in state police headquarters, encouraging setting up of collective administration societies and organization of seminars and workshops to create greater awareness about copyright law among the enforcement personnel and the general public.
5. For collective administration of copyright, copyright societies have been set up for different classes of works. At present there are three registered copyright societies. These are the Society for Copyright Regulations of Indian Producers of films & Television (SCRIPT) for cinematography films, Indian Performing Rights Society Limited (IPRS) for musical works and Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) for sound recordings. These societies, particularly the PPL and the IPRS, have been quite active in anti-piracy work. The PPL has even set up a special anti-piracy cell under a retired Director General of Police, and this cell has been working in tandem with the police.
6. Several other measures to create general awareness about copyright and for encouraging study of intellectual property rights in the educational system, besides modernizing the Copyright Office, are on the anvil.
Consequent to the number of measures initiated by the government, there has been more activity in the enforcement of copyright laws in the country during the last year compared to previous years. As per the data relating to copyright offenses available with the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of copyright cases registered has gone up from 479 in 1997 to 802 in 1998. The number of persons arrested has increased from 794 in 1997 to 980 in 1998. The value of seizures has gone up from Rs. 28.8 million in 1997 to Rs. 74.8 million in 1998. These figures reflect the general improvement in the enforcement of the copyright law.
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india_news_p000143.jpg | India & the World Trade Organization
INDIA is a founder member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO), which came into effect on 1.1 .95 after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round (UR) of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. India's participation in an increasingly rule based system in the governance of international trade is to ensure more stability and predictability, which ultimately would lead to more trade and prosperity for itself and the 134 other nations which now comprise the WTO. India also automatically avails of MFN and national treatment for its exports to all WTO Members.
Third Ministerial Conference of WTO in Seattle
November 30 - December 03, 1999
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Murasoli Maran, led the Indian delegation to the Third Ministerial Conference of the WTO. The delegation also included Members of Parliament, senior officials from different Ministries and representatives from the apex chambers of commerce and industry.
Even before the commencement of the Conference there were widespread protests and demonstrations in Seattle by a number of anti-WTO groups ranging from environmental activists to labour unions. The inaugural session, which was to be held in the forenoon of November 30, 1999, had to be abandoned because of disturbances.
The Chairmen of various Working Groups tried to narrow down the differences in their respective groups with a view to arriving at a consensus in the draft Ministerial text that had been transmitted from the Geneva preparatory process. However, in view of the wide divergence of views, no group could present draft texts for inclusion in the Ministerial declaration acceptable to all the members. The Chairperson observed that divergences of opinion remained that would take time to be narrowed down. It was therefore, decided to suspend the work of the Seattle Ministerial Conference.
Post Seattle scenario:
India is taking advantage of this 'time out' to consoli-
date its position on issues of its interest in the WTO. Three pronged efforts have been launched which are as follows:
(a) On the one hand, India has continued to highlight the areas of its concern at important bilateral and multilateral meetings, which have been as follows:
In his meeting with the Director General WTO on January 12, 2000 at New Delhi, Minister for Commerce and Industry emphasised that globalisation has caused uneven growth, increasing the disparities between the richest and the poorest. This has to be addressed, inter alia, by addressing the implementation problems in existing Agreements and operationalising the special and differential clauses in favour of developing countries. A consensus could be reached only if the more controversial issues, such as nontrade related issues, could be eliminated from WTO.
In his statement at UNCTAD-X (Bangkok - February 13, 2000), the Minister highlighted that "International rule making must ....permit flexibility and autonomy to developing countries to pursue their material development strategies on the basis of needs and aspirations of their people." He registered a strong protest on the part of the developing countries as to how issues extraneous to trade, such as labour standards, are sought to be put on the negotiating agenda, while, on the other hand issues such as the cross border movement of persons, a matter of great interest to developing countries is resisted by developed countries. On the margins of the UNCTAD Conference at Bangkok, he had also used this opportunity to have bilateral and plurilateral meetings with a view to evolve common stand on important WTO issues.
The UNCTAD Plan of Action has taken on board some of the important concerns of developing countries on implementation issues by inter alia recognising that "in the course of implementation of the WTO Agreements, most developing countries consider that certain imbalances and asymmetries exist" and that "these problems need to be addressed ur-
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india_news_p000144.jpg | Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Washington, DC
Mahatma Gandhi:
$1869-1948$
"My Life Is My Message"
SHRI Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India will dedicate the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial on September 16, 2000.
The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial is located on a triangular park along Massachusetts Avenue and is directly across the road from the Embassy of India. The architecture of the Memorial is designed to honour Mahatma Gandhi's simplicity, his philosophy of nonviolence and his commitment to peace.
The centerpiece of the Memorial is a 8 feet 8 inches high bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The statue, which shows Mahatma in stride, rests on a rough hewn pedestal of granite.
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India & World Trade Organization
(Continued from page 18 )
gently so as to ensure that the multilateral trading system results in mutual benefits for all countries." India was also able to moderate the wording on global coherence as much as "coherence" has been diluted to "cooperation" in the critical portions of the UNCTAD-X Declaration and Plan of Action. India feels that strengthened 'coherence' between WTO and the UN organizations may lead to increased cross conditionalities, which may narrow down our policy options for development. Thus our success in diluting the coherence brief in UNCTAD is significant.
(b) Under the second track of post-Seattle follow up Government has held consultations to appraise the situation arising out of the failure of the Seattle Ministerial Conference to reach consensus on major issues.
A meeting of the Advisory Committee on International Trade was convened on February 3, 2000 to apprise the Committee of the important developments at and immediately after Seattle and seek the
Committee's advice on the way forward. The gist of the Committee's advice to Government has been to ask Government to review the implementation issues and prioritise those which are of core interest; to ensure that our implementation demands are properly attuned to our autonomous programme of domestic economic liberalisation; to evolve a suitable response to a situation where even some of the developing countries are willing to accept some watered down version of a group on trade and labour in association with the WTO; and evolve our stand on environment so that we don't appear to be against protection of environment; to give adequate publicity to our positive record of adherence to ILO conventions and ongoing efforts for implementation of core labour standards; and to formulate a national consensus on biotechnology etc.
(c) The third strand of our post-Seattle approach has been to participate actively in the meetings of the General Council of the WTO and its subsidiary bodies to continue to emphasise the areas of our concern. India has participated actively in the General Council meetings held post-Seattle on December 17, 1999 and on February 2, 7 & 29, 2000.
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india_news_p000149.jpg | EMILASSY OF INDIA
2107 Massachusetts Aivinm, NW
Washington, DC 20108
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Subsets and Splits