AMB'S INTERVIEW FOR VREME MAGAZINE

1. It is nearly one year since PM Narendra Modi launched national campaign "Make in India" with the purpose of encouraging companies to manufacture their products in India aiming at high quality standards and minimizing impacts on the environment. What would you consider as the major achievements of this campaign?

The Make in India initiative was launched in September 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the aim of making India a manufacturing hub of the world. The major objective behind the initiative is to focus on 25 sectors of the Indian economy for job creation and skill enhancement for which brochures were released and a web portal was launched. These sectors include automobiles, chemicals, IT, pharmaceuticals, textiles, ports, aviation, leather, tourism and hospitality, wellness, railways, auto components, design manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, bio-technology, and electronics. The initiative aims to attract capital and technological investment in India. New paradigm of PPP process was introduced and key stakeholders were identified.  Foreign equity caps in various sectors were relaxed and other norms and procedures were also eased before launch of the initiative. In the 25 sectors – with the exceptions of Space (74%), Defence (49%) and News Media (26%) – 100% FDI is now permitted. The initiative hopes to increase GDP growth and tax revenue in addition to ensuring high quality standards and minimising environmental impact. The application for licenses, the validity of which was increased to three years, is available online.
A report prepared by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) in May 2015 listed the following major achievements of the ‘Make in India’ initiative:-

• Clean energy investments in India increased to US$ 7.9 bn in 2014.
• Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has invested Rs 517 crore (US$ 83.11 mn) towards the expansion of its manufacturing plant in Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP) under the UP Mega Policy.
• IKEA plans to double sourcing from India to €630 mn (US$ 688.61 mn) by 2020.
• Sanofi SA, which acquired Shantha Biotechnics, will invest Rs 460 crore (US$ 73.93 mn)for building a facility to manufacture Insuman, an insulin product to treat diabetes.
• BMW and Mercedes-Benz have intensified their localisation efforts to be part of ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to make automobiles for Africa, the company’s next big bet, as well as India at its upcoming factory in Hansalpur, near Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
• In January 2015, Hyunchil Hong, President & CEO of Samsung South West Asia, met the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) to discuss a joint initiative under which 10 “MSME-Samsung Technical Schools” will be established in India.
• In January 2015, the Spice Group signed an MOU with the Government of Uttar Pradesh to establish a mobile phone manufacturing with an investment of 500 crore.
• In February 2015, Huawei opened a new research and development (R&D) campus in Bengaluru with an investment of $ 170 million to establish the R&D centre.
• In February 2015, Samsung enhanced investment in its plant in Noida.
• In February 2015, Hitachi unveiled plans to increase its employees in India from 10,000 to 13,000 and set up an auto-component plant in Chennai in 2016.
• In February 2015, the Marine Products Export Authority expressed interest in supplying shrimp eggs to shrimp farmers in India under the auspices of the initiative.

 
Some other recent proposals which are in the pipeline under the Make in India programme are mentioned below:-

• Celkon Impex Pvt. Ltd, which sells low-cost mobile handsets and tablet devices, will open its first manufacturing unit in Hyderabad, India.
• Florida-based company BrightSKY plans to set up a plant in Chhattisgarh for manufacturing electronics and telecom products.
• Franc-based LH Aviation has signed MoU with OIS Advanced Tech to set up a manufacturing plant in India to manufacture drones.
• French transport company Alstom is looking to double its business in India to 800 million euro in the next three years.
• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has set up a Rs 1000 crore 'Make in India' fund for MSMEs with the objective of making them world class manufacturing hub.
• Having already launched 26 made in India products, GE targets to have 100 Made-in-India products by 2020.
• Fortune 500 industrial conglomerate 3M is looking to scale up investments in India with an eye on making it the company's first designated export hub globally.
• US-based Boeing Co. and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd have agreed to jointly develop products and platforms in aerospace and defence manufacturing, and access new markets together.
• Taiwan-based manufacturer Foxconn plans to build up to 12 new factories in India, employing nearly one million workers, by 2020.
• Karbonn Mobile India Pvt. Ltd, which currently manufactures mobile handsets in China, plans to open an assembly line on the outskirts of New Delhi in the next quarter, add another in Bengaluru and start a factory in Hyderabad over the next 12 months.
• HTC has finalised its 'Make in India' plans, becoming the second major global smartphone maker after Samsung Electronics to produce handsets in India.

Another proof of the global success of the Make in India initiative of the Modi government is that it has recently received the ‘2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Development Innovation: Policy and Program Implementation Excellence Award’ from US-based consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. The award is being considered as recognition of the “outstanding contribution” of the Make in India programme’s vision and “implementation excellence” in simplifying the regulatory framework, reinforcing connectivity and incentivising investments. The award also recognises that the initiative has become a catalyst to India’s booming domestic manufacturing sector in addition to propelling progress towards high value-added manufacturing growth and heavy investment attraction.

2. When creating jobs and opportunities for millions of Indians, PM Modi said "If you take one step, we will walk two steps for you". What does that mean for a regular person in India, searching for a job?

Indian Prime Minister Modi first used the slogan "If you take one step, we will walk two steps for you" during his address delivered on 11th January 2015 at the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Business Summit held at Gandhinagar in the presence of a power-packed audience consisting of top business representatives from over a 100 countries. He said this while encouraging foreign investors to invest in setting manufacturing hubs in India as this will give them the added advantage of a young high quality workforce offered by India. Later he reiterated this slogan during his interview given to the prominent English daily Hindustan Times on 9th April 2015, a day before undertaking his three-nation European tour.

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a young upwardly mobile population.  The nation has been working very hard and one of the effects of the ‘Make in India’ campaign is exponential increase in generation of employment which has brought in a positive change in the overall spectrum.  Businesses are recognising these opportunities and the need to invest in young people. The educational system has been inspired to prepare youth for the skill demands of employers.  Going by the response received from various multinational companies regarding investment in India, the slogan seems to have hit the target.  While some potential projects for setting up manufacturing facilities in India have already materialized, many more concrete proposals in this regard are in the pipeline.  All these projects will result in increased employment opportunities for the large workforce of India leading to a remarkable reduction in unemployment among those looking for jobs.  Still, there are many challenges that the government is trying to overcome, particularly the unemployed youth in rural areas, through policy advocacy.

3. In October India will host Business Summit with Central Europe and Poland will be partner country. Where do you think Serbia figures in India's geostrategic interest for this part of Europe?

The second edition of India-Central Europe Business Forum (ICEBF 2015) will be organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) on 5-6 October 2015 at Bangaluru, the Silicon Valley of India. ICEBF 2015 will provide a platform for sectoral cooperation and business-to-business engagement between Central European companies and their Indian counterparts in sectors as diverse as IT & ITES, services, urban Infrastructure, clean & green technologies, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, environmental technologies, agri & food processing, auto & auto parts; we have disseminated information about ICEBF 2015 to all Serbian relevant organizations and businesses to encourage maximum participation.

Serbia has always been a strategically important country for India as the co-founder of the Non-aligned Movement. In modern times India sees Serbia as the gateway to about one billion consumers of Europe and CIS. In a major breakthrough, the Serbian government has liberalised visa for Indians with a view to boost business and tourism.  We have already seen increased commercial activity between our two countries.

The India-Serbia Joint Economic Committee (JEC) has been revived and both sides have been encouraged to participate in trade fairs and economic summits and the need to implement the extant agreements was emphasised.  A high level delegation from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI)  participated in the CII Partnership Summit 2014 in Bangalore, India in January 2014 and held business road-shows in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai where projects worth over a billion dollars were presented to Indian industry.  This requires follow-up.  Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, World Trade Centre (WTC), Mumbai visited Belgrade in May, 2014 and signed two MOUs with WTC Belgrade and with Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia. 

In recent months, Serbian companies have utilised Indian hospitality packages to participate in (i) India Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS) 2014 & 2015; (ii) India International Handwoven Fair (IIHF) 2014; (iii) Home Expo India, April 2014; (iv) Luna doo, Pozarevac participated in the Gujarat International Handloom & Handicraft Meet, “GURJARI” 2015 held at Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 27 Feb - 1 March 2015; and (v) As a result of the visit of Mr. C. H. Nadiger, Regional Director, EEPC India, Chennai in Oct 2014, Serbian representatives including NIS, Gazprom and the municipality of Raca participated in India Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS) from 16-18 Dec 2014 in Mumbai.

            A delegation from RITES Ltd. visited Serbia from 7-9 Apr 2015 to explore the possibility of participating in Serbian infrastructural and road projects. Serbian subsidiaries of Indian agri-machinery companies such as TAFE, Mahindra and Sonalika participated in the Novi Sad International Agriculture Fair in May 2015.  Separately, India has participated in Belgrade Tourism Fair and Belgrade International Book Fair, Belgrade Design Week, Fashion Week, Film Festivals etc. to promote businesses links.

4. In the light of recently well organized summit with China, there is a feeling that a similar initiative could be organized in 2016 in Serbia in order to strengthen business relationships and inspire Indian businesses to consider Serbia as the new investment destination. What is your stand on this idea?

In the current scenario, this seems to be an excellent idea and the Embassy would definitely like to further explore the possibility.  This would, of course, depend on how much interest the Serbian companies take in doing business with India and in showcasing Serbian presence at the ICEBF in October.  It is very important that Serbia brands itself in India and aggressively promotes economic opportunities that Serbia has to offer to the Indian industry.  At the same time, the ICEBF is an excellent opportunity to connect with the technology partners of Serbia who can add value to ‘Smart Cities’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Skills India’, and ‘Make in India’ programme of the new government. 

5. In July this year India also launched its "Digital India" campaign and by 2019 it is planned to transform India into digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Serbia has fast growing IT market with skilled and knowledgeable workforce. How can Serbia contribute to "Digital India" campaign and vice verse?

This campaign aims at preparing India for technology based transformation and citizen centric transparent governance with service orientation.  Digital India is about inclusion in rural areas, small towns, north-east and other remote areas, opening up immense job opportunities in the areas and the fact that is launched one month ago promises that by 2020 India will have broadband in 2.5 million villages, Wi-Fi covering 2.5 million schools and all universities in India with 400.000 public internet access points for citizens.

With its rapidly expanding IT market and commensurate workforce, Serbia can contribute very fruitfully to the Digital India campaign launched by the Prime Minister of India on    July 1; the Embassy had organized a live webcast of the launch event.  Mr. Kosta Andric, Project Director of the ICT Hub in Belgrade met me to discuss prospects of technology support for Digital India. The Embassy has been following this up vigorously and as a result of these efforts, recently top Indian IT Company Tech Mahindra has agreed to be the online mentor to the ICT Hub in Belgrade. I am sure that continued endeavours like this will lead to a productive cooperation between India and Serbia in the digital sector. 
In September we expect to participate at the Digital Conference and to address key issues in the ICT sector, to provide a roadmap of how we can work together and start drafting an action plan of joint activities for the next decade. 

6. Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) stand for India's bilateral programme of assistance and the purpose is to share India's developmental experience to different countries throughout the world. There are different programmes aiming at different profiles from infrastructure, energy, agriculture to finance, rural development, IT and many others. It seems that this way Serbia may develop an ITEC platform of future leaders and use knowledge and skills from India to improve its performance in above mentioned fields?

It appears to be an excellent idea. ITEC was launched 51 years ago and it was the vision of India’s first PM Nehru.  This programme is bilateral and mainly targets developing countries while it is fully funded by the Government.  Over the past few years, ITEC Programme has emerged as an important pillar of India's bilateral relations with Serbia. More than 100 Serbian alumni have undergone capacity building in institutes of excellence in India in various sectors like IT, communications, English language, SMEs, management, finance, textiles, rural development, environment, science etc.  This is very important since presence of Serbia is visible in India through the participation of these bright people. My mission is to encourage mid level executives in both the public and private sector of Serbia and to provide as much information as possible to further engage them in ITEC programme.

With a view to creating a network of ITEC alumni in Serbia, the Embassy annually organizes an ITEC Day function. The latest such event was held on 19 Feb 2015 where all past participants praised the course and spoke positively about the quality of the courses. Serbia has been allocated 25 ITEC slots for 2015-16 and some nominations have already been received while more are expected over the next few months.