Author: Manish Chand

From Rafale & nuclear energy to commerce & culture, India-France ties ride high

- by Manish Chand

PARIS: The radiant smiles said it all: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande sported ‘Paris in April’ radiance as they unveiled 17-odd pacts in areas ranging from civil nuclear energy, defence and space to smart cities, business, tourism and the promotion of cultural heritage.
Celebrating this new spring in the multi-hued India-France relations, the two leaders went on a boat ride on the lovely Seine caressed by the gently fading sun. It was a time for bonding, camaraderie, small talk and big dreams.
The new Rafale deal was easily the show-stealer as Mr Modi announced at a joint press conference on April 10 with the French president that India will buy 26 Rafale jets from France in fly-away condition, ending months of “deal or no deal” speculation that has stalked this multi-billion dollar plan. The announcement triggered a wave of jubilation among the top French leadership, with Mr Hollande profusely thanking the Indian prime minister for his decision to do the 36-jet deal in an inter-governmental agreement.
Mr Modi, too, has many reasons to be pleased at the big thumps-up he got from the French leadership and the elite French business community for his Make in India campaign. The business confidence in the India Story was reflected in the two round tables Mr Modi addressed on infrastructure and defence with the crème de la crème of French corporate world present at the interactive meetings. The Make in India commitment was reflected in a pact on forging cooperation between Indian and French railways for semi-high speed rail link and station renovation and pledges by French defence majors to undertake co-development of high-value weaponry.
Underscoring a striking convergence of interests on strategic issues, the leaders of India and France spoke about building closer cooperation in a host of cross-cutting areas, including terrorism, cyber security and maritime security.

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New Deal: India to buy 36 Rafale jets, France bets on Modi mission

- by Manish Chand

It was a piece of news French President Francois Holland was itching to hear. And he got it from the horse’s mouth. Ending months of speculation over the big-ticket defence deal, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the French leader that his government has decided to buy 36 Rafale jets “in fly-away condition as quickly as possible.” The announcement by Mr Modi at a joint press meet lit up the face of the French leader and is set to bring the smiles to Dassault, the manufacturer of Rafale, and the French defence industry.
The details of the new contract in the making are not clear, but the new deal could be valued at around $4-6 billion.
“The two leaders agreed to conclude an Inter-Governmental Agreement for supply of the aircraft on terms that would be better than as conveyed by Dassault Aviation as part of a separate process underway,” said a joint statement at the end of wide-ranging talks between Mr Modi and Mr Hollande at the majestic presidential palace, Palais de L’Elysees in the heart of Paris. The delivery of the jets would “in time-frame that would be compatible with the operational requirement of IAF,” said the statement.
The aircraft and associated systems and weapons would be delivered on the same configuration as had been tested and approved by Indian Air Force, and with a longer maintenance responsibility by France, he added.

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Modi showcases India’s soft power in Paris

- by Manish Chand

India’s soft power glowed on a radiant spring morning in Paris. Yoga, sustainable development, cultural connections, the transformative power of education and the spirituality of Sri Aurobindo vied for the attention of a mixed audience of the French and the Indian community as Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at the UNESCO headquarters.

Amid chants of Modi, Har Har Mahadev and Vande Matram, the Indian leader, dressed nattily in bandgala suit, walked inside the UNESCO headquarters and unveiled his vision of an empowered India animated by universal education, religious pluralism, modern technology and harmony of man with nature.

He began his visit April 10 to the UNESCO headquarters by paying homage to the statue of Shri Aurobindo, India’s sage-philosopher-poet, and lauded his “belief in the unity of individual consciousness with the world outside.”

“There is much that we can learn from his humanism and spiritualism, from his belief in the unity of individual consciousness with the world outside; the enlightened purpose of education; the service of science; and, the unity of world, founded on national freedom, diversity of civilizations and autonomy of culture,” Mr Modi said.

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Bonjour Paris! Boat ride, business and new energy

- by Manish Chand

Paris has rolled out the red carpet and springtime chestnut blossoms to serenade India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, kindling hopes for flowering ties and fructifying deals in a host of areas, ranging from civil nuclear energy and defence to trade and investment.

It seems nothing can wrong on this beautiful and blessed day in Paris as the leaders of India and France get ready for full-spectrum talks and a boat ride on the sinuous Seine. Paris is determined to charm Mr Modi and honoured him with a majestic welcome at Elysee Palace. It’s business from the word go as the prime minister braced for two back-to-back round tables: one with French CEOs discussing infrastructure as a theme, and the second one will deal with defence technology, France’s forte.

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Remaking of India: Dovetailing Diplomacy & Development

- by Manish Chand

It’s time for making and remaking of India, an ancient rainbow civilisation transforming into a modern nation and an emerging powerhouse that is spawning a new narrative of renaissance, resurgence and renewal. The India Story is back in global circulation, with international rating agencies and bankers conjuring up cheery forecasts for growth prospects of Asia’s third largest economy. The IMF and the World Bank have already predicted that India’s economic growth will surpass that of China’s by 2016-2017, a prognosis that has been reinforced by Asian Development Bank and other trend-trackers.

The Economist has encapsulated this new mood of ‘India Optimism’ in its recent cover story entitled “A chance to fly.” The prestigious British magazine says India has a rare opportunity to become the world’s most dynamic big economy,” but adds on a cautionary note: “The potential is there; the question has always been whether it can be unleashed.”

If the potential of 1.2 billion people of India and their surging dreams has to be realised, the Modi government in India will have to walk the talk on second-generation economic reforms (and it is already doing so by going ahead with crucial reforms in a host of areas, including raising the FDI cap in insurance and telecom). But the success of the India story in the coming months and years will also depend on how New Delhi leverages its growing global stature and harnesses its external relationships and multiple strategic partnerships through smart diplomacy to stimulate an Indian renaissance.

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French CEOs upbeat about India Story, Make in India

- by Manish Chand

PARIS: The India Story is shining bright in France, Europe’s heavyweight economy, with top French CEOs of big-ticket corporates striking an upbeat note about pouring investments into Asia’s third largest economy and voicing their enthusiasm about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India mission.
With Mr Modi’s Europe agenda being primarily economic, fittingly around 50 top CEOs of India and France brainstormed in Paris to spur the flow of two-way of investment and outlining a concrete roadmap for imparting a fresh momentum to multifarious economic relationship between the two counties.
In his interaction with the French business community, Mr Modi, who begins his four-day visit to France April 9, is expected to make a robust pitch for more French investments in a wide array of areas, including in his pet project of smart cities.
There were free and frank discussions on issues relating to investment and ease of doing business in India and France, Mr Dhruv M. Sawhney, co-chairman of Indo-French CEOs Forum and chairman & MD of Triveni Turbine Limited, told Indian journalists at Hotel Plaza Athenee in the heart of the elitist Champ Elysees.
The CEOs Forum culminated in the leaders of Indian and French business, setting up four task forces in areas of energy, water, infrastructure financing and life sciences.

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India & France: Spring Time, New Horizons

- by Manish Chand

It’s spring time in Paris, and there is a new spring, bounce and vitality in India-France relations. Paris in April looks like the heaven on earth, and is the first stop in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden trip to Europe and the continent’s powerful economy. France is India’s key strategic partner in the European continent, and the strategic partnership the two countries forged in 1998 have steadily scaled new frontiers.

When Prime Minister Modi sits down for talks with the French president in Paris April 10, there will be a lot on the table besides delicious gourmet food for which the French are famous. The menu will be appetising and varied – trade and investment, nuclear energy, science and technology, defence deals and space will vie for the leaders’ mind space as they map out an ambitious agenda to upscale India-France relations across the spectrum.

Economic relations are on an upward trajectory, with bilateral trade exceeding $7 billion. French companies are betting on India’s growth prospects, and plan to put in more money into Asia’s third largest economy and one of the world’s fastest growing companies. French investments in India have already exceeded around $10 billion. And more than 700 French companies are doing thriving business in India, creating jobs and setting new benchmarks in innovation.

Paris in April looks a perfect place and time to flower new dreams for this crucial strategic partnership, and map out fresh avenues for the evolving and dynamic India-France relations.

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Modi’s Europe yatra: Cruise with Hollande, cleaning up Ganga via Rhine

- by Manish Chand

It promises to be a memorable evening in Paris, redolent of the famous Bollywood number of the late 1960s. When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande go on a boat ride on the shimmering moon-lit Seine river next week, expect sparks to fly, and illuminate the multi-hued tapestry of India-France relations. The evening boat ride will be a time to do some small talk, think big, and map out an ambitious trajectory for one of India’s most crucial strategic partnerships in the European continent.
The planned Modi-Hollande boat cruise shows how the Indian diplomacy has changed in its tone, texture and atmospherics since Mr Modi took charge of the world’s most populous democracy and Asia’s third largest economy, nearly a year ago. In the staid and stuffy world of diplomacy, it has taken Modi, a former tea-seller, to reinvent the rules of the game and understand the value of spectacle and gestures in the media-saturated landscape.
From Make in India to Skill India and Clean Ganga, Prime Minister Modi will be looking to rope in two of Europe’s most powerful economies and influential players, for the overarching project of India’s economic resurgence. If it takes a boat ride with the French president and serenading the India Story with the German chancellor, so be it.

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Scaling new heights: Get ready for biggest India-Africa summit

- by Manish Chand

In the biggest diplomatic event New Delhi will hold in decades, India is set to host the third edition of its summit with the leaders of the renascent African continent in the last week of October, a defining step that is expected to push the envelope for multi-tiered engagement between the two emerging growth poles of the world.
Ending months of speculation, India’s external affairs ministry announced on March 25 that the third India-Africa Forum summit will be held on October 29, and will be preceded by meetings of senior officials and foreign ministers of India and 54 African countries.
The October 26-30 India-Africa summit will be a microcosm of India’s multi-faceted engagement with the continent that harks back to shared anti-colonial solidarity and has morphed into a multi-dimensional relationship that has been mutually empowering and rewarding. This is reflected in burgeoning trade and investment – bilateral trade has exceeded $70 billion and investments from Indian companies into Africa have already crossed $32 billion dollars. Development partnership, pivoted around capacity building and human resource development, is already on an upswing.
Clearly, there is much more India can do. There is a tendency to compare India’s engagement with Africa with that of China’s spectacular success in the continent in areas of trade and investment. China’s bilateral trade with Africa is three times more than that of India’s with the continent. But such comparisons are misleading as the two Asian giants have different histories of engagement with Africa and have a different set of core competencies and capacities.

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