The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)  today signed a $300 million loan to finance inclusive and sustainable water supply and sanitation infrastructure and services in 14 secondary towns of the state of Rajasthan.The signatories to the Rajasthan Secondary Towns Development Sector Project were Shri Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance who signed for the Government of India, and Mr. Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB.

Shri Khare said the project aims to provide better quality and more sustainable water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in the project towns that will improve quality of life in these towns, including for the poor and vulnerable after signing the loan agreement. The investments in WSS with 10- year operation and maintenance contracts will ensure improved and sustainable service delivery in line with the state government’s urban sector development plan.

Mr. Konishi said ADB incorporated practical lessons from the three earlier urban sector projects it has funded in Rajasthan since 2000 and included innovations such as the use of smart technologies and cost-effective systems.  The project will empower urban local bodies, and strengthen their institutional capacity; deepen sector reforms, and build resilience of communities to manage health pandemics.

Through the project, water supply systems in at least eight project towns are expected to improve by 2027, benefiting more than 570,000 people. Citywide sanitation systems will benefit about 720,000 people in at least14 secondary towns. 

The project will strengthen the institutional capacity of the local governments and the Rajasthan Urban Drinking Water, Sewerage, and Infrastructure Corporation Limited, a corporate entity established with ADB’s technical support. Enhanced support to women and vulnerable groups will be provided through skills training, paid internships, and community engagement and awareness activities.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for 8 National Highway projects in Kerala tomorrow. The event will be attended by the Governor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Shri Pinarai Vijayan and Union MoSs Gen (Retd) Dr V K Singh and Shri V Muraleedharan, Ministers from the State, Members of Parliaments, MLAs and senior officers from the Centre and the State.

Details of the projects:

Inauguration: Kazhakoottam to Mukkola, 27 km, Rs 1,121 Crore.

Foundation Stone Laying:

Sr. No	Name of Project	Length(km)	Total ProjectCost (Rs. in Cr.)
1	Six laning of Thalapady  Km. 17.200 to Changala Km. 57.200  of  NH-66 (Old NH-17)	39	1981.07
2.	Six laning of Changala Km. 57.200 to  Neleshwaram Km. 95.650 of NH-66  (Old NH-17)	37.27	1746.45
3.	Six laning of Neleshwaram town to Thalipparamba  Km  96.450   to Km. 137.900 NH-66  (Old NH-17)	40.11	3041.65
4.	Six laning of Thalipparamba to Muzhapilangad Km 137.900   to Km. 170.600 NH-66 (Old NH-17)	29.95	2714.6
5.	Six laning of Paloli Palam and  Moodadi Bridge & allied works NH-66 (Old NH-17)	2.1	210.21
6.	Six laning of Kozhikode Bypass km.230.400 to km 258.800 NH-66 (Old NH-17)	28.4	1853.42
7.	Construction of High Level Bridge over Cheruthoni River at km 32/500 on NH-185	0.30	23.83
TOTAL	177 Km.	Rs. 11,571 Cr.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will release the autobiography of Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and rename Pravara Rural Education Society as ‘Loknete Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education Society’, on 13th October at 11 AM via video conferencing.

Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil served as Member of Lok Sabha for multiple terms. His autobiography is titled ‘Deh Vechwa Karani’ which means ‘dedicating one’s life for a noble cause’, and is aptly named as he dedicated his entire life to the benefit of society through his path-breaking work in various fields, including agriculture and cooperatives.

Pravara Rural Education Society was established in 1964 at Loni in Ahmednagar district, with the aim to provide world class education to the rural masses and  empower the girl child. The Society is currently serving with the core mission of educational, social, economical, cultural, physical and psychological development of students.

The Seventh Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) Member States will be hosted by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law & Justice, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology on 16^th October, 2020.

In this connection, Shri Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice will also host the Second meeting of the ExpertsWorking Group on 13^th and 14^th October, 2020.

Both the meetings shall be conducted through Video Conferencing mode.

First Expert Group Preparatory Committee Meeting of the Seventh Meeting of the Ministers of Justice of SCO Countries was also held in New Delhi on 1 7^th and 18^th September, 2019.

The Experts Working Group will discuss and share their experiences, best practices and the novel steps taken by them for creating conducive environment for promoting resolution of disputes and other related activities of the Ministries of (Law and) Justice including legal services and forensic activities.

In the Seventh Meeting of the Ministers of Justice of the SCO, Member States shall further deliberate on areas of cooperation; creating favourable conditions for resolving disputes; and implementation of the Action Plan of the Working Groups of Experts onForensic Activities and Legal Services. A Joint Statement following the results of the Seventh Session of the Ministers of Justice of the SCO Member States shall be signed.

The Ministers of (Law and ) Justice and senior officials / experts from the Ministries of Law & Justice of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be participating in the Meeting. The SCOSecretariat will be providing necessary assistance during the three days’ deliberations.

eSanjeevani, Ministry of Health’s telemedicine initiative, is rapidly gaining popularity amongst patients and doctors. It has recorded 5 lakh teleconsultations in a short span of time. The last one lakh consultations were completed in a record time of 17 days. As a digital modality of healthcare services delivery, eSanjeevani is gradually shaping into a parallel stream for the Indian healthcare delivery system with the number of teleconsultations per day on the platform touching 8,000 mark in the last few days. At present 26 States are using eSanjeevani’s two variants of telemedicine namely – doctor to doctor (eSanjeevaniAB-HWC) and patient to doctor (eSanjeevaniOPD).

eSanjeevani AB-HWC was launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in November 2019 and it is to be implemented at 1,55,000 Health and Wellness Centres in conjunction with identified Medical College hospitals under Govt. of India’s Ayushman Bharat Scheme in ‘Hub & Spoke’ model by December 2022. eSanjeevaniAB-HWC is functional at around 4,000 Health and Wellness Centres and onboarding of an equal number of HWCs is underway.

The second variant of this ambitious initiative, eSanjeevaniOPD which has the potential of being the world’s largest telemedicine platform, was rolled out on 13^th of April 2020 during the first lockdown when the OPDs across the country were closed.  eSanjeevaniOPD enables access to OPD services by the patients in the confines of their homes. eSanjeevaniOPD has been accepted evenly by both the patients and the doctors. Over 100 telemedicine practitioners have completed more than 1,000 tele-consultations and a few of them have logged over 10,000 consultations. On the other hand, over 20% patients have used eSanjeevani to consult with doctors for more than once.

Rapid adoption of eSanjeevaniOPD across the country has taken a significant step forward with the launch of a wide range of speciality and super-speciality OPDs. Besides general and speciality OPDs, AIIMS Bathinda has set up super-specialty OPDs like radiation oncology, surgical oncology, paediatric surgery; these super-speciality OPDs providing online OPD services to patients in all neighbouring states including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Himachal Pradesh. Tamil Nadu government is providing AYUSH, Yoga and Naturopathy OPD services through eSanjeevaniOPD. Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi has set up a Dental & Oral Maxillofacial Surgery OPD for patients in New Delhi. Kerala is setting up 14 OPDs on eSanjeevaniOPD for providing Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram – District Early Intervention Centres services for its populace. Each of these 14 OPDs on the  telemedicine platform has a team comprising of psychologist, special educator, speech therapist and a physiotherapist who can collectively address common issues pertaining to child development and their future health. At present, eSanjeevaniOPD is hosting 26 general OPDs and 190 speciality and super-speciality OPDs. Around 20,000 doctors and health-workers across the country have been trained on both the variants of eSanjeevani.

The Union Health Ministry is complementing efforts of State Governments by establishing a robust digital health ecosystem and human and infrastructural resources to boost the adoption of eSanjeevani. The Ministry has roped in Centre for Development of Advanced Computing’s Mohali branch for providing end-to-end technical services like development, implementation, operations and training of health personnel.

The top ten States which have registered highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD platforms are Tamil Nadu (169977), Uttar Pradesh (134992), Himachal Pradesh (39326), Kerala (39300), Andhra Pradesh (31365), Uttarakhand (16442), Madhya Pradesh (14965), Gujarat (10839), Karnataka (9498), Maharashtra (7895).

eSanjeevani Teleconsultations (12 Oct 2020)
Sr No.		Teleconsultations
	INDIA	500091
1	Tamil Nadu	169977
2	Uttar Pradesh	134992
3	Himachal Pradesh	39326
4	Kerala	39300
5	Andhra Pradesh	31365
6	Uttarakhand	16442
7	Madhya Pradesh	14965
8	Gujarat	10839
9	Karnataka	9498
10	Maharashtra	7895
11	Punjab	6427
12	Delhi	6158
13	Rajasthan	5321
14	Jharkhand	1882
15	Chandigarh	1538
16	Manipur	1484
17	Haryana	1465
18	Assam	568
19	Telangana	278
20	Jammu And Kashmir	182
21	Goa	55
22	Mizoram	51
23	Arunachal Pradesh	47
24	Chhattisgarh	23
25	Puducherry	9
26	Bihar	4

In a latest judgment titled Shikha @ Sheeba vs State of U.P. and 4 others in Habeas Corpus Writ Petition No. 502 of 2020, the Allahabad High Court as recently as on October 8, 2020 in a well-worded, well-reasoned and well-framed manner  directed the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur Nagar to take out a girl named Shikha @ Sheeba who is a Muslim woman who had converted to Hinduism to marry a Hindu man named Rohit Rathore from the custody of her brother and father. This direction was made keeping in view the serious threat of honour killing which the girl named Shikha @ Sheeba faced from her brother and father. The Bench of Justice JJ Munir further ordered that she should be housed at the Nari Niketan, Kanpur Nagar in safety and security till the time she is produced before the Court. Very rightly so!  

                                    To start with, Justice JJ Munir of the Allahabad High Court who authored this notable judgment sets the ball rolling by first and foremost pointing out in the introductory para that, “Heard Sri Adya Prasad Tiwari, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Vinod Kant, learned Additional Advocate General assisted by Sri Arvind Kumar, learned AGA appearing on behalf of the State.” 

                                     To put things in perspective, it is then pointed out in the next para that, “It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that Shikha @ Sheeba daughter of Mukhtar Ali has married Rohit Rathaur S/o Ram Sewak Rathaur (who has effectively filed this petition on her behalf) according to the Hindu rites on 03.07.2020 at the Arya Samaj Mandir, Rawatpur Gaon, Kanpur Nagar after converting to Hinduism at the same Arya Samaj Mandir on 03.07.2020 earlier in the day. The parties’ marriage has been duly registered under the U.P. Marriage Registration Rules, 2017 on 09.07.2020 at the office of the Marriage Registration Rules, 2017 on 09.07.2020 at the office of the Marriage Registration Office at Serial No. 468, SRO Office – Sadar Fourth, District Kanpur Nagar. A copy of the said certificate of registration is also on record.” 

                                              As it turned out, it is then pointed out further in this ruling that, “The FIR has been lodged in this case by the detenu’s father, Mukhtar Ali, wherein he has indicated the detenu’s age to be 22 years, giving rise to Case Crime No. 293 of 2020 State vs. Rohit Rathaur under Section 366 IPC, P.S. Bilhaur, District Kanpur Nagar.”

                                          As a corollary, it is then pointed out by the Court that, “In connection with the said case, the learned counsel for the petitioner has invited the Court’s attention to the detenu’s stand recorded before the learned Magistrate under Section 164 Cr.P.C.”

                               While elaborating on the statement made under Section 164 Cr.P.C., the Court then points out that, “In the said statement, the detenu has said that she had left home because she was annoyed with her mother. She wants to marry Rohit and stay with him.”

                                     In other words, what this clearly signifies is that the detenu went of her own free will. She was not coerced into submission. She of her own free volition wanted to marry Rohit. The Court also points out further clarifying that, “No one has taken her away by blandishment, and that Rohit has not done anything contrary to her wish by force.”

                                             Furthermore, the Court then points out that, “It is stated in paragraph no. 14 that the S.H.O., P.S. Bilhaur, Kanpur Nagar by trick and in connivance with the 4^th respondent, handed over Shikha @ Sheeba into the hands of her father, after she had spoken exculpatory in favour of Rohit. Since then, she is in illegal confinement of her father and brother.” How can all this be ignored? The Court had to take all this into account.

                                       Going ahead, it is then pointed out by the Court that, “It is also averred in paragraph no. 15 that the detenu called up Rohit over Mobile Nos. 7572053986 and 7523058325, informing him that she is being tortured by respondent nos. 4 & 5, and that she may be murdered at any time. She has requested Rohit to rescue her.” 

                                     To be sure, the Court then makes it known that, “It is averred that it is on her instruction received over telephone that Rohit has moved this petition. It is averred in paragraph no. 16 that on account of the religious barrier between parties, the 4^th and 5^threspondent, who are brother and father of Shikha @ Sheeba are so embarrassed and annoyed that Shikha @ Sheeba is facing a potent threat of being murdered at their hand in consequence of an act of honour killing. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that it is not just about rescuing Shikha @ Sheeba from illegal confinement and preventing her from becoming a victim of honour killing that this Court must intervene.”

                            Not stopping here, the Court then says that, “Admit. Issue notice. Notice be served upon respondent nos. 4 and 5 through all urgent means of communication through the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar returnable on 12.10.2020.”

                                    Moving on, it is then further directed by the Allahabad High Court that, “The Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur Nagar is ordered to cause Shikha @ Sheeba daughter of Mukhtar Ali presently in the custody of Imran Hasan S/o Mukhtar Ali and Mukhtar Ali S/o Maqbool Ali, resident of Ward No. 22, Lal Bahadur Sastri Nagar, Bilhaur, Kanpur Nagar, Bilhaur, Kanpur Nagar to be produced before this Court on 12.10.2020 at 02:00 p.m., without fail.”   

                               For the sake of clarification, the Court then holds that, “The Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur Nagar shall observe all protocol relating to prevailing COVID-19 pandemic proliferation and shall ensure the safety of all concerned while undertaking the aforesaid exercise. List the matter in the additional cause list on 12.10.2020 at 02:00 p.m.”

                                       Without mincing any words, Justice JJ Munir of the Allahabad High Court then unequivocally holds that, “Since, there is a serious threat of Shikha @ Sheeba becoming a victim of honour killing, it is preferable to err on the side of caution. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur Nagar is ordered to forthwith take out Shikha @ Sheeba from the custody of Imran Hasan S/o Mukhtar Ali and Mukhtar Ali S/o Maqbool Ali, respondent nos. 4 and 5 and house her at the Nari Niketan, Kanpur Nagar in safety and security, until time that she is produced before this Court, in compliance with the rule nisi.”

                                         Finally, it is then directed by Justice JJ Munir of the Allahabad High Court that, “Let this order be communicated to the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur Nagar, the Director General of Police, Lucknow, U.P., the Principal Secretary (Home), Lucknow, U.P. and the In-charge, Nari Niketan, Kanpur Nagar by the Joint Registrar (Compliance), forthwith. Let a copy of this order be also provided to Sri Vinod Kant, learned Additional Advocate General by the Office, today.”

                                         It would be premature to conclude what the final judgment would be in this case. We have to keep our fingers crossed till the case is concluded finally. The next hearing is on October 12.

                                    But one thing is clear: Allahabad High Court has given temporary relief to the Muslim woman who married a Hindu man from the custody of her father and has also acknowledged that there is a serious threat of honour killing. It has also accorded paramount consideration to the safety and wishes of the woman which is certainly a step in the right direction. There can be no two views on this! 

                                            Needless to say, this order of Allahabad High Court has to be complied with unconditionally and unambiguously. Every adult man and woman is free to do what he/she likes and especially regarding marriage they are free to marry as per their own choice! No denying it!  

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh

The fourth day of RAISE 2020– ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020’summit witnessed discussion on a range of themes like scaling AI research to solve big societal problems, leveraging AI to improve learning outcomes, and the overall opportunity of AI for India, among others.

In the first session of the day, Dr. Manish Gupta, Director, Google Research Lab talked about the agility of AI solutions to respond to societal needs and address them on a large scale. “AI is being used to predict weather patterns to warn people of impending floods. It is also being used for early detection of health risks like blindness, cardio vascular diseases, diabetes and cancer. The ambit of AI is large and therefore scalability of solutions is of critical importance,” he said.

In the same session, Gaurav Sharma, VP, IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software said AI’s use cases lend themselves very well to the achievement of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and that developers need to keep people and culture at the center of designing AI-based solutions to be able to move from adoption to absorption of AI. “India has a lot of offer in AI, and our country should transform into an AI-led society to position itself as a global leader in this space. AI systems need to be made safe, secure, and transparent, and must promote accountability to inspire consumer confidence.”

This session was followed by a showcase of the achievements of the Government of Telangana in developing an ecosystem for AI in the state. Over the next decade, the state government aims to make Hyderabad one of the top 25 AI innovation hubs of the world. Mr. JayeshRanjan, Principal Secretary, ITEC Department, Government of Telangana detailed the various initiatives taken by the state government to promote research in AI.

Addressing a session on the need for partnerships to make AI accessible and drive innovation, Mr. BhaskarGorti, President& Chief Digital Officer, Nokia Software,said that innovation, engagement and service to the industry should be the underlying ethos when developing AI solutions; at the same time he cautioned against the perils of AI, citing the example of social media. “Higher social media use correlates with self-reported declines in mental and physical health and life satisfaction,” Mr. Gorti said.

Mr. Balendu Sharma, Localization & Accessibility Lead, Microsoft India, also attended the session and talked about role that the government and large enterprises can play in increasing access to AI.

This session was followed by talks by Ms. Shalini Kapoor, Fellow-AI, and Director & CTO – IBM AI Apps, and Mr. Prakash Mallya, VP, Sales, Marketing and Communications Group, and MD, Intel, on the theme of using AI for learning.

“There is growing need for hyper-personalized education that dramatically improves learning outcomes. AI helps personalize education and at the same time create robust formal education frameworks that are required to fill skill gaps in individuals,” Ms. Kapoor said.

In a session on leveraging AI for learning, Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF’s India Representative, talked about the impact of research in AI for children. “Children need to be at the center of the thought process behind research into AI. The impact that early interaction with AI can create in young individuals is profound and deep-rooted. Therefore, AI can be critical to building people’s cognitive abilities and addressing the needs of the labor market,” she said.

Later in the day, there were three parallel fireside chats. While Mr. Marcus Wallenberg, Swedish Banker & Industrialist and Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog discussed AI being a great economic opportunity for India; in the other chat session, Ms. Rekha Menon, Chairperson & MD, Accenture and Mr. Abhishek Singh, President & CEO, NeGD and CEO, MyGov deliberated upon the importance of building responsible AI. In the third fireside chat, Mr. Talleen Kumar, CEO, Government e-Marketplace and Mr. Saibal Chakraborty, MD & Partner, BCG, discussed the impact of AI on e-marketplaces.

RAISE 2020 is being organized between October 5 and 9. So far, more than 77,000 stakeholders from academia, the research industry and government representatives from 146 countries have registered to participate in the summit.

India is rapidly integrating artificial intelligence across sectors. India’s technological prowess and the richness of its data will help the country become the AI garage of the world, delivering cutting-edge technological solutions. The RAISE 2020 Summit (http://raise2020.indiaai.gov.in/) serves as a platform for discussion and consensus building to help create a data-rich environment, which will help develop AI for the global community.

About RAISE 2020:

RAISE 2020 is a first-of-its-kind global meeting of minds on Artificial Intelligence to drive India’s vision and roadmap for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment through responsible AI. Organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog, the event is witnessing robust participation from global industry leaders, key opinion makers, Government representatives and academia.

My dear friends,Namaste!

First of all, I would like to compliment Shri Prem Watsa for creating this forum. It is good to see so many investors and businesses of Canada here. I am glad you are being exposed o the tremendous  investment and business opportunities in India.

Friends,  there is one thing common to most people in the audience. It has people who take investment decisions. Decisions which assess risk. Decisions which predict return while making investment.

I want to ask you: What do you think about before investing in a country? Does the country have a vibrant democracy? Does the country have political stability? Does the country have investment and business friendly policies? Does the country have transparency  in governance? Does the country have a skilled talent pool? Does the country have a large market? These are different questions, you may be asking.

The undisputed answer to all these questions is one:and that is India.

There is an opportunity for everyone- Institutional Investors, manufacturers, supporters of innovation ecosystems and infrastructure companies.There is an opportunity to invest, to set up units and to run businesses.There is an opportunity to partner with our private sector and with the governments.There is an opportunity to earn as well as learn, not only that as well as to lead, there is an opportunity to grow.

Friends, In the post-Covid world, you will often hear of various kinds of problems -Problems of manufacturing, problems of supply chains, problems of PPE, etc.  Problems are natural.

However, India has not let those problems be.We showed resilience and emerged as a land of solutions.

We provided free food grain to 800 million people and free cooking gas to around 80 million families- and for a long time.Despite disrupted logistics, we were able to deliver money directly into bank accounts ofmore than 400 million farmers, women,poor and needy people within a matter of days.

This shows the strength of governance structures and systems that we have built over the last few years.

Friends, India is playing the role of the pharmacy to the world. We have provided medicine to around 150 countries so far during this pandemic.

During March-June of this year, our agricultural exports rose by 23%.This happened while the entire country was in a stringent lockdown.

Today, our manufacturing is running on full steam. Before the pandemic India hardly manufactured PPE kits.Today not only does India manufacture millions of PPE kits every month, it also exports them.

We are also committed to ramping up production.We want to help the entire world when it comes to vaccine production for Covid-19.

Friends, The India story is strong today and stronger tomorrow. Let me explain how.

Today, the FDI regime has been very well liberalized.We have created a friendly tax regime for Sovereign Wealth and Pension Funds.

We have undertaken significant reforms for developing a robust Bond market. We have come up with Incentive schemes for Champion sectors.

Schemes in sectors like in Pharma, Medical Devices and Electronics Manufacturing have already been in operation.We want to ensure high-level attention and effective hand-holding for investors. For this, a dedicated Empowered Group of Secretaries has been made.

We are proactively monetizingassets across sectors- Airports, Railways, Highways, Power Transmission lines, etc.Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts have been fully enabled for monetization of both public and private assets

Friends, Today, India is undergoing a rapid change in mindsets as well as markets.Today, India has embarked on a journey of deregulation and decriminalization of various offences under the companies act.

India has risenfrom 81 to 48 in the Global Innovation Index rankings in the last 5 years.India has risen 142 to 63 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings in the last 5 years.The results of these improvements are there for everyone to see.India received around 70 Billion USD from Institutional Investors in a year and a half between January 2019 to July 2020. This is almost equal to that received in four years between 2013 and 2017.The continuing confidence of global investor community in India is seen by the fact that FDI into India went up by 20% in 2019 and, this when global FDI inflows fell by 1%.

India has already received over 20 Billion USD during the first 6 months of this year from across the globe.This is also the time when Covid-19 has been at peak globally.

The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City is one of our major initiatives.Investors could utilize it as a preferred platform to transact globally.We have recently set-up a fully empowered unified regulator for it.

Friends,India has adopted a unique approach posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have given relief and stimulus package for the poor and the small businesses.But we have also used this opportunity to undertake structural reforms.These reforms ensure more productivity and prosperity

India has undertaken a trinity of reforms in the field of education,labour and agriculture.Together, they impact almost every Indian.

India has ensured reforms of old laws in the field oflabour and agriculture.They ensure greater participation of the private sector while also strengthening the government’s safety nets.

These reforms will lead to a win-win situation for entrepreneurs as well as for our hard-working people.The reforms in the field of education will further harness the talent of our youth.These reforms have also set the stage for more foreign universities to be able to come to India.

The reforms in the labour laws greatly reduce the number oflabour codes. They are both employee and employer friendly and will further increase ease of doing business.

The reforms in the field of agriculture are far-reaching.They will not only give more choice to farmers but will boost exports.

These reforms will support our efforts to build an Aatmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India.By working towards self-reliance we seek to contribute to global good and prosperity.

Friends,

If you are looking to partner in the field of education, the place to be is India.

If you are looking to invest in manufacturing or services, the place to be is India.

If you are looking to collaborate in the field of agriculture, the place to be is India.

Friends,

India-Canada bilateral ties are driven by our shared democratic values and many common interests.The trade and investment linkages between us are integral to our multi-faceted relationship.

Canada is the 20^th largest foreign investor in India. More than 600 Canadian companies have presence in India.I am told that Canadian Pension Funds have pledged around 50 billion USD as investment in India till now.

Our relationship is perhaps far stronger than what the numbers suggest.But that also means together, we can achieve much more.

Canada is home to some of the largest and most experienced infrastructure investors.Canadian Pension Funds were the first ones to start investing directly in India.Many of them have already discovered great opportunities in a range of areas like highways, airports, logistics, telecom and real estate.They are looking at expanding their presence and finding new areas to invest.Mature Canadian investors who have been in India for many years now can be our best brand ambassadors.

Their own experience,their plan to expand and diversify can be the most credible evidence for all of you to come here too.In addition, you have the benefit of knowing India well.After all, Canada has one of the largest Indian Diasporas in the world. There would be no barriers for you here. You would find yourself as welcome here as in your own country.

Thank you for inviting me to address this event.Thank you once again.

On the issue of Iron Ore exports, the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry would like to place on record the following facts:

Export policy restriction put in 1998 only for KIOCL: On 21.01.1998, vide Notification, a specific entry was added in the export policy regarding “Iron Ore pellets manufactured by Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) out of concentrates produced by it”. Thus, the export policy was regard to only Iron Ore pellets manufactured by KIOCL, which was ‘canalized’ through KIOCL, a CPSU under Ministry of Steel.

No change in policy for Iron Ore Pellets not manufactured by KIOCL: Subsequently, vide its Notification dated 26.09.2014 the export policy of Iron Ore pellets manufactured by Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited was amended to ‘Free’ from ‘canalised’. Further, in the notification a policy condition was also added that the export of Iron Ore pellets manufactured by KIOCL is to be done by KIOCL Limited, Bangalore or any entity authorised by KIOCL Limited, Bangalore. However, there has been no amendment to the export policy of Iron Ore Pellets not manufactured by KIOCL.

Export duty on Pellets made Nil in 2011: To promote the export of Iron Ore pellets as a value added product, then Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, had reduced export duty to ‘nil’ during the 2011-12 budget announcing in his budget speech“Iron ore is also exported in a value-added, pelletized form. Full exemption from export duty is being provided to Iron Ore pellets to encourage the value addition process for fines.”

Iron Ore Pellet Export happening prior to even 2014: As per the Export Policy, items not mentioned specifically in the export schedule are “free” for exports. As per export data, Iron Ore Pellets were taking place even prior to change in export duty in 2011-12. The iron ore pellet export data in the ten years before the 2014 notification is given in the annexure and is available in public domain. Thus, the linkage to changes in 2014 notification is misleading and is not backed by data.

Legal position still under consideration: The legal opinion from Deputy Legal Advisor, Department of Legal Affairs has not been endorsed by the senior officials of the Department and cannot be taken as the official legal view on this matter. The matter for final legal position is under consideration.

Annexure: Export data of Iron Ore Pellets

S.No	Year	Quantity (in MT)
1.	2004-05	53,32,600
2.	2005-06	35,47,560
3.	2006-07	4,32,520
4.	2007-08	23,58,490
5.	2008-09	9,09,080
6.	2009-10	2,86,740
7.	2010-11	86,620
8.	2011-12	2,09,670
9.	2012-13	20
10.	2013-14	17,12,970
	Total	1,48,76,270

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at Invest India Conference in Canada through video conference today.

The Prime Minister said India is undisputedly the only country shining in all their investment parameters like having political stability, investment and business friendly policies, transparency  in governance, skilled talent pool and a large market. He said there is an opportunity for everyone including Institutional Investors, manufacturers, supporters of innovation ecosystems and infrastructure companies.

The Prime Minister said in the post-Covid world, India showed resilience and emerged as a land of solutions to overcome various kinds of problems related to manufacturing, supply chains, etc. He added, despite disrupted logistics, money was directly delivered into bank accounts of  over 400 million farmers, women, poor and needy people within a matter of days. He listed various initiatives taken by the Government to overcome the disruption owing to the pandemic and stressed that this shows the strength of governance structures and systems that have been built over the last few years.

The Prime Minister said while the entire country was in a stringent lockdown, India was providing medicine to around 150 countries and played the role of the pharmacy to the world. He added during March-June of this year, agricultural exports rose by 23%. He said before the pandemic, India hardly manufactured PPE kits but today not only does India manufacture millions of PPE kits every month, it exports them too. He committed to ramping up production and helping the entire world in vaccine production for Covid-19.

The Prime Minister explained how India’s story is growing stronger by listing the initiatives of the Government in creating a business friendly environment. He listed initiatives like liberalizing the FDI regime, creating a friendly tax regime for Sovereign Wealth and Pension Funds, bringing significant reforms for developing a robust Bond market, Incentive schemes for Champion sectors. He said schemes in sectors like Pharma, Medical Devices and Electronics Manufacturing are already in operation. He added for ensuring high-level attention and effective hand-holding for investors, a dedicated Empowered Group of Secretaries has been formed. He emphasized proactive monetization of assets across sectors like Airports, Railways, Highways, Power Transmission lines, etc. He said Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts have been fully enabled for monetization of both public and private assets.

The Prime Minister said today India is undergoing a rapid change in mindsets as well as markets. It has embarked on a journey of deregulation and decriminalization of various offences under the companies act. He said India has risen from 81 to 48 in the Global Innovation Index rankings and risen from 142 to 63 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings in the last 5 years.

The Prime Minister said due to these improvements, India received around USD 70 Billion from Institutional Investors between January 2019 to July 2020. This is almost equal to that received in four years between 2013 and 2017. He stressed that continuing confidence of the global investor community in India is seen by the fact that FDI into India went up by 20% in 2019 when global FDI inflows fell by 1%.

The Prime Minister said India has already received over USD 20 Billion during the first 6 months of this year from across the globe when Covid-19 has been at peak globally. He said India has adopted a unique approach posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. He said relief and stimulus packages were given to the poor and the small businesses and at the same time this opportunity to undertake structural reforms which will ensure more productivity and prosperity.

The Prime Minister said India has undertaken a trinity of reforms in the field of education, labour and agriculture. Together, they impact almost every Indian. He said India has ensured reforms of old laws in the field of labour and agriculture. They ensure greater participation of the private sector while also strengthening the government’s safety nets and will lead to a win-win situation for entrepreneurs as well as for our hard-working people. He said the reforms in the field of education will further harness the talent of our youth and have set the stage for more foreign universities to come to India.

The Prime Minister said the reforms in the labour laws greatly reduce the number of Labour codes and are both employee and employer friendly and will further increase ease of doing business. He added the reforms in the field of agriculture are far-reaching and will not only give more choice to farmers but will boost exports. He said these reforms will support our efforts to build an AatmaNirbhar Bharat or self reliant India and by working towards self-reliance, we seek to contribute to global good and prosperity. He highlighted that India is the place to partner in the field of education, to invest in manufacturing or services and to collaborate  in the field of agriculture.

The Prime Minister said India-Canada bilateral ties are driven by shared democratic values and many common interests. He said the trade and investment linkages between us are integral to our multifaceted relationship. He highlighted that Canada is home to some of the largest and most experienced infrastructure investors. He said Canadian Pension Funds were the first ones to start investing directly in India. Many of them have already discovered great opportunities in a range of areas like highways, airports, logistics, telecom and real estate. He said Mature Canadian investors who have been in India for many years now can be our best brand ambassadors. Their experience, their plan to expand and diversify can be the most credible evidence for other Canadian investors to come here too. He promised no barriers for the Canadian investors in India.