INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE 2015-2016 INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE Board of Trustees Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee, President Justice (Retd.) B.N. Srikrishna Prof. M.G.K. Menon Mr. Vipin Malik Dr. (Smt.) Kapila Vatsyayan Dr. R.K. Pachauri Mr. N.N. Vohra Executive Committee Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee, Chairman Mr. K.N. Rai Air Marshal Naresh Verma (Retd.), Director Mr. Suhas Borker Cmde. Ravinder Datta, Secretary Smt. Shanta Sarbjeet Singh Mr. Dhirendra Swarup, Hony. Treasurer Dr. Surajit Mitra Mr. K. Raghunath Dr. U.D. Choubey Finance Committee Justice (Retd.) B.N. Srikrishna, Chairman Air Marshal Naresh Verma (Retd.), Director Dr. U.D. Choubey Cmde. Ravinder Datta, Secretary Mr. Rajarangamani Gopalan Mr. Ashok K. Chopra, CFO Mr. Dhirendra Swarup, Hony. Treasurer Medical Consultants Dr. K.A. Ramachandran Dr. Rita Mohan Dr. Mohammad Qasim Dr. Gita Prakash IIC Senior Staff Ms Omita Goyal, Chief Editor Ms Hema Gusain, Purchase Officer Dr. S. Majumdar, Chief Librarian Mr. Vijay Kumar Thukral, Executive Chef Mr. Amod K. Dalela, Administration Officer Mr. Inder Butalia, Sr. Finance & Accounts Officer Ms Premola Ghose, Chief, Programme Division Mr. Rajiv Mohan Mehta, Manager, Catering Mr. Arun Potdar, Chief, Maintenance Division Annual Report 2015–2016 This is the 55th Annual Report of the India International Centre for the year commencing 1 February 2015 to 31 January 2016. It will be placed before the 60th Annual General Body Meeting of the Centre, to be held on 31 March 2016. Elections to the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees of the Centre for the two-year period, 2015–2017, were initiated in the latter half of 2014. The electoral process, which commenced in December 2014, concluded with the counting of ballots on 25 March 2015, in the presence of the candidates and their representatives. The election results were announced by the President at the Annual General Body meeting held on 30 March 2015. Shri Vipin Malik and Dr. R.K. Pachauri were elected to the Board of Trustees, the former from the Individual Members’ constituency and the latter from the Institutional category. Shri Suhas Borker and Smt. Shanta Serbjeet Singh were elected to the Executive Committee from the Individual segment. Shri Surajit Mitra and Dr. U.D. Choubey, representing the Institutional segment, were elected to the Executive Committee. Shri K. Raghunath and Shri K.N. Rai were nominated to the Executive Committee by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees reconstituted the Finance Committee for the two-year period April 2015 to March 2017 with Justice (Retd.) B.N. Srikrishna as Chairman and Dr. U.D. Choubey and Shri R. Gopalan as members. During deliberations at the meetings of the Board of Trustees, it was agreed that the scope of the IIC-Asia Project be enhanced and it be re-named International Research Division from 1 January 2016. The Library and the House Committees were also reconstituted for the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2017. The Centre records the contribution of Members who passed away during the period of this report. Some of them had been closely associated with various programme activities of the Centre for many years, and their absence is a significant loss. It is a matter of pride for the Centre that so many of its Members have received the prestigious Padma Awards for the year 2016. The Centre offers its congratulations to these Members. The untiring efforts of the IIC’s regular and contractual staff need special mention; without them, it will be impossible to run this unique institution 365 days, round the clock, efficiently. Thanks also to the Heads of Departments who have kept their respective teams motivated and inspired. Consequent to the resignation of the previous Director on 31 October 2014, the Secretary officiated as Director till Air Marshal Naresh Verma (Retd.) was appointed as Director w.e.f. 1 July 2015. 1 Annual Events IIC Experience: A Festival of the Arts, 2015 The annual IIC Experience showcases the core essence of the India International Centre. The wide spectrum of its presentations, which include dance, music, theatre, films, exhibitions and special cuisine, makes it a smorgasbord of all the elements that are associated with the cultural face of the Centre. All the events unfold in the serene spaces that are part of the Centre’s reflective ambience. Literature and poetry were the main themes of the IIC Experience, 2015. It was inaugurated with ‘Baees Khwaja ki Chaukhat: Celebrating the Sufi Heritage of Delhi’, a qawwali performance by Chand Afzal of the Delhi gharana. The hymns composed by the Carnatic Music Trinity—Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Syama Sastri and Saint Thyagaraja—were sung by Sikkil C. Gurucharan, grandson of Sikkil Kunjumani, disciple of S. Gnanaskandan. This concert was linked to the exhibition, India’s Best Kept Secret: Sarasvati Mahal Library, Thanjavur manuscripts and text from the collection of the Library, and curated by Pradeep Chakravarthy. Two programmes focused on the Mahabharata—the first was Duryodhana Vadham, based on the work of the 19th century playwright, Vayaskara Aryan Narayanan Moosad, presented by Guru Sadanam Balakrishnan and artistes of the International Centre for Kathakali; and the second, Ateet ki Parchhaiyan (Mahabharata Reinterpreted), a dance drama directed by Shama Bhate, Nad-Roop, Pune, which closed the festival. The dramatic presentation, ‘Don Quixote and his Epoch’, marked the 400th anniversary of Cervantes’ Don Quixote. It was directed by Sukesh Arora and presented by Yellowcat Theatre. Two feature films based on this classic formed part of the Film Festival. The music concerts included Jazz by Chrystal Farrell from Goa, and Baroque Music by the Haydn Baryton Trio of Hungary. The exhibitions were Printmaking and Anupam Sud—Prints and Print-making; Portraits of Childhood, an exhibition of life-size sculptures by Christine Margotin; and Young German Photographers, curated by Max Mueller Bhavan. This year’s Film Festival—‘When Comedy is King’—focused on classic films in the genre from India and abroad. 2 Each evening ended with a theme dinner, presenting a different cuisine. The flavours and aromas were of the sufi kitchen; the Malabar–Konkan coast; Spain; Hungary; and on the last evening, ‘An Epic Banquet’, food from the Mahabharata. Mid-Year Review The annual Mid-Year Review of the Indian Economy, 2014–15,was held in collaboration with NCAER. The Mid-Year Review, which covered the Indian economy’s performance in the first half of the financial year 2015–2016 and made projections for the second half, also featured discussions on key policy issues like clean energy, other green initiatives, the government’s smart city project, and financial inclusion through the so-called JAM trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhar and mobile (JAM). The main presentation was by Mythili Bhusnurmath, and theme papers by Seema Sangita, Indira Iyer, D.B. Gupta and Vineeta Dixit. B.B. Bhattacharya and Ajit Ranade were the discussants. The papers dwelt on key aspects of the economy to drive home the point that India’s economy had begun the year on a firm footing but might have been losing steam on certain parameters lately. A deficient monsoon this year could lead to a drop of 2–3 per cent in kharif foodgrain output. Industrial production had shown a welcome 4.2 per cent growth in the first quarter, but had been followed by a disappointing near-flat expansion of less than half per cent in both July and August. The manufacturing sector was seen as the biggest drag, while gross fixed capital formation as relief. Also, better growth in core infrastructure industries in the months to come was viewed as bolstering overall industrial output. The presentation lauded some of the recent steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank to support the economy while keeping a leash on inflation. C. D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture Held on 14 January each year, this event commemorates the Centre’s Founder-Member and Life Trustee, Dr. C.D. Deshmukh. This year, the talk was delivered by Professor T. Padmanabhan, Distinguished Professor, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Physics, Pune. His talk, entitled ‘Cosmic Odyssey: Past, Present and Future’, was chaired by Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee, President, IIC. Spectacular progress achieved during recent years has allowed cosmologists to understand the evolution of our universe for a time span extending from a tiny fraction of a second to about 14 billion years. This development has also unravelled some deep mysteries about the cosmos, especially as regards its composition. In a manner comprehensible to the specialist and layperson alike, the lecture described how our current understanding of the universe is achieved, and highlighted some recent work which has the potential to solve these enigmas. 3 Annual Day, 22 January 2016 The afternoon began with the IIC Heritage Walk led by Beeba Sobti and was flagged off by IIC Life Trustee Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan. The walk weaved in the warp and weft of IIC’s Triveni—the intellectual, cultural and social streams set in the milieu of Joseph Allen Stein’s architectural creation in stone, water and the greens. Joseph Stein once asked C.D. Deshmukh, ‘Have you admired the sunset over Lodi Park?’ Did this impact the selection of the site for the Centre? These were some of the interesting revelations of the walk. In the evening there was a Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattam presentation, ‘A-Neeti’ (Injustice). It was conceptualised, scripted and choreographed by Kanak Rele, and presented by Nalanda Dance Research Centre. The day ended with a Members’ dinner. 4 IIC SERIES IPCS Forecast Series The IPCS in collaboration with the India International Centre (IIC) and Department of East Asian Studies organised a second series of IPCS forecast review discussions. There were five forecast reports relating to East Asia by Sandip Mishra; Southeast Asia by Shankari Sundararaman; the Indian Ocean by Vijay Sakhuja; China by Teshu Singh; and Myanmar by Aparupa Bhattacharjee.