Review A PUBLICATION OF THE EMBASSY OF INDIA, KABUL http://meakabul.nic.in VOLUME 3 ISSUE 4 APRIL 2007

INDIAINDIA,, BHUTBHUTANAN REWRITEREWRITE THEIRTHEIR FRIENDSHIPFRIENDSHIP

Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh with H.M.Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, King of Bhutan, in New Delhi on February 08 n a historic step, India and Bhutan have Article 2, which says that Bhutan will be Wangchuk began his six-day visit to India opened “a new era” in their special ties by guided by India’s advice while conducting its on February 7, the first after his father abdi- I signing a revised version of their 57-year- foreign policy, has been substituted by a lan- cated in his favour in December 2006. old Friendship Treaty that gives Thimphu guage that speaks of cooperation. A close The Oxford-educated monarch will be more freedom in the crucial areas of foreign consultative mechanism will be set up in this enthroned next year when the idyllic policy and non-lethal military purchases. regard. Himalayan state, which prefers to measure its The updated treaty was signed between the “The treaty commits both countries to national wealth in terms of “gross national two sides at Hyderabad House in New Delhi cooperate closely with each other on issues happiness”, will embrace two-party democra- after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and relating to their national interests, and not cy and hold elections. Bhutan’s 27-year-old King Jigme Khesar allow the use of their territories for activities King Wangchuk met External Affairs Namgyel Wangchuk held talks on a wide harmful to the national security and interest Minister Pranab and Foreign array of bilateral and global issues. of the other,” Sarna said in a statement. Secretary Shivshankar Menon and discussed “The signing of the India-Bhutan “The signing of the India-Bhutan with them a whole range of issues, including Friendship Treaty today opens a new era in Friendship Treaty marks a historic moment in enhanced business ties between the two the further deepening and strengthening of our relations with Bhutan,” he added. countries and increased cooperation in the this unique and special relationship” under “It includes fresh provisions for consolidat- area of hydroelectricity. the reign of Bhutan’s new king, External ing and expanding economic cooperation for During the visit, the king also called on Affairs Ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna mutual and long-term benefit, and coopera- President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Apart from the said. tion in the fields of culture, education, King’s talks with the Prime Minister Singh, he The revised treaty has rewritten Articles 2 health, sports, and science and technology,” also met the Chairperson of the United and 6 of the 1949 document and gives Sarna said. Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition Sonia Thimphu more freedom to pursue its foreign “It does not envisage a change in the treat- Gandhi. policy and in the purchase of non-lethal mil- ment of nationals of both countries, or in the The Prime Minister hosted a dinner in itary equipment as long as such decisions do free trade regime that we have,” he noted. honour of the King of Bhutan. Home not damage India’s vital strategic interests. Calling India-Bhutan ties “an exemplary Minister Shivraj Patil, Deputy Chairman of The old treaty, which was signed in model of good-neighbourly relations,” Sarna the Planning Commission Montek Singh Darjeeling on August 8, 1949, contained said they symbolised “our belief that the Ahluwalia, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, nine clauses while the new one would have people of South Asia share a common des- Finance Minister P. Chidambaram also called 10. tiny”. on the King. UNION BUDGET Focus is on social sectors, agriculture as Finance Minister presents an inclusive budget inance Minister P. Chi- concern and projected an inflation dambaram on February 28 rate of 5.2 percent for the current F presented a Rs. 6,805.210 fiscal, against 4.4 percent for the billion ($148 billion) general previous year. “We are confident budget for 2007-08 that focuses that we can moderate the present on social sectors and agriculture inflationary trend,” he asserted. with only moderate cuts in taxes In a bid to bring down overall and import duties. inflation and help curb the rise in “Agriculture must top the agen- the prices of some food items, he da for policy makers and hold the said excise duty on crude oil would first charge on resources,” the be reduced to 6 percent from 8 Finance Minister said in his 100- percent and futures trading banned minute speech in the Lok Sabha, immediately in wheat and rice. the lower house of Parliament, The Finance Minister said he was setting the tone for his sixth also giving a new thrust to agricul- national budget and the fourth for ture, on which two-third of the 1.17 the United Progressive Alliance billion population still depends, (UPA) government. the small taxpayer and the small “The declared objective is faster service provider. “Faster economic and more inclusive growth,” growth has given us, once again, Chidambaram said as he the opportunity to unfurl the sails enhanced budgetary allocations and catch the wind.” for education, agriculture, water, His proposals invited praise child development, urban renew- from Prime Minister Manmohan al, the employment guarantee Singh. “This budget focuses on scheme and social security. fiscal consolidation,” Manmohan “Industry and services have Singh said, adding that an attempt done well. Attention is, therefore, was made to address the concerns being diverted to agriculture. A and aspirations of a larger section plant needs nursing and not a firm of society, especially the common oak tree,” he later told a press man. conference explaining the main Even though Chidambaram premise of his budget. drew comfort from an impressive Rising prices, he said, were a Finance Minister P. Chidambaram arriving in Parliament to present the Union Budget. 27.8 percent increase in the gross

I think that would also strengthen the anti-inflationary bias of the Following is the budget. transcript of Prime Minister Moreover, the emphasis that is now being laid on supply side Manmohan Singh’s responses, the national programme for pulses, the national pro- gramme for utilisation of ground water resources, the rain-fed post-budget interview to authority working to give a new momentum to the utilization of the Doordarshan on dry land agriculture potential. All these would strengthen the supply February 28. side responses. Q: There was a lot of talk that this budg- Q: Do you think we have enough resources within our government et will be geared more towards control of and within the economy to check prices? inflation because important elections are soon coming up. Do you think that this budget is going to control PM: Of course, I think we have done it many times before. That inflation? is one area in which we are now more open. But that also is a help and sometimes when we get into domestic bottlenecks, we can PM: Well, the budget certainly is anti-inflationary. The fact that always import. I think last year we imported five-and-a-half million the fiscal consolidation programme is on target –– the fiscal reduc- tonnes. We can import commodities which are in short supply –– tion and the revenue deficit reduction –– we are moving in the set oilseeds, to some extent, pulses not to a great deal but foodgrains, direction. That itself should be an assurance that inflation will not oilseeds, and vegetable oils –– these are certainly essential com- be allowed to get out of hand. But in addition, if you look at the modities which if we run into domestic supply bottlenecks, we can whole programme of reduction in customs duties and excise duties, always import.

2 I N D I A R E V I E W A P R I L 2 0 0 7 h t t p : / / m e a k a b u l . n i c . i n UNION BUDGET tax revenue during the current fiscal, he, nev- A unique scheme announced in the budget ertheless, proposed a 1 percent cess on all is a means-cum-merit scholarship that would HIGHLIGHTS taxes to finance secondary and higher educa- be introduced to check high school dropout tion schemes, over and above the 2 percent rates. The Finance Minister observed that ! Gross budgetary support for plan to cess on basic education. while the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (universal edu- be increased to Rs. 2,051 billion from A similar populist measure was a substantial cation scheme) had improved enrolment to 96 Rs. 1,727.28 billion. increase in the allocations for the National percent, dropout rates were still worrying. He ! Non-plan expenditure to go up by Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and an said the scheme would encourage students to 6.5% to Rs. 4,354.21 billion; allocation extension of its coverage to 330 districts from study beyond Class VIII. for Bharat Nirman increased by 31.6% the present 200. The scheme would start this year with a cor- to Rs. 246.03 billion; allocation for With the armed forces set to modernise pus of Rs. 7.5 billion and an equal amount education increased by 34.2% and for operations and induct new equipment in the would be added to the fund every year for the health & family welfare by 21.9%. coming years, the Finance Minister also next three years. ! Mid-Day meal scheme to cover chil- enhanced the defence budget by 7.8 percent to Under the scheme, each student would be dren of upper primary classes in 3,427 Rs. 960 billion. given a scholarship of Rs. 6,000 a year to educationally backward blocks. His relief to individual tax payers came in the study in Classes IX, X, XI and XII. Each year ! Scheme for short-term crop loans to form of a token Rs. 10,000 hike in the thresh- 100,000 scholarships would be awarded. continue; National agricultural insur- old limit of exemption, to result in a saving of Another unique scheme would reward ance scheme to continue. Rs. 1,000, as also an employers providing ! Death and disability insurance cover increase in the base “Faster economic growth has regular employment to to be extended to rural landless house- limit for women and physically challenged holds under Aam Admi Bima Yojana. senior citizens. given us, once again, the persons and aims to ! Limit of loans under differential rate “A comprehensive opportunity to unfurl the sails create about 100,000 of interest scheme for weaker sections review should await the jobs a year for such raised. proposed income tax and catch the wind.” disadvantaged sections ! National Housing Bank to introduce code which will be Finance Minister of society. reverse mortgage for senior citizens. introduced in The Finance ! Allocation for defence increased to Parliament this year,” P. Chidambaram Minister set aside Rs. Rs. 960 billion. the Finance Minister 18 billion to reimburse ! For current year revenue deficit to be said on the issue of moderating the direct tax employers who provide regular employment to 2% and fiscal deficit 3.7% –– both regime further. them. lower than budget estimates In indirect direct taxes, he sought to cut the “Among the disadvantaged sections of the ! Peak rate for customs duties for non- peak rate of import duties to 10 percent from society are physically challenged persons. They agricultural products cut from 12.5% to the existing 12.5 percent, but decided to keep face difficulties in obtaining regular employ- 10%. the central value added tax rate unchanged and ment. In order to incentivise employers in the ! Custom duties on most chemicals expanded the service tax regime. organised sector to provide regular employ- and plastics reduced to 7.5%. Chidambaram also did away with the sur- ment, I propose a scheme whereunder the gov- ! Ad valorem component of excise charge on corporation tax only for firms with a ernment will reward the employer once a phys- duty on petrol and diesel cut to 6%. taxable income of Rs. 10 million or less. ically challenged employee is regularised.” ! ! Service tax exemption limit for small service providers raised from Rs. Q: This is the first time I saw a budget which the social safety net, the National Rural 400,000 to Rs. 800,000 talked about Plans A, B and C. Employment Guarantee Programme is being ! Service tax extended to some new expanded to include now 330 districts - half areas central sales tax cut to 3%. PM: Well, I think we are living through the districts of our country. ! Threshold limit of exemption in all uncertain times. We have a substantial A new life insurance programme has been cases increased by Rs. 10,000. increase in the budgetary support for the launched for landless workers. In addition, we ! Maximum limit of deduction in plan of about 19 percent but we also recog- need to strengthen the impulses to expand respect of medical insurance premium nise that there are legitimate additional investment in infrastructure. to be increased to Rs. 15,000; for sen- expenditure demands which will arise as we ior citizens the limit is Rs. 20,000. unfold the contours of the 11th Five Year Plan Q: The budget talks about enabling people ! Corporate income tax rate remains and so we will review the situation towards so that especially the socio-economically unchanged; surcharge on income tax mid-July for example and we have a contin- backward people. on all firms and companies with a tax- gency plan to increase expenditure to the able income of Rs. 10 million or less extent of about 7,000 crores (Rs. 7 billion) PM: Of course, I think education and removed. in due course. healthcare are prime imperatives as far as this ! 5-year income tax holiday for new Also we are toying with the idea of utilising budget is concerned. Also we need to improve hotels. a part of the foreign exchange reserves for the skill level of the youth. Therefore we need ! Tax holiday for undertakings in infrastructure development ... and therefore lot more emphasis on secondary education, or Jammu & Kashmir extended to 2012. you have a budget, which pays lot of emphasis on those who leave the primary education and ! Additional cess of 1% levied on taxes on improving our access to basic social serv- at the same time, strengthening the vocation- to fund secondary and higher educa- ices. You have a budget which also strengthens alisation of education. tion.

h t t p : / / m e a k a b u l . n i c . i n I N D I A R E V I E W A P R I L 2 0 0 7 3 AFGHAN NEWS Afghan delegation experiences Indian democracy hich is the best place to experience first hand a vibrant and thriving democracy at work? How do the three organs of a W democratic government (legislature, executive and judici- ary) work together to achieve better governance and deliver the serv- ices to the common man? The quest for answers to these questions led to the visit of a 10-member delegation led by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs of Afghanistan Dr. Farooq Wardak to India, a democracy with more than one billion people. Supported by the Embassy, the visit from February 22 to March 3 was sponsored by Asia Foundation. As part of their packed schedule, the delegation called on the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Home Minister, Law Minister, Minister of Panchayat Raj , Minster of State for External Affairs, and Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court. The delegation also had an occa- sion to interact with members of Supreme Court Bar Association. Welcoming the delegation, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Personnel, Pensions and Public Grievances, Suresh Pachouri assured India’s sustained and long-term commitment to cooperate Leader of Afghanistan delegation Dr. Farooq Wardak (Right) greeting Speaker with and support Afghanistan, particularly in the areas of capacity- of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee (Left). building and human resources development. In their call on Home The delegation also had the opportunity to attend the joint address Minister Shivraj Patil, the delegation exchanged views on various of the President of India to both Houses of Parliament and the pres- issues of governance, including Centre-state relations and internal entation of the Union Budget 2007-2008. At a well-attended func- security management in a federal set up. tion organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), leader The leader of the Afghan delegation Dr. Wardak extended an invi- of Afghan delegation Dr. Wardak spoke on ‘Afghanistan: Emerging tation to Home Minister Patil to visit Afghanistan. During the call on Horizons’. the Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee, the delegation was Besides Dr. Wardak, the other members of the delegation were briefed on the working Parliamentary institutions in India. Speaker Mohammad Omar Babrakzai, Mohammad Alim Nasimi, (both judges, Chatterjee also offered the services and facilities of the Bureau of Supreme Court of Afghanistan); Dr. Burhanullah Shinwari, Deputy Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPS&T) to Members of Chairman and Member of the Meshrano Jirga; Sohailla Sharifi, Fariba Parliament of Afghanistan and other government officials interested Ahmadi Kakar (all members of the Meshrano Jirga), Leyqqatullah in benefitting from this programme. Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Babakarkhil (member of the Wolesi Jirga); Sayed Yousuf Halim, Mani Shankar Aiyar informed the delegation that the Government of Director, Legislative Affairs, Ministry of Justice; Roohafza Ludin, India would be glad to cooperate with the Government of Afghanistan Director, Government Relations, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in the area of developing rural self-government initiatives and other and Syed Qotbuddin Roydar, Chief of Staff, Office of the Minister of related activities that could benefit the local communities. Sate of Parliamentary Affairs. ! Afghan delegation attends global SMEs summit in here is something unusual As part of this exercise, interactive about this year’s Global Small meetings, buyer-seller meets, business T and Medium Enterprises matchmaking, panel discussions and (S&MEs) summit held at the World seminars on the SME sector were Trade Centre, Mumbai. For the first organised at this event. time, an Afghan delegation of 12 busi- The Afghanistan delegation includ- nesspersons spearheaded by ed representatives from the banking, Afghanistan Investment Support handicraft, health and construction Agency (AISA) participated in this sectors. During the summit, Director international conference. Small & (Investment & Promotion) AISA Walid Medium Business Development Tamim made a presentation on the Centre of India (SMEC) and India overview of investment opportunities International Trade Centre (IITC), in for SMEs in Afghanistan. AISA also AISA Director Walid Tamim, left, exchanges an MoU with IITC association with Ministry of Small President Chandrakant Salunkhe, right utilised the opportunity to attract Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Indian as well as other potential over- Industries, organised this international con- be a platform for members of the S&ME sec- seas investors and SMEs representatives to ference from February 21 to 24. The sum- tor to network among the business contacts explore business opportunities in mit’s focal theme was ‘Empowering SME and to display the respective strengths and Afghanistan. Sector for Better Prospects’ and lent itself to specialised areas of products and services. Continued on page5

4 I N D I A R E V I E W A P R I L 2 0 0 7 h t t p : / / m e a k a b u l . n i c . i n AFGHAN NEWS Sarfaraz Chisti Qawwali group enthrals Afghanistan

op Afghan dignitaries sprawled on velvet floor mats in the living room of Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood’s residence on March T27, soon after Nauroz, the Afghan new year, nodding their heads in appreciation of the qawwali composition of Gul Ali Shah Kalandhar rendered by Sarfaraz Chishti Qawwali group from India, was testimonial to the growing reputation being acquired by India House as a vibrant Maestro Sarfaraz Chisti and his troupe performing at India House, Kabul cultural hub in Kabul. A few months earlier, Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang, one of the out- The dignitaries gathered at the Indian Ambassador’s residence, includ- standing Afghan music and ghazal exponents, charmed the audience with ing senior Ministers, members of Parliament, businessmen, media and his superb rendition of Patiala gharana gayaki on the sprawling lawns of diplomats, proclaimed that this was one of the best musical performanc- India House on a balmy autumn evening. Before that, on the similar es witnessed in Kabul. The repertoire included qawwalis, ghazals, classical occasion of Nauroz last year, another Indian qawwali singer, Ghulam and sufi music, rendered both in Persian and Urdu. As Chishti combined Qadir Niyazi, enthralled the audience at the same venue. with grace and ease the compositions of Hazrat Shams Tabrez, Hazrat Maestro Sarfaraz Chisti, a reputed qawwal and classical music singer in Amir Khusro, Hazrat Hafiz Shirazi and Hazrat Deam Shahwarti, the syn- India was performing in Afghanistan for the first time, under the spon- thesis between Indian and Afghan musical heritage was complete, high- sorship of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The troupe lighting in striking manner the close cultural affinities shared between the was also invited by the Foundation for Culture and Civil Society to par- two countries. ticipate at the 4th Music Festival at Mazar-e-Sharif, March 20-22, where The next day, the group rendered another performance at the Indian they were received very enthusiastically. The troupe then went on to per- Embassy Culture Centre, open to the general public. The magic of the form in Herat, including at the Chisti monastery. The performance in renditions remained unblemished –– as judged by the incessant demand Kabul was the last leg of their tour in Afghanistan. for encores. Chisti has been in the profession for 25 years. He trained under Ustad For Sarfaraz Chisti himself and his troupe, the Afghanistan tour was a Abdul Gafur Shaqur Chishti for qawwali singing and under Ustad Iqbal spiritually uplifting one. The visit to the Chisti monastery in Herat, in Ahmed Khan (Delhi Gharana) for classical music. He has rendered particular, will stay vividly etched in memory. “Our bag is overflowing qawwalis for many Indian films, and has performed in various festivals with Allah’s blessings. The expectations, hopes and aspirations have been throughout India. fulfilled,” Chisti remarked as his group boarded the Indian Airlines flight Coming to Afghanistan was a dream come true. back home. ! Afghan delegation attends global SMEs summit in Mumbai Continued from page 4 During their visit, the Afghan delegation also established two important institutional tie-ups with Indian agencies. The first is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AISA and IITC for mutual cooper- ation. Signed on February 23, this MoU is initially for five years and could be extended further. It identified areas such as promotion of trade and investment, nurturing JVs, con- tract manufacturing and technology trans- fers to support the growth of SMEs in the two countries. The second agreement is a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between EXIM Bank of India, Mumbai, and AISA. Signed on February 23, the MoC aims to promote two-way trade and investment, A business visitor from Kenya interacting with an Afghan delegate at the summit. regular exchange of information on trade, business and investment, assistance in locat- business delegation, aptly summed up the He added, “I found right partners in this ing suitable JV and trade partners and pro- impression of the delegation about their event, who have ability and capacity to pro- motion of commercial interaction between visit to India by expressing full satisfaction vide me high standards and strong technical the two countries. for the fact that he “did find the partners capacity, the critical component in winning Zia-Ur-Rahman, a member of the Afghan (he) was looking for”. international contracts in Afghanistan.” !

h t t p : / / m e a k a b u l . n i c . i n I N D I A R E V I E W A P R I L 2 0 0 7 5 : Queen of Bollywood

rom bit roles in small budget movies to “When Karan wanted my voice to be ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ (2005), ‘Paheli’ (2005) the polished performance in Sanjay dubbed for ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, I really ‘Veer-Zaara’ (2004), ‘Hum Tum’ (2004) F Bhansali’s ‘Black’, birthday girl Rani thought that it was bad and very husky and ‘Yuva’ (2004) ‘Chalte Chalte’ (2003) Mukerji, who turned 29 on March 21, can rough, but slowly I worked to improve my ‘Saathiya’ (2002) ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ look back at the last 10 years with deep sat- diction, and am now quite comfortable with (2001) and ‘Ghulam’. She was also seen in an isfaction. it,” Rani was quoted as saying. unconventional role in Kamal Hassan’s ‘Hey Born in 1978 in West Bengal, Rani Karan didn’t regret his decision. The film Ram’. She pays tribute to the southern star Mukherjee comes from a film-oriented family was a blockbuster and Rani got rave reviews. and director, claiming that Kamal Hassan re- of Bengali origin. Her father, Ram Mukherjee, Not only was she honoured with the Filmfare invented the actress in her after the ‘Hey is a retired director and her mother Krishna award, offers started pouring in as well. Ram’ experience. was a playback singer. Her brother Raja Since then, Rani has played a successful Last year, Rani had two releases — ‘Kabhi Mukherjee is also a film producer. Her mater- innings and has given hits like ‘Black’ (2005) Alvida Naa Kehena’ (KANK) and ‘Baabul’ — nal aunt, , was a popular both of which did not fare too well at the box Bengali actress. office. However, that didn’t really make a dif- She graduated from Maneckjee Cooper ference because her performances in both High School in Juhu. Soon afterwards, Rani the films were not only appreciated but also received a few film offers and thus set her foot applauded. in the Indian film-industry’s capital, Mumbai. The actress has been an active stage per- When she joined the film force in 1996 with former and has participated in numerous the box office dud ‘Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat’, she world tours. Temptations 2004 was her most was literally written off by critics. Rani was successful programme. plump, short, her voice was rough and With six Filmfare awards in her kitty, the nobody was willing to work with her. actress has today surpassed her rivals and is However, her next film — ‘Ghulam’ (1998) — touted as one of the most versatile and tal- was a hit. ented actresses in the Hindi film industry, Then cousin Kajol, a big star then, put in a with some even calling dubbing her word for her and Karan Johar hesitatingly cast Bollywood’s No. 1 star. her in his directorial debut ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Rani is now busy with Bhansali’s Hai’. There was no looking back after that. ‘Saawariya’ and Siddharth Anand’s ‘Ta Ra The poor cousin metamorphosed into a ris- Rum Pum’, releasing in April. The story ing star, and is considered one of the most revolves around a racing driver and Rani is powerful women in Bollywood today. For her paired with Saif Ali Khan. She will also fea- acting, she received her first Filmfare Award ture in Pradeep Sarkar’s ‘Laaga Chunari Mein in the Best Supporting Actress category. Daag’, slated for an October release. !

6 I N D I A R E V I E W A P R I L 2 0 0 7 h t t p : / / m e a k a b u l . n i c . i n