Message from the

Ambassador H. E.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar

Verma

I am pleased to

bring forth this edi-

tion of the newslet-

ter of the Indian

Embassy ‘The In-

dian Connection’ .

This edition brings

you stories of grow-

ing India as well as

initiatives of the In-

dian Government

and resulting suc-

cess stories besides

stories of India-

Japan.

EMBASSY OF

INDIA, TOKYO

Newsletter "Indian Connection"

"The Indian Connection"

Inside this issue:

August 2020 Issue 8

India On the Move

I do want to think in terms of the

whole world. My patriotism in-

cludes the good

of mankind in general. Therefore,

my service to India includes the

service of humanity.

MAHATAMA GANDHI

India on the Move 1

Science & Technology 5

The India & Japan

Stories

6

India In Japan 8

Cultural 14

Growth Story of Organic Farming in India The growth story of organic farming is unfolding with increasing de-mand not only in India but also global ly. India ranks f irst in number of organic farmers and ninth in

terms of area under organic farming in World. Sikkim became the f irst State in the world to become ful ly or-

ganic and other States including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets. North East India has tradit ional ly been or-ganic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than rest of the country. S imilarly the tribal and island territories are being nurtured to continue their organic story.

Major organic exports from India are f lax seeds, sesame, soy-bean, tea, medicinal plants, r ice and pulses.

Organic e-commerce platform www.jaivikkheti . in being strengthened for direct ly l inking farmers with retai l and bulk buyers.

With thrust given by National Program for Organic Production (NPOP) & Part ic ipatory Guarantee System (PGS), Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD) & Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) 2015 and Agri-export Pol icy 2018, India can emerge as a ma-jor player in global organic markets.

M o r e d e t a i l s a t h t t p s : / / w w w . p i b . g o v . i n /PressReleseDetai lm.aspx?PRID=1645497

India and Russia declared joint winners of the Online Chess Olympiad 2020 ( h t t p s : / /o l y m p . f i d e . c o m /n e w s / t p o s t /i80fhn420s-india-and-russia-declared-joint-winners)

India develops World’s Largest Solar Tree

CSIR-CMERI has developed the World‟s Largest Solar Tree,

which is installed at CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur and the installed ca-

pacity of the Solar Tree is > 11.5 kWp & has the annual capacity to

generate 12,000-14,000 units of Clean and Green Power. It has the

capability to incorporate IOT based features, i.e. round-the-clock

CCTV surveillance in agricultural

fields, real-time humidity, wind

speed, rainfall prediction and soil

analytics sensors.

M o r e d e t a i l s h t t p s : / /

w w w . p i b . g o v . i n /

P r e s s R e l e a s e P a g e . a s p x ?

PRID=1650102

Page 2 Issue 8

Newsletter "Indian Connection"

On 26th August 2020, NITI Aayog in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020 which examine export preparedness and performance of In-dian states besides identifying challenges and opportunities; en-hancing the effectiveness of government policies; and encouraging a facilitative regulatory framework. The structure of the EPI includes 4 pillars –Policy; Business Eco-system; Export Ecosystem; Export Performance – and 11 sub-pillars –Export Promotion Policy; Institutional Framework; Busi-ness Environment; Infrastructure; Transport Connectivity; Access to Finance; Export Infrastructure; Trade Support; R&D Infrastruc-ture; Export Diversification; and Growth Orientation. Full Report at https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-08/Digital_ExportPreparednessIndex2020_0.pdf

NITI Aayog releases report on Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020

Indian Railways mission goal of becoming ‘Net Zero Carbon Emission Railway’ by 2030

Indian Railways is set to produce solar energy for meeting al l i t 's energy consumption needs of more

than 33 bi ll ion units by 2030 and become a complete „Green mode of transporta t ion‟. Current annual

requirement is about 20 bil lion units. It may also be noted that Railways is also se t to achieve 100%

electr if ica t ion by the year 2023.

Indian Railways has a mega plan for insta l ling solar plants of 20 GW capacity by uti lizing its vacan t

land by 2030. About 51,000 hectare vacant land available with Indian Railways. In this regard, to

begin with , b ids for 3 GW solar projects on vacant Railway land parcels and land parcels along the

rai lway track have a lready been invited by Railway Energy Management Company Ltd . (REMCL), a

PSU of Indian Railways. These solar projects, besides supplying power to Railways a t reduced tariff,

will also protect the Railway land by construct ion of boundary wall along the track.

Indian Railways has solar ised more than 960 sta t ions t i l l date. Orders have been placed for 198 MW

solar rooftop capacity for 550 sta t ions which are under execution.

India has the rich tradition of manufacturing of local toys in the country. Few examples are: Channapatna in Karnataka

Kondapalli, EtiKoppaka in Andhra Pradesh Thanjavur in Tamilnadu

Dhubari in Assam Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh

Sawantwadi of Maharashtra

To boost traditional & handcrafted toy manu-facturing, Koppala, Kar-nataka State will have India's first toy manu-facturing cluster. With the eco-system to sup-port toy cluster in place, this 400 acres SEZ will have top-class infra-structure & generate 40,000 jobs in 5 years.

Page 3 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the seminar on Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) in Defence Manufacturing via Video Conferencing on 27th August 2020. Stressing on the need to become Atmanirbhar in Defence Manufacturing, the Prime Minister said our aim is to boost defence production, develop new technology and give significant roles to private players in the defence sector. Excerpts from PM Address are: India aim is to increase manufacturing, development of new technologies in India and the maximum growth of the

private sector in Defence Manufacturing. Therefore, several steps have been taken which include reforms in the li-censing procedure, creation of level-playing fields, simplification of export process, reforms in offset provisions, etc.

Doors are being opened for 74 % automatic FDI in this sector for the first time. Now, we are moving in the direction of corporatization of ordnance factories. Both the workers and the military will

get a push. This is the proof of self-confidence of a new India. You must have seen that recently 101 defence items have been completely protected for domestic purchases. In the

coming days, this list will be made more comprehensive and many items will be added to it. The aim of this list is not to restrict imports only, but this step has been taken to encourage industries in India.

Simultaneously, we are working to speed up the process of procurement, streamline the testing mechanism and ra-

tionalize the quality requirements. Technology upgrade is a must for self-reliance in modern equipment. There is a need to make next generation prod-

ucts. In order to achieve this, besides DRDO, the private sector, research and innovation in academic institutions is also being encouraged. Emphasis is being given on the co-production model through joint ventures with foreign part-ners instead of the technology transfer facility. Now, our foreign partners have the best option to launch production in India in keeping with the size of our market.

As far as infrastructure is concerned, the work on the defence corridors is happening at a lightning speed. The state-

of-the-art infrastructure is being developed in collaboration with the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. I want to make another thing very clear before you. Our resolution for a self-reliant India is not inward looking. The

idea behind making a strong India is to make the global economy more resilient and stable, and for the global peace. The same spirit is behind self-reliance in defence manufacturing. India has the capability to become a trusted supplier of defence products for several friendly countries. This will give a new momentum to India’s strategic partnership and India’s role will also be strengthened as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region.

The government of India’s efforts and commitment are in front of you. Together, we have to demonstrate our re-

solve for self-reliant India. A self-reliant India is a win-win resolve for everybody, be it the private sector or the public sector, or our foreign partners. Our government is committed to provide you with a better ecosystem.

More details at link https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1649011

Excerpts from PM’s address at seminar on Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defense manufacturing

National Infrastructure Pipeline NIP projects aims to bolster

#infrastructure development in India. Explore projects with a total

project cost of USD 1,700 Bn+ across sectors at https://

indiainvestmentgrid.gov.in/nip.

On 15th Aug 2020, with aim to maintain high Quality

Standards, Marine Products Export Dev Authority

launched sophisticated Quality Control Lab at

Porbandhar, Gujrat (https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=VAlljflU67A) & refurbished QC Lab at Bhu-

baneswar, Odisha (https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=q_tAqMxI7Do).

Page 4 Issue 8

Newsletter "Indian Connection"

PM Modi inaugurated Submarine Cable Connectivity to A&N Islands

On 10th August 2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated 2300 km submarine cable connecting Andaman & Nicobar Islands (A&NI) tp Chennai. Following are the highlights from his Speech This optical fibre project connecting Andaman and Nicobar to the rest of the country and the world is a symbol

of our commitment to Ease of Living. The modern infrastructure being developed in Andaman and Nicobar today will also boost the blue economy.

Andaman and Nicobar is the main centre of India's Economic-Strategic Cooperation and Coordination. The In-dian Ocean has been the centre of India's trade and strategic prowess for thousands of years. Now that India is following the new policy and practice of trade and cooperation in Indo-Pacific, the importance of our islands including Andaman and Nicobar has increased further. Under the Act-East policy, Andaman and Nicobar's role in developing India's strong relations with East Asian countries and other littoral countries is very high and is going to increase further. In New India, Island Development Agency was formed 3 years ago to strengthen this role of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Full speech at https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1644697

PM Narendra Modi addressed the Nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 74th Independence Day. Following are the highlights from his Speech

India has always followed the adage - ‘Whole world is one family’ (वसुधैव कुटुम्फकभ)् & hail the World (जम जगत). Therefore, World is one family for us. So, alongside financial development, mankind and humanity should also get importance.

Today World is interconnected & interdependent. India should increase its contribution to world economy. It is also India’s duty towards world welfare. If India wants to increase its contribution then it has to be empowered "self-reliant" or ‘AatmaNirbhar’. We must make ourselves capable of contributing towards world welfare. If our roots are strong and we are capable enough, we will be able to take steps towards world welfare.

We will have to resort to value addition of our capabilities as per world’s requirements. It is our responsibility. We want to move ahead in the field of value addition to contribute to world welfare.

When we talk about becoming self-reliant, then we donot merely refer to decrease import demands. When we talk of self-reliance, it's about our skills, our human resources. We need to strengthen skill development for a selfreliant India, for improving our competency.

On India Fighting Corona front, by domestically producing N95 masks, PPE, Ventilators, etc, we are'nt only able to meet our own requirements, but now also become strong enough to export to world. We can very well see how a selfreliant India can help world. Therefore it is also the duty of India to work for the welfare of the world.

World is looking at outcomes of the reforms that are taking place in India. World is closely observing the reforms we are bringing one after another, one linked to another. As a result, with 18% increasing, FDI in India has broken all its previous records in 2019-20.

Even during Corona pandemic, top companies of world are coming to India. So, even during the corona pandemic, top companies of the world are turning to India. This confidence hasn’t been created just like that. The world didn’t get fascinated with India without a reason. This confidence has grown because of the hard work put in by India in the field of its policies, democracy and strengthening the foundation of its economy. Today many businesses of world are viewing India as hub of supply chain. So now, we have to move ahead with mantra of ‘Make for World’ alongside ‘Make in India’.

National Infrastructure Pipeline NIP Project will give a new direction and a fresh momentum to overall infrastructure development of India. INR 11 trillion will be spent on this project. For this, about 7000 projects have been identified in different sectors.

India has shown that march towards dev is possible by balancing environment. Today India is inspiring entire world with its vision of 'one world, one sun, one grid', particularly in field of solar energy. India is aware & involved in find-ing solutions to pollution.

Today, World's faith in India has become stronger. Recently, as a non-Permanent member of UN Security Council, 184 countries out of 192 supported India. This is a matter of great pride for every Indian. This is an example of how we have made our place in world.

India is establishing deep relations based on security, development & trust with our neighbouring countries whether connected by sea or land and has been making continuous efforts to deepen its decades-old cultural, economic & social ties with them.

Today, neighbours are'nt only ones with whom we share geographical boundaries, but also those with whom we hv close & harmonious relations. India has strengthened its relationship with all countries in its extended neighbour-hood in last few years. Similarly, our ASEAN countries in the east, who are our maritime neighbours, also hold special importance. India has thousands of years old religious and cultural ties with these countries. The traditions of Bud-dhism connect us with them. Today, India is strengthening its cooperation not only in the field of security but also in the areas of marine wealth with these countries.

English rendering of the address can be seen at link https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1646045

Excerpts from PM’s address on the 74th Independence Day of India

Page 5 Issue 8

Newsletter "Indian Connection"

Science & Technology

India announces successful completion of 1st Pan India 1000 Genome sequencing of COVID19 by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) led consortium. The programme was launched in May 2020 to be done by DBT's Autono-mous Institutes, collaborating with national laboratories and clinical organizations & the Consortium has achieved its initial goal of completing the sequencing of 1000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs collected from individuals testing positive for COVID19 by Real Time PCR. The samples were collected across 10 states covering different zones within India. The sequence data will be released in Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) for use by researchers across the Globe and will improve our understanding on how the virus is spreading, ultimately helping to interrupt the transmission chains, prevent new cases of infection, and provide impetus to research on intervention measures.

India launched and dedicated to the nation the largest network of five dedicated COVID-19 Biorepositories es-tablished by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) at Translational Health Science and Technology Institute Faridabad, Institute of Life Science Bhubaneshwar, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences New Delhi, National Centre for Cell Science Pune and Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine Bangalore. The main purpose of these biorepositories are archival of inactivated virus and clinical samples, including naso-oropharyngeal swabs, stool, urine, saliva, serum, plasma, PBMC and Serum. These designated bio repositories will use the clinical samples for R&D purpose and are authorized to share the samples with academia, indus-try and commercial entities involved in development of diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines etc., after scrutinis-ing the purpose of the request and ensuring benefit to the country.

DBT–BIRAC COVID 19 Research Consortia : Under it >150 Research Groups have been supported involving nearly 80 Industry /Academia collaborations, 40 Academic Research Institutes and >25 Startup Research Groups. The consortium has successfully developed 100 percent self-reliance for producing more than 5 lakh RTPCR diagnostic kits per day.

DCGI approves Phase II+III trials of Oxford University-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine (COVISHIELD) in India. This will hasten the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 & India's Efforts on Science and Technology (S&T) Front

India's IUCAA Pune Astronomer led international team (incl scientist from Japan's Waseda University) discover one of farthest UV-bright star forming galaxy "AUDFs01" in universe using UV Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisa-tion #AstroSat, India’s 1st Multi-Wavelength Space Observatory launched in 2015. Details at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1173-5

India encourages translational research on Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage

Carbon Caputre, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS) is one of the identified innovation challenges in the Mission Innovation

(MI) Programme, a global initiative of 24 countries and the European Union to accelerate the global clean energy inno-

vation in which the Department of Science & Technology (DST) is an active partner. The DST has already funded 19

R&D projects in the area of CCUS under the MI umbrella, partnering with 13 MI countries.

Details https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1647242

Scientists f rom Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS),

Bengaluru, an autonomous inst i tute of the Department of Science &

Technology, GoIndia have fabricated transparent and f lexible elec-

tromagnetic in terference (EMI) shie lds made of metal meshes using

the crack templat ing method via spray coating which is p ioneered in

their laboratory. The invis ib le shie ld can be used in various mil i tary

steal th applicat ions and can cover electromagnetic wave emitter or

absorber devices without compromising their aesthet ics . For deta il s

https:/ /www.pib .gov. in /PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1646583

Newsletter "Indian Connection"

The India & Japan Stories

Issue 8 Page 6

Japan’s commits ODA for health sector to fight COVID-19 crisis in India

Founded in 2019, Bengaluru based Seafood Supply Chain Platform Captain Fresh (https://www.captainfresh.in/ ) raises $2.3 Mn from Japan's VC Incubate Fund & Others. The fundraise will be used to invest in technologies like computer vision, IoT, bots, data analytics to digitise and drive efficiencies across the supply chain . Captain Fresh also plans to expand into new cities and increase headcount. Captain Fresh leverages technology to deliver freshwater fish and seafood to retailers across all key formats. It is building a trusted seafood supply chain by bringing in intelligence for superior demand-supply matching, enabling e-auctions for sourcing, standardising supplies, and maintaining digital traceability systems. Nao Murakami, Founder and General Partner at Incubate Fund India said, “As Incubate Fund is a Japanese-origin fund, we can bring best practices in supply chain innovations and support potential collaborations between Captain Fresh and Japanese companies." For details : https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/food-services/captain-fresh-raises-usd-2-3-mn-from-investors-to-grow-seafood-supply-chain-biz/77585917

Seafood Supply Chain Platform Captain Fresh Raises $2.3 Mn from Japan's Incubate Fund & others

On 31st August, 2020, Government of Japan (GoJ) has committed Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of an

amount of JPY50 billion (~Rs. 3,500 crore) for the COVID-19 Crisis Emergency Response Support. The Notes were ex-

changed today between Dr. C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Government of

India (GoI), and Mr. Suzuki Satoshi, Ambassador, Embassy of Japan to India for a Health sector programme loan to fight the

COVID-19 crisis. Subsequent to the Exchange of Notes, Loan Agreement for this programme loan was signed between Addi-

tional Secretary, DEA, Min of Finance (MoF), GoI and Mr. Katsuo Matsumoto, Chief Representative, JICA, New Delhi.

This programme loan aims to support India‟s efforts in fighting COVID-19 and to prepare the health system to manage fu-

ture epidemics and also to improve the resilience of India‟s health systems against infectious diseases. In addition, Notes were also exchanged today between Dr. C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, DEA, MoF, and Mr. Su-

zuki Satoshi, Ambassador, Embassy of Japan to India for Grant Assistance of an amount of JPY 1 billion (~ Rs. 70 crore)

from GoJ. This Grant-in-aid from GoJ is for providing medical equipment to strengthen the public health and medical sys-

tem in India. This will strengthen the health care facilities for managing critical and serious patients suffering from COVID-

19 infection. India and Japan have had a long and fruitful history of bilateral development cooperation since 1958. In the last few years,

the economic cooperation between India and Japan has strengthened and grown into strategic partnership. This further con-

solidates and strengthens the Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan.

Third Edition of the Invest India Exclusive Investment Forum - Japan Edition

On 6th August 2020, third Edition of the Invest India Exclusive Investment Forum - Japan Edition, through video conference,

was organized and featured presentations by senior government officials on the regulatory ecosystem& investment opportuni-

ties in New India and available infrastructure relevant to electronics & information technology, textiles, automobiles, food

processing, and pharmaceuticals.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal has said that India and Japan are looking to have trusted partners from

authentic investors. Both share common interests in economic and strategic fields & economic relations between India and

Japan have vast potential for growth. Secretary, Department of Industry and Internal Trade Dr Guruprasad Mahapatra said

India is planning to set up the 13th Japanese industrial township in Assam, a move aimed at promoting domestic manufactur-

ing and strengthening economic ties between the two countries. He said that they are working on GIS enabled data base of

industrial areas and clusters across the country.

Mr. Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Government of Japan, in his remarks, reiterated his

country‟s interest in furthering the bilateral relations. Mr Shigehiro Tanaka, Vice Minister, METI, GoJ made a presentation

on „India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership‟ and the way forward. Mr. Nobuhiko Sasaki, Chairman, JETRO

spoke about Experience of Japanese companies operating in India. Details at : https://www.pib.gov.in/

PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1643743

Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8 Page 7

CCI approves proposed combination filed jointly by Keihin Corporation, Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd.,

Showa Corporation and Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.

On 3 August 2020, Ichibanya Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture, President: Mamoru Kuzuhara) announced that "Curry House CoCo Ichibanya" is opening its first store in In-dia (Gurgram, Haryana). The Indian operations is run by Ichibanya India Private Ltd., a joint venture established in June 2019 be-tween the Japanese company with Mitsui & Co. (Asia Pacific) Pvt. Ltd., a Singapore subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., a Japanese trading house. Details at https://ichibanya.co.jp/comp/whatsnew/docs/06117df7a1104cb4bcce6159b135ef99553c1b6e.pdf

Japan's curry chain restaurant opening the first Indian store of "Curry House CoCo Ichibanya"

On 11 August 2020, Competition Commission of India (CCI; http://www.cci.gov.in/sites/default/files/press_release/PR212020-21.pdf) approved the proposed combination of Keihin Corporation (KC), Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd (NKCL), Showa Corporation (SC) and Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd (HIAMS) forming a Joint Venture between Honda Motor Co. Limited (HAMCL) and Hitachi Limited(HL). HAMCL is a limited liability, joint stock corporation incorporated in Japan. HAMCL develops, manufactures and mar-kets motorcycles, scooters, automobiles and power products globally. In India, HAMCL is primarily engaged in the business of automobiles and two wheeled motor vehicles. KC, incorporated in Japan, develops and manufactures auto-mobile components and systems globally. In India, KC is engaged in R&D, manufacture and sale of automotive and mo-torcycle components. NKCL was incorporated in Japan for the purpose of making vehicle brake parts. In India, NKCL is engaged in the manufacture and supply of integrated braking systems for vehicles. SC was incorporated as the Showa Aircraft Precision Works, Ltd. to manufacture aircraft components in 1938. Its current business is segmented into mo-torcycle and hydraulic components, automotive components, drivetrain components, and steering systems compo-nents. In India, SC is engaged in the manufacturing of shock absorbers for automobiles and two-wheeled motor vehi-cles. HIAMS was incorporated in 2009 by HL, splitting off its auto parts business functions. HIAMS is engaged in the business of developing, manufacturing, selling and service of powertrain systems, chassis systems and advanced driver assistance systems, etc. In India, HIAMS, acting through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the manufacture, market-ing, sale and service of automotive components including components for braking systems.

NEC app helps Japan recruit Indian tech engineers

Nikkei (13 August 2020) Japanese technology group NEC and domestic staffing firm Persol Career have partnered to provide an app-based service that will match corporate Japan with Indian tech engineers. A pilot version of the app developed by NEC goes online by Aug 2020 end, and a full launch is expected by March 2021. The partners aim to have around 2,000 Indians hired through the app within three years. The app will aid Japanese companies as they struggle to find skilled tech workers. Japan is projected to face a hiring gap of 800,000 IT engineers in 2030. Prospective hires take a skills test administered by HackerEarth, a startup founded in India. The candidates then register their results on the app, along with their educational backgrounds and other information. NEC's block-chain technology will add a layer of protection against falsification. Six companies, including services pro-vider GMO Internet, will use the app on a trial basis for three months. The test run will uncover any problems with the venture and determine its feasibility. NEC looks to develop sister apps that target engineers in other countries.

Source : https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/NEC-app-helps-Japan-recruit-Indian-tech-

engineers?n_cid=DSBNNAR

Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

Page 8

India in Japan

On August 19, 2020, Embassy of India in Tokyo in association with JETRO, Japan-India Business Cooperation Committee (JIBCC), Invest India, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, GoI, State Governments of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, organized an Indo-Japan Webinar on Start-up & Innovation sector to provide information on opportunities and facilitate Japanese companies inter-ested to set up/expand operations in India. The webinar was attended by around 160 participants from Japan and India. Full recording of Webinar is available at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcojacj_WyQYKYmaUuCy4Zw Opening remarks was made by Ambassador Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma underlin-ing the investment opportunities in the Start-up & Innovation sector in India. He also emphasized the Indian ecosystem promoted by policy of the GoI post COVID-19 as well as improvement of business environment for doing business in India. Mr. Yuki Takishima, Director, Innovation and Industry-University Collaboration Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, GoJapan made a presenta-tion about Post Covid-19 Challenges for Start-up & Innovation sector highlight-ing Japanese government incentive for Japanese Start-up and Japanese Investors to Indian start-up and also important points which Japanese side is expecting from Start-up & Innovation sector in India. Mr. Takashi Suzuki, Director, JETRO Bengaluru made a presentation about outline of Start-up & Innovation sector in India and strategy to succeed in Start-up & Innovation sector business in India. Minister (Economic & Commerce) made a presentation about Drivers & Enablers for start-up Ecosystem in India and explained about the Start up India launched in 2016 and bilateral perspective on Indian Start-up & Innovation sector be-tween Japan and India. Mr. Muneo Eto, Managing Director, Dream Incubator In-dia made a presentation about experience in Start-up & Innovation sector in In-dia. Director-Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology and MD- Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society and CEO APEDB and Commis-sioner, Industries Dept., State Govt of Andhra Pradesh made presentations on the investment opportunities as well as the series of reforms for ease of doing business undertaken by their respective states. Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Additional Secretary & Joint Secretary, MeitY, Founder and CEO, Myelin Foundry and Co-Chairman, CII National Start up council, Senior Director, Global Trade De-velopment, NASSCOM, Asst. General Manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Mr. Mohan Das Pai, Investor in Indo-Japan FoF, Vice Chairperson, Indian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (IVCA) also shared their presentation about Start-up & Innovation sector in India. AVP & Head, Startup India, Invest India made a presentation about Invest India and how they could assist Japanese companies planning to make investment in India. In the end of webinar, a Networking and B2B session was held during which Japanese companies and Indian compa-nies introduced themselves briefly and was given the option to interact among themselves through chat box.

On 26th Aug, Amb Mr Sanjay Kumar Verma delivered Spl address at 'India-Japan Business Forum Conf' org by Indian Chamber of Commerce (indianchamber.org) & India-Japan Business Forum. Focus on emerging opportunities in Capital Goods, Agri & Food Processing, Wealth Mgt Services & Healthcare sectors. Hon'ble Chief Minister of Karnataka Mr. B. S. Yediyurappa delivered keynote address. The forum also had spe-cial address by Hon'ble Min Energy, Industries & MSME Go Odisha, HE Mr Satoshi Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan to India, Mr. Kazyua Nakajo, Exe Vice President, JETRO, Japan. Presentation were made by State of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu about Indian-Japan collaboration & emerging opportunities followed by panel discus-sions on Capital Goods, Wealth Management Services, Healthcare, Agri & Food processing sectors.

India-Japan Webinar on Start-up & innovation sector: Challenges & Emerging Opportunities

Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

Page 9

India in Japan

On 5th August 2020, Embassy of India in Tokyo in association with JETRO, Japan-India Business Cooperation Committee (JIBCC), Invest India, Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India and the State Governments of Karnataka and Gujarat organized an Indo-Japan Webinar on Electric Vehicle (EV) Sector: Challenges & Emerging Opportunities” to provide information and stimulate discussion opportunities in Electric Vehicle sector India and facilitate Japanese companies interested to set up/expand operations in India. The webinar was attended by around 260 participants from Japan and India. Full recording of webinar can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93kEWVLFjHM Minister (Economic & Commerce), Embassy of India in Tokyo delivered the opening remarks underlining the investment opportunities for Japanese companies in Electric Vehicle sector in India as well as the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manu-facturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-II) Scheme of the Government of India. She also emphasized the series of reforms announced in Atma Nirbhar Bharat stimulus package post COVID-19 as well as the taxation reforms undertaken by the government to promote Make in India initiative and India‟s infra pipeline policy for the next 5 years which will cover more than 6,500 projects. Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy In-dustries made presentation on the policies and initiatives of the Government of India and opportunities for Japanese investors in electric vehicle sector. Mr. Kiyoshi Hikino, Director for Automotive Industry and Industrial Competitiveness, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industries, Government of Japan also made presenta-tion on the growing significance on India and Japan cooperation in EV (xEVs). During the course of the webinar, representatives of M/s Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. made presentation by sharing their “Make in India” experience followed by presentation from Mr. Hitoshi Arima, Director, Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles on “Smart City and future vision of EV”, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on “Opportunities & Challenges: Electrification in the Indian Context”, Mr. Masayuki Kameo, Project Manager, External Affairs Division, Toyota Motor Corporation on “Toyota‟s Strategy for xEV Promotion” and Mr. Kazuhiko Hashidate, Deputy General Manager, Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India on “Comprehensive Approach Toward Zero Emission Society”. Representatives from the State Govts of Karnataka and Gujarat gave presentations on Investment Opportunities in EV Sector in their states highlighting their advance ecosys-tem for manufacturing as well as policies undertaken by their states in EV sectors. Invest India gave the vote of thanks and introduced the activities of Invest India on how they could assist Japanese companies planning to make investment in India. In the end of the webinar, a Networking and B2B session was held during which Japanese companies and Indian companies introduced themselves briefly and was given the option to interact among themselves through chat box.

On 12 August 2020, GoI's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has allowed registration of electric vehicles without pre-fitted batteries. The ministry has clarified that vehicles without bat-teries can be sold and registered based on the type approval certifi-cate issued by the Test Agency. Further, that there is no need to specify the Make/Type or any other details of Battery for the pur-pose of Registration. However, the prototype of the electrical vehi-cle, and the battery (regular battery or the swappable battery) is required to be type approved by the test Agencies specified under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. Details can be seen at https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1645394

"Indo-Japan Webinar on Electric Vehicle Sector: Challenges & Emerging Opportunities”

On 7th August 2020, Govt. of NCT of Delhi ap-proved the Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy 2020 with aim to accelerate the pace of EV adoption across vehicle segments, especially in the mass category of two wheelers, public/shared trans-port vehicles and goods carriers through a set of measures including financial incentives.

Details of policy can be seen at https://transport.delhi.gov.in/sites/default/files/All-PDF/Delhi_Electric_Vehicles_Policy_2020.pdf

Page 10 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

"Social Innovation Online Hackathon"

On 25 August 2020, Keio Univer-sity India Japan Laboratory (IJL), Japan and RIKA INDIA (Resilience Innovation Knowledge Academy), India organized Final Pitch of "Social Innovation Online Hackathon" in cooperation with IIT Roorkee, IIT HYDERA-BAD, VNIT Nagpur and NIT, Dur-gapur. In the Hackathon 46 students from 5 Universities tried to find unique solutions for tackling the issues of pandemic and future disasters by focusing on 6 SDGs (UN Sustainable Development Goals) to make the society resilient and sustainable. It was launched in June 2020 with 38 initial ideas and there-after teams were mentored by the academic members and industry partners. Finally three ideas were selected for the final pitch. During the event, HE Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambassador of India to Japan made his remarks saying such initiatives would increase the stakeholders involved in enhancing and expanding our bilateral research and digital part-nership. He emphasized that ideas and innovations should have right mix of "Make for the World" and "Vocal for Local" to make large impact. As a special gesture, Dr. P. K. Mishra, Principle Secre-tary to Prime Minister PMO India also sent his greet-ing message to the organizers for the event saying that the initiative brings together the energies of young students and researchers to apply their knowl-edge which is also the objective of recently launched National Education Policy 2020 (NEP). Remarks were also made by Professor Jun Murai from Keio University, HE Hiroshi Hirabayashi, Former Am-bassador to India, and President, The Japan India As-sociation, Mr. Kamal Kishore, Member, National Disas-ter Management Authority, India, Mr. Tsuyoshi Nagano, Chairman, Tokio Marine Holdings and Co-chair, Committee of Start-up, Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Mr. Nirankar Saxena, Deputy secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Mr. Katsuo Matsumoto, Chief Representative of JICA India Office and Mr. Raj Kumar Srivastava, Deputy Chief of Mission, Indian Embassy in Japan. Opening and welcome was done by Prof. Rajib Shaw, Director, India Japan Lab, Keio University & Co-Founder, RIKA and Mr. Ranit Chatterjee, Co-Founder, RIKA. The recording of the event can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/2297283030299249/videos/312555329812403/

Vande Bharat Mission - Embassy of India, Tokyo - 7th & 8th Repatriation Flight in August 2020

On 23rd & 27th August 2020, under the Government of India's Vande Bharat Mis-sion, 7th (Narita to Chennai via Delhi) and 8th (Narita to Bengaluru via Mumbai) repatriation flights took stranded Indian nationals in Japan to India. Under the guidance of Ambassador Sanjay Kumar Verma Embassy made the 7th and 8th flight successful. On the days of flight, Embassy Officers monitored the process to ensure comfort to passengers. They also interacted with passengers, wished them best as well as advised them to follow do's & dont's, in aircraft as well as once reaching India, for safety of own as well as of others from COVID19. Many passen-gers conveyed their happiness to go back home as well as expressed gratitude and praise about way Embassy of India Tokyo & CGI Osaka conducted whole exercise.

Page 11 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

On 24 August 2020, Embassy of India organized focused webinar on the topic of "India-Japan Partnership for Self-reliance in Health care" in partnership with Invest India and Department of Pharma-ceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of In-dia. The webinar was intended to brief top management of selected companies about latest policy decisions by the Government of India to attract fresh investment in medical devices and pharmaceutical sector related to API and KSM (Key starting materials). In this con-text, India-Japan collaboration can be key in promoting joint ven-tures, investments and supply chain linkages. The welcome remarks were delivered by HE Ambassador Mr Sanjay Kumar Verma, who said that COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that India-Japan should enhance their healthcare cooperation. Mr Navdeep Rinwa, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals introduced the recent policies by the Govt. of India in pharmaceuti-cal and medical devices sector. Mr. Varun Sood, VP, Invest India made presentation about the various measures to improve the ease of doing business in India and role being played by Invest India in facilitating foreign companies. The detailed presentations on each sector were also made by other team members of Invest India. HE Mr. Tatsuya Terazawa, Special Advisor to METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) gave concluding remarks and way forward.

During the Q&A session, queries were answered by the panelists. The event saw senior executive representatives of 15 Japanese companies from pharmaceutical, medical devices and API sector.

Webinar "India-Japan Partnership for Self-reliance in Health care"

On 27th August 2020, 5th edition of NASSCOM for Start-ups Virtual Start-up VC Connect was organized in partner-ship with Embassy of India, Tokyo and JETRO. Keynote address was delivered by Mr Nobuyuki Matsumoto, Direc-tor, International Affairs Office, METI and concluding ad-dress/ Vote of thanks was given by Mr Tsuyoshi Isozumi, Director-General, Innovation and Intellectual Property Department, JETRO. The pitching event saw pitching by 6 Start-ups from Agritech (Agricx, Brew House), Business Automation (Diycam, Petpooja), Mobility/Supply Chain (Get My Parking, Statiq.). Event was attended by more than 50 participants comprising of Japanese investors, VCs and corporates.

On 17 August 2020, HE Ambassador

Mr Sanjay Kumar Verma inaugurated

3-days Virtual Buyer Seller Meet be-

tween Indian exporters of footwear,

leather & leather products & Japa-

nese buyers. In his remarks, he em-

phasized on role of quality & sure

supply in Japanese market.

Page 12 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

Embassy of India Tokyo celebrated 74th Independence Day of India

On 74th Independence Day celebration at Embassy of India Tokyo, Japan, HE Ambassador Mr Sanjay Kumar Verma hoisted the National Flag followed by singing of National Anthem and reading of Hon'ble Presi-dent of India address to the Nation, delivered yesterday evening.

In view of the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic and the existing advisory in place to avoid three Cs-

closed spaces, crowded places & close contact settings, the Embassy of India, Tokyo commemorated the event as a virtural event and members of the Indian community and friends of India joined the ceremony of 74th Independence Day of India on 15th August, 2020 live on our YouTube Channel at youtu.be/wZ-5yMRRMJ0

On 10 August 2020, as part of community outreach, Ambassador Sanjay Kumar Verma inaugurated a zoom event titled 'Post COVID19 World - India Japan Opportunities' organised by World Malayalee Federa-tion Japan. Hon'ble MP Dr Shashi Tharoor, delivered keynote address, capturing centuries long relations between India and Japan and its relevance in current times.

On 7th August 2020, Deputy Chief of Mission Mr Raj Kumar

Srivastava represented Embassy of India Tokyo at the Peace Me-

morial Ceremony on 75th anniversary of atomic bombings in Hi-

roshima to pay respect- “Let all the souls here Rest In Peace; the

evil should not be repeated ever”.

As part of World Sanskrit Day 2020,

Embassy of India's Vivekenanda Cul-

tural Centre conducted online work-

shop on Sanskrit Sambhashan for its

students. Worshop had basic intro in

Sanskrit, talk on present relevance of

Sanskrit besides chanting of Dhyey

Mantra, Shlokas & Bhajan. Full cele-

brations can be view https://

youtu.be/0bxE_QkiEiY

Page 13 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

74th

Independence Day of India - 15 August 2020 Message from H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma

On the occasion of India‟s 74th Independence Day, I extend my warm greetings to Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, to the Government and the People of Japan. I also take this opportunity to convey my special greetings to the growing number of fellow Indians in Japan who are important stakeholders in ever evolving India-Japan „Special Stra-tegic and Global Partnership‟.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely tested the resilience of all nations. In India, saving lives has been our fore-

most priority. On this count, while our case load continues to be high, we have managed a low death rate and high recovery rate. This can be attributed to early steps to protect and insulate our people. We have also substantially ramped up our ca-pacities in the healthcare sector in the past few months. As a populous, developing country and a democratic society, fight-ing COVID-19 is not a small challenge for India. While we care for our own citizens, India is also extending helping hand to other partners, in our neighbourhood and beyond. As a major producer of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, we have provided supplies to over 150 partner countries, proving our credentials as the pharmacy of the world.

We have given the highest priority to deliver benefits to poor households. We have announced a package of more

than $ 300 billion. We have put forward a vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' or „Self-Reliant India‟. The idea of self-reliance or Aatmanirbharta does not mean seeking self-centred arrangements or turning the country inwards. Its essential aim is to en-sure India‟s position as a key participant in global supply chains. In the post-COVID world, we need a new template of glob-alization, based on fairness, equality, and humanity. What we need is a reformed multilateralism which reflects contemporary realities and can respond to present-day challenges. India and Japan have long championed such initiatives.

Last year, we celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, by achieving full

sanitation coverage in our six hundred thousand villages. In five years, we built over 110 million household toilets, which im-proved our rural sanitation cover from 38% to 100%. We have achieved gender parity in elementary and secondary educa-tion. In the last six years, we opened 400 million new bank accounts of which 220 million are owned by women. Our policies of financial inclusion have allowed us to make Direct Benefit Transfers of $150 billion to over 700 million persons while food security programmes reach 813 million citizens. Our „Housing for All‟ programme would ensure that every Indian will have a safe and secure roof over her head by 2022. Today, our „Ayushmaan Bharat‟ scheme is the world's largest health protection programme, covering 500 million individuals. Today, all our villages and over 99% of our households are electrified. Our for-est cover as well as wildlife population has increased. Recently approved National Education Policy 2020, built on the foun-dational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability, aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society by making education more holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, suited to 21st century needs.

Our motto is “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” (Together, for everyone‟s growth, with everyone‟s trust) with sustainability

at its core. India, as a founding member, facilitated the formation of the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure or Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence. India‟s development partnership with other developing and least developed countries is a testimony to our commitment to global peace and prosperity. It encompasses a wide range of programme and projects and extensive capacity building and technical assistance as well as humanitarian assis-tance and disaster relief. There is growing global appreciation and recognition of India as a provider of assistance to devel-oping countries and its role in South-South and Triangular cooperation. The effectiveness of our open and transparent coop-eration with post-Taliban Afghanistan and confident engagement with other international donors was a turning point in the perception of India‟s development assistance.

India-Japan relationship has achieved newer heights in recent years. The Annual Summit meetings, 2+2 Dialogue

mechanism, expanding defense cooperation and multidimensional economic partnership, etc reflect our vibrant and multifac-eted relations. We are also working together to achieve a free, open and inclusive world order based on respect for sover-eignty and territorial integrity, peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and adherence to international rules and laws, for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific region and the world at large.

Japan is a valued partner in India‟s economic transformation. Recognising India‟s emergence in competitive manu-

facturing and sizeable market, Japan, today, stands as the fourth-largest investor in India, with the total investment of more than US$33 billion since 2000. Every year, more and more Japanese companies are establishing their presence in India; including through joint ventures and acquisitions of Indian companies. The start-up ecosystems of India and Japan are inter-acting more than ever, creating synergies in innovation and product development. A recent report, by an analytics company, estimates that from 2014 to the first half of 2019, more than 105 Indian startups raised over $15 billion from Japan. India is also Japan‟s largest ODA partner. Sectors that are attracting Japanese investment includes Smart Cities, Real estate, infra-structure projects including Railways, Agriculture & Food Processing sector, renewable energy, Digital partnership and life sciences. Japan bilateral trade with India, totaled to US$ 16.95 billion during FY 2019-20.

Today, Japan has a significant presence in virtually every flagship initiative of the Government of India such as Make

-in-India, Skill-India, Startup-India, Digital-India, Smart-Cities, Clean India Mission, and Clean Ganga Mission. The growing people-to-people contacts including between Japan‟s Prefectures and States in India point to a brighter future for India Ja-pan relations. Yoga and Ayurveda have also been appreciated by our Japanese friends as relevant and beneficial in current times as means to achieve holistic health and well-being.

In these challenging times of pandemic, I wish all the readers good health, success and happiness. I am confident

that the India-Japan partnership will grow from strength to strength.

Page 14 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

On 31st August 2020, Raj Kumar Srivastava, Deputy Chief of Mis-sion; and Prof. Siddharth Singh, Director, Vivekananda Cultural Centre, paid courtesy visits to Mr Keizo Hamada, Hon’ble Gover-nor of Kagawa Prefecture; and Mr Hideto Onishi, Hon’ble Mayor of Takamatsu City ahead of the Nosu Kosetsu Forum and Exhibi-tion to be held at the Kagawa Museum. The representatives of the Embassy of India received a warm welcome by the prefectural and city officials; and the parties engaged in discussions on the historical friendship between India and Japan, as well as future potential for exchanges in various fields including commerce, cul-ture and academics. DCM presented a copy each of the Japanese language comic / Manga on the life of Mahatma Gandhi to Hon’ble Governor and Mayor. The special edition of this comic containing a message by H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambassador of India to Japan, was released in 2019 to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. On 1st September 2020, the Exhibition and Forum on Kosetsu Nosu was held in the Kagawa Museum, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture. Kosetsu Nosu was a Japanese artist who painted fres-coes depicting the life of Buddha inside the Mulagandhakuti Vi-hara in Sarnath during the 1930s. The exhibition was inaugurated with a tape-cutting ceremony by Sh. Raj Kumar Srivastava, DCM; Mr Keizo Hamada, Governor of Kagawa Prefecture; Prof. Siddharth Singh, Director, VCC; Mr Harumi Aoki, Board Member, Society for the Promotion of Buddhism; and Mr Kazuki Nagai, Head of the Creative City Takamatsu Promotion Bureau. An ex-haustive selection of works by Master Nosu were loaned from private and institutional collections throughout Japan, including the full-sized drafts for the murals at Sarnath measuring over 4m in height. In the afternoon, a forum and lecture session was held in the museum's auditorium. DCM gave opening remarks in which he stated, "The contribution of Kosetsu Nosu to further the India-Japan cultural relationship is of eternal value." This was followed by a video lecture by Ms Reiko Ohki, Curator at the Kampo Arai Memorial, Sakura City Museum on India-Japan artistic exchanges; and a lecture titled "India-Japan Cultural Linkages and Major In-dian Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites" by Prof. Siddharth Singh. Next, Mr Shigeki Mizobuchi, Curator for the Society for Honouring the Mas-ter Artist Kosetsu Nosu, gave a talk about the restoration of the murals by the Society, the first phase of which was held between 28th November and 17th December 2019. The programme ended with remarks by Mr Yosuke Ikuta, Chairman of the Society, who highlighted the significance of the solidarity shown by India to Japan during the difficult postwar period exemplified by the gift of elephants to Ueno Zoo. The exhibition and programme were en-thusiastically attended by members of the public, art enthusiasts, and prefectural and city officials. Social distancing, temperature inspection and other safety measures were observed. An exhibi-tion of photographs by Mr Teruo Morikawa taken in India, includ-ing records of the restoration of the murals by Master Nosu at Sarnath, were also shown in parallel to the main exhibition. The exhibition was opened until 6th September 2020. To learn more about the murals at Sarnath and the restoration efforts, visit: https://nosu.info/ (Japanese language only)

Kosetsu Nosu (1885-1973) Forum & Exhibition - Kagawa Museum

Cultural

Page 15 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

On 26th August 2020, the Embassy of India, Tokyo, hosted a live talk by Dr. Shobhana Radhakrishna on "Gandhi Katha", the story of Mahatma Gandhi. The talk was livestreamed on the Embassy's official YouTube channel and commenced with a message from H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambassador of India to Japan. The Gandhi Katha was narrated by internationally acclaimed speaker Dr. Shobhana Radhakrishna. She is a globally re-nowned Gandhian recognized for her invaluable contribution to literature, social service and spreading the vision of Ma-hatma Gandhi. Dr. Radhakrishna, highlighted the need to live in harmony with nature: The Gandhian Way’. She focused on learning from Mahatma Gandhi to cope up physically, men-tally and spiritually in the current world. The recording of the talk at the following link: https://youtu.be/sRvtVqTBoq8

"Gandhi Katha", the story of Mahatma Gandhi

In India, interest in learning Japanese Language (Nihongo) is increasing as evident from 4 times in number of JLPT appli-cants & examinee in last 10 years. An indicator of ever increas-ing people-to-people P2P exchanges, a strong pillar of Special Strategic & Global Partnership. In September 2017, India and Japan signed a MOC for the ex-pansion of Japanese Language Education in India.

On the eve of the 74th Independence Day of India, the Embassy of India, Tokyo, announced the "Digital Concert Series for Harmony and Peace". This is a series of performance videos of Indian music by re-nowned musicians from Japan and India, which will be released on the Embassy's official YouTube chan-nel for public to enjoy the best of Indian culture in the comfort and safety of your home. Video Message of H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambas-sador of India to Japan on occasion of Launch of Digi-tal Concert Series. https://youtu.be/xU47bRbv2Sw

"Digital Concert Series for Harmony and Peace"

Page 16 Newsletter "Indian Connection" Issue 8

श्री तजेी सकाता, प्रोफेसर एमेररटस, हहिंदी ताकुशोकू विश्िविद्याऱय, टोक्यो Prof Teji Sakata, Professor Emeritus, Hindi Takushoku University, Tokyo

रोक-कथाएॉ तो भूरत् अऩनी फोरी भें सुनाई जाती हैं। हहन्दी बाषा की कई फोलरमाॉ हैं; खडी फोरी, ब्रज, अवधी, बोजऩुयी आहद। Folk-tales are basically told in their dialect. There are many dialects of Hindi language; Khadi Boli, Braj, Awadhi, Bho-jpuri etc. भेया हहन्दी बाषा औय साहहत्म का एक ऩऺ है। हहन्दी की भुख्म फोलरमों भें सुनामी गमी रोक-कथाओॊ को वहाॉ के रोगों के साथ सुनूॉ औय उसकी रयकॉर्डिंग करॉ । उसी प्रमत्न के रऩ भें, भैं १९७३ के गभी के भौसभ भें, खडी फोरी की रोक-कथाओॊ को सुनने के लरए भेयठ के उत्तय भें स्थथत गाॉव भें ऩाॉच-छ् सप्ताह ठहया। उस गाॉव भें, भैं २०० से अधधक कथाएॉ सुन सका। मह एक अच्छा अवसय था। भैंने उस गाॉव की कुछ कथाओॊ का जाऩानी अनवुाद ककमा, जो ‘उत्तय बायत की रोक-कथाएॉ’ नाभक शीषषक से १९८१ भें प्रकालशत हुआ। उसभें शालभर कथाओॊ भें “काठ का घोडा“ भैंने ६० वषीम देवी जी से सुना व “थवगष औय ऩातार” ४५ वषीम ऩरुुष से। I have a side of Hindi language and literature. Listen to the folk tales narrated in the main dialects of Hindi with the people there and record it. In the same effort, in the summer of 1973, I stayed for five-six weeks in the village north of Meerut to listen the folk tales of Khadi Boli. In that village, I could hear more than 200 stories. This was a good oppor-tunity. I translated some stories from that village into Japanese, published in 1981 under the title 'Folk-Tales of North India'. In those stories, I heard “Kath Ka Ghoda ( The wooden Horse)" from the 60-year-old Devi Ji and "heaven and hell" from the 45-year-old man. कपय १९८१ के शयद भें ब्रज की फोरी भें रोक-कथाएॉ सुनने के लरए व ॊदावन के उत्तय के एक गाॉव भें औय उसी वषष की सदी भें रखनऊ के ऩवूष के गाॉव भें अवधी की कथाएॉ सुनने गमा, ककॊ तु ब्रज औय अवधी की रोक-कथाओॊ को प्रकालशत कयने का अवसय अबी तक प्राप्त नहीॊ हुआ। Then in the autumn of 1981, I went to village north of Vrindavan to hear folk tales in the dialect of Braj and in the winter of the same year in the village east of Lucknow, to hear the stories of Awadhi, But the opportunity to publish folk tales of Braj and Awadhi has not yet been received. बोजऩुयी भें रोक-कथा सुनने का अवसय १९८१ के गभी भें प्राप्त हुआ। फनायस (वायाणसी) के दक्षऺण के एक गाॉव भें ठहय कय कई कथाएॉ सुन सका। उस गाॉव भें बी कोई दो सौ से अधधक कथाओॊ का सॊकरन हुआ, उसभें से आठ कथाओॊ का जाऩानी भें अनवुाद होकय, बायत की रोक-कथाएॉ नाभक शीषषक से १९८९ भें प्रकालशत हुआ। स्जसभें ४५ वषीम ऩुरुष द्वाया कही गमी “ब्रह्भा जी औय ववष्ण ुजी का झगडा“ औय ६० वषीम देवी जी की कही गमी “याजकुभाय शीत औय वसॊत“ बी शालभर हैं। मे सबी भेये अकेरे के अध्ममन व सॊकरन भें सम्ऩन्न हुआ। The opportunity to hear folk tale in Bhojpuri was obtained in the summer of 1981. Staying in a south village of Bana-ras (Varanasi) could hear many stories. In that village too, more than two hundred stories were compiled, out of which eight stories were translated into Japanese and published in 1989 under the title „Folk-tales of India‟. Including "Brahma ji and Vishnu ji's quarrel" by 45-year-old man and "Rajkumar cold and spring", said by 60 year-old Devi Ji. All this was accomplished in my study and compilation. भुझे बायत की भुख्म-भुख्म बाषाओॊ भें कही गई रोक-कथाओॊ को सॊऩाहदत कयने के अवसय बी प्राप्त हुए। उनभें से एक है “बायत की रोक-कथाएॉ” नाभक ग्रॊथ, जो १९८३ भें प्रकालशत हुआ। इसके प्रथभ बाग भें जम्भू की रोक-कथाओॊ का जाऩानी अनवुाद नोरयको भाएदा द्वाया औय हहॊदी का तेजी सकाता द्वाया ककमा गमा है। द्ववतीम बाग भें तलभर की रोक-कथाओॊ का नोफोरु कयालशभा द्वाया व फॊगार की कथाओॊ का नाओकक ननलशओका द्वाया ककमा गमा। I also got opportunities to edit the folk tales spoken in the main languages of India. One of them is a book called "Folk-Tales of India", published in 1983. In its first part, the Japanese translation of the folk tales of Jammu is done by No-riko Maeda and Hindi is done by Teji Sakata. In the second part, the folk tales of Tamil were narrated by Noboru Kara-shima and the stories of Bengal were done by Naoki Nishioka. दसूया ग्रॊथ “बायत, नेऩार, श्रीरॊका की रोक- कथाएॉ” नाभक शीषषक से १९९८ भें प्रकालशत हुआ, जाऩानी अनवुाद भें। उसभें जम्भू की रोककथाएॊ (अनुवादक नोरयको भाएदा), नेऩार की रोक-कथाओॊ का लशजकुो तोयादा ने, हहॊदी की रोक-कथाओॊ का तेजी सकाता ने, फॊगार की रोक-कथाओॊ का नाओकक ननलशओका न,े तलभर की रोक-कथाओॊ का हहयोशी मभालशता न,े श्री रॊका की की रोक-कथाओॊ का लशगेको फफा ने, भहायाष्र की की रोक-कथाओॊ का धचहहयो कोईसो ने व ऩॊजाफी रोक-कथाओॊ का मतुाका असादा ने ककमा। इन दोनों ऩुथतकों के अनवुादक उन्हीॊ बाषाओॊ के ववशेषऻ हैं औय अधधकतय रोक-कथाओॊ का सॊकरन उन्हीॊ अनवुादकों द्वाया ककमा गमा है। The second book, titled "Folk-Tales of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka", was published in 1998 in Japanese translation. It in-cludes the folk-tales of Jammu (translator Noriko Maeda), the folk-tales of Nepal by Shizuko Torada, the folk-tales of Hindi by Teji Sakata, the folk-tales of Bengal by Naoki Nishioka, the folk-tales of Tamil by Hiroshi Yamashita, Sri Lanka's folk tales were performed by Shigeko Baba, Maharashtra folk tales by Chihiro Koiso and Punjabi folk tales by Yutaka Asada. The translators of both these books are experts in the same languages and most of the folk tales have been compiled by those translators.

हहन्दी एििं भारतीय भाषाओिं में ऱोक-कथाएँ (Folk tales in Hindi and Indian languages)