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Convict Queen
Though AIADMK leader Jayalalitha was debarred
from contesting the elections on grounds of her conviction in a corruption
case, she was sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Will her aggressive
game plan work? And should popular mandate overrule judicial verdicts?
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BUSINESS
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Great Call Of China
Indian entrepreneurs are eagerly joining
the swiftly growing queue to set up shop in China.
The land once considered forbidden has suddenly become
the hottest destination for Indian businessmen.
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DIPLOMACY
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Looking East
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Malaysia may
have achieved little on Quattrochi's extradition and India's greater ties
with ASEAN, but it showed there is more to their bilateral relations than
these two issues.
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Mother's
Day
Stalinist methods played
a vital role in the humiliating finale of M. Karunanidhi's dynastic ambition.
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DEFENCE
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Readying For Nukes For
the first time after India became a nuclear power, the Army stages a nuclear
war game to check preparedness.
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OTHER STORIES
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Home |
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DIPLOMACY: VAJPAYEE'S MALAYSIA VISIT
Business Plays A Vital Role
But
it's the business that's set to dominate Indo-Malaysian relations in the
next few years. Vajpayee has targeted doubling bilateral trade in three
years. Malaysian investment in India so far is a paltry $50 million. Reason:
India's frustrating bureaucracy. Malaysian infrastructure companies have
been in India since as long back as 1993, without much investment actually
taking place. Unlike India, Malaysia has made politicians and bureaucrats
direct stakeholders in development. Political parties there can do business
and often bag huge infrastructure contracts. They may make money, but
they also contribute to nation building. As Vajpayee himself admitted,
Malaysia's economic policies are driven by pragmatism, not idealism.
Irrespective of what happens in business, diplomacy
or politics, something about India is getting very popular in Malaysia:
Hindi movies. They are a rage, not only among over two million population
of Indian origin but also among Malays and Chinese. In pubs Chinese DJ's
can be heard singing Mohammed Rafi songs. Historical proximities are reflected
in the language. Prime minister in Malay is peredana menteri, similar
to the Hindi pradhan mantri. Press is Akhabar in Malay. An institute on
Indology is being set up in Malaysia, and people behind the move met with
Vajpayee in Kuala Lumpur, as did members of the Indian National Army.
But the person who overwhelmed Vajpayee most was an elderly local Sikh,
Mahima Singh. He met Vajpayee with a copy of Jawaharlal Nehru's Discovery
of India, autographed by the author in 1937. Singh wanted Vajpayee's autograph
right below Nehru's. Vajpayee willingly obliged.
| Small Deals, Big Promises |
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Seventeen
business agreements; seven government MOUs; the largest business
delegation ever to have accompanied an Indian prime minister; and
the award of the largest-ever contract to an Indian company abroad.
For business, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Kuala Lumpur
visit was a record-breaker of sorts. To add sheen to the achievements,
two Indian industry associations FICCI and CII buried their rivalry
to host a joint business forum.
IRCON, a construction company owned by
Indian Railways, was awarded a $1.5 billion (Rs 6,900 crore) contract
to electrify and build a second track on a 350-km railway line in
Malaysia. Other agreements and MOUs signed include ones for cooperation
between the two government in it, Malaysia's help in construction,
privatisation and management of ports in India, avoidance of double
taxation, use of Indian satellite launch vehicles and training of
Malaysian engineers, creation of products and services for DTH,
data broadcast and multimedia infrastructure.
But the worth of most deals-apart from
the IRCON contract-is either unknown or too small. Perhaps that
is because the Indian delegation, though large, didn't have too
many big industrialists. Maruti Udyog CEO Jagdish Khattar, NIIT
Chairman Rajendra Pawar and Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal were
the only big businessmen in the 75-member delegation.
Even the IRCON contract isn't a cash deal.
India will import palm oil equivalent to the value of IRCON's work.
India has proposed the inclusion of tin and timber into its import
commitment, but given Malaysia's almost obsessive concern for palm
oil (see main story), it's unlikely that it will extend the barter
deal.
What's unquestionable though is the phenomenal
interest that the visit evoked among businessmen in both countries.
The proof was the presence of 1,000-odd Malaysian businessmen in
the Joint Business Forum meeting on May 15 in Kuala Lumpur, even
though a meeting of the US-Malaysia business council was taking
place the same day in the city.
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METRO TODAY |
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 Web
Exclusives |
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The Madhya Pradesh governor orders a CBI inquiry
into a land allotment by the chief minister to the Nai Duniya group, kicking
off a constitutional crisis. INDIA TODAY Special Correspondent Neeraj
Mishra reports in
Conflict
Of Interest.
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