Focus on ‘Make In India’

Full Guarantee of Employment For Skilled Manpower Establishment of  Ultra Mega Green Solar Park Improving the Process of Selection and Appointment of Independent Directors on the Boards of CPSES Boards of Cpses Have Been Empowered to Allocate 2% of Their Profits to CSR Activities  Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Shri Anant Geete has said here today that all round development of industries is the higher priority of the Government. It has taken a number of initiatives for the development of industries. Minister of State for Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Shri Pon Radhakrishnan, Secretary for Department of Heavy Industries, Dr. Rajan Katoch and Secretary for Department of Public Enterprises, Ms Kusumjit Sidhu was also present.  Full text of the Minister addressed is as follows: “Progress of India and development of industries in India are more or less synonymous, because on the one hand industry contributes to GDP significantly and on the other hand, the government gets a lion’s share in the form of tax revenue from industrial production, which the govt. spends on the welfare schemes and a lot of employment opportunities are generated in industrial sector as well.   Hon’blePrime Minister has put forth the various dimensions of “Make in India” philosophy before the people in his address today. So far as the contribution of my Ministry with regard to “Make in India” is concerned, I would like to make it clear that my Ministry is always striving consistently in this direction. In the context of Department of Heavy Industry, the meaning of “Make in India” refers to the, production in India with global quality standards.  For this purpose, we will be needing substantial capital and technological investment in India.  My Ministry is continually striving to achieve this objective. Our government has recently conveyed its sanction for a pilot scheme for enabling industries in the capital goods sector to be in line with the global competition for which there is a provision of  ` 930 crore, out of which Govt. of India will provide ` 581.22 crore through grants-in-aid and the balance amount will be contributed by the consortium of industries.  This scheme includes the following major components; -          Five Centres of Excellence for technology development at IITs (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai &Kharagpur) and CMTI, Bangalore (` 312.5 crore) -          One Integrated Industrial Infrastructure Facilities Park for Machine Tool, near Bangalore (` 400 crore) -          Two Common Engineering Facilities Centres (one of them at Surat, Gujarat) (` 61.20) -          Testing and Certification Centre for construction equipment and earthmoving machinery (`100 crore) -          Technology acquisition programme (` 50 crore) In my opinion, this pilot scheme will be proved very effective in promoting the small, medium and micro industries and after evaluation of the same, the scheme will be expanded in a big way. After Capital and Technical Investment in Capital Goods Industry, demand for skilled manpower in this sector will increase and keeping in view of long term demand, Capital Goods Skills Development Council is making a comprehensive plan under which components like skill gap identification, standardization of occupational standards, identification of master trainers, training for trainers and third party certification etc. are being finalized. Our Ministry is also serious on the issue of utilizing the infrastructure and manpower of the PSUs working under Department Of Heavy Industry, in making the youngsters living in the vicinity of the PSUs, skilled.  Such skilled youngsters may be provided employment opportunities in small and medium industries (SMEs) around these PSUs. This plan will be completely based on the demand of skilled manpower, so that there may be a full guarantee of employment for them. I am sure that we would soon be able to present before you the meaningful outcomes of this scheme.  There are 32 PSUs working under Department of Heavy Industry in our Ministry and 11 PSUs are paid Govt.  aid as non- plan loan for paying salary for their employees and meeting legal liabilities. A road map for these PSUs is being prepared under which, in future, salary support would not be required. BHEL, a Maharatna CPSE in our Ministry, is continuing to take decisive steps to invest in R&D and technology improvement with the launch of a totally flexible fuel boiler (for 0-100% domestic or imported coal) for Super Critical Power Plants, the first of its kind anywhere. We are proposing to establish an Ultra Mega Green Solar Park with an ultimate capacity of 4000MW in Rajasthan,with 1000MW solar power plant at an estimated cost of ` 7950 crore, in the first phase by a joint venture of various CPSEs viz. BHEL, Sambhar Salts Ltd., Rajasthan Electronic Instrumentation Ltd., Solar Energy Conservation of India, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. and Sutlej JalVidyut Nigam Ltd. Heavy Electrical Equipment Sector accounts for around 70% of the total capital goods sector in terms of production and is thus very important for the Indian industry.  Nearly 3/4th of India’s energy is produced through thermal power.  We are already facing coal shortage domestically due to various reasons, forcing us to rely increasingly on import of coal and LNG, nuclear fuel etc.  With a view to substantially improve thermal efficiency (approx. 11% over super critical level), we are initiating R&D project for Advanced Ultra Super Critical Technology by involving BHEL, NTPC and Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).    R&D project will run till 2017 which will be followed by a full-fledged thermal power plant of 800MW capacity to be set up by NTPC.  This will place India in the top 3 or 4 technologically advanced nations which are all presently in the race of developing this technology. Auto sector, also administered by my Ministry, is an important sector from the point of view of contribution to National GDP (7.1%) total turnover (approx. US $ 80 billion per year) and employment (approx. 19 million direct and indirect jobs).  Based on the bold decision to continue the lower excise duty rates till December 31, 2014, the auto sector has bounced back showing over 12% growth in sales till April-August, as compared to last year.  Two wheelers have shown nearly 15% increase, three wheelers 17% and passenger cars 4.5%.  Even Commercial vehicles have started improving during this period.  My Ministry has commenced work to draft Auto Mission Plan II for the period 2016-26 which will include important subjects of advance technologies, future fuels, export, investment, skills etc.  AMP II shall be finalised by middle of next year. My Ministry has also taken a number of steps to assist the auto sector to become more vibrant and strong.  These steps include assistance to auto component units, mainly in tier II & III levels, under the UNIDO-ACMAAuto Cluster Schemefor improving the productivity, management and technical processes etc., covering nearly 500 units over the next 3 to 4 years. Similarly, to improve the supply of high quality skilled manpower to both automobile and auto component units, Auto Skill Development Council (ASDC)has been energized and is now functioning in top gear.  Over 100 job rolls have been finalized, as also teaching curricula, training of trainers, identification of centres, accreditation, and certification/examination system, absorption in industry have all been firmed up.  During this year, a total of one lakh or more skilled personnel shall be churned out by ASDC. In a path breaking initiative, my Ministry has finalized the proposal for  electric vehicle scheme, which envisages the potential demand for 6-7 million hybrid/electric vehicles across all segments by 2020 which shall yield benefits in terms of fossil fuel saving (over ` 60000 crore) CO2 emission reduction (over two million tonnes) and additional job creation of 2.5-3 lakhs.  The scheme incorporating the important areas ofdemand and supply incentives, R&D, charging infrastructure, pilot projects in Delhiand other major citiesetc., involving a total outlay of approx. `14,000 crore is now before the EFC/Cabinet for approval.  We hope to launch the scheme very soon. Let me now talk about the other Department which comes under my Ministry – Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). This department is the nodal Department for all Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and lays down policy guidelines on autonomy and financial delegation, performance improvement & evaluation , personnel management etc. Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have played a key role in facilitating the process of India’s economic growth and development since independence. As on 31.3.2013, there were 277 CPSEs having aggregate investment of Rs. 8,50,599 crore and turnover of Rs. 19,45,777 crore. The total turnover of CPSEs has grown by about 6% and net profit has recorded a growth rate of about 17% from 2011-12 to 2012-13 . These CPSEs contributed Rs. 1,62,761 crore to central exchequer by way of excise duty, customs duty, corporate tax, dividend, etc. during the year 2012-13.The foreign exchange earnings through export of goods and services has shown a growth of 8% in the same period. About 14 lakh people are employed in CPSEs. Considering the importance of CPSEs in the economy especially in the strategic sectors like Energy, Transportation, Defence etc and the changing economic scenario the effort of DPE has been to enable CPSEs to face the challenges posed by an increasingly competitive domestic and global environment. This has been done by issuing guidelines on Empowerment and Professionalization of Boards, Performance Management & Accountability, Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility. We have reviewed the experience in implementing these guidelines and have identified areas which can assist CPSEs to operate more effectively. Operational and financial powers have been delegated to profit making CPSEs through the Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna schemes. We are ascertaining the extent of usage of delegated powers and exploring areas in which further powers can be delegated to CPSEs so that they can expand operations both in domestic and global markets. To make the Boards of CPSEs more professional we are improving the process of selection and appointment of Independent Directors on the Boards of CPSEs. We are also aligning the existing Corporate Governance guidelines with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. The provision for appointing women directors on the Boards has been brought to the notice of all Administrative Ministries/Departments. The data bank of eligible persons has also been expanded. An important management tool i.e. the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Administrative Ministry/Department and the CPSE after agreeing on targets, is being strengthened by providing for greater flexibility, benchmarking of performance with national and international peer companies and emphasis on globalization. The CPSEs are also implementing Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility .Under the new Companies Act, 2013, the Boards of CPSEs have been empowered to allocate 2% of their profits to CSR activities in defined areas in a transparent manner. Since some CPSEs have desired that DPE should formulate guidelines on CSR, which are specifically applicable to CPSEs DPE has formulated the guidelines on the subject, to supplement CSR Rules of MCA. The same are under consideration of Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The previous Government had set up a Committee under the chairmanship of Shri S.K. Roongta, ex-Chairman, SAIL for suggesting a road map for further development of CPSEs. We are examining these suggestions afresh.  DPE issues guidelines and renders advice to Ministries/Departments/CPSEs in matters of pay revision of CPSE executives, non-unionised supervisors and wage settlement of workmen. To address unresolved issues of the previous pay revision of 2007 and also to review the pay structure in its entirety, DPE is contemplating the constitution of 3rd PRC for revision of pay scales, allowances and other benefits of executives and non-unionised supervisors of CPSEs.  The functioning of the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) which is an advisory body looking at strengthening, modernisation, revival and restructuring of sick CPSEs , has been reviewed. We want to streamline the multiple mechanisms which are in place for revival of sick CPSEs and have identified the action points in this regard including strengthening of BRPSE.A committee under CMD,NTPC has been set up to explore the possibility of setting up a separate entity funded by financially strong CPSEs to look at management and revival of sick CPSEs.”

Government announces ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana’- DAY for uplift of urban, rural poor

All 4,041 statutory cities/towns to be covered under urban component of DAY Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu says Rs.500 cr on skill development of urban poor during 2014-15 Minister says, skills stimulate self-worth and nation’s economy                 The Government today announced an overarching scheme for uplift of urban and rural poor through enhancement of livelihood opportunities through skill development and other means. The scheme has been named as ‘Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – DAY’. The announcement was made today by Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Rural Development at a National Convention on Skills for Rural and Urban Poor.                 The Minister further informed that under the current urban poverty alleviation programmes, only 790 cities and towns are covered and the government has decided to extend these measures to all the 4,041 statutory cities and towns, there by covering almost the entire urban population.                 Announcing the details of urban component of DAY, Shri Venkaiah Naidu said, Rs.1,000 cr has been provisioned for urban poverty alleviation during 2014-15. Out of this, Rs.500 cr will be spent on skill development of over 5,00,000 urban poor. He said, for realizing the ‘Make in India’ objective, skill development is essential. He observed that “If India is to emerge as the manufacturing base to meet global needs, the only certain way is to empower every youth of the country with the necessary skills. Skill development has multiple outcomes including enhancing employment opportunities, stimulating economic growth and promoting self-worth of beneficiaries.’’                 Shri Venkaiah Naidu informed that under the urban component of DAY, focus will be on: 1.Imparting skills with an expenditure of Rs.15,000 – Rs.18,000 on each urban poor; 2.Promotion of self-employment through setting up individual micro-enterprises and group enterprises with interest subsidy for individual projects costing Rs.2.00 lakhs and Rs.10.00 lakhs for group enterprises. Subsidized interest rate will be 7%; 3.Training urban poor to meet the huge demand from urban citizens by imparting market oriented skills through City Livelihood Centres. Each Centre would be given a capital grant of Rs.10.00 lakhs. 4.Enabling urban poor form Self-Help Groups for meeting financial and social needs with a support of Rs.10,000/- per each group who would in turn would be helped with bank linkages; 5. Development of vendor markets besides promotion of skills of vendors; and 6. Construction of permanent shelters for urban homeless and provision of other essential services.

Text of PM's Op-Ed in Wall Street Journal

Following is the text of the Op-Ed written by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, published in the Wall Street Journal today: There is a high tide of hope for change in India. This May, across India’s immense diversity, 1.25 billion people spoke unequivocally for political stability, good governance and rapid development. India has a government with a majority in the Lok Sabha, our lower house of parliament, for the first time in 30 years. A young nation with 800 million people under age 35, India is brimming with optimism and confidence. The young people’s energy, enthusiasm and enterprise are India’s greatest strength. Unleashing those attributes is my government’s biggest mission. We will pursue this mission by eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier and shorter, and ensuring that our government is more transparent, responsive and accountable. It has been said that doing the thing right is as important as doing the right thing. We will create world-class infrastructure that India badly needs to accelerate growth and meet people’s basic needs. We will make our cities and towns habitable, sustainable and smart; and we will make our villages the new engines of economic transformation. “Make in India” is our commitment—and an invitation to all—to turn India into a new global manufacturing hub. We will do what it takes to make it a reality. We ran our election campaign on the promise of inclusive development. To me, that means many things: skills education, and opportunity; safety, dignity and rights for those in every section of our society, especially women; a bank account for every Indian; affordable health care within everyone’s reach; sanitation for all by 2019; a roof over every head by 2022; electricity for every household; and connectivity to every village. In addressing these daunting challenges, I draw confidence from countless extraordinary stories of ordinary Indians that I have seen through decades of travel across India. I also strongly believe in the possibilities of technology and innovation to transform governance, empower people, provide affordable solutions for societal challenges and reach people in ways that were unimaginable not so long ago. The number of cell phones in India has gone up from about 40 million to more than 900 million in a decade; our country is already the second-largest market for smart phones, with sales growing ever faster. When I think of the growth in computing power and storage capacity and its miniaturization that the world has witnessed over the past two decades, I am confident that this can be replicated in renewable energy. With solar and wind power, thousands of Indian villages will be able to get access quickly to reliable, affordable and clean energy, without waiting for large, faraway conventional power plants to be built. For this reason, India’s journey to prosperity can be a more sustainable and environmentally sensitive one than the path followed by countries that came of age in earlier eras. This is a journey of our choice, rooted in our tradition that worships nature’s bounties. India will pursue its dreams in partnership with our international friends. History tells us that India’s natural instinct is to be open to the world. India will be open and friendly—for business, ideas, research, innovations and travel. In the coming months, you will feel the difference even before you begin your travel to India. The United States is our natural global partner. India and the U.S. embody the enduring and universal relevance of their shared values. The thriving Indian-American community in the U.S. is a metaphor for the potential of our partnership, and for the possibilities of an environment that nurtures enterprise and rewards hard work. Our strengths in information technology are especially important for leadership in the digital age. The partnership between our businesses takes place in the comfort and certainty of similar political systems and shared commitment to rule of law. In education, innovation, and science and technology, the U.S continues to inspire India. India and the U.S. have a fundamental stake in each other’s success—for the sake of our values and our many shared interests. That is also the imperative of our partnership. And it will be of great value in advancing peace, security and stability in the Asia and Pacific regions; in the unfinished and urgent task of combating terrorism and extremism; and in securing our seas, cyber space and outer space, all of which now have a profound influence on our daily lives. The complementary strengths of India and the U.S. can be used for inclusive and broad-based global development to transform lives across the world. Because our countries’ values and interests are aligned, though our circumstances are different, we are in a unique position to become a bridge to a more integrated and cooperative world. With sensitivity to each other’s point of view and the confidence of our friendship, we can contribute to more concerted international efforts to meet the pressing global challenges of our times. This is a moment of flux in the global order. I am confident in the destiny of our two nations, because democracy is the greatest source of renewal and, with the right conditions, offers the best opportunity for the human spirit to flourish.

A faster, cheaper Mars orbiter

India’s Mars orbiter mission tells the world that the more technology was denied the more determined the country became to master space technologies

India has created global history by becoming the first Asian nation to reach the Mars orbit in a space mission. The success is sweeter because this has been done in its maiden attempt. No other country that has attempted a mission to Mars has succeeded in reaching the planet on debut. So, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) can claim that it has done a shade better than accomplished space powers such as the United States and Russia in reaching Mars.

India’s Mangalyaan has cost the country Rs.450 crore or about $70 million; it is without doubt the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken since Martian exploration began. On September 22, a mission by NASA called the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), made at a cost of over $670 million, reached Mars. This Indian marathon took 300 days to cover a distance of over 670 million kilometres — a sprint really in a record time of 10 months.

The first official hint that India was undertaking a mission to Mars came in the budget speech of 2012. Subsequently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally declared in his Independence Day speech that year that an Indian mission was heading to Mars. The mission itself was launched on a balmy afternoon on November 5, 2013, and the journey from the Red Fort to the Red Planet has had a dream run.

On his last visit to ISRO, when he witnessed the launch of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s Mars orbiter is a “great achievement” since it costs less than the making of the Hollywood blockbuster movie “Gravity” which had a tag of $100 million.

An inexpensive mission

Many have questioned why India should be sending a robotic mission to Mars when there is so much poverty, malnutrition, death, disaster and diseases among its 1.2 billon population. Some have even called this mission as being a part of India’s “delusional dream” of becoming a superpower in the 21st century. There can be nothing farther from the truth. If one analyses the cost of the Mars Orbiter mission of Rs.450 crore, for Indians it works out to be about Rs.4 per person. Today, a bus ride would cost a lot more.

India’s Mars Orbiter mission has paved the way for cheaper and faster inter-planetary probes. During his upcoming U.S. visit, Mr. Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama are likely to sign a new agreement for the making of the joint Indo-U.S. Radar Satellite Mission. China and India recently signed an agreement on “peaceful uses of outer space.” So, many are now wanting to partner in ISRO’s success.

The mission, within minutes of reaching Mars, has already taken its first images of the Martian surface. The Mars colour camera, which is essentially an Indian eye to track Mars, will bring back the first tangible truths to Indian taxpayers that their money has been well spent.

If the 20th century witnessed a “space race” between the U.S. and the USSR, the 21st century is seeing an Asian space race. In most aspects of space technology, China is way ahead of India. It has larger rockets, bigger satellites and several rocket ports. It even launched its first astronaut in space way back in 2003 and has a space laboratory in the making.

In 2008, when India undertook its first mission to moon Chandrayaan-1, China raced ahead and orbited its Chang’e-1 satellite ahead of India. But in this Martian marathon, India has reached the finish line ahead of China. This now puts India in the pole position as far as Asian Martian exploration goes. In 2012, the first Chinese probe to Mars Yinghuo-1 failed. It was riding atop a Russian satellite called Phobos-Grunt. But the Chinese probe failed to even leave earth. Earlier in 1998, a Japanese probe to Mars ran out of fuel.

Today, India’s Mars orbiter mission has shown that the Indian elephant has lumbered ahead of the Chinese red dragon. For the record, ISRO’s chairman Dr. K. Radhakrishnan has gone on record by saying, “We are not racing with anybody. We are racing with ourselves. We have to race to reach the next level of excellence.”

Challenges ahead

Now that India has reached Mars, ISRO has several other goals and challenges to meet. Coming up in the next few weeks is the test firing of India’s monster rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III, a rocket capable of carrying heavy payloads into space. This flight will carry a dummy crew module, which is part of a programme for the development of critical technologies that ISRO seeks to develop as part of its human space flight programme.

As ISRO says, the first astronaut could well be a woman. In a few weeks, an Indian navigation satellite will be also launched into space. By 2017, ISRO wants to undertake India’s second mission to moon Chandrayaan-2 which will have an Indian lander and a rover. Subsequently, it also wants to launch dedicated missions to study the Sun and the planetary bodies in the solar system.

Mr. Modi, in his stirring speech to ISRO, spoke of its capabilities and efficiencies. It is an eye-opener that a country which can undertake a mission to Mars is unable to provide electricity to 400 million citizens. What is worse is that 600 million Indians still don’t have access to toilets. It is hoped that Mr. Modi would have learnt a lesson or two from the Indian space agency on how to undertake cost-effective projects with no time or cost overruns. If only Mr. Modi internalises this big learning can his dream of having “Swachh Bharat” by 2019 become a reality.

The Orbiter mission undoubtedly tells the world that India is a space power to reckon with. The more technology was denied to India, the more determined it became to master these technologies.

Amid the celebration, if there is one point of regret, it is that the Mars Orbiter Satellite — a truly nationalistic mission — does not carry the Indian tri-colour or the flag. This is one inexplicable omission ISRO may regret for a long time to come.

Mars mission success

After a journey of over 660 million kilometres that took 10 months, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission has swept with effortless ease into orbit around the Red Planet, making this country the first to achieve such a feat in a maiden attempt. Probes despatched to Earth’s sibling planet over the last half a century have often run into trouble of one kind or another, with only less than half of those spacecraft ending the voyage successfully. Thus far, only the United States, the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency have succeeded in doing so. India and its space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), now proudly join their ranks. Although ISRO could draw on its experience with the lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, launched six years back, the challenges involved in sending a spacecraft all the way to Mars are far greater. That includes propelling the spacecraft with sufficient velocity to escape Earth’s gravitational grasp, guiding it along the proper trajectory over vast distances, and then slowing it down sufficiently to go into orbit around that planet. The spacecraft had to be capable of operating autonomously as communication signals to and from ground stations could take minutes to reach it. All of this has gone remarkably smoothly, including the orbit insertion manoeuvre with the spacecraft’s main engine, which had lain idle for almost 300 days. It is a tribute to ISRO and the professionalism of its scientists and engineers that every minute detail for such a complex mission could be attended to in the course of a project completed in just one and a half years. India’s Mars effort costs Rs.460 crore, an economical price tag by Western standards.

The Indian probe joins four spacecraft already circling Mars, including America’s MAVEN (acronym for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) that went into orbit just two days earlier, as well as two U.S. rovers exploring the planet’s surface. The Indian and U.S. space agencies are holding discussions on possible scientific collaboration. Success with the Mars Orbiter will give ISRO the confidence and capability to undertake more challenging missions. However, if the country wants to send heavier and more powerful spacecraft to Mars, it cannot do so with the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that was used for the current mission. However, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) equipped with an indigenous cryogenic stage made its first successful flight only in January this year, and a few more flights will be necessary to establish its reliability. Further improvements to the rocket may also prove essential. ISRO has achieved much, and more will be expected of it in the years to come.

first image of ISRO MOM

International Buddhist Conclave 2014 to be Inaugurated in Bodhgaya on 27th September 2014

India, the birthplace of Buddhism, has a very rich Buddhist Heritage, with several important sites associated with the life of Lord Buddha which are essential pilgrimages for followers of Buddhism the world over. With a view to showcasing and projecting the Buddhist heritage and pilgrim sites of India, the Ministry of Tourism is organizing the 4th International Buddhist Conclave in Bodhgaya and Sarnath, in collaboration with the State Governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from the 26th to 28th September 2014. The event will give the participants an opportunity to interact, promote, package and sell pilgrimage itineraries to the Buddhist sites in the country, for overseas visitors. International Buddhist Conclaves have earlier been organized in New Delhi and Bodhgaya (February 2004); Nalanda and Bodhgaya (February 2010) and Varanasi and Bodhgaya (September 2012). The International Buddhist Conclave is one of the initiatives being taken by India as its commitment as the land of origin of Buddhism and to improve the experience of pilgrims as well as tourists wishing to savour the essence of Buddhist heritage, at the Buddhist sites of the country. The Conclave will include presentations, panel discussion, business to business meetings between the international and domestic tour operators, an exhibition highlighting the Buddhist attractions in India, as well as visits to important Buddhist sites in and around Bodhgaya and Sarnath. State Governments will set up booths at the conference venue for interacting with the international delegates and for showcasing India’s Buddhist Heritage. Participants in the Buddhist Conclave will include international Buddhist opinion makers, tour operators and media, as well as State Governments and domestic tour operators promoting pilgrimages to the Buddhist sites in the country. Approximately 120 international delegates comprising tour operators, media representatives and opinion makers from 32 countries are participating in the Conclave. In addition to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the State Governments participating in the Conclave include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana and West Bengal. The Conclave will be inaugurated on 27th September 2014 at the Kagyupa International Monlam Trust, near Terger Monastery, Bodhgaya, by the Chief Minister of Bihar and the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism and Culture Shri Shripad Naik, in the presence of the Minister for Tourism, Government of Bihar and the Minister for Technical Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh.