India - Partner In Growth
Greetings from the Embassy of India in Washington D.C.!
Welcome to the  November 2, 2018, edition of our weekly newsletter, bringing you important policy and high-impact news about India.
I hope you find it useful.
-- Shambhu Hakki, First Secretary, Press, Information and Culture

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KEY POLICY DECISIONS
PM Modi: India is Going Through a Massive Transformative Phase

India is going through a massive transformative phase and international agencies say the country will drive the growth of the global economy in the coming decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his recent visit to Japan.




PM Modi in Japan: 'Ease of Doing Business' Is My Top Priority

Prime Minister Modi, during his recent trip to Japan, noted that when he took over the Government in 2014, India's ranking in the World Bank's annual "Ease of Doing Business" ranking was No. 140 of 190 countries. Today, that number has risen to 77.


 
FM Jaitley: Regulation Should Evolve with Economy

As an economy evolves, regulation will need to be relaxed and otherwise altered to reflect the situation on the ground, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. Such revision requires the thoughtful input of all stakeholders, he added.



 
Make in India: Govt. Lays Foundation for Country's Largest Dry Dock

In a big boost to Prime Minister Modi's "Make in India" program, the Government has laid the foundation for India's largest dry dock at Cochin Shipyard on the southwestern tip of India. The shipyard will be able to build specialized and technologically advanced large vessels.
 

 
Commerce Ministry Working to Make Indian Exports More Competitive

In their highest rate of growth in six years, India's exports grew by 9.8 percent during the 2017-18 financial year even as much of the global economy was buffeted by headwinds. Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said his Ministry is working to make India's exports even more competitive.


 
HIGH-IMPACT NEWS
India Jumps 23 Spots on World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' Rankings

Thanks to policies initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has risen 23 spots on the World Bank's annual "Ease of Doing Business" rankings, jumping to No. 77 out of 190 countries. India's ranking has improved dramatically under PM Modi.


 
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, said that India will be fully covered by 4G wireless service by 2020 and should also be ready for 5G service by that time. "India has moved from 155th rank in mobile broadband penetration to being the No. 1 nation in mobile data consumption in the world...in less than two years," he said.


The country's latest generation of tech unicorns have focused on local issues in education, logistics and lodging. The new cohort of startups is aimed squarely at the hundreds of millions of potential users who don't live in India's major cities and may not speak much English.



In line with PM Modi's "Make in India" program, Jaguar will begin assembling gasoline versions of its F-Pace SUV at its Pune facility. Jaguar introduced the luxury crossover to the India market in 2016.



Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said that India's telecom industry will roll out 1 million WiFi hotspots across the country by December of next year. The new hotspots will enable Indians to access Government services, browse and shop online.




TRANSFORMING INDIA

A range of Government programs, deployed by Tata Trusts with local administrations, is using fast-track approval and on-the-ground feedback to tackle the problem of malnutrition among 100 million Indians.

 

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