India

Extension of lockdown till 3rd May:

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressing theNation in New Delhi on 14 April

On 14 April, Prime Minister of India ShriNarendra Modi addressed the nation for 4 th

time in 4 weeks in India’s fight againstCovid-19, and announced extension of thelockdown until 3rd May, 2020. PM Modistated that the extension of the lockdownwas decided keeping in mind advice frommany states, experts and the people, andhe requested people to continuemaintaining vigil and to adhere to socialdistancing during the lockdown.Moreover, PM Modi announced that areaswhich were of low risk of turning into hot-spots of coronavirus infection could be

allowed to open up for select necessaryactivities from 20th April, but underlinedthat the permissions would be withdrawnimmediately if lockdown rules werebroken, and if there was a threat ofspreading of the coronavirus. PM Modialso highlighted that easing of restrictionsin the low risk areas would be donekeeping in mind the difficulties beingfaced by the poor and daily wage earners,and emphasized that the government hadmade every possible effort to help themthrough the Pradhan Mantri GareebKalyan Yojna scheme. He also added thatcompared to other big and powerfulcountries across the world affected byCovid-19, India was in a very wellmanaged situation.

President and Vice-President attenddiscussions on Covid-19 response: On 3April, India’s President Shri Ram NathKovind, along with the Vice President,Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, held a videoconference with the Governors, LieutenantGovernors and Administrators of India’sStates and Union Territories to discussways to contribute to the measures takenby the Government of India and the State

_________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for April 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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Newsletter for the month of April 2020

Governments in response to the Covid-19outbreak. The President emphasized theneed to ensure that no one remainedhungry during the nationwide lockdown,and noted that some of the praiseworthyinitiatives of various states includedsetting up hunger help-lines, encouraginghome delivery, using stadiums for reliefworks and quarantine facilities, enrollingretired doctors and medical students, usingthe expertise of psychologists, inviting theyouth to volunteer, involving universitiesin spreading awareness and monitoring thesituation with daily review meetings.

President Ram Nath Kovind attends Covid-19response discussions through video conference

India Covid-19 Emergency Response andHealth System Preparedness Package:On 22 April, India’s Union Cabinetapproved significant investments of Rs.15,000 crore for the “India Covid-19Emergency Response and Health SystemPreparedness Package”. The key measuresof the package were development ofdiagnostics and Covid-19 dedicatedtreatment facilities, centralized procurementof essential medical equipment and drugsrequired for treatment of infected patients,strengthening and building resilientNational and State health systems tosupport prevention and preparedness forfuture disease outbreaks, setting uplaboratories and bolster surveillanceactivities, bio-security preparedness,pandemic research, proactively engaging

communities and conducting riskcommunication activities.

India’s Armed Forces salute Covid-19warriors:

An Indian Navy helicopter showers flower petals on medics in MumbaiPhoto: Gulfnews.com

On 3 May, India’s Armed Forces organizedseveral activities across the country tosalute frontline workers for their services inthe fight against Covid-19, includingdoctors, nurses, hygiene and sanitationstaff, police personnel, media and severalothers engaged in maintenance of essentialservices and supplies. The activitiesincluded for example wreath-laying atmemorials, hospital visits, playing of music,ship formations and illumination, fly pastby fighter and transport aircraft andshowering of flower petals.

Indian States / Festivals

Sikkim: Sikkim is located in NortheastIndia, bound by West Bengal on the south,Nepal on the west, Tibet on the north andBhutan on the east. The state economy ofSikkim ranks 28th among India’s 36 statesand union territories with a GDP of USD3.8 billion in 2018-2019, and the stateeconomy is fast-growing with GDP growthrate of 4.9% from 2017-18 to 2018-19.Sikkim, which is also known as “The landof peace and tranquillity” and “The

_________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for April 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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Kingdom of flowers”, is the least populousand second smallest by area among theIndian states. The economy of Sikkim islargely based on agriculture, and the statehas favourable agro-climatic conditionswhich support agriculture, horticulture andforestry. Some of the most importantagricultural products are rice, maize, millet,wheat, oil seeds, pulses, spices, cerealsbarley, oranges, tea and cardamom.

Teesta-V hydropower station, SikkimPhoto: Hydropower.org

Other key industries include tourism,hydroelectric power, electronics andpharmaceuticals. Also, the state has a smallmining industry, extracting minerals suchas copper, dolomite, talc, graphite,quartzite, coal, zinc and lead. An advantageof Sikkim in pursuing economic growth isthat the state has a high literacy rate ofaround 81.42% along with a skilled labourforce, and the quality and quantity ofemployable graduates in the state hassteadily improved. Moreover, the state hasimplemented business promotion initiativessuch as implementation of the North EastIndustrial Development Scheme 2017 topromote the Northeast as an attractiveinvestment destination by providingconcessions and incentives, launching of aninternet-based agriculture informationcentre, development of rail and airconnectivity as well as optical-fibrenetworks, offering of tax incentives to thepharmaceutical industry, planning of an IT

park with state-of-the-art facilities, andannouncement of a technical collaborationwith international floriculturists to developthe state’s potential in floriculture.

Buddha Park of RavanglaPhoto: Esikkimtourism.in

In 2018, the Government of Sikkimreleased the Sikkim Tourism Policy 2018,with the aim of developing tourism as akey sector in Sikkim’s economy andpromoting low-impact sustainable tourism.Given the state’s vast natural potential withHimalayan mountain peaks, includingIndia’s highest mountain Kangchenjunga(8,586m), rare and exotic flora and faunaas well as the Buddhist heritage, Sikkimattracts tourists from across the globe.Promotion of village tourism, culturaltourism, trekking, ecotourism andadventure tourism has boosted tourism inthe state, and Sikkim was ranked top spotin the world to visit by the renowned travelmagazine “Lonely Planet” in 2014. Someof the main tourist attractions include thestate capital Gangtok with the Buddhistmonasteries Rumtek and Enchey, high-altitude lakes such as Tsomgo Lake andGurudongmar Lake, the Yumthang Valley,the village of Yuksom, the Buddha Park ofRavangla and the Nathu La Pass.

Tulip Festival: The Tulip Festival inSrinagar, which is home to Asia’s largesttulip garden, is held annually during the

_________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for April 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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first two weeks of April, when about 80%of the flowers in the Indira GandhiMemorial Tulip Garden bloom. In additionto showcasing more than a million flowers,the festival includes daily culturalprograms, Kashmiri folk songs, sale oflocal handicrafts, and traditional Kashmiricuisine. The Tulip Festival was started in2007 to promote tourism in Kashmir, andhas become a major tourist attraction. In2019, there were more than 250,000visitors, and in 2020, there were plans ofshowcasing more than 1.3 million tulips of55 different varieties. Due to the Covid-19pandemic and the lockdown in India, thetulip festival was cancelled in 2020.

Tulip FestivalPhoto: Tripsavvy.com

India-Norway:

NEXT Biometrics receives order fromIndian business partner: On 22 April, theNorwegian fingerprint sensor technologycompany NEXT Biometrics announcedthat it had received an initial purchaseorder for 1000 sensors from an Indianbusiness partner for its One Touch IDFinger Print Module. The sensors would beintegrated in fingerprint enabled paymentterminals (POS), which were part of afinancial inclusion strategy in India aimingat adopting fingerprint identification andauthentication services for secure financialservices in the country.

Indian Community:

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam:

Delivery of food from Slemmestad Temple for doctors,nurses and the poor during Covid-19 in Oslo

In view of the philosophy of ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’ (the whole world is onefamily), the Indian community andorganizations in Norway such as NewDelhi Restaurant, Oslo; Sanatan MandirSabha, Slemmestad; and Gurudwara SriGuru Nanak Dev Ji, Oslo; have beenproviding Indian food for doctors, nursesand others making efforts in the fightagainst the COVID-19 pandemic in Oslo. Itis a matter of great pride that the Indiancommunity in Norway has been doingwonderful humanitarian work and makingIndia proud.

Online Quiz on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar:

Embassy of India conducted an OnlineQuiz on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar from 6thDecember 2019 to 14th April 2020 tocelebrate the 125th Birth Anniversary ofDr. B.R. Ambedkar. The fortnightly quizwas launched on 6th December 2019. Thetop three winners of each quiz beingawarded with trophies and prizes.

_________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for April 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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