Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 57th Convocation of IIT Delhi, where he presented top honours to the institute’s most meritorious students and addressed the graduating students. PM Modi urged greater participation and representation of women in academics, while highlighting the important role of India’s youth in building a Viksit Bharat.

PM Modi said India’s future capabilities depend heavily on its young population and highlighted how government policies are opening new sectors and creating opportunities for young Indians. He pointed to the transformation of India’s space sector, noting that areas once largely handled by the government are now creating opportunities for thousands of young people.

The Prime Minister encouraged IIT Delhi graduates to contribute to nation-building and stressed that a stronger youth population will lead to a stronger India. His remarks focused on youth empowerment, innovation, education, women’s participation in academia and India’s development journey.

PM Modi at IIT Delhi Convocation | Urges Youth to Lead India’s Viksit Bharat Journey

The Indian opposition alliance of 26 parties named itself 'INDIA'. An acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. This triggered a heated political debate around the political use of the name of the nation. Our report explains why India was the Word of the Week. It also tells you the story of how India got its name.

How INDIA got its name? Why 'INDIA' was the Word of the Week?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited global businesses to invest in India, saying its market of 120 crore people provides vast opportunities from agriculture to defence, while being protected by political stability and a vibrant judicial system.

&quot;The sky is the limit in India. You can venture here in any area you want (to do business),&quot; Modi told a global audience in his plenary address at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) here.

This is the first time that an Indian prime minister is attending the SPIEF forum, which is held annually in St Petersburg, Russia&#39;s second largest city and President Vladimir Putin&#39;s hometown.

Putin, who addressed the session before Modi, also spoke of Russia&#39;s attractiveness for investors, pointing out the technological advancements of its youth.

Modi said that his government&#39;s journey towards developing India is built on investments in infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and services.

&quot;Fifty cities need metros, 500 cities need solid waste management and drinking water. Besides, India has the world&#39;s second largest railway network. It needs to be expanded, upgraded technologically to make it safer and reliable. The clean India movement has embarked on a program to clean the 2,500 kilometer long Ganga,&quot; Modi said.

All this provides immense opportunities for investment, he said.

In agriculture, he said his emphasis is on seed to market and increasing yield through technological intervention, organic farming and value addition through food processing.

The market is open even for defence manufacturing, tourism, hospitality and medical devices.

&quot;I invite you all. A nation of 1.2 billion people invites the world. The world&#39;s oldest civilization invites you all,&quot; he said.

(PTI)

This is the first time that an Indian prime minister is attending the SPIEF forum

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited global businesses to invest in India, saying its market of 120 crore people provides vast opportunities from agriculture to defence, while being protected by political stability and a vibrant judicial system. "The sky is the limit in India. You can venture here in any area you want (to do business)," Modi told a global audience in his plenary address at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) here. This is the first time that an Indian prime minister is attending the SPIEF forum, which is held annually in St Petersburg, Russia's second largest city and President Vladimir Putin's hometown. Putin, who addressed the session before Modi, also spoke of Russia's attractiveness for investors, pointing out the technological advancements of its youth. Modi said that his government's journey towards developing India is built on investments in infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and services. "Fifty cities need metros, 500 cities need solid waste management and drinking water. Besides, India has the world's second largest railway network. It needs to be expanded, upgraded technologically to make it safer and reliable. The clean India movement has embarked on a program to clean the 2,500 kilometer long Ganga," Modi said. All this provides immense opportunities for investment, he said. In agriculture, he said his emphasis is on seed to market and increasing yield through technological intervention, organic farming and value addition through food processing. The market is open even for defence manufacturing, tourism, hospitality and medical devices. "I invite you all. A nation of 1.2 billion people invites the world. The world's oldest civilization invites you all," he said. (PTI)

Russia: Prime Minister Modi invites investors as he attends economic forum

Four rupee-denominated bonds, known as masala bonds, worth a total of 600 million pounds ($748 million) are expected to be listed in London in the next three months, the British government said on Monday, as Prime Minister Theresa May began a two-day visit to India.

Masala bond is a financial instrument through which Indian entities can raise money from overseas markets in the rupee,&nbsp;while giving international investors access to higher yields in a zero-yield world.

The latest four bonds will provide financing to expand India&#39;s highway and rail networks and meet its plans to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy, the government said.

They will be issued by Indian government-backed corporates Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Energy Efficiency Services Limited, and National Highways Authority of India by the end of January 2017.&nbsp;

May has said she wants to use the trip India, her first bilateral visit to a non-European Union country since taking office in July, to boost ties between the countries and pave the way for a post-Brexit trade deal.

The government said that since July, more than 900 million pounds of so-called masala bonds have&nbsp;been issued in London, equivalent of more than 70 per cent of the global offshore market.

&quot;This government will continue to work closely with both India and our financial services sector to ensure our growing rupee bond market continues to help finance India&rsquo;s ambitious infrastructure investment plans,&quot; May said in a statement.

They can be more expensive than issuing bonds in the local market because of India&#39;s 5 per cent withholding tax on such international deals.

As well as a way to borrow overseas, they are also an attempt to make the tightly-controlled rupee more widely available in global markets, similar to the way in which China has moved to sell more yuan debt to overseas investors.

(Reuters)

UK's decision to list four rupee-denominated bonds will also boost India's energy efficiency and renewable energy

Four rupee-denominated bonds, known as masala bonds, worth a total of 600 million pounds ($748 million) are expected to be listed in London in the next three months, the British government said on Monday, as Prime Minister Theresa May began a two-day visit to India. Masala bond is a financial instrument through which Indian entities can raise money from overseas markets in the rupee, while giving international investors access to higher yields in a zero-yield world. The latest four bonds will provide financing to expand India's highway and rail networks and meet its plans to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy, the government said. They will be issued by Indian government-backed corporates Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Energy Efficiency Services Limited, and National Highways Authority of India by the end of January 2017. May has said she wants to use the trip India, her first bilateral visit to a non-European Union country since taking office in July, to boost ties between the countries and pave the way for a post-Brexit trade deal. The government said that since July, more than 900 million pounds of so-called masala bonds have been issued in London, equivalent of more than 70 per cent of the global offshore market. "This government will continue to work closely with both India and our financial services sector to ensure our growing rupee bond market continues to help finance India’s ambitious infrastructure investment plans," May said in a statement. They can be more expensive than issuing bonds in the local market because of India's 5 per cent withholding tax on such international deals. As well as a way to borrow overseas, they are also an attempt to make the tightly-controlled rupee more widely available in global markets, similar to the way in which China has moved to sell more yuan debt to overseas investors. (Reuters)

Britain to list masala bonds on stock exchange to spur India's infrastructure

States across India are bypassing land acquisition laws by introducing land pooling schemes to speed up industrial and development projects, a move that activists say leaves farmers and the environment vulnerable.

Land pooling enables the quick consolidation of small land holdings. Land owners get back a share of developed land, while the state keeps the remainder for its use.

It is different from the federal Land Acquisition Act of 2013, which requires consensus to buy the land, a social impact assessment, rehabilitation for those displaced and compensation of up to four times the market value.

But with no public consultations, owners may come under pressure from the community or the state to participate, activists said.

&quot;It can be a fair and equitable system if there is a way to ensure there is no compulsion, and if a social impact assessment is done,&quot; said EAS&nbsp;Sarma, a land rights activist in Andhra Pradesh.

&quot;Otherwise, the system offers few rights and protections to farmers and other vulnerable people who are affected,&quot; he said.

In Andhra Pradesh, the country&#39;s largest exercise in land pooling is under way to develop the new capital city Amaravati with 38,000 acres (15,378 hectares) of land.

About 35,000 acres have been committed since the scheme was unveiled early last year, officials said.&nbsp;

But most of the land is owned by wealthy landlords whose poor tenant farmers are being displaced, with no recourse to compensation under the pooling law, Sarma said.

Stalled projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to abandon a move to amend the federal land law last year to make it easier for companies to acquire land, after opposition from farmers.

States including Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have introduced their own laws that have diluted some of the federal law&#39;s clauses, such as the need for consensus and social impact assessment.

Other states are considering similar laws.

Land is increasingly sought in India for industrial use and development projects, as one of the world&#39;s fastest growing major economies expands.

Problems related to land acquisition accounted for at least 15 per cent of stalled projects in India, according to a report by investment firm Ambit Capital last year.

&quot;The central land acquisition law makes it very difficult to acquire land and delays important projects,&quot; said Pradeep Kapoor, a chief town planner for Rajasthan, which passed a land pooling law earlier this year.

&quot;The land pooling system is a win-win for everyone, as projects get done faster, owners are not forced to give up land, and the land also appreciates in value,&quot; he said.

With pooling, landowners voluntarily hand over their land to a government agency. The land is then developed with roads and water lines, and a portion of it is returned to the owners, who also gain from the elevated price of the land.

Advocates of the system say it is more equitable than the 2013 legislation that often sees protests, displacement of residents, delays and lengthy court battles.

&quot;The scheme allows people to be partners in development, and it has proceeded at a much faster pace than if we had used the land acquisition act,&quot; said BL&nbsp;Chennakesava Rao, a director at the Capital Region Development Authority in Andhra Pradesh.

But as in the case of Amaravati &mdash;&nbsp;named after an ancient Buddhist site &mdash;&nbsp;there is no telling how the land is being acquired, and what impact the development may have, Sarma said.&nbsp;

&quot;On the face of it, it looks fair because it is supposed to be voluntary,&quot; said Sarma.

&quot;But there is little discussion, and little study, so people are largely unaware of what they are getting into,&quot; he said.

(Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Activists are worried that bypassing the federal land acquisition law might undermine the rights of small cultivators

States across India are bypassing land acquisition laws by introducing land pooling schemes to speed up industrial and development projects, a move that activists say leaves farmers and the environment vulnerable. Land pooling enables the quick consolidation of small land holdings. Land owners get back a share of developed land, while the state keeps the remainder for its use. It is different from the federal Land Acquisition Act of 2013, which requires consensus to buy the land, a social impact assessment, rehabilitation for those displaced and compensation of up to four times the market value. But with no public consultations, owners may come under pressure from the community or the state to participate, activists said. "It can be a fair and equitable system if there is a way to ensure there is no compulsion, and if a social impact assessment is done," said EAS Sarma, a land rights activist in Andhra Pradesh. "Otherwise, the system offers few rights and protections to farmers and other vulnerable people who are affected," he said. In Andhra Pradesh, the country's largest exercise in land pooling is under way to develop the new capital city Amaravati with 38,000 acres (15,378 hectares) of land. About 35,000 acres have been committed since the scheme was unveiled early last year, officials said. But most of the land is owned by wealthy landlords whose poor tenant farmers are being displaced, with no recourse to compensation under the pooling law, Sarma said. Stalled projects Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to abandon a move to amend the federal land law last year to make it easier for companies to acquire land, after opposition from farmers. States including Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have introduced their own laws that have diluted some of the federal law's clauses, such as the need for consensus and social impact assessment. Other states are considering similar laws. Land is increasingly sought in India for industrial use and development projects, as one of the world's fastest growing major economies expands. Problems related to land acquisition accounted for at least 15 per cent of stalled projects in India, according to a report by investment firm Ambit Capital last year. "The central land acquisition law makes it very difficult to acquire land and delays important projects," said Pradeep Kapoor, a chief town planner for Rajasthan, which passed a land pooling law earlier this year. "The land pooling system is a win-win for everyone, as projects get done faster, owners are not forced to give up land, and the land also appreciates in value," he said. With pooling, landowners voluntarily hand over their land to a government agency. The land is then developed with roads and water lines, and a portion of it is returned to the owners, who also gain from the elevated price of the land. Advocates of the system say it is more equitable than the 2013 legislation that often sees protests, displacement of residents, delays and lengthy court battles. "The scheme allows people to be partners in development, and it has proceeded at a much faster pace than if we had used the land acquisition act," said BL Chennakesava Rao, a director at the Capital Region Development Authority in Andhra Pradesh. But as in the case of Amaravati — named after an ancient Buddhist site — there is no telling how the land is being acquired, and what impact the development may have, Sarma said. "On the face of it, it looks fair because it is supposed to be voluntary," said Sarma. "But there is little discussion, and little study, so people are largely unaware of what they are getting into," he said. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

India: State governments' land pooling schemes leave farmers vulnerable