The Maharashtra government has approved a film-centric entertainment destination to be developed by the Mahindra Group at an investment of Rs 1,900 crore in a suburb of Mumbai.
The Bollywood theme-based tourism project will be developed on 82,950.5 sqm area belonging to the Mahindra Group on its plot in suburban Kandivali, according to a recent Government Resolution (GR).
A high-powered government committee had earlier this year accorded it the ultra mega project status.
As per the state tourism policy of 2016, an ultra mega project would require a capital investment of Rs 500 crore and to employ 750 people and complete it in 84 months.
The GR said since the Mahindra Group’s project fulfils the criteria, it was accorded the ultra mega project status.
During the Magnetic Maharashtra investor summit here in February, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra had said they were exploring to set up a unique film-centric entertainment destination on their land at Kandivali as Mumbai is the heart of Hindi film industry.
This will create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, he had said.
The group already runs a successful tour and leisure services company Mahindra Holidays.
The government also approved another ultra mega tourism project to be executed by Yashomala Farming and Tourism Private Limited in Raigad district, according to another GR.
The project will come up on 63.37 hectare area at Roha. Nearly 53 villas will be constructed with an investment of Rs 822.93 crore and the project will provide employment to 1,014 people, it said.
The GR, however, mentioned that the 53 villas will not be able to enjoy incentives on the stamp duty and the state GST fronts.
It was pleasing to learn that India is going to give an amount of $1.4 billion of financial assistance to the Maldives as budget support, currency swap and line of credit for the social and economic development of Maldives. It is a highly appreciated step taken by the PM Modi to assist a neighbouring country. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to PM Modi for such a heart touching move which shows India’s generosity and humanity. Also this move will provide India with an opportunity to undertake high profile infrastructure projects as China does. I expect that the government of Maldives will be immensely pleased to receive such amount from India and it will lead both the countries to form a better relationship.
MFU Tandvi
Making most of the Metro dream
Prime Minister’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is a rejoinder about the metro services lacking in the city. Bhoomipujan in Kalyan took place with much fanfare, thus putting the metro project on the right track. Now that Mumbai has truly become India’s commercial hub, the quality of life, quality of infrastructure, quality of security and attitude—all need improvement. It is time to expand the radius of these Metro trains beyond and have a twin city concept. We look at Mumbai as an example. Mumbai metro did make an impact on the educational system as well. Even parents have a tough time when they switch over to tier-two cities and thus change the schools of children. PM has taken up the right initiative for the BJP-led government to show infra growth in the metro city.
Akhilesh Krishnan
Ghar Wapsi
It is heartening to note that Versova lad Hamid Ansari returns after six years and it is a welcoming news. Indian Foreign Ministry is working round the clock to bring back the stranded Indian citizens from the countries they are trapped in for various reasons. Sushma Swaraj has taken the right steps in this direction and brought back many stranded persons and that too from Pakistan. In the six years his parents could only hear his voice once and now he is back to the city after the efforts taken by the Indian government. Hamid was in Pakistan’s police custody from 2012 and now he is back to Mumbai. It is a happy welcome back home.
CK Suresh
Reduce the maximum time to change boarding point
The recent move by the Honourable Ministry of Railways to introduce hand held terms to TTEs to allocate berths is welcome. In an age of rapid technological development, advanced changes implemented in the Indian Railway’s computerised reservation system is highly appreciated, especially if it is an environment friendly move. The Railways now should not waste much time and quickly implement such a system to allocate RAC/Waitlisted passengers automatically across all the categories of trains for the booked tickets.
Further, the Railway Board is suggested to do away another archaic rule which has no essence in today’s busy world. The online booking system and an offline mechanism allow a reserved ticket holder to change the boarding point only 24 hours prior to the departure of the train. Such a rule now holds no value as it is not practically possible to make a decision just within 24 hours prior to the departure of a train, to change the boarding point from the original station. Such a decision needs at least 6 to 12 hours maximum time than the existing 24 hours rule. Many passengers, especially who travel for business and on official purpose find such a rule infeasible and it is hard for any passenger to make a decision within a day to change the boarding point. Hence, the concerned Honourable Ministry of Railways and the Railway Board is suggested to look into advancing the maximum time required to change the boarding point from the existing 24 hours to at least 6 to 12 hours prior to departure of the train. Such a move will certainly give benefit of doubt to the passengers and enable them to take a judicious decision to board at a selected destination within short notice of the train’s original departure time.
Varun Dambal
Rs 2 coins should be discontinued
It refers to the media reports that the Central Government is going to discontinue minting of Re 1 coin because of high minting cost of Rs 1.11. Any such decision is anti-consumer, and will tend to raise prices of many such commodities which are presently priced at Re 1. Minting cost is the one time cost spent on a coin with an extra long life. It is ridiculous that the Central Government despite adverse opinion of Reserve Bank of India, re-introduced Re 1 note on March 6, 2015, which has a high printing cost of much more than Re 1 and a very short life — only for the bureaucratic craze of having a signature on the note which is signed by an officer of Secretary rank, while the notes of all other denominations bear the signature of the RBI governor. The Central government and the RBI should produce coins only in denominations of Re 1 and Rs 5 discontinuing coins in denominations of Rs 2 and Rs 10. Traders force unwanted items like candies etc. in the place of Re 1 coin forcing coin bags of Rs 2 to falsely exhibit popularity of Rs 2 coins. Rs 10 coins are unpopular and people fear accepting these because of fake Rs 10 coins largely in circulation. If needed, the size of Re 1 coin can be further reduced to that of earlier 10 paise coin to reduce minting cost. Likewise, the size of Rs 5 coins can also be reduced. Since Re 1 notes re-introduced on March 6, 2015, have never come in practical circulation and sold only on premium multiple times the face value, further printing of Re 1 notes should be stopped with immediate effect. Existing stock of Re 1 notes may be sold as collector item in attractive plastic packing rather than allowing to be sold on premium by private dealers of new currency notes and coin bags.
Madhu Agrawal
JPC must be formed to check on Defence dealings
We do need modern aircraft to strengthen our defence capability. Some of these crafts could be purchased complete in ready to operate condition. Rest of them could be partially made or assembled here in India. The cost of the craft will depend upon what weaponry is installed and what systems are fitted on board. Obviously, the government can’t disclose these for strategic reasons. They can declare the total cost of it. A small Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) can be formed by the Parliament under the Oath of Secrecy to speedily check on this and if the Chairman of JPC gives a thumbs up signal indicating ” All is well”, the matter must end then.
Mahendra Singh
Congress should move on
Congress should move on now that the Rafale deal has been dusted, sealed and given a green signal by the Supreme Court. The highest court’s verdict should be respected and the political parties should not waste the precious time of the nation further to debate on an issue that needs no further investigations. It is we the people who elect a government and we must have faith in the representatives we elect, more so on matters that are sensitive and cannot be disclosed due to security reasons. Rafale deal made a lot of noise in the media but I hope that the aircrafts remain silent and we never ever have to use them for warfare and most of our border disputes get settled with peace talks. Wishful hoping peace returns and we concentrate on development and progress rather than on arms and warfare in future!
SN Kabra
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Upset over repeated disruptions in the House, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday held a meeting with the leaders of various political parties and emphasised that noise would not help solve anything.
She said that the image of the Lok Sabha has become one of disruptions only, according to sources.
The Speaker, while appealing for smooth functioning of the House, said that by causing din, neither can anyone raise questions, nor can anyone listen, the sources added.
To ensure smooth functioning of the House, a decision was taken to have a meeting of the Rules Committee tomorrow.
The meeting was attended by 20 leaders from various parties. This included Leader of Opposition Congress Mallikarjun Charge, BJP’s Anurag Thakur, AIADMK leader M Thambidurai, BJD’s B Mahtab, TMC’s Sudip Bandhyopadhyay, NCP’ s Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar.
The meeting was called by the Speaker as the House has not been able to function properly ever since the Winter session began on December 11 because of pandemonium created by members of some parties over various issues.
Cities that saw maximum retail growth in 2018 included MMR, NCR, Bengaluru, and Kolkata
PE investment inflow in the segment grew 54 per cent in H1 2018
32 new malls spanning nearly 13.5 million sq. ft. area are slated to be operational in 2019
Besides commercial office spaces, the retail sector also emerged as one of the most vibrant and fast-paced real estate sectors in India in 2018.
Among the major policy overhauls, the Government further liberalised FDI policies early in the year. These policy interventions repositioned the Indian retail sector on the global map of investments, attracting a large number of global retailers into India and further fuelling the growth of organised retail in the country.
The Government’s decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail and 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail under the automatic route was a definite crowd-pleaser that attracted giants like Walmart to make forays into the country.
The Government is now mulling to further tweak norms for retail trade – similar to SEZs – and enacting a 365-days working policy to help India climb higher on the Ease of Doing Business index among 190 countries.
Besides Government policies, rapid urbanization and digitisation, rising disposable incomes and lifestyle changes – particularly of the middle-class – also contributed to the growth of the Indian retail sector in 2018.
The retail sector is now projected to grow from $672 billion in 2017 to $.3 trillion in 2020. This is definitely an attainable figure if we consider one of the clearest measures of growth – namely the increasing focus on the retail sector by private equity (PE) players who invested close to $300 million in Indian retail in the first half of 2018.
The total PE investment inflow in the segment grew 54 per cent in H1 2018 as compared to H1 2017, while the y-o-y share also grew to 9 per cent (H1 2018) from 2 per cent (H1 2017).
Online Retail Boomed in 2018…
Meanwhile, online retail also witnessed exponential growth in 2018. In fact, as per estimates, ecommerce is expected to go on par with physical retail over the next 5 years, considering that ecommerce grew by as much as 23 per cent to reach $17.8 billion in 2017. India is poised to become the world’s fastest-growing ecommerce market, driven by robust investment in the sector and rapid increase in the number of internet users in the country.
… As Did Tier 2 & Tier 3 Cities
Another interesting trend witnessed in 2018 was that besides the top metros, tier 2 and 3 cities were also caught a significant part of the entire retail growth momentum. Tier 2 and tier 3 cities that continued to flourish in 2018 included Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kochi, Nagpur, Thiruvananthapuram and Vadodara.
Realising the potential of these largely untapped markets, both domestic and international brands have started penetrating here via rapid online presence, followed by a gradual offline presence. The fact that 35 per cent of luxury shopping sales come from tier 2 and tier 3 cities alone is urging the top brands to explore these markets.
Also, the lack of sufficient physical retail infrastructure in these cities is giving the e-tailing business an advantage – nearly 50-60 per cent sales of ecommerce companies are generated from Indian tier 2 and tier 3 cities alone.
Out of the total new supply becoming operational in 2019, nearly 3 million sq. ft. area will be coming up in tier 2 and 3 cities. The cities that will see new malls opening in 2019 include Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow, Ranchi, Rourkela, Solapur, Udaipur and Vizag.
Several factors are working in favour of tier 2 and 3 cities. While the metros face mounting challenges in the form of overall saturation due to lack of space, increasing rental values and escalating infrastructure woes, the smaller cities have been witnessing multiple infrastructure upgrades even as technological enhancements help create more awareness about brands, products and markets there.
In fact, the contemporary Indian shopper in tier 2 and tier 3 cities is more demanding and aware and has higher disposable income than ever before. A large segment of tier 2 and tier 3 city customers are globe-trotters and this has necessitated a revolutionary change in the way the retail sector must adapt to tap into their demand.
One of the radical shifts in the consumption pattern of new-age consumers in smaller towns is that these shoppers are moving beyond the basics and seek to buy products available in the larger urban areas. Therein lies a massive opportunity for retailers. Nearly 100 million people out of the 300-400 million-strong Indian middle-class currently resides in smaller towns and cities.
Top-performing Regions in 2018
As per ANAROCK data, the cities that contributed most generously to the Indian retail growth story in 2018 included MMR, NCR, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Besides the top metros, tier 2 and 3 cities like Bhubaneshwar in the eastern region, Vizag, Lucknow and Gorakhpur were other contributors to Indian retail activity. Each of these cities was expected to have one major mall of areas ranging between 60,000 – 3.50,000 sq. ft. operational by end of 2018.
Going by the current trends and our future predictions, the major metros that will outshine the rest in 2019 will be NCR, MMR, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Lucknow as far as brand expansion and new mall supply is concerned. Following the underlying demand for both national and international brands in most of these cities, retail activity is likely to see a major increase.
In order to stay relevant, brands will take both the online and offline route to reach out to larger audiences given the fact that total consumption expenditure in India is projected to rise to $3,600 billion by 2020.
2019 – Great Expectations…
As per ANAROCK data, as many as 32 new malls spanning nearly 13.5 million sq. ft. area are slated to be operational in 2019 across the major cities and several tier 2 & 3 cities. Among the major metros, both Bengaluru and NCR are expected to see 7 operational malls in each city, followed by 5 in Hyderabad, 3 in MMR and 1 in Chennai.
Again, however, the boom in India’s smaller cities is impossible to ignore. As per industry estimates, the market size of tier 2 and tier 3 cities is expected to grow from the current $5.7 billion to $0 billion by 2026. India’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities are definitely well-set to be the growth engines of the country’s retail future, and mall developers, as well as retailers, are actively looking to expand there.
In 2019, mall developers will continue to give major emphasis to F&B, multiplexes and entertainment centres in malls as shoppers’ quest for ‘experiential’ shopping will only rise. The influx of international retailers, growth of F&B coupled with increasing entertainment offerings will continue to make malls key recreational destinations.
Besides being mixed-use businesses that incorporate social entertainment options, malls will strive harder in 2019 to provide unique appeal along with more depth in shopping experience. Any new mall ventures in 2019 that are designed to succeed will focus on prime locations that are easily accessible by both public and private transport.
Tech-driven aspects like Artificial Intelligence (AI), data analytics, geo tagging, omni-channel shopping networks, etc and consumer-centric platforms such as Augmented Realty (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) will play an even bigger role in 2019. Innovative theme-based innovative marketing techniques, social kiosks, buy-online-pick-up-offline facilities – anything else that adds to the ease and enjoyment of the shopping experience – will be winning tickets for mall owners.
In fact, the key differentiator of the malls of the future vis-à-vis those of today will be the increasing integration of such technologies and multi-channel strategies in retail developments.
… And Not A Few Challenges
Ecommerce giants will continue their inexorable penetration of smaller towns and cities to leverage their current advantage. In fact, retailers will need to leverage ecommerce channels more to reach more customers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and thereby save significantly on real estate.
However, physical retailers cannot afford to hand the game to ecommerce in these cities and must simultaneously strive to offer a superior shopping experience to customers there.
To summarise
Both retail real estate developers and retailers will have equal roles to play in 2019, and we won’t see the year favouring either side. In fact, there will be some degree of consolidation of both the retailers and mall developers. Even though the Indian retail market is growing exponentially, some retailers will have to shut shop owing to the rising rentals in malls across metros.
Many such retailers will need to re-strategize their businesses in 2019 and probably look at other alternatives, including ecommerce.
The key for retailers to remain successful in 2019 will be to be present in the right locations, offer the right product and become unrelentingly customer-centric. Similarly, developers need to build their malls in not just the right location but also have the right mix of brands, and provide a wholistic shopping and entertainment experience to ensure returning customers in sufficient numbers.
By Anuj Kejriwal
(The author of the article is the MD and CEO of ANAROCK Retail.)
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Thursday asserted that Electronic Voting Machines cannot be tampered with, as he lamented EVMs being “tossed like a football” in political discourse.
He also said that the Election Commission is striving to ensure that incidents of EVM malfunctions reported during polls are reduced to a minimum.
“We are not satisfied. We are moving forward to ensure that there are not even a few incidents (of malfunction),” he told agencies in an interview.
A former bureaucrat, Arora was appointed as election commissioner on August 31, 2017. He succeeded Om Prakash Rawat as Chief Election Commissioner On December 1 this year after he retired.
Arora said that tampering and malfunctioning are two separate things. “Tampering shows mala fide (intention). Malfunction can happen,” he said.
There were 1.76 lakh polling booths in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana, where assembly elections were held recently, Arora said.
There were very few incidents of EVM malfunctioning (less than one per cent) of the total machines deployed, he said.
A total of 1.76 lakh EVMs were deployed — one machine per booth — during the elections.
He said the poll panel is continuously working to ensure that there are not even a few incidents of malfunction. “EVM is only a machine which records votes. Can it be programmed? No. A polite but emphatic no,” he asserted.
He said while the 2014 Lok Sabha elections had one result, the assembly elections in Delhi held soon after had an entirely different result.
Recent assembly polls in the five states had different results and even the bypolls held earlier had different results, he pointed out.
“If the result is ‘X’, it is okay. But if it is ‘Y’ then the EVM is faulty,” he said, responding to allegations by political parties on the reliability of EVMs.
Responding to a query, Arora said while political parties were free to target the EC and question its impartiality as it was their “right” as an important stakeholder, he said he was “hurt” that the EVM was being “tossed like a football”.
Political parties are an important stakeholder after voters, he said.
The CEC said that it is the stand of the Election Commission that the country will not go back to the ballot paper. “I am reiterating the stand today,” he said.
The Election Commission will hold the 2019 general election under Arora.
Besides the Lok Sabha polls, Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are scheduled to be held next year.
Arora also said that everyone in the Commission will continue to put their best foot forward to meet the expectation of all the stakeholders strictly in consonance and in conformity with the vision and ideals of the Constitution.
“We are also aware that Elections to Lok Sabha are in the offing. The internal preparations for this actually started sometimes back. We will try to meticulously prepare on all fronts …
“All my colleagues in the EC, we will elicit and want to solicit cooperation of all the stakeholders including political parties, members of the civil society, NGOs, media and all those who have a stake in the crucial events like elections to Lok Sabha of India,” he said.
Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) Chief Upendra Kushwaha is likely to make announcement of him joining the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) today, said sources.
The political parties part of the grand alliance are expected to unveil their future plans at a press conference in the national capital. In the same presser Kushwaha would formally join the grand alliance.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil will jointly conduct the press conference.
RLSP chief, Kushwaha recently severed ties with the NDA on December 10. RLSP, a Bihar-based party has three seats in the Lok Sabha.
Kushwaha in an exclusive conversation with ANI had asserted that the BJP’s “arrogance” and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were the reasons behind him quitting the NDA.
On December 19, the RLSP chief dropped the hint that he may join hands with the ‘grand alliance’ or ally with a third front.
In the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the show of unity to orchestrate Mahagathbandhan is underway. The main aim of the grand-alliance is to defeat the BJP in upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court seeking time till January 31 to surrender in connection with a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which he was recently sentenced to life imprisonment.
Kumar, who was directed by the high court on Monday to surrender before authorities by December 31, sought more time saying he has to settle family affairs.
Advocate Anil Sharma, representing Kumar, said they need some more time to file appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s verdict and Kumar has to settle his family matters relating to his children and property.
The plea is likely to come up for hearing on Friday.
The case relates to killing of five Sikhs in Raj Nagar part-I area in Palam Colony in South West Delhi on November 1-2, 1984, and burning down of a Gurudwara in Raj Nagar part II during that period.
The Jinnah House here would be converted into a venue along the lines of Hyderabad House in New Delhi, said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday.
The venue will be renovated into an international cultural centre to hold meetings with international delegations.
In a letter to city Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Mangal Prabhat Lodha, she said that the ministry is in process of “transferring the ownership of the property in our name”.
The EAM also underscored that the Prime Minister’s Office has approved the property’s transfer from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The letter was a response to Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Lodha’s previously sent letter to Swaraj where he had pushed for the MEA to take the property in their possession due to its deteriorating condition.
“Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) instructed us to renovate and refurbish Jinnah House to develop it on the pattern of facilities available in Hyderabad House in Delhi. Accordingly, approval of PMO was sought for transfer of the property from ICCR to our Ministry. PMO has now accorded necessary approval,” Swaraj wrote in the letter.
Jinnah House has been the subject of a legal battle between the government of India and Jinnah’s daughter Dina Wadia, who in 2007 moved the Bombay high court to regain control of the property. Wadia died in November last year.
Legislator Lodha welcomed the decision and told ANI, “The government has decided to convert the Jinnah House (Mumbai) into an international cultural centre. It was a long-pending demand for which other people and I have been trying for the last 10 years. I’m thankful to Modi ji and Sushma Swaraj ji for this decision.”
After independence, the Jinnah House was used by the British High Commissioner until 1982. Under the ICCR, the house converted to a Sub Regional Centre for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
The birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem 2018 years ago ushered in an era of salvation. Only when every individual experience this salvation, Christmas becomes a meaningful celebration. The love of God manifested in the coming of the Messiah is to make sure that no one is abandoned to the curse of death. The two important figures in the manger, Mary and Joseph, reveal to us the true meaning of Christmas.
Christmas will be a celebration for us only when we are able to look back into our past and take count of every bit of pain that we endure as an investment for the sake of Jesus Christ. It is in such moments of hardship that our commitment to Christ manifests the power of love. As Mother Mary spread the pieces of cloth she managed to save up in order to wrap her baby in comfort, so shall we weave together our experiences of brokenness and offer it for Christ Jesus to be born into our lives. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this month, let us not forget to show mercy to the poor and the abandoned, the helpless and the orphans. Let us celebrate Christmas fully within our financial limits, and at the same time, we must remember to give thanks to God for the goodness and mercy He has shown in our lives. And at the end of the year, we must spend some time in prayer for the New Year’s blessings and for God’s guidance. The New Year will then be a blessing for us.
December 25 is not the actual birth date of Jesus Christ. The date was selected as the day of Christmas because it was around the time of various Pagan festivals, such as the Roman Saturnalia.
Most people know that Christians celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ, but it also means much more. It means having fun with your family and friends, spending time with them, seeing all the decorative Christmas items, decorating the Christmas tree, singing carols, spending time in prayer and eating all the delicious food and homemade sweets.
Among the various celebrations connected with Christmas, the sending of Christmas cards to friends and relatives has become a ritual.
Another feature of the festival is the installing of Christmas trees. Little fir trees or replicas of them are decorated and gifts are placed on them. Little children believe that the gifts placed on the Christmas trees have been placed by Santa.
Christmas is a celebration of love, peace, and joy. But however, this season of spiritual happiness has over the years been overtaken by superficial celebration, be it with fancy greeting cards, decorations, gifts, decking up, feasting, in a phrase an occasion for the rich and fashionable.
Christmas is celebrated for twelve days — from December 25 till January 6 and there is a song based on the twelve days of Christmas which is sung during the Christmas season by both the children and the adults.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The UK government has released a White Paper on its post-Brexit visas and immigration strategy, which is expected to benefit Indian students and professionals as it focuses on skills rather than country of origin.
The UK’s future skills-based immigration system, tabled in the House of Commons on Wednesday by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid, removes any cap on highly-skilled migrants from anywhere in the world and improves the post-study work offering for international students.
The proposals, set to be phased in from December 2021 after the proposed transition period for Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), claim to level the country’s immigration playing field with the end of free movement for people from within the 28-member economic bloc.
“As we leave the European Union, free movement will end This will be a system where it is workers’ skills that matter, not which country they come from,” British Prime Minister Theresa May said in her foreword to the strategy.
“We are taking a skills-based approach to ensure we can attract the brightest and best migrants to the UK,” added Javid, who made a reference to his own Pakistani origins as the “son of immigrant parents”.
Under the new proposals, an annual cap of 20,700 on the number of skilled work visas issued will be removed, likely to benefit doctors and IT professionals from India, among others. There will also be a new 12-month visa route for workers at any skill level for a temporary period to allow businesses to hire the staff they need on a time-bound basis.
“People arriving on this route will not be able to bring family members with them, won’t accrue rights to settle in the UK and will have a 12-month cooling off period once their visa expires,” the UK Home Office said.
The onerous requirement for labour market tests by employers wanting to sponsor an overseas skilled worker are also to be done away with.
The plans were broadly welcomed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which said the White Paper recognises the value offered by skilled workers from countries like India.
“Indian Industry has long called for a fair, transparent and skills-based immigration system, and today’s proposals go some way to achieving these goals, said Jim Bligh, of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Chair of CII’s UK India Business Forum.
“Tackling the UK’s skills gaps, particularly in digital and technology, must remain a key focus for government and it is welcome that this paper recognises the value that skilled workers from overseas can bring to helping improve the UK’s skills base, he said.
Under changes proposed to attract international students to the UK, the government said it would “improve the current offer” to those who have completed a degree who want to stay on in the UK to work after they have completed their studies by offering six months’ post-study leave to all Master’s students and Bachelor’s students studying at an institution with degree-awarding powers. This is aimed at giving them more time to find permanent skilled work and to work temporarily during that period.
“We will also allow for students studying at Bachelor’s level or above to be able to apply to switch into the skilled workers route up to three months before the end of their course in the UK, and from outside of the UK for two years after their graduation,” the White Paper notes.
Universities UK International, the representative group for the country’s higher education institutions which has been campaigning for a better post-study offer, said the proposals recognise the important contributions made by international students to the UK.
“Allowing graduates to stay on for longer to find work in the UK sends the message that international students are welcome here, and we value the skills they bring. These changes will have a real, positive impact on the students who come here to study and their opportunities after graduating,” said Vivienne Stern, Director of Universities UK International.
The Maharashtra government has approved a film-centric entertainment destination to be developed by the Mahindra Group at an investment of Rs 1,900 crore in a suburb of Mumbai.
Upset over repeated disruptions in the House, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday held a meeting with the leaders of various political parties and emphasised that noise would not help solve anything.
