Another Addition to India's Naval Might

The Indian Navy today added to its naval might by launching the third Scorpene-class submarine Karanj at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai. Navy chief Admrial Sunil Lanba, was the chief guest on the occasion while his wife Reena Lanba launched the submarine.

Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Lanba said the submarine will undergo rigorous tests for the next one year before it is commissioned. a total six submarines are going to be built at the MDL. The submarines are being built in collaboration with French shipbuilding major Naval Group.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month commissioned the first of the six Scorpene-class submarine Kalvari into the Indian Navy and said its induction was a big step in the country's defence preparedness. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had then said that submarine building is a sophisticated and exacting craft which very few countries possess in their industrial capacity.

Karanj is the third of the six Scorpene-class submarines being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited - MDL under the Project 75 programme. The first one, INS Kalvari, was commissioned on December 14 last year. The second one, Khandari, has already been launched and is undergoing sea trials. It is equipped with precision guided weapons and capable of launching both, torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.The submarines also have the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface.

The contract for the construction and transfer of technology for six Scorpene submarines in series has Naval Group, formerly called DCNS, of France as collaborator and are being built by MDL.

The technology being used for construction of the Scorpene class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels and hydrodynamically optimized shape.

Read More

Happy National Day, France

It is National Day in France today as the country celebrates 220^th anniversary of Fall of Bastille. The event marked the start of the French revolution. I was in ninth standard when I first learned of French revolution. It was exactly 20 years ago and the lesson was incorporated in our textbook. That was the time when I first learned about Robespierre, Honoré Mirabeau and also Marie Antoinette. It was a coincidence that the same year marked 20^th anniversary of the French revolution.

This year, India is getting honour at the fête nationale as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the parade organised at the national day celebration. 310 Indian soldiers will march along in the parade on the beats of military band. I am happy to find that the work of Maratha infantry in the first world war, fighting on the side of British against Germany is still revered in France, as I found in some media reports.

I am always attracted to the land of Eiffel Tower. I hope I can some day go there. Meanwhile, happy fête nationale, France.

Read More

First French Movie

Thanks to NFAI, I Could Watch It

First time in my life, I watched a French movie a day before yesterday. It was a beautiful movie telling a story of two young girls with dreams in their eyes. Though I understand French a little, it was easy to understand the movie because of subtitles.

French films are screened in Pune time and again but I do not get a chance see them. For one reason or another, I have always missed the bus. This time round also, I could not go to the all movies because of office timings. It was a chance holiday on May 1 that enabled me to attend the screening. There was a motley group of about 100 people to see the film. Although, I doubt how many of them came out of the love of French language because as far as I could see, the majority of them were from Film and Television Institute of India.

The movie was a part of the French film festivals organized in Pune by National Film Archives of India with the co-operation of Embassy of France in India. La vie rêvée des anges, that was the title of the movie. The film festival started on May 1 and will go on till tomorrow.

Before the start of the festival, India and France signed an agreement to donate 234 films to India. The films are donated from the library of embassy of France to NFAI.

All these films are produced in France. An agreement to this effect was signed on April 30 at NFAI by Philippe Martinet, Cultural Counsellor, Embassy of France and Vijay Jadhav, Director, NFAI will sign the agreement.

This is one more time that NFAI will get a treasure of French movies. In 2003 also 88 films were handed over to NFAI by Embassy of France. Before that, Earlier, in 1998, the Embassy of France donated 29 films to the National Film Archives of India.

Under the agreement, these films will be preserved at NFAI. They will have non-commercial screenings, research and studies. An embassy press release said that the Embassy of France in India is committed to strengthening the relations between cultural institutions of our two countries towards achieving this goal.

Read More

The Sweet Grapes

One is not sure whether it is a good or bad news. A new Indian Grape Processing Board is set to come into existence in Pune as the central government has approved the proposal. The move is expected to give boost to the wine industry in Maharashtra. According to figures provided by government, the Indian wine industry is worth Rs 275 crores and growing at 25 –30% annually. Maharashtra is the No. 1 state in industry while Nashik is called the Wine Capital of India.

The Board will be an autonomous body facilitated by the Government of India and managed by the industry representatives. An outlay of Rs 5.39 crores has been sanctioned for the establishment of the Board. Pune is the principal grape growing area in the country. The wine industry in Maharashtra leads in the country. According to figures available with Maharashtra government, out of 61 wine industries in India, 58 are from the state. Two industries are located in Karnataka while Andhra has only one. Among these 58 industries, 30 are located in Nashik district while 11 are in Pune. Rest are in Sangli, Solpaur, Buldhana and Usmanabad.

Board is expected to give a new boost to the Indian wine industry, by fostering sustainable development through Research and Development, Extension, Quality control and market research. Just last month, I have given a story of a move by National Horticulture Board to get Geographical Indication for the wine grown in the area of Nashik and Pune. The wine made from grapes cultivated in this area will be called Sahyadri Wine.

However, currently the situation is not ripe with regard to wine industry. As an effect of recession and terror attacks, the demand has plummeted and stocks are piling up.

---

Wine production in India (upto Sept. 2008): Two crores 25 lakh litre
Wine production in Maharashtra (upto Sept. 2008) : Two Crores 11 lakh litre
Wine industries in India : 61
Wine industries in Maharashtra : 58
Area under cultivation of grapes (India) : 60,000 Hectares
Area under cultivation of grapes (Maha.): 35,236 Hectares

---

Maharashtra government announced its wine policy in October 2001. Thereafter, the industry was given heavy encouragement in the state. Many major steps were taken like:

• To set up wine parks in the state.
• To issue licenses for the wineries at district level.
• To include wineries in the food processing industry sector and removing from the list of country made and foreign made liquor.
• To bring the excise duty on wine from 100 percent to 0 percent.

It has faced wrath for opponents also but it did not deter the government from going ahead. Still, the industry has a long way to go as 98 percent of grapes produced in India used for the eating while in a country like France, 99 of grapes go into wine making.
-----------

Read More

Ganga Flows in Marathi

Ganga-a book written after the twenty years of toil is coming in Marathi now. The authentic work, created after he carried out research for radio documentaries, is translated by senior journalist Prakash Akolkar. The Marathi translation was released on Saturday by Ulhas Latkar of Ameya Prakashan by the hands of union Power minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

Julian Crandall Hollick, the France born radio journalist works with Independent Broadcasting Associates Inc, US. When asked how Ganga came about, he replied through email, “Ganga is the culmination of more than twenty years of living in India. Ganga brings together so many different aspects that go to make up India - her history, mythology, culture, the environment. And it brings them together in an uniquely Indian manner of paradox and contradictions; a goddess both in mythological and liquid form.”

The writer is too excited about the Marathi translation and relived his days in Mumbai and Pune on this occasion. “I'm tickled pink it's appearing in Marathi. I have spent several years in Mumbai and a bit of time in Pune, but I have no real idea about Marathi readers. I will be extremely interested to read and hear their reaction. I lived and worked in Mumbai for several years in the 1990s with pavement dwellers and street kids in Byculla and I want to write a book about them because by chance I happened to stumble on them the week they made their first stab at organising themselves in October 1986. Ever since I've been a sort of unofficial chronicler. And it's a fabulously rich story that few Indians know.” Julian was to Pune several times in the 1980s. He had spent his first Diwali here.

Ganga, the book, was extremely well received in India last year. Julian is more pleased because ‘the critics who reviewed it invariably looked at what it said and not at the nationality of the person who was writing about Ganga.’ He says, “In most cases the greatest surprise for all readers has been the chapter on the extraordinary purifying powers of Ganga - The Mysterious Factor X. A river that purifies not just human souls but its own pollution! Now that really impresses the non-Indian reader. And I thought it was the weakest of all the chapters when I was writing the book. Did I get that one wrong!”

Interestingly, Ganga first appeared in radio documentary. “Someone suggested a book after all the recordings were finished in late 2005. Because all the tapes are transcribed and saved it was relatively easy to make the transition between electronic media and the written word. The printed form allows me to add so many explanations, to expand on what on the radio may be just a few seconds,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Akolkar, deputy editor of Maharashtra Times said, “When I first read Ganga, I realised it is a serious book. It is not a travelogue or a novel. It is an issue and the question is not about Ganga but pollution of each and every river of Ganga. Then I decided to translate it. This was a different book altogether and I had to ask help to many experts for the work. The translation was completed in just eight months.”

------------

Read More

A Meeting With French IT Journalist

He is here on a mission : to find out the work culture and secrets of success of Information Technology companies in India. He is also here to find out why European companies are not a part of them as also how much chance they stand to enter the market. Besides the oft repeated reason of linguistic barrier, he also sights one reason why European IT companies are not present in large number in India : the lack of data security.

Valéry Marchive, Editor At Large of LeMagIT, a French trade magazine dedicated to European IT sector is on a study tour of Indian IT companies. he started his sojourn from Pune on Monday when he visited KPIT Cummins at Hinjwadi. After that he also visited CapGemini and Tata Consultancy Services. Valéry also has a meeting scheduled with French Economic Mission in New Delhi. He is currently visiting and studying various companies based on which a full series will appear in his magazine from around September.

When asked what he has found about the companies, Valéry said though he was impressed with the working of the companies and especially its staff, he has yet to form any substantive opinion on the same. He told what he thought was the reason for very less number of French IT companies in India. "People in France are very poor in English. That is one reason why they fail to reach out to Indian companies. As an IT pro, I know many US and British companies have set up their offices in India. Compared to it, French companies have minimal presence. Another reason is that of data security issue. India is still perceived as a potential unsafe country in terms of data security. In France or any other European country, personal data is still perceived as critical and its safety is considered a priority issue."

Express Transaction
Elaborating on this issue, Valéry gave an example of how transaction can be risky in India. The incident took place just a week ago. "When I was scheduling my travel in India, I was booking flights to and from various cities from Jet Airways and Indian Airlines company's official websites. After six of my flights were booked, seventh flight could not be booked because I was told my American Express card has been blocked. When I enquired with the card company, I got a shock when I was told that large transactions of money are being done from my card in a single day. Since the transactions originated in India, American Express thought it safe to block the card, as India is seen as unsafe by the company," he said.

Mixed Bag Pune
Asked about the impressions of Pune, Valéry said, "This city reminds me of a south Italian town two decades ago. It is slow but also it has many companies and lot of young people. Girls here seem pretty, too. But I am amazed at the contrast of the life here. In Mumbai, I visited Goregaon East where I was surprised to find computers even in small huts. Here I asked some people how can they talk of high speed Internet when they do not have electricity itself. The people answered me that for Internet, they are not dependent on computers. They get it on their mobile handsets."

Meanwhile, Valery is blogging his way in India at http://blogs.lemagit.fr/ . He is writing about the India and Indian people as also IT companies.

Read More

Billa makes a French Bang

It seems that Rajnikant’s magic is only spreading by each passing day. His 'Muthu' captivated the imaginations of Japanese audience. A certain French film, which is yet to be released, ‘Pret moi toi main’ features Rajnikant’s fight scene in Muthu. The scene is featured for 150 seconds where the main heoine of the film watches this clip. Then she tells her friend, “This is Muthu, a must watch Indian movie.”
Now it is the turn of 'Billa' to floor Western audiences. France’s deputy director of Film France Commission Nationale, Frank Priot, who was in Chennai recently, said the comedy sequences in Billa are particularly ‘‘very interesting and pretty good.’’ He has picked up a few DVDs of the same to watch it all over again with friends in France.
'Billa', which was a remake of the original Amitabh bachchan starrer Don, was released in 1980. It is hailed as Rajnikant’s second film coming and was a huge box office hit. Songs from this film are considered a hit even today particularly `My name is Billa’, is most famous. There are plans to remake the film, and Ajith may play Rajni’s role.Priot was also impressed with 'Dhool' and 'Ghajini'. He watched the Suriya starrer 'Ghajini' in a theatre and liked it so much that he has bought the DVD. Who knows, there may be remakes of those as well. Already, Anniyan, last year’s blockbuster was dubbed into French and it is the first Indian film to be dubbed in French.

Read More

An UNI story

Panaji : Watching Indian films is not at all a problem for the French as they do not want these films to be dubbed in their own language, according Serge Sobczynski, in charge of the 'Cinema du Monde'(Cinema of the World) section of the Cannes Film Festival. ''The French want to enjoy the original sound of Indian languages, so as to get a real feel of the work,'' he said. Mr Sobczynski is here at the of India International Film Festival to select Indian films for Cannes 2007 which would celebrate India's 60th independence day during its own 60th anniversary next year. He told UNI that in France, films are screened with only French subtitles as people feel that watching a dubed film destroys the original effect. ''Can you get a real Ingmar Bergman except in the Swedish language?'' said Mr Sobczynski.He said during the Cannes 2007 there will be two days entirely devoted to Indian cinema-- one day for art films and the second day for the mainstream cinema. ''I will try to see as many films as possible in the India Panorama section of the Goa film festival to make selections for the Cannes,'' he said.Replying to a querry, Mr Sobczynski said Indian films were beginning to be appreciated in France and of late the market was also opening up for them.

My take: I fully agree with Mr. Sobczynski. The dubbed film really destroys the delight of the original ones. I have seen it in Roja and Muthu Maharaja (original Muthu). Subtitles are the best way for a foreign film to be appreciated. Hasving said thzat, one must note, ironically though, Tamil Anniyan is the first Indian film to be dubbed in French. Rajinikant’s Muthu will be featured in one French film, Pret Moi Toi Main for 120 seconds.

Read More

L'Inde un hub de film ? Pas encore ?

L'Inde un hub de film ? Pas encore ?

Tandis que l'Inde se vante de la deuxième plus grande industrie de film dans le monde, elle a également une présence croyable des chiquenaudes de Hollywood ces derniers temps. Estime le projet qui d'ici 2025, les plus grandes assistances au monde sera en Chine et en Inde. L'Inde, avec une tradition film-allante vieille d'un siècle est le marché de rapide-croissance en Asie, représentant 73% des admissions Asie-Pacifiques. Ce montre une capacité prometteuse d'émerger comme grand hub dans l'arène de divertissement pour le pays. Mais… les affaires internationales de films ne signifient pas peu de crores de Bollywood et beaucoup plus de dollars de Hollywood, là ne sont pas beaucoup d'industries en monde, grondant et prospérant, résilient et survivant qui montrent un talent surnaturel de présenter leurs talents dans les manières dont les plus imaginatives seulement un mordu du cinéma peut avoir. L'Iran, la France et l'Espagne ont vraiment le ressort en avant en tant que joueurs vifs sur cette ligne. Compte tenu de cette situation, il y a loin peu des films de ces pays qui voient l'obscurité des théâtres indiens. Ainsi un grand morceau des mordus du cinéma indiens restent sans surveillance par leur foire et desserrent par conséquent la conscience nécessaire. Ainsi la question se pose alors voici ceci : L'Inde peut-elle vraiment devenir le capital du monde du cinéma ? Peut-elle avoir les moyens de réclamer un endroit dans la monotonie globale des affaires moviemaking et de film, tout en collant aux ressources limitées, s'ils peuvent s'appeler ainsi, que ce semble ajustement ? Un point qui vient en avant est si le pays est `se produisant' seulement dans le sens d'affaires, ou dans le sens plus grand de toutes les activités qui est assorti à lui ? Parlons avec quelques exemples. Les films qui ont fait un futur en dernières années, même du pli de Hollywood étaient ceux qui ont eu l'action bourrée dans tous elles. Aucun film qui a évoqué les thèmes de l'émotion humaine, des questions concernant le comportement humain ou des questions sociales n'étaient en grande partie inaperçu ou donné une réponse tiède. Quelques coups principaux de caisse de Hollywood en Inde incluent l'agrégation de Titanic (1998) - de $11 millions ; Spiderman (2002) - $6.6 millions ; Godzilla (1998) - $6.1 millions - mourir un autre jour (2002) - $5 millions ; Terminateur 3 (2003) - $3.5 millions ; et Spiderman 2 (2004) - $7.4 millions. Il a incité les distributeurs circonspects à quelques films lourds' ou signicatifs de `et les a faits à faire bon accueil à ceux, qui pourraient se résumer comme oeuvres alimentaires de `'. Par conséquent, le `la vitesse, le' `Matrix' ou les anges de Charlie de `' pourraient faire le foin sur la caisse tandis que la montagne de `nommé par récompense d'académie audacieux et belle', de `de Brockback' et beaucoup comme eux se trouvaient évincés dans une semaine de leur premier criblage dans la plupart des théâtres. Dans un sens, Hollywood tiennent le premier rôle a briller encore en Inde, en dépit de ses meilleurs efforts de pénétrer le marché. Il se vante plus de de 90% du marché européen aussi bien qu'une grande part dans d'autres régions film-allantes. Mais il a faire encore une bosselure, avec environ 5% du marché indien. Hollywood est entré dans l'Inde pour obtenir une prise dans le vide créateur gauche par un Bollywood alors-confus. Quand Hollywood a accédé au marché indien de film en 1992, il a agrégé de pauvre $1.3 millions. Depuis lors, les films tels que le parc jurassique, le Godzilla, le Titanic, le Spiderman et l'Anaconda, avec leurs versions doublées, ont fait des affaires énormes. Par exemple, Spiderman a ratissé dans les revenus de $6.6 millions tandis que sa suite Spiderman 2 agrégeait $7.44 millions. Godzilla a également agrégé plus de $6 millions Ce laisse peu pour expliquer quel genre de films le rendent grand ici. Et aucune estimation pour savoir que la plupart des revenus mentionnés ci-dessus sont venues des versions doublées de ces films. Ainsi comment l'Inde va-t-elle célébrer la magie des films dans cette sphère limitée ? Si l'Inde est d'avoir une domination du monde dans les films lancent sur le marché ou elle compte avoir une pléthore d'occasions dans cette sphère, prévoyant même une certaine influence pour ses industries du cru, alors elle doit s'ouvrir aux vistas plus grands disponibles à chaque entourage. L'expérience jusqu'à maintenant est lackluster, pour dire les mineurs. Un festival des films français par Alliance de Francais ici ou un festival des films allemands a arrangé par le Mueller maximum que Bhavan là ne crée pas l'environnement conducteur dont le futur lumineux est prévu.

Read More