Incredible India@60 makes waves

EVENTS: Man on the street remained unaware of the four-day event, though. Baljit, one of the many professionals thronging Singapore's popular riverside spot, where a "reverse" bungee jump is on offer, did not know about the ongoing "Incredible India@60" event in the city.

No, he hadn't heard of the business conference or the ongoing dance performances and cultural exhibits at the well-known Plaza Singapura, despite the fact that he is associated with the local tourism industry.

He, however, represents one side of the story. The four-day event, which concluded earlier this week, may not have touched too many "common people", but it surely made waves in the establishment.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was of the many prominent leaders of the country who took out time to address the few hundred participants at the business conference.

Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni were in Singapore especially for the event, accompanied by a delegation of 20-odd Indian CEOs.

Singapore is the only overseas location, other than the United States, where Incredible India@60 celebrations have been organised. The reason is that it is India's strategic and business ally in the region. It is India's gateway to the whole south-east asian region as well as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

It is the first and only country in the world with which India has signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Treaty (CECA). It is the fourth largest investor in India (think Singtel, Temasek) and the 11th largest trading partner. The list goes on and on.

The buzz is that the India-Singapore relations got a boost once the architect of modern Singapore "" Lee Kuan Yew or LKY, as he is commonly known "" decided that Singapore needs to be better engaged with India and Indians.

Thanks to that change of heart, the number of Indians working in the country has been sharply up over the last few years, as are the number of restaurants serving pricey Indian fare.

"Treat us as the eastern most port of India," says Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's minister for community development, youth and sports.

And for those who feel that India can learn little from Singapore, given the difference in scale of the two countries (Singapore's population is less than five million against over a billion for India), India can pick up the "best practices" from Singapore in various fields, says Commerce Minister Kamal Nath.

India showcased the best of its industry at the event "" jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Ministry of Tourism "" with the business delegation comprising Bharti Group's Sunil Mittal, Analjit Singh from the Max Group, Punj Lloyd's Atul Punj, Coca-Cola India's Atul Singh, Arun Bharat Ram of SRF and Gopal Srinivasan of TVS Electronics.

As for the soft power display, there was a fashion show by designer and film-maker couple Meera and Muzaffar Ali. There was also a cultural show organised, comprising about a dozen main dance forms of India, with actor Kabir Bedi as the master of ceremonies. And then it was curtains down!

(The visit of this correspondent to Singapore for participating in Incredible India@60 was sponsored by CII)