Ram Buxani Of Dubai & Hari Leila Of Hong Kong & Investors Offered To Help With $ 1.5 Billion investment in A&N islands — It Was Considered But Ruled Out As IMF Bailed India Out In 1991—See Last Post.
This is IDF’s 8th Analysis on COVID-19 on how PMO may like to revive an old Andaman SEZ/FTZ investment plan and take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis and avert World Bank Prediction on India’s 1.9% growth, released by M/s Gita Gopinath. PM Narasimha Rao and PM Dr Manmohan Singh saved India in 1991 ! PM Modi is resolute. He is the leader who with “out of the box”, thinking can turn this crisis around and has formed a Bi Partisan Committee.
Markets move on sentiments……India needs sentiment, as investors have pulled out from India and Indian Funds relied on them. Investors can be tempted to come back. BJP Government slept to move on COVID-19, as Shekhar Gupta in Print laments all in BJP were busy working to dethrone Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh.
IDF, was taught Defence Economics (Thesis —Defence Spending Can Be A Bucking Horse) in RN Staff College and asked a young M/s Gita Gopinath at an IDSA Conference, what is the quantum of Black Money in percentage terms of India’s GDP. She replied, “ We (economists) do not study this, as statistical Data is not available. We need official statistics”. Gita born on 8TH December 1971 knew my son or of his family born 1972, who like Gita studied Economics hence my courage, to ask a stupid question.
Gita a Malyali economy star is married to a former IAS Officer Dhaliwal(Wikipedia). I thought my question was relevant as cash economy PM Modi order DEMONET. IDF bore her answer as IDF bears his Kerala wife’s … ‘Three No Trumps’ !!!
Talking of Malyalis, most PAs in New Delhi are Malus. Their English is good, so this post has to be personal by a Sindhi also married to a Kerala girl whose ancestors owned the Ypeen island. The Kerala girl, a grandmother now is livid, that IDF wrote the sexy novel ‘An Underhand Affair’ (ISBN 9789388 644 767 on Amazon) to glorify the Navy, and depicted how sexy Kerala women are, on Publishers insistence, use coconut oil for their tussles of hair and food. IDF has not plagiarized Lady Chatterley’s lover in the novel.
I warm DELETE IDF IF BUSY and apologise for poor Edit as www.indiadefenceforum.com is a one man hobby in Lock Down to avoid dementia but the British Staff College mates enjoyed the juicy grammatical flaw. So an Andaman investment story begins.
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In 1991 India was broke and needed FFE. Officials led by FM Dr Manmohan Singh with PS RK Khullar and Montek Ahluwalia came from Bangkok; PC Chidambaram with PS Sindhushree Khullar, Deepak Nayyar, NK Singh, Geeta Krishnan, Deputy Governor RBI, Chacko of Exim Bank and business men like a Thapar, and Investors from Hong Kong worried of their future were assembled in Singapore’s Imperial Hotel looking to invest in the Andamans.
Hari Leila’s reps from Tax Free Hong Kong and Ram Buxani representing Sindhis and businessmen from Duty Free Dubai and Singaporean Investors led by Mr Abraham Head of Singapore-India Chamber of Commerce were present with Chinese Tycoons. Mr Khattar of Khattar Wong, later owner of Radisson Mahipalpur, Jummabhoys, Late Ranjan Kapur of Thompson Advertising and Foreign Head of Insurance Uttam too were there too, if memory serves IDF right.
News came at the meeting IMF loan was agreed and the Andaman & Nicobar proposal has died a death, since. Another related incident.
A pleased FM Dr Manmohan Singh arranged a Dinner that night, and told Mr Khullar to invite his friend Shri SL Kirloskar( First Ex-MIT Indian) who happened to be at Singapore’s Shangrila. I learnt laterMr Kirloskar requested for an invitation for his Maharashtrian Private Secretary as he was frail, on phone and was regretted.
At Dinner MMS inquired, “Where is Mr Kirloskar?”. IDF recalls HC Tiwari in panic, “ Rush take my car, and bring Mr Kirloskar and his secretary.” Aged SL with an expensive walking stick was waiting bow tied in the lobby.
From WIKIPEDIA:- “S. L. Kirloskar was a global thinker and an enterprising person who had the courage and the confidence in the potential of his own country even in the pre-independence era. He often said, “Economic preparedness is as vital as military preparedness.” He viewed India as a part of the rest of the world and worked towards making India globally competitive.” IDF quoted him as India is strong and if we have to fight, better, off Andaman’s ! The A & N INVESTMENT plan should be revisited afresh !!
India must think out of the Box and convert COVID crisis into opportunity as ……..Why can Indians and NRIs and Investors not invest in Andaman & Nicobar. Why can Indians not invest on terms of Duty Free outlets like at our airports and in Bali and Sri Lamka , let ships refuel and cater to ship repair and a container transfer hub to take away business from Singapore, Trincomalee and Colombo (depth of water best for Deep Water Ports) and tourism on a few islands and provide Banking like Bermuda, Hong Kong and Canary Islands do. In 1988 the proposal was sent to Service Headquarters and was turned down on the lame excuse of Security Risk led by Army and is on file in office of Naval Intelligence. What risk today ? Is our Navy weak ?
Finally to be convincing. China became rich as all their black wealth was stashed in in Tax Free Hong Kong and in Banks in dollars etc, even in notes as Indians was in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Cayman Islands and havens and IT is still investigating under invoicing and pillows and safe deposit vaults.
Chinese think deviously but nationally. One day CCP allowed all HK and Hot Money to flow into the Shenzhen Free Trade Zone(FTZ) to set up businesses and factories ……no questions were asked…..China has not looked back with more SEZs. IDF shudders to think what China GDP will be if Taiwan joins, or is taken. Taiwan’s reserves, military and technology which is from USA and the world may make China will blossom further ! Japan’s war booty is also said to be in Fomosa !
A&N is India’s Economic Loadstone which must be rubbed, and India’s Strategic Silver bullet with islands like floating air fields sprinkled over the Eastern Indian Ocean atop the Malacca Straits which is, “ China’s Dilemma” for Enrergy to connect to IOR and Pakistan.
The islands are part of India but geographically closer to friendly Myanmar and Thailand. Presently Indian Airlines or Airways from Kolkata (Calcutta) or Chennai (Madras) or an old SCI ship takes 48 hours from Chennai or 56 hours from Kolkata. Government servants get 30% extra pay, free passages and food is subsidized – a losing venture, india can no longer afford.
The Cholas used Andaman and Nicobar Islands to wage wars against Sri Wijaya Empire in Sumatra. In the 17th century, Andaman was used as a Maratha base by the Admiral Kanhoji Angre who fought against the British and the Dutch. Admiral Zheng opened the Maritime Silk Route (MSR) by cruising through the 10 Degree channel. Japan built airfields in World War II and sank Royal Navy ships. The Indian Navy has named its Mumbai Castle as ‘INS Angre’ to honour the Maratha. The British General Staff in Whitehall wanted to keep the islands, at Independence, but Nehru and Patel are credited to have convinced Lord Mountbatten to ensure the islands were given to India and not shared with Pakistan as Jinnah wanted. India must use. its assets. Shan Na Varuna.