Indo-Dutch Chamber gives warm farewell to Ambassador Marten Van Den Berg

Netherlands Ambassador Leaves Behind A Rich Legacy

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, July 19: Indo Dutch Chamber of Business & Sciences (IDCBS) hosted a farewell for Ambassador of The Netherlands to India Marten Van Den Berg. The Ambassador is also the Chief Patron of the Chamber.

Chairman of the Indo Dutch Chamber of Business & Sciences Rajesh Srivastava profusely thanked the Ambassador Marten Van Den Berg for his unwavering support to the Chamber. He said that he was seen as a very poised, intelligent and analytical diplomat who had been able to bring the two countries together much more strongly than ever before.

Rajesh Srivastava recalled the Ambassador's numerous initiatives to make the Dutch embassy more visible and nimble.

He conveyed the Excellency all good wishes for his new journey. He hoped that the Chamber could continue to lean on him for support in future too.

Srivastava was hopeful that India has created many memories in Ambassador’s heart which he would cherish in the future and keep bringing him back to India.

Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Marten Van Den Berg thanked Srivastava and the Board of the Chamber for organising a farewell for him.

The Ambassador assured that the Chamber will continue to hold a special place in his mind for the work done and he will certainly support it in future in whatever way he could.

It may be mentioned that over 30 years before he became the Dutch ambassador to India, the colours, smells and intensity of the country made a deep impression on Marten van den Berg when he travelled there as a backpacker. The many powerful contrasts, like those between the north and the south, and the varied array of religions have fascinated him ever since.

But Van den Berg also likes to highlight a side of India that many in the Netherlands are unfamiliar with: the innovative strength of Indian business.

During his stint in India, the Ambassador formed the basis of his work the Sustainable Development Goals, the set of 17 objectives intended to make the world a better place by 2030.

He pursued multiple projects and partnerships in the areas of clean drinking water, healthcare, energy and the climate. He had a very inspiring agenda based on social challenges that were linked to the partnerships with the private sector and NGOs.

Ambassador Van den Berg appreciated the kind words of Srivastava, Mittal and Bahl in their speeches.

During the farewell ceremony for the Ambassador, IDCBS Director Amit Mittal praised the Ambassador's interest in micro and macroeconomics and mentioned that he had learned a lot from the Ambassador's contributions to global economic issues.

The Ambassador has maintained a deep connection with India since his student days and has brought a high level of understanding and depth to the bilateral economic relationship. Amit Mittal expressed hope that the Ambassador would return to India.

In his speech, Vice President IDCBS Capt L S Bahl said Ambassador Marten Van Den Berg came to India as Ambassador in 2018 and presented his credentials to the then President of India.

He recalled IDCBS welcomed him upon his arrival at the Jamun Tree Banquet hall in Delhi Gymkhana Club. Today after five years we are giving a farewell to him in the same hall of Delhi Gymkhana Club. He had told us that New Delhi was always his first choice as he was married to an Indian lady Sheila.

Capt Bahl said his stay has been very eventful as we celebrated 75 years of India Netherlands bilateral relations.

He improved the relations further and worked very hard on several areas including Institutional mechanism, trade and commercial relations, Indo-Pacific guidelines, water management, agriculture and food processing, health care cooperation, urban development and smart cities and renewable energy.

Some of the important persons present at the farewell included Joost Geijer, Counsellor (Economic Affairs) of Netherlands embassy; Sharad Thadani, Hony. Consul (UP) of Netherlands embassy; Ashwani Tewari, Founder and owner of ANA International; Arun Sinha, Managing Director of Alar Group; Ronald van het Hof, MD India of Women on Wings; Sudesh Wadhwa, MD of SW Technologies; Deepak Arora, Diplomatic Editor of The Tribne Online; Ashok Aneja, MD of Roop Resorts; Danielle Mazon, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Philips India Subcontinent; and Chhitiz Kumar, Director of Philips Health Systems.

UK Opens Second Ballot For Young Professional Scheme Visas For Indians

LONDON, July 25: The British government today opened its second ballot under the UK-India Young Professional Scheme for Indians aged between 18 and 30 years with graduate-level qualifications for visas to the UK.

The ballot, which closes on July 27, offers eligible young Indians the opportunity to live, work or study in the UK for up to two years.

"The second ballot of the Young Professionals Scheme is now OPEN," the British High Commission in New Delhi tweeted.

"If you are an Indian national between 18-30 years of age with a graduate or postgraduate qualification, consider applying for the India Young Professionals Scheme visa. Ballot closes at 1.30 pm on July 27," it said.

There are a total of 3,000 places available under the scheme for the year 2023 and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) said that most places were given in the first ballot which took place in February. The remaining places will be chosen at random from this month's ballot.

While it's free to enter the ballot, applicants are told they must only enter if they plan to apply for the visa, which costs 259 pound, and are able to meet the financial, educational and other requirements.

Additional costs involved include a 940 pound healthcare surcharge and proof that the applicant has 2,530 pounds in personal savings.

Under the reciprocal arrangement signed off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Rishi Sunak, at the G20 summit in Indonesia last November, British nationals would also be offered similar visas to live and work in India.

The launch of the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme was dubbed a "significant moment" for the bilateral relationship and the UK's wider commitment to forging stronger links with the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen both Indian and British economies.

It was also seen as an effort to propel the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, which completed 11 rounds of talks this month.

"I know first-hand the incredible value of the deep cultural and historic ties we have with India. I am pleased that even more of India's brightest young people will now have the opportunity to experience all that life in the UK has to offer - and vice-versa - making our economies and societies richer," said Mr Sunak, as he green-lit the scheme in November 2022.

India Ranks At 80th Spot In Passport Index

LONDON, July 19: The latest ranking published by Henley Passport Index, released on Tuesday, puts India's passport at the 80th spot, moving it up five places from its position in 2022. Indians can now travel to 57 destinations without a visa.

India's current rank ties it with countries like Togo and Senegal.

While Indian passport holders have visa-free access and visa-on-arrival access to countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Rwanda, Jamaica, and Sri Lanka, they still need a visa to enter 177 destinations across the world. Some of these countries include China, Japan, Russia, the United States, and European Union Countries.

Meanwhile, Singapore has replaced Japan with having the world's most powerful passport, allowing visa-free entry to 192 global destinations.

After five years at the top, Japan dropped to third place as the number of destinations its passport can access without a visa fell. The US, which once topped the ranking nearly a decade ago, slid two places to eighth place. The UK, after a Brexit-induced slump, jumped two places to fourth, a position it last held in 2017. At the bottom of the list is Afghanistan with easy access to 27 destinations.

Passport Index has become the most popular interactive online tool to display, sort, and rank the world's passports.

Notably, the Henley Passport Index, originally created by Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.

It is updated in real-time throughout the year, as and when visa policy changes come into effect.

Kaithal Round Table Holds Marathon To Support School For Disabled Children

By Deepak Arora

KAITHAL (Haryana), July 2:

Kaithal Round Table did a Marathon Run for a cause to support a school for Disabled children in this beautiful city of Haryana on Saturday.

Over 400 city residents participated in the two km marathon, according to Gautam Miglani, Chairman-elect of the Kaithal Round Table organization.

Kaithal district DSP Sunil Kumar flagged off the marathon on July 1 morning. Sudeep Surjewala, a Congress leader, was also present on the occasion.

Mahabali Bhima, the tallest athelete of Haryana with height of 7.4 ft, also participated in the marathon. Bhima was an instant hit with the youth who eagerly took selfies with him.

Gautam Miglani, who recently became the chairman-elect of the Kaithal Round Table organization, said the organization is a non-profit organisation and is spread across the world. It works to promote education across the nation.

Miglani said "We do community services and majorly we do Freedom through Education (FTE) projects."

He said " Till now Round Table India has build around 1200 classrooms. In kaithal, we have build three classrooms as Kaithal Round Table is just two years old."

On this occasion, the organization gave a grant amount of Rs 21,000 to Holy Path School.

Some of the other important dignitaries who participated in the marathon included Gautam Miglani, Varun Miglani, Sumit Garg, Dr. Bikramjeet Shah, Shrey Chaudhary, Saransh Chaudhary, Ankit Takkar, Akshaydeep, Mohit Sikka, Honey Ahluwalia, Sahil Bansal and Ankit Chaudhary.

Netherlands' Latest Educational Reform: Ban Phones In Classrooms

THE HAGUE, July 5: The Netherlands said Tuesday it will ban mobile phones from classrooms in a bid to stop tech disrupting lessons.

Mobiles, tablets and smartwatches are getting in the way of students' learning and will not be allowed in class from next year, the Dutch government said.

"There is increasing evidence that mobile phones have a harmful effect during lessons", it said. "Pupils are less able to concentrate and their performance suffers."

"For this reason, mobile phones, as well as tablets and smartwatches, will no longer be allowed in classrooms from January 1 2024."

The government is asking school authorities to agree internal rules with teachers, parents and pupils by October.

The country's centre-right coalition has not yet imposed a formal ban, but says it reserves the right to do so after measuring progress next year.

Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf told parliament he hopes the move will usher in a "cultural transformation" and improve learning.

World little less safe than last year: Global peace index study

SYDNEY, July 5: The world has become a little less safe than last year, that's what the Institute of Economics and Peace found in its flagship Global Peace Index 2023 report. Despite that, Iceland has maintained its position to be the most peaceful country in the world since the study was first released in 2008. In fact, seven out of top ten most peaceful countries are found to be in Europe.

Iceland is also the third happiest country in the world, following Finland and Denmark.

This year, India fared well in the list and ranked at 126th position – climbed nine ranks up from last year's report. However, it is running far behind its neighbouring countries such as Bhutan (17), Maldives (23), Nepal (79), China (80), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (107). Pakistan and Myanmar are two countries trailing behind India with 146th and 139th positions, respectively.

Afghanistan continues to remain the lest peaceful country in the world. Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo are among bottom five countries in the list.

With Only 35,605 Babies In 2022, Singapore's Birth Rate Hits Record Low

SINGAPORE, July 4: Singapore's birth rate hit a record low in 2022 with only 35,605 babies born in that year when the country also registered the highest number of deaths annually since 1960, according to media reports on Tuesday.

Official figures released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) showed a 7.9 per cent drop in the number of live births.

The drop was from 38,672 in 2021 to 35,605 in 2022.

There were 26,891 deaths in 2022, a 10.7 per cent increase compared with the 24,292 recorded in 2021 in the Report on Registration of Births and Deaths.

This was the highest number of total yearly deaths since 1960, reported Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao.

The report also stated that women are progressively getting older before they start having children, with the median age of first-time mothers rising to 31.9 years in 2022 from 30.6 in 2018. There was minimal change in the median ages of mothers who gave birth to their second and subsequent children during the same period.

The number of first-time mothers with university degrees rose to 63.6 per cent, compared with 58 per cent in 2017.

Singapore's declining birth rates and greying population are not new issues, with the Government implementing several measures to try and mitigate their impact.

In February, the Government announced plans to support those with marriage and parenthood aspirations after Singapore's total fertility rate (TFR) hit a historic low of 1.05 last year.

This includes a greater priority for first-timer families with children, as well as younger married couples, in their Build-To-Order flat applications, including an additional ballot.

Other measures include cash gifts and grants, as well as Government-paid paternity leave being extended to four weeks.

In response to queries on the declining TFR, National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser remarked that likely factors include children increasingly not being seen as part of retirement planning, while the cost of raising them has risen in an increasingly Vuca (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world.

More and more resources are necessary to bring up a child, and that is also a constraint on the number of children a couple can afford, he said.

"Other oft-cited factors are the rise of dual-income households, in part to make enough to maintain a middle-class lifestyle; women's late marriages; priorities given to career; and in turn the lack of work-life harmony in jobs which emphasise deliverables," the Straits Times quoted Dr Tan as saying.

He added that COVID-19 may have been a factor because of its impact on employment and income insecurity, as well as in reinforcing the perception of the increasingly Vuca world.

The increasing number of deaths, said Dr Tan, is also consistent with Singapore's rapidly ageing population.

In 2022, the leading causes of death were malignant neoplasms - also known as cancerous tumours - and heart and hypertensive diseases.

These collectively accounted for 49.5 per cent of all registered deaths in 2022.

Additionally, lung and respiratory system diseases, as well as cerebrovascular diseases - conditions that affect blood flow to the brain, like strokes and aneurysms - were prominent factors responsible for 22.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent of deaths, respectively.

Compared with 2021, the proportion of deaths attributed to lung and respiratory system diseases increased by 1.8 per cent, while the proportion of deaths caused by malignant neoplasms decreased by 2.5 per cent, noted the report.

Death by unnatural causes, such as accidents, suicides, and other external causes, constituted 3.3 per cent of the total cases.

Numbers released on Saturday by the non-profit suicide prevention centre Samaritans of Singapore showed there were 476 suicides in 2022, the highest number since 2000.