May252017

Beijing bans shared bikes in military areas

East Asia
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Shared bikes will be banned from military areas in Beijing starting Thursday, a military officer said Wednesday.

The off-limits zones include restricted military areas and hospitals, residential areas, and sanitariums administrated by the military in Beijing.

“Bike sharing has brought new problems to the management of military areas, such as illegal parking and entering and exiting without approval,” said the officer with the training management department of the Central Military Commission.

“The army’s image would be tainted once misuse like bike refitting or damage is found in military areas,” the officer said.

Shared bikes are being moved away from military zones, and inspections will be carried out by the department.

The Ministry of Transport on Monday released draft rules requiring local governments to strengthen oversight of the sector.

Bike-sharing services took off in Chinese cities in the past two years. They allows riders to hire bikes for about one yuan (about 15 U.S. cents) per hour via a mobile app, and drop them off for the next user.

The service has reduced traffic congestion and cut auto emissions, but haphazardly parked bikes often block sidewalks, causing complaints.

There were 18.9 million users of shared bicycles nationwide at the end of 2016. The number is expected to hit 50 million by the end of this year, according to the China E-Commerce Research Center.

May252017

Speech: ‘We seek to align UK interests with ambitions of Karnataka’

HM Government
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It is with mixed feelings I welcome you here tonight. We are gathering to mark Her Majesty’s 91st Birthday, but after the horrific incident in Manchester on Monday night, our hearts go out to the families and friends of all those killed and injured. This was a brutal act aimed at the softest of targets: teenagers and children. Such incidents are effective if they change the way we live our lives. For this reason I have decided to go ahead with our event tonight to honour our Queen and to show our resolve to stand up to those who wish to harm us. Can I request a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to all those caught up in this tragedy.

I am joined tonight by His Excellency the Minister of Large & Medium Industries & Infrastructure R V Deshpande representing the Government of Karnataka. Minister Deshpande has championed UK-Karnataka links at many events across the year. I am pleased he joins us again tonight.

As many of you are aware Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II has two birthdays, her actual birthday in April, and her official birthday in June. In Karnataka neither month is ideal for an outdoor event. We chose today hoping that the weather would be kind. Sadly it looks as if the vagaries of climate change in Karnataka may have got the better of us.

Tonight I would like to focus on three areas:

  • I want to honour Her Majesty on her 91st birthday
  • I want to share with you the highlights of a year of UK-Karnataka partnership
  • I will look forward to a memorable UK-India Year of Culture.

The Queen

In February, Her Majesty the Queen celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee commemorating 65 years of service to her country and the Commonwealth. The sapphire stone is believed to symbolise wisdom, virtue, good fortune and holiness. It is known as the ‘Royal’ stone. It gives us the colour ‘Royal Blue’ which many of you are wearing tonight. For our monarch this milestone could not be more appropriate.

The Queen has visited India 3 times. Her first visit was in 1961 when she visited Bengaluru and the Lal Bagh Gardens. She returned in 1983 for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and then again in 1997. Her experience of world affairs and world leaders is unmatched. Her enduring appeal, however, lies in the straight forward way she interacts with those she meets, however important, on her royal duties.

In her role, she has been supported by her husband Prince Philip who we honour too. In March, Prince Philip announced his retirement from public duties at the grand old age of 95. Prince Philip in his own indomitable way quipped that he was ‘stepping down, not sitting down’.

A year of UK-Karnataka partnership

I’d like to turn now to a year of UK-Karnataka partnership. To put it succinctly, this year has been an ‘interesting’ one. Two weeks after our Queen’s Birthday Party (QBP) in 2016, the UK went to the polls to decide whether, or not, to leave the European Union. You all know the outcome of that vote. That decision has set the UK on a new direction with a destination that is still unclear.

BREXIT brings with it challenges, but also opportunities as the UK forges a new role for itself in the world. It also brings opportunities for a new relationship with India. It was not by chance the new UK Prime Minister chose to visit India on her first bilateral visit outside Europe. In November, Theresa May held talks with Prime Minister Modi in Delhi before flying on to Bengaluru. Why Bengaluru? It’s India’s city of the future, an innovation hub, and India’s start up capital. It is also home to over 100 UK companies who have chosen Karnataka as the base for their country operations – I am pleased many of you have joined us tonight.

The scope of the prime ministers programme underlines the range of UK interests. She met with Chief Minister Siddaramiah and later with UK and Indian companies to discuss trade and investment in the UK and Karnataka. She visited a government school to learn about STEM skills in education and new careers for women. With pupils she welcomed an Indian Air Force flypast highlighting our close defence links. She learnt about innovative UK-India models of advanced manufacture in Pinya and explored our common heritage with a visit to the Sri Someshwara Temple.

Relations are not built on one visit. It is the day-to-day, year-on-year interactions that matter. In November, the UK was India’s official partner for the TECH Summit in Delhi. This huge event set out to highlight the strength of UK-India technology ties. Large UK delegations in the areas of precision medicine and advanced manufacturing came on from Delhi to meet with potential partners in Karnataka.

At the British Deputy High Commission (BDHC) we seek to align UK interests with the ambitions of the state. We were able to do this in February when the UK Minister of Defence Procurement Harriet Baldwin, joined eminent local dignitaries to speak on the advanced manufacturing panel at the ‘Make in India Conference’ in Bengaluru. The minister highlighted the historical aerospace ties between the UK and Bengaluru linking HAL, BAe Systems, and Rolls Royce. During the visit Cranfield University signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Manufacturing Technologies Institute to strengthen advanced manufacturing cooperation. As the minister made clear ‘Make in India’ is a concept at the heart of UK-India collaboration and has been so for many years.

UK experts have also been working with local state partners on:

  • urban governance
  • energy storage and green finance
  • the affect of climate change on water systems
  • prosthetic technologies
  • waste water management (with a water recycling project at the Malleshwaram Dhobi Ghat)
  • traffic management and urban security (with a visit by the State Home Minister Parameshwara, to the London Traffic Control Centre)
  • disability and careers
  • support for start ups and industrial clusters
  • improving tax collection and land registration

All these issues are elements of our common prosperity agenda and key to a growing Karnataka economy.
I want to say a bit more about Europe. The UK is leaving the European Union and not the European continent. The UK remains committed to European collaboration on a range of issues. This year in partnership with our European colleagues in Karnataka we showcased British films as part of the European Film Festival, we celebrated the European Football Cup with a reception to watch Germany beat Northern Ireland, we organised a European Climate Action Day Conference in September and joined a European Symposium on Environmental Sustainability in March. This collaboration will continue.

I have talked many times this year about the importance of our living bridges. Living Bridges was a term coined by Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the UK in 2015 to describe the people-to-people ties that bind our two countries.

This year we have promoted our Chevening Scholarship Programme to encourage India’s brightest and the best to come to the UK to develop new skills which they can then deploy on their return to India. The programme is now the largest UK country programmes in the world with 130 one-year masters and shorter fellowship programmes available. We have specialist programmes for scientists, engineers, journalists, cyber security specialists, design specialists, financial specialists and lastly for India’s future leaders (our flagship Gurukul Programme). In Karnataka, the Chevening Alumni Chapter is 120 strong. This group meets regularly to discuss ways to build on their UK experience and to link the UK with local initiatives. Applications for the next round of the Chevening Scholarship Scheme open in the summer. Please check online for details and pass the word.

The BDHC has also worked with local UK alumni associations including: the London School of Economics, Oxbridge, Cranfield, Imperial College London, and Kings College London to strengthen UK graduate and post-graduate links with the UK.

The UK’s TECH Rocketship and India Emerging 20 competitions were launched to encourage young entrepreneurs and to nurture and mentor new start-up talent as they begin their journey to internationalise their companies. We have three Bengaluru TECH Rocketship winners with us tonight. The winners of this year’s India Emerging 20 will be announced in Bengaluru tomorrow.

The UK’s Longitude Prize is encouraging novel innovation to tackle the global challenges of anti-microbial resistance particularly prevalent here in India.

In July, we brought 40 UK students to Christ and Jain Universities in Bengaluru to participate in a cultural immersion programme as part of our India-wide GenUK Programme to improve youth links.

To increase our geographical reach BDHC teams dealing with trade, investment, science and innovation, energy & low carbon, politics & economics and corporate services joined partners: the British Council, the Welsh government, the UK-India Business Council and the UK Visa Application Centre to set up an office for a day in Whitefield and then in Electronic City to meet local partners who are often unable to come into the centre of Bengaluru. BDHC teams have also made outreach visits to the West (Tumkur, Shimoga, Manipal and Mangalore), to the South (Mysore) and to the North (Belgaum) this year to promote our services. We cover the state.

A Year of Culture

This year you are in for a treat. 2017 will see a blossoming of cultural events and activities in India organised by the British Council, and a similar programme in the UK organised by the Government of India. We believe that by experiencing the most innovative and exciting creative work from both countries and exploring our joint history, people will want to know more about each other’s countries and build deeper connections.

The Year of culture was launched in February by Her Majesty the Queen and Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley at Buckingham Palace. The peacock projection behind me was from that event and is the symbol of the year-long programme. The design was produced by Studio Carrom based out of the UK and Bengaluru.

This year in Bengaluru it will be possible to listen to the Brian Molley Jazz Quartet, and join the Wayne McGregor Dance Company and Attakalari for the launch of MixtheBody. Other events will emerge as the year develops. Our British Council colleagues are on hand to tell you more about what is planned for Karnataka and will even invite you to MixtheCity.

Tonight would not have been possible without the generosity of our sponsors.

Our Gold sponsors are:

  • Dynamatic Technologies Limited is a Global Tier-1 Supplier to Airbus, Boeing, and Bell Helicopters. It is a major contributor to the growth of the aerospace industry in India. It has facilities in Bengaluru, Swindon and Bristol and is utilising the UK’s competitive advantage to further its globalisation efforts.

  • Lodha Group is India’s No 1 real estate developer by sales and is also now one of the largest investors from India into UK. The group has already invested close to £1 billion in the UK market is now looking to further expand its portfolio in London.

  • Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. It has been operational in the UK since 1995 with offices in London, Edinburgh and Swindon providing IT services to clients. It has strategic partnerships with 3 UK universities and has brought over 100 UK students to India for summer internships.

  • Mindtree is a global IT services company head-quartered in Bengaluru with operations across the globe. Mindtree entered the UK in 2003. It runs a strong portfolio of UK clients and uses its London office to reach out to businesses in the EU.

Some of our Gold sponsors are exhibiting around the site. Please go and visit their stands.

Our Silver sponsor is:

Our Bronze sponsors are:

  • Diageo
  • Rolls Royce
  • Twinings of London

I would also like to thank our sponsors-in-kind, our beer sponsor, UB as well as our ‘Best of British’ exhibitors showing their advanced engineering products here tonight.

Thank you.

Can I end with a round of thanks to:

  • GREAT team who have designed this wonderland (despite the challenges of the weather)
  • JW Marriott who have worked with us so closely to deliver our requirements
  • QBP Committee at the Deputy High Commission who have put in months of work to bring you this event
  • Bengaluru team and Indian network colleagues

Please could I lead you in a round of applause.

Thank you.

Toasts

I would like to propose the following 3 toasts:

  • Her Majesty the Queen
  • stronger UK-Karnataka partnerships
  • State of Karnataka.

May252017

Forecasting the future

John Redwood MP
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Today I am publishing another piece with no reference to the UK or the election. I will resume normal posts tomorrow when national campaigning starts again.

Events, dear boy, events. Policy makers, governments and companies need to forecast the future as they shape their policies and decide what to do to serve their citizens or customers better. In recent years the main international forecasters like the IMF and World Bank, the ECB and the US authorities, have struggled to anticipate the banking crash of 2008-9 or the Euro crisis that followed. Many companies have expressed surprise at the turn of events from Tokyo to New York, and were not anticipating the election of Mr Trump.

As someone who tries to set out a view of what might happen next by way of important background to policy debate, it is important to think through how you can improve your chances of understanding the trends and the risks. You begin as most do by forecasting the “knowns”. You can people your forecast with factual dates for future elections, Central bank rate setting meetings, publication of important results, dates of Budgets and the like.

You can then move from this easy bit, to trying to forecast the unknown element within these events. I know the Fed will consider interest rates at its June meeting. I do not know what it will decide to do, though with many others I expect it to raise rates by another 0.25% based on what I have read from the various statements and analyses put out by the Fed and its members. Sometimes your chances of success are high because the organisation has given a steer or clear briefings in advance. Sometimes the data they will consider is available and again it may be obvious what they have to decide. I did not know Mr Trump’s budget, but a lot of what he is proposing was in his programme for government put out by candidate Trump, so it was not that difficult to guess. I did not know Mrs Merkel would decide to cancel all her nuclear power, but could see that might happen by watching the pressure she was under from the anti nuclear lobby.

There are then the unknown unknowns, as Mr Rumsfeld once famously said. No one could know that a Japanese nuclear power station would be badly damaged by a tidal wave, leading to a major change of energy policy. All you can do is adjust your view promptly if such a thing happens.

The reason some of the world institutions are so bad at forecasting economies is they have a vested interest in stability and come to believe their own reassurances. They missed the build up of excessive credit because they persuaded themselves that the world could suddenly handle levels of debt and gearing through derivatives that would have been dangerous before. Worse still, they then brought the whole structure down by lurching to too tough a stance, presumably because they did really believe all these positions were risk reducing! An outsider could see more clearly. Many of us saw the build of debt and gearing in the EU and US was excessive and said so. A few of us saw the change of stance by the authorities was disastrous. If there is too much debt around the last thing you want to do is so tighten money that people cant afford to service their loans.

Published and promoted by Fraser Mc Farland on behalf of John Redwood, both at 30 Rose Street Wokingham RG 40 1XU