Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler Qualitatively Enhances Indo-French Ties
By Deepak Arora
 NEW DELHI, Aug 21: Farewells are always mixed with sadness and pleasure. So was the case when French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler and Mrs Véronique Ziegler hosted a reception to bid farewell to their friends in India at the Residence of France.
In his 20 years of his diplomatic life, he said today was one of tougher moments than others. Although, bidding farewell is always a difficult art, Ambassador Zeigler not only said what he had to say for the moment, but also spoke from his heart.
Over three and half years of Ambassador Zeigler’s tenure saw fabulous upward movements of ties between France and India. One of his milestones has been successfully enhancing the strategic partnership between the two countries. Another milestone has been development of very strong personal rapport between the two leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi.
Besides this, the Ambassador energized people-to-people ties. He liberalized visa regime and assured that the visa was granted within three working days. This not only enhanced growth in tourism, but also led to the most vital exchanges between the students, the businesswomen and businessmen, the artists, the scientists, the youth. “And they are the ones who nurture our relationship everyday,” he said.
It is important to also mention that three years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron had set a target of receiving 10,000 Indian students in France by 2020. The Ambassador achieved the target one year earlier. Bolden by this, the French President has now set an ambitious target of receiving 20,000 Indian students by 2023 for the next Ambassador.
 The Ambassador’s effable and soft nature helped him win many friends in the Indian administration, in civil society, in the corporate sector. “They all opened your doors and your hearts to me in a remarkable manner.”
Speaking from his heart, Ambassador Zeigler said that he has very passionately loved this country. “There are places in the world – and these aren’t necessarily the ones that are the closest or the easiest – where one feels instantly at home. I have very deeply experienced this inexplicable, very personal feeling here.”
He said he has enjoyed crisscrossing India, relentlessly, almost every week. “I came to love its cultures, its energy, its pride, its immense diversity and, at the same time, its ability to be a nation. Above all, I came to love its people. I was perhaps something of an Indian in another life. Perhaps I’ll be one in my next life. But what is sure is that India will remain in my heart, in our hearts, Véronique’s and mine.”
It is said that if a diplomat has to do his job well, he must learn to keep the distance. “That’s certainly true. But I also believe that we can’t do this job well – even less so in India than elsewhere – without empathy or passion. This is what I’ve felt in my three and half years here.”
Beyond diplomatic slogans, the Ambassador said that how deeply he believed in the almost existential nature of the Indo-French relationship. “Of course, there are economic and strategic interests for France in this country, and they are huge.”
But far more than this, he said “we are friends, allies and not just partners. It’s because we share the same vision of the world. We are not living in an easy period. The markers on which we had built our international system over 70 years are falling apart before our very eyes or are deeply challenged: values like democracy, adherence to international law, multilateralism, the desire to cooperate together when we need to face the new challenges of the world, such as climate change, terrorism, or internet governance. We do share these values with India.”
In a few years, Ambassador Zeigler said “there will be a dozen – or maybe less – major countries in the world with which we, French and Europeans, will be able to forge alliances to protect and reform this international order. India will obviously be among these countries. I see in this observation one of the most absolute justifications of our partnership with India.”
Towards the end, Ambassador Zeigler greeted all dear friends with à bientôt, fir milengué!
Ambassador Ziegler presents top French cultural award on Aruna Vasudev
By Deepak Arora
 NEW DELHI, Aug 13: The eminent Indian film scholar, editor and painter, Ms Aruna Vasudev, who is also the vice-president of the Alliance Française de Delhi, today received the prestigious French honour of ‘Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) for her outstanding contribution to cinema and the arts.
The Ambassador of France to India, Mr Alexandre Ziegler, conferred the insignia of the distinction on Ms Aruna Vasudev in a special investiture ceremony here on Tuesday at the Residence of France.
Lauding her numerous attainments, Ambassador Ziegler said: “Aruna Vasudev’s lifetime of achievements as film critic, scholar, jury, filmmaker, administrator and painter is near impossible to sum up. She has created so many events, forged so many partnerships, established so many platforms to promote Asian films across the world that she has carved a path that continues to guide the young generation today.”
He said "for you, it all started with Cinema. You embody an art that France and India have shared and will continue sharing. As you know, in French, we call it the Seventh Art. It is a domain whose creativity and passion touch the heart of millions."
On her role in Alliance Française de Delhi for over decades as a member of the Governing Council and as Vice President, Ambassador Ziegler said "you took part in the evolution of such an important institution and its successes. Your contributions need no highlighting: they are there for all to see."
Aruna Vasudev’s love story with France began as she developed her talent for cinema. Enrolling at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC - Institute for Advanced Film Studies), she went on to obtain a PhD in Cinema from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. She has worked alongside such New Wave masters as Alain Resnais and Claude Chabrol.
Often referred to as the ‘mother of Asian cinema’, she launched the Asian film quarterly ‘Cinemaya’ in 1988. She also founded the internationally-renowned ‘Netpac’ 29 years ago, a worldwide organization to forward the cause of Asian films.
She has also directed or produced around 20 documentaries, edited or co-edited many books, including a translation from French into English of Jean-Claude Carrière’s In Search of the Mahabharata: Notes of Travels in India with Peter Brook. Her body of work has won her several international awards, including the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2002.
L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (the Order of Arts and Letters) is a French government distinction conferred on “persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world.”
Some noted Indian recipients of this honour in the past include Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta, Shahrukh Khan, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Aishwarya Rai, Raghu Rai, Ebrahim Alkazi, Habib Tanveer, Upamanyu Chatterjee, and Wendell Rodricks.
Iceland commemorates first glacier lost to climate change
 REYKJAVIK, Aug 18: Iceland on Sunday honours the passing of Okjokull, its first glacier lost to climate change, as scientists warn that some 400 others on the subarctic island risk the same fate.
A bronze plaque will be unveiled in a ceremony starting around 1400 GMT to mark Okjokull -- which translates to “Ok glacier” -- in the west of Iceland, in the presence of local researchers and their peers at Rice University in the United States, who initiated the project.
Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, Environment Minister Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson are also due to attend the event.
“This will be the first monument to a glacier lost to climate change anywhere in the world,” Cymene Howe, associate professor of anthropology at Rice University, said in July.
The plaque bears the inscription “A letter to the future,” and is intended to raise awareness about the decline of glaciers and the effects of climate change.
“In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it,” the plaque reads.
It is also labelled “415 ppm CO2,” referring to the record level of carbon dioxide measured in the atmosphere last May.
“Memorials everywhere stand for either human accomplishments, like the deeds of historic figures, or the losses and deaths we recognise as important,” researcher Howe said.
“By memorialising a fallen glacier, we want to emphasise what is being lost -- or dying -- the world over, and also draw attention to the fact that this is something that humans have ‘accomplished’, although it is not something we should be proud of.”
Howe noted that the conversation about climate change can be abstract, with many dire statistics and sophisticated scientific models that can feel incomprehensible.
“Perhaps a monument to a lost glacier is a better way to fully grasp what we now face,” she said, highlighting “the power of symbols and ceremony to provoke feelings”.
Iceland loses about 11 billion tonnes of ice per year, and scientists fear all of the island country’s 400-plus glaciers will be gone by 2200, according to Howe and her Rice University colleague Dominic Boyer.
Glaciologists stripped Okjokull of its glacier status in 2014, a first for Iceland.
In 1890, the glacier ice covered 16 square kilometres (6.2 square miles) but by 2012, it measured just 0.7 square kilometres, according to a report from the University of Iceland from 2017.
In 2014, “we made the decision that this was no longer a living glacier, it was only dead ice, it was not moving,” Oddur Sigurdsson, a glaciologist with the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told AFP.
To have the status of a glacier, the mass of ice and snow must be thick enough to move by its own weight. For that to happen the mass must be approximately 40 to 50 metres (130 to 165 feet) thick, he said.
According to a study published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)in April, nearly half of the world’s heritage sites could lose their glaciers by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate.
Sigurdsson said he feared “that nothing can be done to stop it.”
“The inertia of the climate system is such that, even if we could stop introducing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere right now, it will keep on warming for century and a half or two centuries before it reaches equilibrium.”
Iceland’s Vatnajokull National Park, which was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in early July, is home to, and named after, the largest ice cap in Europe.
Taiwan Agricultural Ambassadors To Visit India To Strengthen Ties
By Deepak Arora
 NEW DELHI, Aug 15: A young delegation of agricultural expertise from Taiwan will be visiting India from August 18 to 25 to explore and fortify bilateral ties in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry between the two countries under the former's New Southbound Policy and the later's Act East Policy.
The 15-member group, aged between 18 and 40, will be led by Lin Chih-Hung, Deputy Director General of Taiwan's Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) and Huang Yi-Lung, Section Chief of Public Diplomacy Coordination Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The delegates are of various background and some of the more experienced have made significant achievements in their career. These include Wei, Hsiao-En, Founder of Travel Taberu in Taiwan, an agriculture-focus educational magazine; Chang Jen-Tsung, Owner of The Chang's Food Company and four-time winner of the COA's annual Top Hundred Outstanding Young Farmers awards; Hsieh Cheng-Tso, an aqua-culturist of abalone, white shrimp and grouper, who was commissioned to Palau, Taiwan's diplomatic ally in the Pacific; and Chiu, Chang-Huang, an organic vegetable expert representing Taiwan to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements Asia 2019.
With the assistance of Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India, the young delegation will visit New Delhi and other States for eight days and seven nights to understand the South Asian country's current economic outlook, business opportunities in the related fields, and gain an understanding of local wholesale operations and marketing patterns.
They will also visit producers, factories and institutions of common interest as well as engage with local people. It is expected that the trip will stimulate their ability to innovate in their enterprises while helping establish strong links in Taiwan-India agricultural cooperation.
Woman whose rendition of Lata Mangeshkar song went viral gets a makeover
Aug 9: A woman went viral a couple of days ago thanks to her wonderful rendition of an iconic Lata Mangeshkar song. The woman, later identified as Ranu Mondal, was captured singing Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai from the 1972 film Shor at Ranaghat station in West Bengal.
Social media was completely moved by her voice and many posted about offering her a better platform to showcase her talent. And now, in what clearly shows the positive influence of social media, the woman has been given a complete makeover. Pictures of her transformation are going viral too.
Mondal’s video was shared on a Facebook page called ‘BarpetaTown The place of peace’. Her video, posted on July 28, has collected over 4 million views and still counting.
Now, the page has shared pictures of her getting a makeover along with one of her complete transformation.
Both posts have collected a ton of reactions.
According to another post shared on the page, Mondal has been receiving requests to participate in a reality TV show in Mumbai.
The posts on her makeover have collected a lot of reactions on Facebook.
“Kya baat hai… social media is really helpful for such talents,” says one Facebook user. “Very well deserved… Best wishes,” says another.
Take a look at the video that made her viral.
Indo-Taiwan Joint Research Center inaugurated
By Deepak Arora
 RUPNAGAR, Aug 2: The Indo-Taiwan Joint Research Center on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning was inaugurated on July 27 in Rupnagar, India, underscoring government efforts to deepen academic ties with the New Southbound Policy target country.
Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the facility is a joint initiative among National Chung Cheng University in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, and Chitkara University. It will serve as a hub for academic-industrial cooperation, faculty-student exchanges and R&D.
At the inauguration ceremony, MOST Deputy Minister Hsu Yu-chin said the center is the first AI collaborative venture between tertiary institutions in Taiwan and India. Going forward, joint projects are expected to encompass a wide range of areas like microelectronics and space technology, he added.
Prior to the inauguration, the MOST and Indian Council of Social Science Research signed a memorandum of understanding on boosting cooperation in the field of social sciences. The pact was inked on behalf of their respective sides by Hsu and ICSSR Member Secretary Virendra Kumar Malhotra.
Taiwan Ambassador Tien Chung-kwang said at the signing that the subcontinent is a region of diverse customs, languages and religions. Given Taiwan’s rich culture, expanded collaboration in this discipline will offer significant benefits to both sides, he added.
A key plank in the government’s national development strategy, the NSP is enhancing Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Ontario invites 1,773 Express Entry candidates with tech experience and CRS scores as low as 435
 TORONTO, Aug 1: A new Ontario Tech Draw held Thursday, August 1, issued 1,773 invitations to Express Entry candidates with work experience in one of six tech occupations and Comprehensive Ranking System scores as low as 435.
This was Ontario’s second Tech Draw since their introduction in early July and a total of 3,396 Express Entry candidates have now received invitations, or Notifications of Interest (NOIs).
Ontario is home to several of Canada’s major tech hubs, notably those in the cities of Toronto, Ottawa and Waterloo, and Tech Draws are designed to meet growing labour needs in the sector.
More than 80,000 tech jobs have been created in Ontario’s capital city, Toronto, alone in the last five years, according to the 2019 CBRE Scoring Tech Talent Report.
Tech Draws allow Ontario to search the federal Express Entry pool and invite eligible candidates to apply for provincial nomination.
The Express Entry system is Canada’s main source of skilled foreign workers and candidates with a provincial nomination receive an additional 600 points toward their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, effectively guaranteeing an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
The Express Entry system allows candidates to pursue Canadian permanent resident if they are eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class or Canadian Experience Class. A job offer is not required in order to participate in the Express Entry system.
All candidates in the Express Entry pool are assigned a score under the CRS and the highest-scoring candidates are invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence through regular draws from the pool.
In order to be considered for an invitation from Ontario, candidates must first submit an Express Entry profile.
While many candidates with IT backgrounds and high ranking scores have had success through Express Entry, several provincial immigration streams give candidates with lower CRS scores a chance to improve their rank and obtain an Invitation to Apply for Canadian permanent residence.
Whereas the minimum score to be drawn from the Express Entry pool during the most federal recent draw was 459, this OINP Tech Draw selected candidates with scores as low as 435.
This score was also three points lower than the lowest score drawn through a federal Express Entry invitation round so far this year (438).
Tech Draws target Express Entry candidates with work experience in one of six tech occupations:
Software engineers and designers (NOC 2173)
Computer programmers and interactive media developers (NOC 2174)
Computer engineers (NOC 2147)
Web designers and developers (NOC 2175)
Database analysts and data administrators (NOC 2172)
Computer and information systems managers (NOC 0213)
NOC stands for National Occupational Classification, which determines an occupation’s skill level and skill type.
Tech Draws are conducted through Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream. The stream is one of three managed by the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) that allow Ontario to select eligible Express Entry candidates.
Those who received invitations to apply for a provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residence in the August 1 Tech Draw created their Express Entry profile between August 1, 2018, and August 1, 2019.
Here is a hypothetical example of an Express Entry candidate who could have been selected in the OINP’s August 1 Tech Draw.
Ravi is 30 years old, holds a bachelor’s degree, and has been working as a database analyst for three years. Ravi has an advanced English language proficiency and has never worked or studied in Canada. Ravi entered the Express Entry pool with a CRS score of 436.
On August 1, 2019, Ravi was invited by the province of Ontario to apply for provincial nomination. After receiving a nomination from Ontario, Ravi’s CRS score will increase to 1036 and he will be prioritized to receive an Invitation to Apply for Canadian permanent residence during the next draw from the Express Entry pool.
“Canada’s tech sector is booming and needs innovation like Ontario’s new Tech Draws to fill its needs,” said David Cohen, senior partner with the Campbell, Cohen Canadian immigration law firm.
“From a candidate’s perspective, this draw is also welcome news in that highly talented candidates with slightly lower CRS scores now have a way to bring their talents to Canada permanently.”
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